22 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a more excellent way, a path of life, accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, apostles, attitude, behaviour, believers, better hands than All State, charity, Christians, coming up to scratch, communing, contentious striving, Corinth, Corinthians, covet, desire, disrupt the future, faith, gifts of healing, glad to be alive, glory hallelujah, God's working all things for good, god-like, governments, halfway home, hands fixed on the plough, helps, hodge-podge lives, hope, I am nothing, I'm not looking back, leave my mark, LOVE, loving, magnify, meaningful, members individually, miracles, move mountains, muddy up the present, my best days are still ahead, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, mysteries, ONE body in Christ, pagan worship, peace, priorities, priority, prophets, purposeful, quiet, sounding brass, spiritual gifts, summer, teachers, the best gifts, the body of Christ, the breath of life, the greatest of these three, the language of the gods, the Way of LOVE, those who love him, tinkling cymbal, tongues, tongues of men, vibrant, walking in LOVE, Wednesday Wail
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Welcome, welcome one and all to this glorious summer’s day! Yes friends, it’s now officially summer in the northern climes, as of last Monday evening! Glory be!
The strange part though is that we’ve been experiencing some rather strong winds for the past couple of days, along with some reassuring summer temps. But who knows what our omnipotent and ever-wise God is up to and about eh? Nobody!
Anyway, we do know that He’s working all things out for our good, for those who LOVE Him and are called to participate in His wonderful world, and that’s enough for true believers like us. We’re in much, much better hands than All State! (smile)
And to prove that we sincerely believe that, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail with great gusto and superior faith. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday!
I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Ah mih people, how glorious that future with Jesus will be! And yuh know what, though life can be somewhat rough sometimes, I’m still grateful to be alive, because as far as I’m concerned my best days are still ahead of me. I haven’t done anything as yet to leave my mark on the world, which means that better days are still to come.
Consequently, I can’t afford to look to the past, else it will only muddy up the present and disrupt the great plans God has for me in the future.
Oh friends, we have to believe that God has great plans for our lives, otherwise life won’t be worth living! Christians won’t created to lead, mediocre, hodge-podge lives, but strong, vibrant, meaningful, god-like and purposeful ones!
But we won’t be able to do that until we sincerely accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour and genuinely work with Him to bring to pass His good plans for our earthly days.
And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful; ‘Hallelujah! All praise and glory to Jesus, our ever-faithful and ever-LOVING Lord and King!’
And that brings us to our current Bit: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my people, we are supposed to be one body in Christ, composed of different parts, as members, and that consequently means there is a certain kind of behaviour and attitude that’s expected of us. Unfortunately though, we are not coming up to scratch, which means that Christ’s organization is also not coming up to scratch, since we are its purveyors.
Now let’s hear what Bruh Paul said to the Corinthians a long time ago, because it also pertains to us in these trying and desperate times. ‘And God hath set some in the church (appointed these), first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities (varieties) of tongues.
Are all apostles? are all prophets? Are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?’ (1 Cor.12:28-30)
And the obvious answer to all of that my friends is a big NO!
So what? Bruh Paul provides the answer. ‘But covet (desire) earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.’ (1 Cor.12:31)
And here the scholars give us a lengthy explanation of what Bruh Paul means. ’12:31. But covet earnestly the best gifts: This expressions explains why the apostle has arranged the list in verse 28 in order of priority. He wants his readers to be clear in their own minds as to which gifts are the best.
Obviously, his intent is to steer them away from the more spectacular gifts such as tongues. Covet here is not to be construed negatively but means “earnestly desire.”
A more excellent way: The import of this statement is to be seen in Chapter 13. Paul will show that a better way is not through contentious striving but through LOVING.
Many feel that Paul is here showing how the gifts are to be administered, that is, in LOVE. However, the use of way (Gr. hodos) in the sense of “a path” instead of the way (Gr. tropos) in the sense of “manner,” and the statement of 14:1, indicates that Paul was pointing out a path of life superior to a life spent seeking and displaying spiritual gifts.
Paul’s interest here is not to instruct his readers in how they may best use their gifts, but how to have their priorities straight. They should strive for LOVE, not spiritual gifts.’
Ah friends, I hope we understand what the scholars are saying: that though spiritual gifts are important, our priority should not be striving to get and display them, but our priority should be walking in LOVE.
For as he says in the opening of Chapter 13 – The way of LOVE – ‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (LOVE), I am become as a sounding brass or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (LOVE), I am nothing.’ ( 1 Cor.13:1-2)
So you see friends, regardless of what spiritual gifts we have, if we don’t have the overwhelming gift and attitude of LOVE, we are nothing, of no importance!
And the scholars share some important and interesting info re verse 1. ’13:1. Tongues of men and of angels: Such was the association of tongues speaking in pagan worship at Corinth. When a priest or devotee spoke in tongues, it was considered that he spoke in the language of the gods.’
And for all you know, some of us still hold that belief today. However my people, please, please, let’s stop seeking the spiritual gifts to magnify ourselves, and instead, simply walk in the way Jesus did nuh – the way of LOVE! For that’s our priority as Christians! Much LOVE!
…and now abideth faith, hope and charity (LOVE)…these three…but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE)… (1 Cor,13:13)
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It was just one of those late mornings. I was outside on my porch at 3.am communing with my Creator, enjoying the peace and quiet, while listening to the rain fall softly on the earth. Sometimes we just have to do these things. (smile) Much LOVE!
21 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: actions, anger, attitude, backbiting, behaviour, character, Christendom, christianity, cooperation, Corinth, disharmony, disrupt harmony, diversity, division, earthly life, embrace Jesus, encourages, exciting, extraordinary, glory, good cheer, greed, harmonious spirit, harmony, hatred, human nature, hurry, hypocritical, I am the beloved of god, in Jesus' name, individually, inner presence, Jesus, let God be God, lifts us up, Love for Jesus, LOVE Jesus, members, mind-boggling, my friend Jesus, New Testament, peace, philosophy, planet earth, Praise the Lord, privately live, problems, publicly show, pull together, reflect Christ's character, religious teaching, reproach, resentment, running things, Scrip-Bit family, serve, share His love, sincerity, souls, spiritual organism, the body of Christ, the church, the Holy Spirit, the Light, the Lord's on His throne, throne, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, unity, warms the cockles of my heart, what people say about me, wisdom, wonder, worry, worship
1 Corinthians 12:27. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).
Aye mih friends and family – Scrip-Bit family included of course – welcome to another wonderful Tuesday on planet earth! The Lord’s on His heavenly throne running things, and Jesus is with us through the inner presence of the Holy Spirit! So what can be better than that eh? Absolutely nothing!
Ah mih people, Jesus is so beautiful, I don’t see how people can not LOVE Him, and want to serve and worship Him in all sincerity and truth!
Yeh friends, I truly don’t understand how people can dislike Jesus and abuse and blaspheme Him. He has the best religious teaching going, even the best philosophy for living this earthly life; one of peace and LOVE and good cheer! One couldn’t ask for more!
But such is the fallen and dark nature of our human souls that we refuse to see the light even when it’s shining all around us. But thankfully, we smart humans will embrace Jesus in all His glory and wonder and live to serve Him now and forever!
And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord in Jesus’ name! Amen.’
And to support all of what we’ve just said, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a strong sense of purpose and true belief. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
Oh friends, oh friends, that li’l mantra so warms the cockles of my heart when I declare it, that…that I don’t know what to say afterwards! Hn!
To know that I am indeed a beloved child of God and a friend of Jesus…and can simply live this life and share His awesome LOVE with the world…well that is just so mind boggling and extraordinary!
I do hope that you, my fellow believers feel the same way, because if you don’t you are missing out on the most exciting and transformational part of your lives, since true LOVE for Jesus just lifts us up and encourages us so much!
And we’ll continue with our theme from yesterday; members of the body of Christ, of His church, because it is very important for each believer to know and understand His place and role in that most august organization.
Our Bit tells us quite plainly: ‘Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular (individually).’
Yes my brethren, we are all a part of Christ’s great organization called the church, with all that’s needed to make it great, but it’s oh so necessary for the members of that organization to pull together to do that. Listen to the scholars’ input on that verse.
’12:27. In one succinct statement, the apostle expresses both the unity and the diversity of the body of Christ. The absence of the definite article in Greek (ho, “the”) before the expression ‘body of Christ’ emphasizes character: since they are Christ’s body, their actions and attitudes toward one another should reflect His character.’
Oh my fellow believers, that last line there says it all; since we belong to Christ’s organization, our attitude and character ought to reflect that of Jesus! But does it? That’s the million-dollar question.
Unfortunately, I don’t believe that it does, or at least not to the extent that it should. If we were truly reflecting the character and attitude of Jesus as an organization, there wouldn’t be so much division and disharmony within it, none of the greed, the backbiting, the resentment, and pure hatred that exists in some parts of it.
As we said earlier, Christ’s character is one of peace, LOVE and good cheer, and that in no way represents the present day church of Christ!
And before we go any further, listen to the scholars’ description re the Body of Christ. ‘12:27. The church in the New Testament is called the “body of Christ,” and reflects the spiritual organism of the whole church on earth. When the local church is called the body of Christ, the spiritual aspect is emphasized.
Illustration: As the church is considered to be the body, so individual members are seen as parts of the body. For any church to function properly, every member must do his or her part in a harmonious spirit of cooperation with the other members. Had the church at Corinth learned this lesson, many of their problems would have been solved.
Application: When Christians disrupt the harmony of a church, they bring reproach on the body of Christ. (First ref. Matt.16:18; Primary Ref. I Cor. 12:27).’
Oh friends, that’s the problem of today’s church right there! The spirit of harmonious cooperation is sadly lacking in many of the local churches and also in the entire body of Christendom!
No wonder we’re bringing such reproach on Christ and His body, and people are leaving His organization as well as crying it down and calling it totally hypocritical!
And there is a lot of truth there, since the heathen doesn’t see or perceive us as good and kindly and LOVING people from the attitude, behaviour and character we publicly display. We behave just as badly, and sometimes even worse than them! That obviously gives Jesus a bad name and turns off the unbelievers, thus making of no effect our trying to bring them to Him.
Ah mih people, there’s a simple solution to all of that yes, all the confusion and disharmony, the resentment, anger and hatred, backbiting and hypocrisy can be avoided if we’d just implement the words of the song: ‘Let God be God! Let God be God in your life!’
Yes friends, if we’d just allow the Lord to work in our lives as He desires, most of our problems would vanish, and we’d become much more like the harmonious body of Christ that we’re meant to be.
So, starting today, right now, let’s let go and allow God to truly work in us nuh, for that is indeed the highest level of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…for Christianity to be successful…Christians must privately live…and publicly show…the true character and attitude of Jesus Christ…
20 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a waste of time, all for one, aura of love, Beelzebub, Christ's Church, commandment, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, evil, faith, Father's Day, friends, fun, godly manner, Guide, harmony, holy spirit, honour thy father and mother, hope, hullabaloo, humble servants, in the land God gives thee, invincible, ism, Jesus Christ, joy, laughed him to scorn, lead, lies, lip service, LOVE, members, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, one for all, Oneness, peace, promise, reality of work, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, righteous, sally forth, schism, sincerity, spiritual armour, standing 'O', steadfast faith, taunts, the body is not one member, the body is one, the business of the day, the enemy, the rear end, thy days may be long, trust, truth, ungodly world, unity, warning, wiles, wisdom
1 Corinthians 12:14. For the body is not one member, but many.
Aye friends, the hullabaloo of Father’s Day is over now, time to get back to the reality of work! (smile) However, before we embark on that subject, I want to extend one reminder, and not to the fathers, but to the children.
Please children, please don’t ignore your fathers, in fact your parents, during the remainder of the year. I know we get all gushy and lovey-dovey come Mother’s and Father’s Day, and even then, plenty of us only pay lip service to the occasion, but what happens during the rest of the year eh?
Too many children basically ignore their parents during the rest of the year. And my warning is all for your benefit. Remember the only commandment that has a promise tied to it. ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex.20:12) So for your sakes, I’d suggest you children do a better job of honouring your parents than you’re currently doing. Nuff said!
Now let’s get down to the business of the day and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though we genuinely mean it, with plenty enthusiasm and sincerity.
All together 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!’
It wasn’t bad friends, but not one of those renditions that creates a standing ‘O’ in heaven. And Jesus, our choir director wasn’t really displeased, so we doing okay. (smile)
But mih people, is time now to get down to brass tacks and go out and face the music with strength, courage, faith and trust that the Holy Spirit that indwells us will truly lead and guide us in a godly and righteous manner and enable us to do God’s will and fulfill His plan for our lives.
If we don’t seriously and sincerely try our best to do that, then our entire faith will be a waste of time, and we won’t be encouraging any others to come to Jesus for safety and succour, but rather turning them away, into the greedy, evil, waiting hands of Beelzebub. And friends, we don’t want to do that EVER! Jesus sacrificed too much for us to let Him down like that.
That’s why we have to stand strong, in unity and harmony, displaying the oneness that Jesus desires in His earthly organization; His body, the church. And that sense of harmony and oneness of purpose is indicated in our Bit. ‘For the body is not one member, but many.’ And that’s why it’s so difficult to get true harmony and unity amongst the members of Christ’s church.
And Bruh Paul likens the church of Christ to the human body. ‘For as the (human) body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one (human) body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.’ (1 Cor.12:12)
But we all know the different parts of the body have different functions, and none are really supposed to be more important than the other, but they all still jockey for importance. (smile)
As Bruh Paul puts it: ‘If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body (where would the body be)? But now are they many members, yet but one body.’ (1 Cor.12:15-20)
Ah friends, it’s the same with Christ’s church; we consist of many members with different roles, but with our sinful and lustful human nature taking precedence, we foolishly fight amongst and against each other to see who is more important. But my people that is so counterproductive.
And as Bruh Paul so wisely points out later on: ‘but God hath tempered (composed) the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism (division) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether (if) one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.’ (1 Cor.12:24-26)
But obviously it isn’t working that way in Christ’s body these days, for there is lots of ism and schism disfiguring it, making it the joke of the town. That reminds me of the story where all the parts of the body wanted to be the boss, including the rear end, and all the other parts laughed him to scorn. But when he decided to shut his doors, the rest of the body became sick.
Hn! Just goes to show that even the lowest member is important in God’s set-up. So let’s try to live in harmony and unity nuh my people, so that we can do Jesus’ will productively. Let the heathen fight amongst themselves, but let the Christian church stand strong as ONE! Much LOVE!
…Christians unite…one for all…and all for one…
19 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly turnaround, a taste for, abuse of authority, admonition, anger, asaph, ban' our jaw, bring them up, child support, children, clothing, commandments, complexities of life, cruelty, difficult times, discipline, discouraged, divorced, education, Father's Day, financial support, food, formative years, fulfilling our mandate, guiding light, have a good time, he will not depart from it, hope, injustice, instruction, knowledge of Jesus, look after, loss of temper, LOVE, love for the Lord, mandate, moulding a child's life, necessities of life, nurture, parental training, parents, provide for, provider, provoke not your children, rebellion, responsibility, ridicule, sarcasm, see eye to eye, set their hope in god, shelter, shirk, single mothers, sole parent, spiritual education, spiritual head, sufferation, suffering, suppression, the biblical pattern, the chief teacher, the ideal setting, the palate, the things of God, titular head, train up a child, training, trials, tribulations, undue severity, unfortunate things, with the Lord's help, wrath
Ephesians 6:4. And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY !
Aye mih fellow fathers, welcome to another Father’s Day! I hope it is a pleasant and happy one for all of us, but knowing the complexities of life, undoubtedly some of us will not enjoy the day. For one reason or another, things will not go the way we want them to, but like so many other unfortunate things in this life, we will just have to ban’ our jaw and accept them.
Anyway fathers, a lot of what is happening in these sad, trying and difficult times is either directly or indirectly our fault. We have to do a much better job than we’re currently doing.
There are too many fine women and children out there bearing our genes, who are suffering real ‘sufferation’ because of our foolish, casual, doh care, irresponsible attitudes and behaviour. We are certainly not fulfilling our mandate to provide for and look after the many children we sire.
Tell me nuh, how do you think the women and children that we’ve used and abused will get the necessities of life eh – food, shelter, clothing and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, if we don’t help them to do so eh?
Now there are many good and excellent fathers in the world, but on the other hand, there are way too many bad ones, who are out to simply have a good time and consequently shirk their responsibility that proceeds from that good time. Remember friends that the father is the titular, the spiritual head of the household and as such he is responsible for setting godly parameters and living up to them by his example.
That’s why our Bit so staunchly declares: ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’
Yes friends, the father is supposed to be the guiding light of the household! But if he isn’t around, or around and not doing his duty, then the rest of the family suffers. We have way too many single mothers, whether divorced or never married who are having to raise children by themselves, both as sole parent and provider when there is a father available to help.
Now listen to how the scholars break down our Bit. ‘6:4. Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.
Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in child education. Parents do not raise children alone.’
So you see my people, the great demands placed on a father. It’s not an easy job, but with the Lord’s help we can accomplish it. I haven’t been the best father at times, and haven’t always led by example, but my children never wanted for the basic necessities of life, and I tried to instill in them LOVE for the Lord and a sense of responsibility.
The problem though today, is that sense of responsibility is fading from the entire world, which includes fathers. Now I was raised by a single mother, who worked two jobs from the time I was old enough to know what was happening, so I know the trials and tribulations of those situations. However, although my father and I didn’t see eye to eye, he at least helped with some financial support.
Many fathers today who can afford it don’t even do that small part of their duty, and the poor women have to take them to court for child support, and even then they don’t pay it. But when the child or children happen to turn out good and successful, they are the first ones to talk and boast about ‘my children!’
Steups! When left to them alone, the children would be eating ‘wind pie and nothing chops.’ Friends, I’ve seen it happen too often, and it sickens me.
Now here is a li’l something from Cousin Sol re the situation. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov.22:6)
And the scholars give us some good info here. ’22:6. Train up a child refers to the total process of moulding a child’s life. The word ‘train’ (chanak) comes from the root word meaning to “put into the mouth” and implies the idea of conditioning the palate. Thus parental training should help children develop a taste for the things of God. The biblical pattern of effective parental training emphasizes a balance of instruction and discipline (cf. Eph.6:1-4).
The ideal parent is to be neither overly authoritarian nor overly permissive. Rather, he must balance LOVE and discipline so as not to “provoke” his child to rebellion. When he is old means simply, “when he is grown up,” or a mature adult. It does not refer to his elderly years. The verse stresses the simple principle that education in the home forms the man throughout his lifetime.’
And isn’t that the living truth my people! The home is where our formative years are spent, and there is where we learn the things that make us who we basically are.
And we’ll close with these words from Psalm 78, where the psalmist Asaph is reminding Israel of God’s goodness. ‘For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.’ (Ps.78:5-7)
Unfortunately fathers, we have not done that very well, consequently our children are not setting their hope in God, but rather in the things of the world, and are totally lost where the commandments are concerned.
However, where there is life, there is always hope; hope in God. So today on this Sunday, the Lord’s Day, as well as Father’s Day, let’s try an improve the situation nuh, possibly by going to church with our children, that would be the ideal setting for the much needed godly turnaround. Much LOVE!
…fathers…provoke not your children to anger…lest they be discouraged… (Col.3:21)
18 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a smooth ride through life, a way to escape, able to bear it, all things work together for good, appreciation, attitude, basic goal, be of good cheer, belief, blessed, boost our faith, called according to His purpose, calling, Christ-like, Christians, circumstances, common to man, deceitful, disservice, doting parents, dross, earthly goals, endure, evil times, faith, fires of refinement, followers of Christ, God is faithful, godless, gospel truth, he that endureth to the end, I shall come forth as gold, Job, LOVE, overcome the world, patience, perseverance, promise of victory, puts us through our paces, refining fires, righteous, sappy, sin, soft, spiritually strong, storms of life, struggle, struggling, suffering, temptation, test, the divine perspective, the human perspective, though he saly me, to them that love God, trials, tribulations, unquenchable, victory, yet will I trust him
Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Well a blessed day to all you my Scrip-Bit family and friends! And I know that some of us will be quick to say what’s so blessed about it eh? Just look at my circumstances, look at how I’m suffering and struggling. I certainly wouldn’t call that blessed.
I understand that friends, but it’s all in our attitude toward those circumstances and struggles. Too many Christians expect to just have a nice smooth ride through life without any problems simply because they are followers of Christ. But it doesn’t work like that. Unfortunately, the greater our calling from God, ofttimes the greater the struggle in our lives.
Look at all the great prophets, Bruh Joseph, Moses, Bruh David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Bruh Paul, and finally Jesus Christ Himself; they all went through many trials and much tribulation to accomplish their earthly goals. Jesus even warned us: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b)
And furthermore, the Lord uses these trials and struggles to test us, to build and grow our faith; to see if we truly believe and are willing to rely on Him and His promises. As Job, another righteous man who suffered great tribulation declared during his time of trial. ‘But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10)
And the scholars have an interesting take on that verse. ’23:10. I shall come forth as gold: His friends maintained that Job was full of dross, but Job is confident that no dross, or sin, would be revealed in the fires of refinement.’
Yes friends, the Lord puts us through our paces like we put metals through fire to purify them. And believe me, when you go through some of those refining fires, you will come out as bright and beautiful and strong and faithful as gold!
And we don’t even have to go to the Good Book to learn about struggles; listen to these quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. He says first: ‘Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.’ And the corollary to that is; ‘Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.’
Gospel truth all of that my fellow believers! That’s why so many of this young generation are so soft and sappy and whiny, because they have had most everything given to them by us doting parents. They never had to struggle or work hard for something, so therefore there is no real appreciation of anything they have or get.
In their minds the world owes them a living. And that’s a big disservice we’ve done to them. No wonder most of them have no belly or backbone, and are quick to throw in the towel as soon as hard times show up.
Oh my people, everybody goes through struggles and hard times, whether you’re rich, poor, black, white, Muslim, Jew, or whatever, but where we believers win out over the others is that we have the rich and faithful promises of our God to depend on.
We know for instance that as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able to bear, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)
Yes my struggling and suffering fellow believers, our God promises never to give or allow us to bear more than we can handle and will either make a way out for us, or give us the wherewithal to endure it. He doesn’t always make us escape it, but more often than not He brings us safely through it. Another way to boost our faith and make us spiritually strong, more Christ-like, which is the basic goal for all believers.
That brings us to our Bit, another crucial promise from our ever-faithful God. In the momentous words of Bruh Paul: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’
Oh my brethren, what a wonderful promise! Only we Christians are assured that our omnipotent, ever-LOVING God will work out everything in our favour eventually, according to His timetable! It’s all a matter of faith, of belief, of patience and perseverance my people!
And this is what the scholars have to say about that verse. ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working all things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15) To them who are called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”
And for those of us who want to know what Job 13:15 says but are too lazy to look it up, let me spoon feed you. (smile) Job defends his integrity before his condescending and self-righteous friends by declaring of God: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine (defend my) own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16) Just thought I’d throw in verse 16 for good measure. (smile)
And the scholars say of ’13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’
Oh friends, oh friends, in these godless, deceitful and evil times, that is the kind of faith we believers need to have, an unquenchable kind, if we’re going to see it through to a victorious end!
And we’ll conclude with these fateful words of Jesus: ‘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) Much LOVE!
…Christians have to understand that struggles are a part of human life…but we have the certain promise of victory in the end…to see us through life’s storms in the middle…
17 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a gold mine, be filled with the Spirit, being glad in God, bless the Lord, bounden duty, Christian, climb over, dissipation, encouraging, Ephesians, evil, exalt His name, exceedingly rejoice, excess, exhortation, face a mountain, fellowship, find a pass, forgiveness, Friday chant, fun, generous help, giving thanks always, glorious kingdom, grateful, holy spirit, hymns, in the fear of God, in the service of God, Jesus Christ, joy, joyful, keep on striving, let the righteous be glad, LOVE, magnify the Lord, making melody, Mountain Mover's Prayer, partying, patience, perception, pray without ceasing, psalms, quit, refreshed, rejoice, rejoice before God, rejoice evermore, relaxation, render evil for evil, renewed, rest, righteous, robert h schuller, singing, slave labour, spiritual songs, steadfast, strong, summer fun, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, thankful, the weekend, the will of God, tunnel underneath, ungodly world, uplifting, wisdom
Psalm 68:3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Well mih people, I believe it’s what many consider the big day, Friday. But please don’t quote me on that, since I’m not so hot on what day it is. (smile)
However, if you’re going along and you hear lots of people declaring ’TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and a wonderful weekend is on the horizon. We taking a break from the slave labour, and instead is lot’s of partying and summer fun! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’
Then you can really believe it’s Friday. (smile) So since I am hearing all the hullabaloo over Friday, then I guess it must be okay for us to chant our Friday Chant and get a better perspective on how to spend the weekend.
So as one now, let’s chant: ‘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.’
Yeh friends, we need to have a balanced weekend or else we won’t be able to rise to the occasion when Monday comes along. Now here’s a li’l reminder from Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) re Mountain Moving Faith to help us stand steadfast and strong in Jesus’ name.
Please pray with me. ‘Lord, when I face a mountain, do not let me quit! Give me the strength to keep on striving until I climb over, find a pass through, or tunnel underneath. And if my best efforts fail, give me the patience to stay and the perception to see the possibilities of turning my mountain into a gold mine with your help. Amen.’
Yes mih breddren, that’s what we believers need today in this age of rampant ungodliness and fleshly lusts; a real mountain moving kind of faith that will keep us strong in the Lord, keep us focused on His will, not ours or the world’s.
And I believe that if we follow the wonderful advice of our Bit, we will stay close to and strong in the Father. ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.’
Ah friends, rejoicing and being glad in our God is one of the many great benefits we enjoy as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ! We’d be very foolish not to avail ourselves of such an uplifting and encouraging situation.
Now let’s check out some more of those scriptures that exhort us to be joyful and thankful in the service of our great and wonderful God. And we’ll begin with these inspiring words of Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous.
‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Ps.34:1-3)
Oh mih people, mih people, that couldn’t be said any better! Magnifying and glorifying and exalting God’s name is our bounden duty down here on earth!
So much so that Bruh Paul exhorted the Ephesians: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21)
What a powerful and moving bit of scripture my brethren!
Now here is some info from the scholars on those verses: ‘5:19-21. There are four results of being Spirit-filled (v.18). (1) believers speak to one another with psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; that is, they exhort and instruct each other; (2) there is singing and the making of melody, of individual song and praise for the Lord;
(3) there is giving thanks always – the Spirit enables the Christian to be grateful for all things divinely allowed to enter his life since they will be used for good; and (4) there is mutual submission, that is, showing deference to the wishes of one another, as long as that to which the believer submits is in the fear of God, which is to say, in accord with what pleases Him.’
Yes friends, it’s our duty and also a great enabler for us to be singing and giving thanks and praises to our God, to be exhorting each other and putting each other’s wishes before ours, for that’s the way of Jesus!
Now hear some more words of Bruh David on the subject, first from Psalm 9 – Praise for God’s justice. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (tell of) all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High.’ (Ps.9:1-2)
And then from Psalm 32 – The blessedness of forgiveness: ‘Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about (surround him). Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.’ (Ps.32:10-11)
What wonderful advice precious people!
And we’ll close this set of messages with these enlightening words of Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians. ‘See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess.5:15-18)
No better words than those to live by my people! So let’s get with the programme nuh and start living a more joyful life, for that’s wisdom at its highest! Much LOVE!
…oh, what joy and peace comes from being a follower of Jesus Christ…
16 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a new song, a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire, all the earth shall worship thee, beneficial, blessed, bread and butter, caught up, Christians, cleave to the Lord, comfort, Creator, disappointed, eaxalted, end all, error, eternal life, exceedingly rejoice, excited in Jesus, exhortation, faithful readers, fear the Lord, glad to be alive, glory, glory hallelujah, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, goodness, heal our hurts, History, hold fast, honour, how awesome art thy works, I am halfway home, I'm not looking back, Jesus, Jesus the only answer, joyful, judgement, justice, King of Kings, let the righteous be glad, Lord of Lords, LOVE, loving kindness, make a joyful noise, manna, merciful giver, Moses, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, our be all, pains, part the Red Sea, Pharaoah, Praise the Lord, problems, rejoice, rejoice before God, righteous, righteousness, ruler of heaven and earth, salvation, Selah, sing forth the honour of his name, sing to thy name, sing unto God, stars of heaven, swear by his name, tendencies, testimony, the breath of God, the days of the week, the First and the Last, the greatness of thy power, thine enemies submit, this is the day the Lord has made, time of sorrow, under the weather, wailing, water from a rock, we will rejoice and be glad in it
Psalm 68:3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Oh friends, the ole fella’s somewhat disappointed this morning. First in myself, for writing that yesterday was Thursday when it was only Wednesday. And second because none of my supposed faithful readers saw it fit to write me and point out the error.
But all of that’s history now. It’s become a testimony; that one can get so caught up and excited in Jesus that you don’t even know the days of the week! (smile)
So what shall we do today? I guess we’ll just preach yesterday’s sermon today, beginning by wailing our heads off. There’s nothing that says we must wail on a particular day. For that matter we can do anything on any given day.
So let’s wail nuh. ‘Thursday, Thursday, Thursday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Thursday! Thursday, Thursday, Thursday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Thursday! I am halfway home.
My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
Yes my brethren, the day’s not as important as what we declare in it! And I’m sure glad to be alive on this Wednesday or Thursday, (smile) although I’m a tad under the weather, with a touch of the flu. But it’s certainly great to be alive, and I’m trying my best to keep my hands on the plough and look straight ahead to that glorious future with Jesus!
I sure hope that you all are feeling the same way too. If not, you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice, for Jesus is the ONLY answer to our problems! He ALONE can heal our hurts and pains, give us comfort in time of sorrow, feed us with manna from heaven, and bring us to salvation and eternal life!
Give Him some thanks and praise for His wondrous deeds on our behalf nuh! And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He is our Be All and End All; the First and the Last; King of Kings and Lord of Lords; Ruler of heaven and earth! There is NONE else like Him! NONE worthy to be exalted above Him! All glory and honour be to Him!’
Yeh mih people, that’s how important Jesus is to us. And we’ll continue with our Bit, the same one from yesterday: ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.’
Ah friends, if we’re Jesus’ people, and we’re righteous – well as righteous as we can be – then we ought to be glad and rejoice in the presence of our great and wonderful God.
As the psalmist so rightfully says: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24) It would be good, very beneficial, if we can remind ourselves of that fact each and every day my people.
Now let’s check out some more wonderful scripture passages that deal with praising Almighty God. Listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66 – The great works of God.
‘Make a joyful noise (shout) unto God; all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.’ (Ps.66:1-4)
Yeh friends, ponder that for a moment nuh! Now listen to Moses exhort the Israelites. ‘Thou shalt fear the Lord they God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave (hold fast), and swear by his name.
He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible (awesome) things, which thine eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with three score and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.’ (Deut.10:20-22)
Ah mih people, what mighty and awesome works the Lord our God did indeed do in the sight of those Israelites of old! Who else could part the Red Sea and allow them to walk across it on dry land eh, then swallow up the army of Pharaoh in a wall of water?
Who else could have led them through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night, assuring them of His presence and safety from their enemies? And who else could have given them water from a rock, manna and meat more than sufficient for their needs in the wilderness eh?
NONE but the mighty, ever-lasting and ever-living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! No wonder we praise and thank Him as much as we do!
Now let’s end with this exhortation from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for His creation. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for his praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5)
And indeed it is my fellow believers! So today, as we go about the Lord’s business, please let’s remember to be thankful and give Him praise for all that He’s done, is doing now and has promised to do in the future for us.
Remember, He is our Creator, our bread and butter, our calm in the time of storm, and the merciful giver of salvation and eternal life! Much LOVE!
…Christians are the most blessed people in the world…therefore they should also be the most joyful… P.S.
Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, you know the ole fella’s late night tendencies. (smile) Much LOVE!
15 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a dry land, abundance, adoring, Alleluia, bless, blessed, blessing, bound in chains, broken, cheerful sound, Christians, circumstances, clear direction, compassionate heart, courage, creativity, curse, defender, divine promotion, encourage, every land, every tongue, evil, exceedingly rejoice, excitement, extol, faith, family, Father, fatherless, favour, feel better, fill the earth, followers of Jesus christ, friends, from shore to shore, fulfillment, give thanks, glorifying God, glorious day, goodness, hand of the wicked, hate evil, health, heed, I am blessed, in the name of Jesus, in the presence of God, Israelites, Jah, Jesus Christ, joyful, joyful praise, judge, let the righteous be glad, let voices raise, light, LOVE, Love the Lord, loving kindness, magnificent and magnanimous God, mercies, negative word, positive outlook, praising, promotion, prosper, raised to high heaven, rebellious, rejoice, rejoice before God, rides upon the heavens, self-control, self-discipline, sense of purpose, set no more, sincerity, sing unto God, song of Deborah, souls of saints, strength, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural wisdom, talent, thanks and praise, the Creator's praise, the glory of God, the happiest people, the Redeemer's name, the remembrance, the righteous, Thursday Blessings, till suns shall rise, truth, vim and vigour, warms the cockles, wicked, widows
Psalm 68:3. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Oh friends, oh friends, the ole fella’s just gushing with excitement this morning because a new and glorious day has been born, which means that we have another day ahead of us to give much thanks and praise to our wonderful Creator!
So let’s begin the praise and thanksgiving by singing this awesome song nuh. As one harmonious choir now: ‘From all who dwell below the skies, Let the Creator’s praise arise. Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Redeemer’s name be sung, Through every land, in every tongue! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
In every land begin the song, To every land the strains belong. Alleluia! Alleluia! In cheerful sound let voices raise, To fill the earth with joyful praise; Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Eternal are your mercies Lord! Eternal truth attends your word! Alleluia! Alleluia! Your praise shall sound from shore to shore! ‘Till suns shall rise and set no more! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!’
Yes my faithful brethren, the sounds of our thanks and praise ought to be raised to high heaven as often as possible because our God is such a wonderful Deity! And besides that, He just LOVES to hear us praising and adoring Him! It warms the cockles of His heavenly heart! (smile)
And to prove His awesomeness, let’s now declare our Thursday Blessings with much vim and vigour, sincerity and sense of purpose. No other faith can do this, like we can.
‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Yes my people, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken, so we need to remember to continually bless our friends and families, so that they can enjoy the goodness and LOVING-kindness of our merciful and oh so gracious God!
And all of that jives so nicely with our Bit taken from Psalm 68 – God has gone before His people. ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.’
Oh my faithful followers of Jesus Christ, that directive of Bruh David is one we should all heed with joyful hearts! For where is there another Deity like ours eh? There is NONE whatsoever my brethren!
And as we keep saying Christians should be the happiest people on planet earth because we have such a wonderful faith, such a wonderful Lord and Saviour, and we serve such a magnificent and magnanimous God!
Oh, I know that our circumstances don’t always allow us, or encourage us to give such thanks and praise, but the whole point of the matter is that when we do, we feel better inside, our spirits are lifted and we can handle our situations better, because we are in the very presence of our God, who likes nothing better than hearing us glorifying Him in song.
Now hear how Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol (praise) him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. A father of the fatherless, and a judge (defender) of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
God setteth the solitary (lonely) in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains (causes them to prosper): but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.’ (Ps.68:4-6)
Oh friends, right there is sufficient cause to praise God’s holy name! And that doesn’t even include all the other stuff He has done, is doing and will do for us!
Now let’s check out a couple more instances where praise and thanks are offered up to heaven. Listen to this excerpt from the song of Deborah and Barak when the Israelites overcame their superior enemies.
‘Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves (volunteered). Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the Lord; I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ (Judg. 5:2-3)
And we’ll end with this exhortation from Psalm 97 – The Lord is far above all gods. ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (for the memory of his holy name).’ (Ps.97:10-12)
Oh my brethren, I do hope that today, as we go about the Lord’s business, that thanks and praise will continually be in our thoughts and mouths and reverberate in our souls and bodies, all to the glory of our magnificent and majestic God! Much LOVE!
…a Christian who isn’t joyful…is surely lacking in faith…
14 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adversity, alleviate our concerns, among the people, assurance, at my right hand, awake my glory, awaken the dawn, awakens the believer, be assured, Be thou exalted, believe in Jesus, belittle, beloved children of God, blessing, by a roadway, confidently look to Jesus, demean, destiny, Don Moen, exalted, faith, faithful words, for each new day, glory hallelujah, God is always with us, God will be my guide, God will make a way, God works in ways we cannot see, gratitude, grief, harp, heaven and earth will fade, His word will remain, hold me closely to his side, hold up our heads and shoulders, I am the beloved of god, I have set the Lord, I shall not be moved, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, in the wilderness, lighten our spirits, look to the heavens, LOVE, lute, mercy, molehills, mountians, overcome the world, passion, praise, praise and worship, prayer for deliverance, preservation, promises, psaltery, put into action, put us down, rivers in the desert, Saul, sense of purpose, share His love, strength, thanksgiving, the friend of Jesus, thy mercy is great, trust, truth, Tuesday Mantra, we need not fear, wings to fly, with love and strength
Psalm 57:8. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery (lute) and harp: I myself will awake early (awaken the dawn).
Good morning my fellow believers! It’s a wonderful day, a great day to be alive, so let’s begin with a little praise and worship to show our gratitude. Please sing with me this beautiful song by Don Moen, titled ‘God Will Make A Way.’
‘God will make a way Where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me God will make a way Where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me
He will be my guide Hold me closely to His side With LOVE and strength for each new day He will make a way, He will make a way Oh, God will make a way Where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me
He will be my guide Hold me closely to His side With LOVE and strength for each new day He will make a way, He will make a way
By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me And rivers in the desert will I see Heaven and Earth will fade but His Word will still remain And He will do something new today
Oh, God will make a way Where there seems to be no way He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me.
He will be my guide Hold me closely to His side With LOVE and strength for each new day He will make a way, He will make a way With LOVE and strength for each new day He will make a way, He will make a way.’
And that is the God-awesome truth my people! Oh my breddren, with unfailing LOVE and almighty strength our great God will make a way for us through any and every situation we face! Please remember that!
And as proof of that, this song was apparently written when Don Moen was going through a period of grief for a sudden and unexpected death in his family. The Lord put those faithful words in his heart as a reminder that He is always with us regardless of what we are going through.
So today friends, as we go out to face the crazy world out there, let’s remember and be assured that our God is always with us, and will make a way to alleviate our concerns, so we need not fear what may come against us.
And to be even more assured, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra with a strong sense of purpose and passionate belief.
All together now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen.’
More gospel truth my people! Our destiny is all wrapped up in being beloved children of God and friends of Jesus! Glory Hallelujah!
So the world can say whatever they want about us, but that’s what defines us! And friends that’s something we need to desperately remember and put into action, because the world is always trying to demean and belittle us just because we believe in Jesus.
We simply cannot afford to let them put us down. We need to hold our heads and shoulders up proud, look to the heavens and know that our Lord and Saviour has already overcome the world, and will help us to overcome it too.
And all of that assurance brings us to our most fitting Bit: ‘Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery (lute) and harp: I myself will awake early (awaken the dawn).’
Yeh friends, we believers ought to be in praise mode early in our day, so that our spirits can be light and confidently looking to Jesus as we make our journey through this evil and ungodly world!
Hear how Bruh David continues this prayer for deliverance when he fled from Saul in the cave. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations (Gentiles). For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.’ (Ps.57:9-11)
Yuh see what’s happening here my brethren? Though Bruh David is running for his life from the wicked Saul, he is so immersed in and assured of the might and mercy of the God of his fathers, that instead of moaning and groaning and pleading for help, he declares praise and exalts Him!
Now that’s not always easy to do when adversity comes against us, but I can assure us, that offering praise and thanksgiving in those unfortunate times, lightens the load in our souls. It might not change the circumstance or the situation, but we will indeed feel more peaceful, and be better able to handle the situation.
Now let’s end with some more glorious words from Bruh David, this time from Psalm 16, where he’s again seeking preservation and blessing. ‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope (dwell securely).’ (Ps.16:8-9).
Yes friends, that’s how we ought to be as true believers! So today, please let’s feel that strong sense of purpose and raise up our passion for Christ as we embrace His promises and His truth and go about exalting Him, and turning mountains into molehills in His glorious name! Much LOVE!
…faith and trust in Jesus awakens the believer…and lends him wings to fly…
P.S. It’s late, but it’s good! (smile) Just another early morning to bed. Much LOVE!
13 Jun 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a song of loves, actions, all is not lost, aura of love, bad goods, bombarded, bounden duty, buckle down, character, Christ's body, Christ-likeness, complaining, confidence, contrition, Creator of the universe, disunity, do good, earthly sojourn, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, examples, fighting, fine fettle, fools, forgiveness, friends, get serious, gift, glorious kingdom, gospel of Jesus, great commission, habits, harmony, hope, humble servants, invincible, jehovah god, jobs, lies, LOVE Revolution, lustful, make thy name remebered, market, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, passion, pilgrimage, public places, rearing to go, relaxation, renewed vitality, repent, reverence, salvation, schools, serve a useful purpose, spiritual armour, spread LOVE, stand up for Jesus, steadfast faith, taunts, teach all nations, the church, the people shall praise thee, things of the world, thoughts, tiredness, to all generations, Trini Quote, trust, ungodly world, unity, urgency, wedding song, wiles, wisdom, words, worship
Psalm 45:17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
Oh my fellow believers, let’s hope this Monday morning meets us all in fine fettle, up and about, and just rearing to get out into the world and do good, spread LOVE like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ did in His earthly sojourn!
So forget the complaining, soak up the tiredness, and let’s get a move on! And to aid us in doing that, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much urgency and plenty passion.
As one earthly choir, sounding sweet like a heavenly host 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!’
Ah mih breddren that was a good rendition; strong and passionate, though not as harmonious as we can be. Anyway, our choir master, Jesus, was pleased with our performance, so there’s nothing to worry about on that score. And since our motors are now idling smoothly, let’s get out there and join our fearless Leader on the battle lines, and help to grow His surging LOVE Revolution!
Now before we turn to our Bit, please check out this Trini Quote of de Day, recently sent to me by a Trini friend. And it says: ‘If fools doh go to de market, bad goods would not be sold.’ This quote is used as a warning to pay attention to what you buy; as well as well as laughter to the one who is selling. Have a great day! Watch your thoughts: They become words Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become character.’
Oh yes friends, our thoughts do eventually morph into our characters, so we have to be very careful about what thoughts we allow to percolate in our minds. Nuff said on that!
And now here is our Bit: ‘I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.’
Now mih breddren, though the psalm was originally written as ‘A song of LOVES; a wedding song for a king, that last verse, our Bit, is the bounden duty of all believers. We were made to worship and reverence our Creator and also to spread the good news of Jesus; His gospel of the free gift of salvation and eternal life!
That’s what we ought to be about in this earthly pilgrimage. We need to be worthwhile examples of Christ-likeness so that others will want to come to Him in contrition, repent and receive His forgiveness and salvation.
That is why Jesus gave the disciples the Great Commission: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
Now the disciples did their job, they passed it down to the next generation. And every generation has passed it down until it got to us. So those previous generations have down their job.
Unfortunately though, we don’t appear to be doing such a good job at passing it down to the next generation, for the next one apparently has no time for God, which is our fault as parents and supposed teachers of the Word.
And to make matters worse, the enemy has taken control of the world and is trying his level best to remove God from all aspects of our society. And we’re not putting up the fight we ought to. That means there is even less hope of our children hearing about Jesus in the schools and public places.
It’s a sad state of affairs friends; we as parents have not done our duty properly in teaching the children about God at home, and consequently the children don’t go to church. And where, once upon a time it was possible for them to learn about Jehovah God in the schools, now there’s no religious teaching there either, so our children now have no real opportunity to hear the Word.
Furthermore, the enemy is building on that lack of God in our children’s souls by bombarding them with flimsy, useless, lustful things of the world. Will the next generation remember Jehovah God? And will they praise Him? Certainly not to the extent that they should!
People are turning away from God in great numbers, because the church and those who inhabit them are not walking the walk of true Christianity. We seem to be more interested in disunity than unity and harmony which is supposed to be one of the tenets of Christ’s body.
There is more confusion and complaining in the church than in the enemy’s camps. That’s why churches are failing. Friends, all I can say is that we must not give up; NEVER! We are still alive, that means there’s still hope, if we get serious and buckle down and begin doing our bounden duty the way we are supposed to.
Our God will surely help us, when He sees our sincere commitment. And we know that we can do anything with Him in our corner. So my fellow believers, let’s get it together nuh. In Jesus’ name. Much LOVE!
…all is not lost…the battle can still be won…if we truly come out fighting…and truly stand up for Jesus…
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