Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 May 2020 Psalm 143:10.

12 May 2020 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 143:10.    ​Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 
 

Well that promise of snow finally came through yesterday morning to disrupt the early morning commute. Good thing there weren’t as many travellers on the road as in normal times. And it was only wet snow too, although some big flakes fell and remained on the ground for a while. By mid-morning though, it was all over. Just goes to show that anything’s possible in this modern world! (smile) And today we’ll look to our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin for some words of sincere encouragement; they’re titled ‘Three Discoveries.’ 

Please pray with me: ‘I have made three overwhelming discoveries regarding God’s reliable faithfulness: The first: God will never let us go – NEVER! We may fall flat on our faces. We may resist until we feel exhausted, but nothing can separate us from His matchless LOVE. (Rom. 8:39) The second: God will never let us down – NEVER! He is forever faithful, even when we are faithless. He cannot deny Himself. He will never leave us nor forsake us. (2 Tim. 2:13) (Heb. 13:5) 

The third: He will never let us off – NEVER! Whenever we give in to temptation, when we determine to have our own way – He says with all the LOVE of His Father-heart, “I LOVE you too much to excuse disobedience.” Whom He LOVES, He chastens.’ (Heb. 12:6) You could say that again! Yeh, whom He LOVES, He definitely chastens! (smile) No doubt about that, as many of us can attest to. 

Anyway, the poem continues: ‘God is determined to bless us. He is eager to show us His kindness. He is glad to teach us the proper paths; but He must have access to our hearts. He will allow our guilt to become a burden until conviction comes, then confession, and finally renewed commitment! May David’s prayer be our prayer.’ And what prayer is that you ask? Psalm 143 – Teach me to do thy will. 

Yeh faithful saints of Christ, like Bruh David, we too can pray: ‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no living man be justified (righteous).’ (Ps. 143:1-2) And is that ever so true friends! None of us can ever come to righteousness on our own; it’s only attained through belief in the finished work of Christ. 

And Bruh David continues: ‘For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten (crushed) my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness (dark places), as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.’ (Ps. 143:3-4) And I know my people that many of us are currently feeling that way, especially in these unprecedented and uncertain times. But we should not give up hope, instead let us remember and do like Bruh David did: 

‘I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse (ponder) on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land.   Selah.’ (Ps, 143:5-6) Yes mih bredrin, in tough times, instead of losing faith, that’s when we need to build it up more than ever! And we do that by remembering all that God has done for us in the past, plus His numerous promises for the future, meditate on His works and words, work up a sincere and mighty thirst for Him and seek Him with a renewed passion! Wow! 

And cry out to Him in all honesty and sincerity: ‘Hear (answer) me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be (become) like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk: for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me (take cover under thee). 

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken (revive) me O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off (put an end to) mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.’ (Ps. 143:7-12) 

Yes friends, in times of trouble, we need to desperately call out to the Lord for help, for He is indeed our guide, our help and our refuge, as Bruh David rightly declares in Psalm 25 – A prayer for guidance and protection. ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps. 25:4-5) 

Now there are two things I want to point out friends. The first is that last clause from Ps. 143: ‘for I am thy servant.’ I just want to remind us that we can’t go crying that out to God unless we try to make it true in ordinary life. And the second thing deals with the last clause from Ps. 25:5: ‘on thee do I wait all the day.’ With that we need to remember that God’s timing is not like ours, thus we should not expect an answer right away, unless it’s a real emergency. Waiting on God is one of the joys of this life! (smile) I can assure us though that just as God is faithful and always near, He is NEVER late! To that I can testify! 

So please, today, when all the world’s problems assail us, let us not forget who is our Maker, Our Guide, Our Hope, Our Trust and Our Refuge – Almighty God, in whom we live and die and have our very being. And having reignited our passion, let’s go home declaring (Steups!) our Tuesday Mantra letting the whole world know who and whose we are. 

In strong voice with sincere hearts. ‘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!’ 

And the natural response is for us to now go out… sorry, to physical distance and use technology (smile) and do just that! Much LOVE!

…thy word…is a lamp unto my feet…and a light…unto my path… (Ps. 119:105)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 February 2020 Psalm 119:103.

13 Feb 2020 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 119:103.    ​How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.
 
And the snow flew during the night…and the snow is flying again now…making it all a pretty white picture! (smile) Ah friends, we have a mid-winter tradition about certain ground hogs, or woodchucks coming out of their lair on a certain day, and if they see their shadow or not, spring will either be here shortly, or it will take a while to come. 

Now I’m not sure which situation means what, (smile) but whatever the recent reaction was, meant that spring would soon be a coming. However, they didn’t say what kind of weather we’d have in between. Now that’s the cut-tail question. (smile) Spring might soon come, but we can have all sorts of bad weather before it comes. So the promise of an early spring doesn’t mean a blooming thing!  

But here’s what we ought to be more interested in…the Word of our wonderful God which helps us to successfully handle whatever situations or circumstances that come against us! As the psalmist so poignantly and truthfully says: ‘How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth.’ 

Wow mih people! Isn’t that something? Who would have ‘thunked’ it eh? (smile) Not many people. But it certainly is true. And why is that? The psalmist explains: ‘Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps.119:104-105) 

Mama Mia! The rules and guidelines of God give us understanding and wisdom in living this earthly life, so clearly, that His Word appears to be like a lamp and a light guiding us on our everyday journey. What more can we ask for eh friends? Not a whole lot. 

But the problem is to get that wisdom and understanding we have to read, study and meditate on the Lord’s Word, so that we can have it indelibly instilled in our souls and spirits, and thus available to give us the guidance we need to go gratefully and confidently through this evil and ungodly world. 

Hear how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 34, after escaping from Saul and running to the Philistines for succour. ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear (reverence) the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that (reverence) fear him.’ (Ps. 34:8-9) 

And Bruh David ought to know about trusting and reverencing God, since that’s what kept him alive for so long, both from Saul’s murdering intentions and the many other enemies he had. So why do we doubt, or not pay serious attention to his words eh? Because we in this supposed modern age think we know more than the sages of olden times.

Yes,these are the modern times, so we must embrace modern things. Steups! But friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom. The Lord our God doesn’t change, neither does his Word. So if it was good three thousand years or however far back, that means it’s still good today! 

Hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 19 – The creation and covenants of God. ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) 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 for ever: 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 honey comb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.’ (Ps. 19:7-11) 

Oh my people, precious people of God…what more will it take for us to get to LOVE and sincerely practice the Word of God eh? Look at what it does for us nuh: restores our souls, makes the simple wise, rejoices our hearts, enlightens our eyes, endures for ever, it’s true and righteous, it’s even more desirous than the best quality gold to be found, it’s sweeter than the honey from the honeycomb, plus it warns us, and oh boy, oh boy, we get great rewards when we keep it! 

Now tell me, is there anything else in this great wide, modern, technological and far reaching world of social media that can do ALL of those things? Not on your life! Only the Word of God has that awesome power because that’s why it was specifically created; to give us guidance and understanding and teach us how to handle each and every situation that we encounter on our earthly pilgrimage! 

So friends, let’s do what we know to be right nuh, and stop embracing and following the foolishness of this world. Remember, Satan was once the high angel Lucifer, so he knows more about heaven and how it works than we do, that’s why He expends so much energy in keeping us away from the Good Book and all that it entails. But thankfully we know his deceitful ways and won’t fall for his lies and evil schemes. 

So let’s go home now declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings, wherein the Lord has generously blessed us with all that we need to do His work successfully down here on His great earth. All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! 

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

Now don’t allow Satan to throw us off and not go out and generously share those many blessings with the less fortunate, for that’s why we were granted them. Much LOVE!

…there’s nothing more powerful…and more beneficial…on God’s earth…than God’s Word…