Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 January 2022 Isaiah 1:18a.

27 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 1:18a.     Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:

Oh friends, I don’t have any tongue in cheek words to begin today’s Bit, another cold and mostly sunshiny Thursday. (smile) But I do have some wise and admonishing words from the Lord our God, spoken by the prophet Isaiah to his people Israel, a long time ago, that certainly seem very appropriate to our current situation. It’s a call to repentance. So, let’s read, listen, ponder and contemplate the wisdom of these age old, but ever new sentiments from our God, and then put them into practice. 

Isaiah declares: ‘Wash you, make you clean: put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgement (justice), relieve the oppressed (reprove the oppressor), judge (defend, vindicate) the fatherless, plead for the widow.’ (Is. 1:16-17) 

Yes my brethren, those are indeed wise and powerful words that we all ought to hearken to, because our world has been overtaken by the enemy with his evil doings, and for it to improve, we must turn to the Lord God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and all therein, and cleanse ourselves of the enormous iniquity of which we are guilty. 

Now, here are some interesting comments from the scholars on those verses. ‘1:16-17. Wash does not indicate that the sinner may cleanse himself. Nor does it refer to mere ritual washing. Rather, it indicates that the sinner must accept the cleansing offered by the Lord, a cleansing of the heart resulting in true repentance.’ 

Yuh see my people, we can muddy our waters, but we can’t make them clean again on our own. We have to accept God’s cleansing, which means a sincere turning away from sin, and only through Christ Jesus can we accomplish such a heroic and herculean task. Yes, sin is no joke, like so many of us today consider it. 

Sin is serious business and it’s what’s driving our world right now, not the righteousness of God, as He desires. And with its many alluring enchantments and enhancements it’s not easy to turn away from sin. That’s why we need a power greater than the enemy to help us do it successfully. 

Oh, the Lord knows we’ll always fall into occasional sin because of our natural sinful nature, but with His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, to lead and guide us, we have more than a fighting chance to keep sin to a minimum in our earthly lives. That brings us back to the rest of Isaiah’s declaration. (Wow! I spelled that right!) 

He continues in a less accusatory and judgemental vein, but still not mincing his words. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is. 1:18-20) 

Oh friends, our God is willing to sit down and reason with us, if we are willing to admit our sin and change from our evil ways. But if we refuse to come together with Him, but rather to rebel and be disobedient, then we’ll suffer the just punishment for such behaviour. 

And no one has to tell us that’s what’s happening to us right now! We have boldly rebelled against the dictates of the Lord and gone our own sinful way. Consequently, we’re being devoured, and not by the sword alone, through worldwide strife, but also through worldwide sickness, worldwide poverty and economic failure, with worldwide disasters, both natural and man-made, all occurring simultaneously! 

And yet we refuse, stubbornly and adamantly refuse to turn back to God and seek His forgiveness so that we could once more eat of the good of our land. Hn! Foolish pride and unwise belief in one’s own power will lead us to our demise every time. How did Cousin Sol put it? ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) Yes friends, ‘The Lord is sovereign over man’s scheming and planning,’ so we often scheme and plan in vain. 

But enough of me, (smile) let’s listen to what the renowned scholars have to say on the matter. ‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God. 

The term ‘crimson’ also means ‘worm,’ referring to the colourful red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus, the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’ 

Glory Hallelujah my people! What a great and remarkable God we serve! And though I’m no prophet, I believe it’s my bounden duty to again remind us of our Creator’s willingness to embrace all those who turn back to Him in sincere repentance. And His awesome Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, said it as plainly and clearly as He could. And we all know Him as a clear and straight-talking person. 

‘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) And we all like to quote that scripture in reference to the goodness of God, but what we fail to realize is that all those who don’t belief in Christ Jesus will ‘perish.’ Yes, that’s what he said…and meant. So, it’s up to us choose whether we believe or not, but please remember there are major consequences attached to each decision. End of sermon! (smile) 

But anyway, for those of us who choose to believe, the Lord has most graciously endowed us with blessings we don’t really deserve, but which help us to do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings. And since a blessing is not a blessing until it’s declared, let’s declare them right now nuh, in loud, confident, though humble 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 every day! Amen!’ 

Now let’s go out and share the fruit of those blessings with others, just as generously as the Lord’s shared them with us. Much LOVE!

…sin only looks good on the outside…but inside…it’s as dirty as hell… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 March 2015 1 John 1:9‏‏

26 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

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

1 John 1:9.      If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 
Ah Friends, it’s just one of those late nights that naturally morphed into a late morning. And running around in the rain yesterday didn’t help matters any, as my allergies are threatening to act up. (smile) But not to worry; the caffeine is hot, strong and sweet, and we’re riding along with Jesus, which means that all is well. Glory Hallelujah!

We couldn’t want, ask for, or find a better companion to journey with through this confused, troubled and sinful world. And the word for today is ‘LOVE!’

Oh my people, for serious believers in Jesus, LOVE should be our watchword each and every day, because that’s the quality that our Lord and Saviour put forth the most when He came to earth to be the sacrificial lamb for the atonement of our sins.

If He hadn’t LOVED us dearly and deeply, He would have remained resting on His laurels in heaven. But instead, He selflessly and obediently became man, became one of us, so that we could be released from the dark and dangerous abyss of sin in which we were then floundering.

Unfortunately though, too many of us are still floundering in that dark dungeon of sin. However, in keeping with our talk on LOVE, let me share a few words from my ‘p.s. I LOVE YOU’ poster, designed to bring out the LOVE in us. It says that, ‘LOVE is like wildflowers. It’s often found in the most unlikely places.’

And isn’t that the gospel truth Friends! LOVE, the real thing that is, often crops up in places we least expect to find it. So please, in our travels today, let’s be aware, let’s keep a sharp eye out for the LOVE we might find in those unusual places.

And though some say that it’s money which makes the world go round, I believe it’s LOVE! Just look at the numerous households and places where there’s plenty money, but also lot’s of strife and little or no LOVE.

Meanwhile, in so many other households and places, where there’s little or no money, but the absence of strife is very notable, and true LOVE abounds in abundance! (smile) 

Oh Friends, our God is a most wonderful God, please believe that! But you won’t really experience Him in all His glory until you truly surrender yourself to His will and wise plan for your life. That’s when He shows up in bright and living colour!

In other words, God makes His move when we do as our Bit advises: ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’

And that’s the living truth, my brethren! I wouldn’t lead you astray. I’m talking from personal experience, not hearsay. When you put God first in your life and sincerely and diligently work towards obedience and His glorification, you’ll see wonders that you never dreamed of, or even imagined possible!

Yes Friends, until we come to God like Bruh David did in Psalm 38 – The prayer of a penitent heart – and earnestly declare: ‘For I am ready to halt (fall), and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity, I will be sorry for my sin.’ (Ps.38.17-18) We won’t fully experience the mercies and LOVING-kindness of our magnanimous God.

And He makes that abundantly clear from this passage in Isaiah, where he calls for repentance from His sinful people, Israel. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat of the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:18-20)

Oh my brethren, it couldn’t be put any clearer and simpler than that. And believe me, that provision still stands today. That’s one of the reasons why our world is in such a disastrous mess; we are refusing and rebelling against the Lord.

And the scholars give us some good information, re those verses. ‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God.

Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God. The term crimson also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm.

The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who turn to Him.’

And Friends, today, I’m re-reminding us of all of that! So please pay serious attention, for it can mean the difference between eternal life and eternal damnation!

And we’ll end with these most appropriate words from Bruh David from Psalm 19 – The creation and covenants of God. ‘Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great (much) transgression.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’ (Ps.19:12-14)

Yes Friends, that is what we need to do today, as we make our pilgrim’s journey through this wicked and deceitful world! Let’s confess our sins, then ask for guidance to do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

If we’re sincere in our requests and desires, then His mercy and LOVING-kindness will be showered down on us, for that’s the faithful kind of Deity He is! Much LOVE!

…confession is good for the soul…and repentance leads to eternal life…