Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 August 2023 John 15:13.

27 Aug 2023 Leave a comment

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

John 15:13.       Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Another Sunday of joyful fellowship, thanks and praise in the Lord’s sanctuary my brethren! What a time that usually is! Meeting and greeting each other and sharing our week’s experiences while being refreshed and renewed by the Lord’s Word! What could be more wonderful than that eh? Nothing really! However, to get the real benefit from it, to truly enjoy the amazing camaraderie that occurs when believers get together, we have to show up regularly, not just once in a while, or only on special occasions. For fellowship and worship have to be shared on a regular basis to be truly worthwhile. 

Anyway, enough badgering (smile) let’s get on with the fellowship by singing today’s song, a favourite from our childhood days, but made famous again a few years ago by Whitney Houston, one simply but powerfully titled ‘Jesus LOVES Me!’ And there’s no doubt about that my fellow believers. Jesus does LOVE us, otherwise He wouldn’t have left heaven to come to earth to die for a bunch of sinful, ingrates, like we are. 

It’s said that the song “Jesus LOVES Me” is one of the most popular Christian hymns around the world, especially among children. The hymn was first written by Anna B. Warner (1824-1915), the American author and hymnist, in the 1850s as a poem. Anna’s sister Susan apparently requested a poem for a dying child and Anna wrote the wonderful words of Jesus LOVES Me to bring comfort and peace. The poem appeared in a novel ‘Say and Seal’ in 1859and the music was composed by William Bradbury in 1862. 

And I like the commentary on the song by the website GodTube.org. which says: ‘The Bible tells us that God LOVES each and every one of us, despite our sins and faults. Be comforted by the simple lyrics of ‘Jesus LOVES Me’ and remember that our Creator is Almighty and ALL-LOVING. He is with us each step of the day and will never leave our side. We may be weak, but He is our strength.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people! So, enough talk, let’s get to offering up sacrificial praises in a rich, harmonious, sincere, scintillating, uplifting version of the song. 

Singing: ‘Jesus LOVES me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. (Refrain: Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so.) Jesus LOVES me! This I know, As He LOVED so long ago, Taking children on His knee, Saying, “Let them come to Me.” (Ref) – Jesus LOVES me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give Light and LOVE to all who live. (Ref)  

Jesus LOVES me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in. (Ref.) – Jesus LOVES me! He will stay Close beside me all the way; Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee. (Ref) Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! For the Bible tells me so.’ 

Oh, that was ever so beautiful friends, heaven was moved, it warmed the cockles of Jesus’ heart and brought a shy smile to His face!  And there is absolutely no doubt that Jesus LOVES us, for as we said earlier, why would He even contemplate coming down to earth as a man and sacrificing His sinless soul on the cross at Calvary for us, if He didn’t care mightily for us eh? And I’m not going to get into any big production to try to show how much Jesus LOVES us nuh, because if you need tons of scripture to prove that Jesus LOVES you, then your faith is weak and/or insincere, for that’s the first thing a Christian needs to truly believe. 

So, we’re just going to look at a few simple scriptures that show Christ’s LOVE to its full magnitude. And the first is obviously the greatest passage in the Bible about God’s LOVE. Jesus said it thus: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) Now that is the scripture that encapsulates everything else; that gives the basic reason for Jesus coming to earth, the Father’s great LOVE for His most valuable creation. Likewise Jesus, for He has the same heart as the Father, because He and the Father are one! 

Then there’s this other powerful scripture which Bruh Paul writes to the church at Rome. ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated His own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Can you imagine that friends? While we were yet sinners the Lord sent His Son to die for us. He didn’t even wait to see if we would turn around from our evil and sinful ways, but got right unto the matter through His exceptional heart of LOVE. Wow! And in light of that, why don’t we LOVE Him and give our all for Him the way He desires eh? Who knows? 

Now here’s this other magnificent scripture that Bruh Paul penned to the church at Rome, which describes Christ’s LOVE for us. He says very plainly and clearly: ‘For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:38-39) Mama Mia! What positive and reassuring scripture! In other words, NOTHING AT ALL can separate us from the LOVE of God which dwells in Christ Jesus! 

And if you still don’t believe, then check out these verses from Bruh Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, where he talks about praying to the Father for them. ‘That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in LOVE, May be able to comprehend (understand) with all saints, what is the breadth (width), and length, and depth, and height; And to know the LOVE of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph. 3:16-19) 

Yes friends, the LOVE of Christ surpasses all of man’s knowledge and understanding, that’s why it’s so difficult for some of us to believe it. Now let’s close with some appropriate words on the subject from Jesus Himself. First off, He states: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) And that’s exactly what a shepherd that’s worth his salt does; give His life to protect his sheep! And that’s exactly what Christ did for us! 

Then He tells the disciples: ‘This is my commandment, That ye LOVE one another, as I have LOVED you. Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:12-14) And that my fellow saints is it in a nutshell: There’s no greater LOVE than a man giving his life for his friend. And that’s what Jesus did for us. So please, let’s wake up and appreciate Christ’s great LOVE for us nuh. There’s nothing in all this wide world to compare to it! Much LOVE!

…The Lord created us out of LOVE…and Christ died to prove that LOVE… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ        

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 March 2022 Mark 10:15.

27 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

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

Mark 10:15.      Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

And sadly friends, I must inform you, that on this the Lord’s day, some of heaven’s white precipitate, has precipitated down to earth! (smile) Yes, there’s a light covering of snow on the ground this Sunday morning that began sometime after six thirty, because I looked outside at that time and the place was clean. But now, a couple hours later, it’s white. And who knows what will eventually happen, although the good news is that a short while ago, I saw the sun valiantly shining through up in the eastern skies. So anything is still possible. 

And as we gather for worship, either physically in the Lord’s sanctuary, or by some electronic means, let’s banish all anxiety and worry from our souls and spirits, because the Creator of the universe and all therein dwells within us, through the power of His Holy Spirit and has unlimited compassion and LOVE for us. That’s why we’ll open today’s proceedings with this marvellous and very popular Christian hymn written by American hymnwriter and novelist Anna B. Warner, around 1859, that demonstrates that amazing LOVE. It’s aptly titled ‘JESUS LOVES ME!’ 

Wow! What an honour and a privilege to be LOVED by the Creator and Saviour of the world! So let’s cut the talk and offer up our sacrifices of praise in a joyful, soulful, heartfelt, up-tempo version, letting all earth and heaven know that we are truly blessed by, and are sincerely grateful for the LOVE of Christ!  

Altogether now: ‘Jesus LOVES me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. (Refrain: Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so.) Jesus LOVES me! This I know, As He LOVED so long ago, Taking children on His knee, Saying, “Let them come to Me.” (Ref ) – Jesus LOVES me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give Light and LOVE to all who live. – (Ref.) 

Jesus LOVES me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in. –  (Ref.) Jesus LOVES me! He will stay Close beside me all the way; Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee. (Ref.) Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! For the Bible tells me so.’ 

And friends, if we can’t believe the Bible, the unalterable truth of God’s Word, then I don’t know what we can believe nuh! And according to the website Godtube: ‘The Bible tells us that God LOVES each and every one of us, despite our sins and faults. Be comforted by the simple lyrics of ‘JESUS LOVES ME’ and remember that our Creator is Almighty and ALL-LOVING. He is with us each step of the day and will never leave our side. We may be weak, but He is our strength.’ 

Oh my Christian brethren, that’s the gospel truth, and we need to believe it so badly in these tough and very trying times, if we are to live a successful life in and for Christ! And we do need to come to Jesus like little children in total trust and faith if we want to receive His grace and mercy. Remember His comparisons to the kingdom of heaven and children? 

When talking about greatness to the disciples, the Good Book tells us: ‘And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such child in my name, receiveth me.’ (Matt. 18:2-5) That tells us in no uncertain terms that if we want to be great in God’s kingdom, we have to be humble and trusting like a young child, not the way the world considers greatness, with arrogance and self-importance. 

Then there’s this testimony from the gospel of Mark, where parents brought their children to be blessed by Jesus, but the disciples rebuked and turned them away. ‘But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer (allow) the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them. And blessed them.’ (Mark 10:14-16) 

Wow mih people! Hearing that, how can you not be enamoured of Jesus eh?  And I want to share two very interesting explanations of the scholars on those verses. As per 10:14, they say ‘Mark often stresses Jesus showing of strong feeling.’ Now that’s the attitude of a truly caring person. And they cite these references for that conclusion. (1;41, 43; 3:5; 7:34; 8:34; 9:19). Then for 10:16, they write. ‘Every parent knows that no child is perfect. But Jesus sees their refreshing openness to new things, their eagerness to learn and follow, a welcome contrast to adult self-dependence and cynicism.’ 

And that hit’s the nail right on the very head! You can’t accept Jesus unless you’re open and eager to learn. And all Jesus desires to teach us is based on the principle of LOVE – LOVE for God, for oneself and for one’s neighbour, as He emphasizes in Matt. 22:37-40, when asked about the greatest commandments. Now, listen to how Bruh Paul puts it all together when he writes to the Ephesians re a prayer for inner growth. 

He asks that God, ‘the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named (from whom the Christian spiritual life is derived). That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye be rooted and grounded in LOVE, May be able to comprehend (understand) with all the saints what is the breadth (width), and length, and depth, and height, And to know the LOVE of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph. 3:14-19) 

Yes my fellow saints, Bruh Paul prays there that we would be divinely enabled to live a successful Christian life filled with the virtues and character of God, and truly come to know and understand all the various aspects of Christ’s magnificent and unmatchable LOVE! Then he ends by stating: ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church of Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’ (Eph. 3:20-21) 

And yes friends, Bruh Paul knew that the Lord God Jehovah had the power and interest to do all that He asked for in the Ephesian church. Now, the important question is, do we truly believe that God can do those same things in our lives today? And until we do, we will not be able to live the successful Christian life that Christ sacrificed Himself for us to have. As they say, a word to the wise is sufficient. Much LOVE!

…to come to Christ…one must possess a child-like spirit… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8          

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 July 2020 Romans 5:8.

12 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

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

Romans 5:8.     ​But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
 

It’s Sunday my fellow believers, so let’s have church nuh! And all the faithful cried out: ‘Yeah! Yeah! Let’s have church! Let’s sing and dance and give much praise and thanks unto our most merciful, gracious and forgiving God!’ Then let’s gather; either in the few physical sanctuaries that are opened, or around our technological toys, for there is no way to stop the faithful if they truly want to worship their heavenly Father. 

And as always, we begin with a song of praise, today’s being that ole faithful ‘Jesus LOVES Me!’ Why? Because that’s where the Holy Spirit led me. While contemplating a couple others, that one just flashed into my mind, and you can’t disregard zeppos like that. (smile) But before we get into it, here’s a li’l background to its creation. 

The comforting and peaceful words were first written by Anna B Warner as a poem in 1860 for a dying child on her sister Susan’s request. Then a couple years later William Bradbury put the beautiful and heartfelt words to music. And after a century and a half in existence, it’s now become one of the most popular Christian hymns around the world, and because of its simple direct message, is one of the first hymns missionaries teach to new converts. So all together now, in soulful harmony, with total sincerity, let’s make our earthly voices ring out to heaven sweet and pure, in praiseful sacrifice. 

‘Jesus LOVES me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. (Refrain: Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so.) Jesus LOVES me! This I know, As He LOVED so long ago, Taking children on His knee, Saying, “Let them come to Me.” (Refrain) Jesus LOVES me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give Light and LOVE to all who live. 

(Refrain) Jesus LOVES me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in. (Refrain) Jesus LOVES me! He will stay Close beside me all the way; Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee. Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so. Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so.’ 

And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! It’s exactly what the Bible tells us: He LOVED us so much that He came down from heaven and died to save our sinful souls. Jesus said it in His most famous words: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) Now if that isn’t a stirring and sterling declaration of LOVE, then I don’t know what is nuh! 

And furthermore, Bruh Paul declares (yeahh!) it thus: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly… But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:6, 8). Yeh friends, ALL that Jesus did for us was done out of true LOVE! Why, you ask? Because the Father’s greatest attribute is LOVE! As Bruh Paul says, ‘And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three, but the greatest is these is LOVE.’ (1 Cor. 13:13) And there’s no disputing that! 

John meanwhile said it this way: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God, for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) Simple and to the point my people. Then, when we add the fact that we are the Father’s creation and He did not want to lose us to the enemy, be eternally separated from us if we continued living in sin, He made a way for us to reverse that eventuality, by sending His only Son to be the propitiation, the atonement for our sins. In other words, to pay our sin debt in full and give us the opportunity to spend eternity with Him, like He had planned it from the very beginning. 

The only difference is that because sin came into our world, we now have to make a conscious choice of where we want to spend eternity. So it’s all up to us as individuals now my people: if you want to spend eternity in hell with the fallen angel Lucifer, then you simply continue living in sin. However, if you decide you want to spend eternity with Christ in heaven, then you need to believe in Him and live according to His rules, which are not onerous. As He truthfully says: ‘For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:30). 

Now let’s go home this morning energized and reassured with these wise words from the web site God Tube. ‘The Bible tells us that God LOVES each and every one of us, despite our sins and faults. Be comforted by the simple lyrics of ‘Jesus LOVES Me’ and remember that our Creator is Almighty and ALL-LOVING. He is with us each step of the day and will NEVER leave our side. We may be weak, but He is our strength.’ 

Please, let’s take those words to heart today my friends, as they are filled with eternal truth! Much LOVE!

…‘Jesus LOVES me…simply states…the profound truth of God’s LOVE.’ 

P.S. It’s short and sweet…and early! Wow! Much LOVE!