Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 November 2018 2 Corinthians 6:16.

10 Nov 2018 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 6:16.   ​And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 

Hn, hn, hn! I have to laugh this Saturday morning yes mih people! Why? Because instead of telling you that it’s another wet morning in my neighbourhood, I have to tell you it’s a white and snowy morning. Chuh!

Yes indeed, that white powdery stuff called snow, the enemy of mankind, (smile) is on the ground, on the rooftops…everywhere and everything that’s uncovered is just covered in white! (smile) 

Granted, it’s not a whole lot, but any snow at all is too much! And would you believe that the sun is shining brightly out there? Hn, hn, hn! I have to laugh again, because that’s possibly the second time I’ve seen it shine so brightly in the last couple of weeks.

But that’s life in the northern climes! Let’s just hope that this morning isn’t a prelude to a real snowy winter. And if so, we’ll just have to deal with it as best we can, with the Lord’s help of course. Amen! 

And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And he sent us a full slate of them this week, all very plausible.

So here goes: ‘Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring, and integrity, they think of you.’ Ah friends, is that ever so important, especially for believers in Jesus Christ. We can’t just talk the talk, we have to even more importantly, walk the walk. 

And that segues quite nicely into the next quote, or the next quote segues quite nicely into that one. (smile) ‘My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.’ And that’s called living life by example!

And hopefully it’s a good example. Because as they say, ‘examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.’ Yes my brethren, we often learn much better and quicker when we see the words in action, rather than just spoken. 

And I have to laugh here again, because, if I remember correctly, that quote about examples and precepts comes from a book titled ‘Joseph Andrews’ that I read in High School some fifty something years ago. But it has always stuck in my consciousness. That just goes to show the awesome power of the mind. 

And let’s sincerely hope that the children of today can say that their fathers were good examples. I know that I’ve been found badly wanting in some areas, but overall, I might get a passing grade. (smile)

That brings us to this next quote: ‘Greatness: There is nothing great about being better than somebody else. True greatness is achieved by being better than your normal self…yesterday, last month, last year, last failure and last success.’ 

And that’s basically true! Being better than somebody else is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially in Jesus’ economy. Remember what He said to the disciples when they were disputing about the greatest amongst them?

‘And he sat down and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’ (Mark 9:35) Yes friends, in Jesus’ kingdom, whoever wants to be first, must first understand the humility in being last and the servant of others! 

And the penultimate quote says: ‘The journey is never ending. There’s always gonna be growth, improvement, adversity; you just gotta take it all in and do what’s right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment.’ No disputing that friends!

As long as we are alive, again as believers in Christ, we are expected to grow and learn each and every day, and take everything in stride. As it says, ‘do what’s right,’ live obediently according to Jesus’ dictates. But please be careful about living in the moment, for we can overdo it. We have to give some thought to the future. 

And the last quote simply says: ‘Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth! Your body is the only one you have, and will ever have, and it goes with you everywhere, so you need to take very good care of it, if you want it to last a long time. Unfortunately though, too many of us abuse our bodies with riotous and licentious living, bad food, lack of sleep etc. 

And to make matters even worse, we don’t take the words of our Bit seriously. ‘And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; And I will be there God, and they shall be my people.’

Yes my fellow believers, if the Holy Spirit of God indwells us, then it follows logically that God lives within us, and wherever the Lord is it’s a holy and divine place, and therefore needs to be taken good care of. 

Thus Bruh Paul quotes the prophet Isaiah (52:11) as he continues after our Bit. ‘Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord.’ (2 Cor.6:17-18) 

That last verse is a combination of 2 Sam.7:14 and Jer.31:1,9. Bruh Paul always tried to use Old Testament scripture to back up His New Testament declarations, because unlike some current theories, the New does not negate the Old, it just backs it up and explains it further. 

However friends, the long and short of the story is that Christians ought to live holy lives, lives that reflect the true nature of God, who saved us and caused His Holy Spirit to dwell within us as a guide and leader. Therefore we need to separate ourselves from ‘actions, influences, or people that will contaminate us,’ and live by biblical principles and standards. Amen! Much LOVE!

…defile not the temple of God…both physically and spiritually…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 December 2017 Romans 13:12.

11 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

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

Romans 13:12.   The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 

Arise friends, arise and greet this brand new day, filled with both mercy and work. The Lord is granting us new mercy so that we can be strong and courageous and go out and diligently do His work this Monday morning. So let’s rise and shine and greet the day with joy in our hearts and the LOVE of God in our souls! 

Remember it’s the Christmas season, one of the most important times of the year, when we celebrate the miraculous birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! That alone should be enough to drive our engine this morning. But just in case it isn’t we have our favourite stand by, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, which fires us up, even when we are at the ebb of our spirits. So without further ado, let’s sing it out with some enthusiasm and sincerity. 

As one 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!’ 

Yuh see friends, when we put some zest in it, it just raises our spirits, gets our adrenaline flowing and make us just want to get out there and work our fannies off for Jesus. (smile) So having said all of that, let’s get a move on nuh, for as our Bit so rightly says: ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’ 

And just for this moment we’re going to take our Bit at face value; the night is almost done and day is dawning, so we desperately need to get up and make preparations for going to work, and getting there on time too, for punctuality is one of the strong points of the followers of Jesus. 

Turning now to the philosophical side of our Bit, let’s see if we can get some more serious insight into what Bruh Paul is talking about. Now yesterday we saw it basically meant to give up the sinful ways in which we knowingly are involved; ways that don’t suit a follower of Christ. For as Bruh Paul tells the Corinthians: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) 

Yes my people, when we become people of Christ, we are to shuck the old sinful habits we had, and pick up the new ones which reflect the nature of Christ. But a lot of us are still doing the old stuff and it’s giving both Christ and us a bad name. The unbelievers keep shouting ‘Hypocrites!’ And more often than not they are right. 

As Bruh Paul puts it later on to the Corinthians: ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness (in common) with unrighteousness (lawlessness)? and what communion (fellowship) hath light with darkness? And what concord (accord) hath Christ with Belial (Satan)? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (unbeliever). And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’ (2 Cor.6:14-16) 

Yes friends, individually and collectively we are the temple of God, the church of Christ, and as such we need to live a life that reflects the nature of Christ, and obviously the unbeliever’s life doesn’t reflect that, so we shouldn’t be too chummy chummy with them and pick up their bad habits. 

Now that doesn’t mean we can’t associate or work with them, because how else would we show and teach them about Jesus eh?  However we have to make sure that their unbelief doesn’t contaminate us, and that our belief is the more powerful nature of the relationship so that we can eventually draw them to Christ. 

But seriously though my believing brethren, in these troubled and evil times, we desperately need to come up higher. There is way too much strife and evil happening in our world, not enough LOVE, joy peace and goodwill, and if it continues in the current vein, it will only lead to a massive explosion, which I’m sure none of us want. So please, please, in Jesus’ name, I implore us, let’s do better nuh, for all of us have room for improvement.  If not for our sakes, then for our children’s. Much LOVE!

…the light of Jesus’ followers…ought ALWAYS to overpower…the darkness of the unbelievers…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 January 2014 Romans 13:12

23 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

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

Romans 13:12.   The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.  

Aye mih people, how goes it this beautiful Thursday morning? I hope it goes well with all of you. Personally, I can’t complain, for if I do the Lord will strike me down.

It’s now been a week since I arrived in Paradise, and I’m having a great ole time. Had a wonderful couple of hours at Store Bay yesterday afternoon, soaking up the sea, sun and sand and eating pineapple chow for the first time- nice and peppery.

Oh brother! If only I could have about six continuous months of this lifestyle, I’d certainly be a new man! (smile) No harm in dreaming Friends, for that’s what dreams are made for.
 
But right now I’m standing on the balcony of my little bungalow at Lowlands, where the day is just breaking, overlooking the pool downstairs, gazing at the lush greenery all around me, and some dark clouds fighting for survival. However unfortunately, behind the big trees in the foreground, the sun seems to be rising in all its splendour, as the white clouds above the trees sparkle and shine.
 
But what amuses me is that I just saw Tobago’s weather forecast for today on the computer, and it’s calling for temps of 30 degrees, with oodles of rain, not even one pin prick of sunshine shows up in it. Let’s wait and see, though it would be nice to get some heavenly blessing in what’s termed the dry season down here, to nurture the now dry and parched land.
 
Ah Friends, half an hour later, the sun has won the battle! Just as the transforming light of Jesus will win the feud over the evil powers of darkness, when He returns in all his pomp and regal glory! What a joyous and glorious day that will be my brethren!
 
And as our Bit says: ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’
 
Yes my people, that awesome day of Christ’s glorious return is drawing closer with each passing day! That means the evil powers of darkness ought to be subsiding, but unfortunately its getting stronger, because we believers are not fighting diligently and faithfully enough.
 
Oftimes we’re even helping the evil situation by joining with the ungodly hordes, drowning ourselves in the material concerns of this perishable world and the lusts of our sinful flesh. So how then my people, is the church of Christ to come out victorious, if we are joining with and supporting His enemies?
 
Please remember Friends, that we’re only supposed to be IN the world, not A PART of it. Remember too these immortal words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17)
 
And following on from that most important and decisive verse, come these words from Bruh Paul, as he pleads for separation from unbelievers. ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship (in common) hath righteousness with unrighteousness (lawlessness)? and what communion (fellowship) hath light with darkness?
 
And what concord (accord) hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (unbeliever)? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’ (2 Cor.6:14-18)
 
Yes Friends, believers ought not to adopt or allow the ways of unbelievers to seep in their consciousness and thus their behaviour. When we associate with unbelievers, as we must do in a predominantly unbelieving world, we need to ensure that it is our godly behaviour that shines out and controls the situation, so that we can influence them, rather than they influence us.
 
And the best way to avoid the latter situation happening, is to stay away from wicked, immoral, unrighteous people and their activities. Now that doesn’t mean locking ourselves up in a cloister, but throughout our earthly pilgrimage we will encounter persons and situations that are obviously not going to provide good fruit of the Spirit.
 
These we ought to say away from, for though we might have the best intentions in the world, our flesh is weak, and we are not always able to handle ungodly people and their ungodly doings.
 
For as Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians in his first letter. ‘Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (a little yeast, spreads through all the dough)? Purge (clean) out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
 
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Cor.5:6-9)
 
Yes my brothers and sisters, even a little sin can spoil the whole soul! As we say, one bad apple can spoil the whole basket. And that’s gospel truth, as many of us have discovered from personal experience. Thus it is that one persistent sin or evil doer in our lives can cause us to fall.
 
So let’s therefore try and root out any known sin that has a stranglehold on us, or anyone who we associate with who’s leading us down the wrong path. And furthermore, let’s be very careful with what and whom we associate, and in whatever company we find ourselves, always endeavour to have our godly behaviour influence the gathering.
 
In that way, we will prevent ourselves from backsliding, and possibly have a good effect on others, leading them to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour, thus furthering the righteous and glorious kingdom of our great, wonderful and marvellous God. Much LOVE!
 
…there’s no influence as strong and pervasive as that of other humans…so believers must be very careful of whom they allow to influence them…