Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 September 2007 Lamentations 3:39-41.‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Lamentations 3:39-41.   Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.
 
I can understand Jeremiah’s pain as he lamented over the sinful nature of his people Israel, because our society today is also a sinful, wicked, cruel, evil, Godless entity, possibly the most sinful there’s ever been, seeing that we have lots more things to provoke us to sin than any previous society. His question, re men complaining about the punishment of their sins, just shows how far the Israelites had moved away from God. Apparently they had reached a stage where they did not expect any punishment for their sins, so it came as a shock when they realized what was happening. But how can one knowingly do wrong over a long period of time and not expect to be punished, or complain about the punishment eh? The same thing applies to us today. We’ve strayed so far from God, that it takes us totally by surprise when he jolts us back to reality. Friends, as Jeremiah beseeched his people back then, I’m doing the same today: Let us search our hearts; do some serious soul searching. Let’s check out our behaviour; analyze it down to the nitty gritty and discover where we’ve gone, or are going wrong, because all of us have fallen short of the glory of God, just some more than others. And when we have examined our hearts and our behaviour, let’s change for the better; let’s turn again to Our God, the one and only true Supreme Being. Let’s seek His face once more, so that we can live in peace and prosperity, for it’s through Him alone, that that can come to pass. Friends, let’s do it for our children’s children. Let’s try and give them a better world to live in, so that when future generations look back on our time, they won’t say, like the Israelites, that their forefathers committed horrible abominations before the Lord, that’s why they were punished. As Jeremiah encouraged, ‘Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto the God in the heavens.’  Much LOVE…along with plenty soul searching and making The Most High the focus of our lives.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 September 2007 Psalm 16:8-9‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Psalm 16:8-9    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.
 
O David, what beautiful words! How I wish I could pen such moving, appropriate words! That should be the believer’s motto. If we believe in the Most High God, then we should always be looking towards Him; have Him in our consciousness at all times; constantly talking and communicating with Him; have Him as our sounding board  in everything we do. And it naturally follows that if we are in alliance with the Most Mighty and Powerful Being in existence, who can do all, who controls all, then obviously we should not be afraid of anything that comes against us. He’s out right hand man; He has our back; He looks out for us. And again, as a direct consequence of this alliance with the Most Mighty, since I need not be afraid of anything, then my heart and soul are free to be joyful and effervescent in a disciplined manner. Note the ‘disciplined.’  Not only is our spirit buoyed by His constant concern, our physical being also is uplifted by it. His love and fatherly care gives us hope and expectations of a good future. That’s why a lot of non believers are turned off by so called Christians, because we don’t act the part. I saw a lot of this when I was growing up, and it sort of turned me off, made me a bit wary and leery about those who spouted too many words but never lived up to them. Also, too many of us claim to be believers, yet go around looking sour and miserable, as though we have such a great weight on our shoulders. There’s no joy or excitement in our souls or exterior demeanour. So why should anybody want to follow that type of life eh? That type of behaviour always confuses and disturbs me. If all our sins are forgiven and a place in Heaven is assured us when we believe, then we should be gloriously happy and show it too. That’s the attitude we need to display. Granted, life will not always be wonderful, but we’ve also got all the tools to stand strong during adversity. So please Friends, let’s do away with the sour, woe is me, I’ve got the whole weight of the world on my shoulders attitude, and live the good, happy prosperous, joyful life that J.C died for us to have. Otherwise, His death would have been all in vain, and we certainly don’t want that to be the case. Let the joy from our souls shine on our faces, so that non believers will come rushing to hear The Word, and be falling all over themselves to get what we have…Joy in J.C!  Much LOVE…with Joyful, Radiant Hearts and Faces (SMILE)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 September 2007 2 Timothy 4: 16-18.‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

2 Timothy 4:16-18.    At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
Paul is telling his young protégé about the trials and tribulations he faced when he began his ministry. Not too many people supported him. However, and this is the most important part, the Most High stood by him and strengthened him. I know exactly how Paul felt. Whenever we step out to do something good for God, few people support us, whether through, fear, envy or whatever, but when the Lord stands with us, strengthens us and makes our project successful, then lots of people jump on the bandwagon. We should also notice that Paul was not spiteful or vindictive towards those who ignored and /or abused him, rather, he prayed that God would not hold their wicked deeds against them. This is a trait that we as believers need to develop badly. We need to be magnanimous in victory. It’s not easy, but if we’re to truly follow in J.C’s footsteps, we’ve got to give up the vindictive side of our nature. The Lord says that’s His territory; He’ll deal with it. Our success should be more than enough to quell that urge. Paul certainly had lots of faith, otherwise he could not have withstood the many beatings, jailings, and mental abuse he experienced. Most of us could not have withstood his hardships, but neither should we give up at the first sign of problems. We’ve got to exhibit a little belly, a little fortitude. A perfect example is when this Scrip-Bit thing first entered my consciousness. I was somewhat leery about it, doubting that my Scriptural knowledge was at a high enough level. But after several promptings from the Most High, yuh know how he can be unrelenting when He wants you to do something, I finally took the plunge and started it. Some people were sceptical, some laughed and wondered how come I’d suddenly gotten spiritual. But the fact is that I’ve always lived a fairly spiritual life, just never publicized it. And now, like the Fella on High figured that I should. Anyway, it’s been almost five months since we began, and many times I’ve questioned whether I was doing a good enough job. But yuh know, every time those doubts surfaced,  just in the nick of time, somebody would send me some word of encouragement, that would boost my spirits and give me the strength to continue. Don’t you just love Our God’s behind the scenes machinations! In times of doubt and trouble He never lets us down, never fails us. So please keep those encouraging words coming. I’m not a tower of power. So anytime anything touches you, please let me know. Scrip-Bit will only last as long as you support it. And I’m actually enjoying it too. Hn,hn! This is just more deviousness on The Most High’s part, because I never intended to write this stuff. Anyway, with your help and the Most High’s, we’ve lasted almost five months, so don’t stop. I don’t see why we can’t last another fifty…years that is (smile). Let’s get out there and spread The Word! Much LOVE, Faith and Support to each other!
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 September 2007 Galatians 6:3‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Galatians 6:3.    For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, , he deceiveth himself.
 
Oh, how rampant that trait is in our cult of the celebrity society today. Egos are so inflated, that it’s shameful when you see some of these people talking and carrying on as though they were the greatest thing since sliced bread, when, in reality they are nothing but empty sounding vessels with no real substance to them. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not only the so called celebrities who behave this way. Not at all. Self adulation and self promotion are all pervasive in this modern world, what with the rapid spread of P.R firms and their ilk. We all seem to think we’re something that we’re not. It’s good to be positive, assertive and that kind of stuff, but it’s when we cross over that thin, red line that separates egotism from a healthy appreciation of one’s abilities and accomplishments that we encounter serious problems. Sadly, humility and its associated traits have fallen by the wayside, and we’ve morphed into a selfish, aggressive, egotistic, boastful, lying and embellishing society. Nowadays, everybody is a superstar. There are no just stars again. When we talk about stars now, it’s simply the pretty, twinkling lights in the heavens. Everything is power driven. Standards have fallen so low, that now the superlatives have become ordinary, everyday staples. An ordinary body is now called super. Unfortunately, and ironically, the same lightning speed with which we are catapulted to the top of the heap, feted and fawned over, it’s with that same speed -and even quicker if possible- that we are dragged back down, accompanied by unbelievable vitriol and back stabbing when a chink in our rosy armour is discovered. Friends, I’m here to tell you, that regardless of how brilliant, famous or accomplished we are, we’re all still simple, ordinary human beings created by Our Heavenly Father, with different gifts  to perform different tasks in His grand scheme of things. And nothing we achieve is without His active involvement. So let’s cease with the setta airs and graces nuh, and just be humble, appreciative believers. And most importantly, let me remind us all, as that excellent, Tobago born Calypsonian, Lord Nelson noted sometime ago in his song ‘Superstar’, there has only ever been ONE, and will ever only be ONE Superstar; ONE person worthy of that glowing, glorious designation. His name is J.C…JESUS CHRIST! Amen! As Always, Much LOVE …in the name of THE  SUPERSTAR!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 September 2007 Acts 19: 17 & 20‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Acts 19:17&20    ….and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
 
At one stage of his travels through Asia, the Apostle Paul touched down in Ephesus and began preaching J.C and baptizing in His name. He spent about two years there spreading the Word throughout all Asia. During this time, God also worked miracles through him; healing the sick and lame. This seemed to provoke certain renegade Jews though, who took it upon themselves to drive out evil spirits from the mentally ill by calling on the name of Jesus by whom Paul preached. The story goes that one man, Seeva, a chief priest, had seven sons, who tried that. However, unfortunately for them, the evil spirit they were trying to drive out, retorted that he knew J.C and Paul, but not them. Then the man with the evil spirit attacked them and they fled out of the house naked and wounded. Served them right. Obviously, that news soon spread all over Ephesus, scaring the inhabitants ‘…and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.’ How fitting! Although it seems that we can’t accept and believe until something happens that scares us. But the story does not end there. The scriptures claim that many people who believed came and confessed their sinful deeds. Also, many of them who dabbled in other forms of worship, brought their books and burnt them before their brethren, and when the price of the burnt stuff was added up, it came to a grand total of fifty thousand pieces of silver: a decent chunk of change anytime, anywhere. And ‘So, mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed.’ What an intriguing story! Friends, most of us cannot perform miracles, and should certainly not try to drive out evil spirits, but each of us has some little gift given to us by Our Father, and in our small way, we can all say and do something to magnify Him, so that others will want to come to Him and accept the wonderful gift of salvation He so freely and generously offers. Let’s try to ramp up our efforts in this area please. Much LOVE, and hopefully, much spreading of The Word!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 September 2007 Hosea 6:1‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Hosea 6:1   Come and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us.
 
Apparently in the days of the prophet Hosea, the Israelites had reached a Godless state, put Him on the backburner, gone their own way, doing their own thing. Consequently, the society was in an uproar, a state of instability. In Chapter 4, Hosea says, ‘The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there’s no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.’  Does that sound familiar to you? I’m sure it does, since it’s the very same thing that’s happening in our  individual societies and the world at large today. Our world’s in a mess, to put it nicely: Everywhere there’s too much greed, oppression, persecution, selfishness, wars, rumours of war, and the clincher, extreme, far flung poverty in the midst of so much affluence and prosperity. You name the negative stuff, and we have it in large quantities, while the positive stuff lingers by the wayside. And, like Hosea’s Israel, there’s not much truth and knowledge of God. To make matters worse, many of us are trying to tear down and destroy what little there is. But Friends, that’s foolish. It’s like cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. How can we stray from our Heavenly Father, Our Creator, and expect to live a good life eh? He’s the reason why we have a good life in the first place.  Without His loving kindness and guidance we’re nothing; nothing but lost, inept sheep. That’s why Hosea was imploring and beseeching his people to return to God; because He’s the author of everything. And you know, even after a long spell of disobedience, if we turn to Him with a right heart, He is so merciful, loving and forgiving, that He’ll gladly embrace us, welcome us back with a father’s joy on the return of his prodigal child. Friends, I’m asking us, beseeching, imploring, whatever word it takes, to do the same thing today. Let’s cut out the confusion and strife. Let’s return to faithfully worshipping, praising and being obedient to The Most High, so that our lives can become whole and fruitful once again. As always, Plenty, Plenty LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 September 2007 Psalm 46:1-2‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Psalm 46:1-2.    God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
More encouraging words from the Psalmist David. Seems like I’m on a Psalms roll these last few days, but there’s nobody who expresses his faith and LOVE for God better than David. In the good times, as well as the rough groundings, he always had the Lord in his heart, his mind and his mouth. When he states that ‘God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble’ yuh better believe he knows what he’s talking about. It was only through the watchful oversight of God and His guiding hand that David managed to defeat Goliath in the first place, then overcome his numerous enemies later on, including Saul and his own son, Absalom. The same thing applies to us as believers; our great and mighty Father is always looking out for us. In times of despair, when our faith is low, it’s to His loving, empowering, welcoming arms we should run. He will always help us in times of trouble. He says He will never let the righteous suffer. And He’s a keeper of  his word. David had so much faith in God, that he advocates we should not be afraid even in times of great peril and natural disasters; the earth moving and mountains being carried into the sea. Guess in reality he could be referring to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Now we know it’s difficult not to be afraid when caught up in that kind of catastrophe. But beneath it all Friends, we should still have a little of the faith flame burning, like a pilot light on a furnace, that stays on constantly, even when the furnace is not operating. Friends, we can’t ever let our pilot light go out, else we’d be completely lost. I believe David would have loved the modern analogy, which says, like All State, we’re in safe hands, the safest, when we put our trust in, and rely on the guidance of Our Heavenly Father. He’s always in control, always with us. He’ll never let us down. Much LOVE & Plenty Faith Boosting. We sorely and surely need it.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 September 2007 Ecclesiastes 9:18‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Ecclesiastes 9:18.   Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.
 
That is so true! Everybody knows that wisdom is better than weapons of war, at least I hope so, because where true wisdom resides, war will not be present. Wise people don’t kill and destroy for stupid, selfish reasons. However, we also know about that one bad apple that spoils the whole batch. That terminology is also appropriate in almost every situation that contains more than one; one fruit, one individual, one whatever. Just like the weakest link in the chain has the most potential to cause problems, so does one contrary person greatly endanger a good thing. It’s a strange phenomenon though, that in this world of ours, the negative seems to get so much more attention and publicity than the positive. Just look at what our media outlets consider worthwhile news, overwhelmingly negative stuff. You can listen to all the news broadcasts on all the stations for any one day and don’t hear one positive item, but they will all be pushing the ugly, gory, unsavoury stuff. Hn! How sad. It’s the same with believers. In most churches (hopefully) you’ll find mostly sincere people who genuinely want to make a difference, but invariably there’s always one bad seed, not necessarily bad in the true sense of the word, but someone who’s always stirring the pot, causing controversy, arguments, divisions and consequently instability. And that’s the one who always gets the spotlight. The other good, uncontroversial 99 percent is conveniently dismissed or forgotten. We do seem to be attracted to those who step outside the pale, who don’t conform. And in some instances that’s good and necessary, otherwise life will not improve, just remain the bland, same old, but Friends we’ve got to be careful  with that sort of attraction, because in numerous cases it detracts from, rather than improves the situation. A case in point is the new love-in that we have with so called celebrities. The cult of the celebrity! Hn! The ones who are making all the news are the unproductive ones, the ones who don’t contribute anything positive to the society; Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, etc, etc, They are essentially parasites; living off other people’s money and largesse. But every move they make is reported like some important event, while you don’t hear anything about the ones who are actually doing something worthwhile. Chuh! The nonsense irritates my soul no end. We’ve only got ourselves to blame for that though. If we weren’t buying the trash magazines and tabloids, or listening to all the programmes dedicated to the nonsense, it would certainly die down, and eventually go away. Anyway Friends, let’s be careful about the way we interact with each other personally, as well as in whatever groups we belong to. Let’s aspire to be wise and not be the one bad apple to spoil the good ones. Much LOVE & Much Wisdom to help us in our interactions. Whew! Never thought I could write so much on so little. (smile) Be quiet children. Hope it makes sense.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 September 2007 Psalm 19: 7-11‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

 Psalm 19: 7-11.   The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.  Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

What more can I say? The master poet and musician, David, said it all so many, many years ago. Everything about Our God and His laws is perfect and wonderful. All I can do is restate it somewhat in my own fashion. His perfect law refreshes our soul, while His testimony lends wisdom to those who don’t understand. Obviously His principles governing our conduct are right, bringing joy to our hearts as we gladly follow His unblemished, unsullied commandments that open our eyes, bringing us greater awareness of what He’s about. We need not fear Him, in the real sense of the word, but we must respect His authority and honour Him with the adulation that an all powerful Being like Him deserves… Oh, and His judgements, hn! Well they are nothing but just and uncorrupted, cause He’s incorruptible. And Friends, if the Friend of God, said that all these things are more desirable than gold, and are sweeter than honey, who are we to doubt him eh? Moreover David continues, and this is the important part, by them we are warned; they show us the right way, warn us when we are about to get in trouble with The Most High, and even better, when we follow His guidance we receive great rewards. So what are we waiting for Friends? Don’t we like great rewards? I’m sure we do, but the only way to achieve them is by following His rules and principles. So please let’s do that to the best of our ability. Don’t know if I did great justice to David’s words, but everything I said is true. Hope it resonates in your heart the way it did in mine.  As always, Much PEACE & Plenty, Plenty LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 September 2007 Psalm 13: 5-6.‏

20 Nov 2007 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living

Psalm 13:5-6    But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.
 
Oh Glory Be! What wonderful words of trust and faith from that musical genius, that warrior king, that ardent believer, that worthless sinner, that Friend of God, David. As Believers, that’s how we should be greeting each and every new day that our eyes behold; faithfully trusting in Our God’s promise to shower us with mercy and loving-kindness, also acknowledging and rejoicing in the fact that Jesus died for us, providing us with Heavenly Salvation; the greatest gift ever bestowed on mankind. That’s more than enough cause to sing Our Lord’s praises with great gusto. But when we also add the worldly goodness shown to us individually; meat and drink in abundance, roofs over our heads, warm beds in which to sleep, nice clothes on our backs, the modern amenities of life, friends and family to socialize with, how can we not shout with joy and thanksgiving for the generous, bountiful manner in which The Most High deals with us, His sinful, disobedient, undeserving children eh? Yes Friends, Our Great God is certainly good to us. Let’s Praise Him and give Him Thanks everyday, while we spread His word of PEACE and LOVE, and share His bounty with His many not so fortunate children. Much LOVE, PRAISE, THANKSGIVING & SHARING!

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries