Today’s Scrip-Bit   4 August 2022 Jeremiah 33:3.

04 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee mighty (inaccessible) things, which thou knowest not.

And we’re moving right along, no haste, no hurry, but just a steady pace of life and times, as Thursday opens somewhat cloudy. But I have a question for the weather people. What ever happened to the rainstorm we were expected to get last night eh? My computer was pointedly telling me ‘Rain coming.’ In the early evening hours the skies became black like tar, and you’d believe that the whole sky was going to open up and drench and/or drown us with heavenly blessings. But all we got was a mere sprinkle, a dusting of rain, so to speak. 

And this morning, it’s again cloudy out there, with what’s going to happen, no one seems to know. Some other area must have gotten a good downpour, but we certainly didn’t Meanwhile, the earth, the flowers, the trees, and the animals, in other words, Mother Nature is crying out for thirst.

 But my theory on the subject is that the strong winds we’ve recently been experiencing, are blowing away the rain clouds. Yes, we now have stronger than normal winds regularly blowing in our area. And I’m chuckling here because when that happens, I invariably tell the duchess that the wind’s going to blow away the rain. She laughs at me, but I usually turn out to be right. (smile) 

That brings us to these marvellous words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah on the Lord’s behalf, when He promised a glorious return from captivity to His people Israel. The Lord spoke thus: ‘Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee mighty (inaccessible) things, which thou knowest not.’ (Jer. 33:3) 

Now why was that necessary eh? Because Judah had turned away from the Lord God of their forefathers and adopted the paganistic culture of their neighbours and thus He allowed them to be taken into captivity in Babylon. Consequently, God had stopped hearing their pleas for mercy from their captivity in a foreign land. 

Yes friends, when we’ve broken our covenant with the Lord, He stops hearing our requests. As the psalmist so rightly points out: ‘If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.’ (Ps. 66:18) And the scholars tell us that ‘Where there is godless living (Is. 56:11-12), lack of concern for others in their need (Is. 58:6-9) where the characteristics of true religion are explained, carelessness with regard to the clear instruction of the Word of God (35:17),’ then, ‘God cannot honour the one who prays; rather, such a one stands in danger of divine judgement (Zech. 7:8-14).’ 

That’s where the prophet Zechariah talks about the disobedience that led to their captivity. And yuh know what my brethren, those are the very same things that we are guilty of in these supposed modern times. We’ve turned away from God, not doing the things found in His Word, not taking care of each other, being godless and greedy, thus He’s stopped hearing our maudlin, self-pitying and insincere prayers, and allowed us to live on our own, as we so desperately wanted. 

Now look at the results of that foolish decision. Our world is full of strife, war, anger and hatred. Peace, LOVE and righteousness have fled away! Is that the way we truly want to live my people? I very much doubt it. But that means sincerely turning back to God, our Creator and Provider. And why is that? Because as the scholars tell us: ‘Where intimacy of communion exists with God, He answers the call of His own. See Job 13:22; 14:14; Psalms 22:24-25; 91:15; 102:1; Is. 58:9; 65:24).’ 

And yuh know what? All those verses speak about calling on the Lord for help in times of trouble. They tell us that He is the only true help we have in this mish-mash world. So, my fellow saints in Christ, the only way to reverse some of the many problems we are now experiencing is to get back into intimate communion with our heavenly Father. 

And the only way to do that is like Isaiah says: ‘Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke (of sin and godlessness), the putting forth (pointing) of the finger, and speaking vanity (wickedness). And if thou draw out (extend) thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity (darkness), and thy darkness (gloom), be as the noonday. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (dry places), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Is. 58:9-11) 

Wow friends, that’s what comes to us when we practice true religion and true intimacy with God! And isn’t it certainly much better than what we’re currently experiencing? Of course! So why are we so foolish, stubborn, pig headed and unwilling to turn back to the God of our forefathers eh? I really don’t know nuh. Is it because the push and pull of Satan and his iniquity workers is so strong that we can’t escape its grasp? I certainly hope not, otherwise crapaud smoke we pipe! 

Oh my people, please remember that our God is stronger than the powerless, deceitful devil, so if we truly want to escape him, we can do it with God’s help. So please, let’s stop making silly, childlike, selfish excuses for the way we are living nuh. And instead try to turn back to a way of life, where, as the Lord promised through Isaiah: ‘And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.’ (Is. 65:24) 

Now isn’t that a most wonderful way to live; getting answers before we even call and hearing us while we are yet speaking? It certainly is! And we can return our lives to that glorious time if we sincerely and diligently use the many undeserved blessings that the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. And what blessings are those you ask? We call them our Thursday Blessings, and we’ll activate them right now by declaring (steups!!!) them out loud. 

As one strong 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!’ 

And now, as true believers in, and workers for Christ, we need to go out and use those blessings to encourage others to come to Him, so they can receive His awesome gifts of LOVE, mercy, grace, salvation and eternal life! Much LOVE!

…we obviously can’t handle our own affairs…so why not try the other option available…that’s living for Almighty God 

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

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   7 April 2022 Isaiah 65:24.

07 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 65:24.       And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and when they are yet speaking, I will hear.

It’s a beautiful Thursday morning out there my people! Only wish there could be a li’l more heat in the sun though. (smile) But that will come eventually; all in God’s good time. That’s one thing about our great God, He might not come exactly when we want Him to, but He is aware of all our situations, and rest assured, He’s NEVER late! Glory be my faithful brethren! 

The promises of our God are ever so important because oftentimes that’s all we have to base our faith and trust on, remembering that He’s never broken one in the past and has both the desire and power to never break any at all. So today, let’s look at one interesting promise made by the prophet Isaiah on the Lord’s behalf, when he spoke to his people about new heavens and a new earth. ‘And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and when they are yet speaking, I will hear.’ (Is. 65:24) 

Yes friends, that’s how quick the communication will be! The Lord promises to answer before we even call, and to answer while we are still speaking! Wow! That’s how it will be in the New Jerusalem! Can you imagine that beautiful and serene scene, where ‘The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock (ox): and dust shall be the serpent’s meat (food). They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 65:25) Oh, I know some of us won’t believe it until we see it, but that’s what it takes to live in God’s kingdom; you believe it before you see it! 

Now, let’s look at some other promises that branch off from that one nuh, where the Lord assures and reassures of His faithfulness. And Isaiah in his true description of religion, reiterates God’s promise. If his people will give up their wicked and idolatrous ways and do what God desires of them: ‘Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health (healing) shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward (rear guard).

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth (pointing) of the finger, and speaking vanity (wickedness). And if thou draw out (extend) thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity (darkness), and thy darkness (gloom) be as the noonday. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought (famine), and make fat (strengthen) thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.’ (Is. 58: 8-11) 

Oh my people, who wouldn’t want to enjoy such a beautiful life eh? But it requires keeping our promise to live for the Lord. He will do almost anything for us if we live the way He desires, with Him being FIRST in all we do. Yes, we all LOVE the good life, but we don’t want to work for it. Unfortunately though, the good life only comes through obedience, hard work and sacrifice! 

Now listen to these wonderful words of promise from Psalm 91 – God is a refuge and a fortress. The psalmist confidently declares of the Lord: ‘Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps. 91:14-16) You couldn’t get a better promise than that my people! But then again, it requires some serious and sincere effort on our part towards our heavenly Father. 

And what about this miraculous happening in the answer of prayer from the words of Daniel? He says: ‘And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly (being weary with weariness), touched (reached) me about the time of the evening oblation (offering). 

And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and (in) understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment (word, order) came forth, and I am come to show (tell) thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand (give heed to) the matter, and consider (understand) the vision.’ (Dan. 9:20-23) 

Now doesn’t that just warm the cockles of your hearts my fellow saints? It ought to, for before Daniel was even finished praying the angel Gabriel came to talk with him; exactly what the Lord promised in those other scriptures we’ve read this morning. He even showed him a vision of Israel’s future. But that was because Daniel was an obedient servant of the Lord. And He would do the very same with us, if we truly became His obedient servants. 

And the scholars offer this interesting explanation on those verses. ‘9:20-23. The answer of God to Daniel’s prayer came immediately through the angel Gabriel. Although Daniel’s prayer was primarily for God’s forgiveness and restoration of the Jews to their land, his initial concern for God’s programme for Israel (vs.2) caused the Lord to reveal to him an outline of Israel’s future from that point on.’ And that vision of Israel has held true right down through the ages. 

But friends, receiving the goodness of God, almost always depends on us doing what He requires. It’s as simple as that. As the ole people would say, ‘it takes two to tango, and one hand washes the other.’ One person can’t tango by themself, neither can one hand wash itself, and we need to remember that we are in a partnership with God, which means both sides have their parts to do. Our part is to serve and worship the Lord fervently and obediently. His is to look after us when we do that. 

And yuh know what, He’s so good, that He even gives us stuff that we don’t deserve, like what we call our Thursday Blessings, but they enable us to do His work. So, we don’t even have cause to complain that we don’t have the tools to do His work. (smile) Now let’s declare those blessings in loud and proud voice, so that they can take effect in our souls, and thus in our everyday lives. 

‘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!’ 

And if we want to see real benefits in our earthly walk, then we need to go and put those blessings to work in the lives of others, just as generously and unselfishly as the Lord did in ours. Much LOVE!

…what’s in a promise…one’s heart and soul… 

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