Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 November 2016 2 Timothy 3:17.

10 Nov 2016 Leave a comment

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

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…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 October 2014 Psalm 4:1.

31 Oct 2014 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 4:1.  Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious to me), and hear my prayer.

 Ah Friends, once again it’s Friday…! And as usual there are loud and joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Thank God for bringing us safely through another week of work! Praise His Holy Name!’ 
 
Yes my people, we do indeed need to thank our heavenly Father for allowing us to successfully complete another week of life, both in the general world and in our particular place of work.
 
Many people can’t say that at all, so please let’s learn to appreciate the wonderful blessings we have, by giving some thanks and praise to our Creator and Provider, for without Him, we’d be all alone out on some lonely back street, languishing in abject poverty, as numerous others are unfortunately doing today.
 
And I don’t know why, but I got up a while ago humming the chorus to our old and dear hymn, ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus.’ And just in case it was a sign (smile) I decided to include it in our discourse today.
 
Please sing the first verse with me. ‘What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.’
 
Yeh mih breddren, we have such a wonderful Lord and Saviour, such a wonderful High Priest and Advocate, to whom we can carry all our cares and problems for sure help, yet we foolishly decline to do so. Thus we suffer, endure so many unnecessary burdens and cares. That’s not very wise my people.
 
Jesus is inviting us to bring ALL our troubles to Him (Matt.11:28-30), so that He can ease our sorrows and relieve our pains. So please, let’s be wise and gratefully accept His most generous invitation nuh. We’re only hurting and depriving ourselves of wonderful opportunities to live that abundant life which Jesus died to provide for us.
 
We quickly turn to fickle and fallible man for help, when our omnipotent God should ALWAYS be our FIRST source of help. Let’s try and rectify that unfortunate situation today nuh. Let’s focus on taking our prayers to God, like Bruh David does in this evening prayer of trust in God – Psalm 4.
 
He opens it with the sincere and endearing request of our Bit: ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious to me), and hear my prayer.’
 
Friends, it’s simple and to the point. There’s no denying what he desires. And that’s all it takes to go to God; a sincere heart with a heartfelt plea. The Lord knows all our problems, but He requires us to come to Him to help us solve them. It’s true that He could solve them all with a simple snap of His fingers or a word from His lips, but that would make Him our lackey, rather than our Lord and God.
 
Please remember that we are in covenant with Him, and we need to perform our part in the covenant relationship, else the covenant becomes null and void. And today, since that’s the direction it seems our Lord wants us to go, we’ll look at a few instances where the importance and power of prayer are highlighted in the Bible, God’s divine Word to us.
 
And the greatest and best example of participating in prayer is obviously Jesus! The Good Book declares it thus: ‘And it came to pass in those days, that he (Jesus) went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.’ (Luke 6:12)
 
Ah Friends, if Jesus, the Son of God, God incarnate Himself, still felt the need for prayer, who are we then, mere sinful mortals to think that we don’t eh?
 
And again, we turn to Jesus, this time as He positively promotes the act of prayer. ‘And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:22)
 
Oh my people, our Lord and Saviour, Redeemer and Atonement for our abominable sins said it, so it must be true!
 
And way back when, Isaiah declared this word from our God on the subject. ‘Even them (those who take hold of my covenant) will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called a house of prayer for ALL people.’ (Is.56:7)
 
Oh my fellow believers, our God couldn’t be any clearer and simpler than that! His invitation is open to all those who are willing to accept it. So why don’t we do so today eh? Now that’s the million-dollar question! It’s not an idle or false and deceitful invitation like so many of man’s entreaties and advertisements.
 
We have oodles of examples, from Genesis to Revelation, where all the true servants of God prayed fervently to Him and received answers and benefits. So why are we so stubborn, so adamant in refraining from something that can only benefit us eh? I really don’t know nuh.
 
But in accordance with all we’ve written, we’ll go home with our own prayer today, our Friday Chant. No I didn’t forget, (smile) just thought it would be more appropriate today at the end rather than at the beginning.
 
So as one loud, grateful and prayerful voice, let’s chant: ‘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.’
 
Yes Friends, it’s short and simple, but as James so wisely and truthfully tells us: ‘Confess your faults (trespasses, sins) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.’ (James 5:16)
 
And when we follow that heavenly wisdom my people, we certainly won’t go wrong. Much LOVE!
 
…to pray…to pray…and yet to pray…that is the pilgrim’s role…
 
 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 September 2012 Job 42:1-2

29 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Job 42:1-2.    Then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee (no purpose of yours can be withheld). 
 
Oh Friends, it’s no lie, what goes around, comes around! I’m referring to a newspaper article I read earlier this week that claims someone in Egypt was arrested under the Blasphemy Act for destroying a Bible. And instead of creating a storm of anger and causing unnecessary destruction to lives and property, all God’s people joyfully shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ What’s good for the goose should also be good for the gander. It’s time people of other faiths have respect for God’s Holy Word and don’t irreverently desecrate or destroy it. How truthful the story is, and what will happen next is another story, but it should at least cause others to stop and think before they damage the Good Book. And on a brighter note, here’s something I read a while ago in a booklet on Bruh Joseph. It’s called The Leader’s Prayer: ‘Lord, when I’m wrong, make me willing to change. When I’m right, make me easy to live with. So strengthen me that the power of my example will far exceed the authority of my rank.’ Yes Friends, we all need to develop our leadership skills because as followers of Christ, we are all leaders in our own right; leading people to Him, and we can’t do it properly without knowing how. Neither is there an easy way to learn it, for good leadership skills are born of adversity, per the many examples in the Bible and real life. And as the song, I think it’s the ‘Gambler’ by Kenny Rogers says; we have to know when to hold and when to fold, and we can only accomplish that by working with and through Almighty God. And we see that in our Bit, when Job finally submits to God. ‘Then Job answered the Lord and said, I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee (no purpose of yours can be withheld).’ Before that, Job thought he was doing so good and even through his friends’ admonishment, he still stuck to his claim of righteousness. Then God challenges him out of the whirlwind. ‘Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man, (prepare yourself); for I will demand of thee (question you), and answer thou me.’ (Job 38:2-3) God then goes on to show Job his ignorance in Chapters 38-41. And at last in Chapter 42, Job humbles himself before the challenging questions of Almighty God. ‘Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee (question thee), and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor (despise) myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’ (Job.42:3-6) Oh Friends, sadly, many of us fall into the category of doubting God, or thinking that we know much more than we really know, but it’s all a lie, and comes from false pride in our frail mortal powers. Listen to the scholars explain those first six verses of chapter 42; ‘The point of all God’s questions was not lost on Job: he has a new awareness of the wisdom of God’s hidden plans, a new sense of the limits of his own wisdom, and a new sensitivity to his own sin. He admits that his has been a limited perspective, and he totally submits to God’s will and authority.’ That’s exactly what many of us need to do my people. Instead of blowing our own horn, we need to truly bow down to the Creator and Master of our universe, pay Him the total homage that He so richly deserves, humbly submit to not only His will and authority, but also to His infinite wisdom and knowledge. As He rightly says, His thoughts and ways are so much higher than ours, (Is.55:8-9) so how can we be more knowledgeable than Him eh? The same sort of thing happened to Sarah and Abraham when the Lord promised them a child of their own loins in their old age. Sarah laughed, and Abraham had his doubts. But just like the Lord straightened out Job, He straightened out Sarah and Abraham with some biting words. ‘Is there anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ (Gen.18:14) Oh my people, why are we so hard headed and stubborn eh, and continually doubt God’s awesome power, in spite of all the instances we have of it? Remember Jesus’ words to the disciples: ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Matt.19:24) And the disciples were astonished, wondering then, who could be saved. Then Jesus replied: ‘With men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.’ (Matt.19:26) And that’s gospel truth Friends! Unfortunately though, many of us say it, but don’t really seem to believe it, judging from the way we act. And yet again, Jesus declared in His time of sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane, shortly before His crucifixion, when He tearfully prayed to the Father. ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt (will).’ (Mark 14:36) And the scholars make an interesting observation here. ‘By the word Abba, Jesus addresses God with the household term for Father. This was unheard of in Palestinian Judaism at that time. It points to Jesus’ unique relationship to God.’  And Friends, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, we also have a unique relationship with the Father, where we can come to Him without fear of rejection. So please, let’s not think too highly of ourselves, for whatever reason, or too little of our God, because that’s a sure formula for destruction. Much LOVE!…it is God who gives us life…and the wherewithal to sustain it…so it’s foolish to exalt oneself above Him…remember the rich, proud, selfish fool…(Luke 12:16-20)