Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 April 2023 Matthew 21:6.

02 Apr 2023 Leave a comment

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

Matthew21:6. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them.

And then it was Sunday once again! But this time it’s a special one; Psalm Sunday! The day when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made His triumphal kingly entry on a colt of a donkey into Jerusalem, the city of His father David. Wow! What a day that was! And what a day it still is, because ‘For Christians, it is a reminder of the welcoming of Jesus into our hearts and of our willingness to follow him.’ 

Another commentary says: ‘Palm Sunday carries Christ towards the ultimate sacrifice of his life on the cross, where, by his sacrifice we are healed! Its central message is that God sees us and LOVES what he sees. The only requirement from us is that we welcome him and his peace, and exercise faith in his ultimate healing — on earth or in heaven.’ 

And let’s begin doing that with some appropriate praise and worship for this momentous day in our Christian calendar, by singing the hymn, ‘Hosanna in the Highest!’ In a rousing, rollicking version, let’s offer up our sacrificial praises to heaven with joyful hearts. Singing: ‘Hosanna [2] Hosanna In The Highest [2] Lord We Lift Up Your Name With Our Hearts Filled With Praise Be Exalted Oh Lord Our God Hosanna In The Highest.  Holy [3] Is The Lamb Of God [2] Lord We Lift Up Your Name With Our Hearts Filled With Praise Be Exalted Oh Lord Our God Holy Is The Lamb Of God.  

Jesus [3] Is The King Of Kings [2] Lord We Lift Up Your Name With Our Hearts Filled With Praise Be Exalted Oh Lord Our God Jesus Is The King Of Kings.  Hosanna [2] Hosanna In The Highest [2] Lord We Lift Up Your Name With Our Hearts Filled With Praise Be Exalted Oh Lord Our God Hosanna In The Highest. (2) Be exalted Oh Lord our God Hosanna in the Highest….’  

Oh my fellow believers, how wonderful it is to be able to remember that joyful day in ole Jerusalem with the multitudes who had come to celebrate the Jewish Passover feast. And we all know the story as told by the disciple Matthew, which we never get tired of hearing and repeating. ‘And when they (Jesus and the disciples) drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethpage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples. Saying unto them, Go into the village over against (opposite) you, and straightway ye shall find an ass (donkey) tied, and a colt with her: loose (untie) them, and bring them unto me. 

And if any man say ought (anything) unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt. 21:1-5) 

Yes friends, as the Good Library keeps on showing us, Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament Scriptures. And the prophet who made that announcement was none other than Zechariah, as he promised Israel that their king would indeed come to them one day. (Zech. 9:9) And on the day we call Palm Sunday, Jesus fulfilled that scripture like he did so many others during His short time here on earth. 

But getting on with the story, Matthew continues: ‘And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them. And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way (road), others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed (spread) them in the way (road). 

And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.’ (Matt. 21:6-11) 

Now that was indeed a marvellous day as Jesus entered the city where He eventually intends to set up His kingdom, like the king He is. And as the scholars tell us: ‘Riding on the colt of an ass marked the official entry of Israel’s kings. Thus Jesus arrives in the full declaration of His kingship.’ And it was interesting how the crowds shouted out ‘Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest,’ because I don’t think most of them really knew Him, but followed the chants of those who did, like we do so often when we get caught up in the exuberance of a crowd. 

And what does the word ‘Hosanna’ mean eh? In the old interpretation as found in Psalm 118:25, it basically meant, ‘save, now.’ That’s how the psalmist used it: ‘Save, now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.’ But when used as the crowd did: ‘Hosanna to the son of David, and Hosanna in the highest,’ ‘In that context, the word Hosanna seems to be a “special kind of respect” given to the one who saves, saved, will save or is saving now. If so Hosanna means “a special honor to the one who saves” And obviously that is cause for discussion amongst the scholars. (smile) 

But we don’t need to dilly dally over the meaning, since we know what it means to us. Jesus is our Saviour! Short and to the point. And that segues very nicely into this commentary. “Hosanna in the highest” is used when we acknowledge Jesus for His ultimate sacrifice and what it means for us and mankind as a whole. This may not be something we often say out loud, but we can think it in our minds and feel it in our hearts in times of worship.’ 

Yuh better believe it, we ought to be continually acknowledging Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds! We need to remember it as the foundation of our faith, so that it can help us handle the rough times when they come along, as they most certainly will. 

And we’ll end today with a most appropriate prayer for Palm Sunday. Please pray with me: ‘Merciful God, as we enter Holy week, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, and to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Stir up within us the gift of faith that we may not only praise him with our lips, but may follow him in the way of the cross.’ And all of God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Amen!’ 

Yes my fellow saints, this Holy Week is indeed a time to stir up our faith, so that we can confidently face the evil world in which we currently dwell, in the great and mighty name of Jesus! Much LOVE!

…only Jesus…only Jesus as God and man…could do what He did…and is still doing…give Him thanks and praise…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ      

Today’s Scrip-Bit   15 March 2022 Isaiah 33:22.

15 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 33:22.       For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

Oh my people, it’s Tuesday! That means we’ve conquered Monday, and Tuesday is set out before us also for conquering, though the day may be wet and gloomy with forecasts of precipitation and all kinds of trials and difficulties might lie in our way and naturally cause anxiety and fear. A good Bruh Paulian sentence that! (smile) But we need to remember that we have the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling in us for that exact purpose; to conquer every day which the Lord gives us the privilege of experiencing. 

And there’s no better way of starting out than to remember this marvellous scripture of encouragement and reassurance. So, let’s acclaim it out loud together nuh. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) Now if that doesn’t lift our spirits and help us to go forth in the strength of Jesus, then I don’t know what will! (smile) 

And as we promised yesterday, if God spared our lives today, we would continue looking at the powerful scripture from Isaiah, which states that God is our be all and our end all, in fact our EVERYTHING! So here goes: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ (Is. 33:22) And that’s the gospel truth my friends, for the Lord is all those things to us …and more. 

Now, yesterday we ran out of time and space after talking about the attributes of judge and lawgiver, so today we’ll look at those of King and Saviour. As per God being our King, the Lord Himself first expressed His kingship over Israel, when they came to Samuel, the then judge, and asked for a human king like the other nations around them. The Lord told Samuel, ‘they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’ (1 Sam. 8:7) But nonetheless, later on Israel came to look upon the Lord as their King. 

The Psalms, especially those of Bruh David, acknowledge this fact very often. Listen up: In Psalm 24 – The king of glory – Bruh David confidently declares: ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.   Selah.’ (Ps. 24:7-10) 

There is no disputing those facts my people. For the Lord God is indeed the King of glory! And Ethan the Ezrahite repeats the kingly attributes of our great God in Psalm 89 titled – God’s sure promises to David – when he declares: ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:15-18) It couldn’t get any clearer than that my faithful brethren! 

Meanwhile in Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious – Bruh David opens by declaring: ‘I will extol (praise) thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps. 145:1) And the prophet Zechariah promised Zion’s future king with these most encouraging words: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Zech. 9:9) Now that scripture was played out on Psalm Sunday, when King Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, bringing peace instead of war, like the kings of the earth do. 

And what can be better than hearing Jesus Himself declare His kingship when He stood accused before Pilate. The Good Book describes it like this. ‘Pilate therefore said unto him (Jesus), Art thou a king then? Jesus answered. Thou sayest (rightly) that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.’ (John 18:37) 

And we also know that because of Jesus’ obedience, the Father hath exalted Jesus’ name to the ‘name which is above every other name…that every knee should bow to His name…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11) And we only bow to Lords and Kings. 

Then later on in Revelation, we are told about the Beast, the Antichrist and his evil minions: ‘These shall make war with the Lamb (Jesus), and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.’ (Rev. 17:14) 

And if you still don’t believe that Jesus is God and King of this world, then listen to this final scripture, also from the Book of Revelation, where John, the writer, says he saw a rider called ‘Faithful and True’ on a white horse, going out to make war and do righteous judgement… ‘And he hath on his vesture (robe) and on his thigh a name written KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’ (Rev. 19:16) 

That’s our Jesus, who, when the Father decides the time is right, will have universal sovereignty…the KING over all those who call themselves kings, and the LORD over all those who consider themselves Lords! Hallelujah to the Lamb that was slain for us! And it looks like we’ll have to leave the aspect of ‘salvation’ until tomorrow. Yes, there is plenty to write about that, and trying to do it today would make the Bit exceptionally long, and our focus these days is very short. (smile) 

So, for those of us who are sincerely trying to live for Jesus, let’s go home now declaring…would you believe I’ve spelt it correctly every time today…Glory be! Let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, proudly announcing to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

Now, let’s do our duty by going out and sharing the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…living the Christian life with Jesus…oh it’s so sweet…sweeter than honey on the comb… 

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