Tag Archive: Psalms

Pursue Peace With All People

Author: July 24, 2015

odb.org pinterest photoPsalm 34:14
Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.

Dear Readers,
As I am writing this, I have 9 days left until I am sentenced.  It has been such a long journey through the jail system.  Soon I will transition to the prison system.  I have had my differences with some of the staff and inmates here, but I have done my best to remain peaceful.  The Lord has put it on my heart not to be bitter, no matter my circumstances.  And thus, I have chosen to leave here in peace.

There was a man here who sometimes called me racial slurs and did his best to aggravate me to no end.  We had the occasional argument and spouted obscenities to one another over the past year.  But, I never could stay mad at him.  God showed me his pain.  He gave me a heart for this man.  I see beyond his racist tattoos and rhetoric.  I see a man who is hurting and in need of love and guidance.  I see a man who needs Jesus.  This man and I had an argument about a month ago and we did not speak for several weeks.  When I was denied a new trial, he read about it in the paper.  I hadn’t seen him for two weeks.  He had stopped going out to the rec yard, but the day after he read the news, he came outside.  He walked over to me, shook my hand and gave me a huge hug. [He is a giant of a man.]  He said, “I am so sorry for you, Randall.  It is not right – your not getting a new trial.  I am praying for you, brother.”  What a beautiful sentiment.  It warms my heart just to think of it. (more…)

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Put It All In God’s Hands

Author: March 10, 2015

Randall Daluz _ Dear God... Help!Psalm 57  “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!  For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah.  God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.  My soul is among lions;  I lie among the sons of men Who are set on fire, Whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;  Let Your glory be above all the earth.  They have prepared a net for my steps;  My soul is bowed down;  They have dug a pit before me;  Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah.  My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise.  Awake, my glory!  Awake, lute and harp!  I will awaken the dawn.  I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;  I will sing to You among the nations.  For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds.  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;  Let Your glory be above all the earth.”

Dear Readers:
We all face hurdles.  We all have mountains to climb.  We all fear the unknown from time to time.  Sometimes our burdens are too much to bear alone.  I myself am facing one of those times.  I have a court date, finally.  On April 2nd, I will argue my first motion for a new trial.  If the judge has decency in him and respects the Constitution of the United States, then I should receive a new trial.  All I want is a fair trial – one where I am judged not by the color of my skin, but by the facts of the case.  It is not just for myself that I would like a new trial, but for all Americans.  For what they do to one of us, they do to all of us.  In times like these, we must not have faith in man, but in Almighty God.  All of this is too much for me to bear alone.   (more…)

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Jesus Christ – M.V.P.

Author: February 3, 2015

Randall Daluz Superbowl 2015Psalm 30:3-5  “O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.  Sing praise  to the Lord, you saints of His, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

Dear Readers:  I would like to congratulate my fellow Patriots fans. What a thrilling game!  I am going to be honest with you folks… I was praying throughout the game.  I jumped for joy and hooted and hollered every time the Pats scored.  Sometimes we fans get so enthralled that it is as if we worship our favorite team.  There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite team and wanting them to win, as long as we put even more effort into praising the Lord.  I wonder… how many Christians get more excited watching football than they do in church?   (more…)

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Fight The Good Fight

Author: December 20, 2014

Hebrews 12:14  Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

Randall Daluz | statue of MLK, Gandhi and other world peace leaders

Martin Luther King with Gandhi and other world peace leaders

Dear Readers:
I have been praying a lot for my country lately.  It was very hard to watch the video of police choking an unarmed man to death.  It was equally hard to see people rioting and looting in Oakland, California.  It was uplifting, however, to see all the peaceful protests across the nation; people of all colors coming together in a sign of solidarity.  Sometimes the most beautiful things come out of the ugliest situations.  America is a beautiful country, but we are plagued by racial disparities and class-ism.  There is no doubt that a segment of our society is being oppressed – not just colored men, but all underprivileged people.  Unfortunately, colored men seem to get it the worst.  Jim Crow is still in effect in our justice system.  People are still being lynched, but it is done in our courtrooms now and sadly, sometimes by police in the streets.  We can change if we put God in our hearts and soldier on.  We must not stop pursuing equality.  We must protest until we see real and lasting change.

I implore you to pray for our oppressors worldwide.  There will be a day of reckoning, a day of atonement, when God’s wrath and judgement will be meted out on the wicked.  It is not God’s desire that any of us shall perish or be condemned  to eternal damnation.  I pray that the wicked repent.  I pray that they change their ways.   (more…)

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Give Thanks and Praises

Author: November 24, 2014

Psalm 150
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp!
Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!

Randall Daluz Journal Give Thanks and PraisesDear Readers,
Happy Thanks-giving to you and yours.  When I was a physically free man, this was my favorite time of year.  I love to cook.  I worked in many restaurants during the summers on the Cape when I was a younger man.  I took the skills I had honed in those restaurants and used them to create wonderful meals every holiday.  I have cooked our family’s meals since I was twenty years old.  These past two years are the exception, of course, due to my incarceration.  My mother is a Christian woman, so she made sure our family prayed before those meals and gave thanks to the Lord.  [Boy, do I miss mama’s apple pies right now.]  We gave Thanks to God on that day – even those of us who were unsaved.  It was tradition in our family as it is in many families.  Speaking for myself, I only gave thanks on those holidays; but what about the rest of the year?  You see, I didn’t appreciate God back then.   (more…)

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Anger

Author: October 9, 2014

Psalm 37:8file3691295046962  Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. (KJV)

Anger is the spawn of hurt and pain; all of which are the tools of the devil.  My father used to say, “Hurt people, hurt people.”  Pain, sadness, sorrow and anger are the gateways to evil.  If you do not seek the Lord to help you deal with them, then they will fester and take root in your heart.  Once that happens, the devil will begin to manipulate you.

We are constantly in a spiritual battle on a daily basis.  As true Christians, our hearts are good, but our flesh is poison.  We can never allow ourselves to believe that we can fight the devil alone.   (more…)

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