Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 June 2020 Jeremiah 13:15.

15 Jun 2020 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 13:15.    ​Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. 
 

Monday, Monday, Monday… Chuh! Another blooming day to go to work! And as if going to work wasn’t bad enough after such a relaxing weekend, we have to go amidst all the confusion and chaos caused by the Covid-19 virus and a host of disgruntled and dissatisfied protesters in the street. Ah Lord eh! What a way we world in a sad mess! 

But friends, the news isn’t all bad! No, there’s some good stuff too – namely that the Creator and Controller of this great universe, Almighty God Himself…Yahweh…Jehovah – whatever name you choose – has His people safely ensconced in the palms of His mighty hands, under the shelter of His powerful wings! And all His children declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy to the children of men!’ 

But the problem we encounter though, is that with our free will it behooves us to come to Him, He won’t simply conscript us like soldiers in time of war. We have to join His army of our own free will, and once we do that, we then need to stick ever so closely to Him, like white on rice. (smile) He will keep and protect us. That’s His ever-faithful promise, and all the storms that are currently besetting us will pass, as they all do – just in His time. 

So there’s no need to fear what’s currently happening in our world, although we must be concerned and do our part to help reshape life in a more equitable and Christian manner. And one of the ways we can ALL participate in that reshaping is through prayer; the most powerful weapon in the universe! It’s the method of communication that the Lord, in His eternal wisdom, devised for us to bring our problems and concerns to Him, as well as to just have friendly chats and tete-`a-tetes with Him. 

So as one strong voice, with sincere hearts, let’s call out to Him right now nuh, invoking our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for His mercy and grace in the worldwide problems that we’re now facing. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive, and hopefully haven’t contracted the virus that’s causing havoc around our world. And our anxieties have been recently deepened because some restrictions have been lifted in the lockdown, so more of us are going out to work now without any guarantees of safety. 

Then to complicate matters Father, suddenly, and unexpectedly, just like the virus, worldwide strife and protests have also struck us in this sad time of pandemic, and we don’t have a clue how to handle either situation properly. Mass confusion is currently prevailing in our world, and we desperately need your help to solve both problems, as You are the ONLY One with the power and insight to successfully handle them. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction. 

Please show us how to successfully handle these scourges that are currently plaguing Your beautiful earth. Please help our leaders to wisely quell the strife and protests, and the scientists to find a positive solution, a sure antidote to the virus as quickly as possible. And for those who have already contracted the virus, or been injured in the strife, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. 

Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

And my people, if our hearts were truly sincere in that prayer, then we know that our faithful God has begun working on the solution to our problems, and they will be eventually conquered, but in His time, when He decides that His purpose for allowing it to happen has been achieved. Until then, we just have to hope and pray and stay strong in His LOVE! And living the way He desires just might help us too. (smile) 

For interest sake, I just opened the Good Book and discovered these inspiring words uttered by the prophet Jeremiah to his people Israel when they were in a period of disobedience. ‘Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness. And before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer. 13:15-16) Now wise people hearing those words would certainly take some time to ponder their lives and see if they are doing what the prophet advises. For who knows if that is one of the reasons our world is currently so dark, so overrun by darkness? 

And the scholars add this interesting explanation: ‘13:15-17. A third illustration concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’ 

And the psalmist also had these wise words of advice: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him all the earth. Say among the heathen (nations) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps. 96:7-10) 

What more can I say eh friends and neighbours? Just that a word to the wise is usually sufficient, and he who has ears to hear, let him hear! Much LOVE!

…obey God…and all will be well…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 December 2017 Isaiah 51:9.

18 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 51:9.   Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days (days of old), in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut off Rahab, and wounded the dragon (serpent)?

Ah friends, I don’t know how to begin today’s Bit nuh. Words fail me. (smile) That’s because I want to give you a very snappy and in your face intro as writers are supposed to give their readers. But unfortunately, it seems the ole brain isn’t functioning on that level this morning, so I guess we’ll just have to settle for a somewhat simple and pedestrian intro. (smile) 

So it’s Monday morning, time to roll out of bed and get ready to go to work. In fact, next Monday is Christmas Day, which means you have plenty stuff to do between now and then, so let’s get a move on nuh. Neither time, nor the world is waiting on you. Thus, as they say, if you snooze, you lose. And since we definitely don’t want you to lose, we have to stop you snoozing and start you moving. And we’ll begin that process by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with whatever gusto you can muster at this early hour of the day. 

So 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!’ 

Ah mih people, it never ceases to amaze me how those words can perk me up on a cold Monday morning. How they can get my adrenaline running, the fire in my belly flaming brightly and have me just chomping at the bit, rearing to get out into the world and do battle with the iniquity workers on behalf of Jesus! I certainly hope that they bring the same fiery attitude to your soul, so that as one unified, well-disciplined, strong and eager army we can fight the good fight and make Jesus’ LOVE Revolution successful! 

In other words friends, we have to do like Isaiah declared when he called the faithful to courage in our Bit.  ‘Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days (days of old), in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut off Rahab, and wounded the dragon (serpent)?’ 

Ah my fellow believers, we are today’s faithful and just like the Israelites back then, we are being called to courage; called to show our mettle, what we are truly made of. It’s our time now to show that we can stand strong and fight valiantly against Lucifer and his evil forces of darkness. Remember we are the forces of light, and light ALWAYS overcomes darkness, but that light must first be shone in the darkness that surrounds it, otherwise it won’t make any difference. 

It’s time friends, that we rise up as one and seriously engage the enemy, for right now, with our less than stellar efforts, we’re fighting a losing battle. The Lord fought for the Israelites when they were in slavery in both Egypt (Rahab) and Babylon and brought them out victorious. Now He wants to fight for us, but we have to get in concert with Him, otherwise it won’t work. 

Yuh see how after the Lord brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, then they rebelled against Him and thus wandered in the wilderness for forty long, hard years because of it? Well friends, we’ll just keep on spinning our wheels in frustration and anxiety if we don’t right our ship and walk with the Lord, rather than against Him. Remember, He has nothing to lose, but we have so much to gain from walking faithfully with Him. And when He fights for us, we win, because He is the strongest, the most powerful force in the universe. 

Hear how the psalmist describes it in Psalm 93 – The Lord is clothed with majesty. ‘The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved (shaken) Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.’ (Ps.93:1-2)  

And in Psalm 96 – A call to praise God, the psalmist again declares the Lord’s power. ‘O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad: let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof (all that is in it).’ (Ps.96:9-11) 

Yes my people, that is the message we have to get out to the heathen – the Lord rocks! And the sooner we do, the better it will be for us all. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…then put what he’s heard into action…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 May 2013 Psalm 96:9

07 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 96:9.      O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
 
Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella’s here to make a major pronouncement this morning. Now this shouldn’t even have to be stated, because it’s something all believers should already know, be thoroughly convinced of and diligently practicing. But unfortunately, too many of us don’t even act like we know it, much less seem convinced of it. And the pronouncement is that Christians ought to be the happiest and most joyful people on planet earth! Why is that, you naively ask? Well because we have the five best things in life going for us; namely God the Father, God the Son, Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit, our personal Helper and Comforter. And when you add to that omnipotent Trinity, the free gift through grace and Jesus’ sacrifice of salvation and eternal life, you have the most awesome and explosive combination of Beings and circumstances possible. Now all that should produce unbeatable joy in believers, as Jesus says: ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ (John 15:11) But judging from the sad and sour perspective of many believers that just isn’t so. And why isn’t that eh? Does it show a lack of true faith, a lack of sincere belief, a lack of true trust and surrender, that all we have is lots of talk and no real action to back it up? I don’t know nuh. But I do know that as a group, Christians don’t show the true, heartfelt happiness and joy that we ought to, what with all the great things we have going for us. I guess that we don’t truly have a mind focused on heaven, but allow the negativity of the world to encroach, to invade the confines of our souls, and thus effectively reduce our joy in our wonderful God and all that He’s offered and done for us. Oh my brethren, please, please remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength, (Neh. 8:10) which means that if we’re not joyful in Him, then we won’t be, or rather, can’t be strong. I’m therefore pleading with us today, let’s up the ante in the joy and strength of our lives nuh. We desperately need them to fight against the powerful enemies of this wicked world. And that joy begins, and stays with us, when we do as our Bit so wisely advises. ‘O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth.’ Yes Friends, when we have a healthy respect for our God, knowing that He’s all powerful and can get angry at us for continual disobedience, but that His true nature is one of LOVE, mercy and forgiveness, we can relax and continually worship Him, as Bruh David says, in the ‘beauty of holiness.’ We acknowledge the beauty, the majesty inherent in His Holy nature, and since it’s totally above and beyond our sinful ways, we consequently desire to come before Him in much praise and thanksgiving. And it seems that the phrase, ‘beauty of holiness’ was a favourite of Bruh David’s, for he uses it on several occasions. In Psalm 29 – The voice of the Lord in the storm – he declares: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty (majesty) of holiness.’ (Ps.29:2) Then in 1 Chronicles 15, in his psalm of thanksgiving, he strongly advocates: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.’ (1 Chr.16:29) And yet again, in Psalm 110 – The Lord gives dominion to the king – he proclaims: ‘Thy people shall be willing (volunteers) in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.’ (Ps.110:3) But it’s not only Bruh David who talks about the beauty, the majesty of our God. Listen to Moses, in his only Psalm, Psalm 90, and therefore the oldest in the Psalter. It’s titled -From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. He ends it thus: ‘And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.’ (Ps.90:17) And if we go to 2 Chronicles 20, when the armies of Moab, the children of Ammon and those of mount Seir banded together to invade Judah, King Hezekiah, on the advice of Jahaziel, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Chr.20:13-17) had the whole nation bow before the Lord their God and ask for His strength and faith. Then, on the appointed morning, they rose up early and went out to battle against the combined army. ‘And when he (Hezekiah) had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they  began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab and mount Seir, which were come against Judah and they were smitten (defeated).’ (2 Chr.20:21-22) The Israelites didn’t even have to lift a hand in battle, they just sang and praised the Lord, who then made the invading armies to quarrel and fight amongst themselves. The Israelites then gained an enormous spoil from the battle without lifting a hand, just their voices to heaven, Oh mih Friends, yuh see what praise and worship and thanksgiving to our great and powerful God can do! My people, let us therefore, from today, and henceforth, raise the level of our praise and thanksgiving to our mighty and merciful God nuh, so that we may prosper and be strong in the land which He has given to us. That is indeed the wisdom of the wise and faithful. Much LOVE!… oh what infinite joy, peace and prosperity… comes from sincerely worshipping and praising Almighty God….
 
   
 
  

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 May 2013 Psalm 96:9

06 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 96:9.     O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, and I know that you all are rather anxious and excited to get out into the evil, ungodly world and fight for Jesus! You all just can’t wait to exit suburbia, the only place you can barely afford to live, get into your cheaply made but expensive cars and crawl along the highways into the concrete jungles, endure hassles over parking, then hustle into the ugly glass and steel towers, making sure you’re not late, and battle Beelzebub mano-a- mano! No Friends, I’m not high on anything but life and the LOVE of Jesus! And I sure wish many more supposed Christians could have some joy and fun in their spirits, rather than the dead, comatose attitudes some of us display. Jesus didn’t die for us to be fearful and tragic minded. As He says: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) That means we can all afford to lighten up and enjoy life. It’s not always a bed of roses, but knowing that our salvation and everlasting life are guaranteed, that should certainly enable us to have a better attitude towards this earthly life. Anyway, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with mucho gusto and perk up our wilting spirits. In harmony then, let’s raise our heads, hearts, hands, eyes and voices to heaven. ‘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!’ Bravo, my people, Bravo! That was good! And I just heard a song on WACK 90.1 F.M in T&T that’s admirably suited to lift our spirits this bluesy Monday morning. The male vocalist is joyfully declaring: ‘O Jesus, I want to commune with You. Take my heart, take my soul. I give it all to You. My desire is to worship and exalt You, and testify about the greatness of Your Name. For You delight in the praises of your people. So hear my voice, hear my cry, hear my heart. I want to be one with You.’ Oh my brethren, what noble sentiments and desires! Sentiments and desires that all true Christians should have deeply embedded in our DNA! And in the Lord’s mysterious and wonderful way, the song also reflects the sentiments of our Bit. ‘O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him all the earth.’ Yes my people, it’s a universal call to praise God, for the whole earth to submit to His sovereignty, His glorious majesty, His kingship. And why is that eh? Why does the Lord deserve these accolades? The psalmist kindly enlightens us. ‘For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps.96:4-6) Oh Friends, those are most excellent reasons to praise our great God! And when you add His care and LOVING-kindness towards His mortal creations, that includes sacrificing the life of His sinless Son Jesus so we could be redeemed and be reconciled to Him, I don’t know how you can do anything else but give Him endless praise and bow down and worship Him in all reverence and truth. As the psalmist continues, we ought to: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be established (is firmly established) that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96:7-10) So my fellow believers, let’s all go out today and be veritable mirror images of Christ nuh; going about doing good, spreading the good news of the gospel, and singing sweet praises to Almighty God. That’s why we were created. Much LOVE!…oh what sweet songs of praise…the name of Jesus…brings to my voice and my soul…