Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 March 2012 Ecclesiastes 3:8‏

31 Mar 2012 1 Comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ecclesiastes 3:8,      A time to LOVE, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Aye Friends, there’s a question I’ve been meaning to ask you all for some time, but I’ve never gotten around to it until now. If I’ve been amiss in my duty, please forgive me, because it’s a rather important question; possibly the most important question that each of us can ask ourselves right now. But then again, it might have simply been penciled in all along for today on the Lord’s calendar, so I’m right on time. (smile) However, before we get to the million-dollar question, let’s take a look at our Bit: ‘A time to LOVE, and a time of hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.’ We all know that comes from the famous chapter of Ecclesiastes on there being a time for every thing. And that’s the living truth Friends! And what time is this? The time for LOVE and PEACE! Oh my people the time for hate and war are over, long gone. It’s a new era now; one where peace and LOVE abound. That’s why this question is so important. And without further ado, here it is: Have you enlisted yet as a soldier in the LOVE Revolution of Jesus? Now the answer to that should ‘utopianly’ be a loud, unified, unanimous acclamation of YEAHHHHHHH!!! But unfortunately it’s not – far from it too. That’s why Jesus is now looking for soldiers, and in particular foot soldiers like Him, not those who want to sit in fancy offices in pretty uniforms with plenty medals covering their chests and give lots of orders, but soldiers who are ready and willing to go out into the field and make a difference by spreading LOVE! Oh Friends, how wonderful a job – no it’s not a job, neither a duty, but more…more of a calling, an enlightenment. So how wonderful that calling can be is something you’ll never truly comprehend from the outside looking in. You have to make a serious, conscious commitment to Jesus, to become involved in His LOVE Revolution before you can reap the benefits that are spread throughout the hard times. And believe you me, there will be hard times, I can testify to that from personal experience. But unless you get personally involved, neither will you ever know the refreshing, peaceful, exotic feeling you get when you suffer through those hard times without too much complaining, simply trusting in Jesus to fulfill the promises to see you through the difficult times, to never leave nor forsake you. Remember what Jesus said about simply working for Him. ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt.10:22) But He also said ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Therefore people, in the midst of all the hate and war, anger and resentment that are currently plaguing our world, Jesus has given us the power to have peace and good cheer as well as the ability to LOVE those around us. Hn! I can’t get over it nuh. What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have mih bredden! One who hides nothing from us, tells it like it is, and keeps all His promises too! Wow! There’s NONE else like Him in the world! So Friends, why don’t we appreciate Him much more than we do eh? It grieves Him. I know that for a fact, because He wants ALL His family to come home to Him. He doesn’t want to lose even a single one to Beelzebub. And that’s what His LOVE Revolution is all about; bringing all His Father’s children home, to live in salvation and everlasting peace. So won’t you join the fight today? Open your heart. Jesus is calling, inviting you to come to Him, right this moment. And if you can’t come, or won’t come, He will gladly and willingly come to you, for He’s not too proud to do so. All you have to do is ask, and He’ll be there instantly. So as the old people would say; put your money where your mouth is nuh! Join up and let’s shower the world with LOVE in a LOVE Revolution led by none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who gave His holy, innocent and sinless life so that we undeserving sinners could be saved. Oh Friends, too many people either have not had the opportunity to hear the good news of the gospel, or they are fighting it tooth and nail. But LOVE is what makes the world go round and round, up and down. However, before people can accept it, we have to put the concept of LOVE out there for them, first in words and then most importantly IN ACTION! And we’ll end with some stirring words of Jesus that explains the whole concept: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) Oh Friends, that’s so plain and simple, self-explanatory really, like most of Jesus’ sayings. How can we not take them to heart and join His earth-shaking LOVE Revolution, which aims to revolutionize this angry, hateful, bitter world with the most wonderful emotion in existence, LOVE! Please join us today. The rewards – salvation and eternal life – are incomparable, and cannot be gotten anywhere else but under the LOVING embrace of Jesus! So before it’s too late, and there will come a time when it is, I implore us to wise up and try Jesus – RIGHT NOW! Much LOVE my brethren!…only insomuch as one LOVES…can one understand the true meaning of life…

 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 March 2012 Leviticus 19:18

30 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leviticus 19:18.     Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Oh Friends, it’s the big day, Friday! And all God’s people breathed a grateful sigh of relief and mouthed in true gratitude; ‘Oh, thank God it’s Friday!’ I know some of us have had a rougher week than others, but the beauty of having Jesus as our Saviour is that we can all lay down our burdens and rest in Him, in His peaceful, calm and caring personality. So let’s throw off that tiredness by now putting it in His hands, and also chanting our Friday Chant, to give us a better perspective on the upcoming weekend. As one loud and prayerful voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And with that perspective Friends, let’s see if we can’t do what our Bit commands us nuh: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ Some of you are displeased because we’re still focused on this Bit, but that’s just a spoiled brat attitude. And furthermore, how can we move on when we haven’t learned all the lessons it teaches? It’s like repeating a year or semester of school because we have failed our exams. And believe you me people, we are definitely failing this lesson of LOVING our neighbours as ourselves, else our world would not be in such a troubled state. The truth is that we will never be calm, peaceful and filled with true joy until we truly begin LOVING others as ourselves. But perhaps I’m being a bit presumptuous here, because if we’re not carrying out the first and greatest command of our God; to LOVE Him wholeheartedly, how can we be expected to carry out the second one; to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves? As the scriptures ask, how can you LOVE a God you can’t see, and not a neighbour that you can see? It is somewhat confusing, but believe me, it’s often much easier to LOVE the God you can’t see than the neighbour whose behaviour rankles our very being. But as believers, that’s what we’re called to do, and we’ll continue with some scriptures on the topic that I never got to yesterday. And we can only be blessed by hearing Jesus’ words once more. When asked about the most important commandments, He declared that LOVING the Father was the first and most important: ‘And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.’ (Mark 12:31) Friends, those are words we ought to write indelibly in and on all parts of our beings to continually remind us of them. Then we ought to put them into sincere practice if we want to be seen as true Christians, and not the hypocrites that many, with good reason, take us to be. My brethren it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell us that we’re definitely not obeying the two most important commands of the ONE and ONLY TRUE God, Jehovah, and that if we continue this disobedience we’ll only end up in more hot water and greater calamity than we’re already facing. In Romans, Bruh Paul wisely advises us thus: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9) That should be simple common sense, not only for believers, but for all those who wish to live calm and peaceful lives, since evil only brings strife and stress. Later on, to the same Roman church, Bruh Paul, in talking about our LOVE walk, tells them: ‘Owe no man anything, but to LOVE one another: for he that LOVETH another hath fulfilled the law….LOVE worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ (Rom.13:8,10) James also weighs in on the problem with these words of wisdom: ‘If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.’ (James 2:8) Oh Friends, isn’t it very encouraging to know that we’re doing well if we LOVE our neighbours as ourselves? It should be, but unfortunately it isn’t to too many of us. However, let’s go home with a biting bit of scripture from Bruh Paul to the Galatians: ‘For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.’ (Gal.5:14-15) Oh my people, truer words were never spoken, because we can now see it taking place in our crazy world, where there’s little or no LOVE, and we’re consuming each other like gluttons. How sad! But that’s the current nature of the beast. I implore us though to make positive changes as soon as possible, or else with all the strife and anger, resentment and call for vengeance, the greed and jealousy, plus the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, we’ll eventually wipe ourselves off of Mother Earth. All that’s now left to say is let’s wake up and smell the fresh bread that Jesus is so LOVINGLY baking for us, if we only do as He asks. It would surely be a sin if we allow it to go to waste, just because we didn’t LOVE each other. Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…the consequences of disobedience is calamity…and ultimately death…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 March 2012 Leviticus 19:18‏

29 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leviticus 19:18.     Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
 

Hi there mih people! How goes it? I hope it all goes well with you. And if by chance it doesn’t, then I certainly hope that you are resting safe and secure in the LOVING arms of Jesus, giving ALL your problems to Him, while taking up His easy yoke and light burden, for that’s why He sacrificed His holy, innocent life on our behalf. He redeemed our sins so that we could live a decent, comfortable, prosperous life here on earth. But by the same token, we also have a very important part to play in making His words come true. And today Friends, you’re not going to hear much from me, cause I’m going to jam us with scripture. And I can hear some of you in the background saying, ‘Thank you Lord.’ (smile) Today we’re going to invest in scripture that pertains to the second most important command of our God, which we are not obeying, and which is causing a myriad of serious problems in our world. And it all begins with our Bit: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ Yesterday we looked at scripture that pertained to the first part, vengeance, today we’ll look at some that deal with the second half; LOVING our neighbours as ourselves. But first, here’s a scripture on vengeance that I just discovered and felt compelled to share. It’s from Proverbs, wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Say not thou, I will recompense (repay) evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.’ (Prov.20:22) Please remember that Friends: REVENGE is the Lord’s job, not ours. We have to wait patiently and let Him do His thing on our behalf in His own, good time. Now moving on to the second part of our Bit: ‘thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ Oh Friends, when I consider how we disobey that command, I just have to bow my head in shame and ask the Lord to be merciful unto us, because our lack of decency towards each other is the major source of most of our problems. We will never like everybody, but it’s our God-given responsibility, as Christians, to treat each other decently; be kind, merciful and forgiving. Remember Jesus said that whatever we sow we shall eventually reap. And my people, that’s exactly what’s happening in our world today; we’re reaping the evil fruits of the evil seeds we’ve sown. Can you imagine what a truly wonderful world this would be if we just treated each other the way we’d like to be treated? Oh mih breddren, there’d be such joy in heaven and also here on earth! But we’ve become so selfish and greedy that we expect others to treat us well, even though we treat them like garbage. Anyway, enough of me, let’s get to the scriptures I promised before time and space runs out. And we’ll start with Jesus during the famous Sermon on the Mount, where He proclaimed: ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt.5:43-48) Oh Friends, that’s the bedrock of Jesus’ philosophy; do good regardless of the circumstances. And I did not plan to quote all of that, but the Spirit said to do it, so therefore being the obedient son I am, I did. (smile) Then later on in Matthew 19, when the rich, young ruler asks Jesus about gaining eternal life, He quotes him the Ten Commandments, amongst them being: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ (Matt.19:19) Again, when some smart aleck lawyer tries to give Jesus a run for His money and asks about how to inherit eternal life, Jesus asked him what was written in the law? The lawyer replied: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.’ (Luke 10:27-28) But like most lawyers, thinking they’re so smart, he tries to one-up Jesus by asking who was his neighbour. This led Jesus to tell them the parable of the Good Samaritan. And right there Friends, we have what’s wrong with our world. The priest and Levite, supposed holy and righteous men of his own culture were too busy and selfish to look after the injured man. But the Samaritan, a veritable enemy, had the Love, mercy and kindness to stop and look after him. Oh my brethren, that’s the kind of world Jesus wants us to build! As He said earlier, LOVE thine enemies, that way they’ll see the real Christian Spirit of Jesus in us. Think back to the Bit a few days ago where we spoke of the Anglican minister with the two Muslim workers, working in harmony to help all and sundry, regardless of race or creed. That’s what LOVING our neighbours as ourselves truly is. And for all of our sakes, let’s try to do more of that nuh Friends, so that out heavenly Father will smile down on us. It’s definitely in our own best interest. Much LOVE!…it can’t be said too often… you reap what you sow…so sow good seed…that you may reap good fruit…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 March 2012 Leviticus 19:18‏

28 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leviticus 19:18.     Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. I am the Lord.

Oh Friends, morning has broken, beautiful and serene, just like that first morning eons ago! And our Creator, the Lord God Jehovah, is still sitting pretty on His throne, still running things, just like back then, and will continue to do so throughout eternity. So how can we not bow in praise, thanksgiving and worship to such an omnipotent Being eh? And just to show how mighty is our God-head, let’s listen to some of the attributes of the Son, Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, from Anne Graham Lotz’s book, My Jesus is…Everything: ‘My Jesus – He guards the young. He seeks the stray. He finds the lost. He guides the faithful. He rights the wronged. He avenges the abused. He defends the weak. He comforts the oppressed. He welcomes the prodigal. He heals the sick. He cleanses the dirty. He beautifies the barren. He restores the failure. He mends the broken. He blesses the poor. He fills the empty. He clothes the naked. He satisfies the hungry. He elevates the humble. He forgives the sinner. He raises the dead! My Jesus is… Everything!’ And that’s the living truth Friends! Jesus is all that and even more! And though we know that Jesus is our be all and end all, yet we still go against the second most important command in His Word, which our Bit so poignantly describes: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ What’s so hard to understand in that eh people? The verse contains three basic facts: Don’t bear any grudges or try to avenge any wrongdoing on your own. That’s MY job! LOVE your neighbour as yourself. That’s YOUR task! And last but not least; the Lord, He is God! Two, simple, straightforward commands, and one definite statement. But somehow or other, we can’t seem to understand and/or accept them, for down through the ages we’ve been thoroughly disobedient on each count. Let’s take a closer look at the first command: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (retaliate), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people.’ But what’s ruling the world right now eh Friends? Grudges and vengeance! Strife and resentment, some that even date back centuries, are currently front and centre, causing most of our troubles. There’s strife and violent rivalries between parents, siblings, whole families, economies and nations. Gang warfare in both large and small neighbourhoods is on the increase at a time when we can least afford it, causing untold fear and worry to the residents. And instead of putting a stop to it, we seem to be stoking the fires a little more every day, with some new arena of strife coming on board, but unfortunately none leaving. Oh my brethren, the Good Book tells us several times that vengeance belongs to the Most High God whom we worship, not us. So why are we still trying to do it ourselves? Let’s refresh our memories with some of those scriptures; hopefully they’ll bring a new outlook to our minds. In Deuteronomy, the Lord once again lays down the law in no uncertain terms: ‘To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.’ (Deut.32:35) Then in 1st Samuel, when Bruh David has the opportunity to kill his deadly enemy Saul, he instead follows the Lord’s command and tells Saul: ‘The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of (on) thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.’ (1 Sam.24:12-13) Oh people, how many of us would have passed up such a glorious opportunity for revenge eh? Most of us would have surely sent Saul to his maker. But Bruh David understood the principle and wisely left Saul to God. Then in Romans, Bruh Paul painstakingly reminds us of the vengeance situation. ‘Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom.12:19-21) Oh Friends, Bruh Paul is there quoting our Bit and the verse from Deuteronomy above, as well as Proverbs 25:21-22. Then he ends with the basic philosophy of Jesus; do good and not evil. Please, if we’re going to be true followers of Jesus, we need to get on board the train for good deeds, not the one for evil. It’s the only way our children, our world, and some of us will survive. Much LOVE!…don’t fear…we’ll all get our comeuppance… in the Lord’s time…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 March 2012 Leviticus 19:18‏

27 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , ,

Leviticus 19:18.       Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Top o’ the morning to all you, my beautiful Friends in Christ Jesus! May He bless and keep you safe this day that He’s seen fit to breathe the breath of life into your temporal body. Hn! What a way the ole fella waxing preacher-like this morning. (smile) Ah Friends, we’re indeed quite lucky to be granted another day on this wonderful but very troubled planet. Now, originally I wasn’t planning to share this story, but the Spirit kept prodding me about it, so here it is. Last night I went to an Anglican Church Women’s Corporate Communion service, where, as is becoming the norm, the priest and I were the only two men amongst a bevy of women. Now whether that’s good or not, we won’t comment. (smile) However, the guest speaker, a female Anglican priest doing ministry in a lower class neighbourhood of Toronto, with a very diverse group of people and religions, told this story. To begin with, the two people who work for her are Muslims, but their religion doesn’t interfere with their daily roles of helping others who can’t help themselves. They don’t try to convert each other, although the Muslim and Christian faiths are the only two of the high profile ones that preach conversion. People of all different faiths and backgrounds, especially a lot of new immigrants come through their doors for help, and though they see her priest’s collar, know that she’s an Anglican minister, that doesn’t matter in the least, because life is not about religion, but about helping each other. And as she points out, that’s what Jesus was all about; helping others. And though He ostensibly came to save His people, Israel, He hobnobbed with all sorts of people; rich, poor, of different faiths, cultures and religions, sick, healthy, you name it and He stood up for them. But He never made conversion to His faith a basis for getting His help. Unfortunately though, in our selfish, small-minded, parochial religious world, lots of times, that’s often the case. The guest speaker gave a very telling example of this unchristian action. Recently her ministry was turfed out of their place in a neighbourhood Plaza and had to move into a condominium basement since there wasn’t enough funds to rent something more suitable. Anyhow, before it actually happened, a minister from another Christian denomination came to see how he could help, but unfortunately could not because his denomination didn’t offer help without efforts at conversion. How sad eh! She said she saw how broken up and disappointed the man was because his personal feelings were being forced aside by the foolish and selfish dictates of his denomination. Oh Friends, Christ never did, and never will turn anyone away, regardless of their personal faith, if they sincerely came to Him for practical, physical help in this sinful, ungodly world! His testimony was helping all those who needed help despite their personal beliefs. But hypocritical mankind in our subservience to Lucifer and his evil powers, seem to see it otherwise. That reminds me of some friends of my younger daughter who are of different faiths and ethnicity, but they associate very nicely together. They come to our house, eat, drink, sleep and converse without religion being a controversial topic, because we all respect the other’s faith. And that’s the way it ought to be! And isn’t it sad that the biggest players on the controversial religious stage, Muslims, Christians and Jews, are all the descendants of our father Abraham? He must be turning over in his grave, or very upset up in heaven, at the sordid mess his descendants are making of God’s beautiful planet Earth. Oh Friends, we all know that there’s ONLY ONE TRUE GOD, and that same God has seriously instructed and warned us that the most important thing in our lives after LOVING Him, is to LOVE our fellow man as ourselves, because we’re all made in His image, regardless of the faith we profess. I guess we’ll use that as our Bit, since I don’t have one as yet. ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ Oh my people the Lord gave us that directive thousands of years ago, and it still holds true, but it’s time for us to wake up and realize that religion should be a practical exercise, a practical challenge in LOVE and help, not merely a mental exercise that brings no true practicality to the basic, everyday needs of life, which Jesus was all about. Granted, He laid out doctrines, but the doctrines were never more important than the practical aspects of His ministry. So fine, the doctrine says you shouldn’t work on the Sabbath, but does that mean you shouldn’t help someone who’s suffering because it’s the Sabbath? Of course not! But unfortunately that’s the way we’re operating on too many levels. Remember religion is supposed to be the opiate of the people; something that eases pain, brings peace and calm to our souls and lives. But it’s definitely not doing that! How could it with all the divisions and divisiveness that are currently working in all the major faiths? Oh Friends, I don’t know if this Bit is cohesive and well written, because it comes from my heart and not my mind, but I implore us to get rid of our personal hang-ups, of those of our religious denominations, and to start living the practical life of LOVE that Jesus lived and died for. If we’re not living a practical life of LOVE, then we’re not walking in Jesus’ footsteps, for all He did, each and every day, was go out into the world and help whomever He could. Now that should also be our goal, both personally and as a part of His Church. As I keep telling my family, you can’t talk LOVE, you’ve got to walk it, live it out in your lives. Please, let’s concentrate on doing that nuh, rather than trying to tear each other up or down, simply because of the faith we belong to. Jesus came to unite, not separate us, so let’s concentrate on unity and not separation. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen! Much LOVE mih people!…LOVE means action…doing something to show you care…not a whole set of useless talk…  

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 March 2012 Romans 12:2‏

26 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:2.    And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Oh Friends, our heavenly Father has once again blessed us this Monday morning with a strong breath of life, so let’s be up and about His business nuh; no mewling and whimpering. Remember Jesus’ answer when confronted by His parents, after He remained in Jerusalem reasoning with the elders in the temple: ‘How is it that ye sought me? Wist (knew) ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?’ (Luke 2:49) Well Friends, unfortunately we also have important duties to perform for our God. I know it’s Monday and difficult to get moving, but it’s what we signed up for when we accepted Jesus. So let’s get energized by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in full voice. As one now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ That ought to get our adrenalin flowing. And to further propel us, let’s consider the wise advice of our Bit: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ Now the whole purpose of becoming a Christian is to become like Christ, as much as is humanly possible. However, that doesn’t come naturally, for our basic human nature fights against it, thus we have to consciously remake, retool ourselves in Christ’s image. And to do that we need to take three ground floor actions; don’t conform to the world’s sinful, ungodly nature, but transform ourselves, by first renewing our mind, changing the way we think, and therefore act, which will then be the way God wants us to act. John describes this quite nicely in his first Epistle: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17) Wow! Friends! That’s true, true gospel! If we follow the world and its unholy lusts, we’ll definitely end up in Hades with Lucifer and all his evil cohorts, separated from the living God for all eternity. And believe me, that’s the worst thing that can ever happen to a spiritual being, such as we are! So if we truly want to ‘prove what is (the) good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,’then we have to take Bruh Paul’s advice to the Ephesians: ‘And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ (Eph.4:23-24) That means refraining from things like; lying; letting anger seethe in our souls, thus allowing Lucifer a foothold for evil; stealing, but instead working honestly; gossiping, but rather talking encouraging and uplifting stuff. (Eph.4:25-29) Bruh Paul then sums it up with this poignant verse: ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph.4:30) Yes Friends, the Spirit of God is truly grieved and disappointed when we claim to be His children, but do things that obviously fall outside His will. Therefore, if we really want to be excellent soldiers in Christ’s army, we have to continually, read, study and meditate on His Word, then take those actions He desires us to take, not our own, or the world’s. It’s the only way to be a true believer. Much LOVE!…the transformation from sinner to saint…is a rigorous…but oh so rewarding process…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 March 2012 Romans 12:2‏

25 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Romans 12:2.:   And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Ah mih Friends, it’s another day in the life! A life where we are constantly bombarded by the cares and concerns of the world, especially in these seriously troubled times. And being merely human, these worldly problems often weigh us down to the point where we are ready to give up. But please remember that believers in Christ NEVER GIVE UP! And a persevering and steadfast nature against whatever odds we face is one of the signs that the Spirit of Christ is truly in us. Now the best way to resist and eventually conquer worldly matters is by following our Bit: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ Yes mih breddren, the only way to beat this world is by not conforming to it, not allowing the things it considers so important to overwhelm us and/ or make us lose faith, when we can’t measure up to its demands. And that’s only possible when the LOVE of Jesus, His faith and strength are continually working in us! Remember what Bruh Paul says about accepting Christ: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold; all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) That’s right Friends, to become a true believer we have to get rid of all the old, worldly stuff in our lives, and the first place that change must begin is in our minds, for our minds are the controlling mechanisms of our beings. So if we don’t change our way of thinking, then nothing much will ever change in our lives, and being born again in Christ, literally means that some things must change. As Bruh Paul says in the verse before our Bit: ‘I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (rational) service.’ (Rom.12:1) Now hear the scholars explain it; they term it Dedication to God’s Will. ‘God’s will refers to His purpose for the life of the believer. It implies His guidance or direction in all of life’s decisions. Dedication is an act of surrender or submission to His will for our lives whereby we become a ‘living sacrifice.’ Daily dependence on God results in our transformation into the image of Christ. Illustration: When we seek to discern the will of God we must also be committed to doing the will of God as it is revealed in the Word of God. (John 7:17) Application: The believer should evaluate every decision on the basis of biblical principles, knowing that obedience brings God’s blessing.’ And their First Reference is Gen.22:12, where Abraham is about to kill Isaac as God requested, but is stopped at the last moment, when God says to him: ‘for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.’ Oh Friends, that’s what you call true obedience and real faith! God had promised Abraham to be the father of many through Isaac, but was then told to sacrifice him. Hn! How many of us would have prepared for the sacrifice with no arguments, like Abraham eh? Not too many, I suspect. We’d be more like holding our heads and bawling, crying out to God for some explanation of the inconsistency.  Remember though people, ours is not to question God, just to obey whatever He says, even when things don’t look right, for He drew up the original plan for the world, and has everything under control.  Now let’s go home with some appropriate words, from James: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants to) be a friend of the world is the (makes himself an) enemy of God.’ (James 4:4) And the scholars weigh in with this explanation: ‘As Israel was a spiritual adulteress, unfaithful to God, so the church is a spiritual adulteress when she is the unfaithful bride of Christ (cf. Hos.2:5, 19, 20; Matt.12:39) One cannot be both a lover of God, and a lover of the world.’Let’s remember those wise and very true words my people, and let them dictate the way we live; for God. More on this tomorrow, provided we’re still alive and kicking. Much LOVE!…Ye cannot serve two masters…Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Lucifer)… (Matt.6:24)

 

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