Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 March 2013 Isaiah 40:8

04 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

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

 Isaiah 40:8.      The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Oh Friends, it’s Monday!   And I’m suddenly inundated by a whole setta ‘Steups’! and ‘Chuhs!’ and ‘Go away nuh! Yuh can’t see that people tired and want to sleep?’ ‘But it’s Monday,’ I insist. ‘Time to get up and go to work.’ Finally I receive a gruff, unenthusiastic, ‘Awright, Awright. Steups! This work thing cutting into mih party scene yes! Chuh man!’ And believe me Friends, some of us really feel that way, though it should be the other way around; work first -especially Jesus’ work – then partying a distant second. Ah mih people, whatever happened to the great progress we appeared to be making in being enthusiastic about Monday mornings and work eh? Was it only a pipe dream on my part? Because it surely seems like we’ve regressed right back to square one. But don’t think that I’m giving up on us. Not by a long shot! I’m making it my life’s work to see that we’re enthusiastic about getting up and rearing to go out to battle for Jesus on a Monday Morning. (smile) Anyway, since we seem to be in an unusually grumpy mood and testy frame of mind this morning, I’m not going to push my luck. I don’t want to be physically attacked, because I hear violence lurking in the background. Hn, hn! So let’s just sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with as much gusto as we can muster. As one, in harmony now. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Ah mih breddren, that wasn’t as good as it usually is nuh, but hopefully it got our motors going and with the Spirit of Jesus diligently working in us, we’ll soon get up to speed, and hopefully recognize the great significance of our Bit: ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.’ Now that my fellow believers is one of the most absolute truths that exist in this universe! In fact Friends, it’s what our entire belief system is based upon; the infallibility of the Word of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! If there’s no assurance, no surety or security to that, then all we think and believe as Christians is inaccurate, immaterial and serves no useful purpose whatsoever. If there’s no truth to the Creation Story: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth… and God said, Let there be light: and there was light… And God said, Let us make man in our own image…’ (Gen1:1,3,26) And also no truth to this most provocative statement: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty,’ (Rev.1:8) then there’s no real authority, or even plausibility to our Christian boasts. But fortunately my brethren, there are facts, figures and scripture to back up those supposedly extreme positions we Christians hold as truth. And they ought to be extreme, otherwise there’s no need for a God. Who wants a God that’s just like us eh? To be a genuine God, One must be way out, way above the heads of mere mortals in all aspects. And this, our immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God made extremely clear from early times, through His prophet Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) That says it all my people! And I like what the scholars say about that verse. ‘God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e., purposes or intentions) and ways (derakim, or “directions“) are higher than ours. While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes.’  And that’s the way it should be fellow believers! Now let’s look at some scripture that corroborates the contention of our Bit, that the Lord’s Word will last forever. And what better way to begin than with Isaiah’s famous prophecy. ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is.9:6-7) What powerful words my people! And the great thing about them is that we know the prophecy was partly fulfilled by the first coming of Jesus, the remainder will be fulfilled when He comes again, as He’s so faithfully promised. Anyway Friends, that’s enough for today. We’ll continue this Bit tomorrow, the Lord in favour. Till then, let’s stand steadfast and strong in faith, relying completely on the absolute infallibility and gospel truth of the Lord’s Word, for there’s nothing else in this fallen world to compare to it. Much LOVE!…if the Word of God isn’t true…then man’s earthly journey is pointless…his suffering meaningless…and his fullness of joy a bitter lie…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 August 2012 Exodus 20:3

08 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

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

Exodus 20:3.    Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
 
Well hello there my wonderful Friends in Christ! How goes the battle this beautiful summer’s day? I sure hope it goes fairly well with us all. But just in case it isn’t going so good, I want us to remember that our great God is still in control of His universe, and He’s seeing all that we do, as well as guiding our lives on the path that He’s planned for each of us. So wherever we are, and whatever we’re going through, please take comfort in knowing that it’s most likely an important time in, or aspect of our spiritual growth which He found necessary to pass us through. So please don’t lose hope and give up, for once the breath of life flows through our mortal bodies, there is always hope for spiritual renewal. Hn! I sure hope that comes across in the positive manner I intended. (smile) But once we become believers, we will be tested to see what we’re actually made of, and if we’re truly fit for kingdom life. And regardless of whatever happens to us, the first and most important thing we need to do is to obey the words of our Bit: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Yes Friends, that’s the number one commandment! And if we aspire to follow it with all our heart, mind, body and soul, then we should be able to pass all the tests on our earthly journey. It still won’t be easy, but what I LOVE about our God, is though He puts us through the testing fire like gold and silver, He ALWAYS HELPS to pull us through it too. He doesn’t just set the test and leave us stranded. And all God’s people raised a mighty shout of praise to heaven: ‘Thank you Lord, for being so good to the unworthy children of men!’ But for some unknown, unfathomable reason, our world has moved away from serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now we are much more concerned about doing our own thing, and that of Lucifer, rather than obeying the ONE and ONLY God who so LOVINGLY created us in His image, then promised to look after us forever, if we faithfully served, worshipped and obeyed Him. And today we’ll continue looking at some scriptures that contain serious warnings about bowing down to ONLY Almighty God. We’ll start with some words from 2 Kings, re the repopulation of Samaria with people of other nations by the king of Assyria, after he had captured it. And these people eventually established a religion in Samaria that was a mixture of Israel’s corrupted religion and the pagan worship that the outsiders brought. Obviously that was an unworkable arrangement, which led the Jews to ostracize and reject the people of Samaria, as we see in Jesus’ dealings with the woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob. (John 4:9, 8:48) As the Good Book states: ‘So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places (places for pagan worship). They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence (from among whom they were carried away). Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. With whom the Lord made a covenant, and charged them saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them. But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear (hold in awe and reverence), and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.’ (2 Kin.17:32-36) Ah Friends, what’s it going to take for us to realize the seriousness of our situation eh? We’re still bowing to the dictates of man and his man made idols, rather than to Jehovah God, so what can we expect when calamities, mayhem and disaster strike us eh? We’ve seen that man neither has the ability or true desire to fix the big things that are wrong with our world; like the strife, hunger, poverty, homelessness, economic fallout, etc. But yet we adamantly, stubbornly refuse to turn back to the ONLY Being who can straighten it all out; the Most High God, Lord of Hosts. Oh Friends, as the saying goes, there’s none so blind as he who refuses to see. And that’s exactly what we’re doing, refusing to see the real cause and effect of our troubled world. When most of us were obeying God, was there as much ‘sufferation’ as there is now? Certainly not! So why are we letting our leaders and wealthy few lead us down the garden path to certain destruction eh? Please, let’s rise up in Jesus’ name and fight the good fight that He asks us to do nuh. It’s the ONLY way we can ever hope to save our floundering, sinking world, and thereby give our children and their children some hope of a better life in the future. Much LOVE!…to fight…to fight…and yet to fight…to the death…in Jesus’ holy name…that’s the credo of believers…
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 April 2012 Hebrews 6:15

23 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 6:15.    And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

It’s Monday fellow believers, and we’re all alive and blooming! Praise the Lord! But it’s also time to roll out and join the workweek battle that’s already begun – it’s quickly picking up steam too. So if you want to reap those promised rewards, both earthly and heavenly, then you’d better get a move on to fight the good fight in Jesus’ army. Now, though victory’s been eventually guaranteed, we still need to be steadfast, strong and persevering against the minions of evil, who currently rule the roost. No war has ever been won by lazy, complaining, inefficient soldiers. Therefore, to boost our naturally lazy, negative spirits and keep us enthusiastically keeping on, let’s ask the Father for His assistance by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much vim and vigour. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ And if that doesn’t wake us up Friends, then let’s segue right into Bruh Paul’s famous speech in Hebrews 12, about running the great race of life in faith. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance) the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author (originator) and finisher (perfector) of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ (Heb.12:1-2) Yes mih people, in the annals of Christendom, there are innumerable believers who have witnessed to us living by their faith, therefore we must do everything in our power to set the same example for others, now and in the future. And we can only do that by putting aside everything that keeps us back; all the excess baggage, whatever it may be, including any prevalent sin(s) that constantly ensnare us, then running the race of our individual life, God’s plan for it, with patience, both waiting on His timing as well as having the endurance of a long distance runner. And the best example of that is Jesus, who bore all His crosses, literally and figuratively, with a sense of destiny, because He knew the end result was well worth it. As our Bit says: ‘And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ Just like Abraham, Jesus was highly rewarded for His faithfulness; a seat next to the Father, a glorious eternal kingdom, and a Name to which all must bow. The same message and principle applies to all of us, His loyal followers today. If we want to be true and serious builders of Jesus’ kingdom my Friends, be the seed in the parable of the sower that ‘fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit a hundredfold,’ (Luke 8:8) then here’s Jesus’ prescription for it: ‘But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest (noble) and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.’ (Luke 8:15) Oh my brethren, I know that it’s not easy living for Jesus, because He requires the utmost trust, faith and surrender from us, with ever increasing excellence, things that this evil, ungodly world don’t appreciate or encourage. But believe me, the rewards for following Jesus are worth every bit of the hard times and frustrations faithfully endured. And we’re not finished with this patience, perseverance, endurance business yet Friends. If we’re not around tomorrow, then we won’t need it (smile), but if we are, then it will be right back on our plates again, because there are so many scriptures that emphasize this very important principle of patience in serving our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Till we meet again tomorrow, the Lord willing, let’s endeavour to truly LOVE our God, faithfully LIVE our Faith, and diligently SPREAD His Word! Much LOVE!…a heart full of LOVE for Jesus…will be blessed with a spirit full of patience to do His will…

 

 

 

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