Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 November 2020 1 Corinthians 13:13.

08 Nov 2020 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 13:13.       Now abideth faith, hope and LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE! ​

Well, my fellow saints in Christ, once more we are gathered here to offer sincere praise, worship and thanksgiving to Almighty God, our Creator, Provider, Lord and Saviour! And all God’s people shouted a loud and proud: ‘All thanks and praise be to our heavenly Father!’ 

And finally the indecision in the U.S. has been decided (smile), the wannabe Dictator has been deposed, and will soon be disposed of, regardless of all his bluster and talk of not giving up the Presidency because the election was rigged and illegal! Thankfully there were a few more sensible American voters than foolish ones. 

Anyway, enough on that has been, let’s focus on someone that’s been around from time immemorial, and will be around till even after eternity; His name is Jesus; the person mainly responsible for the salvation of mankind. And today we’re going to open our worship with a wonderful song in His honour, a tune titled ‘Jesus is LOVE!’ And that is exactly who and what He is! That’s why He sacrificed His life on the cross at Calvary for us. 

Now friends, one website tells us: ‘This song comes off of The Commodores (1980) album “Heroes”. It has since become both a gospel and R&B standard. There is an excellent live version of this track on YouTube by the Commodores. Lionel Richie sang this song at Michael Jackson’s funeral. There is an outstanding gospel version with a duet featuring Smokie Norful and Heather Headley.’ 

And believe me that live version is big and bad and beautiful, and it’s what we’re going to sing today: So please be prepared for an awesome visit with ‘The Commodores Live in Las Vegas’ And it’s a real ole throwback piece of touching soul my people, and that’s how I want us to sing it; full of soulful emotion and sincere heartfelt passion. Let our words and actions truly tell the story. 

Now before we get into the song, here’s some info from the website https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+13 ‘The song starts with a prayer. Lionel’s prayer is reminiscent of the parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 of the Holy Bible In this story, some of the seeds are (children) that fall by the side of the road. They never reach good soil and are gobbled up by birds, grow among the weeds, or have roots that grow too shallow. This is a prayer for all people in the world to recognize each other with LOVE in their hearts, amen.’ 

And all of that is ever so true friends. Too many of God’s children are falling by the wayside, and that is just not acceptable. Anyway, moving on: Before the band starts playing the drummer comes down front and makes this intro: ‘At this particular time ladies and gentlemen, we would like to do another song from our latest album “Heroes” And we would like to do this song especially for you (the audience) because the Commodores deeply believe, deep down inside, that the world, the world is in need of a song like this today. Ladies and gentlemen, if you please:’ 

So please let’s finally get into an explosion of passionate soul that will move all those in both heaven and earth…and don’t forget to answer the calls in brackets. (smile) ‘Father help your children And don’t let them fall by the side of the road. Mmmm…mmmm And teach them to LOVE one another And heaven might find a place in their hearts. ‘Cause Jesus is LOVE He won’t let you down And I know He’s mine forever Oh, in my heart We’ve got to walk on Walk on through temptation ‘Cause His LOVE and His wisdom Will be our helpin’ hand 

And I know the Truth And His words will be our salvation Lift up our hearts To be thankful and glad That Jesus is LOVE He won’t let you down And I know He’s mine Deep down in my soul Jesus is LOVE Oh, yes, He is He won’t let you down And I know He’s mine, He’s mine, He’s mine, He’s mine, all mine Forever, ohhhh, in my heart Help me, heart, heart Ooh…ooh… (Deep in my heart) I know, I know, I know, I know Ah, cause His LOVE’S the power (Power) His LOVE’S the glory (Glory) Forever (Ever and ever) Ooh, yeah (Yeah, yeah) Ooh, yeah (Yeah, yeah) Ooh, yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah) 

Oh wait a minute, I wanna follow your star Wherever it leads me And I don’t mind, Lord I hope you don’t mind I wanna walk with you And talk with you And do all the things you want me to do Cause I know that Jesus (Jesus is LOVE, I know) ‘Cause I know, Lord (And if you ask, I’ll show) (LOVE is the word forever) And ever and ever 

Who can bring you love (Jesus) Who can bring you joy (Jesus) Who can turn your life around (Jesus), oh Ooh, yeah (Yeah, yeah) Yeah (Yeah, yeah) Hey Who will pick you up (Jesus) When you fall (Jesus) Who’ll stand beside you (Jesus) Who will LOVE us all Hey, hey, Jesus (Yeah, yeah) Jesus (Yeah, yeah) Oh, yeah (Yeah, yeah) One thing I wanna say Who can heal your body (Jesus) Who can make you strong (Jesus) Who can help you to hold out (Jesus) 

A little while longer Ooh, yeah (Yeah, yeah) Yeah (Yeah, yeah) Jesus LOVES you (Yeah, yeah), Jesus wants you If you call Him, He will answer (Jesus) Call him in the mornin’ (Jesus) Call him in the evenin’ (Jesus) Call him in the midnight hour Hey, hey (Yeah, yeah) Yeah (Yeah, yeah) Yeah, yeah (Yeah, yeah) Yeah, y’all say it for me (Jesus is LOVE)… (Jesus Is LOVE)…’  

That was indeed a soulful rendition friends, and both heaven and earth were moved. But it wasn’t all. At the end Lionel Ritchie got up from the piano, came down to the front of the stage and gave this soliloquy: ‘You know the Commodores, had two ways of letting you leave out of here tonight; either have you dancing in the aisles hollering and screaming, or we had to let you leave with something in your minds and on your hearts. Well tonight, I guess there’s no doubt in your minds, and certainly not in mine; we’re going to let you leave tonight with something on your minds and in your hearts. 

You know, I don’t have to be the one to tell each and every one of you, but the world is in a whole lot of trouble right now everybody, the world is in a whole lot of trouble. And you know the funniest thing is this; everyone is looking for something new, something different to solve the problem. Some of us feel that technology sooner or later, will solve the problem. We feel that money can solve the problem. In 1980 we even feel that a President can solve the problem. But yuh know the funniest thing about the whole thing is this; everybody knows what the solution is; everybody knows what the solution is; because what the world needs now, what the world needs, right now is a little LOVE ,a little sweet LOVE…!’ 

And that’s the awesome truth my people! Can you imagine that forty years ago, our world was in such a messed up state, even without the Covid-19 situation. And we’re in an even worse place today, everybody looking for answers, everywhere but where they are supposed to look; in their hearts, to find the LOVE that our world needs to move forward in unison and compassion. Can you believe that forty years later we’ll still looking to technology, money and a President to correct our situation, when all we need is a li’l LOVE? 

Are we that stubborn, hardhearted and foolish that we can’t see the lack of wisdom in our decisions? What is our problem eh my brethren? Are we like Bruh Paul told the Corinthians; that now we’re seeing through a dark or dimly lit mirror, and right now we only know in part, but later on we’ll see and understand properly. (1 Cor. 13:12) 

Some might use that as an excuse, but believers ought to know better, we ought to know that ‘Now abideth faith, hope and LOVE, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE!’ (1 Cor. 13:13) And until we understand that and put it into serious action, for remember LOVE is an action word, our world will be forever in turmoil. Much LOVE!

…only LOVE can break a heart…only LOVE can mend it again… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 October 2015 Hebrews 11:1‏‏

16 Oct 2015 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 11:1.   Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.

Ah mih people, it’s Friday, and the ole fella is feeling fairly wide eyed and bushy tailed because he got a half decent night’s rest. But that means I’m up somewhat late in the morning, and though it’s nice to get up early, it’s always better to get up when the sun is shining rather than when darkness still covers the land. (smile) 

And for you early risers, when darkness still permeates the land, I just want to reassure you that though you may not see the sun, the Son is ALWAYS present by your side, with the Holy Spirit assisting you to make good decisions and showing you the right paths to tread. 

And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise to the Lamb that was slain for us!’ 

And since most of you have been up before me, most likely you have already expressed your worldly Friday declaration of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, meaning that the weekend is here and the party is getting underway! Thank God for small mercies like Friday and the weekend!’ 

Now I would like to change that somewhat and give us a better perspective on the whole situation. So let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, with much conviction and enthusiasm. 

All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Now that’s more like what we should be saying my people, because the weekend isn’t just for fun and frolic, but also for some serious time with oneself and with one’s Creator. 

And we’ll continue with our Bit, those famous words of the author of Hebrews, whom I still can’t help believing is Bruh Paul, because it sounds so much like him. ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ 

Positive words of wisdom my people!  And we all agree that if we can see something, then there’s no need to hope for it. But if we can’t, then there’s every reason to hope for it and wait patiently and eagerly until it shows up. 

And as true believers in Jesus Christ, that’s the kind of faith we need to have Friends; a constant hope that He will come through for us. For you know we can’t have faith without hope. Hope is the starting point of it all, and as it grows, it turns into that strong feeling of assurance, of conviction, that we call faith. 

Now here are some potent insights into the subject as related by Bruh Paul to his protégé Timothy. It concerns fighting the good fight of faith. 

‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things (love for money, etc. vs.1-10): and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12) 

Yes Friends, since we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, then it behooves us to turn away from the lustful and ungodly things of the world and follow the dictates of His Way, which are the things spoken of by Bruh Paul above. 

And the scholars offer these insightful explanations. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a love for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting. 

Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.  

Now as per ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. 

Lay hold on eternal life does not negate that fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’ 

Yes my brethren, it’s all a growing process! So we can begin with small or little faith, but as we progress in our Christian endeavours, our faith ought to grow along the continuum that represents it, until we come to a point of maturity. 

However, we never reach that stage here on earth where our faith reaches the end of the continuum and stops growing, because faith is an action word that‘s supposed to be always on the go, keeping us fresh and renewed in the Christian spirit. If our faith ever stops growing, then something’s wrong, and we need to get it checked out by the appropriate authorities; i.e. God! 

So until tomorrow Friends, the Lord willing, please let’s try and walk the straight and narrow path today nuh. ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to provoke (stir up) unto LOVE and to good works.’ (Heb.10:23-24) That is exactly what we are called to do my brethren!. Much LOVE!

…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) 

P.S. Sorry Friends, but in between the writing, I had to take an important phone call which lasted for about 20 minutes. So you can subtract twenty minutes from the lateness, because that was not my fault. (smile) Much LOVE!