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Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 June 2013 Luke 1:27

24 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: aura of love, bombarded, buffeted, Christian beliefs, christianity, confidence, connotation, divine nature, dollop, engagement, enthusiasm, espoused, excitment, faith, fundamental foundation, glorious kingdom, Good Book, good news, human nature, invincible, jobs, lost in translation, Mary, Monday Battle Hymn, Monday Morning, omnipotent god, paramount, protective wings, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, sexual freedom, steadfast faith, summer, sun screen, supernatural conception, sure conquerors, the Holy Spirit, umbrella, ungodly world, upsurge in Christian activity, useful purpose, virgin, virgin birth, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles and lies, wisdom

Luke 1:27. To a virgin espoused (engaged) to man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.

Oh my beautiful fellow believers in Christ, it’s Monday! It’s also the first Monday in the official summer period of our northern seasons. And what a day it’s forecasted to be; thirty degrees Celsius, with a mixture of sun and rain!

So please make sure to put on your sun screen if you plan on being out and about much in the sunshine, but also remember to walk with your trusty umbrella, just in case the rain catches you off guard, because it’s being doing that a lot recently.

I experienced it up to yesterday afternoon. I was getting dressed to go out and it was bright sunshine outside, but some fifteen minutes later though when I emerged, yuh better believe it was raining.

Anyway, since there’s not much we can do about the weather, except dress suitably for it, let’s get up and get our act together. And to put us in a positive and godly state of mind, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with a large dollop of excitement and enthusiasm!

As one loud and harmonious voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’

There we have it Friends, the catalyst to get us going this Monday Morning!

Now here’s our Bit: ‘To a virgin espoused (engaged) to man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.’

I’m sure some of you are wondering why I chose that particular scripture for our Bit today, since it’s usually associated with the birth of Jesus at Christmas. But there is indeed method to my madness, my brethren!

Earlier on, I was reading an article in the newspaper which stated that recently in Norway, a new and modern version of the Good Book had been printed in the Norwegian language, coinciding with an upsurge in Christian activity in the country. Now that’s certainly wonderful news, but the example of the modern terminology they used in the article certainly didn’t sit well with me. Instead of saying or specifying that Mary, the mother of Jesus was a ‘virgin,’ they chose to refer to her as a ‘young woman.’

Ah Lord eh! What’s wrong with us in these supposed modern times eh? We seem to think that everything that’s old has to be changed, wiped out or replaced. And though some of that might be true, in this particular case, nothing could be further from the truth. That’s because Mary’s virginity, her not having laid with a man, is paramount to our Christian beliefs.

And though ‘young woman’ in Mary’s day might have conveyed a connotation of virginity, in these times of excessive sexual freedom, it most definitely doesn’t, because the supposed young women are having sex at an earlier and earlier age.

Here’s how the scholars put it: ‘One of the historic fundamentals of the faith is the virgin birth of Christ. It begins with the supernatural conception of Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary without the seed of man. The miraculous birth is verified by the statement that she was a virgin when she gave birth to Christ (Matt.1:23-25) By means of the Virgin Birth, Jesus Had the human nature of his mother and the sinless, divine nature of His Father.

Illustration: Those who deny the Virgin Birth tend also to deny His deity, so must necessarily question the integrity of the Scriptures. Application: The miracle of the Virgin Birth involved the yieldedness of Mary. This attitude is reflected in her last recorded words, which are a good standard for Christians today, “Whatsoever he (Jesus) saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5) ‘

And is that ever so true Friends; whatever Jesus tells us to do, we ought to do it!

So, having said all of that, it simply means that to those reading the Good Book for the first time in their lives, if they use the new Norwegian version, then they will have no understanding of the great importance of Mary’s virginity to the whole story of Christianity. And that I believe is doing a grave injustice to the both the new readers, as well as the substance and fundamental foundation of our faith.

Anyway, we’ll stop there for today. But both the scholars and I have some more to say on the subject, which hopefully we’ll say tomorrow, the Lord in favour. Till then though my people, let us walk safely under the mighty protective wings of our omnipotent God, diligently doing His will, as we walk steadfastly in our faith, for that’s indeed the measure of our wisdom! Much LOVE!

…any attempt to bring God’s Word into the language of the 21st century…MUST ENSURE…that the true meanings are not lost in the translation…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 June 2013 Psalm 73:1

21 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: baubles and bangles, boasting, christianity, clean hearts, destiny of the wicked, divine perspective, elixir, envious, everlasting truth, extravagance, fellow believers in Christ, fellowship, forgiveness, Friday chant, fun, generous help, glorious kingdom, God is good, God's sanctuary, grin and bear it, having the last word, heart-filled faith, hungry hope, jealousy, levity, lustful eyes, mansions, merciful, peals of laughter, pride, psalm 73, refeshed in body, relaxation, renewed, rest, reverence, righteousness., sour countenances, spirituality, straight and narrow, stumbled, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the last word, the weekend, trust, wait for the Lord, wickedness

Psalm 73:1. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart.

‘Oh Friends, is it really Friday already?’ I foolishly ask.

And my Friends shout back, ‘Yes it’s really Friday already! Praise the Lord!’

‘But how come it come around so quickly this week eh?’ I continued, somewhat perplexed. ‘But wasn’t it just Monday?’

‘Look nuh,’ my wonderful Friends replied, getting a tad disgruntled, ‘we don’t care how quickly it seems to come around to you nuh! We’re just glad that it come around, and we could shout and sing, ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and the weekend’s here!’

All I could do at being told in no uncertain terms of their one desire was laugh and say, ‘Okay pardners, whatever you say.’

But they insisted on having the last word. ‘Yes, mih brother, whatever we say goes! Remember that eh.’

And we all burst out into big peals of laughter at our foolishness. But my people, laughter is indeed good for the soul. It’s a wonderful elixir that’s not only free, but also available all the time, any time at all. And some, or rather plenty of our Christian brothers and sisters should try using it more often, and leave their sour, very unChristian-like countenances behind.

And now that we’ve gotten some levity in our spirits, let’s chant our Friday Chant with much sincerity nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’

Now that ought to keep us somewhat on the straight and narrow this weekend. (smile) And we’d better not stray, because as our Bit so wisely advises us: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart.’

Yes Friends, our God is indeed good to those whose hearts are clean and pure, that are set on Him and His righteousness, not on the wickedness of the world. And we have a classic example of that particular problem as the psalmist Asaph declares in his psalm, re the mystery of prosperous wickedness.

‘But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm.

They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain (serves as a necklace); violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness (bulge with abundance): they have more than heart could wish.’ (Ps.73:2-7)

Oh my people, that’s a very true picture of how the wicked look and how they operate! And yuh know what? When we see them driving their fancy, expensive cars, living in their big mansions, while eating and drinking of the best of everything, wearing designer duds, and showing off about it too, we often feel envious, especially if we’re have a hard time simply making two ends meet.

That’s what happened to Asaph. He was on the verge of falling, of losing his faith, when luckily he woke up to the reality of the situation. And how did he do that? ‘Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.’ (Ps.73:17)

As the scholars put it: ‘Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem (vv. 17-28) He saw the destiny of the wicked (vv. 17-20); therefore he repented of his foolishness (vv.21-22) and found his happiness solely in a warm and growing relationship with God (vv. 23-28)

The point of the psalm is driven home even more dramatically when remembering that Asaph, the author, was a spiritual man who grew up with deeply religious training. (1 Chr.15:16-19; 16:4-7; 2 Chr.5:12; 29-30)’

Oh Friends, I know it’s hard to just grin and bear the blatant extravagance and boasting of the wicked. Yuh see even the deeply religious and spiritual man Asaph had a hard time not falling into Lucifer’s sinful trap. But please note how he got out of it; by going to the Lord’s sanctuary and immersing himself in the Word and finally realizing the destructive end of the wicked.

‘For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (who are unfaithful to thee).’ (Ps.73:27)

And that’s the gospel truth Friends! So please stand strong and not let envy and jealousy of the evildoers cause you to stumble and fall, for our wonderful God has promised so much more to those who wait on Him.

Listen to how the palmist puts it in Psalm 130, superscripted, My soul waiteth for the Lord. ‘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. 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.130:3-6)

Now that’s how we should behave my brethren! Watch and wait for the Lord with hungry hope and heart-filled faith! Let the wicked enjoy their earthly benefits, which will perish with them. Let’s say like Bruh David in Psalm 86, titled, ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord.’

He solemnly declares: ‘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)

That’s definitely, undeniable, irrevocable, everlasting truth my people!

So please, let’s not allow the flimsy and flashy baubles and bangles of the world to excite our sinful flesh and tear us away from what is true and full of substance; the Lord God Jehovah and His Word. If we stand strong, in due time we’ll be even better rewarded than the wicked, and with everlasting rewards too.

Now let’s go out with the wisest words that Asaph wrote in Psalm 73: ‘But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps.73:28)

And all God’s people gave a joyous shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ Much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ!

…when Lucifer tries to control out lustful eyes…that’s the time to give Jesus full control of our faith filled hearts…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 June 2013 Proverbs 3:1

16 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abuse, admonition, architect of the family, bounden duty, christianity, cock of the walk, competent manner, cruelty, don't provoke your children, emotional succour, father figures, Father's Day, fatherly duties, fatherly responsibilities, forget not my law, God's eyes, good father, good understanding, harmony, human-rights, injustice, keep my commandments, lasting effects, loss of temper, LOVE, mercy, negative cycle, no vision, peace, quality time, ridicule, rules and regulations, sexual prowess, spiritual education, spiritual leadership, the people perish, titular head, training of God, trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:1: My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

Well a Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there! I surely hope that it finds us all in good health, and doing better than we did a year ago. And I’m talking there about our fatherly duties. That’s because too many of us don’t measure up to what’s considered a good father.

Oh, I know that it can be a hard task, especially with the way things are going in our world today, but that doesn’t give us the right to renege on, or abdicate our fatherly duties.

Remember that in God’s eyes, the father is the titular head of the household, and we need to represent Him in a competent manner. Fathers are responsible for providing both physical and emotional succour for their household, as well as spiritual leadership. (Eph.5:22-33)

It’s an awesome responsibility, that’s why we fathers have to consider our words and actions very carefully, because they can have lasting effects, good or bad, on our families. For as the father goes, so usually does the rest of the household.

That’s why Bruh Paul warns the fathers of Ephesus: ‘And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph.6:4) And really, that says it all, yes my people!

As the scholars explain: ‘Fathers can provoke their children to wrath by injustice, loss of temper, undue severity, cruelty, favouritism, suppression, sarcasm, ridicule, and misuse or abuse of authority. Nurture basically means “training,” here denoting spiritual education.

Admonition is instruction that points out one’s responsibilities and duties. Of the Lord is in Greek a subjective genitive. This indicates that behind the parents’ rearing and instruction of their children stands the Lord as the chief teacher in the child’s education. Parents do not rear children alone.’

And that’s an undeniable fact, my brethren! The Lord God should be the architect of our family building, with the father being the chief builder, following His well laid out plans as closely as possible.

But unfortunately our modern society is more concerned with moving away from God, which results in the breaking up of families, rather than the constructive building of them.

Consequently, in too many homes around the world, there are either no father figures, or not particularly good ones. Too many fathers have turned away from God, or never knew Him, which means that families are not God-centered, or spiritually minded. And that’s truly a sad state of affairs my brethren!

How many households are there in our society today eh, where fathers speak to their children like Cousin Sol does in Proverbs 3, exhorting them to obedience and trust in the laws and ways of God? Not too many, or rather far from enough to make our society a blessed place to live and raise children and families in a godly manner.

Proverbs 3 begins with our Bit: ‘My son forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.’

Friends, that applies to the rules and regulations of our earthly fathers, as well as those of our heavenly Father, which, in the first place, are supposed to guide us all. And throughout that whole chapter, Cousin Sol goes on to teach the right way; the right way for both earthly fathers to live, and to teach their children how to live.

Unfortunately though my people, not too many of us tell our children things like: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart (mind). So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov.3:3-6)

Oh Friends, that’s the kind of stuff we ought to be teaching our children, especially in these godless times!

In many cases though, the fathers were never taught those things in their own childhood, and therefore don’t even know about them, so they obviously can’t teach them to their children, which only keeps the already negative cycle going from generation to generation.

And to make matters worse, our society is drifting away from God, increasing our already sad state of immorality, which allows young men to sire children all over the place without thought for the children or mothers, and shirking their fatherly responsibilities.

Oh Friends, there are too many single mothers in our society, and too many irresponsible fathers, who are only concerned about their sexual prowess and being ‘cock of the walk.’ That combination though is a sure-fire way to raise godless, irresponsible, immoral children, to the further detriment of our society.

Oh my people, please remember God’s promise; if we live according to His dictates, we’ll prosper, if not, then we’ll suffer. And we can see the ‘sufferation’ definitely happening now, as our entire world is facing serious hardships and disasters, though we are at astonishing heights of technological progress.

A lot of this is due to the poor leadership of the fathers amongst us. We’ve fallen down by paying more attention to the affairs of the world than those of God, and the affairs of God are the only things that will guide us aright in this evil, ungodly, troubled world. Then we’ve further failed our children by not spending enough quality time with them, then teaching them the wrong things, through our personal examples and words.

So Friends, fathers and fellow believers, let’s try and improve on our past performance nuh, because if we don’t, we’ll just keep going downhill until we perish in the mire of our own making. Please remember those wise words of Cousin Sol: ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov.29:18)

Yes Friends, where there is no divine revelation, with a lifestyle based on God’s will, then a society disintegrates. And we definitely don’t want that to happen to us. So let’s get behind our leaders, most of whom are also fathers, and raise a groundswell of dissatisfaction. Let’s tell them in no uncertain terms, that we’re not happy with the current state of affairs, and if they don’t do better, soon they’ll be looking for a job, just like many of us.

Now let’s enjoy our Father’s Day in peace, LOVE and harmony. Much LOVE!

….our children are our future…so father’s, let’s teach them right nuh… it’s our bounden duty…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 June 2013 Luke 24:49

15 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Adam and Eve, anonymous poem, Ark of the Covenant, awesome truth, blessing, christianity, confident stand, curse, Day of Pentecost, dream dreams, everlasting truth, faith, God keeps His promises, God's good, God's honour, God's in control, gone astray, holy spirit, maturity in Jesus, mighty wind, Paradise, power from on high, promises, promises of God, prophesy, serious problems, speak in tongues, standing on the promises, surrendering our will, tongues of fire, trust

Luke 24:49: And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

‘Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God! Yes, we’re standing, standing, standing on the promises of God!’

Oh Friends, those are such mightily important words in the lives of believers, for they play a role like nothing else does. That’s because in taking such a confident stand, we’re placing our faith and utmost trust in the promises of our God and Creator to control each and every aspect of our lives, surrendering our will to His holy and infinitely wiser one. And that says a whole lot about our level of faith and maturity in Jesus.

And I’ll certainly grab hold of this opportune opportunity, (smile) to remind us of some of God’s promises in the anonymous poem I shared not too long ago. I believe we need to hear it again, and thus reawaken and/ or rejuvenate our spirits.

Titled ‘God’s Promise’ the poem declares: ‘I will not fear – God is always with me. I will not doubt – God is always in control. I will not despair – God is always good. I will not falter – God is always watching. I will not fail – God is always victorious!’

And that’s all awesome truth Friends! And it all began when Adam and Eve had that glorious chance to live in paradise, but blew it because they figured God wouldn’t stand on His promise to kick them out if they disobeyed Him and ate of the tree of good and evil. But He did, and yet still, to this very day, we still don’t take Him seriously when He promises us stuff.

The beauty of it all though is that God also keeps His promises of good things and thoughts towards us. Listen to Cousin Sol confirm this on the day the Ark of the Covenant was taken into the spanking new temple he’d built in God’s honour.

‘Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest (peace) unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.’ (1 Kin.8:56)

Yes my people, not a single one of God’s promises to Moses and the children of Israel failed to come through, whether they were for good or bad! And since our God or His Word doesn’t change, all those promises, both for good and bad, are still in effect up to this very day.

And I can assure us that we’re feeling the effects of some of the bad ones, because we have gone astray from God, just like Israel did so many times and paid a significant price every time.

Oh Friends, we have to realize that the Word of God is the awesome, indelible, undeniable, everlasting truth! He doesn’t talk just because He can, or likes to, as so many of us do. And furthermore, He means exactly what He says; if you follow my will, I’ll bless you. But if you don’t, then I’ll cause you to be cursed.

It’s simple and straight to the point. One line of action will bring providential results, while the opposite will cause serious problems. And isn’t that the same way we raise our children? So since we’re the Father’s children, all His dictates and directives are appropriate.

But enough tongue lashing, (smile) today I want to focus on one particular promise, and a major one too, which stems from our Bit. ‘And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.’ That was Jesus again promising to send the Holy Spirit upon His disciples, just prior to His ascension.

Now the Father had also made that fact known long before Jesus ever came to earth. Hear God’s promise through Isaiah that His Spirit would come upon Israel: ”Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, and thou Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring. And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.’ (Is.44:2-4)

The prophet Joel also had some foresight re the eventual universal outpouring of God’s Spirit, when he declared: ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the (men) servants and upon the handmaids (maid servants) in those days will I pour out my spirit.’ (Joel 2:28-29)

So my brethren, Jesus ‘ promise to send the Spirit after His ascension was not something that He had just planned, but it was the Father’s intention from the very beginning. And we see it being refreshed and renewed in every age, until it finally comes to pass on the Day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus ascended.

Listen, as it’s so beautifully and emotionally described in the Good Book. ‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (purpose, mind) in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4)

And that finally fulfilled the promises that were made way back when, enabling each new believer to have God’s Holy Spirit dwell in them, leading and guiding them as Jesus desires.

Oh Friends, all of you know about the Day of Pentecost and its unusual happenings, but I’m trying here to get us to focus on the idea of promises coming through; like that awesome one at Pentecost, but even more so on the promises of our heavenly Father that are still coming true.

It’s very important that we notice the fulfilment of His promises in our lives, because that’s where, when and how we truly build faith and trust in Him. So today I’m simply asking us to believe in the promises of God and actively seek them out in our lives. They’re happening all around us every day, but we’re either too busy, blind or foolish to notice them.

Please, let’s turn that attitude around nuh, because it’s all to our benefit, not God’s. And it does show a high level of wisdom and trust when we can stand boldly, confidently and faithfully on His promises. Much LOVE!

…if we can trust in the fickle promises of fickle man…why not the faithful ones of Almighty God…creator of the world and all therein…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 June 2013 1 Corinthians 13:4

14 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: absolute wisdom, anger, bitterness, busybodies, christianity, detriment of friendships, envy, errant believer, error of our ways, fellowship, forgiveness, Friday chant, generous help, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, gospel truth, gossip, hate stirs up strife, heed God's call, hurricane season, imminent danger, itinerant musicians, jealousy, kind to each other, live in the Spirit, Love covers all sins, Love doesn't envy, Love doesnt boast, Love is kind, Love isn't arrogant, Love suffers long, multitude of sins, negative emotions, praise his holy name, qualities of Love, ramp up our faith, refreshed in soul, relaxation, rest, rising floodwaters, sacrificial blood, seek Love, sinful behaviour, sufficent fun, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the pit of corruption, the weekend, trangressions, trust in Almighty God, truth, walk in the Spirit, walk with Christ, wisdom, wrath

1 Corinthians 13:4: Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

Oh Friends it’s Friday! And some workers gathered around a group of itinerant musicians, raucously applaud: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend’s here, and work soon done. Ah say, thank God is Friday yes!’

Yes my people, Friday is an important day in our week; for some it’s the start of their Sabbath, for others it’s the start of their weekend and two days off of work, and most importantly it was the day on which Christ was crucified, the day He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones.

And all God’s people said, ‘Glory Hallelujah! What a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have. Praise His Holy Name! Amen!’

Anyway Friends, since it’s Friday, let’s chant our Friday Chant to get us into the right frame of mind to face the weekend in a positive, Christ-like manner.

‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’

Now that ought to give us the right perspective to handle the weekend. However, before we look at our Bit, let’s spend a moment in prayer for the unfortunate residents of the Fort McMurray area in the Western Province of Alberta, who are now facing imminent danger and the loss of their homes and belongings to rising floodwaters.

Oh Friends, so far it seems like this is the year of the flood and tornados, and the hurricane season hasn’t even gotten in to full swing yet. But we simply can’t afford to let disasters get us down.

In fact, as disasters strike, we need to lift, to ramp up our faith and trust in Almighty God, who’s promised to look after all those He’s called and have sincerely heeded that call. (Rom.8:28)

And when we consider our Bit, we see how extremely important it is, because, ‘Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not (does not brag on) itself, is not puffed up (arrogant).’

Yes my people, that’s truth of the absolutely undeniable kind!

Now yesterday, we saw in the passages before our Bit (vs.1-3) that regardless of our other attributes, that we’re useless, nothing, unless we have LOVE. And then the Good Book explains the basic God-like qualities of LOVE. (vs.4-8)

Today, we’ll take a gander at some scriptures that deal with the qualities that our Bit talks about; the long suffering of LOVE, its kindness, its lack of envy, its humility and lack of boasting, as well as its non-arrogant nature.

And what better place to begin than in the wisdom of Cousin Sol’s words, as he contrasts the attributes of the wise and those of the foolish. He states in matter-of-fact language, that ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but LOVE covereth all sins.’ (Prov.10:12)

And isn’t that gospel truth Friends! Our negative emotions wreak havoc in all aspects of our lives, but that wonderful attribute of LOVE, covers, brings God’s caring and harmonious nature to the front, leaving all negative issues in its wake.

As Hezekiah so wisely states in His glorifying prayer after his healing: ‘Behold, for (my own) peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in LOVE to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.’ (Is.38:17)

Oh my brethren, the wonderful works of the amazing God we serve never ceases to amaze me! In His great LOVE for us, He throws our sins behind Him and forgets them, even more so since Jesus paid for them with His sacrificial blood.

Meanwhile, in Ephesians, Bruh Paul lectures us on the kindness aspect of LOVE: ‘Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:31-32)

Oh Friends, we can never find a higher level of God-like behaviour than forgiveness, especially when it’s based on the fact that God has forgiven us such a multitude of abominable sins! And that can only happen through a sincere LOVE for Christ!

Then in Galatians, re walking in the Spirit, Bruh Paul touches on the question of envy and jealousy. ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:25-26)

Ah mih fellow believers! I had to let out a long, loud sigh there because, unfortunately too many of us Christians aren’t truly walking in the Spirit, for envy, deceit and selfishness have become hallmarks of our modern society. And though we’re supposed to be in the world, but not a part of it, sadly, we allow the negativity of the world to greatly invade and influence our spirits, and thus our walk with Christ.

Now listen to James, re saving an errant believer. ‘Brethren, if any of you do err (wander) from the truth, and one convert him (turns him back); Let him know, that he which converteth (turns) the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide (cover) a multitude of sins.’ (James 5:19-29)

Again my people, it’s that attitude of kindness and caring, of not being judgemental, the lack of pride and arrogance in our fellow believers, that helps to turn us around when we’re faltering, and allows God to not only correct our sinful behaviour, but also blot out our sins.

And we’ll end with a last word of absolute wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘He that covereth a transgression, seeketh LOVE; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very (the best of ) friends.’ (Prov.17:9)

And isn’t that the everlasting truth of man’s behaviour! Unfortunately, many of us have personally experienced it through unreliable gossip and the running mouths of the busybodies who take pleasure in spreading it, to the very real detriment of friendships.

Well that’s it for today my people. I certainly hope that these few words (smile) -as if I ever write few words eh – I do hope though that they provoke serious thoughts in our souls, which then lead to serious Christ-like actions in our lives. I sincerely pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Much LOVE my brethren!

…a true walk with Christ entails many things…but none more important than LOVE…

P.S. Sorry that this is somewhat late Friends, but my allergies acted up earlier on and I took some medication to calm them down, but apparently they calmed me down too much. (smile)

And though I wrote a rough draft without any problems, I’ve been in a semi-fog while transcribing it to the computer, making a set of foolish mistakes, which obviously annoyed me. But the Lord in His LOVING-kindness gave me the wherewithal to complete it without losing my mind. Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 June 2013 1 Corinthians 13:4

13 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 1 corinthians 13, burned body, charity, Christ's sacrifice, christianity, clanging cymbal, denominations, divide and conquer, divisions, divisiveness, earthly journey, easily provoked, eternal death, faith, feed the poor, few are chosen, first shall be last, getting along, gift of prophecy, gospel truth, harmony, have not Love, hypocrites, I am nothing, immaterial stuff, iniquity, knowledge, last shall be first, live in unity, Love doesn't envy, Love doesnt boast, Love God, Love is kind, Love isn't arrogant, Love makes the world go round, Love never fails, Love ourselves, Love suffers long, many are called, memorable words, pettiness, petty differences, prince of darkness, rejoices, separation, singing God's praise, sounding brass, speaking in tongues, stop fighting, the body of Jesus, the church, the Good Book, the Love Revolution, the number one ingredient, thinks no evil, to move mountains, truth, understand all mysteries, wisdom, wound Jesus' heart

1 Corinthians 13:4: Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.

Oh Friends, how good, right and pleasant it is for the followers of Jesus to live in unity with each other, continually singing the praises of our God, Creator, Provider and heavenly Father, the way the birds do all day long!

And they certainly were in fine and full voice when I arose this morning. Unfortunately though, instead of unity and harmony, we have more divisions and divisiveness in the body of Jesus Christ, the church.

Ah Lord eh mih breddren! How that must hurt and wound Jesus’ heart to see His people, the ones He so selflessly sacrificed His holy and sinless life for, not getting along, especially over petty, immaterial stuff.

We talk a lot about LOVE, but please read, note, mark, inwardly digest, remember and put into action these most memorable words of Bruh Paul to the Corinthians in the LOVE chapter of the Good Book.

‘Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (LOVE), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling (clanging) cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith; so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity (LOVE), I am NOTHING.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (LOVE), it profiteth me NOTHING.’ (1 Cor.13:1-3)

And why is all that the gospel truth Friends? Because of our Bit. ‘Charity (LOVE) suffereth long, and is kind; charity (LOVE) envieth not; charity (LOVE) vaunteth not (does not brag on) itself, is not puffed up (arrogant).’

Yes my people, LOVE is the number one ingredient of life!

Why? It’s simple: ‘(LOVE) Doth not behave itself unseemly (rudely), seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil (keeps no accounts of evil); Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity (LOVE) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail (cease); whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away (cease).’ (1 Cor.13:5-8)

Yes Friends, LOVE NEVER FAILS!

But everything else does at some time or another, be they the ability to prophecy, to speak in tongues, or be a fount of great knowledge. All of those will eventually pass away, but NOT LOVE, NEVER LOVE!

That’s why we talk about LOVE makes the world go round, because without it, our world is just one angry, evil, hateful warlike place.

And that’s another reason why we so desperately need the LOVE Revolution to pick up steam and bring not only unbelievers to Christ, but also His supposed people together unto themselves and unto Him, so that we can truly say that charity, LOVE isn’t failing, because right now in our troubled, confused and angry world, IT IS FAILING.

I ask us again Friends, how do we think Jesus feels when He looks down from heaven and sees us arguing and bickering amongst ourselves over foolishness, instead of truly taking His Word, His LOVE, and His Unity across the whole wide world to all mankind?

If the followers of Jesus would just stop fighting amongst themselves the world’s LOVE quotient would increase by at least 25 percent, because there is so much distrust and dissension amongst the body of Christ, in and around His church.

Oh my fellow believers, can’t we see that we’re doing Jesus a great disservice by not living the LOVE we talk so airily and carelessly about? It draws the name HYPOCRITE writ large on our backs, when we can’t get along in simple, everyday life, despite our petty differences.

And the basic foundation of our faith, of Christianity, is the getting along, the harmony and unity of one body, which, though it consists of several parts, none is more important than the other, but they all work together to bring about the success of the whole.

But sadly, as the world, with the prince of darkness at its helm, moves forward, Christ’s people are being lured by the enemy into more separation and division.

Oh my people, please see that the enemy’s focus, his ploy, is the age-old ruse of divide and conquer! It’s much easier to conquer us when we’re divided into small, warring groups, than when we live in harmony as ONE, in a great big, united body, with a powerful leader like Jesus at our helm.

Unfortunately though, we designate ourselves first by denomination; Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, Seven Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses, etc. instead of by our basic faith, Christians in the body of Christ, better known as Christianity. That alone causes untold dissension.

Oh my brethren, I don’t have all the answers to our problems, but this I know, that until and unless we all come together in one big, melting pot, as Christianity is meant to be, and stop fighting amongst ourselves for earthly supremacy, we’ll continue to fight a losing battle. The enemy will just sit by patiently and pick us off one by one, like a sniper on a rooftop, with his enemy nicely spread out in panic before him.

Oh Friends, Jesus told us that the two most important things in this life were to LOVE God and to LOVE ourselves. Is this how we LOVE ourselves; in resentment, anger and enmity? That’s surely a poor reflection on Jesus’ command.

And it follows logically, as John says; how can we LOVE God, whom we’ve never seen, if we can’t LOVE our fellow man, whom we have seen eh? (1 John 4:20) That’s an impossible task!

So today, all I can do is reiterate the need for the greatest revolution that has ever swept the earth, the LOVE Revolution, based on the sacrifice of Christ’s life given for us, without which, many of us will never see God’s face at the end of our earthly journey.

So please consider ourselves warned: no LOVE here on earth, means no seeing God in heaven! As Jesus so wisely warned too: ‘So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.’ (Matt.20:16)

And that’s unadulterated wisdom and truth that all of us should seriously consider, if we truly want to see God in the latter days. Much LOVE!

…he who hath ears to hear…let him hear NOW…else the price he’ll eventually pay…will be astronomical…that of eternal death…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 June 2013 1 John 4:8

09 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a little bit of LOVE, allegiance, Alpha and Omega, anger, best thing, charity begins at home, Christ's Church, christianity, compassion, crux of the matter, decency, Emmanuel, entertaining angels, escalation of ongoing wars, evils of the world, exceeding abundantly, forgiveness, God is LOVE, greed, hatred, high priest, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, LOVE, LOVE in action, LOVE one another, LOVE Revolution, mercy, praise and thanksgiving, pride, prince of peace, propitiation for our sins, right heart, rumours of wars, sacrifical blood, sacrifice, salt of the earth, show Love, sppression, standards of excellence, strife, substantial change, suppression, the world's going to the dogs, thoughtfulness, treat strangers decently, true christianity, undeniable truth, walk the talk

1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!

Oh Friends, family, neighbours and enemies, this is Sunday, the day when many of us go to church to worship God! But that doesn’t seem to be helping us nuh, because our world is still going to the dogs, and very quickly too.

Obviously one day a week is just not sufficient for us to pour out praise and thanksgiving, for every day there’s more talk about the escalation of ongoing wars and rumours of new wars starting up. There’s plenty of strife, anger, hatred, greed, pride, persecution, suppression, oppression and all the other negative things – but NO LOVE!

And that’s just unacceptable my people. Our world needs a LOVE Revolution in the worst way! My brethren we need one bad, bad, bad – and right now too! And the sad part is that it won’t take much LOVE to straighten out most of the problems nuh. But unfortunately we can’t seem to find any true LOVE at all.

Remember what B.J. Thomas says in his song? ‘A little bit of LOVE is better than no LOVE at all.’ So all we’re looking for to start us out on the right foot Friends is just a l’il bit o’ LOVE. And we’d be surprised at the substantial change that just a l’il LOVE would make. But for some reason we can’t seem to get around to that, however we do seem to find the time and effort to revel in the inappropriate evils of the world.

Oh my people, yuh see what our Bit says: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ And that’s the undeniable truth!

So if, as we claim, we believe in God, then we ought to have LOVE for God and also for each other. And not only have LOVE, but more importantly SHOW it! My family will tell you that one thing I’ve always tried to drill into their heads is that you just can’t talk LOVE, you have to SHOW it, because just talking it does no good to the hearer, they need to feel it too, for true Christianity is simply LOVE in action.

That’s why unbelievers view us as a bunch of hypocrites, because we only talk the talk, but don’t walk it. Just look at how Jesus showed His LOVE for us nuh; by selflessly sacrificing His sinless life for our sinful ones.

The Good Book describes it thus: ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)

And if that’s not real true LOVE Friends, then I don’t know what is.

And hear this next verse nuh mih people. ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) And therein lies the crux of the matter my brethren. Too many of us out there in the world, in the body of Christ’s church claim to LOVE, but sadly, we don’t show it.

And here’s what the scripture says about that: ‘If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:20-21)

And yuh know what my people, Jesus isn’t asking us to die for anybody, although that could be a very LOVING and Christian thing to do. All He’s asking of us is a l’il thoughtfulness, a l’il caring, a l’il decency, a l’il compassion, a l’il mercy and a l’il forgiveness, which, when all put together, equals a L’IL LOVE!

Oh my fellow believers, what’s so hard about that eh? And it doesn’t even have to be anybody outside, although it’s good to treat strangers decently, for unawares we might just be entertaining angels. (Heb.13:2) But we can begin right in our own family, for as the old people were won’t to say, ‘Charity begins at home.’

And that is the gospel truth! For if you can’t LOVE the people closest to you, how can you LOVE somebody you don’t know anything about, although it’s quite possible in true Christianity.

So my brethren, what do you all have to say about all that eh? Are we going to do this LOVE Revolution thing?

I vote very vociferously that we should, because it’s a perfect win-win situation. We have absolutely nothing to lose, and absolutely everything to gain. So come on nuh, please join with me, starting today, in fact RIGHT NOW, let’s pledge our LOVE and allegiance to the LOVE Revolution in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, and don’t forget our High Priest… Wow!

So let me put it to you this way then mih people; if a man with all those awesome and amazing titles – and I’m sure I’ve left out some – gives up His innocent life for your evil one, then plays all those rather important roles in your life, why wouldn’t you want to associate with Him eh? Especially if when you associate with Him from a right and decent heart and motive, He will lift you up, exalt you more that you can ever expect or imagine. The Bible terms it: ‘unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.’ (Eph.3:20)

Oh Mama Mia! How could I not want to be a part of all that nuh! No way José! I want to get in on the ground floor of that LOVE Revolution, because it’s the BEST THING this world has to offer!

So let’s say this pledge together nuh Friends. ‘Oh Jesus, today I pledge my allegiance to You and Your LOVE Revolution! I promise to do my very best to work towards the high standards of excellence you seek for those who desire to join your movement. Please help us to fulfil all your desire. We pray this in Your Name and on Your sacrificial blood. Amen.’

So we’re all official members of the LOVE Rev. Club now people! (smile) Therefore, let’s go out into the world and let our light shine, be the salt of the earth, show them what real LOVE is all about, what Jesus is truly about, by helping and serving those in need. For that was Jesus’ purpose here on earth; to serve, not to be served. And we’d do Him proud by continuing in that same humble and righteous vein.

So let’s glorify Him by both walking and talking the Christian talk. And all God’s people cried a loud ‘Amen!’ Much, much LOVE mih breddren!

…if God is LOVE…and shows LOVE…then God’s children should be LOVE…and show LOVE too…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 June 2013 Hebrews 10:23

05 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Amen, awesome greatness, blessings, boring death, bounden duty, bountiful mercies, Christian faith, christianity, confidence, discouragement, don't waver, dr schuller, evil conscience, exciting life, failure, faithful God, fellowship, forgiveness, glorious morn, glory, God's promises, God's providence, good works, gospel truth, have hope, heart-moving prayer, high priest, hold fast to our faith, Holy Place of God, hope, inspiration, largesse, last trumpet, LOVE, loving kindness, mangnanimous God, mercy-filled lives, power, praise and thanksgiving, praise the Most High God Jehovah, reciprocal encouragement, shame, spendour, spiritual food, stir up LOVE, strength, success, thankful mood, the blood of Jesus, unbelievable opportunities, weakness, wonderful grace, worship and glorify God

Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

And then it was Wednesday, my beautiful Friends in Christ Jesus! Meaning that another new and glorious morn is in the offing, bringing with it exciting and unbelievable opportunities to enjoy the everlasting and bountiful mercies, goodness, blessings, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness of our magnificent and magnanimous God!

And the hearts of God’s people were so touched by those sentiments that they erupted in unison, in one loud voice: ‘Oh praise and sanctify the Most High God Jehovah! He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who dwells in the high heavens, but unstintingly pours out His wonderful grace on His adoring people, the children of men, here on earth!

Yes mih people, that’s the kind of adoration our Creator, our Provider and most generous, LOVING and faithful God deserves, each and every day of our blessed, mercy-filled lives!

In truth, there are really no words in the human language to truly describe the awesome greatness, splendour, largesse and LOVE of our God, but we do have to try and make do with what we have, because it’s our bounden duty to worship and glorify Him and spread His glorious kingdom to all the ends of the earth, so that when the last trumpet sounds, not a single soul of His creation will be lost to mammon.

And all God’s children declared a loud and glorious shout of ‘Amen! And again we say, Amen!’

Ah mih breddren, the ole fella just seems to have gotten up in a real praising and thankful mood this morning. (smile) But that’s really the way we ought to be each and every day. So let’s endeavour to pick up our praise and thanksgiving, starting today nuh. We’ll undoubtedly enjoy much better, much happier lives if we do that.

Now here’s a prayer from Dr. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional that will certainly help us to do that. It’s titled, ‘I Will Move.’

Pray with me: ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’

Oh Friends, what a beautiful, heart-moving prayer! I sure hope that it gets all of us worked up for Christ this morning!

Now let’s look at how our Bit comes about; it stems from a plea to hold to the new faith. ‘Having therefore, brethren, boldness (confidence) to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say his flesh;

And having a high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

And let us consider one another to provoke (stir-up) unto LOVE and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb. 10:19-26)

Now what does all of that mean eh? Let’s get some insight from the scholars. First off: ‘Jesus Christ is the new and living way by which believers have direct access into the very Holy Place of God (cf. 4:14; 6:20; 7:25; John 14:6)’

Then: ‘The word translated provoke (Gr. paraoxysmos) usually has a negative sense, as is witnessed by its only other New Testament usage (Acts 15:39). The positive connotation which the word has in the present text means to stir up. It is easy to stir up hatred and godless deeds; it takes much more to stir up another to LOVE and good works.’

And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! We can very easily stir up ourselves and each other to anger and other unfruitful stuff, but doing it for the positive things takes much more work and time.

And finally: ‘Not forsaking the assembling: This admonition involves far more than erratic attendance. It involves the entire worship of Christ and is an outward indication of an inner condition.

The assembling of God’s people provides opportunity for reciprocal encouragement, strengthening, and the stirring up that can be gained form one another. (cf. Col. 3:12-16). It consists of participation in worship and fellowship. The church is a body interacting (1 Cor. 12:14-27); it is not merely a dispensary of spiritual food and medicine.’

And to that Friends, I can only say ‘Amen!’ For it’s something I’ve been trying to instil in us all along; the necessity for fellowship and believer interaction at all levels, times and places in our lives, because it’s from that coming together, that physical and spiritual mixing, we’re supposed to draw strength, inspiration and faith to carry on.

So let’s come together nuh mih people, as Jesus would have us do, to exhort and inspire each other. That’s true wisdom and Christian faith at its everlasting best. Much LOVE!

…when Christians join together in true fellowship…all the hosts of heaven rejoice…

P.S. Oh my brethren, please remember to check out the scripture references given above, because they are for our benefit, further enlightening us as to the meaning(s) of the Word of God. And if you don’t read the scriptures for yourselves, you’ll NEVER truly understand them. And that’s gospel truth! Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 June 2013 Philippians 2:8.

02 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: awesome price Jesus paid, birds chirping, blessing in disguise, broken image of Jesus, christianity, confidence in man, eccentric, eternal death and damnation, evening praise, fear and shame, fuller realization, gruesome sight, harbour of safe shelter, he humbled himself, honour and glory, innovative, interest rates, isaac watts, Jesus, joyful countenances, led like a lamb to the slaughter, little by little, living for Jesus, mysterious, obedient unto death, passionate about faith, pour contempt on all my pride, selfless sacrifice, songs of praise, soul searching words, super ingrates, the Prince of Glory, trust in the Lord, twilight, unique, up the ante, vain things, when I survey the wondrous cross, woefully inadequate

Philippians 2:8. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Oh Friends, oh Friends, recently the bruised, battered and broken image of Jesus being led like an innocent lamb to the slaughter, has been appearing rather frequently on my mental screen. I don’t know why, but guess that I’m finally coming to a somewhat fuller realization of the awesome price He paid to save my sinful soul from eternal death and damnation.

And everyday I have to chuckle at the mysterious, innovative, unique and eccentric ways that God operates in my life. This last image appearance happened about four days ago, as I was sitting on the deck at the back of my house around twilight, sipping some caffeine, just enjoying the cooler evening weather, for the day had turned out beautifully, hot and sunny, at definite odds to the earlier forecast of rain.

Anyway, as I sat there listening to some birds chirp their evening praise, the words of one of my old favourite hymns suddenly drifted in to my mind. I’m talking about: ‘When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory Died.’

Unfortunately I didn’t remember all the words, so I had to look them up, and then was guided to share them here with you. It was written by Isaac Watts in 1707, and is based on Gal.6:14.

‘When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God!

All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and LOVE flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; LOVE so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.’

Oh my fellow believers, what powerful, soul-searching words!

And then the true picture came into focus. You know when we see pictures of Jesus hanging on the cross, it’s always a frontal view – and that’s really a blessing in disguise, for can you imagine what a bloody mess His back must have been, from all the flogging etc. Many of us would most likely faint at the gruesome sight.

All of that just led me to think what a bunch of super ingrates we are. We talk a whole lot about Jesus, talk up a storm, but when the time comes for us to brave that storm, to walk through it, hn… we shudder with a sad mixture of fear and shame and step back into a harbour of safe shelter.

Oh my brethren, the returns we’re paying Jesus on His selfless sacrifice are woefully inadequate. Granted, we can never repay Him in full, but what we’re currently paying, through the less than stellar lives we’re living, is totally insufficient.

In terms of interest rates, since we can’t ever pay the principal, we’re paying even less than what the crooked, criminal banks are paying, and they have now been at their lowest point for quite some time.

Come on my people, We can surely raise our interest rates, do a better job of living for Jesus, of LOVING Him, of LIVING our Faith in true Christian fashion, not as hypocritically as we’re currently doing, and SPREADING His Word with much more confidence and passion and much less fear and shame.

Please note the sad but stoic tenor of our Bit: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’

Ah mih people, after all that Jesus suffered on our behalf, we can most assuredly up the ante, little by little, until we come to a decent rate. Now that’s my admonition for today! And I pray that we’ll all take it seriously and try our best to improve our standing with Jesus.

And if we’re truthful with ourselves, we’ll all admit that we can do a better job of living for Him. For remember my brethren, that He is the ONLY ONE who can truly help us in this mish-mash life, in these rough, hard, scary and troubled times.

Man can’t help us, seeing that he can’t even help himself. As the psalmist so wisely advises us: ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.’ (Ps.118:8)

So Friends, I’m imploring us to not forget that Jesus died to help us, to bring us out of bondage to sin, that’s the ONLY reason He sacrificed His sinless life!

Therefore, with songs of praise and joyful countenances, let’s board the train that leads to wherever He is! Let’s get passionate about our faith, knowing that at some stage of the game, we’ll go home to be with Him forever!

But until then, let’s do our best to honour and glorify Him down here on earth, for He is truly worthy of much honour and glory! Much LOVE!

…Jesus, Jesus…oh how I LOVE that name…Jesus, Jesus…I’ll shout it out loud…without any shame…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 June 2013 Psalm 61:3

01 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: arms of Almighty God, calming influence, Christ-like, christianity, compassion, Daily Bread Devotional, desires, eternal life, fears, foregivenss, fruits of the Spirit, goals, God exists, God of my rock, hypocrites, just my imagination, knowing God, lead me to the rock, LOVE, meditate on God's Word, mercy, my refuge, my Saviour, New Year's resolution, patience, perception, Pharisees, problems, psalm 61, shelter, Song of Deliverance, spirituality, strong tower, stronghold, talking to God, the righteous run to God, times of trouble, tribulations, trust in God, wisdom

Psalm 61:3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

Ah Friends, May has quietly segued into June. Wow! I don’t know if it’s just my perception, but to me the months of this year are going by rather quickly. Anyway, even if it’s just my imagination, it’s time once again to check up on our sole New Year’s Resolution; drawing closer to Jesus.

Have we advanced any, daily becoming more like Him, showing greater LOVE, patience, mercy, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion, and all the other fruits of the Spirit that we’re supposed to bear and share? I sure hope so.

But as I reason, if we’re truly serious about becoming more Christ-like, then it’s much easier to check our progress every month and make the necessary corrections, than doing so on a yearly basis. So please, let’s take some quiet time, today or tomorrow, and review our progress. We’ll be amazed at what we’ll find.

Now I know that some of you read the Daily Bread Devotional, but I wonder how many read the last page of the May offering? Not that dated May 31, but the page after that. Well whether you did or not, I’d like to share some awesome wisdom that’s printed there, some that we should all thoroughly consider, accept and believe.

They claim that knowing whether God exists is important, but that actually knowing God is even more important. And I wholeheartedly agree. They quote a rather interesting passage by the theologian, J.I Packer.

‘What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What in man gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.’

Yes Friends, all that we are, have and were meant to be, begins and ends with knowing God; the One who created us and provides for us, both here on earth and in heaven. And our Bit today highlights the great importance of truly knowing God.

Psalm 61, from which it’s taken is sub-titled, ‘Lead me to a rock that is higher than I.’ And that’s exactly what our God is, my brethren; a rock that is much higher, more secure and much more powerful than us!

And Bruh David appropriately begins it: ‘Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.’ (Ps.61:1-2)

Yes Friends, in his time of trouble Bruh David runs to that powerful, secure and calming influence; the ever open and waiting arms of Almighty God! And I can testify that there’s no better place to run when the enemy approaches. Now why is that?

Bruh David gives us the reason in our Bit: ‘For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.’

There’s method to Bruh David’s madness Friends, and also to mine. (smile) From earlier experiences he knows that God will protect him in times of tribulation. In other words, he knows God. Their relationship is such that he can call on Him at any time, in regards to any matter, and He will hear and answer Him.

Consequently, he can unhesitatingly proclaim: ‘I will abide in thy tabernacle (tent) for ever: I will trust in the covert (shelter) of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.’ (Ps.61:4-5)

Oh my brethren, do we know God so well, that we can sincerely say those things? I surely hope so, because if we don’t, then crapaud smoke we pipe, things really bad with us. Remember, as we said earlier on, our whole existence is about knowing God. But that can only happen when we constantly seek Him, consistently read and meditate on His Word, and converse with Him in prayer.

And note, prayer is simply talking to God, opening our hearts to Him, telling Him our problems, our goals, desires and fears, and asking for His potent and wise help in becoming like His wonderful Son Jesus Christ. He doesn’t need all the ceremony; the bowing and scraping and prostrating ourselves, for outward show doesn’t matter to Him. What matters most to God is the state of our hearts, spirits and motives, whether we’re sincere or not.

So please let’s not behave like the hypocrite Pharisees and them, whom Jesus detested for their outward show and self-righteous acts. Our God wants us to come to Him humbly, but confidently, and lay all our cards on the table, not holding back anything, for it’s not a poker game, where we have to hide our true feelings.

And Cousin Sol backs that up admirably with this scripture from Proverbs 18. ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe (set on high).’ (Prov.18:10)

Yes Friends, as the scholars explain: ‘The righteous find protection in the Lord.’ And that’s the gospel truth!

Now let’s end with some more powerful words from Bruh David on the subject. This comes from his Song of Deliverance, when the Lord finally gave him rest from all his enemies, including Saul. The Song is found in 2 Samuel 22, Psalm 18 is the edited version.

Listen closely: ‘And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock: in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn (strength) of my salvation, my high tower (stronghold), and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (2 Sam.22:2-4)

Oh my people, such is the confidence that our God builds in us when we consistently walk with Him! And anyone who doesn’t want that confidence in a rock and refuge that’s higher than them, then something’s seriously wrong.

All I know is that I’m going to seek Him and His kingdom first and foremost, put all my eggs in His safe basket, because I am sure of His LOVE, STRENGTH, MERCY, FORGIVENESS AND PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE!

And I encourage you to do the same, because it is truly wisdom at its highest level. Much LOVE!

…as for me and mine…we’ll follow Jesus…even to the ends of the universe…no doubt about it…

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