The Importance of Acknowledging God’s Sovereignty over the Universe and All it Contains!

05 Apr 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 24:1.      The  earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

And the first Saturday in April has turned out to be wet, cloudy and chilly, but that only makes it an excellent lazy-day Saturday, one made for lazing around, especially if you don’t have to go out in the dreary weather. (smile) Or, here’s an even better alternative; spending time contemplating God, and meditating on His Word. What could be better than that eh? Nothing! For it serves the wonderful purpose of lifting our spirits and keeping us close to Him. 

And if you haven’t been doing that as yet, let’s begin right now nuh, by offering up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity and truth! As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now, that’s certainly a start toward greater communion and intimacy with our heavenly Father, something that He simply revels in. I can’t tell how you much the Lord enjoys sincere communion with His creation, especially when they come seeking Him with a sincere heart. Remember what He says in the Book of Jeremiah? ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:13) Oh my faithful brethren, it could not be said any plainer or clearer than that! The Lord greatly desires us to come seeking Him with all of our hearts. minds, bodies and souls; with everything we have! 

But, unfortunately, too many of us have not been doing that in this last generation because we’ve been too busy seeking instead the ways and wealth of this evil and ungodly world. No wonder church attendance is declining, and numerous people are foolishly turning away from God, from our Creator and Controller, our Provider and Saviour! That’s not very wise eh, when He still controls the whole universe that He created. Remember how Bruh David puts in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) 

That says it all friends! It’s a declaration of God’s sovereignty over creation, and signifies that Jehovah God is the ultimate owner and ruler of the earth and everything in and on it. The psalmist Asaph, also makes that definitive statement in Psalm 50 – God Will Judge – when talking about the Lord not needing sacrifices. He writes of God, saying: ‘For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls (birds) of the mountains:; and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.’ (Ps. 50:10-12) 

Now, Bruh Paul also reiterated that truth in his first letter to the church at Corinth. In talking about what one should eat or drink, he says: ‘For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.’ (1 Cor. 10:26) Then concludes by saying: ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ (1 Cor. 10:31) Now that’s excellent advice. And how I hope and pray that we would take it, because it would turn us and our world right around in such an amazing manner and bring us back to God where we belong. 

And although I’ll keep on praying for that, I won’t hold my breath waiting for it to happen, because so many of us are so tied to wickedness and evil that it would take all the power of God to pry us lose. (smile) Anyway, getting back to the Lord owning the earth and all that’s in it, that statement was first made long, long ago by Moses to the Israelites in the third month of their freedom from slavery in Egypt, when they came into the wilderness of Mt. Sinai. Moses went up the mountain and the Lord spoke to him. 

‘Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare (sustained) you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar (special) treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.’ (Ex.19:3-6) 

And with the coming of Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross, that now includes us Gentiles, or anybody who chooses to believe that Christ is their Lord and Saviour, as Peter says in his first epistle. ‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (special) people; that ye should shew forth praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.’ (1 Pet. 2:9-10) 

Oh friends, how wonderful it is to now be one of God’s chosen, receiving mercy and grace and all the other good things that comes to us because of Christ’s sacrifice! And this commentary further explains: ‘In 1 Peter 2:9, the New Testament describes believers as “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people”. This phrase, rooted in the Old Testament concept of Israel as a holy nation, emphasizes believers’ unique status and purpose as a people set apart to proclaim God’s praises.’ 

Then it gives a more detailed explanation of the various terms. “A chosen generation”: This refers to believers being selected by God, distinct from the world. “A royal priesthood”: This signifies that believers are not just ordinary people, but have access to God and can serve as mediators between Him and others. “A holy nation”: This phrase, originating in the Old Testament (Exodus 19:6), emphasizes that believers are to be set apart and live a life of holiness, reflecting God’s character. 

“A peculiar people”: This term, while sometimes misunderstood, means “a people belonging to God,” emphasizing their unique identity and purpose. “That ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”: This phrase underscores the purpose of believers: to proclaim God’s greatness and share the light of the Gospel with the world.’ 

Now, we can’t say that we don’t know our purpose here on earth. (smile) So please, let’s begin to fully live up to it nuh, as the Lord desires and our world desperately needs! Much LOVE!

…the Lord created everything and everybody…He controls everything and everybody…and eventually He’ll do as He pleases…with everything and everybody…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 July 2020 Jeremiah 13:15.

22 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 13:15.     ​Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.
 

Oh my people, it is our Lord’s earnest desire that we come together…right now, in His holy name! And it doesn’t matter that it’s a cloudy Wednesday morning friends, any time is a good time to get together in Jesus’ name! And the best way to do that is through prayer. And I want to share this interesting definition of prayer from an old Devotional. It says: ‘Prayer is a creative expression of my spiritual needs. It offers me a deep sense of personal satisfaction and continually reminds me of life’s forces.’ 

Now isn’t that an encouraging word for us to make prayer a major part of our lives, especially since it’s the major way in which we communicate with our Creator; our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God? It certainly ought to! And these further encouraging words, reputed to one Hartley Coolidge, tell us: ‘Be not afraid to pray, to pray is right. Pray, if thou canst with hope, but even pray.’ 

Yes mih bredrin! Prayer ought to be the basic foundation of our lives. That’s why Bruh Paul desired us to pray without ceasing and to pray any and everywhere. For Prayer has no boundaries in time nor place and it keeps us in constant communication with our heavenly Father, allowing wise guidance and direction to be channeled into our lives. Unfortunately though, prayer has not been a major part of our current secular society. We have forsaken God and all that He stands for. 

But these words of the prophet Jeremiah ought to be a wake-up call, for just like they were rather appropriate to the kingdom of Judah back in their ungodly and disobedient days, so they are appropriate to us in these ungodly and disobedient times. ‘Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’ 

Oh yes friends, our major problem in these times, or in the prosperous times of any nation, is the unfathomable pride that develops, which makes us feel that we no longer need the God of our forefathers, He’s become irrelevant because of all of our wonderful advances in knowledge and science. But pride is one of the things that our God despises most in His people, for it brings on the foolish idea that we no longer need Him, and His anger glows when we behave thus – like how we behaving now. 

Consequently, we should pay serious attention to the words of Jeremiah, as he continues his warning. ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:16-17) 

Oh my people, Judah did not listen and they were carried away captive to Babylon for a 70 year exile. We won’t be carried anywhere, but we’re already living in the shadow of darkness! Just look at the choke hold, the death grip that the Covid-19 virus and the racial protests have us in nuh. 

And I believe we should pay serious attention to the scholars’ explanation. ‘13:15-17. A third illustration concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’ Yes, Jeremiah had already warned his people through the lessons of the marred girdle and the filled bottles (Jer. 13:1-14) But they didn’t listen. 

And how do we say it in baseball; three strikes and you’re out? Well they struck out the third time! Shall we do the same? We’re cutting it pretty close. Simultaneous worldwide sickness and strife don’t happen very often, don’t even know if it’s ever happened like this before. And the sad part is that, in our own strength, we don’t seem to be making any real headway against them, but foolishly, we won’t even consider turning back to God for help. Although more people are praying these days than have done so in a long, long time. (smile) 

If there’s one thing that can be said about the Jewish people of olden times is that they knew where to run when times got hard. Just look at the number of times they turned away from God and worshipped idols, and the serious consequences they faced for their disobedience, but every time when they felt the hand of the Lord heavy upon them, they quickly repented and were taken back into His wonderful fold! Now tell me, why can’t we do the same thing eh? 

We don’t know if the Lord’s causing our calamity, but He certainly isn’t helping us to overcome it, He’s allowing us to undergo the darkness for some reason. And I firmly believe it’s because of our foolishly attempting to kick Him out of our lives and our society. But there’s only one way to find out if that’s true; by repenting and turning back to Him! And what do we have to lose eh? Nothing but some foolish pride… And there’s an awesome lot to be gained! So let’s wake up and get with the programme nuh. 

In the meantime, we can go home declaring (yeahhh!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus! As one strong and sincere voice now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And we are assured of that glorious future if see it out to the end. Much LOVE!

…when nothing else works…turn to Jesus…He’s the only sure bet… 

P.S. Want to apologize for a typo yesterday, where I wrote Psalm 43 instead of 34. Won’t lay any blame though… (smile) Much LOVE!