Time for Christians to Wake Up and Acknowledge God’s Glory and give Him the Grateful Praise He Deserves!

06 Sep 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 September 2026   John 3:16.

John 3:16.        For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

And after Saturday comes Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when He rested from His creation of the universe, and when we, His faithful followers gather to celebrate His awesome LOVE and goodness through the giving of thanks and praise in joyful fellowship and sincere worship. And we’ll get the proceedings underway with a beautiful hymn dedicated to Almighty God, titled ‘To God be the Glory.’ It’s a hymn with lyrics by that wonderful, prolific though blind hymnist Fanny Crosby and music by William Howard Doane, apparently written around 1872 but first published in 1875.

The story goes that after it got included in Billy Graham’s crusades beginning in the 1950’s, it became famous worldwide, and is still being sung all around the world. According to the website Godtube: ‘To God Be the Glory’ celebrates the greatness of God and calls upon an appreciation for the wondrous things ‘He hath done.’ It is a glorious hymn to be sang rejoicefully in the spirit of gratitude.’ And I totally agree. So, with that in mind, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, scintillating mid-to-up-tempo version, (smile) sincerely expressing that rejoicing spirit of gratitude.

Singing: ‘To God be the glory, great things He hath done, so LOVED He the world that He gave us His Son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in. (Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done.) O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God; the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

(Refrain) Great things He hath taught us, great things He hath done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son; but purer, and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. (Refrain: Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He hath done.)’

Oh friends, that was wonderful! And did we ever show forth that spirit of gratitude! As so we should, when God has done so much for us, especially the sacrificial gift of Jesus and all it encompasses. And we certainly acknowledge it when we sing that first verse praising God’s LOVE for humanity, and the enormous lengths He went to, to secure our salvation. As Jesus so nicely puts it to the Jewish leader Nicodemus. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)

And Jesus did sacrifice His sinless life to atone for our sins. And it was by no means easy. Isaiah possibly best describes the terrible time Jesus had long before Jesus’ human incarnation. He writes: ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs (sickness), and wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes (blows that cut into his body) we are healed.’ (Is. 53-4-5) And that is exactly what Jesus suffered on our behalf my people. That’s how He ‘opened the gate that all may go in.’

Then the chorus also makes a most worthwhile statement by encouraging us to praise the Lord all over the earth, with grateful rejoicing for all the great things He’s done, and coming to Him through the finished work of His Son. It’s like Psalm 96 – The Greatness of God – tells us: ‘O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord with all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation (proclaim the good news of his salvation) from day to day. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all the people.

For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps. 96: 1-6) And every word in that scripture passage is the gospel truth my brethren! That’s why the Lord God Jehovah deserves our undying, everlasting, praise and LOVE!

Then we have the second verse that speaks of redemption and the purchase of blood, where even the vilest offender could be pardoned if he believes. Bruh Paul spells it out for us in Ephesains, when he says: ‘In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.’ (Eph. 1:7)

And Peter expounds on that some more. ‘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: 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)

Yes friends, that’s what God did for us poor sinners through His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ! And yuh better believe that’s not the end of all the great things the Lord has in store for us. No way.  There are more great things to come: ‘purer, and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.’ Oh yes, great will be our wonder when Jesus returns to rapture His church! Here’s how Bruh Paul describes it to the Thessalonians. ‘But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (are dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them which are asleep (dead) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump (trumpet) of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever (always) be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ (1 Thess. 4:13-18)

And on this first Sunday in September, that is about the best comfort and encouragement we can have my fellow believers. So please spend some time pondering it. Much LOVE!

…Jehovah God is great…and greatly to be praised…there’s absolutely no doubt it…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 September 2014 Hosea 7:13

28 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

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

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…