10 Dec 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: Advent, advice, ambassadors, begotten, behold him, Bethlehem, cast aspersions, cast off, chambering, choirs of angels, Christ the Lord, Christ's birth, Christians, Christmas, citizens of heaven, cloak of darkness, cradle, day is at hand, demean His reputation, disciples, drunkenness, envying, eternal life, faith, faithful, far spent, fellowship, flocks, future, glory to God, goodwill, hope, hypocrisy, improprieties, in flesh appearing, joy, joyful lips, king of angels, lewdness, licentiousness, light, light eternal, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, makes manifest, manifest works, mantle of light, O come all ye faithful, O come let us adore Him, peace, put on, raise the roof, reflected in us, revelry, sacrificial praise, salvation, sanctuary, secular society, shepherds, sin nature, sing in exultation, sinners awe, Son of the Father, strife, the armour of light, the new life in Christ, the night, the virgin's womb, the workers of iniquity, the works of darkness, triumphant, true God, unfruitful works of darkness, walk honestly, wantonness, word of the Father, worship, wrongdoings
Romans 13:12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
And as the days of Advent, the preparatory period before Christ’s birth advances, and the Christmas season intensifies, LOVE and joy, peace and goodwill fill the air! Wow! And I naively wonder, why can’t it be like that all year round eh? But I guess that’s just asking too much of our sinful secular society. A few days, once a year is all they seem to be able to spare. But we’ll take it and just keep working to get more.
And as we gather in the sanctuary this Sunday, to worship and fellowship and give thanks, let’s burst out with a most worthy song, one of the all-time favourites of the Christmas season, ‘O come all ye faithful.’ In true Christmas spirit, let’s raise the roof of our sanctuary and that of heaven too with harmonious sacrificial praise from our joyful lips and hearts.
‘O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him, born the King of angels; ( Chorus: O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.) True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal, Lo, he shuns not the Virgin’s womb; Son of the Father, begotten, not created; (Chorus) Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God, all glory in the highest; (Chorus)
See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze; We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps; (Chorus) Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger, We would embrace Thee, with love and awe; Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly? (Chorus) Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing. O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.’
Ah friends, what a beautiful and grateful way to praise our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for all that’s He’s done, is still doing and will do for us in the future. Praise His Holy Name. He is the reason why we have hope for the future, faith in salvation and joy in the promise of eternal life! All the more reason to LOVE and adore Him! Not to despise and cast aspersions and try to remove Him from our society.
But I guess there will always be doubters and evildoers, so it’s up to us believers to raise His profile and make His LOVE Revolution a success. For we are His ears, arms, mouths, legs, and hands in the world, His ambassadors, His disciples, and as we go, so will His movement, His church. Some parts of it are thriving, who knows why, but most are finding it difficult to survive, and many are even closing.
That’s not a very good vibe my people, and means that we’re not doing as good a job as we should. Christ is not being reflected in us as fully as He should be. That’s why we need to take the wise advice in our Bit, from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
Yeh friends, it’s almost dawn, Jesus will soon be coming back, and right now our efforts are sadly lacking, so we need to improve dramatically. As Bruh Paul continues to the Roman church: ‘Let us walk honestly (properly), as in the day; not in rioting (revelry) and drunkenness, not in chambering (licentiousness) and wantonness (lewdness), not in strife and envying.’ (Rom.13:13)
And it’s no secret friends that too many of us so-called Christians are deeply involved in too much of those worldly improprieties. We need to stop the hypocrisy; narrow the gulf between the Christian stuff we mouth, and the worldly trail we walk. As Bruh Paul warns: ‘But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.’ (Rom.13:14)
And the scholars offer this explanation re that verse. ‘13:14. Make not provision for the flesh: One should not seek opportunities to satisfy deep-seated desires of the sin nature, but should seek occasion to manifest works that are consistent with the new life in Christ.’
And that’s all Christ is asking of us yes friends: if you claim to believe in Him, then please live the way He desires you to live. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because we don’t have the capacity for that, but He does expect us to be excellent and diligent in doing His work, like He was excellent and diligent in doing the Father’s work here on earth. When we don’t walk our talk, we just cause others to bad-mouth our Saviour and further demean His reputation, thus playing into the hands of the workers of iniquity.
Therefore my faithful brethren, let’s do like Bruh Paul suggests to the Ephesians nuh. ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them). For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph.5:11-14)
Oh friends, if we sincerely want to help the cause of Jesus, then we have to stop indulging in those sins that we know are ‘unfruitful works of darkness,’ sins of the unsaved, and instead expose them, bring them into the light, show them for the wrongdoings that they are. It’s time friends, time for less talk and more action, time to throw off the cloak of darkness and put on the mantle of light that Jesus offers. That’s the ONLY way our world will ever improve. Much LOVE!
…Christians…oh Christians…where is your light that’s supposed to shine in the darkness…to light up the world…
03 Aug 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a step, abundance, adversity, after one time is two, Azariah, be strong, believe in Jesus, blatant lying, blessings, bread to eat, Caribana, Caribana Parade, coals of fire, complain too much, courage, creativity, curse, deception, dignity, divine protection, do, dr robert h schuller, dwelling within us, eternity, evil for evil, eye teeth, from happiness to suffering, glory to God, good courage, good for evil, gospel truth, grow in Christian faith, immoral, King and Queen Show, let not your hands be weak, negative word, nobody tougher than Jesus, O love the Lord, Pan competition, petty problems, promotion, prosper, punishment, revenge, rewards, saints, self-control, selfish, shame, share blessings, standards, stealing, strengthen thine heart, succeed, suffering, suffering to happiness, talent, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord preserves the faithful, the proud doer, thine enemy be hungry, thirsty, Thursday Blessings, Toronto Carnival, tough people, tough times, tough times don't last, ungodly world, upon his head, water to drink, wisdom, working for Jesus, wrongdoings
2 Chronicles 15:7. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
And then it was Thursday; the Thursday of the Caribana weekend, or rather the Toronto Carnival Festival, or some such thing. That’s because the Caribana name is the legal possession of some other entity. But nonetheless, the ordinary populace will forever call it Caribana.
So the city is gearing up for big crowds at the many events. Tonight is the King and Queen of the Bands Show. Tomorrow evening is the Pan Competition, the only event I intend to attend. And Saturday is the Parade down on the Lakeshore.
I’m sorry but I’ve lost all interest in it. Firstly because the standards have fallen, it’s not as good as it was. And secondly my aching knees can’t handle the walking the Parade entails. So after thirty something years of religiously attending it, I haven’t been there for about three years now.
And strangely it doesn’t bother me. Years ago, I would have been very upset if I missed the Caribana Parade, but no more. I guess as they say, after one time is two.
And here is something to which we all can relate. It’s a Jewish Proverb that tells us: ‘From happiness to suffering is a step; from suffering to happiness is an eternity.’
And isn’t that the truth! Our happiness changes to suffering in the blink of an eye, but it always takes what seems like eternity for the suffering to return to happiness.
But you know what friends, when we believe in Jesus Christ and consequently have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, it is possible to handle the suffering with dignity and some measure of self-control, and even grow through it all. That’s because we only grow in our Christian faith through adversity and tough times.
But what was it Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H Schuller) always said ‘tough times don’t last, but tough people do.’ Glory to God!
And if you’re a Christian then that means you’re tough, because there’s been nobody tougher than our Leader, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that’s whom we are supposed to pattern ourselves after.
Unfortunately though, too many supposed Christians have become soft and wishy-washy by the easy, comfortable lives we live in this too ungodly society. And we complain way too much over simple petty problems. A lot of others around the world would give their eye-teeth to have some of what we consider problems.
That is why the warning words of Azariah is our Bit today: ‘Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.’
And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers! If we stand strong in our work for Jesus, we will be faithfully rewarded by an ever-faithful God. Let’s look at a few examples of such a promise in the Good Book.
And the first one comes from Psalm 31 – In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. There Bruh David admonishes us thus! ‘O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth (fully repays) the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.’ (Ps.31:23-24)
What awesome words of encouragement my brethren!
Now listen to Cousin Sol as he declares: ‘If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.’ (Prov.25:21-22)
Now none of us in our natural human state will generally want to feed our enemy, but our Saviour commands us not to return evil for evil, but return good for evil, and doing that kind of stuff will eventually be well rewarded.
And here is an interesting note from the scholars. ’25:22. Coals of fire does not refer to revenge or punishment but to the pangs of shame that will lead to reconciliation.’
But friends, I’d like to advise us not to wait for shame to show up in our enemies when we treat them good, because shame is something that no longer exists in this selfish, immoral and ungodly society of ours.
Shame died when we took God out of our schools, government and homes. Look at all the blatant lying, stealing and deception that is so flagrant nowadays. At least, back then we had the shame to hide our wrongdoings, but now they have become the norm.
But let’s go home filled with the assurance that our work here on earth will be well rewarded, proudly declaring our Thursday Blessings. With much chutzpah now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life!
I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!
I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now we need to go out and share those blessings with others! Much LOVE!
…working sincerely for Jesus…will always bring good rewards…
28 Jun 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abounding, as a father pitys his children, as far as the east is from the west, be glad, befall a human being, believers in Jesus, Bruh David, criticizing God, damage occursgoing to church, destiny of our souls, encouragement, excuse, fellowshipping, flood warnings, forgiving, fragility, from everlasting to everlasting, goodness, gracious, heavenly blessings, iniquities, iniquity, Jesus, just desserts, long-suffering, loving kindness, majesty, man's days are as grass, merciful, Moses, Mt. Sinai, only true and living God, plenteous in mercy, praise, rejoice and give thanks, revere, reverence God, rewarded us per our sins, righteousness., sinful children of men, slow to anger, Ten Commandments, thanks, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord is merciful and gracious, the worst fate, tit for tat, transgressions, truth, up in arms, upliftment, wet and windy day, what's good for the goose is good for the gender, worship, wrongdoings
Psalm 103:8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness).
Well Friends, welcome to a wet and windy Sunday morning in my area of the universe! In fact it’s been wet and windy since yesterday around noon, and will probably remain the same until sometime tomorrow morning.
So much heavenly blessing is expected that flood warnings have been issued to the low lying areas and those around rivers and creeks. Let’s hope that no serious damage occurs, although it’s always good to be prepared, just in case. However, a little water from heaven should not stop most of us from going to church this morning, though we are always ready to use it as an excuse.
I wonder how we would feel if when we cry out to God for help, He says: “Sorry I can’t offer any help right now nuh because the rain’s falling, or the snow is coming down in a blizzard, and in any case I’m just too busy, lazy or tired to help you right now. Check me back later, I might be able to do something then.’
No doubt we’d all be up in arms, criticizing God, but we feel it’s quite okay for us to make simple-minded excuses to stay away from His sanctuary and miss giving Him the praise, thanks and worship that are His due, as well as fail to receive the spiritual upliftment and encouragement that comes from believers in Jesus fellowshipping together.
Remember Friends, what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander. (smile) We can’t ignore God, then get annoyed and upset if He ignores us. But it’s a marvellous and wonderful thing that we don’t have that kind of God; one with a tit-for-tat personality and attitude, where whatever you mete out to Him, He has to necessarily meet back the same thing to you.
On the contrary my brethren, we have such a forgiving God, that it makes me sit and ponder in awe of His majesty and righteousness. Listen to how Bruh David describes our awesome God in our Bit that comes from Psalm 103 – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness).’
Wow mih people! Can that be said of any other supposed deity? Obviously not! Because none other than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are real, true and living gods. And nobody would know that better than Bruh David since he was a constant recipient of God’s LOVING-kindness despite his many wrongdoings.
Now hear how he continues after our Bit. ‘He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame (understands our constitution); he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more (not remember it). But the mercy (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;’ (Ps.103:9-17)
Oh my brethren, how can we not LOVE and revere such a wonderful Deity eh? We’d certainly be very foolish not to do so! He isn’t always chiding us for our mistakes, and His anger doesn’t last for very long. Most importantly, He has not given us our just desserts for the abominable sins we have committed. If He did, none of us would be alive to tell the tale, that’s for sure, since we have all sinned and come short of His glory. (Rom.3:23)
And even better yet, all those abominable transgressions have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west. He even treats those of us who worship and reverence Him like a father. He also knows our fragility, because He’s the one who created us from the dust of the earth and made our days comparatively as short as the flowers and grass that bloom in the fields.
Now why wouldn’t I be glad and rejoice and give thanks and gratefully appreciate all that eh? Hn! Unfortunately though, a lot of us, way too many, don’t believe it, neither do we appreciate God’s goodness to the sinful children of men. How sad and foolish my people.
It is indeed a very unwise move we are making, for we are playing with the eternal destiny of our souls, which could lead to death, damnation and everlasting separation from God. And as I keep reminding us, that is the worst fate that can ever befall a human being.
Now listen to those same sentiments expressed by the Lord Himself, when He passed before Moses on Mt. Sinai, the second time he went up there to receive the Ten Commandments.
‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:5-7)
Ah Friends, those were the words of the Lord God Jehovah Himself! And nothing much has changed since then. He is still the same faithful, forgiving, merciful, ever-LOVING, gracious, wise, compassionate and understanding God that He has always been.
Consequently, I urge us all to smarten up, to get our acts together and sincerely and reverently worship, praise, give thanks and glorify the Holy One of Israel; the ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD! For that is the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!
…only fools run from the presence… and therefore the blessings of Jehovah God…
24 Mar 2015
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 1 John, abusing our blessings, all bets are off, allow us to earn money, be prepared, be warned, believers in Jesus Christ, blessedness, blessings, bound for glory, breath of life, burst of inspiration, cleansing light, come short of God's glory, compassion, condemn, condemnation, confession, covered with mud, crapaud smoke we pipe, deceive oneself, deny our sins, empower, empowers, encourage, eternal life, faithfully serve, fight to keep our rights, fleeting glimpse, fluctuating heart, foolishness, for we have all sinned, friends, give thanks, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, God's greatest creation, gone mad, gospel truth, gratefully appreciate our blessings, greedy enemy, handcuffed spirit, His key of infinite love, hope, hope for forgiveness, I am blessed, if we confess our sins, Jesus Christ, Jesus is coming back, joy, lack of wisdom, lesser creatures, liar, lost our minds, LOVE, lustful ways of Beelzebub, misery, New Testament, Old Testament, omipotent, omni-present, omniscient, One Year Book of Bible promises, options, our forefathers, our godly empowerment, our jobs, our Lord and Saviour, pamper, plays hooky, purify our hearts, recognize their blessings, refuse to obey, resonated, restful hours, restores joy, reverberated, Ruth Harms Calkin, safe fortress, share our good fortune, shortcomings, sinful path, sins, sit on the fence, spiritual irregularity, stand up strong, stretch spiritual muscles, taking them for granted, the birds singing, the centre of God's will, the clothes on our backs, the food on our tables, the freedom to worship Jehovah God, the fruit of our loins, the Giver of light, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the last train, the less fortunate, the Master, the prince of darkness, the righteousness of jesus Christ, the roofs over our heads, The Truant, there is therefore now no condemnation, thouroughly cleanses, time to waiver, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, to provide necessities, truths, universality of man's sin, unrighteousness, uplift, wisdom, wrongdoings
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh Friends, ‘I, I am blessed! I want to tell the world, that I, I am blessed!’
Yes my people, last night in one of my late night sessions, I heard that tune by Mello G, one of my favourite reggae songs. And apparently it reverberated and resonated through my mind during those restful hours of sleep, because I got up this morning still singing it. I took that as a sure sign that I was expected to share it with you on this chilly Tuesday spring morning.
And to further solidify that theory, when I went outside just now to put out the garbage, I heard the birds singing it too. (smile) So if these lesser creatures can recognize their blessings and give thanks for them, why can’t we, God’s greatest creation eh?
So please sing the chorus with me: ‘Oh we, we are blessed! Let’s shout to the world, that we, we are blessed! Yes indeed, we are truly, truly blessed!’
Yes my brethren, if you can read these words and mentally process them, then you are indeed blessed! The roofs over our heads, the clothes on our backs, the food on our tables, the fruit of our loins, our children, the jobs we go to which allow us to earn money to provide those necessities, those all indicate that we are greatly blessed!
The freedom to worship Jehovah God, all of that shouts out blessings and blessedness my brethren! For there is a very large portion of the earth’s population who can’t say those things at all.
So please, let’s gratefully appreciate them nuh, instead of simply taking them for granted and abusing them, and learn to share our good fortune, our godly empowerment with the less fortunate, and stand up strong and fight to keep those rights that our forefathers fought so long and hard to get, but which the cruel, evil and greedy enemy now wants to take away from us!
Wow Friends! That certainly came in a sudden burst of inspiration! (smile) Now here is this touching story entitled ‘The Truant,’ from the One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin.
It says: ‘What does God do with a truant who plays hooky from her heavenly Father? What are the options? One thing is sure: He doesn’t pamper her. He knows she needs to stretch her spiritual muscles. He doesn’t shout, “Get up, foolish child!”
She’s so covered with mud she can’t move. He doesn’t condemn her, because His promise is “There is therefore now no condemnation.” In the end he does what He always does for any half-demolished child of His: He unlocks her handcuffed spirit with His key of infinite LOVE.
He checks her fluctuating heart with its spiritual irregularity. He gives her a fleeting glimpse of things as they could be. He accepts her confession. He thoroughly cleanses her, then He holds her close to His tender heart. He restores her joy and empowers her to obey.
Suddenly she knows with great gladness that her one safe fortress is the centre of her Father’s will. At least so it is with one truant child: me.’
And Friends, that story is ever so true! It’s repeated thousands of times a day by our wonderful heavenly Father! No other supposed god does anything like that. They put you through even more misery for your sins and shortcomings.
But not our wonderful God! When we confess our wrongdoings, He instead cleanses us and shows us LOVE and compassion! And yet so many of us still refuse to obey and faithfully serve Him. What foolishness, what lack of wisdom, my people!
And the Bible promise that’s quoted for that story is our Bit for today. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, those are just more beautiful truths that ought to empower and uplift us, to encourage us to keep on faithfully following our wonderful Lord and Saviour! But they obviously don’t do that for a large part of our population, who prefer to follow the sinful path of the prince of darkness.
Now listen to the verse after our Bit. ‘If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:10) More unfortunate truths again my people!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations on those verses. ‘1.9. This is a restatement of verse 7. We ought not to deny our sins (v.8), but rather to confess them before God. This opens the door for His forgiving and cleansing light to purify our hearts. Unrighteousness is another way of saying “sin”.
1:10. To deny one’s sinfulness (v.8) or sins is not just to deceive oneself; it is to make God a liar by denying His word. Both Old and New Testaments stress the universality of man’s sin. (e.g. Job 4:17; Ps.14:3; Is.53:6; Rom.3:10-18, 23).’
Yes Friends, that’s all gospel truth: ‘For we have all sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23)
So, after hearing all of that, we have no good or real reason not to believe in and serve the omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. None whatsoever! Unless we’ve lost our minds and literally gone mad.
Sadly though, it seems that a lot of us have succumbed to that dreaded illness, because too many of us have chosen, and are choosing to follow the worldly, lustful ways of Beelzebub, the prince of darkness, rather than the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Master and Giver of Light and Eternal Life!
The wonderful thing about our God though, is that we can always get another chance! While there is His breath of life in our mortal and sinful bodies, there’s always hope for His forgiveness.
But please be warned, there isn’t time to waiver and sit on the fence, because Jesus is coming back in majesty and glory at any time! And when He does… all bets are off!
So please be wise and get yourselves straightened away with Him today; better yet, RIGHT NOW! That is the wisdom of the righteous! Much LOVE!
…let us be wise…be prepared…for we know not when…the last train bound for glory…will be steaming out of the station…and if we’re not on it…hn!…then crapaud smoke we pipe…
21 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: ability, Abraham, admissible evidence, assurance, Athens, authority, balancing act, being fearful, black and white, blatant, boggles the imagination, boldfaced, Bruh Paul, brutality, calamitous state, called to account, Christian, Christmas, confidence, conscience, consitent, corruption, crime, crimes against humanity, culprits, destruction, disobedient, economics, emotional, evil, followers, God-given responsibility, Godhead, good, greed, help, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, incompetence, Jesus, judged, judgement, judgement day, justice, justice of God, letting voices be heard, life, light of the world, loss of jobs, LOVE, marginalization, Mars Hill, mental, mercy, military presence, needy, newspapers, obedient, offspring of God, ordained, parable, pay heed, petty excuses, physcial tiredness, piddling wages, plead, police, politics, poor getting poorer, poverty, prayer, public protests, raised from the dead, relationships, resistance, retribution, rich getting richer, righteousness., rule the roost, rumours of war, salt of the earth, secret thing, selfishness, serious action, Sodom, sorry picture, standards, standing up to wrongdoers, step up to the plate, strife, talents, technological prowess, throw the book, under a bushel, understanding, ungodly, unhappiness, unknown God, walk earhtly paths, wars, wisdom, wrongdoings
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired and unhappy this Saturday morning before Christmas. It’s not physical tiredness nuh, but mental and emotional unhappiness. But it’s all my fault, for I fell behind in my newspaper reading this week, then unwisely tried to catch up on several days reading, all at once. From now on though, I’m going to try my best to stay current, because the news from one day is bearable, but for several…no way Jose!
And what a sorry picture it all painted. We start of with wars and rumours of war, strife in almost every area. Then we have economic and political incompetence and corruption all over the world. And not only that, but the boldfaced and blatant manner in which these crimes against humanity are being carried out, boggles the imagination, especially when very little, if any retribution is being meted out to the culprits.
At least in earlier times we had the good sense to hide our wrong-doings, but not today. Today the greed and selfishness is all out in the open, nobody seems to have a conscience anymore. And in the balancing act that’s life, it only means that the rich are noticeably getting richer, while the poor are not only getting poorer, but also that their numbers are daily increasing at an alarming rate, what with the great loss of jobs and the piddling wages most of the remaining ones now pay.
And since there’s only one pie to be split up amongst several groups, if one group unilaterally increases their portion, then obviously all the others will have theirs curtailed. And consequently, we end up with astronomical rates of marginalization, abject poverty, homelessness, hunger, escalating crime and public protests, more police and military presence and brutality, etc. etc. And who would ever have expected such a calamitous state in a world that is at the height of its technological prowess eh?
Ah mih people, when and where will it all end eh? I guess the Lord alone knows. But we, His people down here on earth also have a serious, God-given responsibility to help, to do our best not to let matters deteriorate any further. And we can only do this by taking serious action; a combination of prayer, letting our voices be heard publicly, standing up to the wrongdoers, and helping those in need.
That’s what Jesus did, and what He fully expects of anyone who calls him or herself a Christian. But there again my fellow believers, we’re not truly living up to the standards that Jesus desires of His followers, and are allowing the ungodly to rule the roost without much resistance. But Friends, please, let’s listen to, and pay serious heed to the words of our Bit. ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yes my brethren, all our actions will be judged. And when the Lord asks us why we didn’t do better with the talents He gave us like the servants in Jesus’ parable, (Matt.18:23-35) what are we going to tell Him eh? Remember too that ignorance will not be admissible evidence. So it’s full time, or rather overdue time that we get our act together and do something concrete for the world, instead of making petty excuses and being fearful, or being selfish and greedy like the world around us.
Remember we’re supposed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, but it seems that in fits of anxiety we’re hiding our lights under a bushel and the salt in us has become seriously diminished and thus useless. But Friends, we need to step up to the plate like so many others have done before us, and we’ll use this example of Bruh Paul in our Bit, as he stood up on Mars hill in Athens, explaining to its citizens about the altar they had erected with the inscription; ‘TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.’ (Acts 17:23)
‘Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead (Divine Nature) is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven (shaped) by art and man’s device (devising). And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; wherefore he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.’ (Acts 17:29-31)
And we’ll close with some notes from the scholars’ re the Justice of God. ’17:31. The justice of God is the active extension of the holiness of God into matters of decision. It implies that God has the authority and ability to establish the standard for all relationships and that He will be consistent in relating to His obedient and disobedient creatures. The justice of God is both legislative and distributive.
Illustration: When Abraham attempted to prevent the destruction of Sodom, he appealed to God’s justice: he knew that the Judge of all the earth would do right (Gen.18:25). Application: So today, everyone can have confidence that God will deal with him justly, but the believer may additionally plead God’s mercy. (First Ref. Gen.3:14; Primary Ref. Acts 17:31; cf. Mark 10:18)’
There we have it Friends, in black and white! Now we can’t say we didn’t know, and anyway, as we said above, ignorance will not stand as a plausible plea on judgement day. Therefore let’s come together, TODAY, and clean up our acts, so that the just judge, on judgement day, will not have to throw the book at us. Much LOVE my people!
…and may the Lord grant us wisdom and understanding…to walk earthly paths…that will not bring harsh judgement…when He calls us to account…
01 Dec 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: acknowledged sin, anger, arrows, awesome truth, Black Friday, bones waxed old, brave, Bruh David, caught up, chasten, Christmas, Christmas shopping, chutzpah, cleanse, confess our sins, confession of sins, constancy of effort, Cousin Sol, covers sinss, day and night, death, deceit, deity, disastrous consequences, displeasure, divine instruction, divine wisdom, eternal life, ever-LOVING God, faithful, faithfully, follow Jesus, forgive, forgiven, forsake sins, friends, get lost, gift of God, glory hallelujah, godly promise, godly woman, gracious, groaning, guile, happiness, haunt us, heavenly Father, heavy burden, help, holy, hoopla, idolatry, iniquity, Jesus Christ, Jesus' orbit, just, merciful, mercy, New Hampshire, New Year, New Year's resolution, peace, penitent heart, personal witness, physical, Plymouth, Praise the Lord, prayer, preparations, problems, prosper, psychological, rebuke me not, rest, righteous God, salvation, sanctity of the family, Sears store, shopping, shopping blitz, sorrow, spirit, store owner, stray, thank you, thanksgiving, the world's orbit, time, transgression, truthful, undeserving sinners, unrighteousness, vitality, wages of sin, worship, wrongdoings
1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s already the first day of December? The days sure are flying fast! Soon it will be Christmas, and then the New Year! And it seems that just recently we were cavorting and carrying on during the lazy, hazy days of summer. (smile)
That brings to mind that New Year’s Resolution we made to follow Jesus more closely in this year 2013. Time to check on it again my brethren, and do whatever is necessary to fulfill it.
Sorry, but you can’t truly fulfill it in just one month, since following Jesus is a process built on time and constancy of effort. That’s why I’ve been encouraging us to check on it at the beginning of each month.
And now that Christmas is upon us, meaning we’ll be busy with all the preparations and shopping, all that stuff is very liable to take us out of Jesus’ orbit and into that of the world. And talking about shopping, let’s chalk up one for Jesus and the sanctity of the family!
It seems that a brave and godly woman in Plymouth, New Hampshire, a Sears Homestore owner, refused the Head Office’s request to open at 7.p.m. on Thanksgiving evening, citing her support for families getting together on such a notable holiday.
And all God’s people declared a loud and heartfelt, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!’ Yes Friends, our God should indeed be praised for that bit of chutzpah on the store owner’s part.
And the commercial nonsense is getting worse daily, for whereas Black Friday usually meant stores opening at midnight, they’re now opening early on Thanksgiving evening, cutting even deeper into the celebrations. Ah Lord eh!
And even sadder is the fact that there’s no break between the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping blitz, it’s all one concerted effort now. Steups! But I’ve got to say a big thank you to our God, because personally I don’t get caught up in all the hoopla.
However, the good thing about it all, is if we do stray, get lost and caught up in the idolatry of the worldly events, we have a way out in the godly promise of our Bit. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Now yesterday we were mainly concerned about what John had to say on the matter, today though, we’ll look at what other figures in scripture have to say about the confession of sins.
And we’re going to begin with the wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov.28:13)
Oh my people, that’s such an awesome truth! For when we try to hide our sins, they usually come back to haunt us at the worse time possible. As the old people would say, whatever is done in darkness will eventually come to light, with more disastrous consequences too. That’s another awesome truth, to which most of us can testify from personal experience.
Now let’s turn to a man who knew all about sins, righteousness, confessions and cleansing, Bruh David. Listen to him in Psalm 32; The blessedness of forgiveness. ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not (does not charge his account with) iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit).
When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.’ (Ps.32:1-5)
Oh Friends, I’m sure that many of us can say the same thing, if we’re truthful. (smile) For when our wrongdoings weigh us down, our spirits usually become deflated and we just don’t feel right in the sight of our holy and righteous God.
But please note Bruh David’s solution, the only one that will bring us any peace; confession of our known iniquity to our heavenly Father. For as our Bit so rightly, faithfully and LOVINGLY declares: ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Ah mih breddren, I can’t help but note again, what a wonderful Deity we serve and worship!’ And for being so gracious and merciful to us undeserving sinners, let’s give Him a big, loud, grateful and hearty; ‘Thank You Lord! You’re the BEST! And that’s no lie Friends!
And these comments from the scholars just corroborate my feelings. ‘Psalm 32. The psalm describes the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. This is the theme of especially the first five verses, which include the happiness of the forgiven man (vv.1-2), the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin (vv.2-4), and the simple remedy of confession to receive God’s forgiveness (v.5). On this basis David can experience prayer (vv.6-7), divine instruction (vv.8-9), and personal witness (vv.10-11).
And we’ll end with some more prayerful words from Bruh David, these from Psalm 38; The prayer of a penitent heart, which we recently covered, but is certainly worth hearing again. ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me (pierce me deeply), and thy hand presseth me sore (down). There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest (peace) in my bones because of my sin.
For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me… For I am ready to halt (fall), and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin…. Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ (Ps.32:1-4, 17-18, 21-22)
So Friends, we know our problems, and we know how to fix them, so please let’s get on with it nuh. That’s not only divine wisdom, but it also warms and pleases the heart of our wonderful, ever-LOVING God. Much LOVE!
…for the wages of sin is death…but the gift of God… is eternal life…through (in) Jesus Christ… (Rom.6:23)
26 Nov 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: admonition, afraid, allergies, authtoritative statement, bastards, believe in Jesus, bet yuh bottom dollar, chasten, chastening, chastisement, children, chosen people, Christian story, commands, common cold, compilation, complimentary, consequences, contrite, corporal punishment, correction, death, deliverance of Israel, depth of learning, despise, Deuteronomy, discipline, discouraged, disobedience, displeasure, divine dispensation, divine wisdom, ever-faithful promise, exhortation, exodus, face of the earth, faint, fair share, faithful, fear not, fruit of righteousness, god, God's principle, gospel truth, habakkuk, healing, healing powers, heartfelt pleas, Hebrews, holiness, I am with you, illegitimate, Israel, Jesus, joyous, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, machinations, medication, merciful, mercy, miserable, mortal, obliterated, pleasure, Praise the Lord, profit, proven fact, Proverbs, punishment, rebuke, respect, Revelation, reverence, scourge, sons, spare the rod, spoil the child, spoiled brats, subjection, training, trustworthy, unpunished, victory ode, wages of sin, weak, wrath, wrongdoings
Psalm 38:1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s shaking it a tad rough thus cold Tuesday morning. My allergies seem to be acting up. Let’s hope it’s just that and not a full-blown cold. Thankfully, I haven’t had one of those in a long time. However, between the man-made medicine and the enabling powers of our healing God, I’m bringing whatever it might be under control. ‘Praise the Lord!’
But isn’t it strange how a simple thing like the common cold, or allergic sniffling, sneezing and blowing can make a body feel so weak and miserable, while supposedly greater illnesses don’t have us feeling so lousy all over? Anyway, the important thing is that we try to rise above whatever ails us through God’s helpful healing powers and whatever man-made medication He directs us to.
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which through the Lord’s mysterious machinations (smile) has turned into a three day affair, when it was originally planned for only one. But that’s how the Lord operates, because of His higher thoughts and ways. And if that’s how He wants his Word to be exposed, who am I, a puny mortal, to say Him nay eh? I’d eventually be crying out like the psalmist: ‘O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.’
And today, we’ll continue looking at some scriptures that deal with heartfelt pleas, healing and chastening, that we didn’t finish yesterday. First off, for the benefit of all those who didn’t take the time to check it, I’ll quote the Habakkuk verse from the scholar’s reference yesterday.
‘O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.’ (Hab.3:2)
That prayer precedes a victory ode recounting God’s deliverance of Israel during the Exodus from Egypt. But again my people, we’re reminded of the mercy the Lord needs to show us, otherwise we’d just be obliterated from the face of the earth in His anger over our numerous wrongdoings.
However, here is the Lord’s ever-faithful promise to His chosen people Israel, and to all those who subsequently believe in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus. This is also from the scholar’s reference yesterday.
‘Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure (as is right); yet I will not leave thee wholly unpunished.’ (Jer.46:28)
Ah mih breddren, thankfully we will not be obliterated, but bet yuh bottom dollar, we will receive our fair share of punishment. Now originally I was going to quote Jer.30:11, which basically says the same thing, but I preferred the ‘Fear thou not,’ start of the quoted scripture. (smile)
And please remember Friends, that the Lord, our great, faithful and trustworthy God is ALWAYS with His people! That’s not only gospel truth, but also a proven fact!
And we’ll end with a scripture we all know, but foolishly try to run from. It is the brilliant compilation of words from Proverbs, Revelation and Deuteronomy, plus some of his own, that the author of Hebrews gives us on the subject of chastening.
And having read Hebrews, I truly don’t see how the author could be any other than Bruh Paul, for the depth of learning and huge amount of divine dispensation that it entails, and even more the language used therein, he is the only one in the Christian story that seems to have had them all.
Anyway, let’s check out this most important bit of scripture my fellow believers. Please note that wherever the passage says ‘son’ it can be also read ‘daughter’ if you’re female.
‘And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as children (sons), My son, despise not thou the chastening (discipline) of the Lord, nor faint (be discouraged) when thou art rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord LOVETH He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then ye are bastards (illegitimate), and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence (respect): shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us, after their own pleasure (as seemed best to them); but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ (Heb.12:5-11)
Oh mih people, that says it all! It’s the authoritative statement on the subject! However, I want to add some important explanations from the scholars. (smile)
’12:6. Whom the Lord LOVETH he chasteneth: God’s principle of disciplining His own people is completely congruous (in accordance with) human practices. This quotation from Proverbs 3:12, stating God’s practice, corresponds to the commands gave to fathers:
“He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that LOVETH him chasteneth him betimes (promptly)” (Prov.13:24; cf. 22:15; 23:13). LOVE and corporal punishment are not incongruous (incompatible); they are two complimentary and necessary aspects of training.’
Sadly though Friends, we as fleshly parents have seriously disregarded that godly admonition, and thus have reaped the consequences, poorly trained, disobedient children.
However, let’s just remember not to get too upset and carry on like spoiled brats whenever the Lord hauls us up on the carpet, because He WILL be merciful, if we are contrite and accepting of our punishment. And that’s definitely divine wisdom! Much LOVE!
…if you have problems with being chastened…hn!…then just remember the other option nuh…for the wages of sin is death…
06 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afflicted, depart from evil, do good, fasting, forgiving mercy and grace, God of Love, heads, hearts, hypocrite, joy and happiness, Lent, living truth, Love for Jesus, meditating, omnipotent god, praying, seeking God, sin can't hide, tape measure, the eyes of God, the ways of man, wrongdoings
Job 34:21. For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.
Oh Friends, it’s Wednesday, and the sound of the pre Lenten celebrations are all around. But next week this time, the partying will be over, and we’ll be doing ashes instead, as the Lenten season of praying, fasting and close encounters with Almighty God proliferate. Now isn’t it surprising how at that particular time of the year, how so many of us can turn to God and behave in a somewhat more appropriate fashion? Why can’t we do that through more of the year eh? Partying and seeking God are not mutually exclusive things. In fact, seeking God leads to more joy and happiness in one’s life. So let’s see if we can’t raise the level of our relationship with the Father all through the year nuh, and not just during the Lenten season. Anyway, here’s a little something I want to share. I saw it just now on a 3 x 5 card at the front of my desk. Yes, it’s one of those things I pass everyday, but very seldom see. It says: ‘God’s tape measure goes around hearts, not heads.’ And isn’t that the living truth Friends! God doesn’t measure our heads, otherwise He wouldn’t have a tape measure big enough to go around the many extremely swollen heads that are running around right now. Instead, He measures our hearts; how full, or big they are with true LOVE and adoration for His Son, Jesus, and how obedient we are to His will. And it’s so sad that too many believers will get small measurements when God measures our hearts, because our motives, LOVE for God and each other are not as strong and pure as they should be. That brings us to our Bit: ‘For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.’ Yes mih people, we talk a big talk about our omnipotent, omniscient, omni-present God, then go out and do nonsense; stuff that doesn’t fit who we are as believers. Now if our God is so powerful, all-knowing and all pervasive, isn’t He going to see and know our wrong doings? Of course! But I guess we don’t think about that when the evil Beelzebub gets in our hearts and minds and leads us astray. The time to think Friends is before the deed’s done, not after, when the possible consequences stare us in the face. And despite all the evidence to the contrary, some of us still genuinely believe we can fool God and get away with it. Hn! How wrong, how naive and foolish that is my brethren! For as Elihu, Job’s buddy, continues after our Bit: ‘There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. For he will not lay upon man more than right (need not further consider a man); that he should enter into judgement with God (go before God in judgement). He shall break in pieces mighty men without number (inquiry), and set others in their stead (place). Therefore he knoweth their works, and he overturneth (overthrows) them in the night, so that they are destroyed (crushed). He striketh them as wicked men in the open sight of others; because they turned back from him, and would not consider any of his ways: So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted. When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only (alone): That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.’ (Job 34:22:30) Yes Friends, there is no hiding from our mighty, merciful, but just God! In His time He will set justice upon all who deserve it. Our only hope is to trust in Jesus and follow His lead as best we can, otherwise the Lord will eventually call us to account for all our wrongdoing. And it’s obvious that there’s way too much wrongdoing in all aspects of our lives, all over God’s earth! Do you imagine He will let it all go unpunished? Absolutely not! Even as we speak, He’s in the process of righting some wrongs, and meting out the appropriate punishment. We need to remember that our god is a God of LOVE, but also a God of justice. And justice must be done in His kingdom. Why do you think He went to such extraordinary lengths to lay our sins on Jesus, then sacrifice Him? So that justice could be done, and we wouldn’t have to pay the hefty price of death, eternal separation from Him. That’s why Bruh David warns in Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘What man is he that desireth life, and LOVETH many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit). Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off (destroy) the remembrance of them from the earth.’ (Ps.34:12-16) Yes my people, our God doesn’t sleep, neither is He tired. He rules His creation, our universe and all therein with a mighty hand! Just listen to what He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, against His chosen people Israel, when they went a whoring after other Gods. ‘Behold I will send for many fishers (fishermen), saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first I will recompense (repay) their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.’ (Jer.16:16-18) Oh Friends, though the Lord will eventually bring His chosen back to the Promised Land, they will pay for their disobedience. Please, let’s remember that today, and consider our own lives, and repent from any known disobedience, so that we won’t suffer the rightful justice we deserve, but will instead be blessed by His forgiving mercy and grace. That’s wisdom at its highest level. Much LOVE!…continual disobedience may bring big rewards in Lucifer’s world…but in God’s righteous and just kingdom…it brings sure punishment…
SCRIP-BITS 