Well friends, Wednesday has opened bright and sparkling and promises to be a hot one, not like the last two days that have been comparatively cool. But it’s summer and that’s what we expect…until it gets too hot. (smile) And this morning we have something to share from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that will break down all the walls and barriers and impediments that we have built up around ourselves and those with whom we interact. It’s appropriately titled, ‘LISTENING LOVE!’
Yeh mih people, it’s LOVE that listens. So please pray with me: ‘Listening LOVE is one of the greatest gifts we can give our mates, our families, and our friends. Too often we settle for surface talk or icy silences, for monologues or cutoffs, for defences. What a difference when we follow the principles of Listening LOVE. Listening LOVE is courteous. It says… I will strive not to interrupt or outguess you. I will not finish your sentences or break into your thoughts. Listening LOVE is attentive. It says… I will give you my undivided attention. I will not turn you off or leave you isolated.
Listening LOVE is patient. It says… I will not rush you or insist on a right-now conclusion. Listening LOVE is kind. It says… I will not shame you with sarcastic retorts. I will not belittle you. Listening LOVE is objective. It says… I will try to be informative rather than opinionated. I will not attempt to think for you. Listening LOVE is unselfish. It says… I will guard against overconfidence and trite “spiritual” answers. Listening LOVE is prayerful. It says… I will pray for insight, for wisdom, and for gentle reactions.’
Oh my people, Listening LOVE is indeed difficult to practice when all the problems of the world are weighing us down! But please pray that there will be Listening LOVE between the duchess and I today, (smile) because I’ve already turned on the A/C after it was off for the last two days, and that’s usually a source of contention between us. But although practicing Listening LOVE is difficult, it is indeed possible, if we took our time and thought about our reactions before we engaged them. Unfortunately though, that’s also a difficult thing in this new and modern world of speed and now for now decision making.
And I guess that’s why Bruh David prayed this solemn prayer at the end of Psalm 19, which is our Bit and also the Bible Verse associated with today’s writing. ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’ Yes my brethren, it’s only with the Lord’s help that we can truly practice Listening LOVE! The world and the sinful nature that exists within us do not allow us to be patient, thoughtful, kind, courteous and all the other things that Listening LOVE requires.
I guess that’s why Cousin Sol also wisely proclaimed: ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov. 12:19) And again why he later on declared (yeahhh!) ‘Better is a dinner of herbs (vegetables) where LOVE is, than a stalled ox (fatted calf) and hatred therewith.’ (Prov. 15:17) Oh my people, LOVE is such a wonderful thing! And it ought to be, since it’s the most valuable attribute of our magnanimous and magnificent God! ‘And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.’ (1 Cor. 13:13)
But since the fall of man, when sin entered our lives, true LOVE seems to be so difficult for us to practice. And the great efforts of the fallen angel Lucifer, now his satanic majesty, against it doesn’t help us in the least. Satan hates LOVE because he knows that LOVE comes from God. and he doesn’t like it one bit when John says: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God.’ (1 John 4:7)
But as true believers in Christ, that is exactly what we are called to do! All the greed and selfishness of the world should not be showing up in the sons and daughters of Almighty God. Sadly, however, it is showing up to a great extent because we are still too contaminated by the ways of the world and we are not seeking the righteousness of God as much as we ought to. And a very good example of how we ought to behave is given by Bruh David when the prophet Nathan eventually accosted him re his adultery with Bathsheba and the premeditated murder of her husband Uriah.
He prayed: ‘O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps. 51) Yeh friends, our sin nature is responsible for a lot of stuff. But please listen to these wise words from the scholars.
‘Sin nature: 51:5. When the word sin appears in the singular, it usually denotes the sin nature of humanity. This sin nature, which everyone possesses, influences us to sin and is the source of lust. It negatively affects people’s minds (Rom. 1:28). Illustration: The sin nature is partially responsible for blinding people’s thoughts and understanding, so that they cannot perceive spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14). Although our sin nature continues to operate within us, it was judged when Christ died (Rom. 6:6-7).
Application: Until Christ returns, we must live in the strength of the new man, to overcome the sinful desires arising from the sin nature. We cannot eradicate our sin nature, but we can allow the Holy Spirit to control us so that we do not give in to temptation. (First Ref. Gen. 6:5; Primary Ref. Rom. 3; cf. Rom. 5:12).’
Ah friends, life can be somewhat difficult at times, but with Christ in us, and we in Him… Oh we can do any and all things through His most wonderful strength and grace and mercy. So please, let’s not fall or falter by anything evil that comes against us. And please read those scriptures the scholars outlined above, because they are so educational and uplifting, and do we ever need uplifting stuff in these turbulent times! Now let’s go home declaring (oh yeahhh!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our serious, sincere and most excellent position in Christ Jesus!
All together 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!’
And if we endure to the end, we WILL experience that glorious future with Christ! Much LOVE!
…if you don’t know Christ…you’re missing real life…the best life possible…
P.S. Sorry it’s late, but I had to go out the street and do some time sensitive stuff first. But it’s a good read. (smile) Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 February 2019 Romans 4:20.
23 Feb 2019 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a broken heart, a fact of life, a grain of salt, Abraham, Anselm, be well rewarded, believe, beneficial value, darkness, did not waver, double minded, face difficulties, face values, faith in God, faults, fly in the ointment, foibles, friend, giving glory to God, gospel truth, habit of pretending, Hagar, he staggered not, in the Lord's time, intimidate us, Isaac, lack, LOVE, no strength, no struggle, nomadic existence, pray, problem, prosperity, ruined by praise, sacrifice, Sarah, Saturday, saved by criticism, seeds of its own solution, sleep in, stand up to obstacles, strengthened, strong in faith, success, sunshine, the promise of God, think, trials, tribulations, unbelief, wine and roses, wishy-washy, with the help of God, work
Ah Lord eh! No rest for the righteous! (smile) A body can’t even get a chance to sleep in on a Saturday morning! That’s because I’ve got to attend an Ironmen’s Breakfast at 9.30 this morning.
The ‘Ironmen’ is a men’s group at our church. But I have to laugh when I consider that very few, if any of the group is under three score, and several are even three score and ten and over. (smile) But nonetheless, we are the Ironmen of St. Francis, committed to good works in the church and in the community we serve! Praise the Lord!
And since it’s Saturday, let’s check out some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week in his noble attempt to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.’
And that’s fairly true! Most of us would much rather like to be heaped with undeserved praise rather than shrouded in deserved criticism. But remember friends, nobody has reached anywhere without some deserved criticism, and it shows how big a person you are when you can acknowledge your faults and foibles.
Then there’s this: ‘Every problem has in it the seeds of its own solution. If you don’t have any problems, you don’t get any seeds.’ I guess there’s also some truth to that statement, because in many of our problems lie the basic solution to them. If something isn’t working our right, then I guess the best way to find out why is by going back to the beginning and checking all the steps along the way. We’ll usually find the fly somewhere there in the ointment. (smile)
Now hear this: ‘Four things for success: work and pray, think and believe.’ That’s indisputable! Success does call for at least those four things…and sometimes even more! And then we come to: ‘Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have… every DAY!!!!’ And that’s no lie my brethren!
When we stand up strong to our problems and not be wishy washy and double-minded, we’ll discover that they are not half as problematic as they first seemed. Problems have this habit of pretending that they are bigger than they really are, and when take them at face value, they tend to intimidate us and make us wary and somewhat unsure of our ability to conquer them.
But when we come up over them, with the help of God, we discover that they are much more manageable then we originally thought. So perhaps when problems overwhelm us, it might be best to take them each with a grain of salt (smile) before tackling them.
And the last quote says: ‘Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.’ And that’s gospel truth my brethren, for it’s only when we face difficulties, that we get strong! And that applies to all walks of life. If you want to build physical strength, then you have to lift weights or do something that will cause your muscles to work hard and eventually expand. The same goes for spiritual strength.
If you want to develop a greater faith in God, then you have to work hard at it, because it doesn’t just come by wishing. You have to go through trials and tribulations because we only grow when we overcome hard times. That’s just a fact of life. I’m sure you’ve noticed than when everything is nice and easy, no growth, be it physical, spiritual or emotional will really take place.
It’s only when your heart’s been broken that you can appreciate the beneficial value of things like LOVE and romance. You obviously won’t like the broken heart, but because of it, the next time around you’ll certainly be wiser and more appreciative. (smile)
And I don’t think we can find a better example of growing in faith than Abraham. Look at how at seventy-five the Lord told him to pack up and leave his family and just go, with no idea of where he was going. And every time the Lord told him to do something he did it, oftimes without a clue as to what was happening. And check out his approach to God’s promise of a child in his old age.
The Good Book says: ‘And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb.’ (Rom.4;19) Friends, for decades Abraham had been trying to have a child with no success. Can you imagine the disappointment in a society that took children as a reward of God?
Then the Lord promised him one when he was around a hundred and Sarah about ninety. Abraham must have shaken his head in amazement. But the Good Book continues: ‘He staggered not (did not waver) at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong (strengthened) in faith, giving glory to God. And being fully persuaded (convinced) that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.’ (Rom.4:20-21)
Yeh friends, it’s only because Abraham had gone through a lot of struggle, wandering all over the place and having one problem after another, but also having God bring him through them that his faith became so strong. Although he lapsed when he took his wife’s Sarah advice to go into her maid Hagar to produce the heir that didn’t seem to be coming from their own loins. (smile) And you know that caused untold problems.
But look at how he was going to sacrifice the heir Isaac, when the Lord told him to. I’m sure he didn’t know what was happening. How could the Lord ask him to sacrifice the only child whom He had promised would give him more children that the sand of the shore? But in his heart he knew that the Lord would come through in some manner because He had kept ALL of the promises He’d made him over the many years of his nomadic existence.
Friends, I assure us that the Lord will do the same for us, but I can also guarantee you that it won’t be all wine and roses, because we simply don’t grow unless we face some kind of difficulty in our lives. Remember that and keep the faith like Abraham did. It won’t be easy, but we’ll be well rewarded in the Lord’s time! Much LOVE!
…you can’t appreciate the sunshine…until you have experienced the darkness…you can’t appreciate prosperity…until you have experienced serious lack…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 July 2017 Proverbs 15:13.
08 Jul 2017 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a better tomorrow, a broken heart, a broken spirit, a cheerful countenance, a cheerful mind, a kind word, a merry heart, a merry spirit, a time to laugh, anger is acid in a plastic bottle, Anselm, anxiety, be ye angry and sin not, control our thoughts, depression, emotional high, entitlement, give opportunity to the devil, gospel truth, have some fun, holy spirit, household chores, humour, Jesus, laughter, lazing about, let go of anger, let not the sun go down on your wrath, light hearted, lighten up, maladies, mankind's greatest blessing, medicine, negative emotion, negativity, positive attitude, Saturday, sense of appreciaition, sorrow of the heart, stress, take it nice and easy, the Lamb's Book of Life, the spirit is broken, the world owes you a living, to everything there is a season, wisdom
Proverbs 15:13. A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance (face): but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
Happy Saturday friends, whether you’re simply lazing about the house, doing household chores or getting ready to go out and do whatever you’re going to do, be it work or play! (smile) Just don’t stress yourself out. Whatever you do, do it calmly with the thought of God’s rest on your mind.
Today is not a good day to get upset and fly off the handle, because that’s exactly what the enemy is standing on the sidelines waiting for. So please take it nice and easy today…all day.
And since today is Saturday, it means we have to check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this past week, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. So without further ado let’s get into the first one, which is ever so important. ‘Let go of anger. Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.’
And that is the gospel truth friends! Anger corrodes our insides like acid in a plastic bottle, so it’s not a very good thing to hold on to. Why do you think Bruh Paul told us through Ephesians: ‘Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down on your wrath. Neither give place (opportunity) to the devil.’ (Eph.3:26-27)
Because anger is a powerful negative emotion which causes us to do stuff that offers open invitations to the enemy, if we hold it for too long. Note he didn’t say, don’t get angry, because anger is a normal human emotion, but don’t sin when you do, and don’t hold it for too long.
And this second quote pertains very much to the now generation, and even to some of the older ones. ‘Release yourself from entitlement. Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.’
Ah friends, too many of the young people feel that the world owes them a living, and it’s our fault (the parents) for giving them everything they wanted, when they wanted it, without trying to instill some sense of appreciation in them.
This next one is also very instructive. ‘Don’t focus so much on making yourself feel good. The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.’ And that’s no lie! When we’re feeling down, the best remedy for our blues is to find some other blue person that we can cheer up, and you’ll be surprised how quickly your blues will disappear.
And from this last quote, I want us to set today’s stage. ‘Lighten up and have some fun. Humour is mankind’s greatest blessing.’ Hn! I don’t know if humour or laughter is mankind’s greatest blessing, but I do know that it is one of them. Laughter is one of the best medicines for all maladies; it’s free and easy to come by.
And as Cousin Sol says so eloquently in our Bit: ‘A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.’
Oh my people, we can all attest to that truth, because we have all encountered a broken heart at some time in our lives and know that there is no pain as devastating as that. But we have also experienced the emotional high that a merry heart brings, and nothing is as delightful and delectable as that.
So, I believe that we should all endeavour to have our lives guided by a merry spirit and a positive attitude. Just look at our Leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus: He was always pleasant, always light hearted, not given to excessive negativity, even in the toughest of times.
Listen to Cousin Sol from Proverbs again. ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.’ (Prov.17:22) And the scholars explain it thus: ’17:22. A cheerful mind is revitalizing to the entire person.’
Now that is indisputable truth, because all the battles for control of our lives begin, are fought, and are decided in our minds. That means we have to learn to control our thoughts and focus on stuff that keeps us light hearted.
And we’ll end with one more shout of wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘Heaviness (anxiety) in the heart of man maketh it stoop (causes depression): but a good word maketh it glad.’ (Prov.12:25) And the scholars enlighten us: ’12:25. A good word is a kind word that cheers the heart.’ More stuff that we also know from personal experience. So I don’t understand why so many of us Christians are so uptight, sour, sad and depressed.
Yeh friends, if we’re true believers, then our spirits ought to be light, having the assurance that Christ is looking after our every earthly need, and our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life in heaven. Oh, by the way, they also say that one of the best abilities we can have, is the ability to laugh at ourselves. Too many of us take ourselves too seriously.
So let’s lighten up today nuh mih breddren, let’s just enjoy the day, and let laughter and levity be uppermost in our souls today. That’s the word of wisdom for today, as detailed by the Holy Spirit. He wants to see a joyful body of believers raising the level of joy and laughter in the world this day. Much LOVE!
…to every thing there is a season…including a time to laugh…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 August 2016 Psalm 66:16.
12 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living Tags: a broken heart, a life of joy and peace, a long time ago, all ye that fear God, almighty god, Amazing grace, as far as the east, as long as life endures, but now I see, but now I'm found, charles stanley, come and hear, contrite, contrite spirit, Creator of the universe, dangers, dissolve like snow, don't give up, exalted, extolled, falter, First Baptist Church, flesh and heart shall fail, forbear to shine, forgiveness, Friday chant, furthering God's kingdom, generous help, grace, gracious God, how sweet the sound, humble repentance, humble spirit, I once was lost, in Jesus' name, In Touch, iniquity, John Newton, joy, merciful, mercy, mighty wings, mortal life, my fears relieved, my hope secures, my shield and portion be, peace, perished, perspective, praise and worship, praised, promise, protective umbrella, revive the heart, revive the spirit, saved a wretch like me, sing God's praise, slave trader, snares, taught my heart to fear, tempestuous times, ten thousand years, testimony, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the hour I first believed, the party soon start, the voice of my prayer, the weekend, toils, transforming grace, two stepping, walk with god, was blind, week of work, what He hath done for my soul, will lead me home, with my tongue, within the veil
Psalm 66:16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
Aye friends, I know that it’s Friday and all that; that you all are shouting out very loudly and enthusiastically: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! The weekend done come… and the party soon start…and going all weekend long too! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’
Well mih people, I want us to begin the party right here by singing a wonderful old song that we all know and LOVE. Last night I heard a most stirring rendition of it from Uncle Charles’ (Charles Stanley’s) programme, In Touch, featuring a youngster whose name I believe was William Kemp, leading the First Baptist Church of Atlanta’s choir and congregation. The music was beautiful too…
Oh friends it sounded so good to me that I knew the Father had to be tapping, two stepping in the aisles of heaven. (smile) He definitely couldn’t sit still with such wonderful praise and worship reaching His heavenly home. And I knew that we just had to begin this morning’s proceedings with a wonderful rendition of it also.
So please sing with me: ‘Amazing grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, And grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear The hour I first believed.
Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; ’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,And grace will lead me home. The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures; He will my Shield and Portion be, As long as life endures.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, And mortal life shall cease, I shall possess, within the veil, A life of joy and peace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, The sun forbear to shine; But God, who called me here below, Will be forever mine.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we’d first begun. Amazing grace…how sweet the sound…that saved a wretch like me… I once was lost…but now I’m found…was blind…but now I see…’
Oh my believing brethren, what beautiful words and sentiments from the old slave trader, John Newton! Yuh see what can happen when Almighty God touches our hearts! So though you may falter in your walk with God, please DON’T GIVE UP, because with just one miraculous thought He can change your whole life!
That brings us to our Bit, from Psalm 66 – The great works of God. ‘Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.’ And precious people of God, we couldn’t ask for a better testimony of God’s grace and mercy than the words of John Newton that we just sang!
And the psalmist continues after our Bit with a short testimony of his own. ‘I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled (praised, exalted) with my tongue. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.’ (Ps.66:17-20)
Yes my brethren, our merciful and gracious God will not turn away His ear from our prayer if our hearts are contrite and humble. Oh friends, why would He ever do such a thing eh, when He has specifically promised to bless those who come to him in humble repentance eh?
Listen to the psalmist from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit (crushed in spirit).’ (Ps.34:18)
And Isaiah confidently declares: ‘For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ (Is.57:15)
Oh what a beautiful promise my brethren! That’s why a man like John Newton, with such terrible deeds on his conscience, could come to Jehovah God and receive mercy, forgiveness and grace to ease his aching soul. The same options are still open today for each and every human being on planet earth my people.
We just have to be brave and come to God with whatever is bothering us. He will dispose of our sins as far as the east is from the west, and give us grace and mercy to begin a new life under the protective umbrella of His mighty wings.
And believe me friends, there is no better place to be in these trying and tempestuous times as under the protection of God, the Creator of the universe and all therein! Now, being cognizant of our short span minds, (smile) we’ll stop here for today, and continue the same trend tomorrow, God willing of course.
Now let’s go home chanting our Friday Chant, so that we can get a better perspective on how to use the weekend. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.
Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’
Please put those words into action my people, because they will certainly benefit us when Monday comes along. Much LOVE!
…without God’s transforming grace and mercy…mankind would certainly have perished a long, long time ago…
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