Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 June 2010 Romans 5:1.‏

10 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Romans 5:1     Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Oh Friends, we’ll begin today’s message with a quote from William James, (1842-1910) the New York city born pioneering psychologist and philosopher. It says: ‘The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.’ And that’s indeed true, because there’s so much knowledge in our world, today especially, so it’s very important that we can quickly pick the wheat from the chaff. We don’t need to know everything, and our small brains can hardly hold it, making our ability to quickly differentiate sense from nonsense of inestimable importance. My people, with that consideration in mind, we here posit that one of the wisest moves, or rather the wisest move a human being can ever make is to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. And all Jesus’ people shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the Lamb that died for us!’ Yes Friends, if we overlook the monumental effect that Jesus earthly life had on human knowledge and history we surely won’t deserve the appellation of wise. Why? Because it’s the most magnanimous, mountain moving, life changing and far reaching aspect of man’s History; the life of one man that’s changed human history forever. Wow! And if you bypass the most historic event in man’s existence, how then can one ever be considered wise eh? Oh Friends, we all know that our fore parents, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the comfy Garden of Eden for disobeying God, for listening to the beguiling talk of the enemy, and eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree of Life. Since then, their descendants have had it extremely hard; conceived in sin, born into a sinful world, lived and died in and around sin, with no apparent hope of ever getting away from it and suffering the eventual penalty of eternal death. However my brethren, the Good Lord, our Creator, Guide, Provider and Protector in His ever just and righteous nature, devised a sensational plan to reconcile us to Him. In His justice and righteousness He could not tolerate or accept sin, but in His merciful, forgiving and LOVING-kindness, He was heart broken to condemn us all to everlasting damnation. But the only way he could satisfy all aspects of His glorious nature and character was to find a sinless soul to pay for all sins; from day one till the end of time. Unfortunately, the only being whose profile matched that awesome requirement was His only Son Jesus. But such was the LOVE and desire in the Father’s heart to bring us, His most worthy creation, back to Him, that He voluntarily sacrificed His most precious possession, His Son Jesus for us. I’m sure it hurt Him terribly, but realizing that it would be for the greater good, He swallowed His personal feelings and made the way for us lost, disobedient sinners to once more have fellowship with Him, to be able to come in to His presence. However, there’s one proviso to it all people: We can only do that, can only come to Him through His risen Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Why? Because He gave over all the running of the world to Jesus after He made that sublime, sinless, superhuman sacrifice for us. ‘That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear (take an oath.)  ( Isa.45:23) It’s like in many of our earthly societies; you can’t access the ultimate leader directly, but must go through their right hand person first. And that’s the job Jesus is doing for us right now, my people; pleading and intervening with the Father for those who trust and believe in Him. Okay Friends, so now the ball is in our court. The Lord’s made a way for us to be reconciled to Him, to be cleansed of our iniquity and once more become proud, upstanding children of Almighty God. But it requires a conscious choice of every individual, for it’s only through personal belief, through personal trust and faith in Jesus that those redeeming things are possible. And when we accept Jesus into our lives we have to become new people, born again, so to speak, by getting rid of all the sinful junk that’s cluttering up our souls. And to walk confidently in Jesus it takes a real mighty step, that of faith. As believers, we then need to subscribe to the motto: ‘For we walk by faith, not by sight.’ (2 Cor.5:7) And what’s faith you ask? ‘Faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’  ( Heb.11:1) That means we’re hoping and believing for things and matters that we can’t actually see with our earthly eyes, but can visualize with our mind’s eye, our souls, with the aid of the Holy Spirit that comes to live in every believer’s heart. Oh mih people, this faith thing is utterly important, possibly the most important aspect of a believer’s life. For as the author of Hebrews reminds us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6) Friends, that finally brings us to our Bit: ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Yes my brethren, it’s only through faith in Jesus Christ that we’re justified in being at peace with the heavenly Father. And what does justify mean? The dictionary defines it as: ‘showing justice or righteousness of a person, or vindicating circumstances, or declaring a person free from the penalty of sin on the grounds of Christ’s righteousness, or the infusion of grace into a person.’ Wow! They all apply to us my people! It’s only through Christ’s death on the cross, the shedding of His precious and innocent blood which paid for our sins, that we’re able to approach the Father. And to do that we must believe, must trust, must surrender, must have the utmost faith in Jesus: that He is who He says He is, has done what He says He’s done, is doing what He says He’s currently doing, and will do what He’s promised to do in the future. Oh my people, to be truly able to be at peace with the Father, to truly rise up, or kneel and talk to Him in prayer, there must be absolutely no doubt in our hearts souls and minds that His Son Jesus died for us, that that act cleansed us of our sins, and now we’re FREE! FREE to live for Jesus! My Friends, it’s the only way to sensibly, to wisely handle this unpredictable earthly life. So remember, if you want to be wise, you can’t overlook Jesus. He’s the most important Being in our universe. I don’t know if I would make a good lawyer or advocate in our earthly legal system, but Friends, that’s my case on Jesus’ behalf. I stand by it, and sincerely hope that you, the jury of my peers, will find Him worthy and turn to Him; believe, surrender, trust and have faith in Him, for He’s the only one who can help us with or solve our problems in a pleasing and everlasting manner. Much LOVE!.JESUS…the way…the truth…and the life…no one comes to the Father…but by Him…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 June 2010 Job 29:2‏

09 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Job 29:2     Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me.
 
Oh Friends, I now remember why I don’t go out much during the late afternoon or early evening hours of the summer months. The traffic, normally horrendous, becomes horrific with the addition of roadwork on seemingly every corner. I left home last evening around five thirty to go into the lovely city of Toronto. Normally, even with heavy traffic, that would take me about 45 minutes. Yesterday it took me 90, and only because I went along many back roads, some of which I haven’t travelled in numerous years, for every major road resembled a parking lot rather than a highway. I haven’t seen it that bad in a long while. And coming home around ten p.m wasn’t much better, for two of the three major highways were again clogged with traffic. So I also ended up taking the back roads home. But Friends, you would have been most proud of the ole fella, because I didn’t get angry, didn’t complain too much, just went along stoically, listening to the music, forcing myself to remain calm. A few years ago, under the same conditions, I would have been most annoyed, probably turned around and gone back home. But it seems like the ole fella’s maturing in that respect. ‘Praise the Lord!’  Still my people, sometimes the summer driving up here just makes you long for winter, or the good old days, when traffic was not as bad. It makes you want to declare like Job: ‘Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved (watched over) me.’ And who wouldn’t eh? Just listen to Job’s history before sudden disaster struck. ‘Job…that man was perfect (blameless) and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed (shunned) evil.’ He had 7 sons and 3 daughters, along with ‘seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.’ And after his sons and daughters had feasted, ‘Job sent and sanctified them (consecrated them, set them apart), and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually (regularly). (Job 1:1-5) Wow! Job was wealthy, also of excellent character and integrity, so he was well respected, a popular judge, and a generous benefactor to his people, and his sons seemed to be cut from the same cloth. Above all though, Job was considered a righteous man in God’s eyes. Now that’s the best compliment any human can ever receive my people. So why did all this disaster and tribulation suddenly befall him? Obviously because of the evil one, Beelzebub. One day he came before God with the Lord’s other sons and when they got to talking, the Lord boasted about His most excellent servant Job: ‘that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil.’ ( Job 1:8) But the evil one claimed that was only because the Lord protected him. ‘Hast thou not made a hedge (of protection) about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance (possessions) is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.’ (Job 1:10-11) The Lord agreed, so sure was He of Job, the only exception being that his life be spared. Then the calamity began in Job’s life. Poor Fella. Oh Friends, many of us are undergoing some calamitous times too, which don’t seem to derive from any wrongdoing or negative action on our part. And quite rightly, we’re wondering why the sudden tribulation, when we were truly trying to be righteous? Oh my people, unfortunately I have no definite or distinct answer for that. But I can say with full confidence that the good Lord sees and knows all that we’re enduring, and for some purpose, higher than we can comprehend, He’s allowing the negative activity to overtake our lives. All we can do is take solace from Job’s story. He did nothing wrong, in fact the Lord had the utmost confidence in him, that’s why He allowed Lucifer to rain on his parade. So if we’ve been trying to follow God, be obedient to His will, but tribulation is sadly overtaking us, the best way to handle it is to assume that God’s testing us. He’s testing our trust, faithfulness, obedience, reverence and LOVE for Him. There can’t be any other reason, since our God does not go out of His way to punish or make life hard for those who genuinely seek Him. Let’s behave like Job; stand strong, steadfast, faithful and true, with the attitude that ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.’ (Job 13:15) Yes my people, that’s the only way to live this crazy, unpredictable life without going crazy ourselves. We need to acquire and show a true, unquenchable faith in the Most High God Jehovah, that even though he allows deadly storms in our lives, we’ll go down trusting Him. Oh Friends, the times are hard, but please remember that God is still in control, and He never allows us to undergo anything, good or bad, without a good reason. We may not understand it, but the faith which we live by, that ‘substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen,’ (Heb.11:1) should be strong enough to keep us keeping on, persevering to the end, knowing that eventually things will change, will improve. My people, it did for Job, so why not for us eh? ‘So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.’ (Job 42:12) Again Friends, if the Lord could give Job so much more than he’d lost, what’s preventing Him from doing the same for us? Nothing! But we have to behave like Job did while we’re going through our own trials and tribulations. My brethren, it’s of the utmost importance that we stand strong, that we let our faith, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, lead us on a righteous path, regardless of the problems we encounter. It’s not easy. It’s never easy, as Job’s experience shows. But Friends, it’s not impossible. Please remember that with our God’s help, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE in this universe that He created. So let’s see if we can turn down the worry and anxiety as the troubles come pouring down nuh. If we do that, eventually we’ll end up victorious! Much LOVE!…for we live…by faith…not by sight…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 June 2010 Colossians 3:16.‏

08 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:16     Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
 
Oh Friends, there is respite on the horizon, respite from the virtues we’ve been talking about the last how many days. Today just might be the last day on that subject. And I hear many of you muttering ‘Thank you Lord!’  (smile) But why do we tend to shy away from the good, healthy values eh, would rather not talk about them, but so readily embrace the not so good ones in our conversations? Who knows? Is it because our society tends to frown on goody goody people, while saluting and glorifying the loud, boisterous, self-aggrandizing evil doers? I really don’t know mih people. But I do know that the quote I’m about to share from Henri Frederic Amiel, a Swiss philosopher and critic (1821-1888) is indeed full of truth and wisdom. And it says: ‘To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.’ And ain’t that the truth my old geezer Friends! It’s not easy growing old, much less doing so gracefully. The physical part is hard and bad enough with all the aches and pains, though medication or joint replacement might alleviate those problems. But what about the emotional aspect of growing old, of knowing that you are one day closer to death’s door, with fear and anxiety growing daily over things that never bothered us when we were young, and no pain killers to ease our hurting psyches? And that sort of thing is even more exaggerated in today’s youth oriented, older folks forgotten and/or marginalized society. Now take that one step further, when we’re retired and have nothing much to really occupy our time and minds. As they say, the devil finds work for idle hands. That’s partially why older folks tend to worry more; simply because they don’t have much to productively occupy their time, so they sit and conjure up all sorts of negative situations. And isn’t it strange how under those conditions, we tend to conjure up more negative than positive scenarios? It’s very seldom the life’s coming up roses thoughts, always more dreadful forebodings. However Friends, the ole fella has the solution to all those negative problems! (smile) Yes, I do. And it’s not rocket science my people. It’s very simple, as all great ideas are. All we have to do is live according to our Bit. Wow! Yes Wow! ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.’ Oh mih people, that deserves another Wow! Why? Because they are truly words of wisdom! If we live the way they advise, we’ll never have to worry about growing old. We’ll be careful and concerned, but not worried and anxious, we won’t fear death or any of the stuff that advanced years brings. For when believers adhere to the virtues that Bruh Paul spells out; forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, LOVE, with peace reigning in our hearts, minds and souls, then we are fertile soil for the word of Christ to dwell richly in us. I like how Bruh Paul says it to the Ephesians. ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our heart to the Lord.’ (Eph.5:19) Oh mih breddren isn’t that a beautiful way to live! In fact, the ONLY way to live successfully is by continually singing and making melody in our hearts to our God. What could be nicer or more perfect than that eh? Nothing, as far as I’m concerned. And the sad part is that what Bruh Paul’s suggesting is not hard to do at all, plus it’s our godly calling. As believers in Christ we’re duty bound to live in that manner. However Friends, I didn’t come to preach or lecture today. (smile) Be quiet my children. I’m just here to show us how to live successfully in this…I was going to say godforsaken world, but fortunately, He hasn’t quite written us off as yet. So how do we describe our world? As evil, cruel, hate-filled, warmongering, selfish, greedy, violent, but…and it’s a big but Friends, BUT with a small core of kind, peace LOVING, forbearing, forgiving, harmonious and unified followers of Christ, who will eventually turn this whole thing right around with the LOVE Revolution that’s now quietly brewing and fomenting all across the world. And all God’s people shouted in unison: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Long live the kingdom of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour!’ Until that most eventful day my Friends, please, I implore us, let’s seriously attempt to live the way Bruh Paul advises. Let’s sing and make melody in out hearts to our God. ‘And whatever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col.3:17)  And for those of us who did not realize it, or were unsure, yesterday’s quote about prayer being a longing of the soul was indeed by Mahatma (great soul) Gandhi. His real name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. And here ends the series on virtue. And they all sighed thankfully. (smile) Much LOVE mih people!…living in Christ…and for Christ…is the ONLY way to live…a successful earthly life…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 June 2010 Colossians 3:15‏

07 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:15     And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also are ye called in one body; and be ye thankful.

 

Oh Friends, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but unfortunately it’s Monday. That means it’s time again to join the workweek fray with Beelzebub, suitably attired in your spiritual armour of course, having had some rest, plus good fellowship with other believers and our heavenly Father. If you’ve had all that, then you’re in excellent form, fine fettle to do battle with the powers of darkness and their evil minions. So get out there and fight the good fight, to the death if needs be. Show them that the forces of good are way superior to those of evil because our Leader is Jesus; a gentle giant on one hand, but a mighty warrior king on the other. And in passing, here’s a thought from Mohandas Gandhi that might be helpful in our battles. He says that ‘Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.’ Now there is much truth in that statement Friends, for many times our prayers are not for physical, worldly stuff, but more a longing of our souls for balance and serenity. When we can’t find LOVE and understanding in our physical world, we turn to a higher power, the Most High God Jehovah, for help in balancing them both in our confused, unbalanced lives. That brings us to our Bit. ‘And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.’ Yes my people, those virtues that we’ve studied over the last few days ought to effect peace in our hearts. The harmony and unity our God created among His people is to rule in all our lives. The scholars claim that the Greek word translated as ‘rule’ conveys the sense of an umpire in a game, therefore letting the peace of God rule in our hearts means that when dissension arises between believers, we ought to take the path that best maintains peace and encourages harmony. And so it should Friends! You know that over the years Peace and LOVE has become a battle cry in many societies, but the problem is we simply can’t have one without the other, that’s why it never seems to come to fruition. To have peace in our lives, there must be caring, understanding and all the other virtues glued together by LOVE. And you simply cannot have LOVE without peace for the same reason; LOVE calls for all those Christian virtues that bring peace to our souls and lives. As Bruh Paul advised the Philippians: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:6-7) Now, here’s how Jesus said it. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) So my brethren it’s essential that we have peace in our lives and souls. We can’t afford to be overly anxious or worried about anything since those negative emotions detract from our main purpose, our calling to serve the One True God Jehovah, through the gospel of His Son Jesus; ‘to the which also are ye called.’ Oh Friends, we’re most definitely called to serve our God in LOVE and peace. ‘But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.’ (1 Cor.7:15) There Bruh Paul is talking to the Corinthians in particular about marriage and divorce between believers and unbelievers, but people, the same basic rule still applies today; ‘God hath called us to peace.’ If others want to go their separate ways, we should try to accomplish that as peacefully as possible, with little or no anger and resentment. But sadly, the family break ups of today are excellent examples of what should not happen. Divorce today is a virtual battlefield. They are now so nasty that the main intention seems to be purely selfish; get as much worldly goods, or hurt the other person as much as you can. Only the greedy lawyers win, leaving former spouses hurting and hating, and innocent children often scarred for life. But Friends, Bruh Paul didn’t only say we’re called to let the peace of God rule in our hearts, but also ‘in one body.’ That means we are called to live in peace and unity, as one body, a unified whole as the Church of Christ. ‘There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’ ( Eph.4:4-6) That’s what he told the Ephesians. Note his extensive use of the word ‘one.’ Everything under the Lord’s jurisdiction should be clothed in peace and harmony. But that definitely does not show up in today’s church, which is so filled with divisions and dissension that it’s become a joke. Oh Friends, we need to remember that we’re one under Jesus and fight to stop any further erosion of the little unity that’s left in the church, cause if we don’t, it will disappear sooner, rather than later.  And the evil enemy forces would have won. Ah mih people, it all comes right back to those virtues we’ve been talking about. You can’t have unity when self-interest reigns. And if we’d only listen to Bruh Paul we’d all have such better lives. Yuh see what he says at the end of the Bit? ‘And be ye thankful.’ That’s another aspect of our lives that has gone to the dogs in modern day society. We’re seldom thankful, more often demanding and ungrateful, which doesn’t augur well for peace in our lives. Here’s what we should be doing. ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess.5:16-18) And that’s not so difficult to do my people, if we’re seriously interested in peace. Moreover, if we’re to live a good life, then peace is essential like air, food and water. Without it, we either remain unfocused, drifting aimlessly, with no productive aims or goals, or we become angry, selfish, bitter, rabid, wild animals. Sadly, we seem to be heading towards the latter full speed ahead. However Friends, please note that our motto should never be peace at any cost, for some things are worth fighting for. Our rule should rather be, peace, according to the dictates of Jesus. Please, let’s sit and seriously consider the disastrous direction in which our world is heading and do our best, both individually and collectively to turn things around. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Much LOVE….depart from evil and do good…seek peace and pursue it…’ (Ps.34:14)

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 June 2010 Colossians 3:14‏

06 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:14     And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

 

Oh Friends, it’s Sunday morning! Are you smiling, are you happy, is their joy in your heart? Well you should be in a positive frame of mind, for in spite of all your problems, you’re alive and kicking, living under the kind, generous, forgiving and LOVING auspices of the Most High God Jehovah. Now that’s something to be surely joyous about eh mih people! If you’re a true believer then that should have you riding mighty clouds of joy! (smile) And if it isn’t, then something’s seriously wrong; our virtue system has not been seriously developed, hasn’t matured. This brings us back to our favourite topic of the week, virtue. And I hear some of us moaning; ‘Oh, not that again! Thought we were all done with that now.’ No Friends, for today we’ll deal with the most important one, the one that holds them all together, the glue, so to speak, and that’s Charity, or in our parlance, LOVE. As Bruh Paul so wisely states: ‘And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness.’ And the scholars describe it thus: ‘LOVE is the crowning grace completing the list of virtues required for perfectness or spiritual maturity. As a ‘bond’ it binds all other virtues together in harmony and unity.’ Wow! True words of wisdom Friends! They perfectly describe what LOVE is and what it does. Note in 1 Corinthians 13, The way of LOVE, Bruh Paul’s famous treatise on the subject, he ends by saying: ‘And now abideth faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor.13:13) And that’s the gospel truth my people! But have you ever noticed the irony of the situation; that one of the most often quoted, appealing and foundational tenets of Christ’s gospel is found in chapter 13, verse 13? Thirteen being a number we associate with bad luck and won’t even number it thus on the floors of our buildings, such is the widespread apprehension. Hn! Just goes to show that our God’s intelligence and thoughts are truly higher than ours. Oh Friends, the Spirit just placed a wonderful suggestion in my mind; that 1 Corinthians 13 should be an essential, required piece of scripture reading every day, individually, as well as whenever believers get together and also whenever a new believer is born again in Christ. Why? Because it’s the elementary building block, the very foundation of Christianity; who we are, or ought to be in Christ, and unfortunately many of us need to be constantly reminded since we stray from it a lot. And from here on in, I’ll try to keep myself out of the message, just bombard us with passages of scripture which promote that godly feeling of LOVE. And we’ll begin with the rock of Christ’s church, Peter. ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet.4:7-8) And there Peter’s quoting words from the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol. ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov.10:12) Yes my brethren, LOVE is the greatest emotion that exists in our world, and when it lives, or is present amongst a group of people…oh, there’s such harmony and unity that it makes us wonder how we could live any other way. That’s because it brings such joy, kindness, forgiveness, long-suffering etc to our sinful, rebellious, disobedient souls, lightens our spirits, has us floating on cloud nine, and most important of all, brings us in line with our Creator, fills us with the very essence of God. Sorry Friends, I forgot I wasn’t going to say much, (smile) but I just can’t help myself when the topic is LOVE. That’s just the Spirit of LOVE from the LOVE of our God, flowing through me, because our God IS LOVE! Now hear John tell it: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE. ‘(1 John 4:7-8) Then he explains why; primarily of course because the Lord designed a plan where His only Son Jesus died for our sins. Consequently ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) Perfect logic mih breddren! You can’t beat it any which way you try! And exactly because it unites everything, Bruh Paul calls LOVE ‘the bond of perfectness.’ ‘I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in LOVE. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ (Eph.4:1-3) Ah my Friends, it’s the same basic advice Bruh Paul gave to the Ephesians, and the same advice I’m imploring us all to accept many centuries later because those words still hold true. For it’s only with and through LOVE, that our angry, resentful, violent, war-mongering world will ever attain a modicum of peace. That’s right my people; peace will only exist in direct proportion to LOVE. So let’s seriously work on that LOVE Revolution we’ve been talking about nuh. Our world is tearfully yearning, desperately crying out for it. Till tomorrow then, God willing, when we’ll talk some more on this very important topic. Much LOVE!…the believer’s number one priority…LOVE…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 June 2010 Colossians 3:13‏

05 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:13    Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

 

Oh Friends, it’s the weekend! Whoopee! Time for fun, frolic, fellowship and housework!  Yes, housework too for the unlucky many who don’t have the time to do it during the busy workweek. You’d think that with all our expert intelligence and technology we could devise a better system of working and living than what’s currently in force, meaning the endless commuting back and forth, plus the long work weeks and short break periods. But I guess that’s all a pipe dream right now. Until the slave masters decide to relax their greedy agenda, we’ve just got to grin and bear it. In so doing, we have to feel and believe like Willie Shakespeare says: ‘The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we’re LOVED.’ And ain’t that the truth mih people! It’s the belief that we’re LOVED by somebody; friends, family, spouses, that keeps us going. If there was no LOVE in our lives then life wouldn’t be worth living. That’s why we tend to give up on life when we’ve lost LOVE. But Friends, I’m here to tell you that there’s always LOVE in a believer’s life: if not that of humans, then certainly that of the Most High God Jehovah. So believers should never have to give up on life because they always have the LOVE of God with them. That brings us to our Bit, and some more virtues that believers ought to possess. Yes mih people, a believer is expected to be a very virtuous person. (smile) The Bit talks of ‘Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any.’ Oh Friends, that sentence is one of the most important in a believer’s life, for having been called to develop the virtues we’ve discussed over the last few days, and seeing where very few, if any, have reached that magical plateau of spirituality, then it behoves us to bear with, have patience with each other, and also forgive one another. Why? Because all of us still have flaws, weaknesses and deficiencies, which means we’re going to make mistakes and do wrong, often not intentionally, but wrong nonetheless. But unfortunately, it’s common place for us to berate others for the same wrongs and mistakes that we commit. As Jesus warned, we shouldn’t judge in a harsh, vindictive manner, because it will come back to haunt us. ‘And why beholdest thou the mote (speck) that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam (plank) that is in thine own eye?’ (Mat.7:3) That my Friends is a sad behaviour believers are widely known for; coming down on others for simple things when we commit more serious offences. That my brethren, is pure and simple hypocrisy. Oh Friends, these virtues which believers ought to possess and practice is one of the biggest drawbacks to our bringing others to Christ. Why? Because we constantly talk about them but don’t practice them sufficiently. Unbelievers therefore get turned off and consider us just a bunch of pretentious, know it all hypocrites. And in far too many cases, they are right. And I’m saying this from experience. While growing up in Tobago, I lived amongst two sets of people, both professing to be devout Christians, with both groups always in church etc. But Friends, even at my tender age, around 12 or 13, I saw the remarkable difference between both groups. One group definitely did not live the Christian life they preached, being rude, unmannerly and not very neighbourly, while the other was more pleasant, generous and kind. You could see something of Jesus in them. And for some strange reason that comparative situation has stuck with me all through the years. If I wasn’t already a believer, that first rude, unmannerly group would never have gotten me to be one, simply because their everyday actions didn’t live up to their words. Friends, I cannot over emphasize the importance of doing what we say, of practising what we preach, in our efforts to bring others to Christ. Remember that trite but true saying that examples work better than precepts, than mere words. That insufficient effort of practising what we preach is the bane of Christianity my people. If Christianity is an action, a doing movement, and we’re not doing, not acting in accordance with its basic principles, then how can we draw others to Christ eh? Our blatant hypocrisy just makes it worse, turns them off. Ah Friends, oftimes we’re our worst enemies, simply because we don’t do as we say, yet expect others to do it. And this last part of the Bit is oh so important; it’s one of the foundation stones of our faith: ‘even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.’ And that’s the gospel truth! But do we do it? Not as often as we should. And in closing, let’s hear it straight from our Saviour’s lips; hopefully it will impress upon us, the urgency and importance of living our principles. ‘And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught (anything) against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is heaven forgive your trespasses.’ (Mark 11:25-26) Oh my people, what more can I say? Jesus said it all right there; if you don’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven by the Lord. It couldn’t be any simpler than that. Please, I implore us to go out and start putting those things we’ve talked about into serious action; kindness, mercy, compassion, caring, forbearance, long-suffering, LOVE and forgiveness. Those are the principles on which Christ’s church is based, and if we want to be His true followers, then we need to do the things He directs us to do. And don’t think we done yet nuh! (smile) It have some more virtuous stuff to come tomorrow, God willing. Till then, Much LOVE!…virtue is the engine…that runs the Christian’s life…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 June 2010 Colossians 3:12‏

04 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:12     Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.
 
And all God’s people shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Why? Because they had been granted yet another stay of execution! They were alive and kicking, ready to greet another beautiful day in paradise! Oh Friends, I know some of us have it real rough, but that’s no reason to give up and not enjoy God’s goodness here on earth. Some of us, because of our unpalatable situations, are probably hoping for heaven sooner rather than later. But that doesn’t make sense either mih people. In the first place, many of us have put ourselves in those compromising and untenable situations all on our own steam, without any help from God. In fact, if we had listened to Him, we wouldn’t be in them, so we only have ourselves to blame. Then remember, He’s put us on planet earth at this particular moment in time for a specific purpose, and it’s our duty to find out that purpose and pursue it to the best of our ability. So merely wishing that the bad times will go away, and that heaven will soon come, isn’t really fulfilling our Christian mission. It’s not holding steadfast to our beliefs as we ought to. In effect, it is a defeatist attitude, something a believer should never possess. That brings us to the virtues that Bruh Paul declares in our Bit, that true believers MUST HAVE. Yesterday we talked about ‘bowels of mercies,’ compassion and kindness. Today we’ll continue with ‘humbleness of mind.’ Hn! What’s that eh? In today’s greedy, selfish, I, me and mine first world, the word humility, or the mere idea of being humble, is not only anathema to many, but doesn’t even exist in the minds of plenty others. And Friends, that’s a major downfall of us believers. We talk about humility, but we don’t really show or practice it. We look askance at the poor, the lame, the down on their luck with a snotty, nose in the air, I’m better than you cause I’m a Christian. But my brethren, that’s totally unchristian. Jesus is the perfect example. Though He was God in the flesh, He made no big thing about Himself. He willingly served others and gave the resultant glory to His Father in heaven. That’s how we ought to be my Friends. And remember, the Lord dislikes the sins of pride and arrogance possibly more than most sins, though He dislikes them all. That’s because pride and arrogance imply that we have no need or time for Him, we can do it all on our own strength, which, deep down, we know is nonsense. And my people, when we wave our God off and consider Him irrelevant in our lives, that not only angers Him, but hurts His heart too. Just think how we feel when our children consider us irrelevant and behave that way. It possibly hurts more than it angers. Well our God feels the same way when we can’t be bothered to give Him the time of day. Then, Bruh Paul goes on to speak of ‘meekness’ in a Christian’s life. What a joke that is my brethren! The dictionary defines ‘meek’ as ‘piously humble and submissive; submitting tamely to injury etc.’ Oh Friends, many of us interpret that as grovelling, dragging along, not putting up any resistance, a passive sort of response. But mih people, the Christian idea of meekness is certainly none of those things. We’re to submit to authority, give Caesar what is his and all that, but we don’t just roll over and play dead. It’s more like having a soft, gentle, tender spirit, but one that also has backbone and belly, to stand up strong when necessary. Once more, Jesus is the perfect example. He was soft and quiet and gentle, but when necessary, He was also strong and determined and not afraid to take the bull by the horns, like when He threw the crooks out of the temple. (Mat.21:12-13) And the last virtue Bruh Paul talks about in the Bit is ‘long-suffering,’ or patience. Now that’s another thing we’ve thrown aside in our mad rush for fame and glory in this modern society. Nobody wants to suffer for even a moment, much less to suffer for long. We want everything to be easy and now for now. Waiting for anything is frowned upon in this new culture. Consider the great debts we owe, because we couldn’t wait to save for what we wanted but bowed to Lucifer’s minions and instead bought on credit. And if we’re hurt or offended, we want retribution or payback right away. We can’t put up with the mistakes, weaknesses or eccentricities of others for even one moment. But Friends, consider this: If God behaved, or felt like us, where would we all be eh? All headed straight for purgatory; for death and eternal damnation with Lucifer. But the Lord is long-suffering. Sometimes I even think that He’s too patient with us, and so we seem to take advantage of His goodness and mercy. But please NEVER FORGET Friends, that our God is a just and righteous Sovereign, and we’ll all pay in some fashion for our continual wrongdoing. The Lord will not just roll over and play dead like some of us want or expect. And those are just some of the virtues we’re expected to possess, to cultivate, and also put into action because our Leader, Jesus, is, was, and will always be a man of action. My people, we can’t live a truly Christian life unless the basic virtues and requirements are solidly entrenched in our hearts, souls and minds, then we expose them in godly fashion to all and sundry. And I truly believe that our lack of those virtues today, is a major setback in our Christian walk. We’re just too weak in the simple virtues like kindness, humility and compassion, because we choose to follow the world’s greedy, ‘gravalicious’, inhumane lead. And we know that’s totally unacceptable for true believers. Oh Friends, let’s all do a serious inventory of our virtues nuh, and see where we’re lacking, then ask the Lord for help in improving them. He will be only too glad to oblige. Anyhow, enough on virtues for today. I don’t want to clutter us with too much material to digest. More virtues tomorrow though, the Lord willing of course. Hn, hn! Some of you possibly going: ‘Chuh! Yuh mean they have more of them goody goody principles!’ (smile) But whoever said that it was easy being a Christian eh? But Friends, in the long run, it’s very rewarding. So till tomorrow then, Much LOVE!…a true believer is kind and compassionate…but also strong and proactive…like Jesus…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 June 2010 Colossians 3:12‏

03 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:12     Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.
 
Oh Friends, we’ve all awakened to another beautiful day in paradise! Yes, we’ve not read our names in today’s obits. (smile) So let’s all give the Lord a hearty round of applause and a loud, ‘Thank you Lord! We praise your Holy Name, and will surely endeavour to walk worthy of you today on this rough and rugged earthly journey, graced with your mercy and salvation, ending in eternal life with You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen!’ And now Friends, in order to keep that promise we just made to our God, it’s necessary that we live our lives a certain way, with a certain number of virtues first and foremost. Let’s begin with what Bruh Paul terms ‘bowels of mercies,’ or ‘tender mercies,’ or ‘compassion.’ The dictionary describes ‘compassion’ as ‘pity inclining one to spare or help, or sympathetic pitying.’ Nowadays pity isn’t politically correct, the word in vogue now is ’empathy,’ that’s defined as ‘the power of projecting one’s personality into (and so fully comprehending) the object of contemplation.’ Hn! Two words my people; pity and empathy, similar but different. The first assumes that we don’t understand the situation at hand, it’s not heart felt, we might just be operating from pride and ego, while the other projects us into the situation, assuming that we’ll better understand it then. However Friends, the most important aspect of both words is that they conjure up the vision of HELP! And that’s what Christians are supposed to be all about; helping the needy in whatever they’re needy of. It can be the rich, the poor, or the in-between, we all have needs that we can’t meet personally, but that others can help us with. Now hear this most appropriate passage from 1 John. ‘But whoso hath this world’s good (goods, things), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels (heart) of compassion from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) Exactly my people! If we see a person in need, and we have the ability to help and don’t, how the dickens can we talk about LOVING God eh? How can we LOVE God, whom we’ve not seen, and NOT LOVE the brother we’ve seen? Oh Friends, that’s simply not the Christian way. Remember all Jesus asked us to do was to LOVE God and to LOVE EACH OTHER THE WAY He, Jesus LOVED us. And mih breddren, there’s a whole heap of people in this evil and cruel world, not only in faraway, undeveloped countries, but right by our doorstep, who desperately need help, who desperately need LOVE, whom we can both HELP and LOVE! Just this week I read that the Food Bank situation is worsening everyday. More and more people are going there for help, although the supposed experts say that the economy is improving. Well tell that to those who don’t have jobs nuh, or have such low paying jobs they still can’t make ends meet. Just imagine it nuh mih people, in this First world country, wonderful Canada, Food banks are a necessity. In the U.S too, apparently the rise in food-stamp usage is also very noticeable. People are going hungry in countries where food is thrown away and wasted like you wouldn’t believe! Hn! And then we pipe up about being such big believers and worthy Christians. Steups! Nonsense mih Friends! We’re just big hypocrites, like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, masquerading as Christians! Oh my people, as I keep reminding us, Christianity is an action not a talk word, and if we’re not doing something to help others, then we’re not truly living the Christian life. It’s that pure and simple mih people! All of us who receive this Bit, and read or don’t read it, are in a position to help someone else in some way or another, and if we don’t, then we’re not true believers. Look at Jesus nuh! Everyday of His earthly life He was concerned about helping others; not only the poor and downtrodden, but the rich and famous too, if they were willing to listen. Granted, we can never be as good as Jesus, but our mission is to be as good as we can. Unfortunately though Friends, we’re not doing as well as we can, that’s why there’s so much ‘sufferation’ in our land, in our world. ‘Sufferation’ that should never be taking place with the high state of technology, medicine, economics, education, charity, etc. that we’ve accomplished. In the Bit, Bruh Paul talks about things like kindness… Oh mih people, when last have we done an individual act of kindness eh? Held a door open for somebody; helped an older person to cross the street, or helped carry their groceries, even offered a thirsty person a glass of water, or a sad person a smile? Yes, those are all small things, but they are kindnesses too, and go a long way to helping ease the hurt and pain of another’s life, plus they add rewards to your personal heavenly account. Oh Friends, we all know that the big things are important, but so are the small ones. Please remember that, and whatever little acts of kindness we can do, now note with the right heart, the right motive, will count for much in the Lord’s eyes. I think I’ll stop there for today Friends, for what I want to say will make it a tad too long, and I don’t want to give us too much to digest all at once. (smile) So we’ll continue this topic tomorrow, God willing of course. And why shouldn’t He, since we’re only trying to spread His Word, further His Kingdom and glorify His Holy Name. Till tomorrow then, Much LOVE!…the true believer is action oriented…a doer…rather than a talker… 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 June 2010 Colossians 3:12‏

02 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:12     Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.

Ah Friends, it’s just another beautiful day in paradise! Some of you are no doubt shaking your heads wondering if I’m losing it. No mih people, I’m not losing it, not yet anyway. My logic is just that every day we awaken, it’s like awakening to paradise, because we’ve been granted at least one more day to enjoy the pleasures and joys of Mother Earth, guided by the Holy spirit, while Jesus is up in heaven, seated at the Father’s right hand, talking to Him on our behalf. What could be more paradisiacal than that eh? (smile) Oh Friends, I think that deserves a big shout of appreciation to the Most High God Jehovah. All together now: ‘Dear Father, we, your humble and grateful servants, thank you for all you’ve done, are doing, and plan to do for us. You’re such a  kind, caring, LOVING and generous God, that our hearts, minds and souls just overflow with true LOVE for you. Please continue to guide us with your Spirit and keep us strong in your Word. Help us to live a life worthy of You, a life that will reflect your glory and will make others want to know and joyfully reach out for you, the way we do. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen!’ And all God’s people said: ‘Yesss!’ Oh, isn’t it great to be alive mih people! I know our world is full of problems; it’s evil, ungodly, war-like and a whole lot of other negative things, but it doesn’t do us any good to dwell on them, especially if we can’t change them. We of course have to see and recognize them for what they are, but under no circumstance are we to allow them to steal our joy, make us sad, and lose that grace of God that empowers us. Remember, Beelzebub’s first line of attack is towards our joy in the Lord. If he can negate that any at all, then he’s winning. And I’m not that naive to think or expect us to never get sad, frustrated, depressed or angry, but it must never be for an extended period of time. As Bruh Paul advises: ‘Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.’ (Eph.4:26) Yes Friends, we’re always to try and regain our calm, our equilibrium before we go to bed. The world is too much of a crazy, zigzag, topsy-turvy place for us to be on a continual high. However, let’s aspire to keep the lows to a bare minimum nuh. And on a point of interest, it’s only when you’ve been low, that you can truly appreciate the highs of life. Oh mih breddren, our God is certainly a GREAT GOD yes! And don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. Here’s why I’m saying that. The past two days have been a tad hectic, and I haven’t gotten much sleep. Even what little I got was constantly being disturbed. So just now when I came down to my study to get started, I was yawning and feeling tired and not up to writing much of anything. However, I knew that I had to write something, and something sensible too, so I asked the good Lord to invigorate me, to give me the necessary strength and understanding to write something worthy of His Name. And would you believe people, I opened the Good Book, found the Bit, wrote it at the top of the page, and voila, the pen just kept writing, thoughts and words flowed like water. And now, hn! I don’t even remember being tired and miserable. And yuh know what Friends, it’s in those little scenarios that I truly detect the hand of the Most High, and sometimes they build my faith more than the big miracles. But that’s what the Spirit is there for; not only to help in the big, important things, but also in the small, not so important but very necessary aspects of our lives. And it certainly amazes me that we can have those small, intimate, successful moments with our God and yet doubt Him. Oh Friends, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has these eye-openers, because I’m not that special, but if you don’t occasionally have them, then it means you’re not communicating properly with the Lord, something’s wrong somewhere. So please check it out and try to right it before too long, for He talks and works with all those who sincerely seek Him, regardless of our faults or mistakes. Ah have to laugh yes people, because this seems like one of those times when the Spirit decides to take me for a little jaunt off the beaten track. I came ready to talk about Bruh Paul and the virtues Christians ought to possess, but the Spirit seems to have other ideas. Today must have been slated as one of random thoughts and ideas, no deep scriptural arguments or treatises, simply a day of sharing experiences, with my little unexpected, but very welcome testimony as the highlight. And my Friends, those days are necessary every so often, for though the Good Book is there to lead and guide us, we can’t always be into the heavy stuff. Remember examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts. Wow! Never thought I’d remember that quote from a book I did in High School, eons ago. It’s called The something of Joseph Andrews. I can’t remember the full title of the book though (smile) Oh Friends, I Binged it. Google is so passé. And here’s the true quote. By the way, the title is simply Joseph Andrews, a rollicking, bawdy satire of a chap who journeys across the English countryside a couple centuries ago, and the author is Henry Fielding. The book begins thus: ‘It is a trite but true observation, that examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts; and if this be just in what is odious and blameable, it is more strongly so in what is amiable and praiseworthy.’ Gospel mih people! And shades of Bruh Paul too. Anyway, it’s good to quote scripture and show how certain things affected those within its pages, but Friends, as Fielding says, there’s nothing that works as well as a concrete example of how that same principle worked or works in our lives today. Others will find it much more relevant if they can see or hear it working in this current age. That means, as much as possible, we’re to cheer and encourage others by sharing anecdotes and stories of how the Bible’s principles are working in our lives. That’s especially important when trying to bring unbelievers to Christ. They will always be more receptive to current examples than from those of olden times. Remember, the Good Book is our guide for and through life, but without current, personal testimony, its value is diminished. We can’t just base everything on what’s gone before, there must be current testimony to validate its powerful, unchangeable, faithful and steadfast truth. That’s all she wrote today mih people! Guess we’ll have to leave Bruh Paul for tomorrow, God willing of course. Till then, Much LOVE!…each generation must amass… their own tried and true testimony…of the Bible’s truths…to make it meaningful to the next…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 June 2010 Colossians 3:12‏

01 Jun 2010 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Colossians 3:12     Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.
 
Oh Friends, how wonderful it is to be able to sit on my porch again and watch the world go by without the threat of frostbite! Hn! I can even sit out there naked now, if I so desire. (smile) Those of you who enjoy hot, tropical weather year round won’t understand my great appreciation for such a seemingly simple action. But it does upset the spirit, when you can only comfortably use something you enjoy for about three months of the year. Anyway, enough of my sitting naked on my porch, let’s get into out Bit. And to support it, here are some classic words from William Penn, that our generation grew up on, but we some how lost them as we got older and more mesmerized by the false glitz and glamour of this evil world. Consequently, we never instilled and inculcated them into our children, much to everybody’s detriment. And they are simple but heartfelt words: ‘I expect to pass through life but once. If, therefore, there can be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now.’ Oh my people, right there is the basic foundation of Christianity; to show kindness or do anything good for a fellow human. And it’s not surprising that William Penn, founder of the State of Pennsylvania, should pen those words. An avowed Quaker, he was apparently kicked out of Oxford U. for his Puritanical leanings, hence his banishment to the colonies by his father. That brings us smack dab into the principles on which America was founded by the Quaker forefathers; godly principles by godly people. Now their vision might have been a tad utopian, but nonetheless, they set out to build a society dedicated to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose people would live by His dictates. But sadly how very different were those original intentions to where we’re at in America right now. Many want to get rid of God altogether and replace Him with the idols of Lucifer; greed, pride, immorality, selfishness and lust for the dispensable, perishable things of the world. But Friends, this should not be so, believers ought to be showing Christian virtues to the ungodly, disbelieving world if we hope to convert them. As Bruh Paul correctly states: ‘Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (tender mercies), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.’ My people, I want to point out two things here. In the first place Bruh Paul refers to us, believers, as ‘the elect of God, holy and beloved.’ And so we are, but Friends that designation carries with it not only great privileges, but more importantly, great responsibility and accountability. We can’t only consider ourselves privileged in God’s eyes, but must also live a life that’s worthwhile, that’s responsible, that reflects, exemplifies the holy and beloved status we enjoy. Hear how the rock of Christ’s Church, Peter, greets his readers. ‘Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you.’ (1 Pet.1:2) He too acknowledges that believers are special. And Bruh Paul informed the Ephesians: ‘According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in LOVE.’ (Eph.1:4) Yes my Friends, we are indeed special, privileged children of God, therefore we need to behave in a manner that denotes it. However, that isn’t happening half as much as it should today. Too many of us believers want to be in the world, of the world and of Jesus at the same time. But that’s impossible mih breddren. We needs must be in the world, but we can either be of it too or of Jesus. There’s no straddling the fence. And I’m declaring, that being of Jesus in the world, is by far the better of the two possible scenarios. Now having said that, let’s go back to Bruh Paul’s first words; ‘Put on therefore,’ which means dress your self, literally put on something. In this case it’s saying that living the Christian life doesn’t come automatically, it calls for a conscious effort on our part to walk the talk we are so great at. The virtues, attitudes and all the other aspects of Christian living have to be learned, then be continually practiced before we can truly call ourselves believers. And unfortunately again Friends, in the current cataclysmic state of our world, those virtues and attitudes we consider compulsory aspects of our faith are not being sufficiently highlighted, shown forth by enough of us supposed believers. We’re allowing the evil, ungodly aspects of the world to hold too much sway over our lives, which is certainly not what our Saviour desires or expects of us. And that’s basically why Beelzebub and the forces of evil are in the driver’s seat right now. The believers are not putting up enough resistance; we’re selling out, giving in, rather than standing up strong and steadfast for what we profess to believe in. Oh Friends, can you imagine the reaction and response of the Quakers who colonized our shores only a few centuries ago to the evil rat race that’s called America today? They’d possibly be struck dumb first, and then dead, whey they found out it was comparatively worse than the England they fled from. But please remember Friends, the war’s far from over, and we have the omnipotence of the Holy Trinity on our side, but it’s solely up to us whether we put their might and power to work on our behalf. Come on nuh mih people. Just look at the mess our world is in, where even some of the wicked are unhappy with its chaotic state. Let’s put out heads, hands, hearts, backs and bellies together, and truly join with Jesus to clean it up nuh. We’re supposed to leave it in a better, not worse state than we found it. But time’s run out, so we’ll continue this tomorrow, God willing of course. Till then, Much LOVE!…think of the children…what will there tomorrow be like…in the world’s current state…

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