22 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hypocritical world, and with what measure ye mete, As God for christ's sake forgave you, be ye kind one to another, blame others, evasive tactic, faith, forgiving one another, hiding from God, holy spirit, humble servants, I did eat, I was afraid, I was naked, irresponsibility, it shall be measured to you, its easier to cast blame than to accept it, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, judge not, LOVE, mercy, mincing words, minister grace unto the hearers, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not complaining, our nemesis, praise Your Holy Name, promote our interests, salvation, sincerely seek your face, social media, the antidote to all hypocrisy, the beam in thine own eye, the blame game, the God who heals, the mote in thy brother's eye, the serpent beguiled me, the throne of grace, thou hypocrite, truth, turn from our evil ways, wisdom, wise guidance
Genesis 3:13b. And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (deceived) me, and I did eat.
Aye mih people, our nemesis, Monday is on tap! Yes, the day we all LOVE to hate has come around again, as it does after every Sunday! (smile) And if we can’t beat it, then we need to join it, use it to promote our interests, which means not complaining about it, but being ready for it when it shows up and putting our best foot forward. And we very well know that if Sunday happens, then Monday also will happen. So it’s time to stop giving Monday the bad rap it has accumulated down through the ages, simply because we are not properly prepared for it.
We know the weekend will end, and that work will commence on Monday, but we’re always trying to push the envelope on the weekend, burn the candle at both ends, then when Monday shows up and work calls, we’re tired and miserable from too much partying and/or not enough rest, and unfairly lay the blame at Monday’s feet. But what else is new eh? That’s one of the things we do best in our modern society; that’s blame others for our problems, even when they are caused by our own irresponsibility.
Yes, taking responsibility for our actions is not a strongpoint of today’s world. It’s so much easier to blame others than ourselves. And I guess one of the earliest examples of the blame game happened right at the beginning, when in the Garden of Eden, the devil tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Then, when the Lord came looking for Adam and Eve, they hid from Him. And when the Lord asked why they were hiding, Adam said: ‘I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and hid myself.
And he (the Lord) said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man (Adam) said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord said unto the woman (Eve), What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (deceived) me, and I did eat.’ (Gen. 3:10-13) So, I guess we can blame our very first forefathers for starting the blame game. (smile)
Now, the scholars have some rather interesting comments on those verses. As per verse 10, they say: ‘Adam heard the ‘sound’ of the Lord God and was afraid (as most men are afraid of God today), and began the age long process of “hiding himself” from his Maker. And re verse 12, they write: ‘Adam blamed the woman and God, since God was the one who brought her to Adam in Gen 2:22.’ Then, per verse 13, they agree: ‘Eve was beguiled as 1 Timothy 2:24 confirms (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3). But she did not take responsibility for eating either. Blame shifting is another evasive tactic employed by fallen man.’
That we all know is gospel truth! And just to stir up the pot some, (smile) I’ll quote the verse from 2 Timothy. Bruh Paul writes: ‘And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.’ (2 Tim. 2:14) Now, I’m not going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. (smile) Instead, we’ll turn to some wise words of Jesus on the subject of judging and being judged, which come from the Sermon on the Mount. He taught them: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again (the same measurement will be used against you).
And why beholdest thou the mote (speck) that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam (plank) that is in thine own eye? Or how will thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote (speck) out of thine eye, and behold a beam (plank) is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam (plank) out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote (speck) out of thy brother’s eye.’ (Matt. 7:1-5) Jesus wasn’t mincing words there at all!
But nonetheless, we do that all the time in this society! It’s a very hypocritical world we live in Dr. Jack! We know everybody else’s mistakes and foibles, but refuse to look at our own, which are ofttimes greater or more damning than those of the people we criticize. And with the dubious help of social media, everybody nowadays is a critic, and can spread our unfair, unjust criticism worldwide without much fear of retribution. But sadly, that’s the kind of world we live in nowadays!
Now, we have time and space for one more exhorting and admonishing set of scriptures, and that from Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he emphasizes: ‘Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph. 4:29-32)
Yes friends, that’s the basic antidote to all the hypocrisy, complaining, deception and irresponsibility that’s currently engulfing our world. And being agents and ambassadors of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that’s how we are supposed to live! So please let’s get our act together and start doing it nuh. In the meanwhile, we need to go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine help for our many problems. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world.
Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And if we truly desire to see divine help, then we’d better humble ourselves, pray and sincerely seek God’s face! Much LOVE!
…it’s so much easier to cast blame…than to accept it…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
19 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, according to your faith be it done unto you, an element of doubt, be careful for nothing, bear your everyday burdens, believe ye that I am able, Bible, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, christianity, crying out for help, embrace your love and compassion, faith, Friday chant, grin and bear it, holy spirit, in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, in everything, Jesus Christ, keep fighting the good fight, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, let not your heart be troubled, LOVE, neither let it be afraid, not as the world giveth, omnipotent help, Peace i leave with you, prayer, simmering discontent, spiritual war, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, the example we faithful believers set, the peace of God which passeth all understading, trust and confidence in Christ's ability, trusting faith, unexpected storms, wise guidance
Matthew 9:29. According to your faith be it unto you.
And then it was a cold, cloudy Friday, but there were still shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ I guess we don’t much care what kind of weather we have on a Friday, because it means that the weekend is here and we can do whatever we want. No more of the getting up early, carting the children to the baby-sitter or to school, then facing the rush hour traffic jam to and from work. What a terrible grind our work week can be, especially if you have young children and you’re living far from work. But that’s just the way the society is set up, and you have to grin and bear it, and make it work somehow for you.
I certainly remember the days, some forty odd years ago, carting my eldest daughter to the baby sitter and picking her up again every night. And that was long before you had all the helpful amenities, you now have. (smile) But that’s exactly why you need Jesus in your life! He helps you bear the tough burdens of everyday life, with a modicum of peace and circumspection. With Jesus running the show, you’re never as worried and frazzled as you are without Him. And these two promises of His are very important in our everyday lives. We know them fairly well, but we just can’t seem to put them into action, so that our pain can be eased.
The first one says: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) And yes, it’s very easy to say the words, and even believe them, but it’s not as easy to put them into serious action, especially in today’s crazy and volatile world, for there’s always an element of doubt, or some niggling circumstance that gets in the way. But we just have to hang in there and do the best we can, not give up, and keep fighting the good fight with Jesus.
Then there’s this other promise along the same lines. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Ah friends, although we might know deep down that Jesus has overcome the world by dying and being resurrected, therefore defeating Satan, hell, death and the grave, it’s indeed difficult to be peaceful and of good cheer when all the problems of the world seem like they are tumbling down around you. And to further help us in our earthly battle, we need to take Bruh Paul’s advice to the Philippians.
He writes: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ (Phil. 4:6) Yes my brethren, that is the basic pattern our lives must follow if we are to experience some sense of peace and comfort in our daily lives. Prayer with thanksgiving is oh so essential. And we know that giving thanks under some of the situations we face is extremely difficult, and sometimes we even feel it impossible. However, that’s the only way to get what Bruh Paul promised. ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7)
Now those aren’t easy scriptures to live by; not to worry about anything, but to pray constantly and give thanks even in untenable situations. But do it we must, by writing them indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, then asking the Holy Spirit for His help to action them. That’s one of His many purposes in our lives; help to live the life Christ desires of us. But there again, we need to sincerely engage the Holy Spirit’s help, and then listen to what he says. And that’s where we’re not as obedient as we ought to.
With all the many distractions and voices flurrying around in our minds, we ofttimes miss the still, soft voice of the Holy Spirit, especially when our decision is contrary to His. And the devil just LOVES to get into our brain, our minds, where spiritual war is constantly being waged, and disrupt the peace and joy we are fighting to attain. And that’s where our levels of faith and trust in Jesus come in. It’s like Jesus’ interaction with two blind men who followed Him, ‘crying and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.’ (Matt. 9:27-29)
Now that last sentence is the answer to many of our problems. Yes friends, it’s according to our trust and confidence in Christ’s ability to do whatever we ask Him, that we will see positive outcomes. It’s our faith, not God’s, that determines our outcomes in life. It has everything to do with what we truly believe. And for those of us who truly believe in the omnipotent power of Christ, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, asking for divine help to handle our many earthly problems.
Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And if we expect to see divine help, then we need to do what we said in our prayer, that’s stand strong and steadfast as best we can, and also set a good example as faithful believers. Much LOVE!
… the size of our problems that Jesus can solve…depends on the size of our faith in Him…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
12 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all came to pass, all should come to repentance, being not weak in faith, divine help, faith, Friday chant, given rest unto his people Israel, going the way of all the earth, hard slogging, imputed to him for righteousness, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, light in the darkness, LOVE, not willing that any should perish, Promise Keeper, promised by the hand of his servant Moses, restoring faith in you, salvation, simmering unrest, strong in faith, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the awesome help of Jesus, the deadness of Sarah's womb, the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, the way the truth and the life, there failed notof any good thing, throne of grace, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, Way Maker, wise guidance, with God all things are possible
Joshua 21:45. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
The week’s finished mih people! That means we can cry out: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday…and the weekend’s here at long last!’ Yes, I know some of us had it hard slogging through a whole five day work week, having not done one for a while. But I’m sure, with the awesome help of Jesus, we all came through it with flying colours. And that’s the beauty of having Jesus as Lord and Saviour; we can always depend on Him, trust Him to help us in our time of need. That reminds us of the song that calls Him, the Way Maker, Promise Keeper and Light in the Darkness.
And why is he called the Way Maker? Because He can, and does make a way where there seems to be no way! For He is the way, the truth and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.’ (John 14:6) So, in the first place if we’re looking for a way, Jesus is the One to turn to. And secondly, ‘By serving as the atoning sacrifice for all of the world’s sins, Jesus made a way for EVERYONE to enter into Heaven.’ How wonderful is that eh my brethren! Jesus made a way for all of us to go to heaven! And thirdly, as He said to the disciples re the camel passing through the eye of a needle: ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26)
That means that Jesus can do ANYTHING! Therefore, He is the person that we need to put our total trust in, to surrender our all to, because He is also a faithful Promise Keeper! Yes friends, our wonderful God and Saviour is still in control of the universe He created and His promises are true. He’s never reneged on one! And there are many scriptures which proclaim that truth. Let’s look at a couple of them nuh, beginning with the Book of Joshua, where it speaks of the division of the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel. The Word says: ‘There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.’ (Josh. 21:45)
That’s for sure my brethren! Not a single word that the Lord spoke to Israel failed! And later on, Joshua himself said to the people: ‘And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth (going to die): and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.’ (Josh. 23:14) And if the Israelites were truthful, they would have admitted that, since all the promises God made to them about bringing them out of bondage in Israel to the Promised Land were faithfully fulfilled.
Cousin Sol said the same thing when he made His great prayer to God and speech to Israel after the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the newly built temple. He said: ‘Blessed be the Lord that hath given rest (peace) unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of his servant Moses.’ (1 Kin. 8:56) And what about the father of our faith eh, Abraham? At seventy years of age, he packed up family and his belongings and left his homeland to wander where he knew not, because a God he didn’t know told him to do so. And what of it, you ask?
Listen to Bruh Paul as he writes to the Roman church on the subject of Abraham’s faithfulness. ‘Who against hope (contrary to the circumstances) believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he (Abraham) considered not his own body now dead, when he was an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered (wavered) not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong (strengthened) in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded (convinced) that what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.’ (Rom. 4:18-22)
Yuh see friends, the Lord always keeps His promises, though they may take a long time to come to pass, like the twenty five years it took for Abraham and Sarah to have the child, Isaac, who would enable the promise of ‘the Father of nations’ to be kept. But though we sometimes have to wait a long time for the Lord’s promises to come true, like Abraham, we need to be strong in faith, never doubting that they will eventually happen. For as Peter writes: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but he is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9)
Oh my people, our God takes His promises very seriously and doesn’t make them unless He intends to keep them. Let’s believe that with all our hearts souls, mind and bodies, for if we do, it will stand us in very good stead in this fickle and faithless world. And since we don’t want to make the Bit too long for our short mind spans, (smile) we’ll deal with the ‘Light in the Darkness’ aspect of Jesus’ attributes tomorrow, obviously if God spares life. Now let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant seeking divine help for our many earthly problems.
Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And the best way to invoke that divine help is by taking action and truly setting the example of faithful believers we talk about! Much LOVE!
…there’s no reason whatsoever…to doubt the power, promises and faithfulness of our God Jehovah…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
08 Jan 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a crown of righteousness, a full work week, deceitfulness, faith, fiery trial, finished my course, fought a good fight, get us to lose heart, holy spirit, humble servants, if any man suffer as a Christian, in heaviness, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, kept the faith, let him glorify God on this matter, let him not be ashamed, lies, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, more precious than gold, pray, refining faith through trials, rejoice with joy unspeakable, reproached for the name of Christ, salvation, sincerey seek your face, some strange thing happened to you., suffer without complaints, temptation, the God who heals, the spirit of glory rests on you, the trial of your faith, them that love his appearing, to be discouraged, to faint, tried with fire, truth, wiles, wisdom, wise guidance
1 Peter 4:16. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf (matter).
And the first full work week in a while has dawned damp and cloudy, and undoubtedly some of us will find it difficult to handle the full five days. But we must rise up to the challenge if this year is to be a very important one in the annals of the Christian faith. The one where we make a significant impact on the negative, sinful, ungodly and evil doings of our world, as encouraged by the enemy. And believe me Satan won’t take out offensive decisions and actions lying down. No! He will increase his efforts of temptation and deceitfulness to get us to lose heart, to faint and be discouraged.
But friends, we can only gain the victory if we stand strong and steadfast in the promises and LOVING-KINDNESS of Christ, and not fall prey to the tempter’s wiles and lies! And he is very good at what he does, so please don’t think we can ever defeat him on our own. We most definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit to do it successfully. We need to be as Peter describes in his first epistle.
‘Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (tested) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (revelation) of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.’ (1 Pet. 1:6-9)
Yes friends, while we are alive in this world our faith will be tried, first by the devil through manifold or diversified temptations, and also by God, to see if our faith can stand the test of those temptations better than gold can stand the test of fire. As the scholars explain: ‘The problem of salvation looks to the present. Earthly trials constitute a problem of our salvation, but they are only for a season, or temporary. True faith cannot be destroyed though God is in the process of refining faith through our trials.’
Oh my people, if our faith is strong and true, then it will not be destroyed by God’s testing nor the devil’s provocation! And Peter solidifies that later in the chapter, when he talks about being partakers in Christ’s suffering. ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief or as an evildoer, or as a busybody (meddler) in other men’s matters. Yet, if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf (matter).’ (1 Pet. 4:12-16)
No doubt about it mih bredrin, the Christian life can be a difficult one to live, but if we stand up strong for Jesus and suffer whatever it is that comes against us in His name, with a true sense of purpose, then we will be well rewarded in the end. We need to be able to say like Bruh Paul did to Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (run my race), I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that LOVE his appearing.’ (2 Tim. 4:7-8)
So my fellow saints, that’s some of what we are up against if we truly desire to live for Christ and make a significant difference in this year of 2024! There’ll be temptations from Satan, tests from God, unjust accusations and trials, simply because we profess Christ’s name. However, in all these things we are expected to stand strong through Christ who strengthens us through His indwelling Holy Spirit. Now, there are times when we will falter and or fail, and God knows and expects that, but we must always get up and try again, for in Christ’s vocabulary the words ‘give up’ don’t exist. No friends, giving up is NEVER an option.
And if overall, we run a good earthly race and fight a good fight, then we will be handsomely rewarded come the judgement day with a crown of righteousness by the righteous judge, the Lord God Jehovah Himself! Now what can be better than that to look forward to eh? NOTHING my brethren, absolutely NOTHING! Now, with all of that possibly sitting on some of us like a heavy load, let’s take our problems to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, so that we can find help in time of need.
Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face.
So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And as our prayer so wisely advises, if we expect to receive divine help, then a good place to begin is turning from our evil ways, with sincere repentance in our hearts. Much LOVE!
…Jesus suffered much for us…without complaints…and we are also expected to suffer some for Him…without complaints…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
15 Dec 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: backsliders, became obedient unto death, being in the form of God, chaos, Christmas, disaster filled world, do as I have done to you, faith, Friday chant, grace of God, I have given you an example, if I wash thee not thou hast no part of me, Jesus Christ, Jesus humbled himself to serve His disciples, LOVE, made of himself no reputation, man's inhumanity to man makes millions mourn, mercy, new believers, only one leader in Christ's church, simmering unrest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the act of service, the Prince of Peace, the Son of man came not to be served, tlak the talk, to give his life a ransom for many, to minister (serve), truth, unexpected storms, wake up and smell the coffee, walk the walk, whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister, wise guidance
Mark 10:45. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto (be served), but to minister (serve), and to give his life a ransom for many.
At long last Friday is here and the joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ have been heard all around our chaotic and disaster filled world! It doesn’t matter that there’s war and rumours of war prevailing in numerous places, the start of the weekend is ever so important, especially as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And doesn’t it seem somewhat ironic that He is called the Prince of Peace, but so many of His supposed followers are actively engaged in war and untold evil deeds?
And I’m sure it hurts Jesus’ heart to see that those for whom He left His heavenly splendour and took on the fleshly human body and came to earth to save are now such warmongers. The sacrifice of His sinless body and soul obviously didn’t mean all that much to mankind, for brother is still fighting brother, while the inhumanity of man to man is still making countless millions mourn. When are we going to learn eh my brethren, that the constant fighting, anger, hatred, bitterness, resentment and atrocious deeds that are currently so prevalent in our world, are not helping any of us, just making us more satanic and less godly?
Right now, it’s much easier to count the places where some sort of peace prevails, than those where upheaval and chaos are running riot. Doesn’t that say something awful about us when the attributes of his satanic majesty, instead of those of Almighty God are much more prevalent in our world? It certainly does! It tells us that our sinful, warmongering nature has finally come to the forefront, while the compassion, grace and mercy of God have taken a sad backseat in our society. And many of us who still claim to be such devoted Christians are among the biggest haters, warmongers, evildoers and hypocrites in the world!
How then can Jesus’ church sincerely flourish under such ungodly situations eh? It’s certainly a difficult task to execute, but definitely not impossible. It just means that those of us who are sincere in our beliefs will have to make a greater effort to keep Christ’s church on an even keel, growing even under the worst of circumstances. And that’s made even more difficult because of the numerous divisions and dissensions among Christ’s people. And the sad part is that so many of those divisions and dissensions have come about over petty human jealousies, greed and everybody wanting to be the leader.
But friends, there’s ONLY ONE LEADER in Christ’s church, that’s Christ Himself! The rest of us are merely stewards, glorified servants of Christ, but we do exactly what He’s told us not to do, that’s exalt ourselves. Remember Christ’s words when His disciples were arguing who would be the greatest amongst them. Jesus specifically warned: ‘Ye know that they which are accounted to rule (are considered rulers) over the Gentiles exercise lordship (lord it) over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be (desires to be) great among you, shall be your minister (servant): And whosoever of you will be the chiefest (desires to be the first), shall be the servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto (be served), but to minister (serve), and to give his life a ransom for many.’ (Mark 10:41-45)
But to this day, we all still rush to be the first, to be seen as leaders, although our servanthood doesn’t qualify us for leadership. Unlike us friends, Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, but He also walked the walk. Remember His conversation with the disciples when He washed their feet, a job that was usually done by the lowliest person in the household, so much so that at first Peter refused to let Him wash his. But Jesus stopped him in his tracks by saying. ‘If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.’ (John 13:8) As simple as that; if you won’t allow me to stoop and wash your feet, then you have no part in my organization.
And after Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet, He explained His philosophy on the subject. He first asked: ‘Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master (Teacher) and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master (Teacher), have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord (master); neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.’ (John 13:12-17)
Oh my fellow believers, it couldn’t get any more straightforward than that! But, unfortunately, how many of us in today’s church are truly willing to serve, even in the upper echelons, much less in some low capacity eh? Too many of us supposed believers just want to enjoy the perks of the church without contributing in any way to them. But that’s not what Jesus taught or exemplified. This commentary tells it like it is: ‘He (Jesus) was a servant because He dedicated his life to setting people free. He set them free by healing them, delivering them, and by teaching them. His life was a ransom; He lived in such a way that when He encountered people they would be set free in some way. Even though Jesus was God in human form, He humbled Himself to serve His disciples. This act of service showed His humility and LOVE for His followers.’
And these words of Bruh Paul written to the Philippians highlight the servanthood of Christ. ‘Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (think like Jesus did); Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (emptied Himself of His godly privileges): And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:5-8)
Now that’s the picture of a true servant! And I know that in this evil and ungodly world it’s difficult to model Jesus’ servanthood, but with the help of God, it’s not impossible. So, please, through our Friday Chant, let’s go to the throne of grace right now, to find the help we need to be a good example like Christ. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And having said all of that, our first priority now should be to truthfully and sincerely become and behave like faithful believers and set a good example to the world! Much LOVE!
…the world can only see Jesus nowadays…through the lives of His followers…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
11 Dec 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a forgiving and gracious God, appreciate the value of work, attitude of entitlement, be on our p's and q's, busybodies, crooks come in all colours, disobeyed your word, divine help, don't know the meaning of shame, eat any man's bread for nought, fact from fiction, faith, gossips, holy spirit, if any would not work neither should he eat, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, repentance, room for compassion, shame into obedience, social media, take it in stride, the ever-revolving cycle, the God who heals, to make ourselves an ensample, truth, turn from our evil ways, wise guidance, work ethic, work is essential, your humble servants
2 Thessalonians 3:10. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
Ah chuh! Another Monday, another new work week! Yes friends, the ever-revolving cycle continues, for once there is Sunday, then there must be Monday. That’s just how the Lord planned it, and there’s nothing we can do to get away from it while we’re alive here on God’s good earth, so we had better learn to live with it, to take it in stride and enjoy it.
And an interesting thought just struck me; who knows if there won’t be different days in heaven too, and not only one long stretch of endless time. For sure though, we will have to work in heaven, whatever kind of work it might be, it’s definitely not going to be all sunshine, wine and roses while lazing on our fannies all day! No sir! The Lord expects us to do something productive both here on the earth and in heaven above. So we better had start contemplating it all, as of right now! End of story! (smile)
And talking about work, to many in these modern times it’s anathema, abhorrent, repugnant, violently disliked. And that’s just stating it mildly! Even among the young generation, the very thought of the word work leaves a bad taste in their mouths, so strong is their attitude of entitlement. Maybe though, if we were to apply Bruh Paul’s recipe to the Thessalonians for those who not only dislike work but refuse to do it, we might have a much better work ethic prevailing in our current society. And what’s Bruh Paul’s recipe you ask?
Listen to him tell it. He begins by describing his own work ethic among the Thessalonians. ‘For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought (free of charge); but wrought (worked) with labour and travail (toil) night and day, that we might not be chargeable (a burden) to any of you. Not because we have not power (authority), but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess. 3:7-10)
Wow! What an original idea! How wonderful would that be eh, if it were implemented in our lazy, entitled, lack of work ethic society! Oh, what a ghastly uproar it would cause! But how else do we get the young to appreciate the value of work, for a society without a good work ethic dies a slow but painful death. And that is exactly what’s happening to our society today; we are dying a slow but painful death because work and all the other things it entails, like diligence and excellence, doing our best, are no longer prominent in today’s milieu.
And I believe Bruh Paul must have looked to the future and seen the state of our current society, that’s why he penned this next verse. ‘For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.’ (2 Thess. 3:11) Ah mih people, I don’t believe there’s ever been a time in the annals of man when there have been more busybodies, gossips and the like. It’s even become a lucrative business for many, and the advent of social media has made it even worse, where everyone has an opinion on everything and can easily spread it without too much fear of retribution. And the recent upgrades of Artificial Intelligence (A.I) is set to further the confusion of truth, fakes, disinformation, propaganda, conspiracy theories, etc. etc.
What a crazy world we’re living in Dr. Jack! Very few of us know what’s fact from fiction, and Artificial Intelligence is about to make it even more difficult. And the problem is that sometimes even when you see something yourself, it can easily be a fake situation, something someone purposely set up to lure you into thinking what they want you to think, as with fake accidents for the intent of scamming money from the Insurance Companies. That’s become a big one these days. Oh mih bredrin, crooks come in all colours, sizes, shapes and genders, we just have to be continually on our p’s and q’s to not be taken in by them.
But getting back to Buh Paul’s plan, of no work, no food. It was not a total dismissal, he did leave room for compassion. He writes: ‘Now them that are such (idle, busybodies) we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish (warn) him as a brother.’ (2 Thess. 12-15)
Yes friends, there is room for compassion. As the scholars explain: ‘3:14-15. This instruction falls short of excommunication. Paul intends for his readers to shame the brother who is not an enemy into obedience.’ Well good luck with that! Bruh Paul doesn’t know the large number of us who don’t know the meaning of the word shame! Otherwise our society would not be as shameful and shameless as it is! So who knows how it’s all going to play out with all the craziness and confusion that’s currently controlling our world?
Only the Lord above! That’s why we need to keep Him as close to us as possible, because He is the ONLY One who can guide us safely through this terrible storm and overwhelming darkness that’s taken over the earth. And having said all of that, let’s now go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, in confident humility seeking divine help to address our many problems.
Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And after expressing those sentiments, the first item on our agenda should be repentance and turning from our evil ways, for that’s the only way we’ll ever get divine help! Much LOVE!
…if work is not a priority in your life…then you’re on the wrong planet…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
08 Dec 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: as unto the Lord and not unto men, be responsible, become faithful believers, by the example we set, change our evil ways, Christ-like character, crying out for help, diligence, do anything to escape wor, do it with thy might, embrace your love and compassion, excellence, faith, fervent in spirit, Friday chant, handle the unexpected storms, high level of entitlement, humility, intregirty, introduce a new flock of believers, Jesus Christ, LOVE, not slothful in business, of the Lord, our society despises work, receive the reward of the inheritance, repent of our sincs, return backsliders to your fold, serving the Lord, simmering unrest, stay safe, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the error of their ways, there is no work device knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, truth, wake up and smell the coffee, whatsoever thy had findeth to do, whatsoever ye do do it heartily, wisdom, wise guidance, ye serve the Lord Christ
Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men.
And then it was Friday, that magical day we all long for and pray to see, so that we can joyfully declare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ And we don’t care so much what the weather is like once it’s Friday and our work week is winding down. And by the way, today will be mostly cloudy, though somewhat warmer than normal.
But what a way our society doesn’t treasure work eh! Some of us will do anything to get away from it, even when doing nothing is more difficult than working. I’ve seen people go to a job and spend the entire 8 or twelve hours trying to shirk the li’l work involved. But come quitting time and payday, they’re brazen enough to find fault, although they haven’t performed their duties to the best of their abilities. But that’s the way of life these days!
The level of supposed entitlement is dreadfully high in today’s wasteful and lazy society. Don’t know how we got to that awful stage, but hopefully though, true believers in Christ, who are expected to do their best under all circumstances, will not fall into that trap of Satan. And yes, sometimes that’s difficult, especially when you see others continually lazing around with no adverse consequences, and receiving the same remuneration as yourself.
Let’s remember though my brethren that in the long run, we are working for Almighty God, not for men, and He expects us to put our best foot forward at all times, even when it’s difficult and/or unfair. As Bruh Paul writes so emphatically to the Colossians, in the passage where he describes some of the duties and responsibilities of husbands and wives, fathers, children and slaves: ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ (Col. 3:23-24)
Yes friends, whatever we do, whatever kind of work we are doing, we ought to work heartily at it. In other words ‘with all your heart and all the different ways that plays out in scripture, with Christ-like character, with honesty, with diligence, with integrity, with humility.’ And why is that you ask? The second verse answers the question. We know that if we do as the Lord desires, we will receive an inheritance of reward from Him, for we are serving Christ.
And then this last verse in the passage confirms the wisdom of working as for the Lord and not for man. ‘But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:25) There we have it my brethren; however we do our work, there shall be consequences involved, either good or bad, but that depends entirely on us.
And not only Bruh Paul encourages us to work diligently, but Cousin Sol, as he is won’t to do, (smile) also has a take on the subject. Writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, in a passage where he extols his readers to live joyfully, he exhorts: ‘Live joyfully (enjoy life) with the wife whom thou LOVEST all the days of the life of thy vanity (empty life), which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest (performest) under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10)
Trust Cousin Sol to say it like it is. We ought to enjoy our lives, for that’s our portion granted to us by God. Whatever we’re doing then, we ought to do it well, for there’s no work where we’re all going to end up eventually; that’s the grave. That reminds us of another scripture, where Bruh Paul is writing to the church at Rome, telling them about overcoming evil with good. Part of the passage exhorts believers to ‘Be kindly affectioned (be affectionate) one to another, with brotherly LOVE, in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another; Not slothful in business (lagging in diligence), fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.’ (Rom. 12:10-11)
There we have it again my people; the importance of doing whatever we do well, because it’s ultimately in the Lord’s service! And earlier in Colossians chapter 3, where Bruh Paul talks about putting on the new man, he ends with these encouraging words. ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col. 3:17) So we see my fellow saints, that it’s not only our work we should be diligent in, and do it as unto God rather than men, but whatever we say or do in this life ought to be done in Christ’s name, so that the Father can get the thanks and glory, He so well deserves.
And having said all of that, let’s now go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help to do all that we’ve spoken about. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help.
Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.
We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And as we all know, the first rule in receiving divine help is to repent of our sins and change our evil ways, and become truly faithful believers. So let’s set about doing those things nuh! Much LOVE!
…Jesus expects diligence and excellence…in ALL things…from His followers…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
01 Dec 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a new flock of believers, before many witnesses, bring backsliders back to your fold, Christmas Season, coveted after money, crying out for help, divine help, erred from the faith, faith, fight the good fight of faith, first consider the consequences of our actions, Friday chant, FRiday Chant., godliness, hindsight is 20/20, Jesus Christ, Jesus is the reason for the season, keep Christ in Christmas, lay hold on eternal life, LOVE, material treasures, meekness, more than you sow and later than you sow, obedience to god, omnipotent help, our sinful world, pateince, professed a good profession, righteousness, shun the love of money, simmering unrest, spirutal treasures, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the daily struggle of life, the error of their ways, the LOVE of money, the root of all evil, trusting faith, truth, unexpected storms, wake u and smell the coffee, wisdom, wise guidance, you reap what you sow
1 Timothy 6:10. For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds) of evil;
Well friends, we might be shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ on this first day of December 2023, but it’s not such a good day, because it’s wet and cloudy and miserable. It seems to be the kind of weather that just gets inside your soul and irritates it no end. (smile) However, many of us don’t care, because it’s Friday and the end of the work week, and we have all sorts of plans for the upcoming weekend as the Christmas Season gets into full swing. And is it ever a busy season; shopping for gifts for the friends and family, decorating the house and the yard, baking and cooking, the numerous things we do to get ready for Christmas.
But friends, allow me to include one word of caution; please, let’s remember the reason for the season, the birth of Christ! That’s why there’s a Christmas or holiday or whatever season you want to call it. We celebrate the incarnate birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and though it’s good to have all the worldly hoopla, we must not forget what brings us the joy, and focus on Jesus more than on the things the world considers important. It’s sad, but every year, less and less people are focusing on Jesus being the reason for Christmas and more on the holiday spirit, the shopping and decorating, baking and cooking, as the world exerts more ungodly influence over the traditional Christmas season.
But as true believers, let’s not allow Christ to be taken from Christmas, but to be more firmly planted and rooted there, as He ought to be! End of Sermon! (smile) And as I was going to ask what’s on the agenda for today, I opened the Bible and where do you think it opened to? These everlasting wise, interesting and encouraging words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds) of evil; which some have coveted after (for which some in their greediness), they have erred (strayed) from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim. 6:10)
And unfortunately, too many of us have done just that! But let’s get one thing straight, the LOVE of money is not the only source or root of evil, there are many others, but the LOVE of money is a prime one. For as Bruh Paul says above there, many have coveted after money, ‘striven after’ money as the goal of life, and have ended up in sorrows, in ruin, physically, spiritually and financially. And there’s no season like this Christmas one where money is ever so important, because if you don’t have it you can’t buy the things you believe you need.
Thus many of us without the hard cash to purchase what we want, go out and splurge on our Credit Cards during this time, but when the bills start coming in in January, we hold our heads and bawl: ‘Woe is me! Where am I going to get the money to pay all these bills? I shouldn’t have bought all that stuff on Credit!’ That’s for sure! But please remember that hindsight has 20-20 vision. However, then it’s too late to do anything about our mistakes. What we need more desperately than anything else is foresight, where we sit and consider the consequences of our actions before me make them.
For, as Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) God rest his departed soul, liked to say: ‘You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ Yes mih bredrin, at some stage of the game, all the chickens will come home to roost, and if you haven’t prepared properly for them, you won’t be able to handle them. And it’s all about first considering the consequences of our actions, for every action has a consequence. Just like those who strive after money and material wealth end up in sorrow away from the church, all our ungodly and unwise actions have consequences that drive us to our knees…and sometimes even to the madhouse.
That’s why we need to listen to these further words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and has professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:11-12)
Oh my fellow saints, that’s the kind of stuff we all need to follow. Shun the LOVE of money and striving for material wealth with all its consequential troubles. And instead pursue things like righteousness or practical correctness, as the scholars tell us: ‘Conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting. While godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to God. And faith is a trust in God that grows stronger with each passing day. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
Yes my people, those are the things we need to help us fight the good fight of faith; the daily struggle of life, bombarded by sin and ungodly distractions at every turn, plus the adversity we all go through at one time or another. The scholars tell us: ‘A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare.’ And that’s exactly what we need to do; put on the armour of God and daily fight the good fight of faith. Remember we cannot fight successfully without armour, and spiritual warfare without the spiritual armour of God. (Eph. 6:10-18)
Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for divine help to do all the things we’ve just spoken about. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And to get the ball rolling, we need to do exactly what we just expressed: be a good example of faithful believers. That’s the ONLY way divine help will come! Much LOVE!
…you can’t take your material treasures to heaven…only the spiritual ones…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
27 Nov 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a strong and steadfast burst of faith, abolished death, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, be not ashamed of the Lord's testimony, be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, brought life and immortality to light, confess before my Father in heaven, face adversity for Christ, faith, holy spirit, humble servants, I'll deny before my Father in heaven, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, LOVE, make full proof of thy ministry, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative response in our souls, please him who hath chosen him, salvation, saved by God's grace through faith in Christ, sincere repentance in our hearts, the distractions of the world, the God who heals, thou therefore endure hardness, truth, whosoever shall confess me before men, whosoever shall deny me, wisdom, wise guidance
2 Timothy 2:3. Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Ah friends, even on the fairest day, Monday is tough enough to execute, but when it’s also damp from yesterday evening’s rains, chilly and windy, as it is today, then it just triggers a bigger negative response in our souls. (smile) Oh, we know we are going to get through it all right with the help and guidance of Jesus and His Holy Spirit, but it just takes a li’l more out of us than normal, requires a strong and steadfast burst of faith, trust and surrender. I guess that’s when we have to do like Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3)
Now that seems like a very simple scripture, but it is rather profound, and it is not always easy to do in this modern day society, with all the distractions and evil deeds that constantly bombard us from all different directions. However, like everything else Christ asks us to do, we can do it, because He always anoints us to do His will. But the doing then depends on us, if we are willing to stand up and face the adversity in His name. And again, it’s like Bruh Paul admonished and exhorted Timothy later on. ‘But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.’ (2 Tim. 4:5)
Yes friends, those words also pertain to us, because it’s not only pastors who have ministries, for every believer has a ministry; meaning whatever job the Lord has anointed us to carry out on His behalf, whatever plan He’s laid out for our life. So we don’t need to be the shepherd of a large congregation to talk about our ministry, for even if we’re only mentoring one new believer, or being the only believer in a group of unbelievers, then that’s our ministry, and we ought to carry it out with the zest and zeal like if we had a worldwide organization to look after.
For, as Bruh Paul continues to hammer home to poor Timothy. ‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim. 2:4) That means if Jesus has appointed us to be His soldier, disciple, agent or whatever, we cannot get entangled in the affairs of this world and all its evil and futile distractions, but we need to pay serious attention to Jesus’ work, concentrate on what He’s asked of us, because He’s the one that’s hired us to look after His affairs.
Suffering privation, or affliction is an essential aspect of any soldier’s job. Consequently, we must also heed these words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim. 1:8-10)
Oh my fellow believers, one thing we should never be found guilty of is being ashamed of the testimony of Christ, that’s His gospel. It’s the story of His life and death and the good news of salvation, of eternal life and the reversal of sin that it brought about through the unmerited favour and grace of God, absolutely not of our doing. Remember too these very important words of Jesus. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven. But whosever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is heaven.’ (Matt. 10:32-33)
And I know that scripture has some of us scratching our heads and wondering if we fall under it, because for whatever reason(s), we’ve denied Christ at some stage of our life. But I believe this excerpt from a commentary on the subject helps to clarify the matter. It says: ‘The full context of Scripture strongly suggests that a single, panic-driven denial of Jesus will not necessarily end a believer’s opportunity to spend eternity with the Father. Christians are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, not by perfect performance in acknowledging Him (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Peter will most famously deny Christ at a crucial moment because of his own fear of being arrested and killed (Matthew 26:69-74). After Jesus’ resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, though, Peter will spend the rest of his life powerfully acknowledging Jesus to others (Acts 2). Where this warning becomes more dire is in the lives of those who consistently, or easily, dissociate themselves from Christ for the sake of health, wealth, popularity, or freedom. Those who aren’t willing to be associated with Jesus on earth won’t be allowed to claim association with Him in eternity (Matthew 10:37; Mark 8:36).’
And I do hope that explanation settle the queries in some of our minds. (smile) And now, having spoken about some of the difficult but necessary stuff, needed to live sincerely for Jesus, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine help to accomplish it. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And the easiest and best way to acquire divine help is by doing exactly what we say above there; turn from our evil ways. Yes friends, that’s the first step in any reconnection with Almighty God! Much LOVE!
…any soldier worth his salt…will stand up strong and steadfast in battle…so should Christians for Christ…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
24 Nov 2023
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a child of the Most High God, a new flock of believers, always a catch to a sales pitch, Black Friday, but denying the power thereof, covetous, crying out for help, do Satan's dirty work for him, false accusers, Friday chant, from such turn away, having a form of godliness, in the last days perilous times shall come, Jesus Christ, laughing all the way to the bank, like a magicians set up -illusory, LOVE, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, man's inhumanity to man makes millions mourn, men shall be lovers of their own selves, psychological illusion, return backsliders to your fold, Satan's quick demise, set a good example, simmering unrest in our land, soar with eagles, stop falling for Satan's evil wiles, the error of their ways, the throne of grace, truth, trying to push God out, wake up and smell the coffee, we seldom ever get something for nothing, wisdom, wise guidance
2 Timothy 3:1. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
And after only one measly day of Thanksgiving in the U.S, the world has followed it back to its favourite pastime; making money! Yes, today is Black Friday, the day of the biggest sales events of the year in the U.S. and neighboring countries like Canada, have no recourse but to follow the foolishness, which is mostly like a magicians setup, illusory; consisting of good hand and eye coordination, wands and staffs making you feel like something is going on, when in reality it’s all an illusion.
It’s the same with many of these supposed big Black Friday sales, they promise the world but only offer a few items truly on sale. The desire of the whole operation is to get you into the store and wave their magic wands at you, confuse you into buying stuff you either don’t need, or you can’t afford. And it’s sad that every year the same things happen; people fall for it, rushing and pushing to get into the stores, which usually leads to some sort of unnecessary violence.
But the store owners don’t care, they are just interested in the congested traffic and the money been spent in their businesses. Then tomorrow they’ll holler about their big profits, laughing all the way to the bank, celebrating another successful exercise in psychological illusion on the masses.
Ah Lord eh! When are we ever going to learn? We seldom ever get something for nothing, or less than it costs the sellers. The business people are there to make money, not to give it away There’s always a catch to their sales pitch, a price to be paid, be it up front or later. But we keep on falling for the sales pitches, especially in these times of high inflation and low monetary rewards in the comparatively few jobs available.
And it’s interesting how prices keep on rising, along with profits, but the wages of the workers remain stagnant, and if the purveyors of the criminal economic actions, could, they would even try to lower the wages of their employees. No wonder the ongoing truth in the sad statement; man’s inhumanity to man, makes millions mourn. And, unfortunately, it seems like we have reached the stage of world evil and ungodliness that Bruh Paul warned Timothy about in his second letter.
‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady (reckless), highminded (haughty),lovers of pleasures more than (rather) than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-5)
And isn’t that a most accurate picture of our current world? Sad to say, it most certainly is! Our world has gone crazy, with no kind of discipline, everyone just looking out for themselves, doing what they want with no regard to how their actions affect other around them. And don’t talk about ungodliness, for I don’t know if there’s ever been such an ungodly time as this.
We’ve even reached the stage of attempting to push God out of our society, which only shows how proud, haughty and foolish we’ve become, because the Creator of the universe will NEVER allow himself to be pushed out of His own creation! But we haven’t learned from Satan’s quick demise when as the Archangel Lucifer he tried to overthrow God, but was summarily kicked out of heaven to dwell in the fires of hell. Satan has learned his lesson, but he’s trying to get us to do his dirty work for him, and unfortunately too many of us are listening to him and doing it.
But friends, wisdom dictates that if you want to live the abundant life, you can’t walk with the chickens or fly with the low flying birds, you must soar with the eagles. And that’s what the Lord is expecting of each one of us who calls himself a child of the Most High God! And yes, it’s not easy to soar with the eagles when the crows and chickens keep nipping at your feet, but we do have an avenue to help us get away from them, that’s the throne of grace. So please, let’s go there right now nuh, through our Friday Chant to get the help we need to keep soaring with the eagles.
As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.
And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And the first item on our to do list my people, is to set a good and godly example to those around us, otherwise there will be no divine help forthcoming. Much LOVE!
…as true believers in Christ…we need to stop falling for the evil wiles of Satan…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ
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