Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 August 2021 Ecclesiastes 3:1.

10 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 3:1.     To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Summertime, summertime, summertime! Well, at long last, we are getting some serious summer weather! It’s been hot and humid for the last few days, and promises to be the same for the next few! I haven’t turned off my a/c in days now…and the duchess has not complained. Wow! That means it must be really hot…or she’s just showing true LOVE, by considering my feelings more than hers. (smile) Whatever the reason, I do appreciate it since it causes less disagreements. 

That brings me to these awesome words of Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher. ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:’ (Eccl. 3:1) Yes friends, he’s telling us that Almighty God has a sovereign design behind all events of life. 

This we can see, read and understand from that famous passage of Bruh Paul to the Romans, that we all like to quote but don’t truly believe, or at least act like we truly believe it. The scripture says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) In the good times, those words fall from our lips like honey, but when the rough times show up, we banish them from our memory. 

But as another wise man, Job said to his wife when calamity befell them: ‘What? shall we receive (accept) good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (accept calamity)?’ (Job.2:10) Now that’s the dilemma that we believers face: expecting good, but knowing that calamity can and most likely will happen, but nonetheless not blaming God, and believing that He will eventually work everything out for out good in the end. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially in these unprecedented times we are currently experiencing. But here are a couple of scriptures that might possibly help us to bear up under the pressure. 

This first one comes from Bruh Paul to his young protégé Timothy. He reminds him of God, ‘Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim. 1:9-10) 

Yes friends, we need to understand that we are not here for our purposes but for God’s, and whatever He allows in our lives has a good reason behind it, whether it’s to test us, or to grow our faith. Remember, our God doesn’t go around willy nilly, without a purpose, like some of us do, but He has a reason for every move He makes. And if we have surrendered our lives to Him, then it is expected that we bear up under any strain that manifests itself in our lives. Remember too, that He never gives us more than we can bear, and with every temptation gives us the wherewithal to face it or get away from it. 

And the next scripture comes from James, Jesus’ brother, as he reminds us of the need for patience in our affliction. He encourages us to ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the husbandman (farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient, stablish (establish) your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (draws near.’ (James 5:7-8) 

Oh my people, patience…patience… we need it so badly in these trying and exasperating times. And it’s one fruit of the Spirit that can only be achieved by going through unpleasant stuff. But please don’t allow those unpleasant times to cripple us or get us downhearted and ready to give up. We need to remember all those wonderful promises of the Lord to look forward to if we endure until the end. 

No, it’s not easy working and living for Jesus. Neither Him nor any of His prophets and major workers had it easy. So why do we think we should have it easy eh? Because we live in a world of ease and wonderful amenities? That doesn’t make a difference because the world is still full of evil and sin, and our job is to try and reduce those negative aspects by showing others the wisdom of accepting Jesus by living a life that’s pleasing to Him, and that most definitely includes rolling with the bad times, as well as with the good. 

Ah mih people, our God has provided us with all we need to do His earthly work, so it’s not as if we don’t have the tools or the wherewithal to do it. What we need is to use those tools, use them often, for like everything, practice makes perfect. Look at how we study and work hard to make our way in this earthly life. It’s the same way we need to study and work hard to make our way in the kingdom of God. 

That brings us back to where we began; with the words of Cousin Sol, as he warns that there is, ‘A time to LOVE, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.’ (Eccl. 3:8) Yes, a time for everything does exist. Although I don’t know how to characterize these present times. But please note that the time ‘to hate means to withdraw from intimacy and should not always be taken in an absolute sense.’ And I sincerely hope that these few words (smile) have provided some much-needed encouragement, renewed our strength, and boosted our faith in Almighty God. 

Now let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the whole world who and whose we are. As one strong 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!’ 

And if those words sincerely came from our hearts, then we now need to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with the many others who don’t know Him, but so badly need Him! Much LOVE!

…patience…the virtue that all the others need…to work properly…                                                                                                                 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 July 2021 John 16:32c.

23 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 16:32c.      and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

And finally it’s Friday! I wonder if there’ll be Happy Hours, or Happy Fridays in the bars and restaurants after work today, now that we’ve gone into stage three of the pandemic opening? That’s an interesting question. Remember how, on a Friday evening, before the pandemic lockdown, the watering holes would be filled with workers trying to eradicate their sense of tiredness and lethargy now that the workweek was over. Are we going to revert to that type of senseless behaviour? I certainly hope not. 

Let’s pray that the pandemic has shaken us up enough to realize what is, and what is not truly important. And filling the bars on a Friday evening after work, then driving home intoxicated and depressed is not one of the sensible, important options. The bar owners might like it, because it brings in money, but think of the other side of the coin, where we’ve been having so many accidents on the roads because of impaired drivers and the huge cost in family and social life it causes. 

That recalls an interesting quote I recently saw on my ‘PS. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, that one of my daughters gave me a long time ago. And I’m chuckling here, because it sits right by my side, a little to my back, and like so many other things on my office walls and elsewhere, I pass it daily without even noticing it. Does that happen to anyone else but me? All around my office is encouraging and reassuring stuff that I set up so that I can see them when I pass by, but invariably, I don’t. Looking around at them now, I realize that it’s been years since I last looked at some of them, although they are in plain sight. 

But enough of me and my blurred vision (smile). The quote I mentioned earlier on says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’ And that’s true to a great extent. We don’t just wake up and find happiness overflowing on our doorsteps. We have to consciously seek out happiness, fill up our lives with joy and meaning. It’s a conscious decision we all need to make if our lives are going to be worthwhile. And the best way, I know to do that is by finding Jesus, surrendering our lives to Him, allowing Him to become our Lord and Saviour. 

And even then, total joy and happiness are not guaranteed without some effort on our part. When we come to Jesus, joy doesn’t just fall into our laps, we still must seek it out. The major difference is that with Jesus, we can find joy and meaning even in times of calamity and untold disappointment. Even though times are rough Jesus is always with us. Like He told the disciples shortly before His crucifixion. ‘Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own (place), and leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.’ (John 16:32) 

Oh my faithful brethren isn’t that wonderful? It certainly is! For just like Jesus had the Father with Him in His time of ‘sufferation’, so do we have Jesus, His Holy Spirit with us when we are going through our trials. And as He continued to the disciples: ‘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) And that’s the awesome truth friends! Jesus overcame the world and all its evil when He died, was buried, then magnificently rose from the dead on the third day like he had promised! 

Wow! He broke the bondage of sin, the crucial hold that sin held over us prior to His paying our sin death in full, so that we could have everlasting life. The scriptures tell us in the words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.’ (Rom. 6:14). 

And in his words to Timothy, talking about Jesus’ death. ‘Who hath saved us, and called us to a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim. 1:9-10) 

That’s the thing about Jesus; He keeps ALL His promises. Neither does He make empty, trivial promises. And He can afford to make any kind of promise, because, being the Son of God, He has the awesome power to back them up! That’s why He is such a wonderful Being to surrender our lives, our troubles, our fears, difficulties and problems to. And in truth, the only other option available to us is Satan and the evils of this world. And for many of us that’s not even an option, because in the end it will mean death and damnation, eternal separation from God. 

And who really wants that eh? That’s why Jesus is the only wise and sensible choice for us. So, as He desires, let’s take our problems to Him right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. Altogether now:  ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

But just remember friends, before we jump for joy, we also have to keep our promises, that means being the faithful believers we just talked about, otherwise our prayers will not be answered. Much LOVE!

..true joy comes…only when you sincerely embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour…                                                                                                

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