Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 March 2018 Mark 11:9.

25 Mar 2018 Leave a comment

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

Mark 11:9.    And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord:

Oh friends, it’s Sunday, Palm Sunday, that venerable feast day in our Christian history and calendar when our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem like a conquering hero, the king He was and is, riding on the back of a humble donkey, as the jubilant people spread their clothes and palm branches in the road for Him to ride on, and they kept singing, ‘Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the Highest!’ 

Ah mih people, what a wonderful and moving spectacle that must have been, seeing and hearing the people give praise and honour and glory to our God and King, Jesus Christ. 

Likewise, this Palm Sunday morning, the Sunday before Easter, as we gather in the chapel, the sanctuary, or wherever, let’s lift up our voices in praise and glory like they did two thousand years ago, as we welcome Jesus into our hearts and spirits and surroundings. 

Let’s resurrect those shouts of Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest!’ As one awesome sounding choir now, let’s offer the sacrifice of praise through grateful lips from joyful hearts. ‘Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest Lord we lift up your name With our hearts filled with praise Be exalted OH Lord our God Hosanna in the Highest. 

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb of God Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lamb of God 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, Jesus, Jesus is the King of Kings Jesus, Jesus, Jesus is the King of Kings 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, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest Lord we lift up your name With our hearts filled with praise Be exalted OH Lord our God Hosanna in the Highest.’ 

Yeh friends, is it ever important that we lift up the name of Jesus, the name that’s above every other name, so that all people can bow their knees to Him and call him Lord and Saviour, for that’s exactly what He is. And now that we’ve offered praise and worship, our hearts and souls have been opened, ready to receive God’s word, that will bless and keep us for the next week. 

And here it is, describing Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. ‘And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he (Jesus) sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against (opposite) you, and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him 

And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.’ (Mark 11:1-3) 

‘All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt.21:4-5) 

‘And they (the disciples) went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without (outside) in a place (on the street) where two ways met; and they loose (untied) him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye do, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. 

And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way (road): and others cut down branches off the trees, and strewed them in the way (road). 

And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’ (Mark 11:4-10) 

‘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.21:10-11) 

And there we have it friends; the word of the Lord! And all God’s people declared a loud, grateful and confident ‘All thanks and praise be to our wonderful and sovereign God!’ 

Yes my fellow believers, He is indeed worthy of all the praise and glory our hearts and souls can muster! And you’ll notice that I interspersed the words of Matthew and Mark in our gospel reading so that we could get the full benefit of the information contained in both, since they each tell the story in a slightly different manner. 

Now I sincerely hope that the gospel story and the praise and worship have touched our hearts and souls today, and will make us confident and secure to go out and face another week of work. Until next time then, the Lord willing, walk faithfully and carefully with the Saviour. Much LOVE!

…Hosanna…Hosanna…save me Jesus…save me…is the right cry for us all to call out… 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2017 Matthew 21:5.

09 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 21:5.    Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.

HAPPY PALM SUNDAY!

Well friends, it’s another Sunday morning in the life; an important one too – Palm Sunday – when our Lord and Saviour Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey two thousand years ago. And oh, how the enormous crowd shouted with joy, throwing their clothes and palm branches in the dusty streets of Jerusalem for the King of Kings to ride upon! 

And on this special day, we’ll open with a song of rejoicing and honour that was written in 820, especially for this occasion. So now, with much enthusiasm, joy and faithfulness, let’s offer up to heaven, a sacrifice of praise with our lips, as we declare the wonderful words of the hymn, ‘All Glory, Laud and Honour.’  

‘(Refrain: All glory, laud and honor, To Thee, Redeemer, King, To Whom the lips of children Made sweet hosannas ring.) Thou art the King of Israel, Thou David’s royal Son, Who in the Lord’s Name comest, The King and Blessèd One. (Refrain) The company of angels Are praising Thee on High, And mortal men and all things Created make reply. (Refrain) 

The people of the Hebrews With palms before Thee went; Our prayer and praise and anthems Before Thee we present. (Refrain) To Thee, before Thy passion, They sang their hymns of praise; To Thee, now high exalted, Our melody we raise. (Refrain) Thou didst accept their praises; Accept the prayers we bring, Who in all good delightest, Thou good and gracious King. (Refrain)’ 

Oh my fellow believers, how wonderful is that song of praise on this Palm Sunday morning eh! When we recall all the important and joyful stuff that went on that day it just lifts our hearts and spirits with emotions of heavenly wonder! (smile) Palm Sunday was one of the foundational stones in our Christian faith; it lifted our faith to a higher level. 

And since we just praised the day in song, let’s hear what the Good Book says about it now. ‘And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethpage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he (Jesus) sendeth forth two of his disciples. And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against (opposite) you, and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose (untie) him and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither.’ (Mark 11:1-4) Bethany, 

Yes friends, Jesus had the whole show set up beforehand! Now there is a discrepancy between Mark and Matthew’s version, in that Matthew speaks about a colt and a mature donkey, while Mark only talks about the colt. And I’ve used Mark’s version because of some important words of Jesus found there; ‘whereon man never sat.’  

And the scholars tell us those words indicated that ‘An animal devoted to a sacred purpose must not have been put to common use. (Num. 19:2, Deut. 21:3) So for it to be worthy of Jesus, it must never have been ridden before. 

And the Good Book tells us why Jesus set up that scene. ‘All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,  Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt.21:4-5) 

Now the scholars inform us that our Bit ‘is a combination of Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9, taken substantially from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament.’ 

And we’ll go back to Mark for the next piece of the story, as Matthew doesn’t go into it in as much detail. ‘And they (the disciples) went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without (outside) in a place where two ways met (on the street); and they loose (untied) him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.’ (Mark11:4-6)  

Now back to Matthew. (smile)  ‘And (they) brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him (Jesus) thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed (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.21:7-11) 

Ah friends, I do hope I did not confuse you with moving from text to the next, but I just wanted to give us the entire story. And I know you all are smart enough to pick sense from nonsense anyway. (smile) 

Now here is some more relevant info from the scholars. On the subject of Palm Sunday itself, they declare: ‘This event is traditionally known as the triumphal entry, when Jesus officially offers Himself to the nation of Israel as her long-awaited Messiah. However, in many ways, it was far from a triumph, for the day ended in Jesus’ public prediction of His rejection by His own people.  

The crowd’s cry of ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,’ echoes words from 2 Sam.14:4 and Psalm 118:25-26. 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.’ 

How very fitting my people! So let’s go out and celebrate and rejoice today nuh, reliving the joy, the splendour and magnitude of that august day so long ago. Much LOVE!

…the king is coming…the king is coming…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 July 2016 Luke 8:50

10 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

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

Luke 8:50.   But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Ah friends, once more we have been blessed with another wonderful day on God’s marvellous creation called planet earth! And believe me, there’s method to God’s madness for allowing us to see another day. It means we still have things to do in the great plan that He’s mapped out for us since the beginning of time. 

So let’s be joyful and declare as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24)  Yes my fellow believers, under the circumstances, it’s the only attitude that makes sense. 

And furthermore, since the psalmist wrote those words, we have even more reason to celebrate because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ died to cleanse our sinful souls, reconcile us to the Father and offer us the magnificent gifts of salvation and eternal life by simply believing in Him and being obedient to His Word! Wow! What a Saviour!  

And this summer Sunday morning I’d like us to sing an old hymn, a favourite of mine in my youth, which tells of Jesus’ great sacrifice on our behalf. It’s called, ‘There is a green hill far away.’ 

Please sing loudly and lustily with me. ‘There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there. 

There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav’n and let us in. Oh, dearly, dearly has he LOVED! And we must LOVE him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’ 

Oh precious people, it is so good to offer up praise and thanks to our God after what He’s done for us. Just look at it nuh; Jesus was the ONLY one who could unlock heaven’s’ gate so that we might enter because He was sinless! And he did it so selflessly, enduring the horrendous pain without any complaints! 

Meanwhile, we soft, pampered people today, cry and complain so much if we have even a li’l hang nail. (smile) I don’t think many, if any of us, could have borne even one tenth of Jesus’ suffering without going crazy from the abuse and the pain. 

However, thankfully, we’re not called on to do that, but we are called on to bear some trials and tribulations in this earthly life, which we should try to do without too much caterwauling and complaining.  And the formula for doing that is given at the end of the hymn above. ‘LOVE Jesus, trust in His redeeming blood and diligently try to do His work.’ 

It’s all right there in a nutshell friends, just waiting for us to put it into action. And that’s exactly where we as supposed followers of Christ fall down. We talk a good talk, but can’t match it with our walk. And that’s not right, because the only way others will want to come to Jesus is by seeing His grace and truth, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE in action in our lives. 

And it’s high time we start doing better, if we want to carry the day for Jesus. But we need to first believe that it’s possible and then that we have the necessary parts to do it.  

Listen to Jesus’ admonition to Jairus the synagogue ruler when he heard that his daughter had died. ‘But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’ 

Yes friends, the starting point for everything is BELIEF! If you don’t believe, generally speaking, it won’t happen. Now let’s look at a couple of other instances where Jesus invoked belief. 

Let’s begin with His early morning journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. He was hungry and approached a fig tree expecting to find figs because it was fig season. However the tree was barren of all fruit. Jesus then declared to the fig tree: ‘Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.’ (Matt.21:19) 

Obviously the disciples were amazed at the fig tree’s sudden demise. ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt.21:21-22) 

And friends, please note that the important word in that last sentence is ‘BELIEVING!’ If you don’t believe, all your prayers are useless. 

Now let’s turn to our final example, that time when Jesus heard that His friend Lazarus was deathly ill, but He stayed where He was for another two days before returning to Bethany. By then Lazarus had died and his sister Martha met Jesus on the way and criticized Him. 

‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ (John 11:21-27) 

Ah friends, Martha surely believed, but she did not understand Jesus’ intention to raise her brother in the current time. Thus when they took Him to Lazarus’ tomb and He ordered them to roll away the stone from the mouth, ‘Martha saith unto him, Lord by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? (John 11:39-40) 

And we all know that after Jesus spoke to His Father, for the people’s sake, He ordered Lazarus to come out and he came out, alive and well and many of those who saw Jesus’ work, believed. 

I ask us now friends, do we believe that strongly so that we can see the glory of God? For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so. Much LOVE!

…without belief…not much is possible…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 July 2014 Mark 5:36b

19 Jul 2014 Leave a comment

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

Mark 5:36b.  Be not afraid, only believe.

And then it was Saturday; a bright, vibrant, radiant day, made by Almighty God so that His people could rejoice and be glad in it! And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful, ‘Thank you Father!’
 
Oh my people, can you believe that we’re more than halfway through July already, and also this year of 2014? I swear that the days are running faster than they usually do. And most of you will no doubt agree, because your lives also seem to be moving at breakneck speed, where one day just morphs into the other, without any apparent break.
 
And though I don’t remind us as often as I should about our New Year’s resolution of following Jesus more closely, I do hope that you are faithfully adhering to it. And you can tell me what you will, but the Father will read the truth in your hearts.
 
Anyway mih lovelies, this morning I want to share with you the opening couple of lines of the poem Endymion by the English Romantic Poet, John Keats (1795-1821) It reads: ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; it will never pass to nothingness.’
 
Now we all know that the value of art usually increases with age, but so too do people. As the days go by on our earthly journey, we get more mature and grace-filled, so that increased knowledge, experience and wisdom make us more valuable. The only problem is that unlike the physical works of art, we pass away to nothingness.
 
But that’s just our physical bodies. Our spiritual beings are still alive and kicking, especially in the LOVED ones that we have left behind. They continue to hold dear the traditions, the respect, the care and the LOVE that we lavished on them when we were alive. So all that and any other physical heirlooms we might have bequeathed to those around us will continue to live on, to survive, as they pass those things to others down through the ages.
 
So in essence, like the physical art, we too never pass into nothingness either. And here’s the end quote on the subject from the One More Day Devotional, Daily Meditations for People with Chronic Illness. It bravely declares: ‘I am comforted by the traditions of family and faith and by the meaningfulness they add to my life.’
 
And that’s how it ought to be my brethren, for when we approach death’s door, it’s usually family we want to see, and faith we hold on to, so we can easily transition from this life to the next.
 
And it all boils down to one word: ‘BELIEF!’ We live a life guided by our beliefs. Hopefully the major belief is that in Jesus Christ, for it is the best belief to build your life around.
 
And I just LOVE how Jesus puts things so simple and straightforward, as He says to Jairus in our Bit: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’
 
Nothing to it Friends, just believe. And it is truly that simple, we just like to make a fuss over it. We believe the nonsense, the lies that the advertisers tell us in their forked tongued messages without batting an eyelash. Hn! But when it comes to believing in Jesus, the most important belief in our lives, the one that will either separate us from God forever, or keep us on the inside looking out, we get all hot and bothered, ask a whole lot of questions and put up a whole lot of roadblocks. Why eh, my people?
 
I think that it’s generally because we’re afraid. It seems to be such a big decision to make, for it deals with our lives in the hereafter, something we don’t want to think about just yet, plus the worldly artifacts are so beautiful to look at and possess, and we erroneously believe that believing in Jesus means we can’t enjoy the good things of earthly life. But that’s a fool’s wisdom Friends, for Jesus said He came so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
 
The problem is that we don’t want any borders, any boundaries placed on our activities and behaviour, but yuh see what that desire is causing all over our world; strife and destruction. But my people, this life can only be lived in prosperity and safety if we adhere to certain strict guidelines. Anything else will only bring anarchy, as we’re seeing in so many places nowadays.
 
However Friends, I’m running out of space and time, so let’s get to some scriptures where Jesus highlighted belief in God. And there’s none better than the story of Him raising His friend Lazarus from the dead.
 
Jesus was out of town when he got the message from the sisters, Martha and Mary, saying ‘Lord behold he whom thou LOVEST is sick.’ (John 11:3) But despite His great LOVE for Lazarus and his sisters Jesus remained a further two days before He went to Bethany where they lived. By the time He got there Lazarus was already dead for four days.
 
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she ran to meet Him and rebuked Him, saying, ‘Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.’ (John 11:21-22)
 
Now is that strong belief, great faith or what my people! She just knows that whatever Jesus asks of God, God will grant. How many of us are even willing to say that today, much less believe it eh, even though we have much more info and insight than Martha did?
 
The Good Book continues: the conversation: ‘Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
 
Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?
 
She saith unto him, Yea Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ (John 11:23-27)
 
What a powerful passage of scripture my brethren! Note the interplay between Jesus and Martha: He claiming to be the giver of eternal life, and she believing without missing a beat! That’s how it ought to be in all believers’ lives my Friends!
 
So today, please let’s sit and consider our personal response to Jesus’ question; ‘Believest thou this?’ And hopefully, we shall all blurt out without hesitation: ‘Yes Lord: I BELIEVE!’ Much LOVE!

…it all begins with…believing…and it all ends with…believing…only believe…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 April 2014 Matthew 21:9b

13 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 21:9b.    Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.

The trumpet sounds: Spah na na na na na! The gates open – and the triumphal entry begins: in rides our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ on a magnificent charger, just a prancing and dancing down the paved streets of gold, lined with palms and cedars of Lebanon!
 
Our conquering hero is dressed in splendid robes befitting His exalted position. A crown of gold and precious jewels sits perfectly on his head, while the scabbard containing His mighty sword dangles from His waist. It’s a picture of pure magnificence, of pure kingship!
 
A radiant smile spreads across His handsome face as the highly exuberant crowds cry out: ‘All hail the King of Glory! Jesus Christ, the Son of God; before whom all knees must bow and all tongues confess that He is Lord indeed!’
 
And at that unforgettable greeting, our glorious Redeemer raises His right hand and waves it in a beatific greeting.
 
The angels have a hard time keeping the crowds at bay, while Jesus and His legions march down the main street of Jerusalem, victorious over the foolish and fallen ingrate Lucifer – forever! 
 
Oh forgive me Friends, in my overwhelming exuberance, I jumped ahead to the Second Coming of our Saviour, arrayed in full splendour and glory as the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords! I’m so excited, looking forward to that day so much, that I let my emotions run away on me. (smile) But it sure is a marvellous picture though my brethren, and one we can definitely look forward to sometime in the not too distant future.
 
Today though, we’re celebrating His first triumphal entrance into Jerusalem some two thousand years ago, not yet as a conquering hero, but as a lowly and humble preacher on the verge of miraculous doings, to fulfill that ‘which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt, the foal of an ass.
 
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; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed (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. 21:4-11)
 
Yes my brethren, that is how it was on Jesus’ first heralded entrance to Jerusalem, a rather low key affair in comparison to what His Second entrance will be. But it served its purpose, spread His name around some more, got people talking, wondering, filling them with expectant faith and hungry hope, just the way we are today; eagerly looking forward to the next time.
 
That’s because the next time there will be no reversal of fortunes, there will be no fickle and fearful people to change their minds about Jesus and sit idly by or enjoy His demeaning treatment and eventual crucifixion at the hands of the cruel Roman soldiers, so assiduously engineered by the greedy and politically corrupt Jewish elite. But that first Palm Sunday though was Jesus’ day, when the people really seemed to rally around Him.
 
However, listen to a couple of interesting points raised by the scholars. ’21:1-9. This event is traditionally known as the triumphal entry, when Jesus officially offers Himself to the nation of Israel as her long-awaited Messiah. However, in many ways it was far from a triumph, for the day ended in Jesus’ public prediction of His rejection by His own people. (See Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-39; John 12:12-15).
 
Bethpage was a village near Bethany, about a mile east of Jerusalem and apparently hidden from it by the summit of the Mount of Olives, which was the hill on the east of Jerusalem. The quotation in verse 5 is a combination of Isaiah 62:11 and Zechariah 9:9, taken substantially from the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament.
 
Hosanna is the transliteration of a Hebrew term meaning “please save,” and occurs in 2 Samuel 14:4 and Psalm 118:25. From the following verse of this psalm the acclamation Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord is taken, Riding on the colt of an ass marked the official entry of Israel’s kings. Thus Jesus arrives in full declaration of His kingship.’
 
And all God’s people gave a rousing and joyful shout of ‘Praise the Lord, our King cometh!’
 
Yes my fellow believers, today is one of the many red letter days in the celebration of our great faith, so please let’s give it the true attention it deserves, by going to the Lord’s House and celebrating it with others of the same ilk. 
 
And we’ll end with an interesting word from Jesus as He denounces the hypocrite scribes and Pharisees. ‘For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.’ (Matt.23:39)
 
Yes Friends, we can all look forward with great pleasure to that awesome day! Meanwhile, enjoy today’s blessings with plenty praise and thanksgiving! Much LOVE!
 
…oh to be wrapped up in the warm and LOVING arms of Jesus…nothing to it compares…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 February 2013 John 11:35

17 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

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

John 11:35.     JESUS WEPT.
 
Ah Friends, I don’t know if our weather forecasting is getting worse, or if the weather itself is playing mind games with us by changing more often than we can keep up with. And I say that because it doesn’t seem like if anyone forecasted the serious snowstorm yesterday afternoon and early evening that dumped about 3 to 4 inches of snow on Toronto. The unforeseen deluge of heavy white stuff disrupted everything, especially traffic, both on the roads and at the airport. I had to go into the city and left home around 6 p.m in a light snowfall. When I got to the highway though, I found that it was backed up and crawling at a snail’s pace, so I called my people and told them I’d probably be late because of the traffic congestion. They told me that the traffic problem was possibly because of the snow. I wondered what snow they were talking about, because the roadway was fairly clean in my area. However, when I finally crept up the road for about a mile or so, I saw where the still falling snow had cruelly mugged the highway. (smile) And the closer I got to my destination, the harder it seemed to fall. A journey that should have taken me around 20 minutes, took me 70. But one can’t do much about that, because this is Canada in the winter time … and it’s still the best big country in the world! And all proud Canadians joyfully shouted: ‘Praise the Lord!’ (smile) Now have a gander at the weather predictions for this coming week in the daytime: Tomorrow, Monday; partly cloudy with a high of zero. Tuesday; a high of plus 5 with sleet. Hn! Wednesday; a high of minus 5 with flurries. Thursday; a high of minus 5 and partly cloudy. And Friday; a high of zero with snow. That’s enough to make you cry and get down on your knees and beg for summer, when you have to be out on the roads everyday, twice a day. But crying is at times understandable, for as our Bit simply but very importantly states: ‘JESUS WEPT.’ I like it Friends, short and straight to the point: ‘JESUS WEPT.’ I don’t know if there are any more two word sentences in the Good Book, but this one is rather important to our understanding of Jesus’ persona, re His humanity, which we’ll get into later. This incident of Jesus weeping occurred when His bosom buddy, Lazarus died. Jesus got the message that Lazarus was very sick, and though He LOVED the family (Mary, Martha and Lazarus), He sojourned two more days where He was. At that time though, He spoke these prophetic words: ‘This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.’ (John 11:4) Jesus wasn’t being irrational or unfeeling. There was a definite purpose behind His words and actions; the most important thing to Him and all believers – the glorification of Almighty God – and by extension, His Son! And we all know the story, that by the time Jesus reaches Bethany, where the family lives, Lazarus has already been entombed for 4 days. And since Jerusalem was less that two miles (15 furlongs) from Bethany, many Jerusalem dwellers, some possibly the enemies of Jesus, had come to comfort Martha and Mary in their time of grief and mourning. And such was the faith the sisters had in Jesus, that when both met Him, they both proclaimed that if He’d been present during Lazarus’ illness, death would not have claimed him. Mary’s was so strong she believed that even then, the Father would grant Him anything He asked. (John 11:21-22, 32) Now the weeping of the sisters and the other Jews with them had a real emotional effect on Jesus. The Good Book reports: ‘He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.’ (John 11:33) Then Jesus asked: ‘Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.’ (John 11:34) And that’s where our Bit comes in: ‘JESUS WEPT.’ Yes Friends, our Lord and Saviour cried actual tears of hurt and pain and sorrow. So much so that: ‘Then said the Jews, Behold, how he LOVED him!’ (John 11:36) And the whole purpose of this exercise is to show that though Jesus was God, He also felt and exhibited real human emotions. The scholars describe it thus: ‘Jesus wept. The verb ‘wept’ is used only here in the New Testament, meaning a shedding of tears, a deep grief (cf. Heb.5:7) Although Jesus was God, He was also Man. John recognizes and records this expression of a very human emotion. He affirms the full humanity of Christ, as well as His deity. John is not a Docetist, one who believes Jesus was merely a phantom.’ Of course not Friends, Jesus was human through and through! And while here on earth, He definitely exhibited all the human emotions and frailties; laughter, joy, sorrow, anger, hurt, pain, etc. – all except sin. Unfortunately though Friends, time and space have run out for today. So tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue this message on Christ’s weeping, for there’s much more to be said. (smile) It’s certainly been a smiley day! (smile) Till then, please let’s take the Word seriously, ‘actioning’ it as best we can, while walking safely under the LOVING protection of Almighty God. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Much LOVE!…heartfelt tears… they tell the true story of the soul…