17 Nov 2024
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a anme above every other name, a more excellent name, beauty, brought heaven down, by inheritance, death, faith, fellowship, gratitude for salvation, highly exalted him, holy spirit, humbled himself, in various ways, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ my King, known him as a friend, LOVE, mercy, my sin was great, obedient unto death, praise, raised to life again, reconciled us to God, sacrifices of praise, salvation, silence the boast of sin, thanks, the death of the cross, the heavens are roaring, the name above all names, the name of Jesus, the omnipotent deity, the radiance, the supremacy of Christ, the tenderness of his love, the veil, the wonder of salvation, to enjoy christ forever, true beauty begins and ends with jesus, truth, what a powerful name it is, wisdom, wonder, your love was greater, yours is the glory, yours is the power
Hebrews 1:3a. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,
And as another Sunday rolls around, we also roll out to the Lord’s sanctuary, to fellowship with other believers, giving God much praise and thanks for all the wonderful things He’s done for us down through the ages, and is still doing for us right now! And all God’s children said a loud and grateful, ‘Amen!’ For the Lord has indeed done wonderful things on our behalf, none more wonderful than sending His only son Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary so that our sins could be forgiven, and we could have the option of returning to His fold.
And our song for today is a marvellous one that highlights the true beauty and magnificence that’s Jesus. It was written by Ben Fielding & Brooke Ligertwood of the Hillsong Worship Group in Sydney, Australia in 1915, and it’s simply titled, ‘What a Beautiful Name!’ And is Jesus’ name ever beautiful my people! But before we get into all the ramifications of that beauty (smile) let’s get to singing the song. And we’ll offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a powerful, mid-tempo, scintillating, heart-stopping, sincere version with all the bells and whistles. (smile)
So, let’s sing: Verse 1 ‘You were the Word at the beginning One with God the Lord Most High Your hidden glory in creation Now revealed in You our Christ’ Chorus 1 What a beautiful Name it is What a beautiful Name it is The Name of Jesus Christ my King What a beautiful Name it is Nothing compares to this What a beautiful Name it is The Name of Jesus’
Verse 2 ‘You didn’t want heaven without us So Jesus You brought heaven down My sin was great Your LOVE was greater What could separate us now’ Chorus 2 What a wonderful Name it is What a wonderful Name it is The Name of Jesus Christ my King What a wonderful Name it is Nothing compares to this What a wonderful Name it is The Name of Jesus What a wonderful Name it is The Name of Jesus’
Bridge ‘Death could not hold You The veil tore before You, You silence the boast of sin and grave The heavens are roaring The praise of Your glory For You are raised to life again You have no rival You have no equal Now and forever God You reign Yours is the kingdom Yours is the glory Yours is the Name above all names’ Chorus 3 ‘What a powerful Name it is What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus Christ my King What a powerful Name it is Nothing can stand against it What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus What a powerful Name it is The Name of Jesus…’
And it most certainly is a beautiful, wonderful and powerful name, the name of Jesus! Now we could not do any better than checking out what the writers called their core scriptures in penning the song; Hebrews 1:1-4 and Colossians 1:15-20, 26-27. They claim that ‘Hebrews 1:1-4 expresses with clarity and conciseness the supremacy of Jesus Christ — the radiance of God’s glory, the exact expression of His being, the creative conduit of His power. Jesus is God’s Word: powerful, authoritative and utterly supreme. He is the wonder of salvation, who reconciled us to God.’
So, let’s see what that scripture says: ‘God, who at sundry (many) times and in divers manners (various ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world (ages);
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged (cleansed) our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.’ (Heb. 1:1-4)
Yes friends, those verses encapsulate exactly whom Jesus is, and the work He’s done. He’s the ‘brightness of God’s glory, and the express image of His person.’ In other words, He shines as brightly as the Father and is an exact image of Him. And I like how the writers offer their reasoning. ‘To know God and to worship Him (“to enjoy Him forever”) is the most fundamental reason for our existence.
As Jesus reveals the great mysteries of God, we come to know more of who God is, glimpsing new facets of His beauty, wonder and power. “Beauty” evokes the tenderness of His LOVE and the sweetness of His presence. “Wonder” speaks to our gratitude for salvation, awe at the lengths of His sacrifice. “Power” affirms His supremacy and Sovereignty—an exhortation to remember our access to the power of God in every situation, as we call upon and declare the Name of Jesus.’
And what does the Bible tell us about that name? ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every other name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things) in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:8-11)
Wow! That says it all my brethren! But the writers add their two cents worth. (smile) ‘Jesus has the Name above all others. Anything that we can name – from our greatest triumphs to our greatest challenges—comes under the authority of His Name. This song confesses that no greater beauty or source of wonder exists outside of Jesus, “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3). The song is also a statement that Jesus has no rival or equal. His power is unmatched and absolute.’ And we certainly cannot deny that.
Meanwhile the writers also give us a most fitting ending to our Bit, when they say: ‘Perhaps some of us understand God LOVES us through the death and resurrection of Jesus, but haven’t grasped His power, ability and will to move strongly in our present circumstances. Or perhaps, we understand God as the supreme, omnipotent Deity He is, but have never known Him close and tender, as a friend acquainted with the depths of our humanity, knowing our flaws cannot perturb His LOVE. Our prayer for this song is that we can all enter into a deeper, more lateral, revelation of the person of Jesus Christ—the epitome of beauty.’
And that’s our assignment for today my fellow saints; to dig deeper into the smorgasbord, the wide variety of aspects that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ presents, and get to know Him better! Much LOVE!
…true beauty…begins and ends with Jesus…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
26 Sep 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a medical mission, A prayer of confidence, a rainy day, acclamation, all praise and glory, an unruly evil, anger, assurance, bear olive berries, bless God, blessing, calmly and serenely, can no man tame, choose life, confidence, curse people, cursing, defiles us, difficult times, doth a fountain, dr robert h schuller, drizzle, edify, eternal future, face challenges, fall of mankind, full of deadly poison, God is behind me, God will help me, God's Holy Name, halfway home, hordes of humanity, Hour of Power Devotional, if god is for me, in the image of God, Joyce Meyer, life and death, looking forward, my conscience is clear, not afraid of problems, not looking back, out of the same mouth, overpowering downpours, prayer, proceeds blessing, resentment, salt water, set before you, shed man's blood, show me favour, something good is going to happen through me, something good is going to happen to me, spirit of confidence, strife, surging in my heart, sweet water, Thank You God, the breath of life, the fig tree, the right decision, the tongue, thy seed may live, uplift, Wednesday Wail, who can be against me, wonder
James 3:10. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.
Looks like it’s going to be another ‘raaainy or raiiiny day’! Hn! Don’t know how to spell it so that it can bring out the Scottish brogue that the ad man uses. It sounds more like ‘riney day’ when he says it. (smile)
But if so, let’s hope it’s one like yesterday, with just a constant drizzle and no overpowering downpours, since I’ve got to go on a medical mission again today, but not into the heart of the city, just to the eastern end. It’s also an afternoon appointment, so there was no need to be up extra early to write the Bit before joining the hordes of humanity running into downtown Toronto. (smile)
And yesterday was a good day, the Lord caused people to show me favour wherever I went. I didn’t have to wait long for buses or taxis or medical appointments. All praise and Glory to His holy name!
And today I was led to share this assurance once again, from Gramps Schuler’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, titled ‘A Prayer of Confidence.’
Please pray with me. ‘It is flowing into me now, for my conscience is clear. I have made the right decision. I am not afraid of problems. I will face challenges calmly and serenely for God is behind me. He will help me. If I must go through difficult times, He will rescue me. I feel His spirit of confidence surging in my heart now. With Him I cannot possibly fail. “If God is for me who can be against me?” I have a strong feeling that everything is going to work out just beautifully. Thank You, God. Amen!’
Oh friends, I do hope your confidence surged with those words of acclamation and assurance. And you can say now like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Something good is going to happen TO me today. And something good is going to happen THROUGH me today!’
Yes my brethren, our words and thoughts have awesome power, power to control our lives and actions, so let’s use them wisely, proudly and in a godly manner nuh. Stop all the fear mongering and negativity, like the Good Book says through Moses: ‘I call heaven and earth to record (witness) this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.’ (Deut.30:19)
Oh my people, the same things have been set before us, so let’s wisely choose life, instead of death nuh. And it all begins with our words; whether they show forth confidence and trust in Almighty God, or the negativity of the enemy. As James says so truly about the tongue: ‘But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.’ (James 3:8) And is it ever! It is the source of almost all the strife, anger and resentment that takes place in our world.
However, ‘Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude (likeness) of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.’ (James 3:9-10) And that’s a fact my fellow believers!
Hear the scholars: ‘3:9. James explains that man is made in God’s image (cf. Gen.1:26-27; 5:1), so to curse people and yet bless God is inconsistent. Though the fall of mankind has marred that image or likeness, James teaches that it still exists (as do Gen.9:6 and 1 Cor.11:7).’
And that will never change friends, for hear what the Lord said when He blessed Noah and his family. ‘Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.’ (Gen;9:6) So whatever we do to man, we will also be doing to God, because he has been made in the indelible, unchanging image of His Creator.
And James continues with these interesting comparisons: ‘Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.’ (James 3:11-12)
And the scholars point out: ‘3:12. The last clause of verse 12 differs from those that precede it. The former are questions that attempt to illustrate; this one is a statement to teach. As salt water cannot make sweet water, so the person who curses others cannot bless God. The cursing of people truly indicates what lies within a person.’
And is that ever so true my people! As Jesus says it’s not what goes into us that defiles us, but what comes out of us. (Matt.15:11) And cursing our fellow man shows in spades what’s inside of us. So let’s stop it nuh, and use words of blessing instead, which edify and uplift our fellow man. That’s wisdom from the top of the mount!
Now let’s go home declaring…(Chuh! These days, I just can’t seem to spell ‘declare’ right (smile)) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our envious position in Christ. As one now, with a sincere sense of purpose: ‘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!’
Look up friends, Jesus is with us down here on earth! Much LOVE!
…everytime I think about the eternal future with Christ…I just shake my head…in absolute and amazing wonder…
21 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, anger, attitude, backbiting, behaviour, character, Christendom, christianity, cooperation, Corinth, disharmony, disrupt harmony, diversity, division, earthly life, embrace Jesus, encourages, exciting, extraordinary, glory, good cheer, greed, harmonious spirit, harmony, hatred, human nature, hurry, hypocritical, I am the beloved of god, in Jesus' name, individually, inner presence, Jesus, let God be God, lifts us up, Love for Jesus, LOVE Jesus, members, mind-boggling, my friend Jesus, New Testament, peace, philosophy, planet earth, Praise the Lord, privately live, problems, publicly show, pull together, reflect Christ's character, religious teaching, reproach, resentment, running things, Scrip-Bit family, serve, share His love, sincerity, souls, spiritual organism, the body of Christ, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Light, the Lord's on His throne, throne, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unity, warms the cockles of my heart, what people say about me, wisdom, wonder, worry, worship
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Aye mih friends and family – Scrip-Bit family included of course – welcome to another wonderful Tuesday on planet earth! The Lord’s on His heavenly throne running things, and Jesus is with us through the inner presence of the Holy Spirit! So what can be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
Ah mih people, Jesus is so beautiful, I don’t see how people can not LOVE Him, and want to serve and worship Him in all sincerity and truth!
Yeh friends, I truly don’t understand how people can dislike Jesus and abuse and blaspheme Him. He has the best religious teaching going, even the best philosophy for living this earthly life; one of peace and LOVE and good cheer! One couldn’t ask for more!
But such is the fallen and dark nature of our human souls that we refuse to see the light even when it’s shining all around us. But thankfully, we smart humans will embrace Jesus in all His glory and wonder and live to serve Him now and forever!
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord in Jesus’ name! Amen.’
And to support all of what we’ve just said, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a strong sense of purpose and true belief. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that li’l mantra so warms the cockles of my heart when I declare it, that…that I don’t know what to say afterwards! Hn!
To know that I am indeed a beloved child of God and a friend of Jesus…and can simply live this life and share His awesome LOVE with the world…well that is just so mind boggling and extraordinary!
I do hope that you, my fellow believers feel the same way, because if you don’t you are missing out on the most exciting and transformational part of your lives, since true LOVE for Jesus just lifts us up and encourages us so much!
And we’ll continue with our theme from yesterday; members of the body of Christ, of His church, because it is very important for each believer to know and understand His place and role in that most august organization.
Our Bit tells us quite plainly: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my brethren, we are all a part of Christ’s great organization called the church, with all that’s needed to make it great, but it’s oh so necessary for the members of that organization to pull together to do that. Listen to the scholars’ input on that verse.
’12:27. In one succinct statement, the apostle expresses both the unity and the diversity of the body of Christ. The absence of the definite article in Greek (ho, “the”) before the expression ‘body of Christ’ emphasizes character: since they are Christ’s body, their actions and attitudes toward one another should reflect His character.’
Oh my fellow believers, that last line there says it all; since we belong to Christ’s organization, our attitude and character ought to reflect that of Jesus! But does it? That’s the million-dollar question.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that it does, or at least not to the extent that it should. If we were truly reflecting the character and attitude of Jesus as an organization, there wouldn’t be so much division and disharmony within it, none of the greed, the backbiting, the resentment, and pure hatred that exists in some parts of it.
As we said earlier, Christ’s character is one of peace, LOVE and good cheer, and that in no way represents the present day church of Christ!
And before we go any further, listen to the scholars’ description re the Body of Christ. ‘12:27. The church in the New Testament is called the “body of Christ,” and reflects the spiritual organism of the whole church on earth. When the local church is called the body of Christ, the spiritual aspect is emphasized.
Illustration: As the church is considered to be the body, so individual members are seen as parts of the body. For any church to function properly, every member must do his or her part in a harmonious spirit of cooperation with the other members. Had the church at Corinth learned this lesson, many of their problems would have been solved.
Application: When Christians disrupt the harmony of a church, they bring reproach on the body of Christ. (First ref. Matt.16:18; Primary Ref. I Cor. 12:27).’
Oh friends, that’s the problem of today’s church right there! The spirit of harmonious cooperation is sadly lacking in many of the local churches and also in the entire body of Christendom!
No wonder we’re bringing such reproach on Christ and His body, and people are leaving His organization as well as crying it down and calling it totally hypocritical!
And there is a lot of truth there, since the heathen doesn’t see or perceive us as good and kindly and LOVING people from the attitude, behaviour and character we publicly display. We behave just as badly, and sometimes even worse than them! That obviously gives Jesus a bad name and turns off the unbelievers, thus making of no effect our trying to bring them to Him.
Ah mih people, there’s a simple solution to all of that yes, all the confusion and disharmony, the resentment, anger and hatred, backbiting and hypocrisy can be avoided if we’d just implement the words of the song: ‘Let God be God! Let God be God in your life!’
Yes friends, if we’d just allow the Lord to work in our lives as He desires, most of our problems would vanish, and we’d become much more like the harmonious body of Christ that we’re meant to be.
So, starting today, right now, let’s let go and allow God to truly work in us nuh, for that is indeed the highest level of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…for Christianity to be successful…Christians must privately live…and publicly show…the true character and attitude of Jesus Christ…
16 Apr 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: A genuine Christian loves himself, a heavenly nature, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd, because they fainted, brilliant sunshine, But when he saw the multitudes, carry them in his bosom, Christ alone eliminates your guilt, Christ alone fills the human heart with love, Christ alone forgives, Christ alone is the answer, Christ alone save, Christ alone understands, christ jesus, comfort, compassion, cyclists, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, enemy, enter not by the door, faith, faith in christ Jesus, fateful words, fighting, flee from a stranger, frustration, gather the lambs with his arm, gently lead those that are with young, glory hallelujah, he calleth his own sheep by name, He was moved with compassion, hot rod cars, Hour of Power Devotional, I am come that they might have life, I am the door of the sheep, Isaiah, joy, late mornings, late nights, light and joy of Jesus, like sheep gone astray, long and harsh winter, LOVE, LOVE for God, loving kindness, madness, might have it more abundantly, NHL Hockey Playoffs, oh what a joy, passion, peace, peeved, pent up winter frustration, Pharisees, prophecy, reinforce, reinvigorate, Religion can never be the answer, renew, reward, robber, runners, self-confidence, spring has finally sprung, stranger, strong hand, the sheep follow him, the sheep hear his voice, the shepherd of the sheep, the straight and narrow path, they know not the voice of strangers, they were weary, thief, to human problems, trust in the Lord, truth, understanding, upset, walkers, wisdom, wonder, work, worthiness
Matthew 9:36. But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Oh Friends, please be advised that the NHL Hockey Playoffs began last night, with several games on every night. And since I am a fan of the game, it means there will be several late nights, like last night, in the offing. Unfortunately, those late nights will obviously lead to late mornings, like this one.
So please don’t be too peeved and upset with me if the Bits are somewhat late in the next few weeks. (smile) It’s just a fact of life. There isn’t much I watch on the tube, but hockey is one of those things.
And a much better bit of news is that it looks like spring has finally truly sprung. Yesterday was warm, not hot, and beautiful, with loads of brilliant sunshine, and today is forecasted to be more of the same.
The temps are getting up to the mid to high teens, and that’s bringing out the pent-up winter frustration, so the hot rod cars with their loud engines and mufflers are now out on the road, the walkers, runners, cyclists and the ‘motorbikers’ are getting into gear too. So look out for the madness, especially after such a long and harsh winter.
And Friends, on this Thursday morning in mid –April, I want to remind us of some rather important facts as they pertain to our faith. It comes from Gramps Schuller’s (Robert H Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, but they are the words of the prominent American churchman, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker.
And he reputedly said that: ‘Religion can never be the answer to human problems. All of the religions of the world are inadequate. Christ alone is the Answer. Christ alone understands. Christ alone forgives. Christ alone eliminates your guilt.
Christ alone saves and then assures you that you are God’s child and the most wonderful person possible! Christ alone fills the human heart with LOVE –joy- peace- self-confidence. No wonder a genuine Christian really LOVES himself.’
Oh my people, my people, what wonderful words of utmost truth and wisdom! There is nothing in that passage that can be disputed! So please, please, this morning let’s allow those fateful words of truth to sink into our hearts, minds and spirits, so that they can reinforce, renew and reinvigorate our passion and joy in our faith and in Christ Jesus!
We need that sort of renewal regularly, because in these last days the enemy is fighting mightily, to keep us from believing and acknowledging the wonder and worthiness of our faith.
And I like that last part of Dr. Shoemaker’s statements: ‘No wonder a genuine Christian really LOVES himself.’
Why, you ask? Because if all of the previous statements are true, which they are, we ought to have such LOVE for our God, ourselves and our neighbours, that nothing whatsoever can diminish the light and joy of Jesus in our souls and lives.
That brings us to our Bit. ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.’
Oh Friends, can you imagine the sorrow that filled Jesus’ heart when He saw His people so lost and scattered, without any proper guidance, just going astray any which way? Remember Isaiah’s prophecy, re comfort through trust in the Lord?
He said: ‘Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is.40:10-11)
And that is exactly what Jesus came to do my people! He was the fulfillment of that prophecy. Read John 10 and you can hear Him expound on the theory of the sheep and the shepherd, as pertains to Himself.
First, He tells them a parable. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter (doorkeeper) openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.’ (John 10:1-5)
Ah my brethren, all of that is oh so true! Now listen to some useful explanations by the scholars. ‘10:1. Door is the one who stood in the opening of the (stone) fold. (the pen where the sheep were kept at night). The thieves and robbers were the Pharisees. See also verse 8.’
’10:3. Sheep know only their shepherd’s voice. In the Near East several flocks belonging to different shepherds may be in one fold (a fenced in area). But only a shepherd’s own sheep will follow him out of the fold. Cattle can be driven, but sheep must be led.’
Obviously the people listening to Jesus didn’t understand what He was talking about. ‘Then Jesus saith unto them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:7-10)
And at the remembrance of that wonderful news, all God’s people gave a mighty and glorious shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise and thanks be to the awesome shepherd of our flock; our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly!’
So my people, in ending, let me remind us, that if we are the sheep of Jesus’ flock, then it is of the utmost importance that we listen to His voice, and follow Him and Him alone. If not, then we’ll be marked for certain death, as all else are merely thieves and robbers, come to kill, steal and destroy.
So let’s open our ears and quite clearly hear our Master’s voice and follow Him down the straight and narrow, but safe path where He will inevitably lead us. That my brethren, is certainly wisdom and understanding of a heavenly nature! Much LOVE!
…all we like sheep have gone astray…but Jesus in His LOVING-kindness…has found us and brought us safely back to His fold…oh what a joy…
11 Dec 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hearty welcome, a man sent from god, a pattern of success, action movement, another brand new day, anxiety, awe, be on our p's and q's, bear witness, born not of blood, Christ's birth, christianity, Christmas, commercialism, David Thomas, encouraging, excitement, faith, fear, fear not, feel the action of God flowing through us, fight the enemy, forgiveness, friends, fruitful life, full of grace and truth, gain footholds, glory hallelujah, go overboard, heavenly rewards, human form, In the beginning was the Word, indisputable truth, infiltrate our lives, inroads, Jesus Christ, John, keep plugging and plodding on, leading, live a successful life, lot of chances, loving kindness, lustful desires, magnificent and magnanimous God, minding our business, miracle, miraculous birth of Jesus christ, never be thnkful enough, never-ending mercy, our heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour, power to become the sons of God, power. material things, redeeming sacrifice, respect, reverence, Scrip-Bit family, se;fless act, surrender, Thank you Jesus, Thank You Lord, the biography of souls, the Holy Spirit, the Life. the Light, the light of men, the light shines in the darkness, the most radiant pages in the biography of souls, the Son of God, the things of the world, the Truth, the Way, the will of God, the will of man, the will of the flesh, the Word was God, the word was made flesh, the Word was with God, true believers, trust, ungodly and evil world, unselfish and noble actions, we love you, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, we will follow you to the ends of the earth, wonder, wonders of your glory, worldly trappings, worry, writing from the heart
John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Well a warm and hearty Thursday welcome to all you Friends and Scrip-Bit family members out there in this ungodly and evil world. Fear not, for our wonderful God has provided us with another brand new day filled with His never-ending mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness.
Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous Deity we serve and worship! And all God’s children declared a loud and lusty: ‘Thank You Lord for giving us this new day, filled with all the wonders of your glory! We will praise Your Holy Name and rejoice and be glad in it, just as you desire us to! Amen!’
Yes Friends, it’s time to just keep pressing on and feel the action of God flowing through our lives in a pattern of success. And here’s a quote attributed to one David Thomas. Now I’m not sure which David Thomas it is, because there are so many around.
However, the quote is remarkable and can stand on its own, and highlights and reflects the kind of success we’re talking about. It simply says: ‘Unselfish and noble actions are the most radiant pages in the biography of souls.’
And that surely is indisputable truth my brethren! For our lives usually shine brighter and brightest when we do unselfish and noble acts, regardless of how small or insignificant they may seem. And even better yet, our heavenly Father notes them and heavenly rewards are attached to our names. Nothing could be better than that my people!
And we wouldn’t be true believers if we failed to mention the most unselfish act ever done in this whole wide world; that of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, leaving His comfortable home in heaven to come to earth in human form and offer His holy and sinless life as a redeeming sacrifice for us and our abominable sins.
And all Jesus’ followers cried out: ‘Thank You Jesus! We LOVE You! And we will follow You to the ends of the earth!’
Oh Friends, for that selfless act on Jesus’ part, we can never be thankful enough; there’s nothing we can ever do to repay that selflessness. But there again, Jesus doesn’t want our thanks so much in words, but more in deeds, for His movement, Christianity, is action oriented.
He wants us to believe in Him, that He is indeed the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light of this evil and sinful world, and live the way He prescribes. Unfortunately though, His way of living runs counter to that of the world, which glorifies power, material things and lustful desires.
And sadly too, a lot of mankind are more enamoured with the things of the world than with those of Jesus. So what are we believers to do eh? Simply keep plugging and plodding on my brethren, and our great and generous God will give us everything we need to live a successful life and fight the enemy.
There’s not supposed to be any fear, worry or anxiety that keeps us from living a right and fruitful life that glorifies Him and helps us bring others to Him. But then again, these are not always easy things to do, especially in the kind of selfish, greedy and ungodly world in which we now live.
Those things take time, faith, trust and sure surrender. So we need to be always on our p’s and q’s, minding our business, not allowing the enemy to make any inroads into our lives.
And this season of Christmas is one of those times when we tend to go overboard and give the enemy a lot of chances to infiltrate our lives and gain footholds therein.
How you ask? By paying too much attention to the worldly trappings which surround it, and not enough to the cause of and reason for it; the wonderful and miraculous birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here because I have no idea where this is going. I don’t even have a Bit as yet. It’s one of those days that I like, when I’m writing from the heart, writing what I believe the Holy Spirit of God is leading and encouraging me to write.
So hearkening back to our last point, that of paying more attention to the worldly trappings of Christmas than the real cause for it, Jesus’ birth, I admonish us to try and change the balance in that equation. Let’s tone down the commercialism aspect of the situation, which sadly is being increased every year.
Instead, let’s allow the wonder, the excitement and miracle of Christ’s birth to be number one in our spirits, rather than the presents, food, and other trimmings. We obviously can’t disregard the latter stuff, but instead let’s raise up the former to the prominence that it deserves nuh.
For, remember without the birth of Christ, there’d be no Christmas, and thus no family gatherings and celebrations, no gifts, no food, nothing but another uneventful day.
And I think I’ve said my piece, (smile) now let’s see if I can find an appropriate Bit for all that. Soon come!
Oh Friends, it took les than two minutes. Glory Hallelujah! I was just led to share this most important section of scripture in its entirety. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:1-14)
Oh Friends, that says it all; all about Jesus! And the season we’re now celebrating, Christmas, is when that Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, the birth of that Light, the birth of the Word that was God, the birth of Jesus Christ!
So please, please let’s show the proper respect, reverence and awe to such an exceptional and miraculous event. Much LOVE!
… the trappings of Christmas are not as important as the reason for Christmas…the birth of Christ…for without Christ’s birth…there’d be no Christmas…and would that be a sad thing…
28 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 24/7 society, almighty god, be wise, bindage, blessings, derision, destruction unto them, devise evil, disasters, disobedience, do the right thing, Egypt, encourage ourselves, eternal life, faith, favour, favouritism, fellowship, focus on God, foreordained, forsaken the Lord, friends, give thanks and praise, glory hallelujah, God made man in His image, God's people, God's Word, he who has ears to hear, hope, I have redeemed them, Israel, it takes two to tango, Jesus Christ, Judah, justice, laws, LOVE, mercy, ONE body in Christ, Praise the Lord, raised him up from the dead, rebelled, rebellion, redeemed, redemption, relationship, relationships, relax from labour, responsibilities, reverence, rules, sacrifice, salvation, setbacks, strengthen our faith, sufferation, Sunday, the cross at Cakvary, the foundation of the world, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the one who made you for Himself, the precious blood of Christ, the Promised Land, the Sabbath Day, they have fled from me, they have spoken lies against me, they have transgressed against me, Tobago day, true image of God, unconditional LOVE, woe unto them, wonder, worship, your faith and hope might be in god
Hosea 7:13. Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.
Well Friends, Sunday, the Sabbath day has rolled around again, and it’s promising to be another Tobago day! (smile) Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah! All of that means it’s time for us to relax from our labour, take it easy, and concentrate our focus, even more than normal, on Almighty God, our Creator and Provider, for that is what He did after creating the universe.
Sadly though, with our busy, 24/7 scheduled society, some things just cannot be shut down in midstream, and thus life is not as simple and easy as it used to be. However, it is important that each and every one of us put aside at least one day in each week to stop labouring and totally give ourselves over to God and family.
We should also make time to join together in worship and fellowship with other believers, so that we can give thanks and praise together as one body in the risen Christ, as well as encourage ourselves and strengthen our faith. That is done much easier through a gathering of like believers.
Now here is a very interesting paragraph I just read in the Introduction to a booklet by Jack Kuhatschek, titled: ‘A Message for All Time – Understanding and Applying the Bible.’
It states: ‘When you realize that the Bible isn’t primarily about rules but relationships, your Scripture reading will be transformed. And when you discover that God’s Word isn’t mainly about laws but LOVE, you’ll feel the heartbeat of the One who made you for Himself.’
Oh Friends, I was definitely intrigued by those statements, because if you really look at the Bible in those terms, it does become much easier to understand. We’re not dealing with rules and regulations per se, but with personal relationships between a God who made man in His image, to have a LOVING relationship with Him.
But to have a LOVING relationship with a just and holy God necessitates our behaving in certain ways, ways that reflect the right and true image of our Creator.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.’
It’s oh so simple my brethren: God’s people, Israel, rebelled against Him in spite of His overwhelming, unconditional LOVE for them, and the special acts of wonder, mercy and justice He performed on their behalf.
As the Good Book continues: ‘And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled (wailed) upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn (grain) and (new) wine, and they rebel against me. Though I have bound (trained) and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief (devise evil) against me.
They return, but not (upward) to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.’ (Hos.7:14-16)
Yes my people, both the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern one of Judah rebelled against God, and both suffered serious setbacks, terrible disasters because of it. And I like the info the scholars provide on the last verse.
‘7:16. A deceitful bow has every appearance of being good, but the arrows that it propels miss the intended target. God has wonderful things for Israel, but they have continuously mistaken His favour for favouritism and have misused His blessings for their own ends.’
And isn’t that ever so true! The Israelites abused God’s favour, foolishly thinking that because they were God’s chosen people, they could get away with rebellion. But unfortunately my dear Friends, our great and wonderful God doesn’t operate that way. Remember a good relationship appoints responsibilities on both sides. As they say, it takes two to tango, and two hands to wash.
Now God did His part by liberating the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and moving them to the Promised Land. Thereafter, He simply expected them to do their part of the covenant; be obedient to His dictates and serve and worship Him with due reverence and appreciation. But they didn’t, and eventually paid a stiff price for their disobedience.
Likewise my brethren, we in this current age have also forsaken the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who after all our forefathers’ disobedience, still had that fervent LOVE for us, and still desired a close relationship with us.
That burned in His heart so much, He made the ultimate sacrifice, paid the ultimate price for our disobedience by crucifying His sinless Son, Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, to redeem us once and for all time from our abominable sins.
Oh Friends, that redemption was the beginning of God’s greatest gift to us, for it led to salvation and eternal life!
Hear how Peter puts it: ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible (perishable) things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation (aimless conduct) received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (sinless):
Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest (revealed) in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.’ (1 Pet.1:18-21)
Now, our more immediate fathers to some extent did that, had faith and hope in God. But recently my people, in the last couple generations, we have totally strayed from their walk with God, and instead are desperately trying to rid our society of Him, by removing Him from all the special places where he was originally placed and revered; like schools, work, public places, and even homes.
Now put yourselves in God’s place Friends. How would you react to such treacherous behaviour eh? Yuh see how He reacted to Israel’s disobedience? Do you think He’ll react any differently to ours? Off course not! And then we naively wonder why our world has suddenly become such a hellish place.
Oh my fellow believers, I don’t know to what extent, but I do know that the current tragedy that’s our world, has some correlation to our removing Jehovah God from our society, and if we don’t turn our woeful and wicked ways around soon, even more destruction will come upon us.
So if we want to see our children and grandchildren endure real ‘sufferation’ then we can continue the way we’re going. If not, then we have to change course, and change quickly too, get Jesus’ LOVE Revolution into top gear and beat the iniquity workers at their own game.
My fellow believers, it’s all up to us now, because the evil doers like the status quo. So please, let’s be wise and do the right thing nuh. Much LOVE!
…he who has ears to ear…let him hear…else he’s going to feel…
24 Sep 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, abundant life, adventurous, all should come to salvation, all thanks and praise to god, amazement, and have it more abundantly, as I have loved you, Bless His Holy Name, blessings, bondage of sin, Bruh Paul, busy society, came together to break bread, celebrate the life death and resurrection of Jesus, collective family, cut-throat, do whatsoever I command you, enjoy each other's company, eternal optimist, everybody's doing their own thing, exciting life, faith, family life, family togetherness, favour, fellow believers, For where two or three are gathered together in my name, forgiveness, friends, get together, God's greatest desire, God's promised to work things out for our good, grace, greater love hath no man, greedy, hope, hurts my heart, I am come that they might have life, in exile, influence of Jesus, interesting, Jeus reigns supreme, joy, laughter, lay down his life for his friends, LOVE, love and togetherness, LOVE one another, mercy, merriment, obedient to God's will, opportunity, our Creator and sure Provider, overflowing grace, personal experience, physical treasure and pleasures, pick sense from nonsense, sacrificed Jesus, selfish, sins, some of the best days of my life, Son Jesus, soulful, spiritual enlightenment, such a blast, sufferation, tenderness, the first day of the week, the Good Lord, the greatest of these is love, the thief comes to steal, there am I in the midst of them, to go to be late is to be up early, undying LOVE, unending wisdom, ungrateful, unworthy, wisdom, wonder
John 10:10. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Oh Friends, it’s been a Willie Shakespeare kind of night, in the sense of when he says in one of his plays – don’t remember which one – to go to bed late is to be up early. Hn, Hn! Well I was up very early because I went to bed very late, around 3:30 a.m. (smile)
Anyway mih people, what I want to say is that the last couple of days can be numbered amongst some of the best of my life. That’s because it’s the first time my brother and I have spent so much time continually together.
We were always Friends, but never hung out much together, and the thirty years I spent away from Tobago, in exile in the North Country, obviously reduced those opportunities.
However mih breddren, the Good Lord, our Creator and sure Provider, in His usual mysterious way, in His unending wisdom and overflowing grace, thirty odd years later has provided a surprise get together. Mama Mia! All thanks and praise to Him!
One day, a couple weeks ago, right out of the blue, I received an e-mail from my niece saying that her parents were coming to Canada. And they’ve been here with us the last two days, and oh my people, it’s been such a blast!
There hasn’t been that much laughter, merriment and family togetherness in the house for a while, because in this busy society everybody is usually off doing their own thing. But yuh know what Friends?
These last couple of days have shown me what Jesus truly means when He says in our Bit: ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’
It’s family life Friends, family togetherness He was talking about. That’s basically it. When family and friends and fellow believers get together and enjoy each other’s company under the overwhelming influence of Jesus, then life truly is graced and gifted with abundance.
I don’t believe Jesus was referring so much to the abundance of physical treasure and pleasures, but more to the abundance of soulful and spiritual enlightenment. And again we see Jesus emphasizing togetherness, when He says: ‘For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ (Matt.18:20)
And what we often forget, especially in this current selfish, cut-throat, greedy society, is that God’s greatest desire is that ALL should come to salvation; that we should live as ONE, in LOVE, joy and tenderness towards each other, as a part of His one, big, collective family. Otherwise He wouldn’t have sacrificed His One Son Jesus, to pay the price for our abominable sins.
And believe me people, Jesus did pay and enormous, a terribly high price to free us from the bondage of sin. Every time I consider what He went through to save us unworthy, ungrateful wretches, the very thought of His immense ‘sufferation’ hurts my heart.
But then, on the other side of the equation, I’m oh so thankful and grateful that He paid that exacting price, because it shows that the Father and Him truly LOVED, and still LOVES me!
This brings to mind Jesus’ directive: ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 12-14)
Then He went out and did exactly that – sacrificed Himself on the cross for us. Bless His Holy Name!
But please remember that one proviso: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ So if we’re not obedient to the will of Jesus, then we’re not His friends.
And sadly, that means a great proportion of mankind are not friends of Jesus, since we have so rudely and foolishly removed Him from all areas of our lives; at home, at work, at school and at play.
But Friends, Jesus is the eternal optimist. He believed in the saying that if you build it, they will come. So He died to give us the wonderful opportunity to come to Him in LOVE and togetherness.
And staying with that theme of togetherness and abundant life, let’s look at a scripture that appropriately describes it. It deals with Bruh Paul at Troas. ‘And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached (spoke) unto them, ready to depart on the morrow (the next day); and continued his speech (message) until midnight.’ (Acts 20:7)
Again, it was a coming together of the disciples to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Oh my fellow believers, there can be no greater joy than when Jesus is amongst, reigns supreme in the lives of a group of people! That’s when the abundant life truly kicks in, and why we need to take togetherness more seriously than we currently do, both as family and fellow believers.
Oh my people, being obedient to Jesus so that you can be numbered amongst His friends, is not always easy. In fact it can be very rough at times, when the Lord chooses to test us. But remember that He’s promised to ALWAYS work things out for our good.
And I can tell you from personal experience, that if you sincerely try to live obedient to God, then you WILL certainly lead an interesting, adventurous and exciting life, filled with wonder and amazement!
And how can we not eh, when our lives are constantly connected to: God’s Faith, God’s Grace, God’s Favour, God’s Blessings, God’s Mercy, God’s Forgiveness, and God’s undying LOVE!
So please my brethren, let’s get our acts together, and COME TOGETHER IN LOVE AND OBEDIENCE TO JESUS! That’s the wisdom of all the ages! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth…faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE…
P.S. Oh Friends, I surely hope that this Bit makes sense yes, stands together as a structural whole. But even if it doesn’t, I know that you all are smart enough to pick sense from nonsense. (smile) Much LOVE!
11 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a rose by any other name, abomination, acknowledge God, amazement, ambassadors of Christ, anxiety, blessing of life, blessings, bounden duty, christianity, Christians, complain, confidence, converted, courage, cruel, draw breath on god's earth, eternity, evil, evildoers, faith, faith that comes through Jesus, faithfully promised, fear, focus on Jesus Christ, glorified Jesus, glorious kingdom, God is the greatest, God's will and plan for our lives, godliness, groan, holiness, holy spirit, honour, ignorance, imminent, in Jesus' name, invincible soldiers of Christ, is just as sweet, Jesus Christ, Jesus returns, John, John the Baptist, jumped for joy, lead and guide, magnanimous, mercies, message of repentance, misinformed, moan, mouths of the prophets, obstacles, omnipotent god, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, paths fraught with thorns, Pentecost, Peter, Pilate, praising God, presence of the Lord, raised from the dead, repent, restoration, separated from God, serve, sins be blotted out, Solomon's porch, Son Jesus, spread the word, strength, suffering, thank God, Thank You Lord, that Christ would suffer, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One, the just, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the last days, the Prince of Life, the things that God foretold, through faith, times of refreshing, times of restitution, unbelieving world, ungodly world, uninformed, urgency, walk of faith, Wednesday, wise direction, witnesses, wonder, worship
Acts 3:18. But those things which God before had showed (foretold) by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should (would) suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
Wednesday, oh Wednesday! A rose by any other name is just as sweet!
And likewise, though our paths today may be fraught with thorns and other obstacles, because of the divine and tender mercies and the abundant blessings of our omnipotent and most magnanimous God, we Christians will do right well! For His Holy Spirit WILL lead and guide us successfully through all the rough patches of this beautiful day.
And all God’s people said a loud, hearty and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord! You are indeed the GREATEST! That’s why we serve and worship and honour You with all our hearts, souls, bodies and minds! In Jesus’ name we declare this! Amen.’
Yes Friends, the opening portion of our day is ever so important in how the rest of it unfolds! If we begin it right, and that’s by acknowledging God the Father, we will be imbued with strength, courage and confidence to face whatever comes our way, each and every day that we draw breath on God’s great planet earth. We need to thank Him early on for that wonderful blessing of life, and ask for His wise direction, His will and His plan for our steps that day.
Now my people, let’s continue to look at some of the things that happened at that fateful Pentecost time when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon all believers, as faithfully promised by the prophets, and also by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I believe that until we understand the things that it wrought in the early days of Christianity, we will not fully comprehend what’s happening today in our walk of faith.
Now yesterday we left off where Peter and John had healed the lame man begging at the Beautiful gate of the temple, and how he held on to them and jumped for joy, praising the Lord. And all the people ran towards them at Solomon’s porch in great wonder and amazement.
Then Peter preached his second great sermon of Pentecost, again with his focus on Jesus Christ. ‘And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly (intently) on us, as though by our own power or holiness (godliness) we had made this man to walk?
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
And killed the Prince (Author) of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; wherefore we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him (comes through Jesus) hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
And now brethren, I wot (know) that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had showed (foretold) by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should (would) suffer, he hath so fulfilled.’ (Acts 3:12-18)
Ah mih breddren, there are so many people out there in the cruel, evil and ungodly world today who need to hear those words, so that they can do as Peter further contends: ‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution (restoration) of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.’ (Acts 3:19-21)
Oh my people, as John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preaching so long ago: ‘And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (near).’ (Matt.3:2) And furthermore, as Jesus Himself, after His baptism by John ‘began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (near).’ (Matt.4:17)
So do we, in these last terrible days, need to get that most important message of repentance, of its urgency, across to this unbelieving world in which we currently live. Because without it, too many of God’s greatest creation will be sadly separated from Him for all eternity after Jesus returns to set up His glorious kingdom, to which all the signs point as fairly imminent.
And being ambassadors of Christ in these fateful times, it is our bounden duty to spread the word, to let people know what’s happening, by the words we speak, and the faithful way in which we live. But unfortunately, through fear, anxiety, or just plain ‘doh careness’ (smile) we are not doing the job to the best of our ability, and thus uninformed and misinformed people are suffering.
Unwisely, they are looking to the things of the world to give them succour, when we very well know that it’s only the LOVE of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit dwelling in us can do that on a long tem basis. So why aren’t we doing better eh Friends?
As I keep reminding us, it is ONLY we Christian folk who can bring some good changes to our wicked world. For even though the evil doers are very happy and contented with the situation, they are still working hard to make it worse, while we strong and invincible soldiers of Christ, sit around and moan and groan and complain about our rights and faith being curtailed.
Oh my people, I heard this saying on the television yesterday, referring to our upcoming Provincial Elections, and it also holds quite true of our faith situation. The caller declared that a citizen who doesn’t pray and doesn’t vote, is not entitled to complain.
The same goes for us supposed believers, who don’t do very much or anything at all to move the faith forward; we have no right to complain about what the evildoers are doing. And I’ll leave us to ponder on that thought for today. Much LOVE!
…he who is able to do…but will not do…is an abomination to the name and cause of Jesus…
10 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a fighting chance, a lame man, a one-day affair, a strong hand to hold on to, amazement, ambassadors of Christ, apostles, astonishment, beautiful effects, begging for alms, behaviour of the first Christians, beliefs, busyness, but what I have I gve you, change our lives, christianity, Christians, clean up our act, correct our behaviour, disdain, enthusiasm, envious, evening sacrifices, everlasting life, evil, fallible beings, fight the battles of this ungodly world, filled with wonder, future generations, give courage, God is the only infallible being, God working wonders in our lives, God's mercy and blessings, greedy, heavenly wisdom, his feet and ankle bones received strength, holy spirit, Holy Spirit of Jesus, hypocritical lives, image of our faith, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, indwell all believers, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus christ of Nazareth, Jewish prayer time, John, lackadaisical attitude, last days, lead and guide, leaping, lifted hm up, living a good enough Christian life, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving god, make the necessary amends, memorable arrival, offering of incense, paths of truth, pecolate through our spirits, Pentecost, Peter, praising God, relieve fears, resentful, righteousness., rise to the occasion, rise up and walk, running amok, running riot, salvation, showing of gratitude, signs and wonders, silver and gold I have none, simpler times of life, Solomon's porch, something true to believe in, spirit of LOVE, stirring up the people, sustenance, take God's goodness for granted, terrible fate, test my patience, the apostles, the Beautiful gate of the temple, the Life, the ninth hour, the Truth, the Way, tide of Christianity, troubled times, unbelievers, wake up, walking, war mongering, wonder, worldly pride
Acts 3:6. Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
Oh Friends, first of all, on this wonderful Tuesday morning, let me apologize for an error I made yesterday. I don’t know how many of you noticed it though, with the busy way we read stuff these days. (smile)
Originally I had intended to use Acts 4:31 as our Bit, and began writing thus. But then I was guided to change it to Acts 2:47. However in my busyness and enthusiasm and whatever else, I forgot to change the first heading, so that it still read Acts 4:31, while the second one read Acts 2:47.
I guess every so often the Lord brings up something to lower our worldly pride and remind us that we’re still, and will always be fallible beings, totally dependent on His mercy and blessings, as He is the only infallible Being in the universe.
And having said that, I want to continue our focus on Pentecost for at least today, for who knows what will happen tomorrow. (smile) And I want to do so, because that Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit made its rather memorable arrival to indwell ALL believers, wasn’t a one-day affair.
The beautiful effects continued for a while, with many signs and wonders being done through the apostles. And I just want us to have some idea of how it affected the overall beliefs and behaviour of those first Christians.
Now one day, soon thereafter, as the tide of Christianity was rising, Peter and John went up to the temple to pray around the ninth hour.
And the scholars give us some timely info here. ‘3:1. According to Jewish reckoning, the day began at 6 a.m. Hence the ninth hour is 3 p.m. The Jewish prayer time was held in conjunction with the evening sacrifices and offering of incense (c.f. Luke 1:8-10; Rev.8:3-4). Peter and John commonly went to the temple to pray at this hour. The Greek imperfect tense could well be translated “used to go up.”
On that particular day though, a lame man begging for alms, met them at the temple entrance. But instead of giving him money, the Good Book tells us: ‘And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Then Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.’ (Acts 3:4-8)
Oh Friends, that’s the way we ought to behave when God does something good in our lives!
Sadly though, too many of us just take His goodness for granted and pass off those occasions without the proper and necessary showing of gratitude. Please let’s try and correct that behaviour as of today. That is, if we want to see God continue working wonders in our lives.
Anyway, as the Good Book continues: ‘And all the people saw him walking and praising God: and they knew that it was he which sat for alms (begging) at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
And as the lame man which was healed held (on) to Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering (amazed).’ (Acts 3:9-11)
Yes Friends, in those early days the Holy Spirit was just running riot, running amok, stirring up the people of Jerusalem! And that’s a good and positive riot and amok we’re talking about there! (smile)
Oh my brethren, how I dearly wish that the Holy Spirit could run a good and positive riot amongst us today, because in these rough and troubled times so many people need a strong hand to hold on to, so badly need something true and positive to believe in, to relieve their fears, and give them courage and sustenance to fight the battles of this evil and ungodly world.
And we know that Jesus Christ is the best, or rather the ONLY ONE who can do those things. For He is indeed the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE; the ONLY option whereby one can receive and embrace true salvation!
But unfortunately we the current believers are not doing enough and not living a good enough Christian life to cause that kind of wonder and astonishment in unbelievers.
In fact we’re doing just the opposite, living such hypocritical lives that we’re turning people off of Christianity and therefore off of Jesus Christ!
That means we’re not being very good ambassadors of Christ, else the number of unbelievers and the disdain with which many of them hold Christians and Christianity would never be as bad as it currently is. How sad my people!
And all I can do is ask us, plead with us to make the necessary changes to our lives and our behaviour, to let the Holy Spirit of Jesus that is supposed to indwell EACH and EVERYONE of us, to truly lead and guide us along the paths of truth and righteousness, so that we can correct the poor image that the world holds of us, and consequently our great Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Oh Friends, like the apostles and early Christians we definitely need to, especially in these very crucial and critical last days, portray a much better image of our faith and what it truly stands for. How else would people come to Jesus and receive salvation and everlasting life eh?
We need to reawaken the dormant and/or dying spirit of LOVE and fellowship amongst all humans, so that we can turn this angry, wicked, war mongering, resentful, greedy, envious and ungodly world around, and thus give our children and future generations a fighting chance to know Christ, and be saved from the terrible fate that awaits them otherwise.
Please my people, for the sake of those that come after us, let’s clean up our act and make the necessary amends nuh. With the help of our wonderful and most LOVING God and His Holy Spirit we can certainly do it. Please allow that heavenly wisdom to percolate through our spirits, so that we can rise to the occasion. Much LOVE!
…wake up…oh please wake up my fellow believers…and see what dire circumstances lie ahead…if we continue in our current lackadaisical mode…
P.S. Ah mih people, like the Lord’s trying to test my patience yes! The Bit was already going to be late because of my tardiness, then just as I was about to send it, the ole computer froze on me, so I had to shut it down then reboot it. Oh for the simpler times of life! (smile) Much LOVE!
08 Jun 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a red letter day, a rushing mighty wind, abide, asenscion, awe, baptize with the Holy spirit, baptized with the Holy ghost, baptizing, be filled with the Spirit, be joyous, beautiful storm, breaking of bread, Christ's Resurrection, confounded, continued steadfastly, controlling influence of the Spirit, crooked generation, Day of Pentecost, defeated hell death and the grave, democratic appearence, diligence, dissipation, do Jesus' work, do not be drunk with wine, excellence, exhort, faith, Feast of the first fruits, fellowship, filled with the Holy Ghost, fire-like appendages, foregiveness, Galileans, get freindly with the Spirit of Jesus, glory hallelujah, guided aright, Holy Ghost, in the apostles' doctrine, Jerusalem, Jesus Christ, Jesus' promise, John baptized with water, lead and guide, moving like a magnet, Pentecost, permanent placing of the Spirit, Peter, Praise the Lord, prayers, promise of the Father, recharge our spiritual batteries, rechargeable battery, remarkable, remission of sins, repent, resurrection, righteousness., showered, sincerity, speak with tongues, spectacular happenings, testify, the gift of the Holy ghost, the Holy ghost power, the Holy Ghost showered en masse, three thousand souls, truth, wisdom, wonder
Acts 2:2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Oh Friends, it’s the Day of Pentecost! Two thousand years ago, some fifty days after Jesus’ triumphant resurrection, where He defeated, hell, death, the grave and that foolish crook Lucifer, and some ten days after His ascension, the Holy Ghost came to earth as a beautiful storm; a storm of wind, laced with fire-like appendages.
As the Good Book describes it: ‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (purpose or mind) in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4)
What a mighty act of our mighty God! Thus fulfilling the promise Jesus made to the disciples just before His ascension. ‘And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ (Acts 1:4-5)
Oh my people, the Lord was at work back then, just like He is now. That’s why we sing: ‘The Holy Ghost power is moving just like a magnet. The Holy Ghost power is moving just like a magnet. Moving here, and moving there. The Holy Ghost power is moving just like a magnet.’
Yes my people, the Holy Ghost power is busy all over the world, moving just like a magnet. So if you have even one iota of metal, one iota of Jesus Christ in you, be careful, or rather be joyous, for it will target you. And please don’t try to resist it; instead, let it fall graciously upon you, for there’s nothing as remarkable as the Holy Ghost power in all the heaven and the earth!
Ah Friends, what a day that day of Pentecost was when the Holy Spirit was first showered down en masse on all believers! Before that it was given to special people who God needed to do great works for Him, like the prophets. But since that day in Jerusalem, each and every believer is baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.
As you can see from verse 5 above, Jesus promised that ALL would be baptized with the Spirit, as they came to the faith. And as the scholars point out, though the first set of scriptures only said that they were ‘filled,’ (Acts 2:4) they were indeed baptized with it.
Baptizing is the permanent placement of the Spirit in us, while filling is the continuous regeneration of that power. That means we have to continually renew the controlling influence of the Spirit in our lives, like a rechargeable battery, so that it can abide strong and powerful in our beings, and thus lead and guide us successfully in all righteousness and truth.
Now that day of Pentecost we’re talking about was not the first one, but it was an annual feast day in the Jewish calendar, occurring fifty days after the Feast of the first fruits, hence the name Pentecost in Greek. (Lev.15:15-22) And though it only lasted one day, it was certainly a joyous occasion, although I doubt that any of them could have been as joyous as that one when the Holy Spirit made its democratic appearance, beginning the promise of filling all and sundry that believed.
And that first day was truly a red letter day, for when the people in Jerusalem heard about the spectacular happenings, they came to where the apostles were, ‘and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue (language or dialect), wherein we were born?’ (Acts 2:6-8)
Oh yes Friends, there were all different kinds of people from many different places living in Jerusalem at that time, but yet these poor, uneducated Galileans spoke to each one of them in their own language. Glory Hallelujah! No lesser force than the mysterious movement of the mighty Holy Spirit was involved! Some people even mockingly said that they were drunk, but Peter, in his finest hour, got up and spoke to them. Read Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-42.
But my people, Peter’s speech was so great that day that I have to share the end, knowing that many of you won’t check out the scripture. (smile) ‘Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward (crooked) generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.’ (Acts 2:38-42)
And all God’s people declared a loud, ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!’ Yes Friends, what a red letter day that was, and we still talk about today it in tones of awe and wonder!
However my people, it’s time for us to be moving on, so I’m going to exhort us, on this day of Pentecost 2014, to get downright friendly with that Spirit of Jesus that indwells us, and today recharge, refill our spiritual batteries, so that we can be guided aright and do Jesus’ work with the excellence and diligence that’s required of us. That’s a mark of true sincerity and everlasting wisdom! Much LOVE!
…and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation)…but be filled with the Spirit… (Eph.5:18)
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