Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 October 2007 1 Peter 3:8-12‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

1 Peter 3: 8-12    Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
 
There you have it friends: the basics of Christian living, laid out in its simplest form by Peter; that rock upon which J.C said He would build His Church. So if anybody should know what real Christian living should entail, Peter should. And yes, I know when  it’s read or put on paper, it sounds simple and looks easy, but because of our disobedient, sinful nature we make it rather difficult. We need to be of one mind, have compassion, consider each other as close family, which we are; brothers and sisters in the Lord. Is it so hard to behave appropriately, show empathy and be courteous? I don’t think so. We’re just giving out what we want to get back. And all of us know that we should not return wong for wrong, but instead give something positive, a blessing, since that’s what J.C wants and expects us to do. And if we return positive for negative, then a blessing is set up for us. So it’s simple; if we want to lead a good, long life, then we should not be partaking in evil, deceitful stuff, we should refrain from doing wrong and do good instead. We should not only seek peace, merely talking it, paying lip service, like most of us do, but we should actively pursue it, because The Most High looks down favourably on those who do His bidding, and listens sympathetically to their prayers. But wrongdoers…hn! He doesn’t give them the time of day. No sir! So what’s it to be Friends? I am sure that none of us want to fall into the last category, for without Jehovah’s LOVE, guidance and mercy, we’re truly lost in the wilderness, drifting crazily and aimlessly on a scary, stormy sea….Much LOVE… and please, please, let’s really show it nuh…Is it really so hard to do? I don’t think so. I find it so much easier to LOVE!
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 October 2007 Malachi 3:16.‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Malachi 3:16.    Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
 
Oh Friends, how wonderful it is to have our names written in such a book! But in this case, it only came about because the Most High found cause, once again, to rebuke the Israelites. Judging from the Old Testament, He certainly rebuked and disciplined them a lot. They give the impression of being a stubborn, rebellious, ungrateful people. On this occasion, He was chewing them out because they were going around saying that it was vain to serve God, and what did it profit them by obeying His rules, and their walk was not a happy one, while looking up to and admiring the proud and wicked elements of the society. But luckily for them, there were a few smart ones who still believed in and trusted the God of their fathers, and they wisely spoke and communicated often with each other. Friends, that’s the most important element of any relationship; communication. It doesn’t matter whether it’s two or many, lowly animals or exalted human beings. People of like minds need to get together often and talk, discuss, agree, disagree, whatever, but some strong aspect of communication must be present if they want their ideas or groups to survive. That’s what the Church is supposed to be about: A coming together of like minds, believers in Christ, who work together, help and encourage each other in living the Faith and spreading His Word. But it saddens me to say, that in this day of untold prosperity and spectacular technological advancement, we don’t seem to be doing such a great job. We have the best tools and most money ever, but instead of using them to build, we’re using them to destroy. In the first place, there are so many different religions, all claiming to be the one true way. And within each each religion there are other subdivisions, each with their own spin on the subject. Furthermore, within those subdivisions, there might be smaller groups advocating one thing or another. And the strange, sad part, is that everybody believes that they are right, which just foments discord and often leads to physical violence and out and out war. How can this ever benefit the Church, the Body of Christ eh? It only benefits the enemy, who, while we’re stupidly fighting and eradicating each other, sits in the background laughing his head off. Can’t we wake up and realize that the powers of darkness are using the age old tactic of divide and conquer; have us fight amongst ourselves? Just to give a few examples: Eastern based Muslims against Western World Christians; then, within the Muslim world, Shiites against Sunnis; within the Christian world, Catholics against Protestants, most notably in Ireland. Under the Protestant banner there are numerous denominations; Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, etc. etc. who don’t get along either. Then within Catholicism and each of the Protestant denominations, there are more internal divisions again. So, how in heaven’s name can we be spreading God’s word of peace and LOVE, when we’re so divided, contentious and confrontational, with so much destruction taking place ostensibly in God’s name? You can’t blame the poor non believer for shying away from religion when all he sees amongst us is angst, confrontation and an angry, warlike nature; the exact opposite of what we’re talking to him about. Remember people that examples work more forcibly than words, so it’s of the utmost importance that we walk our talk, otherwise we’re hurting the Lord’s cause, and then our name won’t be recorded in that wonderful book. I’m sure we don’t want that to happen. MUCH LOVE…MUCH MORE SENSIBLE COMMUNICATION…AND MUCH LESS SILLY CONFRONTATION!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 October 2007 Psalm 40: 16-17.‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Psalm 40:16-17.    Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: Let such as love thy salvation say continually, the Lord be magnified. But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
 
Okay, so I am biased, I like Bruh David’s writing. But really, his words just seem to fit the things I want to talk about. And the Most High was at it again today. He never seems to let up on me. Remember last week I spoke about a problem I could not solve, but when I finally let go and left it to Him, I saw a small breakthrough the following day. Well, that breakthrough was either imagined or it sort of reversed itself. And I again tried to find my own solution. Same result though; frustration and resentment. However, after writing yesterday’s Bit about the difficulty inherent in a believer’s walk, I stepped back and tried to look at my situation objectively, only to realize that it’s not only new believers who need to have that fact imprinted on their consciousness, but also older members of the faith. And sometimes we need it more than the new converts. Having been tossed and battered so much on the stormy seas of life, we tend to either get cynical or get so caught up in our own abilities that we forget all we need to do is simply roll with the punches, ride the billowing waves, stay afloat and leave it up to Him. Another case of healer, heal thyself, or teacher, teach thyself. And I’m not too proud to say that I decided to truly let it go, whereupon a sense of calm and relaxation flooded through me. But the Big Man upstairs was not quite finished with me. Later on in the morning, I turned on the t.v. to watch Cousin Charles, Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries. And what do you think he was talking about? How to deal with seemingly unsolvable problems. His main word was ‘Surrender.’  Just tell Him that you’ve done all you can and now you’re leaving the rest up to Him. And to illustrate the amazing qualities of Our God, Cousin Charles spoke about a time, many years before, when he was praying about a problem he could not solve. Just by chance -there’s no such thing- there was a pile of pictures lying on the floor next to him, pictures he had not gotten around to hanging on the walls, and some inner voice, undoubtedly our guide, the helpful Holy Spirit, told him to pick up the picture on top of the pile. He did as directed, and behold – the picture came up on the t.v screen – it depicted a young lad, late teens, early twenties, dressed in an orange coloured sweater, standing at the helm of a ship, his small hands on the golden mahogany steering wheel, twice as wide as him. Behind the lad, a foot or so taller, stood Jesus, clothed in snow white robes, long hair and beard flowing in the breeze, His right hand stretched out in front of Him, pointing the way. But the most provocative, encouraging and heart-warming aspect of the picture was the fact that J.C’s left hand was reassuringly placed on the young man’s left shoulder. As that amusing ole geezer, Robert Schuller would say, ‘Wow!’  Yes Friends, that’s the image J.C. wants to project. He wants all of us to have a large, crystal clear picture of Him standing behind us, pointing the way, with a gentle, reassuring hand on our shoulder. And Bruh David knew this first hand, that’s why he could proudly trumpet, ‘Let such as love thy salvation, say continually, the Lord be magnified…though I am poor and needy, the Lord thinketh on me: He is my help and deliverer!’ Much LOVE…Praise His Holy Name!
 
P.S. Whew! It unintentionally turned into a marathon session, (smile) Sorry Daughter. But marathons also serve a purpose; they give us endurance, so we can run this difficult Christian race set out for us. So please bear with the ole fella when he gets in one of these moods. Plenty Plenty LOVE!

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 October 2007 Psalm 40:8‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Psalm 40:8.    I will delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
 
More wonderful words of wisdom from Bruh Dave! Sometimes I wonder if his son, Solomon, was really wiser than him. He wrote and did so many things chocked full of wisdom – and stupidity too – that it’s hard to judge between them both. However, that’s not really important right now, but come to think of it, it’s an interesting debate we can get into at a later stage. What’s important at this time, is for us to realize that a believer’s walk is never easy, especially in this current world, where fleshly lusts have free rein and accumulation of material possessions is the standard used to judge success. I know I’ve said this before, and daresay I will mention it several times again, but it’s imperative that we keep that idea at the forefront of our minds, especially new believers, who get captivated by all the good times and grand promises of the Most High, only to be confronted by rougher times than they’ve ever had and seemingly unanswered prayers. They’ve got to realize that it’s not all fun and games. Yes, the good times will happen, and the grand promises will be kept, but only if we do our part too. As Bruh Dave says, we must delight in doing His will, being obedient to His rules, which we have safely stored in our hearts. And even that doesn’t guarantee that we’ll have an easy life. In fact J.C pointedly stated that His disciples, His followers, would have lots of difficult times – Stephen stoned, John beheaded, Paul beaten and jailed several times, many disciples, prophets, missionaries etc, abused and imprisoned  from then even till today – simply because they preached a different message and lived by His dictates; a kind, humane, generous, merciful, loving, patient, helpful, humble, peaceful, sincere spiritual life, everything that’s contradictory to the worldly life that glorifies the flesh and material things. So we can’t ever forget that we’re not out for a simple Sunday evening jaunt in the park. We’re soldiers in the Lord’s Army. We’ve always got to be aware, be alert, on guard, because the enemy is always on the alert, ready to gleefully  pounce at the slightest opportunity to make us look bad, to cause us to damage the reputation of the Church, other believers and ultimately Our Heavenly Father. We definitely don’t want it to be said of us, that we profaned His Holy Name before the heathen, like the Israelites in yesterday’s Bit. We’ve got to avoid that at all costs. And Friends, the only way to do that successfully is to keep our hearts brimming and bristling, overflowing with His Word and His LOVE. This will make us happy to do His bidding, help us to avoid temptation and totally rebuff the enemy. Much LOVE…much filling of our hearts with His Word…and a powerful thumbs down to the powers of darkness!
   

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 October 2007 Ezekiel 36: 24-28.‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Ezekiel  36:24-28.    For I shall take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I clean you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
 
What wonderful promises from Our Heavenly Father! But it’s truly surprising how many times He saved the Israelites from bondage and degradation, only for them to eventually spurn Him again. Guess that’s why they say He’s patient and long suffering. This time it was the Prophet Ezekiel he sent to lambaste them. However, on this particular occasion, He purposely noted that He was not doing it for them, but to restore the glory of His Holy Name which the Israelites had profaned amongst the heathen. Friends, the same things He did for the Israelites, He does for each of us individually: When we come to accept and trust Him, He takes us away from our former ungodly associates and makes us a part of His flock in the Church. Then He washes us clean as ever, absolves us of our sins, gives us a new heart of flesh after throwing out the old, hard, sinful one we previously had. And He doesn’t stop there; He fills us with a new spirit, His Holy Spirit that lives within us from that time henceforth, and guides us along the path He wants us to tread, a straight and narrow path of holiness, righteousness and LOVE. And then, to top it all, like icing on the cake, He causes us to dwell in the land of milk and honey, to become prosperous. This prosperity is not necessarily seen in material possessions, although it can be, there are lots of wealthy Christians, but we then lead a life filled with vitality, purpose and excitement, wanting to live for Him and share His word with the multitudes that have never heard it. The point is, that whenever we follow His dictates, our lives are vastly improved. Now, which other so called God, not only promises this to His unworthy children, much less puts it into practice eh? NONE! That’s why I LOVE Our Heavenly Father so! Much LOVE  people…with plenty praise, glory and adulation to THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD: THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB!
 

Want to race through your inbox even faster? Try the full version of Windows Live Hotmail. (It’s free, too.)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 October 2007 John 1:47-50‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

John 1: 47-50.    Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. Nathaniel saith unto him, whence knowest thou me?  Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Phillip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathaniel answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
 
This was the period when J.C, in His earthly ministry, began putting His group of disciples together. One, bright, beautiful, sunshiny day, (smile) -who knows, it could have been- while He was out walking in Galilee, He saw Phillip and told him, ‘Follow me.’  I like J.C’s style. He comes straight to the point, using as few words as possible. Phillip planned to obey Him, but meanwhile he found Nathaniel and told him that they had found the Messiah; Jesus of Nazareth. Hn! Nathaniel scoffed at Phillip’s remark, then asked in a most derogatory manner if anything good could ever come out of Nazareth? Okay, Phillip replied, come and see for yourself. That’s when Today’s Bit kicks in. It show’s J.C at work. He handles Nathaniel with kid’s gloves. Oh, there goes a guile free Israelite, He says. Nathaniel is taken aback and asks J.C where He knows him from. Oh, I saw you sitting under the fig tree, J.C replies, just before Phillip called you. For some reason that answer spoke volumes to Nathaniel, for without any hesitation he acknowledged that J.C was indeed the son of God. My Friends, that’s the way we need to be; quick on the uptake, always ready to acknowledge J.C, His words and actions. There should be no doubt and hesitation on our part. If we genuinely believe in Him, then we should always be prepared to honour Him at a moment’s notice. You see what He told Nathaniel: Just because I said I saw you under the fig tree, you believed? Well you ain’t seen nothing yet! That’s for certain sure people, we ain’t seen nothing yet! It will be something else when He comes again in all His splendid glory. Much LOVE…as little guile as possible… and a plentiful, strong Faith.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 October 2007 Isaiah 30:18‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Isaiah 30:18    And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement: blessed are all they that wait for him.
 
In the passage before Today’s Bit, Isaiah was chewing out the people of Israel for being rebellious and disobedient. The same can be said about us today. Isn’t it funny how History keeps on  repeating itself, because we don’t pay attention to what’s gone on before us? Anyway, right in the middle of bawling out the Israelites, Isaiah suddenly changed gears and proclaimed that the Lord would wait, He would show patience, because He longs to be gracious to His children, even though they may be disobedient and unworthy. That’s the kind of God, He is; patient and long suffering. He wants nothing more than to shower us with His compassion and mercy. But for that to happen, we’ve got to come back to Him: praise Him; exalt His Holy Name; obey His commandments; follow His rules, of which there are only two basic ones; LOVE Him and LOVE our neighbour. If we do those two things, everything else will fall into place. But it seems that we get so wrapped up in all His goodness and mercy and all that generous stuff, that we tend to forget He is also a God of judgement. He will not let us carry on, be rebellious and disobedient forever. At some stage of the game He is going to get tired of our unholy shenanigans and mete out the appropriate justice. Sorry Friends, appropriate might be the wrong choice of word, because if He ever really dished out what we deserved…hn! We would really be in it. A more suitable term might be merciful justice. Like a good judge, he clothes His justice with mercy. And Isaiah ends by saying, blessed are all those who wait for Him. That’s our cue: we need to be patient too; we need to search for Him, seek Him out wherever He or us might be, we need to pay attention to His Holy Spirit that lives and works in us, and bide our time obediently, until whenever He is ready to reward us. Friends, we all know that it is not an easy path to tread, but if we do as He says, then He has promised that we’ll be all right. Much LOVE…Be strong in the faith…Salvation Day will make it all worthwhile!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 October 2007 1 Chronicles 28:20‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

1 Chronicles 28:20    And David said to Solomon his son; Be strong and of a good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee: he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.
 
Okay, I know I use David’s words often as the Bit, but I don’t have a fixation, a hang up on him. I guess you would call it more of an affinity; we’re like kindred spirits, because I’ve faced some of the same adversity he did, but more so because I’m also into the writing and musical aspect of life. And who wrote more beautiful poetry or music than David eh? Anyway, now that we’ve set the record straight, in Today’s Bit, he’s told his son Solomon, that the Lord had chosen him, Solomon, to build His House. Remember Solomon was still young and inexperienced, and possibly scared out of his wits, having such awesome power and responsibility suddenly thrown upon his inexperienced shoulders. Not to mention the fact that he was not the eldest of David’s children by several women, which would surely cause much jealousy and sibling rivalry. But David had the utmost faith in Solomon’s ability to accomplish the task, not only because he knew Solomon’s own capabilities, but because God had explicitly instructed him to anoint Solomon for the job. Now, he’s giving him the ultimate encouragement: Be strong and courageous; pull up your bootstraps and just do it. Don’t be afraid or worried because the Lord, even his God, would be with him. Notice how David mentioned his personal God. I don’t know why, but that had to add to the encouragement, since everybody knew how tight David was with the Most High and how He had oft-times rescued and strengthened him over a lifetime filled with debauchery, wars and other mistakes. So David knew, from hard experience, what he was talking about when he told Solomon that the Lord would neither fail nor forsake him until he had finished building His Tabernacle. Friends, the same thing goes for us today: We’ve got to encourage each other with words of faith and strength, and keep on encouraging, because the race laid out for each of us is fraught with numerous difficulties and problems; some of which we can solve on our own, but many for which we need the help of Jehovah. But of one thing we are definitely certain; that wherever we are, in whatever situation, Our Heavenly Father wants us to stand strong and not be afraid, and trust in His everlasting promise that He will always be with us, neither will He ever forsake us. So let’s stand strong people! Let’s encourage ourselves and each other in the Lord! It’s only with that arsenal in our possession can we fight the good fight in His Honour! Much LOVE…plenty standing strong in faith…with plenty plenty encouraging!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 October 2007 Psalm 121‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Psalm 121:    I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
 
What beautiful sentiments from David again. I’m continually amazed at how he managed to write so much marvellous, touching stuff with all the warring and womanizing he did. Anyway, I guess you’re wondering why I used the whole Psalm as Today’s Bit. Well, the Most High was at it again tonight. I came home late tonight, tired and miserable, but eventually sat down to find a Bit. While looking through a book with some Bible verses, my eyes fell on one from Psalm 121, and it looked interesting. So I opened the Bible and read it, and it seemed to have possibilities. However, before writing anything, I had to read some prayers for my aged mother, Molly. We have a set routine everyday; reading from a few Devotionals and the Bible. And the Lord help me if I skip or miss anything. Anyway, tonight, when we were almost finished, she unexpectedly asked me to read Psalm 121. I was a little taken aback, since she’s never before asked me to read anything outside of our set stuff. But, like the obedient son I am (smile) I began finding Psalm 121, thinking that something about it sounded familiar, just goes to show where my brain was. I’m sure you got it before me. It was the same Psalm I’d just finished reading and considering for the Bit. As usual, I had to chuckle at the sublime machinations of Our Wonderful Creator. Later on, I asked my mother why she wanted me to read that particular Psalm. She replied that it had always been one of her favourites, one she used to know by heart, but now she feared she was forgetting it. I could not argue with her reasoning. So, with all those obvious signs, I came down here to write the Bit. Originally, I’d planned to only use the first two verses, but when I tried doing that, I just never achieved  the comfort level you usually do when something is right.. This kept me going back to read the Psalm, until my dim wits finally got the message: You’ve got to use the whole thing. So there you have it; in all its simple, truthful splendour! And this one’s for you Molls sugar. For all the LOVING-KINDNESS you’ve shown me over the years. Keep on lifting up your eyes to the hills, for that’s where your help comes from…The One and Only True Lord; Our God and Heavenly Father!  Much LOVE Friends…And please, pretty please, let’s all do likewise. That’s the only way to success and salvation!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 October 2007 Isaiah 49:15-16‏

21 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Isaiah 49:15-16.    Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands: thy walls are continually before me.
 
The greatest bond between any two animals is that between mother and child. And that’s the way it should be, since the mother carries the child within her womb for a fairly long period of time. During that period, the child is actually a physical part of the mother. It’s nourished by and shares whatever the mother ingests. As the mother goes, so does the child. Then, after the child is born, it’s the mother who nurses and nurtures it. Again, whatever she eats, comes to the child through her milk. In this manner, a super strong bond of loving and caring is formed. It’s the mother’s responsibility to bear and suckle the young of the species. That’s just how the Good Lord designed it. In Today’s Bit, Isaiah, speaking to the Israelites on God’s behalf, is commenting on that inherent bond between mother and son; questioning whether it’s possible for a woman to forget, to not have compassion for the child she went through so much discomfort, pain and sometimes agony to bear. The answer is yes. Not a large percentage, but nonetheless it’s possible. However, The Most High is saying that he will never forget us. He’s emphasizing that His bond to us is even greater and stronger than that between mother and child, because He’s engraved us in the palms of His hands, through the suffering and death of J.C on the cross. Friends, that is so true. What greater gift can one person give for another than their life eh? Especially under such unfair, unjust, disgusting, gory, agonizing circumstances as happened to J.C.  This fact is stated so beautifully in the booklet, ‘A Journey of LOVE – walking with St. Therese of Liseux’ published by The Society of the Little Flower, as St. Therese is known. It says, ‘The beginning of the wisdom of LOVE is to acknowledge that God has first loved us. Jesus is the unsurpassable gift of God’s LOVE.’  How poignant and reassuring! Yes Friends, there is no LOVE as great as that of Our Heavenly Father. How can there be, when He’s the author, the originator, the epitome…. when He is LOVE!  Much LOVE…and always remember that He LOVES us with such a deep, abiding affection, that He’ll never leave or forsake us.
 

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries