Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 February 2020 Romans 8:28

20 Feb 2020 Leave a comment

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

Romans 8:28.    ​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.
 
Jamaica! Jamaica! Sweet, sweet Jamaica! Everything’s good in Jamaica! Yeahhhh! Well hello there mih lovelies! The ole fella is hailing out to you all on this bright, hot, sunny, tropical afternoon from the paradise island of sweet Jamaica! Yes! We’ve left the cold and the snow and the bleak dreary days behind! 

The Good Lord has seen it fit, in all His wisdom, goodness, LOVE, kindness, mercy, grace and forgiveness to give the duchess and the ole fella a trip to my third homeland of Jamaica, where I turned man some half century ago! Glory be! 

The foundation of the story though is that we’re here to celebrate the wedding of a cousin and close friend on the upcoming weekend…what better excuse to get away from the cold eh? (smile) So please note, that as usual, when the ole fella is vacationing with the duchess the Bit can arrive at any time – early morning or late night depending on how the duchess and the Lord apportion my time. (smile) But you will get it as long as there is breath in the ole bod! 

Well right now I’m here admiring the palm trees swaying in the cool sea breeze blowing outside my balcony door, with a beautiful view of the ocean reflecting three colours of blue as it gets deeper; from a light blue in the shallows to a deep blue in the depths. Oh, and another plane just flew by to land at Montego Bay Airport. They jut keep coming and going. 

But yesterday was a rather eventful day; getting up at minutes to three so I could write the bit before leaving. Then hustling to the airport in the early morning traffic and going through all the nonsense that travelling entails these days, and getting on the big bird, the Boeing 737 Dreamliner, they changed it from a stodgy Rouge plane, don’t know why. But who knows why airlines do what they do eh? The flight was good; left around 10 am, and got here around 1.30 pm. 

That was when the real fun began; having to negotiate Immigration and Customs with it seemed thousands of people arriving at same time. But eventually we got out front and proceeded to wait on a cousin to pick us up. Yuh should see the ole fella, taking off his long-sleeved shirt, leaving on just a T-shirt and outside in the sun catching some much needed rays! Wow! Was that ever cathartic! (smile) 

The cousin finally came and took us to a hotel not far from the airport. We should have known that there would be problems from the less than warm welcome at the reception desk. And knowing who I was dealing with, I insisted on seeing the room allocated to us before we moved anything. And just as well, because they took us to a building far away from the main section, with two sets of stairs to climb, no elevator, and then down to the very end of the corridor. And to make matters worse, the room view opened up on to a patch of overgrown bush and a construction site. 

Naturally that raised the duchess’ ire up, and she refused it. When we got back to the reception desk, they seemed less than energetic to try and find something more suitable. But in the meanwhile they advised us to go over the street to the food hut and eat some jerk pork and chicken, which we did. And don’t get me wrong, the property is nice, but as always, it’s the people who spoil stuff. 

When we got back to the desk they arrogantly informed us that they had nowhere else to put us, so the duchess kindly informed them that under those conditions we would not be staying. I guess those were the magic words, because they then told us to wait and they would see what they could do. A short time later they took us to this room in the main section, on the sixth floor, with an elevator, and a beautiful view of the ocean. 

Well that obviously appeased the duchess. And was I ever glad, because all I wanted to do was to go and get a soak in the salt before the beach closed at six. And ohhhh…was it ever wonderful to walk on warm sand and immerse the ole bod in some salt water; the most therapeutic remedy on God’s great earth! When I got back to the room, the duchess informed me that there was a surprise party with a 70’s theme, to go to for the bride at 7.30. 

So I got dressed and went downstairs to the outside dining area, sat there and listened to a trio of Mento singers regale us with some Jamaican folk songs and other more popular stuff in that idiom. Some forty minutes later, the duchess finally came down and went to the front desk to check on what was happening. A few minutes later she came back and told me that the party was actually a bridal shower for females only. 

Hn! Now I wasn’t too annoyed, because I was tired and there was lots of food and drink available and my bed close by. So I did just that: found me a seat with a couple of other guests, ate some island food, while listening to some good music from the live band and was sipping an exotic blue cocktail when the duchess showed up and dragged me off to the party, which turned out be an all genders party after all. 

That party was good too, up on a Mo Bay hill side in a palatial mansion, with a million dollar view of the other side of the harbour, light’s strung out like a necklace of shining diamonds. It reminded us of Cape Town Harbour in South Africa. And then there were people really dressed like 70’s folks and danced routines to songs from that era too. So all in all a good time was had by all. I never got back to the hotel until after eleven. 

And I guess you’re wondering what all of that has to do with the Bit and Scripture. Well let me give you a few verses. First off, Jesus’ memorable words: ‘I am come that they might have life abundantly.’ (John 10:10) We’re just having life abundantly as He promised. And then, though the Lord inflicts us with adversity, listen to these most reassuring words of Jesus. ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Just doing what out Leader says, being of good cheer despite all the problems in the world. 

And here is this one: ‘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.’ Now how can we ever discount that eh, when despite all the harassment we went through yesterday, everything turned out well and all the people LOVE us now! Well that might be taking it a bit far, (smile) but more importantly is that they have been treating us well. 

And hear these immortal words of Bruh David: ‘I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’ (Ps. 27:13) Yeh friends, what’s the purpose of all those other scriptures if we don’t expect to see God’s goodness down here eh? And the final scripture, and my favourite these days – more immortal words of Bruh David: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.’ (Ps.34:8) 

Wow mih breddren! Yuh know since I recently discovered the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir on YouTube singing Psalm 34 – Taste and See- it’s resonated with me very powerfully and I find myself singing it often. Going to check it out when I’m finished here. Now let’s go home, declaring (yeah!) our Thursday Blessings in strong voice and sincere hearts. 

‘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!’ 

We must now go out and share those blessings, for as James says, faith without works is dead. (James 2:17) So let’s show them our faith by our works nuh. Much LOVE!

…a slice of heaven is possible…right down here on earth…only trust and believe… 

P.S. Yes, it’s long, because the ole fella’s excited and just wants to share His blessedness with you, so that you can go through whatever you’re going through without losing your hope and faith, knowing that whatever the Lord’s done for me, He will do for you too, if you’re obedient to His will. Hope it’s not boring. (smile) Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 September 2019 Psalm 55:22.

17 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 55:22.    ​Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be shaken (moved).
 

And so we move on to Tuesday…  Brother, what a day that turned out to be! Up bright and early, in time to get out and catch the nine o’clock hotel shuttle to the waterfront, although our hotel is right on the waterfront. (smile) But it’s a convoluted trip to get where we wanted to go, to the docks for the ferry to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent some 18 of his 27 years in prison, having been sentenced to life, for treason by the white apartheid government. 

We bought our tickets at the Mandela Waterfront Museum, then had breakfast at a small café nearby. At ten thirty we boarded the small ferry, Sea Princess for the trip across the Cape Town Bay (Atlantic Ocean) to the Island. By the way, the ferry was full. That’s one thing about South Africa; they’re certainly mining the tourism aspects of their first Black President in a big way. That includes the Apartheid Museum in Joburg, which seemed to me to be more of a shrine to Mandela than a history of the fight against apartheid. 

Anyway the ferry trip took approximately thirty minutes to the island. Once there, we boarded a bus for an excursion around the small island, can’t remember the exact size the guide on the bus told us, but definitely not more than about 5 square miles. Apparently the island had been first a leper colony before being turned into a prison. 

Then after the bus tour, we were dropped off at the prison gates, where an ex-prisoner took us on a guided tour of the prison, showing us the old prison enclosures that were supposed to hold thirty something prisoners on double bunks, but often held fifty. That still holds true in many of today’s prisons, where overcrowding is still a serious problem. 

Then we were shown the small cells where Mandela and some of the leaders of his organization spent most of their prison time; a concrete enclosure, possibly six by six, overlooking a courtyard, containing a bunk and a red bucket for waste material. 

It seems that the ex-convict’s return to work as a guide at the prison was very cathartic, purging and cleansing for him. He recalls that on his first day on the job, he didn’t know what to say, but as the people began asking questions, he finally found his voice, until now, his unsettling experience as a prisoner there, doesn’t bother him like it once did. After that we walked back to the dock and boarded the ferry Madiba 1, (Mandela’s Xhosa clan name) and returned to the mainland. 

We got back around minutes to three, and little did we know then that the fun was just about to begin, (smile) because our next stop was supposed to be Table Mountain; that big, awe inspiring block of stone standing at the back of Cape Town, whose top seems absolutely flat when looked at from below. We got a taxi from the docks that drove us up the steep winding road to where the activities actually began. 

That meant joining a long line to purchase tickets, then joining another long one to get into an elevator to get to the cable car station. Once there, you then had to wait for one of the two cars to come back down from the brow of the mountain, because there seems to be only room for one at a time at the top. From down there though, against the great expanse of stone, the cars looked like playthings moving up and down on bits of small string. 

But they were actually big and solid, the bottom parts painted red, while the top was made of solid glass, holding at least twenty people, riding on solid cables of some strong substance. And as you went up or came down, the flooring slowly spun around, allowing a good overall look at the breathtaking landscape. And the top of Table Mountain is not flat at all! (smile) It’s hilly and rocky! 

But they have trails around which you can walk and see Cape Town and its environs down at the bottom, or the conjunction of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on the other side. And the ole fella, with an extraordinary burst of energy, climbed all over and around it. (smile)  Any, which way you take it though, the sight is indeed breathtaking! And the South Africans not making joke with their tourism nuh, for as you walk around, there are several small glass enclosures at the top telling you about the history of the mountain and it’s colourful flora and fauna. 

The sad part though is that we had to wait some forty minutes, join another long line, to catch the cable car back down. By then it was after six, possibly closer to seven. Our taxi dropped us back at the waterfront, where there’s this big mall. Obviously the duchess wanted to go and look around, but I stopped in at Musica, a music shop, where a wonderful lady called Mary began playing me some wonderful South African Music. 

As I told her, I couldn’t come to South Africa and not get some South African music, especially after berating my young daughter for not bringing any for me on her trips to the Motherland. So there I was standing with earphones on my head, listening as the lady played. And each one she played, I told her to put that aside, and the pile slowly grew. 

Some one hour later, I looked around and saw the duchess standing next to me. Obviously she wasn’t thrilled because she had been waiting for me down the mall. But she knows that the music always comes first! Eventually though I bought a whole pile of C.D’s, won’t say how much, or at what price, so some people won’t get on my case, (smile) but I’ve got plenty of good listening ahead of me. 

Then we went down to the other end of the mall, ate some Thai food, then got the 9.15 shuttle back to the hotel and bed. Oh one other beautiful sight I forgot to mention: on looking out of my room, the harbour looks like a necklace of jewels with all the bright lights shining around it, and the marina right at the foot of the hotel. 

Oh friends, that was indeed one of the best, the busiest and most interesting days of my life. And I know some of you who know me personally, and know that I’ve been frail and sickly the last three years, must be wondering how I did all of that without falling down. Well it’s best said first by the words of Bruh David in Psalm 55: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be shaken (moved).’ 

And secondly from the oh so appropriate words of the poem ‘Footprints’ by Margaret Fishback Powers: ‘He whispered. “My precious child, I LOVE you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings When you saw only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you.’ And all I can say to that is a loud and proud ‘Amen!’ 

Yeh friends, for when I look back at that day, I’m sure that only one set of footprints was visible on the path that I trod, because the Lord physically carried me! Wow! He’s ever so good to those who LOVE and trust Him! 

Now let’s go home acknowledging who and whose we are through our Tuesday mantra: ‘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 now, if we’re sincere, we’ll go out and do just that! Much LOVE!

…by sincerely trusting our heavenly Father…we can do so much more…more than we can ever ask or imagine…