24 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, a strong will, a time of opposition, abundance, ascend up into heaven, blessed, bounden duty, broken, can't hide from God, celebrations, Christians, clear direction for my life, courage, cover me, creativity, curse, darkness, divine protection, divisive tension, dr robert h schuller, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, evil cohorts, faith, family, family gatherings, favour, flee from thy presence, friends, fulfillment, go from thy spirit, God's character, God's will, good health, Granny's advice, Happy Birthday, Happy Thanksgiving U. S of A, heaven, human experience, in Jesus' name, known me, light about me, Lucifer, make my bed in hell, negative word, night shineth as the day, O Lord, on Christ's behalf, openings, partying, passion, penchant for theatre, pray for healing, promotion, prosper, psalm 139, recent elections, Scrip-Bit family, self-control, self-discipline, serious prowl, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take the wings of the morning, talent, thanksgiving, the Crystal Cathedral, the night, thou hast searched me, three score and ten, Thursday Blessings, thy hand lead me, thy right hand hold me, transgress, travelling, truths, turmoil, uttermost parts of the sea, work diligently
Psalm 139:1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING U.S. OF A !
Well a Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and neighbours in the U.S. of A! I do hope that a lot of true thanks will be given today and thus de-escalate some of the divisive tension that’s been caused by the recent elections.
It’s definitely not an easy situation to deal with, but unless it’s dealt with, and wisely too, more turmoil will ensue. It’s the biggest holiday in the U.S. with lots of travelling and family gatherings taking place all over the country.
Let’s hope that all the celebrations, both familial and national will go off smoothly, because there is still a lot to be thankful for in the U.S. and as they go, most of the world goes. So let’s pray that the nation will be healed somewhat by the thanksgiving celebrations.
And for you Scrip-Bit family members down there, please remember Granny’s advice: ‘Drunk or sober, mind yuh business.’ (smile)
Plenty partying will be going on this weekend, so please be careful not to give Lucifer and his evil cohorts any openings in your souls and spirits, because you know that they are on the serious prowl on occasions like these.
And yuh know what friends, the ole fella has a special reason to give thanks today too; it’s his birthday. ‘Happy Birthday Ole Fella!’ (smile) I haven’t reached my allotted three score and ten as yet, but I am drawing close.
And I will try not to let Beelzebub and his buddies get into my soul either, although the celebrations will be minimal, just a small family gathering.
Now let’s declare our Thursday Blessings over our lives, for remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been declared. In unison 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!’
Oh friends, with all those wonderful blessings spoken over our lives, how can we ever lose eh? No way Jose!
That brings us to our Bit: ‘O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.’ Yes my people, it’s the same as yesterday, because there’s much to discover and talk about in this Psalm 139.
And we’ll share this enthusiastic opinion of the scholars. ‘Psalm 139. Certainly one of the grandest psalms in all of the Psalter, it is also one of the richest theologically. It combines an exposition of the greatness of God’s character with the reality of human experience.
From verses 19-22 we find that David wrote the psalm during a time of opposition. It therefore contains truths that were meaningful to him during these troublesome times. They may be summarized under four key thoughts as David addresses the Lord: You know me (vs.1-6), You are with me (vs. 7-12), You created me (vs.13-16), and Your cause is my cause (vs.19-24).’
Yes my fellow believers, our great and wonderful God plays all those roles in our lives! And today I want to touch on the aspect of His being with us. So let’s read Bruh David’s words on that subject.
‘Whither shall (can) I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall (can) I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell (Sheol), behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover (fall on me): even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee (is not dark to thee); but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.’ (Ps.139:7-12)
Oh what great and true statements my brethren! Our God is always around us, we can’t hide from Him anywhere at all! It’s His world, His creation, and He knows all the nooks and crannies in which to look for and find us.
Now over the last few years, those words of verses 7-12 have taken on a special significance to me. Every time I read or hear them, I remember Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) pontificating them (smile) from the pulpit of the Crystal Cathedral some years ago.
The way he acted them out, you know his penchant for theatre, just made a huge impact on me. It was the first time that I really paid any attention to the Psalm, now it’s one of my favourites.
And we’ll end today with similar words of Bruh David from Psalm 17 – A prayer for protection against oppressors. ‘Thou hast proved (tested) mine heart; thou hast visited me (searched me out) in the night; thou hast tried (examined) me, and shalt find nothing (nothing evil): I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.’ (Ps.17:3)
Yes precious people of God, those are words of faith and truth that each of us must be able to come to God and confidently declare, if we are to be true sons and daughters of His.
Now let’s go out, buoyed by all that we’ve heard and said, and have an excellent day, blessed and protected as we work diligently on Christ’s behalf, for that’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!
…passion…the Christian needs lots of passion to sincerely do God’s will…
17 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: a bow of steel, a compassionate heart, a follower of Jesus Christ, a positive outlook, a rewarder, a rock, abundance, according to your faith, almighty god, another day of life, astray, being one with Jesus, believe that he is, blessings, broken, buckler, care, clear direction, compassion, confidence, confidently, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, earthly work, faith, favour, foolish, foundation, friends, fulfillment, gentleness, glory to God, God's way is perfect, great family, health, held me up, high places, hinds feet, I am helped, I will praise him, impossible to please God, in the name of Jesus, joyfully, lead, living water, LOVE, loves, loving kindness, mercies, ministry, miracles, my heart rejoices, my heart trusts him, my shield, my song, My Utmost for His Highest, negative word, Oswald Chambers, our will, passion, promotion, prosper, proven, right perspective, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, sheep., shield, shield of thy salvation, spirits lifted, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, thanksgiving, the Good Book, The Lord is my strength, the One who is leading, the word of the Lord, this is the day the Lord has made, those who diligently seek him, Thursday Blessings, thy right hand, tried, trust, trying times, unfaithful, wandering, we will rejoice and be glad in it, wisdom
Psalm 28:7. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
Yeah mih people, another bright and sunshiny day seems to be upon us! Glory to God!
In His wisdom and LOVING-kindness, He has granted us another day of life, plus has abundantly showered us with new mercies and new blessings especially prepared for today. Wow! How wonderful is His compassion and care for us!
Thus we can joyfully and confidently declare: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ And we’d be rather foolish and unfaithful not to enjoy it to its fullest.
Now here is a quote attributed to Oswald Chambers, (1874-1917) the famous Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher of the early 20th century. This comes from his classic of devotional literature ‘My Utmost for His Highest.’
It concerns faith, and says: ‘Faith never knows where it is being led, but it LOVES and knows the One who is leading.’
And is that ever true! For when we become a follower of Jesus Christ, we place our entire will in His hands and allow Him to lead us wherever He wishes. We don’t know exactly where He will lead us, but we do know that he will not lead us astray, and will work it all out eventually for our good, because of our great trust and faith in Him.
He died to save us, so why would He do us harm eh? Yeh friends, following Jesus is the best thing we can do in this mish-mash world!
That’s why Bruh David could have so confidently declared in our Bit: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’
That’s the kind of strong confidence we believers need to embrace in these trying times my brethren. Without it, we’d just be lost, like hungry and tired sheep wandering in the wilderness.
However, with the living water of Christ energizing us, we are able to do a whole lot more than we can ever believe or imagine. That’s the beauty of being one with Jesus; our spirits are lifted up, and we become strong and active in ministry to the glory of His holy name. What a purposeful life we live then!
Now let’s hear some scripture that places all of that in the right perspective for us. And it comes from no other than Bruh David, (smile) from His foundational Psalm 118 – Thanksgiving for deliverance.
‘As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried (proven): he is a buckler (shield) to all those that trust him. For who is God save (except) the Lord? Or who is a rock save our God?
It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds feet (the feet of the deer), and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms (a bow of bronze can be bent).
Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden (held) me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.’ (Ps.18:30-35)
Oh friends, what confident faith! Bruh David didn’t know where the Lord was leading him, but he knew that if he hung tight with Him, his life would be successful. He learned that an early age while keeping his father’s sheep in the wilds.
The same applies to us today, my fellow believers. The more trust and faith we have in Almighty God, the greater things we’ll see and achieve! For as the Good Book tells us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6)
Ah mih breddren, if we don’t have faith, we can’t come to God for great wonders. What did Jesus say to the two blind men before He healed them? ‘According to your faith be it unto you.’ (Matt.9:29) Likewise my brethren, according to our faith, so will it be unto us.
Now let’s go home this Thursday declaring our Thursday Blessings nuh. For remember, a blessing is only a blessing when it’s spoken over someone. So with great passion and overwhelming faith let’s declare those wonderful blessings over ourselves.
In unison 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!’
Awright mih people! Now let’s go out and put all of that into action in our lives, behaving the way Jesus desires us, as we diligently do His earthly work with an attitude of excellence, on a solid foundation of true faith. Much LOVE!
…only through faith…can miracles be accomplished in our lives…
10 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a new day, a positive outlook, abundance, an inspired record, answers, assured of, authored by God, authority, broken in the name of Jesus, Christian, clear direction, Comforter, correct wrong, correction, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, doctrine, equipped, eternal life, faith, faith in Jesus Christ, family, favour, friends, from a child, fulfillment, God's help, God's work, godly inspiration, good works, groundwork, Guide, guidelines, health, History, inspiration, inspiration of God, instruction, learned, life, LOVE, maturity, may be perfect, meditating, ministry, negative word, number one priority, oral instrcutions, original manuscripts, our daily walk, perfect, personal relationship, prayer, privilege, prosper, reproof, righteousness, salvation, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, strong will, succeed, supernatural guidance, supernatural wisdom. promotion, talent, Thanks be to God, the BIBLE, the Book of answers, the divine Word of God, the gift of the present time, the Good Book, the holy scriptures Old Testament, the Holy Spirit, the man of God, the Spirit of God, thoroughly furnished, Thursday Blessings, Timothy, today, tomorrow, unconditional love of God, unique character of scripture, wise, wise unto salvation, yesterday
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Oh my precious people of God, a new day has been birthed, and we’ve been blessed with the privilege of seeing it, experiencing it, and enjoying it!
And all God’s people loudly and gratefully declared: ‘Thanks be to God!’
Yes friends, it’s all because of the great unconditional LOVE that our heavenly Father has for us, and we’d be very wise to accept and use it to benefit His holy kingdom.
We can’t do anything about yesterday because that’s already past and gone, annotated in the books of history, no more to be seen. And as for tomorrow, we’re not sure that we’ll be around to see, much more enjoy it.
So we’re left with only today, the gift of the present time, and wisdom dictates that we dedicate ourselves to using it fully, with God’s work being our number one priority.
And how do we do that? First off, by having a close personal relationship with the Father through prayer, and reading and meditating on His holy word found in the book we call the Bible, which contains His guidelines for our daily walk on this planet earth.
Now it’s not an easy walk, but if we stay steadfast in prayer and in the scriptures, we will be ably assisted by the Holy Spirit that dwells within it us, as our Guide and Comforter.
Yuh see friends, our wonderful God has it all planned out; we hang with Him, read His word and be guided by His Holy Spirit and we’ll be fine.
And what I want to deal with here today is the authority found in the scriptures and how they came to be. We’ll begin by listening to Bruh Paul as he tells his young protégé Timothy before our Bit.
‘But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.
All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim.3:14-17)
Yes friends, the Good Book has been created through godly inspiration to make us wise in Christ, so that we can achieve salvation and eternal life.
Wow! What a great God we serve and worship my brethren!
Now here are some insights from the scholars on those verses.’3:14-17. Continue literally means “remain.” The things which thou hast learned were his oral instruction in the holy scriptures (the Old Testament here) by his mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois).
Inspiration of God (Gr. theopneustos), lit, “God breathed”) describes the unique character of Scripture. It is not only written by men, but authored by God. For doctrine means to tell one what to believe. For reproof means to tell one what is wrong.
For correction means to tell one how to correct wrong. For instruction in righteousness means to tell one how to live. Perfect (Gr. artios, “proficient, capable”) is having everything needed to do what God wants.
Thoroughly furnished means “thoroughly equipped.” God’s inspired word, properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Ah my fellow believers, God has left nothing to chance, He has given us the groundwork for earthly living, filled with answers for any and every situation we’ll ever face! That’s why the Bible is called ‘The Book of Answers!’
And I’d be amiss if I didn’t share these further insights on Inspiration as set out by the scholars. ‘3:16. This (Inspiration) refers to the supernatural guidance of the writers of Scripture by the Spirit of God, so that what they wrote was the divine Word of God, transcribed accurately, reliably, and without error in the original manuscripts (“autographs”). The word inspiration itself pictures God breathing out His Word to men.
Illustration: Not everything written by an apostle or a prophet was necessarily inspired. Paul wrote at least three epistles to the Corinthians, but apparently only two were an inspired record (1 Cor.5:9). Samuel, Nathan and Gad each wrote accounts of David’s life, only one of those prophets produced and inspired record (1 Chr.29:29).
Application: Since the Scriptures are given to help the Christian grow in maturity, they should rely on them for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instructions in righteousness (right living). First Ref. Gen.1:3; Primary Ref. 2 Tim. 3:16-17; cf. 2 Pet.1:21).’
Oh friends, I do hope that all that info will help us better understand the use and purpose of the Bible, because it’s essential for us to do so, if we intend to grow in Christian maturity.
Now let’s go home this gracious Thursday morning declaring our Thursday Blessings with much enthusiasm and faith. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
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 let’s go out into the world and make it all come through, with God’s help of course! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
20 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a great family, a new day, a positive outlook, a strong will, a very present help in trouble, abundance, assurance, behind the eight ball, blessings, broken, clear direction, comforting God, compassion, compassionate God, compromise, conks out, cornucopia, courage, creativity, curse, disappointment, expletives deleted, faith, favour, fear, fear not, frustration, fulfillment, God is our refuge and strength, God's supernatural wisdom, good friends, good health, heart of the sea, hold your head and bawl, horn of plenty, in the name of Jesus, Jehovah, LOVE, my expectation, my help comes from the Lord, my salvation, my soul wait, negative word, new mercies, one of those days, passion, pour out your heart, reap benefits, security, seek refuge, self-control. self-discipline, sleep, slumber, smite thee, sons of Korah, sowing seed, stick to your task, strength, stressors, strong faith, success, success evades you, supernatural strength, sweat of thy brow, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the Rock, the salvation of Israel, Thursday Blessings, thy keeper, thy shade, to make bad matters worse, trouble, trust in God, trusted chariot
Psalm 46:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.
Ah friends, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa! But yesterday was just one of those days; yuh know yuh start out already behind the eight ball, not feeling physically a hundred percent, but nonetheless all afternoon you diligently stick to your task, but in the end success still evades you.
Then to make bad matters worse, later in the evening your trusted chariot fails you, conks out on you when you need it most. But that‘s the way of man made things! Ah Lord eh! It’s enough to make you hold your head and bawl, as well as utter some deleted expletives! I think I did just that. (smile)
I also went to bed late, so the whole thing just percolated into a rather late arising. But fear not, the Bit might be somewhat late, but it’s here!
And even better yet, today is a new day with new mercies and blessings from our compassionate God, so I am expecting better results than yesterday, although I might have to spend the better part of a rainy day getting my chariot fixed. (smile)
So let’s get right down to business by declaring our Thursday Blessings with strong faith and much passion, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone, and we do owe ourselves these awesome blessings.
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!’
What a cornucopia of goodness, a horn of plenty my people! To which only followers of the great God Jehovah are entitled. But please note, we can’t just sit back and expect them to happen automatically, we also have to do our part to bring them to pass.
That’s where a lot of us go wrong, expecting to reap good benefits without raising any sweat on our brows through the sowing of good seed.
And would you believe in my time of exasperation, the Lord led me to this most appropriate Bit today. ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (an abundantly available) help in trouble.’
And isn’t that the indisputable truth my friends? It surely is! When times get rough, and frustration, disappointment and all the other negative stressors set in, then it’s to our comforting God we must run and seek refuge. Under His awesome wings we will find security, strength, LOVE and compassion.
That’s why, after our Bit, the psalmist could continue with such authority: ‘Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (the heart) of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps.46:2-3)
Yeh friends, let’s just sit for a moment and ponder those words of utmost assurance.
And it’s not just the sons of Korah (psalmists) who felt that way. Hear Bruh David from Psalm 62: ‘My soul wait thou (silently) only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken).
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.62:5-8)
Another moment for us to sit and ponder the awesome benefits of surrendering our lives to, of placing our sincere trust in our magnificent and magnanimous God!
Now listen to how Jeremiah puts it. ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of the mountains: truly in the Lord God is the salvation of Israel.’ (Jer.3:23) Yes friends, all that we are and ever will be comes from Almighty God!
Let’s go home now with these most encouraging and assured words of Psalm 121, appropriately titled – God’s sustaining power. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (slip): he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper (protector): The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve (keep) thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.’ (Ps.121:1-8)
Yes mih breddren, those are the awesome promises of our God, so let’s go out into the world assured of His LOVE and protection and diligently do the work that He’s commanded us to do nuh; do it without fear or compromise. Much LOVE!
…only in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…can true comfort and compassion be found…
06 Oct 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abundance, all things must pass, almighty god, anger, at nights, blessings, breathless, broken, cast our care, clear direction, conviction, courage, creativity, curse, deliverance from death, divine protection, eclipses, endure for a night, enthusiasm, exhaustion, faith, favour, fear, fiery trial, fulfillment, give thanks, God's goodness, good friends, good health, great family, healed me, His anger endures but a moment, hold on to God's promises, hope, I cried unto thee, I will extol thee, in His own time, in Jesus' name, in the daytime, in the morning, intimate details, joy comes in the morning, kept me alive, lay our burdens down, life, lifted me up, loving kindness, my foes, my soul, neck of the woods, negative word, one truth from the Bible, One Year Book of Bible promises, positive action, prayer, promotion, prosper, resolute assurance, Ruth Harms Calkin, saints, self-control, self-discipline, Sheol, sincerity, sing unto the Lord, spoken, stomping pain, strong will, struggle, succeed, success, supernatual wisdom, supernatural strength, talent, thanksgiving, the grave, the last vestiges of hope, the precursor to Friday, the remembrance of His holiness, Thursday Blessings, to rejoice, tomorrow, tough times, triumphantly, trust, twisting pain, unalterably true, utterly spent, weeping, wisdom, work out for our good, worth more than all man's wisdom
Psalm 30:5. For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy (a shout of joy) cometh in the morning.
Thursday, oh Thursday! How beautiful you are in your own right! But sadly, you are simply considered the day before, the precursor to Friday, and thus your importance and natural beauty is denied. But don’t worry, because some of us do appreciate you for what you are – Thursday, and not merely the day before Friday.
Ah friends, it’s a beautiful Thursday morning in my neck of the woods, and we do appreciate Thursday for what it is. Now please check out this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled, ‘In the Morning.’
And it says: ‘Today, Lord I have an unshakeable conviction A positive resolute assurance That what You have spoken is unalterably true. But today, Lord My sick body feels stronger And the stomping pain quietly subsides.
Tomorrow… And then tomorrow If I must struggle again With aching exhaustion With twisting pain Until I am breathless Until I am utterly spent Until fear eclipses the last vestige of hope
Then, Lord Then grant me the enabling grace To believe without feeling To know without seeing To clasp Your invisible hand And wait with invincible trust For the morning.’
Ah mih people, how often do we prayer that kind of prayer eh, especially at nights, when fear seems to overtake us much more easily than in the daytime? We’re sick or troubled, and everything just seems so difficult from one day to the next.
But at least, as believers we know exactly where to go and lay our burdens down, where to cast our care, whom we can trust with the most intimate details of our lives – Almighty God, the One who made us and still cares for us. In tough times our faith must lead us to Him and nobody else.
And quite appropriately, the Bible verse for that poem is also our Bit, which comes from Psalm 30 – Bruh David’s thanksgiving for deliverance from death.
But before we get into our Bit, I think it’s important to hear the verses before it, how Bruh David began this wonderful psalm. He begins it obviously with thanksgiving, remembering God’s goodness.
‘I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave (Sheol – the place of the dead): thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit (grave).
Sing unto the Lord, O Ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness (holy name).For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy (a shout of joy) cometh in the morning.’ (Ps.30:1-5)
Yes my brethren, life does seem to hold much more sorrow in the nighttime, when it feels that our God has forsaken us. But as Bruh David says, the Lord’s anger doesn’t last very long, He always eschews life instead of death, and thus when the morning comes everything seems brighter.
Something about the daylight raises our faith to a higher level than at nights. I guess in the darkness it’s much harder to see, and thus more difficult to grasp the hand of God. But friends, we need to remember that all things must pass.
They might not pass as quickly or as smoothly as we desire, but if we hold on to that unbreakable faith and trust in our omnipotent God, then at some stage of the game, He will work it all out for our good.
Oh, I know that waiting on God’s timing under such difficult and painful circumstances is not easy, but what else are we going to do eh? No other supposed God has a better plan for our lives, so in wisdom, please, let’s hold on to the promises of our Creator, knowing that at the right time He will indeed come through for us.
Now let’s look at a couple of scripture verses from Isaiah, which reinforces the words of Bruh David. They deal with the Lord’s everlasting LOVE for Israel.
‘For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting (LOVING) kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.’ (Is.54:7-8)
Oh friends, though our God may occasionally get angry with us, His anger will not last forever, because He is basically a God of mercy and LOVING-kindness.
So please don’t be upset and give up, if it seems that He’s taking too long to come to your rescue. Just believe that He is walking by your side through the fiery trial, and in His own time, He will bring you safely through it. That’s what faith is all about.
Now let’s go home triumphantly declaring our Thursday Blessings…And who says Thursday is not important eh? It’s full of blessings. (smile)
And remember too that a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over some one. So as one now, with plenty enthusiasm and sincerity, faith and trust in Almighty God, let’s bless ourselves.
‘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 let’s go and put all those blessings into positive action, as Jesus desires of us, displaying heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
…one truth from the Bible…is worth more than all the wisdom of man…
25 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a comapssionate heart, a death trheat, a merciful God, a positive outlook, a warning, abundance, an air of foreboding, an ultimatum, anger, be obedient, before it's too late, bless, blessed, bottomless abyss, broken right now, Canadian National Exhibition, CNE, conviction, courage, creativity, curse, dangerous times, destroy thee, divine protection, energy, everything I put my hands to, evil times, falling apart, favour, forget the covenant, forget who brought them to the dance, forsake thee, fulfillment, God's punishment, God's supernatural wisdom, godless, good friends, good health, graven images, great family, greed, hate, help of the Lord, idolatry, imbroglio, in the name of Jesus, Jay Douglas, jealousy, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, Luciano, mire, my dancing partner, my trusty cane, negative options, negative word, No night in Zion, no time for God, obey, peace, physically challenged, pray, promotion, prosper, prosperity, receive clear direction, reggae artists, repent, repentance, resentment, rid our society of God, seek God with all thy heart, seek the Lord thy God, self-control, self-discipline, strong self-will, success, supernatural strength, talent, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, The Israelites, the occult, the Promised Land, the sword of Damocles, thou shalt find him, Thursday Blessings, tribulation, turn to the Lord thy God, under the weather, vim and vigour, with all thy soul, worshipping idols
Deuteronomy 4:29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Oh friends, you’ve got to bear with the ole fella this Thursday morning yes, because he’s somewhat under the weather. (smile) Not through illness, but physical tiredness. I was running around doing stuff in the hot sun yesterday, then in the evening I went down to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition), the big country fair we have every year down on the Lakeshore in Toronto.
Now I didn’t go to see the fair itself, but local reggae artist Jay Douglas and internationally acclaimed reggae singer Luciano. And the walk from the train stop down to the Bandshell where the concert was held is a good one, especially for physically challenged people like my self. But with the obvious help of the Good Lord and my trusty cane, I made it both ways without too many problems.
And my cane, my dancing partner, and I partied heartily throughout the concert. (smile) Jay Douglas was excellent as usual, although he didn’t sing any of his original material, but ole time reggae songs. But for some reason when Luciano came on the mix of the music just didn’t sound right. The bottom end was just too loud and had the music sounding dead and dirty and muffled. But the crowd enjoyed it nonetheless, and so did I really.
If it’s one thing Luciano has is energy. Brother! From the time he came on stage, around 8.50, dressed in his beigeish suit, till the time he ended some 75 minutes later, he was prancing and dancing around the stage. Never even took of the suit jacket. He even did a flip during one of the songs.
I was somewhat disappointed though that my favourite Luciano songs, except the opening one – No night in Zion – didn’t sound as they ought to. All like the one we sang the other day – As long as He is my friend… Chuh! They just spoiled it. Anyway, he ended nicely with an encore medley of old songs – Old Time Religion, When the Saints go marching in, Amen, Hallelujah etc.
The important thing is that the large crowd appreciated him very much, and all in all it was a good evening outing. I didn’t get home until midnight, and by the time I did my own thing, you know it was pretty late. But nevertheless, here we are this bright and sunny Thursday morning, not necessarily full of vim and vigour, but still holding the world by its tail. (smile)
So let’s increase the level of our faith and fortune by declaring our Thursday Blessings nuh. With all sincerity and truth 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!’
Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship my people, where our words are so powerful that we can even bless ourselves! But please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it is declared over someone. So today and every day let’s consistently bless our family, friends and ourselves that we may have God’s blessing constantly in our lives.
And I’m chuckling here friends, because we don’t seem to have much time for our Bit. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ Words of ultimate and absolute truth my people! In fact we should take it as an ultimatum for our current society!
Moses was here reminding the Israelites about falling into idolatry after they came into the Promised Land and had enjoyed its prosperity for a while and forgot about who brought them there, who brought them to the dance, engineered their prosperity in the first place.
He continues: ‘When thou art in tribulation, and all these things (God’s punishment) are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God:) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.’ (Deut.4:30-31)
Oh my people that passage resoundingly resonates with a warning for us in these godless and evil times. Our current society fits all the particulars of the old Israelite society. We’re worshipping idols and graven images, the occult is very prominent, while we have little or no time for God, in fact are trying to rid our society of Him completely.
Peace and LOVE no longer exist as a righteously held standard, but have been sadly preempted by negative options like hate, anger, greed, jealousy and resentment. And then we wonder why our world.is falling apart so rapidly, descending into the mire, the bottomless abyss of fear and despair so quickly.
Oh friends, the ONLY thing that can save us is a return to the God of our forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! We have to sincerely, and as quickly as possible, embrace the LOVE Revolution of Jesus, if we want to have any hope of surviving this imbroglio, this confusion and negative situation that’s currently hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.
Yes my brethren, there’s an air of foreboding, of a death threat, hovering our society. Please, let’s take it very seriously and also take some time to ponder it today, and pray, pray sincerely to Almighty God that He will hear the prayers of the few and cause the majority to come to conviction and repentance. That’s our ONLY Hope in these difficult and oh so dangerous times! Much LOVE!
…let’s seek God…repent and obey…before its’ too late…
18 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abundance, affliction, almighty god, authority, awe-inspiring, belief, broken, call upon me, clear direction, confession, confidence, courage, creativity, curse, death, divine protection, faith, faithful promise, family, favour, fire, forgetfulness, friends, fulfillment, God cannot lie, God's supernatural wisdom, gold is tested, good friends, good health, great family, He is faithful that promised, heartfelt words, heavenly Father, hell, hold fast, hope, I cry unto thee daily, I put my hands to, I will deliver thee, in the day of trouble, in the name of Jesus, it is my people, Jesus Christ, lift up my soul, Lord and Saviour, Lord of all, Lucifer, merciful, mercy, Most High God Jehovah, negative word, negatives, our redeemer, plenteous in mercy, power, prayer, promotion, prosper, ready to forgive, reneged, righteousness., Scrip-Bit, self-control, self-discipline, silver is refined, soul, soul of thy servant, strong will, success, supernatural strength, supplications, talent, teach me thy way, test, the evil one, the goodness of God, the grave, The Lod is my God, the profession, the rhird part, the wonderful news of Jesus, thou shalt glorify me, through the fire, Thursday Blessings, trust, truth, try, undeserving children of men, uplifting sentiments, voice, wastes away, wavering, wisdom
Psalm 50:15. And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
A beautiful Thursday morning to you, my Scrip-Bit friends and family! It’s always good to come to you with encouraging and uplifting sentiments based on the wonderful news of Jesus, our Redeemer, Lord and Saviour…
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful; ‘Praise the holy name of Jesus! Praise Him for His selfless sacrifice on our behalf at the cross of Calvary! For that, the Father gave Him authority over all. Therefore let every knee bow before Him, and let every tongue admit that He is Lord indeed! Amen.’
Yes friends, that’s how it ought to be, and how it will be at the end. No doubt about it! Jesus Christ has already defeated, the evil one, Lucifer, hell, death and the grave, so who’s there to stop Him from becoming Lord of all eh? Absolutely no one or nothing!
Now let’s get into the groove by declaring our Thursday blessings, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared. So in one strong, loud, sincere and truthful voice let’s declare blessings over our lives.
‘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!’
Oh precious children of God, please don’t let those be only idle words spoken, but sincere, heartfelt words of hope and belief, for it’s only when we believe them that they have authority over our lives.
Now let’s see what our Bit has to offer. ‘And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’
Ah Friends, that is such an awe-inspiring verse of scripture; a faithful promise of Almighty God, the Maker of everything in this world! Therefore it must be filled with the truth and power which emanates from our heavenly father. There’s absolutely no reason to doubt it.
As the Good Book so wisely advises: ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised.’ (Heb.10:23)
Yes my brethren our God’s promises are ever faithful, for He cannot lie. He has never reneged on not even one, and will never renege on any, so please don’t be afraid to hold Him to them.
Now let’s check out a couple scriptures that exemplify our Bit, beginning with Bruh David’s immortal words from Psalm 86 – Teach me thy way, O Lord.
‘Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily (all day long). Rejoice, (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.’ (Ps.86:3-7)
And call upon the God of his forefathers did Bruh David – often and with deep, strong faith…And answer him did the Lord of heaven and earth with blessings and safeguards untold! Glory Hallelujah!
Likewise my people, will the Lord answer us if we call upon Him in our time of need. We just have to be faithful, persistent, persevering and patient. (smile) We can cry out like the sons of Korah did in Psalm 88 – A cry for deliverance from death.
‘Mine eye mourneth (wastes away) by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. Wilt thou show (work) wonders to the dead? Shall the dead (the Spirits of the dead) arise and praise thee? Selah.
Shall thy LOVING-kindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent (come before) thee.’ (Ps.88:9-13)
Yuh see friends, despite all the negatives the psalmist writes about, he still insists that his prayers will be made each and every day to the Most High God Jehovah. Nothing is going to stop that from happening! And as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we should be acting the same way.
Now let’s end with these words from the prophet Zechariah, from the chapter headlined – The cleansing of Jerusalem. ‘And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try (test) them as gold is tried (tested): they shall call on my name, and I will hear (answer) them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.’ (Zech.13:8-9)
What a beautiful promise friends! Now let’s go out and put it into action nuh… Let’s call upon our God with confidence, trust and faith, for that is the utmost height of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…oh…how great is the goodness of God to the undeserving children of men…
11 Aug 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook, abundance, blessing, boredom, break asunder, breakdown of communication, breath, broken right now, brutal, clear direction, communicate, courage, crapaud smoke yuh pipe, creativity, critical attitudes, curse, didn't care, didn't understand, different human beings, divine protection, divorce, earthly tenure, embarrassed in public, engagement, fairy tale, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, gives life, God is in control, grin and bear it, happily ever after, harmony, harsh, He said, health, his eyelids test, his eyes behold, ignorantly worship, imprisoned, in the name of Jesus, in the northern climes, inadequacy, infiltration, live for Christ, lonely, Lord of heaven and earth, made with hands, marriage, negative word, no backbone, no belly, pray for relief, preoccupied, problems, promotion, push-away, Rehoboam, reminiscent of life, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, self-pity, selfish, She said, splitsville, stifled her dreams, strong will, success, suffering, summer, supernatural strength, talent, temples, the children of men, the Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the unknown God, three-ring circus, throne, Thursday's Blessings, tragic, unappreciated, wallowed, wedding, what god has joined together, wisdom
Psalm 11:4. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test), the children of men.
Well friends, another scorcher is set for today! It’s truly summer in the northern climes. And still no signs of heavenly blessings. But what to do eh? Not much, but grin and bear it, try to stay cool and pray for some relief ASAP. (smile) Anyway, life goes on as it should because our great God is still in control.
Now here is a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that I just had to share because it’s so reflective and reminiscent of life in these sad and troubled times. It’s called ‘He Said – She Said.’
And it goes like this. ‘Another marriage is shattered, Lord. The divorce will be final next week. He said it was the breakdown of communication And the subtle infiltration of boredom.
She said it was an accumulation of things. He said she was unnecessarily preoccupied With home and children and activities.
She said he stifled her dreams And ignored her achievements. He said he felt imprisoned, restricted – That night after night he got the old push-away.
She said he was harsh and brutal And he often embarrassed her in public. He said her critical attitudes Contributed to his sense of inadequacy.
She said she felt lonely and unappreciated With no claim to personal identity. He said she wallowed in self-pity And refused to acknowledge her benefits. She said he was thriftless and irresponsible.
He said she didn’t understand. She said he didn’t care. Lord, how tragic. Through all the wearisome years Neither of them asked what YOU said.’
Ah friends, indeed how tragic is such a scene! But unfortunately it’s being played out numerous times in our current society that has no backbone or belly and can’t seem to communicate properly, although we are in an age of exceptional communication devices and means.
And we all know that marriages have problems because they include selfish and different human beings, but too often the petty statements like those above are used to dissolve, to break asunder what God has joined together. Marriage is supposed to be holy and sanctified, but that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case nowadays.
People seem to rush into marriage nowadays without thinking properly about it, and thus as soon as the first headache appears, everybody is ready to call it splitsville. To a certain extent I blame our society which embraces the fairy tale of getting married and living happily ever after.
That’s all we teach our children, but they have no idea of the reality that marriage is a three-ring circus; the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and then the suffering. (smile) Now that might be putting it too harshly, but the fairy tale of endless harmony is also too unreal.
Ah friends, unless the Lord is present within a marriage it won’t be successful. That’s why the biblical promise for that poem is a reflection of king Rehoboam’s life. ‘And he did evil because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord (it was not his basic purpose).’ (2 Chr.12:14)
However, we won’t get into the problems of marriage, because everyone will have their own take on it. So since it’s Thursday, let’s get positive and declare our Thursday Blessings so that we can get alive and truly live for Christ, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken.
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!’
Oh my people, what a wonderful, awesome, mighty and LOVING God we serve and worship! No other faith can do what we’ve just done; declare positive blessings over our lives and sincerely expect them to come true.
And all of that is made possible partly because of our Bit. ‘The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try (test), the children of men.’
You better had believe that my brethren, else crapaud smoke yuh pipe, you’re out of luck, you’ll be left behind!
And to end the writing on this Bit, let’s quickly look at a couple of scriptures that corroborate it. First up is the declaration of Stephen when he was on trial. ‘Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:
What house will ye build me? Saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?’ (Acts 8: 48-50) There Stephen puts together Isaiah’s saying (Is.66:1,2), Jesus’ words, (Matt.5:34), and those of the psalmist (Ps.102:25)
And finally, the words of Bruh Paul in Athens on Mars Hill talking to the Athenians about the altar with the inscription ‘To the Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship (worship without knowing); him declare I unto you.
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth life, and breath, and all things.’ (Acts 17:23-25)
Yes friends, the Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but we need everything from Him. Please, let’s remember that as we go about His business today and everyday. Much LOVE!
…unless a man’s eyes and heart are turned toward Almighty God…his earthly tenure will not be successful…
14 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a bruised and broken world, a compassionate heart, a fruitful vine, a positive outlook, a strong will, abundance, believes on me, blessed, blessed the Egyptian's house, broken, capacity, Christians, clarion call, clear direction, come unto me and drink, count our blessings, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, encourages us, exhilarating refreshment, expectant faith, faith, faithfulness, family, favour, fears the Lord, Fill Me, for Joseph's sake, frineds, fulfillment, glory to God, grace, happy, health, hungry hope, in the city, in the field, in the name of Jesus, Joseph, lifts our spirits, lightning, my heart longs for you, neck of the woods, negative circumstance, negative word, not sufficient, obedience, obedient to God's Word, olive plants, out of his belly, overflow, overflowing, overseer, Potiphar, promotion, prosper, prosperous man, rain, release, relief, rewards of faithfulness, Rivers, rivers of living water, Ruth Harms Calkin, self-control, self-discipline, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, talent, the fruit of thy labour, the Lord was with Joseph, the One Day Book of Bible Promises, the straight and narrow path, thirst, thunder, thunderstorm, Thursday Blessings, walk in his ways, well with thee
Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Oh friends, it seems like it’s going to be a wet day in my neck of the woods. At least that’s how it’s begun. We had a wicked thunderstorm this morning around one o’clock. Brother! The thunder and lightning and the lashing rain were certainly out for a good run. (smile)
I was sitting down in the family room watching the tube at the time and all I could see were the bright flashes of lightning behind the blinds, as the thunder rolled and the rain beat down.
But it’s a good thing that we Christians are associated with the ONE who has control of the weather, Almighty God. He blesses us, so we don’t have to worry about it affecting us, unless we unwisely do something to cause a negative circumstance.
Oh, and by the way, did we count our many blessings as we awoke this morning, to remind us of what blessed lives we live? I certainly hope so, because that lifts our spirits, encourages us to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to the Father by way of Jesus!
Anyway, here is a poem from our One Day Book of Bible verses with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Rivers and Rivers.’
And it says: ‘O my Father My heart longs for you! Fill me to capacity with your spirit…No, Father, I’m sorry – That’s not sufficient. Fill me to overflowing with your Spirit And then increase my capacity That there might still be more overflow.
Out of my life May there flow rivers And rivers Of Living Water Bringing relief, release And exhilarating refreshment To a bruised and broken world Where thirst can never be quenched Apart from you.’
What a noble prayer my people! Do we ever pray along those lines, asking to be vessels of Living Water to a broken world? It would definitely be a nice gesture.
And the scripture passage on which that poem is based is Christ’s clarion call: ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
And that’s where we’re supposed to be at my brethren; the stage of belief where rivers of the living water is jut pouring out of us on to the broken and needy around us. So let’s ponder some on that today nuh, see how we’re doing along those lines and with God’s help try and improve it. End of sermon! (smile)
Now let’s do something else that ought also to raise our spirits and encourage us to keep on keeping on with Christ. Today’s Thursday – as least I believe so – (smile) that means we need to declare our Thursday Blessing over our lives.
So with expectant belief and hungry hope let’s declare them in strong voice. ‘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!’
Ah friends, please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it has been vocalized over someone, and we must also bless our friends and families and those around us, so that their spirits can be lifted and encouraged.
And our rather appropriate Bit just strengthens our argument. ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’
Yes friends, if we are obedient to God’s Word, then the blessings of obedience will flow down on us, run us down and overtake us! Glory to God! But we have to first get the ball rolling for that to happen.
Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that enhance our position. And the first one deals with Bruh Joseph when he was sold into slavery and bought by the Egyptian army officer Potiphar.
The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous (successful) man: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace (favour) in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put in his hand.
And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.’ (Gen.39:2-5)
Yes my fellow believers, the Lord blessed Joseph wherever he went, into what ever negative situation he found himself, because he never complained, just tried his best to be obedient to God’s word. Now can that be said of us? It would certainly help us all.
And we’ll conclude with these words from Psalm 128 – The rewards of faithfulness. ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of (in the heart of) thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps.128:1-4)
Friends, I can’t say it any better than that. I can only encourage us to do as it says, if we want to be blessed. Much LOVE!
…obedience brings blessings…it’s as simple as that…
07 Jul 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, A journey of love, a positive outlook, abundance, accept, accomplishes His will, allow your love, amend, blaspheming, blessed, broken, by might, by my spirit, by power, ceiled houses, centre my life, change our sinful ways, charles stanley, cherish your love, clear direction, compassionate, compromise, consequences, consider your ways, courage, creativity, curse, cursing, declare blessings, desires, disobedience, divine protection, earthly lusts, embrace, empowerment, examples, expensive price, family, favour, fellowship, forgiving, friends, fulfillment, God doesn't change, God's plan for our lives, God's presence, God's work, good, guidance, Haggai, health, hefty price, in the name of Jesus, lead, let go, lie waste, LOVE, meditation, merciful God, negative word, obey God, panelled, Pentecost, power in the Word, prayer, profitable, promotion, prosper, reading the Word, rebellion, remove God, repent, responsibilities, return to His fold, ruins, saith the Lord, self-control, self-discipline, sinful, smarten up, St. Therese, strong will, succeed, success, supernatural strength, supernatural wisdom, take note, talent, tardiness, the Good Book, the Holy Spirit, the Lord of hosts, the obits, the power of God's word, the time is not come, Thursday Blessings, to face up to responsibilities, ungodly, unrepentant, walk in your steps, wisdom, working relationship, Zerubbabel
Zechariah 4:6b. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
One more day, yes, one more day!
Oh my fellow believers we’ve been blessed with one more day to carry out God’s plan for our lives. So please let’s use it right nuh, since we don’t know if we’ll be granted any more. Tomorrow we might just wake up and read our names in the obits. (smile)
So we need to make the very best use of today, for that is all we have. And let’s begin, as we should, by asking the Lord for His lead, guidance and ‘enablement’ to successfully work His wonderful plan.
Let’s pray this powerful prayer taken from a Devotional, Discovering God’s Presence in LOVE – A Journey of LOVE, Walking with St. Therese of Lisieux. I believe I’ve shared this prayer sometime ago, but as we say, when it’s nice you have to do it twice, if not thrice. (smile)
Please pray with me. ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important.
I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people. Help me to walk in your steps without compromise, and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes my fellow brethren in Christ, we can only do God’s work with His empowerment. And having asked for God’s guidance, let’s now declare the power of God’s Word over our lives by enthusiastically and sincerely declaring our Thursday Blessings.
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!’
Yes mih people! How good and profitable it is to declare blessings over our lives and of those around us, because there’s awesome power in the Word!
As our Bit so wisely tells us, it’s ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.’ And that’s gospel truth friends! Since Pentecost, we’ve had the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in us, and it’s through that wonderful Spirit of guidance and LOVE that God accomplishes His will.
But we have to listen closely to it’s leading for any success to be had. And that’s where so many of us go wrong; thinking that we’re listening and following God’s Holy Spirit, when in actual fact we’re following the earthly lusts of our flesh and our own thinking.
And that can get us into some serious trouble. It’s therefore very important that we develop a close and excellent working relationship with our God, through consistent prayer, meditation, reading of His word and fellowship with other believers so that we can understand the moving of the Holy Spirit within us. Remember, not everything that seems right is right, and even if it’s right, it might not be good for us.
Now let’s get a little background on how and why our Bit came to be. ‘In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, (Jazadak) the high priest saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled (panelled) houses, and this house (the temple) lie waste (to lie in ruins). Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.’ (Hag.1:1-5)
Yeh friends, the people were living in good houses while the Lord’s temple lay in ruins! Obviously the Lord didn’t take too kindly to that. Hear the scholars’ explanation.
‘1:2-6. Ceiled houses refers to ceilings panelled with fine woods. Such a practice was common for the residences of kings (cf. 1 Kin.7:7; Jer.22:14). In contrast, the Lord’s house lay in waste. The command Consider your ways, is issued five times throughout the course of this prophecy (vv.5,7; 2:15, 18).
It is a plea on the part of God for the people to take note of what they are doing, and amend their ways accordingly.’ Oh my people, our great, faithful, LOVING, forgiving and merciful God is saying the exact same thing to us today: ‘Consider your ways.’
Just look at how we’re living nuh; sinful, ungodly, unrepentant, cursing and blaspheming as though He doesn’t exist. We’re trying our level best to remove His from our society, so that right now it’s all about what we want, as the world and its ungodly lusts and desires drive us.
That’s not right friends, the Lord is still on His throne, sadly looking on at all we do, and if we don’t smarten up, repent and return to His fold sometime soon, then we’re going to pay a rather expensive price for our disobedience and rebellion.
That’s just the way it has been, as we can see from the numerous examples in the Good Book. Our God hasn’t and doesn’t change, so if we don’t, there will be a hefty price to pay.
Please, I beg, I plead with us to remember that, and thus, in heavenly wisdom, change our sinful ways! Much LOVE!
…as uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) says…the best way to live this life…is to simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…
P.S. Sorry for the tardiness of the Bit, but I went our yesterday evening, so it ended up being an exceptionally late (or early) morning. (smile) Much LOVE!
Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries
SCRIP-BITS 