Today’s Scrip-Bit   20 May 2022 Psalm 130:5.

20 May 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 130:5.      I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

Oh friends, at last, at long last we can shout ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! And this week of work is almost ended.’ So, with the end finally in sight, what are we going to do now eh? Party and party…and party? No! We need to get down on our knees, and let our faith rise up to heaven; give thanks for the days the Lord’s taken us through, the many struggles we’ve come through victoriously this past week, all because of His awesome grace and mercy. 

Yes friends, the proper start to the weekend is to say ‘Thank You Jesus! Without Your divine help I don’t know how I would have made it through this past week! And please keep on holding my hand as I run this earthly race! So I give You thanks, from the very bottom of my heart!’ Oh yes, before we do anything else, it’s of the utmost importance to give Him thanks and praise and ask for His continued blessing as we go through this hell right here on earth. 

We should be saying like the psalmist does in Psalm 130. ‘Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe). I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.’ (Ps. 130:1-5) 

Ah mih people, what words of wisdom! Words that should be our mantra, always filling our hearts with the joy and faithfulness that is only found in Almighty God! As we said yesterday, waiting on God is probably one of the hardest things to do, but is certainly the most important, and we can’t do so without hope and faith; knowing that He’s a faithful God, who keeps all of His promises, a situation that all of us have experienced at some time or other. 

And I like how the psalmist continues showing his confidence in the God of his forefathers. ‘My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say more than they that watch for the morning.’ (Ps. 130:6) Oh my brethren, yuh see the intensity with which he waits and watches for his God – even more than those whose job it is to watch for the morning. Glory be! Do we have that kind of intensity of watching and waiting for our great God? It doesn’t seem so, else so many of us wouldn’t be as miserable, despondent and hopeless as we are. 

Let’s remember Bruh David’s memorable words on the subject in Psalm 27: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith) I say on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27:13-14) And we all know that most of Bruh David’s warnings and encouragement didn’t come from hearsay, but from real life experiences. So, he knew exactly what he was talking about when he made those seemingly difficult recommendations. And if the Lord did it for Bruh David, He will also do it for us, if we stop and wait in faith on Him. 

But there’s something else that we must pay serious attention to if we desire to wait in faith on the Lord. And what’s that you ask? The psalmist said it in the second half of our Bit: ‘and in his word do I hope.’ Yes my fellow saints, without the Lord’s Word in our soul, burning like a raging fire in our bellies, it’s not possible to get that hope and the ability to wait. That means we need to read and meditate on the Lord’s Word as much as possible. It needs to be our Number One Priority! For it’s only through the Word constantly bubbling in our souls and spirits can we ever receive the joy of the Lord and the faith, strength and perseverance needed to wait patiently on His sure timing. 

And these marvellous words from Psalm 119, reminds us of the importance of the Word. The psalmist writes: ‘Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me (given me life). The proud have had me greatly in derision: yet have I not declined (turned aside) from thy law. I remembered thy judgements of old, O Lord: and have comforted myself.’ (Ps. 119:49-52) 

Oh my, my, my faithful brethren! Yuh see the power inherent in the Lord’s Word! It gives us a rejuvenated faith, comfort and truth and helps us to wait on the Lord with a good and faithful attitude. And since we know the Word, and have faith, trust and hope in it, let’s do what we advised right at the beginning of today’s message nuh, that’s give thanks and ask for continued help. So as one strong and confident but humble voice, let’s go to God in prayer, through our Friday Chant. 

‘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!’ 

Now my people, it behooves us to go out and behave like the faithful believers we claim, or promised to be. Much LOVE!

…waiting isn’t easy…but with Jesus percolating in our souls…we can surely do it… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 November 2015 Psalm 130:4‏

29 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 130:4.  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).

Well then my fellow believers, it’s that glorious day called Sunday, when we are expected to gather together in the Lord’s sanctuary to offer up our sacrifices of praise and thanks and worship! Glory to God! 

And remember this is still Thanksgiving Weekend, so even more praises and thanks are expected. Today ought mostly to be about glorifying our wonderful Creator and heavenly Father, so please, let’s not make a mockery of it and get out there in our numbers and do what we know is right. 

And all God’s children declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the Lord!’ 

Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, which I think we all should place close attention to this November Sunday. It’s called ‘Fiery Trials.’ 

Listen up. ‘God is teaching me incredible lessons regarding growth. I see with undeniable evidence that growth means pruning, and pruning means pain. I confess, I’m actually a coward about pain. I certainly never pray for it. I don’t anticipate or look for it. I do only one thing. I ask God to steady me, since the Bible so clearly states that trials are a part of our lifewalk with him. 

In all honesty I would prefer to escape the testing. I don’t like the pain of emotional trauma, which can be so overwhelming and baffling. I don’t like the deep cutting pain that goes on and on without relief. The pain of loneliness frightens me, the pain of losing someone dear to me grieves me. 

Nevertheless, I am praying for an open heart. I can’t begin to contemplate what fiery ordeals God may choose for my testing and growth, but I do long for my yieldness to prove my willingness to be conformed to the image of his dear Son.’ 

Oh Friends, I read that yesterday, but it’s only just now as I copied it that it really hit home. I’m talking about the agonizing pain I’ve been going through this past week. It was just supposed to be a simple procedure…

Ah Lord eh, thanks for painkillers yes. At least they ease up the pain some. If this is merely testing, then I’m not very thrilled about it nuh. But I guess I’ll just have to grin and bear it, although it’s getting harder to do with each passing day. I’ll surely have to check out the medics tomorrow, because this just doesn’t seem right. 

And the promise to which that poem is attached is: ‘Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s suffering; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.’ (1 Pet.4:12-13) 

Ah mih people, it is a great scripture, but certainly not an easy one to put into action. But since we are a continual work in progress, we’ll obviously try our best to do so, with God’s wonderful help of course. 

And having said all of that, let’s turn to our Bit.  ‘But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).’ 

Yes friends, we’re continuing with the theme of forgiveness. Today however, we’re just going to look at scriptures which talk about, which trumpet the forgiveness of our heavenly Father. And what better scripture to begin with than this one from 1 John. 

‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:9-10) And we definitely don’t want to call God a liar! 

Then listen to Daniel as he prays for his people Israel. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him.’ (Dan.9:9) 

Never were truer words spoken my brethren, because as Jeremiah so wisely tells us in Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam.3:22-23) 

And all God’s people gratefully declared: ‘Thank God for His mercies and compassions! Thank God that they are new everyday!’ Yes friends, we certainly have to be thankful there, otherwise we’d be mercilessly swept aside because of our sinful nature and behaviour. 

Now hear Isaiah: ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:7) More words of undisputed truth! 

And Bruh David in Psalm 86 – Teach me thy way, O Lord – puts it this way. ‘Rejoice (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:4-5) Gospel truth my precious people! 

And we’ll end most appropriately with words from our God Himself, when Moses went back up Mt. Sinai to have the tablets of the Ten Commandments rewritten, after he had broken them. 

‘And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:6-7) 

Yes my fellow believers, our God is a most forgiving God; in fact the ONLY such one amongst all the other supposed deities. Please remember that and act accordingly. Much LOVE!

…forgiveness is certainly ours for the asking…but it all depends on our forgiveness of others…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 November 2015 Psalm 130:4

28 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 130:4.  But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).

Well Friends, it’s Saturday, and sad to say the ole fella’s shoulder is still a mess. Ah Lord eh! I really don’t know what’s the problem nuh, but it definitely shouldn’t be hurting as much as it is after all this time – from Tuesday afternoon to now. Chuh! 

I do believe that a part of it has to do with the computer, because yesterday evening I felt a sort of break through, but then foolishly I went and played a set of games that made my forefinger ache and throb, and the shoulder pain increased. And I am still having some pain reaching up for the mouse. 

However, today I’m just writing the Bit then staying away from the computer, no games or anything. Let’s see what will happen. 

Now here is a quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ poster that caught my eye this morning. ‘It says: ‘Carrying a grudge is like a run in a stocking – it can only get worse. Forgiveness is the answer.’ 

And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! Carrying grudges just makes a body more resentful and bitter every day the grudges are held. The only way to successfully get rid of them, and thus the negativity they foster, is to forgive those against whom you hold the grudges. 

Oh my fellow believers, forgiveness is probably the most important Christian characteristic after LOVE! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made that very clear. 

He first mentions it in what we consider the Lord’s Prayer, when He taught the disciples to pray. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12) It states quite plainly that our forgiveness depends on how much we personally forgive. 

Then Jesus spells it out in spades a couple of verses later. ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:14-15) 

Oh friends, it couldn’t get any clearer than that! If we forgive, we will be forgiven. If we don’t forgive, then we won’t be forgiven. Yet still so many of us cry out to God for forgiveness while still bearing serious grudges in our souls, and refusing to forgive those who have trespassed against us. Now how sensible is that eh my people? Not very! 

It all boils down to the basic law of God’s great universe: what you sow, the same you shall reap. So if you sow unforgiveness, then obviously it’s unforgiveness you will reap. As the old people would say, you can’t plant peas and expect to reap corn. 

And the truth of it all my brethren, is that the forgiveness is not really for the forgiven but for the forgiver! Ofttimes the person we forgive doesn’t know or doesn’t care, but we feel a great weight lifted from our spirits when we forgive. 

Please remember that forgiveness is mainly for our benefit and do your best to forgive as soon as possible. Oh, I do know that it’s not always easy to forgive some wrongs and hurts, but again, holding the bitterness inside doesn’t do anything productive for us either. 

Remember Jesus’ answer to Simon Peter on forgiveness. ‘Then came Peter to him (Jesus), and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but Until seventy times seven.’ (Matt.18:21-22) 

Yes Friends, seven times is not enough for us to forgive, but seventy times seven. As the scholars say: ‘in other words, unlimited forgiveness must characterize the true disciple.’ That’s just the way it is in God’s kingdom. So you either wisely accept it, or foolishly leave it. 

And Jesus then went on to tell them of the parable of the rich man whose servant owed him a lot of money, but couldn’t pay, and subsequently cried out for mercy, which the master compassionately granted him. 

However, a short while later that same forgiven servant found one of his brethren who owed him a minuscule amount, but refused to have mercy on him when he cried out for it, and instead threw him into debtor’s prison. 

Well you can just imagine what happened; the other servants went back and told the master what the forgiven servant had done and the master lambasted him. ‘O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst (begged) me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee. 

And his lord was wroth (angry), and delivered him to the tormentors (torturers), till he should pay all that was due to him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.’ (Matt.18:32-35) 

Somehow or other though friends, all of that doesn’t seem to seep into the souls of many Christians, for too many of us still walk around bearing grudges, full of bitterness, resentment and a whole host of negative emotions which only ruin our lives. I don’t know what else it will take for us to stop the nonsense nuh! 

And we’ll end with a couple verses from Psalm 130, including our Bit, which says it very clearly and straightforwardly. ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe).’ (Ps.130:3-4) 

Yes precious people, if our God were to take note of all our sins, who would be left standing eh? Not a single, solitary one of us! But through His LOVING-kindness, we can find forgiveness…but only if we forgive others. 

So please let’s get our acts together today nuh; let’s smarten up and forgive, so that we may be forgiven, for that is indeed the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!

…if our world was a more forgiving place…then it would also be a much more LOVING and godly place…