Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 October 2018 Proverbs 26:12.

31 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 26:12.    Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit (eyes)? There is more hope of a fool than of him.
 

Ah mih breddren, unfortunately at 8 o’clock on this Wednesday morning, the last day of October 2018, my neighbourhood is dark, dismal and cold…it’s also raining. To tell the truth, I don’t even remember what rain looks or feels like, for the past two weeks that I spent in Jamaica, I never experienced a drop of heavenly blessing. Yes, a few times the sky darkened, but nary a drop of water fell wherever I happened to be. Hn! 

But I’d better get accustomed to this new state of affairs…and quickly too, because that’s going to be the new norm now. Oh to be in Jamdown once again, experiencing sea, sand, surf and salt, with the occasional bit of rum! (smile) Yes friends, that’s what dream are made of! But here is a taste of reality from the Swedish U.N Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961). 

He piloted the United Nations from 1953 to 1961, when his plane, under mysterious circumstances, crashed in Africa, on his way to try and quell a dispute over there. These are some of the words he left us: ‘Maturity: among other things – not to hide one’s strength out of fear and consequently live below one’s best.’ Words of great wisdom my people! 

And as Christians we have to stop living in fear and proclaim our strengths, strengths which we all have. As they say: ‘healthy thinking requires us to develop and use our many strengths.’

That’s never been truer of Christ’s church than right now, because instead of exhibiting strength, too many of us are embracing weakness and compromising our Christian beliefs and situations. We can’t afford to hide our strengths my people, because that’s when we enjoy our best life. 

And to help us do that, here is a li’l prayer from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. Please pray with me: ‘Thank you, Lord, for bringing me to the place where LOVE can knock at the door of my heart. O Father, do not let me be afraid. I shall not resist your affectionate touch. Let me, O Lord, have the spirit of a little child and dare to respond and run with open arms to your call of LOVE. Amen.’  

Oh friends, it amazes me that we can even contemplate resisting the Lord’s affectionate touch, much less do it! We must be mad, crazy, or stupid… or all three! But unfortunately a lot of believers do it every day.

No wonder their lives are so confused, strife-filled and unfulfilling. This action reminds me of Cousin Sol’s words in our Bit: ‘Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit (eyes)? There is more hope of a fool than of him.’ 

Yes friends, when we are so conceited that we turn away from God’s affectionate touch, there is more hope for even a fool, than for us. And in chapter 29, Cousin Sol says the same thing though somewhat differently: ‘Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? There is more hope of a fool than of him.’ (Prov.29:20) 

And he reiterates his point in Ecclesiastes as the Preacher: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort or activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.’ (Eccl.5:2-3) 

Oh friends, I doubt there have been ever been more fools than in this present age! Why? Simply because of the rampant technology that allows us to connect so easily to each other, which unfortunately we are using to talk a whole lot of nonsense, drivel and petty stuff, instead of real and serious matters. 

We’ve become a low standards, low level society in all aspects. That new, but oh so foolish phenomenon called ‘Selfies’ are driving us even further into narcissism and ungodliness, because we’re so focused on ourselves, not on God and others.

Everybody’s walking around with their smart phone – except me- thank the Lord –  (smile) paying more attention to it than what’s happening around them. Sometimes I just have to shake my head and steups at how technology has invaded and taken over our lives. 

But here is the ultimate word on our foolish and selfish, conceited behaviour. This from Jesus two thousand years ago, as he spoke to his disciples about the differences between the praying publican (sinner) and the supposedly devout Pharisee.

‘The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 

And the publican (tax collector), standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon (beat) his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’ (Luke 18:11-14) 

Oh my people, in these end times there are too many of us like the Pharisee and not like the publican. Please, let’s try and turn it around nuh, for our sake, as well as our children’s.

Remember the Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but we need a whole lot from Him, and we’ll only get it by being obedient to His word. Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our sincere and secure positions in Jesus. 

All together now…lets wail! ‘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 will that future ever be more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…turning away from God…that’s the most foolish thing man can ever do…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 May 2017 Psalm 27:1.

23 May 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 27:1.   The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Well my Canadian friends, I hope the getting up and going back to work this Tuesday morning wasn’t too onerous, after a long weekend of celebrating Queen Victoria’s long reign over the British Empire! (smile)  

Oh I know it was hard for me to get up, and many of you had to get up long before I did and make your way through the mean traffic. But that’s why we’re so proudly Canadian; we have the courage, the wherewithal to do what we have to do! Glory to God! 

Now, rather appropriately, here is a li’l something on ‘Courage,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional, where he emphatically states: 

‘The truth is that courage isn’t a gift. Courage is a decision! Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the presence of a calling – a dream that pulls you beyond yourself. Hence it is something you can never lose. It is always something that you can choose. So choose it today!’  

Yes my brethren, I’m pleading with us to CHOOSE courage over fear today, because it’s ever so necessary in our faith walk with Christ, especially in these fearful end times. 

Walking in fear is not acceptable in a child of God, for Christ died that we might have freedom, freedom from fear and all its associates. And to have freedom, one must have the courage to trust Jesus, as well as to handle whatever you need to handle. 

That’s why Bruh David was able to so boldly proclaim in our Bit: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ 

And the resounding answer from a follower of Christ, is simply: ‘ABSOLUTELY NOBODY!’ Yes friends, we ought not to be afraid of anybody or anything in this world. 

Listen to Jesus on whom to fear. ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.’ (Luke 12:4-5) 

Oh my Christian brethren, those are words straight from the mouth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and as His followers, we ought to listen attentively to what he says and put it into action! 

And here are two simple explanations from the scholars on those verses. ’12:4. The body’s death is not the end of a person’s life’ ’12:5. God is the One with this power (James 4:12).’ 

Yeh precious people, the death of our mortal bodies doesn’t mean the end of life, rather, it is the beginning of eternal life with Jesus! Glory to God! 

And ONLY God has the power to cast any of us into hell with the evil one. So once you’re living under His mighty umbrella, there’s nothing to fear. 

And hear how Moses put it to the Israelites many, many moons ago. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut.31:6) Words of absolute truth my brethren! 

And furthermore, listen to how often God warned Joshua about not being fearful when He anointed him leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death. ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 

Be strong and of a good courage… Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee… Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:5, 6,7,9) 

Yeh friends, within four verses, God warned Joshua three times to be strong and courageous and not be afraid. The same advice goes out to us today my people, so let’s take it to heart nuh, since it’s only the courage and strength we get from God that will see us successfully through this earthly life. 

Now hear Bruh David wrap it up, from Psalm 62: ‘In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.   Selah.’ (Ps.62:7-8) 

Yes, let’s ponder that for a moment nuh, before we move on to declare our Tuesday Mantra, boldly proclaiming to the world, whom and whose we are. 

In strong voice now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And if we sincerely believe all of that deep down in our hearts, then let’s go out and put it all into action nuh, as our Leader, Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!

…the fear of man…can never outweigh the courage of God…for Him that is in us…is greater than he that is in the world…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 July 2016 Psalm 34:1.

25 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 34:1.     I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

And as the alarms go off in millions of homes all over the world, the Christians who dwell in them rise and shine and joyfully declare: ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday, and I’m off to work! And as Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) advises us to say: ‘Something good is going to happen to me today! Something good is going to happen through me today! Glory Hallelujah! Thank God for Mondays and new work weeks!’ 

Ah mih friends, right now it’s only a dream, but I figure that if we say it often enough we might eventually believe it. Hn! Just a little positive psychology, because we’re way too miserable, tired and complaining on a Monday morning, and it’s not the right attitude for followers of Jesus Christ to have. But since we do have it, and it doesn’t look as though it’s going to change anytime soon, let’s bring on the antidote for that unchristian attitude (smile). 

Let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty enthusiasm and heavenly harmony. As one godly choir now:  ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. 

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. 

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. 

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ 

That was good friends, but not great. The important thing though is that our choirmaster, Jesus, didn’t seem displeased.  Now, with our adrenaline up and running, let’s sally forth with confidence into the wicked world out there and battle the enemy tooth and nail, to the death, so that we can further God’s kingdom and glorify His holy name. 

And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ 

Now let’s turn to our Bit, the same as yesterday, which deals with continually extolling, praising and blessing our great God. ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.’ 

Yes friends, that’s how it’s supposed to be with the serious and sincere Christian! Bruh David said that his soul would boast in the Lord, and that’s exactly what we also need to do my faithful brethren! Our enthusiasm and praise for our heavenly Father should know no bounds! 

How did Bruh Paul put it to the Ephesians: ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:18-21) 

Oh my people, what a glorious day that will be on planet earth, when all God’s children come together as one to continually praise and worship and give thanks to our magnificent Creator! 

Hn! Beelzebub won’t be able to stop our victorious charge! We’ll just run roughshod over him and his evil minions like a big tractor runs over a mound of dirt! (smile) They won’t know what hit them! 

But until such time as it all comes together my fellow believers, we just have to keep on doing our best by fellowshipping with each other, singing our individual spiritual songs, always giving thanks and being submissive to each other in the fear of the Lord. 

Now listen to Bruh Paul as he exhorts the brethren in 1 Thessalonians. ‘Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly (insubordinate), comfort the feebleminded (faint-hearted), support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess.5:14-18) 

And that it is my friends! Oh I know it’s not always easy to live by those rules, but we have to try and do it, and with God’s help, we surely can. And the scholars share this explanation with us. 

‘5:18. In every event or circumstance (thing) the Christian is to give thanks to God for the good He can bring out of the event, even should the event be unpleasant. The constant attitude of prayer, mentioned in verse 17, will help the believer to maintain gratitude in the face of adversity.’  

Now that is the bane of every believer; maintaining gratitude in the face of adversity. But as we keep reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word, actively communicating with Him through prayer, and fellowshipping with other believers, we will grow and mature in our faith and it will get somewhat easier to maintain an attitude of gratitude in the face of adversity. We just have to be diligent and stick with it my people. Much LOVE!

…O taste and see that the Lord is good…blessed is the man that trusteth in him…  (Ps.34:8)

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2015 2 Chronicles 7:14‏‏

20 May 2015 Leave a comment

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

2 Chronicles 7:14.  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Well a wonderful Wednesday morning to you readers out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s a tad on the chilly side today, as it was yesterday. Ah Lord eh! What is the weather coming to eh? We had a beautiful Victoria Day weekend, then yesterday it suddenly turned cold and windy.

As one Friend told me yesterday evening, ‘you were boasting in the Bit about sitting on your porch last night communing with nature. Let me see if you will do it tonight too.’ (smile)

And Friends, sad to say I didn’t. It was just too so and so cold. But them’s the breaks! And furthermore, the sun is shining, we are alive and kicking and all is right in God’s world! Bless His Holy Name. That’s why we can say, as the psalmist did eons ago: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)

We might as well my brethren, because the only other alternative is to be sad and miserable, and God gave us the day to be fruitful and multiply, both in terms of children and in His work here on earth. Anyway, we’ve reached the halfway point of the workweek – rather quickly and easily I must say –  (smile) so there’s no turning or looking back now, just straight ahead to the finish line.

And to help us do that, here’s something from Gramps Schuller (Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional, on the subject of courage, which we can never get enough of. He claims that courage isn’t a gift, but a decision. And ‘Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the presence of a calling – a dream that pulls you beyond yourself. Hence it is something you can never lose. It is always something that you can choose. So, choose it today!’

And then, in a little poem, he declares: ‘I have it! My fears are going, going, gone! I feel a mysterious, calm, quiet, tranquil assurance rising deep within my being. This remarkable spirit of courage is overpowering me. It is the very presence of God working peace at the core of my invisible soul. Thank You Lord. All my fears are gone. What a relief! Amen.’

Yes my people, courage, like all other good things, comes from Almighty God! It is He who gives us the wherewithal to bear our burdens with chutzpah, and not give up to the fear the enemy tries to instill in us. So please, today, let’s be filled with courage, as we endeavour to do God’s work and be fruitful.

And we will need plenty of courage if we are to fulfill the words of our Bit, especially with the power of the unbeliever in today’s world, and his determined purpose to remove all aspects of God from our society. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’

Ah mih breddren, what a most worthy promise! One that should allay all our fears. But even if we’re still fearful, we can do like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Do it afraid.’  We just can’t afford to let fear hold us back in these very difficult and trying times.

And we can punctuate that with these encouraging and uplifting words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) And that’s the absolute truth Friends, so please let’s not give into the fear mongering of this evil world, for the power that’s within us, the Holy Spirit, is greater than that which is in the world.

And all of God’s people gave out a loud shout of, ‘Praise the Lord! Amen.’

Now let’s turn to some scripture that pertains to the first of the four things in our Bit, that we need to do to turn back to God, so that He can heal us and our land. That’s ‘humble themselves.’

Oh Friends, one of the things our God thoroughly dislikes is pride. As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs 8: ‘The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward (perverse) mouth do I hate.’ (Prov.8:13)  And in Proverbs 1.17, he mentions ‘a proud look (haughty eyes)’ as one of the seven things that are an abomination to our God.

So Friends, it’s obvious that we can’t come before our heavenly father in pride and arrogance, for He will just ignore us, possibly just have us thrown out from His presence. (smile) Now hear how He rewards humility.

Way back when, in the days of the apostasy of Rehoboam, king of Judah, Shishak, the king of Egypt, came to fight against Jerusalem with a mighty army. And he captured several cities of Judah before he came to Jerusalem.

‘Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The Lord is righteous.

And when the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless, they shall be his servants; that they may know my service (distinguish my service from) the service of the kingdoms of the countries.’ (2 Chr.12:5-8)

Yuh see Friends, even though God provided them with some relief for their humility, they still had to pay a price for their earlier pride and arrogance. And I wonder why our world is in so much turmoil eh? Could it be partly because of our pride and arrogance and turning away from the ways of God?

You can bet your bottom dollar that our intransigence plays a big part in the disastrous state of our world my people!

And we shall close with one of the most notable scriptures on the subject. This from James: ‘Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:10)

Oh my people, my people, there is no better advice to be had than that! So please, let’s just grab it and run with it nuh, so that our world, our children, will stand a much better chance of life and prosperity than we now do. That’s wisdom and common sense at the zenith! Much LOVE!

…humility…it is the first…and most important requirement…for gaining entrance to the Lord’s presence…