Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 November 2021 Ephesians 4:23.

06 Nov 2021 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 4:23.     And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Welcome to Saturday friends, another great day in the life! And obviously, some of us will ask what’s so great about it? And the answer is the same as for every other day we live: we’re alive, we’re drawing God’s magnificent breath of life, and the Spirit of Jesus dwells within us to lead, guide and comfort us in all our endeavours! 

Wow! Now isn’t that good, no, great reason to be glad, joyful and give thanks? It most certainly is! So stop with the moping and complaining, the anger and the strife, because somewhere out there, someone has it much worse than we do. (smile) Now let’s see what interesting quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

And the first one says: ‘Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.’ And to a certain extent, that is certainly true, for our imagination generally causes us to go in the directions that we hold up to it, or focus on. But thankfully, for many of us we don’t always go where our imagination leads us or to what it focuses on, because we would find ourselves in a heap of trouble, both physically and spiritually. 

Our imagination is a good tool, but like all other tools we must use it wisely and appropriately for us to get the most benefit out of it. A lot of the good things and inventions of our society have been born out man’s imagination, but also a lot of the evil and ungodly things, because as the next quote says: ‘You are a living magnet. What you attract into your life is in harmony with your dominant thoughts.’ 

And that’s the gospel truth. The thoughts you focus most on will be the ones that usually come true, be they good or bad. We are irrevocably drawn to the things we consistently think on. So, if we want to believe in Jesus, have faith in Him and live for Him, then we must concentrate a lot on Him and His teachings, and do what He says, otherwise we will never live the good and abundant life He died for us to have. 

Oh my people, it all begins and ends in our minds. That’s the battlefield where all our fights are fought, won and lost. That’s why Bruh Paul wrote these wise words of advice on the matter to the church at Rome. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) We can only think God-like thoughts when we transform our minds from thinking worldly thoughts which do not lead to godliness, in fact are the antithesis, the opposite of what Jesus wants us to think. 

Meanwhile, on the same topic, Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) in the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ (Eph. 4:22-24) 

Yes friends, we can only sincerely come to Christ with a renewal of our minds and the thoughts that fill them. We need to put off our old conduct or behaviour and put on the new man, or new conduct that’s more in line with God’s viewpoint. Meaning, if you think evil, you will attract evil, and if you think good thoughts, you will attract good things. 

We only have two options my brethren; good and evil, and as Bruh Paul also noted in the letter to the Roman church: ‘Recompense to (repay) no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17, 21) However, we can only do those things when our minds have been renewed or transformed with God’s viewpoint and not the devil’s or the world’s way of doing things. 

That brings us to this next quote. ‘Sometimes beautiful things come into our lives out of nowhere. We can’t always understand them, but we have to trust in them. I know you want to question everything, but sometimes it pays to just have a little faith.’ And I believe that’s quite true. Ofttimes good things unexpectedly happen to us, as though from out of the blue, and we can’t figure them out. But sometimes we are not meant to figure out the whys and the wherefores, just to accept our blessedness. 

It’s like when Jesus comes into our lives. Usually we are not expecting Him, we are on some other track a million miles away. But when He’s ready for us, He finds a way to cover those million miles of separation and come right to the door of our hearts and offer His unbelievable benefits. And all He’s asking of us is to believe, to have a li’l faith. Like He said to the disciples when they asked why they could not cure a mentally challenged child. ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’ (Matt. 17:20) 

Yuh see friends, all we need is a li’l faith in Jesus and we can do wonders on God’s great earth. So, can you imagine what’s possible to us when we have great faith? Anything and everything! That ought to excite us and cause us to believe ever so strongly in Jesus! And that segues very nicely into this last quote: ‘Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts.’ 

You can’t beat that my fellow saints! Only great thoughts in and of Jesus will enable you to climb to the very heights of your destiny! So please, let’s think on, ponder, meditate on Jesus, each and every day nuh, so that we can reach our God-given destiny! Much LOVE!

…only with God’s help…can we be triumphant on the battlefield of the mind… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 July 2021 John 8:32.

10 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 8:32.     And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

And Saturday has opened bright and sunny, though somewhat chilly for a summer’s morning. But let’s hope that it warms up some and doesn’t get dark and cloudy like yesterday did, despite the nice opening weather. However, with Christ and His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we will handle whatever the weather turns out to be, for it’s only weather, (smile) and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is the One who controls the weather, who holds it in the palm of His hand. Glory be! 

So there’s nothing to be worried about on that front. And indeed, on any front at all, because Jesus is the One who controls all fronts, all things! That means we can depend on Him to look after us with the care and LOVE of a doting Father. (smile) Yes friends, Christ dotes on us, but it’s not like a human kind of doting. He doesn’t give us everything we want, only stuff that’s good for us. And he pulls us up when we are disobedient and go astray, and the basis for it all is His great unconditional LOVE which cannot be denied or taken away. 

That means there’s also nothing to be worried about on this fine Saturday morning, because our friend, our Lord and Saviour, our guide and leader, the One and Only Jesus Christ has everything under control! And all God’s people said a loud, proud and grateful ‘Amen!’ And having made all of that very clear, let’s turn to our Saturday business nuh, that of checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Now some of you must be wondering how I too so long to come to that. Well, it’s because our friend Anselm only sent me two quotes this past week. I have no idea why, but let’s hope and pray that He is all right and it was just some small and insignificant matter that caused the shortfall. In any case, let’s deal with the two we have. 

And the first one says: ‘So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.’ And some of us truly believe that, hence the saying, the squeaky wheel gets the most grease or oil. Meaning that those who complain the loudest and longest get looked after first or quicker than the more well-behaved ones. And that does happen in many circumstances, but it’s not necessarily the way that Jesus wants his followers to behave. He does expect us to fight for what we truly believe in, but at the same time, not in a brawling, loud mouthed, aggressive, complaining manner. 

And I don’t think you have to look any further than the Sermon on the Mount, in particular, the Beatitudes, (Matt. 5:3-12) to find Jesus take on the subject.  The scholars tell us that ‘this message deals with the inner state of mind and heart that is the indispensable absolute of true Christian discipleship. It delineates the outward manifestations of character and conduct of true believers and genuine disciples. A life of grace and glory, which comes from God alone and not from man. Jesus states the spiritual character and quality of the kingdom He would establish, and the basic qualities of this kingdom are fulfilled in the church He would establish.’ 

And we notice those characteristics include ‘the poor in spirit, those that mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers.’ Now, although the words chosen to describe them seem to portray weakness, none of those things entail weakness of character and purpose, but the opposite, strength of character and a Christ-like sense of purpose. For instance, ‘meekness doesn’t mean a weak, pliable spirit, but rather a strong though humble one. So Christ just wants His people to see and do things differently to how the world sees and does them. 

Then the next quote says: ‘If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.’ Now I guess it all depends on how you define freedom. And in man’s world, that might just be true, as has been the example from the beginning of man’s existence. 

Mankind has always put freedom from something or someone as a rallying cry for death. But unfortunately we have never really achieved freedom, because there is no such thing as true freedom in a stable society. Restrictions are necessary in some areas if we don’t want the society to devolve into utter chaos. 

That’s why that word ‘freedom,’ as the world understands it, has caused more wars and bloodshed than anything else in the annals of man. However with Christ, one can find true freedom because the word He speaks is truth, not man’s truth but God’s truth, spiritual truth. And as He told the people who believed in Him: ‘If ye continue in (abide by) my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.’ (John 8:31-32) 

Now friends, that’s the only real freedom we can ever expect to achieve in this world: the freedom gained from believing in Jesus and holding on to His words. It’s a spiritual freedom from the bondage of sin. All other talk of freedom is fraught with numerous pitfalls, right down to the possibility of death. So please, read your history, and see how many have spoken that famous word ‘freedom’ and have supposedly died for it. But in man’s meaning it is only a utopian idea. 

Only in Christ Jesus can you find real freedom, where you are not disturbed by what happens around you, but find rest and peace in the Word of God. So as we go about our lives today, please let’s remember the significant differences between freedom in man’s terms, and freedom in Christ’s. The latter is the only one truly possible! Much LOVE!

…let freedom ring and reign…in Christ Jesus…                                                                                           

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 July 2021 Matthew 24:36.

03 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 24:36.     But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

So, we have finally arrived at Saturday, our lazy day. But I think we are going to have more celebrations than laziness this long holiday weekend, with Canada Day up here, and the 4th of July happening in the U.S. And hopefully we won’t see any unnecessary escalation in the Covid-19 sickness count, because contrary to what many of us believe, the pandemic is not over simply because many of us have been vaccinated. We still need to have a modicum of circumspection as to how, and with whom we gather. But as they say, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. (smile) 

Let us move on though to our Saturday business, that of checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘You’re not to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.’ And that’s the living truth my people! But sadly, today, a lot of people are trying to give wrongdoing a good name, trying to turn wrong into right and truth. And unfortunately, if you hear that kind of talk enough, you can often come to believe that wrong is indeed right and truth. 

I guess the best example of that right now is the Republican political party in the U. S, who are diligently trying to prove Donald Trump’s lies about the election and His worthless regime are right and true. And they are painting it as patriotism, when it’s nothing but a downright greedy grab for power! So we have to be very careful of whom and what we listen to, using the tenets of the Good Book as our basic foundation for right and truth. 

Now, the next quote informs us that ‘Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.’ And though we prefer not to consider that defeat and heartbreak contain seeds or lessons for future behaviour, the statement is very true. If we look back at all the disappointments in our lives, we can often find things we did wrong, or moments we should have gone in another direction. 

That’s because hindsight is twenty-twenty, and we can see the right thing for the prevailing situation, much clearer when we look back at it, than when we are actually going through it. That means, after every disappointment we need to do some dissection, to learn where we went wrong, and thus learn from it for future opportunities. 

Then there’s this: ‘Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.’ Now that’s something of which we should all be aware…yet still we worry as though there was no tomorrow. Yes, precious people of God, worry gets us nowhere. It’s like Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say: ‘Worry is like rocking all day in a rocking chair, but at the end you are still the same place, haven’t moved an inch.’ But the best analogy is that of Jesus; where He compares the birds and flowers and nature in general to mankind. They are less important to God than man, but are still able to live a life of joy and beauty through God’s sustenance. 

And He reasons: ‘Wherefore, if God so clothe (clothes) the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith.’ (Matt. 6:30) Oh my fellow saints in Christ, our heavenly Father knows we need food and clothes and shelter and all those things, and will provide them if we do as Christ says: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) 

If we keep God first place in our lives, He will look after us, just like He looks after the birds and the bees and flowers of nature. Consequently, we should be concerned, pay attention to things, but don’t get to the worrying stage. ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow (don’t worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt. 6:34) 

Yes friends, everyday brings its own problems, but if we worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow, and not concentrate on what is happening today, then we’re doing an injustice to today, we are shortchanging ourselves on the joy that we could possibly have today. And please remember, tomorrow never really comes nuh, because when it shows up, it’s always called today. (smile) So let’s stop with the worrying and concentrate on seeking God first nuh, for that’s the side on which our bread is buttered. 

And the next quote is a dandy. (smile) ‘‘You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.’ I don’t know about that nuh. It sounds true, but what kind of peace, and what kind of freedom are we talking about? If we are talking about the peace the world gives us, then we do need freedom of body and mind to enjoy it. However, if we’re talking about the peace that Jesus gives us, then we don’t necessarily need freedom of body to enjoy it. 

Here’s why. Jesus said it thus. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:33) Oh my people, the peace we get from Jesus is an entirely different kind of peace than what we get from the world. It’s a peace that enables us to go through storms of life and much adversity without worrying and being downtrodden. 

Just take Bruh Paul as an example. He suffered so much for the gospel but he was never downtrodden or seriously discouraged, because he had the peace of Christ working in him. Thus, he learned to be contented in whatever state he found himself. And Christ will give us that same kind of wonderful peace, despite our world falling down around us, if we turn to Him and sincerely ask for it. 

Now let’s turn to our last quote, another dandy. (smile) ‘The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.’ Now that’s the gospel truth friends! It has always been, and will always be! Those who prepare for the future will always have a better handle on it, than those who don’t. That’s just the way life runs. Whatever you are prepared for, you will handle it better than if you were not prepared for it. And the best, or most pressing example of that in these last days is if we are prepared for the future coming of Christ Jesus? 

Yes mih breddren, that’s the question of the day; are we ready, have we received Christ as our Lord and Saviour, been sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of God, and had our names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Now that’s the most important preparation we can ever make for the future, because Jesus is coming back, and when He does, those who have not received Him as Lord and Saviour will be eternally separated from the Living God! 

And there is a big reason to get that done as soon as possible, in fact right now, because Jesus can come back at any time, even later today or tomorrow. For, as He said while here on earth. ‘But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.’ (Matt. 24:36) So you see friends, even Jesus didn’t know when He would return, only the Father has that info. But He did tell us that it would be like in the days of Noah, before the flood, when men were sinfully cavorting about the earth, without any thought to God and godliness. (Matt. 24:37-43) ‘Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24:44) 

And I don’t need to tell you that these days are looking exactly like those of Noah, for we are doing our own thing without regard to God or godliness. That means Christ’s return can’t be that far off, and it draws nearer every day, which further means that it’s becoming more important every day, to be prepared for it. So please friends, let’s be wise and make being prepared for Christ’s return our number one priority nuh. And to also tell others about it and help them be prepared too, for that’s a very important part of our duty in Christ’s kingdom…to teach and make disciples of others! Much LOVE!

…if you are not ready…then Jesus will not take you home with Him when He returns…it’s as simple as that…                                                                                       

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 June 2021 Matthew 15:11.

26 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 15:11.     Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

And then it was Saturday, our lazy, couch surfing day! And the nature of today is even more conducive to lazing around. Meaning that it’s a wet and windy Saturday morning. Oh yes, we had rain from yesterday afternoon straight through to the early hours of this morning. As the old people would warn; be careful what you wish for eh, because you might just get it. 

But thankfully, though we wished for rain, it was not the shower bound type we received, but just a constant drizzle. That meant the ground had time to absorb it and thus lessen the possibilities of flooding. Our God is so good and understanding! Give Him some thanks and praise nuh people! 

Now, let’s turn to our Saturday business, checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘It’s sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.’ Now is that ever so true! A lot of times we are heart broken when our relationships end, especially when it was someone whom we thought we’d do a lifetime with and then they end rather nastily too. 

But that’s life friends. We have people in our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. But most of them are either for a reason or a season, very few are there for a lifetime. And until we learn that and move on, broken relationships will always cause us more heartache than necessary. 

And that brings us to the second quote which follows from the first. ‘Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.’ Yes friends, growth and change are painful, but ofttimes that’s what a broken relationship portends; it’s time for us to move on up. And those people in our lives are not the ones to move on up with us, so they have to go. As they say, the Lord closes one door, then opens another that has different people in it, with a brighter future. 

And though it’s always hard to give up the old stuff, if you stay with it, you will eventually become more frustrated and disgusted with your old situation, than if you had moved on to the new one. Sooner or later, you will feel as though you are spinning your wheels in mud, or stuck in a rocking chair, rocking vigorously but not going anywhere. Yes, change isn’t always pleasant, but sometimes it’s necessary to get our adrenaline flowing. 

Then we come to this quote. ‘Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect.’ And is that ever true! Life owes us nothing my people! In fact, it’s we who owe life. We owe it the duty of being responsible and making a positive and productive difference in it. We are not put here just to enjoy the perks of life, but to add to them. 

Entitlement is not our God-given due, as so many of us seem to think. So, unless we are making a positive difference in our everyday walk, we are shortchanging life. And that’s even more important for believers in Christ Jesus, because His desire is for us to make disciples of those we meet by telling them about the good news of His gospel and more importantly, living the way His gospel dictates. For people respond more to examples than words. 

And all of that leads us to this next quote. ‘Sometimes you’ve got to be able to listen to yourself and be okay with no one else understanding.’ Yes my brethren, though others can and will give us advice, both good and bad, in the long run, we are the ones who must make the final decision. And that’s not always easy, especially in our current mish-mash, topsy-turvy world. But it is important that we are strong enough to live with whatever decisions we make, regardless of whether others understand or appreciate them. For, in the long run, we are the ones who have to live with the decisions we make, not the other people. 

And when you are a child of the Most High God, you are enabled by His Holy Spirit to make right decisions, and to stand strong with them. No need to be wishy washy, and wavering, or fence-sitting to see what eventually happens. Yes, precious people, being able to make timely, positive decisions is definitely one of the benefits of being a child of Jehovah God! Glory be! 

That brings us to our last quote. ‘Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.’ Ah my brethren, that’s true in spades! We must all face the death of our mortal bodies at some time or the other, we cannot do anything about that, but we certainly can stop the good aspects of our lives from dying while our bodies are still alive. And we’re talking about our humanity, the thing that makes, or is supposed to make us different from the wild animals; compassion and caring for each other. 

Hn! But today, unfortunately we behave more like the wild animals than the wild animals, the inhumane and uncaring way we treat our fellow man. Most of us are born with good ideals and inclinations, despite our basic sinful nature, but the sad part happens when we refute those good inclinations and accept the bad ones that so much of our world tend to recognize as more beneficial. We are talking about things like greed, envy, taking advantage of others, and the complete renunciation of the fruit of the Spirit. That’s ‘LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), meekness, temperance (self-control).’ 

Oh my people, when any of those things die in us, while our bodies are still alive, the loss to ourselves and the world is incalculable. It means our world is about to get darker, the enemy is winning the battle, as we become less tolerant and caring, but more negative and adversarial. That’s not the kind of world we want to live in, or leave for our children to experience. And remember what Jesus said about our internal traits. ‘Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt. 15:11) 

And that’s the gospel truth friends! What we put into our mouths doesn’t defile us, but what comes out of our mouths defiles us. That’s because the things that come out of our mouths come from our hearts, while what goes in comes out as bodily refuse. As Jesus explains: ‘For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things that defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defile not a man.’ (Matt. 15:19-20) 

So whenever the goodness of God dies in us friends, it is indeed a sad day; a day to mourn for the well-being of our world. And right now, so much of the goodness of God has died in so many of us, that it’s no wonder our world is going through a rather dark and grievous time. And for it to turn around, it means that we, the disciples of Christ must do a better job than we’re currently doing. So let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…                                                                            

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

Next Newer Entries