Today’s Scrip-Bit   24 November 2023   2 Timothy 3:1.

24 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 3:1.        This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

And after only one measly day of Thanksgiving in the U.S, the world has followed it back to its favourite pastime; making money! Yes, today is Black Friday, the day of the biggest sales events of the year in the U.S. and neighboring countries like Canada, have no recourse but to follow the foolishness, which is mostly like a magicians setup, illusory; consisting of good  hand and eye coordination, wands and staffs making you feel like something is going on, when in reality it’s all an illusion. 

It’s the same with many of these supposed big Black Friday sales, they promise the world but only offer a few items truly on sale. The desire of the whole operation is to get you into the store and wave their magic wands at you, confuse you into buying stuff you either don’t need, or you can’t afford. And it’s sad that every year the same things happen; people fall for it, rushing and pushing to get into the stores, which usually leads to some sort of unnecessary violence. 

But the store owners don’t care, they are just interested in the congested traffic and the money been spent in their businesses. Then tomorrow they’ll holler about their big profits, laughing all the way to the bank, celebrating another successful exercise in psychological illusion on the masses. 

Ah Lord eh! When are we ever going to learn? We seldom ever get something for nothing, or less than it costs the sellers. The business people are there to make money, not to give it away There’s always a catch to their sales pitch, a price to be paid, be it up front or later. But we keep on falling for the sales pitches, especially in these times of high inflation and low monetary rewards in the comparatively few jobs available. 

And it’s interesting how prices keep on rising, along with profits, but the wages of the workers remain stagnant, and if the purveyors of the criminal economic actions, could, they would even try to lower the wages of their employees. No wonder the ongoing truth in the sad statement; man’s inhumanity to man, makes millions mourn. And, unfortunately, it seems like we have reached the stage of world evil and ungodliness that Bruh Paul warned Timothy about in his second letter. 

‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady (reckless), highminded (haughty),lovers of pleasures more than (rather) than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:1-5) 

And isn’t that a most accurate picture of our current world? Sad to say, it most certainly is!  Our world has gone crazy, with no kind of discipline, everyone just looking out for themselves, doing what they want with no regard to how their actions affect other around them. And don’t talk about ungodliness, for I don’t know if there’s ever been such an ungodly time as this. 

We’ve even reached the stage of attempting to push God out of our society, which only shows how proud, haughty and foolish we’ve become, because the Creator of the universe will NEVER allow himself to be pushed out of His own creation! But we haven’t learned from Satan’s quick demise when as the Archangel Lucifer he tried to overthrow God, but was summarily kicked out of heaven to dwell in the fires of hell. Satan has learned his lesson, but he’s trying to get us to do his dirty work for him, and unfortunately too many of us are listening to him and doing it. 

But friends, wisdom dictates that if you want to live the abundant life, you can’t walk with the chickens or fly with the low flying birds, you must soar with the eagles. And that’s what the Lord is expecting of each one of us who calls himself a child of the Most High God! And yes, it’s not easy to soar with the eagles when the crows and chickens keep nipping at your feet, but we do have an avenue to help us get away from them, that’s the throne of grace. So please, let’s go there right now nuh, through our Friday Chant to get the help we need to keep soaring with the eagles. 

As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…   because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And the first item on our to do list my people, is to set a good and godly example to those around us, otherwise there will be no divine help forthcoming. Much LOVE!

…as true believers in Christ…we need to stop falling for the evil wiles of Satan… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ 

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 November 2022   2 Timothy 3:12.

05 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 3:12.       Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Ah my people, our lazy Saturday is here! But the ole fella has not been lazy this morning. He’s been up and about his Father’s business early. By my standards, I went to bed early, (smile) so I’m up at a reasonable hour on this somewhat cloudy first Saturday in November, in this crazy, unpredictable year of 2022. 

But it seems the sun will shine through eventually, so let’s just give thanks to our heavenly Father for causing us to be alive today and go on our merry way rejoicing in His awesome LOVE and friendship! And all God’s children gave a grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord, for His goodness to the children of men!’ Wise words indeed my fellow believers. 

Now, let’s turn to the task at hand, deciphering the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And since he’s only sent us three, hopefully today’s Bit will be shorter than usual. (smile) And the first one tells us: ‘You don’t have to be defined or confined by your environment, by your family circumstances, and certainly not by your race or gender.’ 

That statement does seem to be of some significance, especially in light of the machinations in our current society where we are constantly being pigeonholed, placed in an ever smaller box for identification purposes. I don’t know why what we look like, where we come from or the class of our family is all that important, but nowadays, those factors seem to be getting more important rather than less, as you’d expect in a global multicultural society. 

Is that devil’s doing, or the anti-Christ’s, or some new world order trying to narrow down our demographics so that they can pick out a chosen few of a certain type? Who knows. The important thing though is that your race, creed, gender, family circumstances, none of that really matters. The only thing that matters is that you are a child of the Most High God Jehovah! That’s because His kingdom includes everybody, and He makes no distinction as per your background, but is only interested in your going forward, your future. 

And we can see that in Peter’s words to the early Christians. ‘But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (God’s own special people); that ye should show forth (proclaim) the praises of him who hath called you out of the darkness into his marvellous light. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.’ (1 Pet. 2:9-10) 

Yes friends, with the miraculous coming of Jesus, ALL barriers have been broken down and we are now one nation unto God, regardless of our colour creed, gender race or whatever definition you want to choose. As Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians. ‘But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes (once) were far off are made nigh (near) by the blood of Christ. For he (himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us.’ (Eph. 2:13-14) 

Isn’t that wonderful! The shedding of Christ’s blood at Calvary broke down the walls between Jews and Gentiles, making us all, the ONE church of Christ. So please let’s not allow them to define us as anything but children of God, because that’s who we are above everything else. 

Now, the second quote says: ‘We all have problems. But it’s not what happens to us, [it’s] the choices we make after.’ And that’s true to a large extent. In many cases it’s our reaction to our problems that causes us more pain and sorrow than the problems themselves. That’s why it’s always necessary to have a good attitude when problems surface. And though that’s easier said than done, if you are a child of God, a follower of Christ Jesus, He will enable you to bear up under any problem that comes against you. 

As He faithfully declares (yesss!!!) in John 16:33: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ Wow! What an awesome promise! And if we believe Him, then when problems arise, we won’t be running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but be able to adopt a good and sensible attitude towards them, and handle them successfully with God’s help. 

Please note that Christ did not say we won’t have problems, but rather the opposite, we WILL have tribulations in this world, especially if you are a believer in Christ. And Bruh Paul confirmed that in his second missive to Timothy. ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim. 3:12) 

But then, to the church at Rome, Bruh Paul makes this most important and definitive statement. ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) How wonderful it is to know that despite the many problems we will face in this life, that Jesus will help us to handle them with a good attitude. 

And the last quote says: ‘You do not find the happy life. You make it.’ There’s much truth to that also, because we just can’t sit down and expect to be happy, since the world doesn’t generously give out happiness, but rather tribulations. So, for happiness to exist in our lives, we must actively make ourselves happy. That’s do things that will make us happy. 

However, not everything that makes us happy is good for us. And too often happiness depends more on our circumstances than our normal way of life. Meaning that happiness is not always a persistent frame of mind, but very liable to change as our circumstances do. But when we talk about joy…then that’s an entirely different story! For joy is a basic way of life; a stable and steady perspective that doesn’t change with our circumstances. And we can only have true joy with Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of our lives. 

That takes us back to our earlier conversation on handling problems, about having a good attitude towards our lives in general, and problems in particular. And it’s only with the peace and satisfaction found in Jesus is that possible. That means our biggest and most important need in this life is to find Jesus and stick to Him like white on rice! When we do that, our joy will overflow, and we will enjoy the abundant life He died for us to have. Much LOVE!

…Jesus is the answer…to everything in our lives… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ              

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 June 2021 Matthew 15:11.

26 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 15:11.     Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

And then it was Saturday, our lazy, couch surfing day! And the nature of today is even more conducive to lazing around. Meaning that it’s a wet and windy Saturday morning. Oh yes, we had rain from yesterday afternoon straight through to the early hours of this morning. As the old people would warn; be careful what you wish for eh, because you might just get it. 

But thankfully, though we wished for rain, it was not the shower bound type we received, but just a constant drizzle. That meant the ground had time to absorb it and thus lessen the possibilities of flooding. Our God is so good and understanding! Give Him some thanks and praise nuh people! 

Now, let’s turn to our Saturday business, checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘It’s sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.’ Now is that ever so true! A lot of times we are heart broken when our relationships end, especially when it was someone whom we thought we’d do a lifetime with and then they end rather nastily too. 

But that’s life friends. We have people in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. But most of them are either for a reason or a season, very few are there for a lifetime. And until we learn that and move on, broken relationships will always cause us more heartache than necessary. 

And that brings us to the second quote which follows from the first. ‘Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.’ Yes friends, growth and change are painful, but ofttimes that’s what a broken relationship portends; it’s time for us to move on up. And those people in our lives are not the ones to move on up with us, so they have to go. As they say, the Lord closes one door, then opens another that has different people in it, with a brighter future. 

And though it’s always hard to give up the old stuff, if you stay with it, you will eventually become more frustrated and disgusted with your old situation, than if you had moved on to the new one. Sooner or later, you will feel as though you are spinning your wheels in mud, or stuck in a rocking chair, rocking vigorously but not going anywhere. Yes, change isn’t always pleasant, but sometimes it’s necessary to get our adrenaline flowing. 

Then we come to this quote. ‘Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect.’ And is that ever true! Life owes us nothing my people! In fact, it’s we who owe life. We owe it the duty of being responsible and making a positive and productive difference in it. We are not put here just to enjoy the perks of life, but to add to them. 

Entitlement is not our God-given due, as so many of us seem to think. So, unless we are making a positive difference in our everyday walk, we are shortchanging life. And that’s even more important for believers in Christ Jesus, because His desire is for us to make disciples of those we meet by telling them about the good news of His gospel and more importantly, living the way His gospel dictates. For people respond more to examples than words. 

And all of that leads us to this next quote. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to be able to listen to yourself and be okay with no one else understanding.’ Yes my brethren, though others can and will give us advice, both good and bad, in the long run, we are the ones who must make the final decision. And that’s not always easy, especially in our current mish-mash, topsy-turvy world. But it is important that we are strong enough to live with whatever decisions we make, regardless of whether others understand or appreciate them. For, in the long run, we are the ones who have to live with the decisions we make, not the other people. 

And when you are a child of the Most High God, you are enabled by His Holy Spirit to make right decisions, and to stand strong with them. No need to be wishy washy, and wavering, or fence-sitting to see what eventually happens. Yes, precious people, being able to make timely, positive decisions is definitely one of the benefits of being a child of Jehovah God! Glory be! 

That brings us to our last quote. ‘Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.’ Ah my brethren, that’s true in spades! We must all face the death of our mortal bodies at some time or the other, we cannot do anything about that, but we certainly can stop the good aspects of our lives from dying while our bodies are still alive. And we’re talking about our humanity, the thing that makes, or is supposed to make us different from the wild animals; compassion and caring for each other. 

Hn! But today, unfortunately we behave more like the wild animals than the wild animals, the inhumane and uncaring way we treat our fellow man. Most of us are born with good ideals and inclinations, despite our basic sinful nature, but the sad part happens when we refute those good inclinations and accept the bad ones that so much of our world tend to recognize as more beneficial. We are talking about things like greed, envy, taking advantage of others, and the complete renunciation of the fruit of the Spirit. That’s ‘LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness, temperance (self-control).’ 

Oh my people, when any of those things die in us, while our bodies are still alive, the loss to ourselves and the world is incalculable. It means our world is about to get darker, the enemy is winning the battle, as we become less tolerant and caring, but more negative and adversarial. That’s not the kind of world we want to live in, or leave for our children to experience. And remember what Jesus said about our internal traits. ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt. 15:11) 

And that’s the gospel truth friends! What we put into our mouths doesn’t defile us, but what comes out of our mouths defiles us. That’s because the things that come out of our mouths come from our hearts, while what goes in comes out as bodily refuse. As Jesus explains: ‘For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things that defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defile not a man.’ (Matt. 15:19-20) 

So whenever the goodness of God dies in us friends, it is indeed a sad day; a day to mourn for the well-being of our world. And right now, so much of the goodness of God has died in so many of us, that it’s no wonder our world is going through a rather dark and grievous time. And for it to turn around, it means that we, the disciples of Christ must do a better job than we’re currently doing. So let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…                                                                            

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8              

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 March 2021 Jeremiah 13:15.

23 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 13:15.     ​Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.

One more time friends, one more time to get out there and work for the Lord! That’s why He’s given us another beautiful day to enjoy and do His wonderful bidding! So let’s say and do as Bruh David so wisely said and did nuh: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!’ That’s the best decision we can make this day my people! 

So forget, yes, disregard the problems and circumstances that are trying to keep you down, because you are a child of the Most High God Jehovah, and He won’t allow anything to break you down. And He does have the power to turn all the things that are worrying you around. I can testify to that because I have seen my God turn it around…many many times too…for many many people too, so there is no need to give up on your journey because your God can and will turn it around for you also! 

And in these unprecedented times of woe and sorrow in so many of our lives, this is as good a time as any other to listen to the truth of God’s word. Hear the prophet Jeremiah to his people Israel on God’s behalf, when they were in a state of turmoil, just like we currently are. ‘Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’ (Jer. 13:15) 

And I guess you want to know what the Lord hath spoken eh? Well, please listen very closely. ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer. 13:16) 

Oh my people, my people, that is a direct word to us from our great God today in this time of pandemic and strife and all the other negative problems our world is currently experiencing! How can we try to get rid of the Creator and Controller of our universe and expect to live a good life eh? That’s not wisdom in the least! It’s pure foolishness! 

Look at Lucifer, who was so proud and haughty because he was an archangel and wanted to overthrow God, His Creator? It just isn’t possible for the created to overthrow the creator. And where is he now eh? Living in the bowels of hell, the most despicable place in our world! And if we keep thinking we can throw God out of society we’ll suffer the same fate as Lucifer! 

I don’t know why so many of us believe that our God makes promises and won’t keep them. Oh we believe the good ones, but the ones that will come upon us for disobedience, somehow or the other, we convince ourselves that those won’t come to pass. But my friends, let me remind us that our God doesn’t make idle promises. Anything He promises, He will do, if the situations warrant them. And don’t talk stupidness about that’s in the Old Testament, for Jesus made many of the same promises in the New Testament. 

If you don’t believe and obey, you will pay the necessary price. And please, please, don’t try to prove it nuh, because once you die without Jesus, or He comes back and you haven’t received Him as Lord and Saviour, your options are ended. The only thing then would be automatic living with Lucifer! And believe me, that’s an option you don’t want to end up with for eternity! 

So please look at what the Lord said to the people of Judah and understand that He is not a joking God! Oh He is indeed a LOVING God, and will give oodles of chances, but you WILL pay the price for gross disobedience, as the children of Israel did! Now let’s listen to the rest of the message.

 ‘But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:17) And there will be indeed weeping and gnashing of teeth and all sorts of other calamities, exactly like we are suffering right now, because we refuse to swallow our foolish pride and arrogance and return to the God of our forefathers! 

And Jeremiah continues with the warning. ‘Say unto the king and to the queen (queen mother), Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory (your rule will collapse). The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:18-19) And it certainly was carried away captive, because of their obstinate refusal to turn back to God. 

And please note that many of our cities and towns have been shut up in the past year because of the pandemic and awful strife that’s been taking place. So why can’t we at least contemplate that some of the recent happenings are because we have become a godless and disobedient society eh? Nothing we’re trying to do on our own seems to be working. There’s all kinds of rebellion and disobedience towards authority that’s only making matters worse. The only option we haven’t yet tried is a revival of godliness! So why not try it and see eh mih people? We have nothing left to lose, but a whole lot to gain. 

Now here’s an interesting explanation from the scholars, re our text for today. ‘13:15-17. A third illustration (warning to Judah by Jeremiah) concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’ 

And let’s hope that many of us today will compare our current situation to that of olden Judah, and don’t follow their foolish ways, because we are not coming out of our predicament with our own efforts. The vaccines might be helping a few, but there’s also strong reactions against taking them, and the racial problems are increasing rather than getting better. Strife, anger, jealousy, and all the negative emotions and actions are now prevalent in our world, instead of the godliness that we so desperately need. 

But there’s good news friends, while we’re still alive there is always hope! And I know that our God can turn it around if we wake up and start doing right by Him. So for those of us who are prepared to stand up and fight for Him, let’s go home now declaring (awright!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. 

As one strong and sincere voice then: ‘In God’s eyes, 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!’ 

So let’s get on with it nuh my fellow saints in Christ. There’s no time to lose, if we want to turn it around…sooner rather than later. Much LOVE!

…God can, and will turn it around…if we first turn ourselves around…return to His fold…in sincerity and truth… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8      

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 April 2016 Psalm 89:6

04 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 89:6.   For who in heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

Oh precious people living in the Greater Toronto area, please be careful as you go out to work this Monday Morning because it’s wet, snowy, icy and slippery! Ah Lord eh! I thought now was supposed to be spring. But I guess since we did not get much snow during the official winter season we’re getting some now. 

As the Maytag man used to say in his advertisement; ‘Pay me now, or pay me later,’ intimating that one way or another you’re going to pay. It looks like the same thing with the snow; you might get away for a while, but eventually that white stuff will come back to haunt you when you least expect it. 

So friends, please leave home even earlier than normal, and please take your time, look out for the other drivers, because ofttimes they are the ones causing the problems. End of sermon! (smile) 

Now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much verve and chutzpah.  I know that the crappy weather will dampen your spirits, but we’ve got to rise above it and offer the sacrifice of praise with a fair measure of passion. 

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!’ 

Ah friends, that wasn’t the greatest nuh. It wasn’t really bad, but it did not come up to the level of our recent renditions. Our choir master, Jesus wasn’t really displeased either, because He knows our frailties and our weaknesses and knows firsthand how we can wax hot and cold in relatively short periods of time. (smile) 

Now let’s turn to our wonderful Bit. ‘For who in heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?’  

Yes my fellow believer, we might not be able to sing well this morning, but we do know that the answer to that question is ‘ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!’ 

Ah friends, when will the rest of the world wake up and realize that eh? When Jesus comes back in His full might and glory? Unfortunately it will be too late then, so we have to issue them a serious wake-up call right now my people. Let the heathen know that Jesus Christ is Lord and Master of ALL, and only through Him will true salvation and eternal life be accessed. 

Anyone not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will face eternal separation from God, and that is certainly the worse fate than can ever befall a human being. Now hear how the psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite continues after our Bit. 

‘God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had (held) in reverence of all them that are about him. O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them. 

Thou hast broken Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them.’ (Ps.89: 7-11) 

And we all know that as gospel truth, so how can any other being be greater than our God eh? No way Jose! 

And furthermore, from Psalm 113 – God’s mercies are many – the psalmist proudly proclaims: ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. 

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill (ash heap); That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people. He maketh (causes) the barren (childless) woman to keep house (dwell in a home), and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.113:2-9) 

My sentiments exactly my brethren!  A God who has mercy and looks down favourably on the poor and needy is definitely my kind of God! 

Ah mih people, we’re going to end here today; make the message short and sweet. (smile) In any case, we know that our God is great, rather THE GREATEST, and greatly to be praised. We don’t have to prove that to anybody. 

Nonetheless, let’s go out today, and by our words and conduct, let’s show the heathen how a child of the Most High, the One and Only God Jehovah operates out of LOVE, care and compassion, for it’s what our Lord and Saviour Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!

…to be a Christian…a servant of the Most High God…is the very essence and purpose of life and living…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 December 2014 Revelation 3:20

30 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Revelation 3:20.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.

 Oh Friends, on this fateful Tuesday morning, the penultimate day of the tumultuous year of 2014, I want to share some most valuable words of wisdom with you. The first set is that ignorance is a hell of a thing! (smile) But it is. And I am a glaring example of that this morning.

Now I know that if I lie in my bed for too long, my back will start acting up and pain like the devil. But what did I do? I went to bed rather early last night and did not get up till after five this morning.

And to tell the state of folly that enveloped my mind, around two something, I got up to go to the bathroom and felt my back aching. But did I pay it any attention? Not at all! Simple mindedly I claimed that it was too early to get up and do stuff, so I went back to bed.

Steups! And now I am paying the price for that folly. I got up tired, with cramps in my calves, and the old back aching so much that I had to put on my back brace, which I hardly use these days, and now I’m puttering around like a real old man, with small, mincing steps. (smile)

Ah Lord eh! And here are the words of wisdom that the old people would give out under those conditions; when you don’t hear, you feel. A rather apt saying, I must say.

And the moral of that story is to point out the scary imbalance in our minds and personalities, where, although we know the hefty price of doing certain things, we still do them. And then we moan and groan and complain about the resultant negative consequences. Chuh! How stupid we can be at times eh Friends!

That brings me to this matter. Earlier on, as I lay in bed soaking – for even with my back aching, I still needed to soak, hn! – my mind was in a contemplative state, considering what to write on this day. Then these words suddenly popped up: ‘And if you should hear me knocking this morning, please open the door.’

That led me to believe that our Lord’s invitation was to be our Bit for today. So here it is, in bright, living and explosive colour. ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.’

Oh my people, that is such a wonderful invitation that I don’t see how we can reject it! But reject it we do; foolishly and ignorantly! Just like my folly earlier this morning.

We know the consequences of not inviting Jesus into our hearts when He knocks there – death and eternal separation from God – yet we still blatantly refuse to open our hearts to Him, so that we can be truly blessed.

And the sad part is that Jesus is continually knocking at the door of our hearts, but we continually refuse to let Him in. It’s not like He just knocks once, and then goes away forever. He’s always right there, outside our heart doors, knocking, seeking entry.

And furthermore, unlike Lucifer, who threatens to knock us over if we don’t comply with his wishes, Jesus is the perfect gentleman. He prefers to ask for permission to enter, so that when He is allowed entry, He knows there’s sincerity in that particular heart.

My Friends, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is a calm and peaceful soul. He doesn’t rant and rave. He wants us to come to Him of our own volition, not feeling as though we were forced to do so.

For you know, regardless of the good and positive outcomes, when we believe we are forced into something, there’s always a tad of anger and resentment present, just because we didn’t do it of our own free will. That’s just the nature of the human animal.

Anyway my people, today, as everyday, Jesus is knocking at the doors of our hearts, quietly and sincerely asking for entry, so that He can make us His own. So if you hear that knock, please don’t be foolish and reject it.

Instead be brave, be bold, be wise, and open your heart to the wonderful Saviour of the world, because that’s what He is coming to do; save you from your sins, make you worthy to be called a child of the Most High God!

And we’ll close with these prophetic words of Jesus, when he was asked, if only a few would be saved. (Luke 13:23) ‘Strive to enter in at the strait (narrow) gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without (outside), and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are (where you are from):

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are (where you are from); depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.’ (Luke 13:24-30)

Oh Friends, I implore us today, to ensure that we’re not numbered amongst the sorry lot that’s refused entry to God’s eternal kingdom! And the best way to do that is to open our hearts willingly and LOVINGLY to Jesus’ knock today. That is wisdom at its ultimate best! Much LOVE!

…when Jesus knocks…he who refuses Him entry is lost forever…but he that opens with a generous and humble spirit…will dwell with Him in heaven for eternity…