Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 May 2017 Psalm 27:1.

25 May 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 27:1.  The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Well a good Thursday morning to you my faithful brethren in Christ! As I write these words of wisdom (smile) in the early hours, a gentle rain is falling outside, blessing the earth, so that she may refresh herself with the greenery that’s spring.

That means, for those who live in my vicinity, the commute this morning might be a tad on the rough and slow side. So please leave home early, and be careful on the roads, for you know that whatever the weather and driving conditions, there are always some foolish drivers out there on our highways and byways who cause unnecessary accidents.

And the sad part is that too often, the ones who cause the accidents don’t get injured, but the innocent drivers suffer the brunt of the situation. And we certainly don’t want anything to happen to you this morning.

Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that I couldn’t help sharing. It’s something we could all use a bit more of. It’s titled ‘Intimate Closeness.’

And it says: ‘You promise, dear God That when I draw close to You You will draw close to me. Lord, I give myself to You unreservedly. Teach me more and more Of intimate closeness And fill my heart with You alone. To walk arm-in-arm with You Down every winding path Seems to me the dearest of all delights.’

And it is indeed my people! Walking arm-in-arm with our heavenly Father is the most delightful thing we can ever do! And I’d like to suggest to many of us today that we should be seeking a closer and more intimate walk with God, so that our lives can blossom from that intimacy.

It’s high time we give ourselves to Him unreservedly; for that’s the only way we’ll ever learn or achieve true intimacy with Him. Remember, intimacy can only be achieved through a very close relationship with somebody.

And no wonder the Bible promise for that poem is ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you.’ (James 4:8a) 

Yeh friends, our gracious God is always waiting for us to draw near to Him, so that he can envelope us in His LOVING arms. His is an open invitation, all we need to do is accept it. 

And when we do, then we are able to shout loud and proud and confident, like Bruh David did in our Bit. ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ 

Oh my people, it’s only when we walk closely with God that fear dissipates in our lives to be replaced by courage! That’s because our foundation is then truly in Jesus Christ, who died that we might live, that we might have eternal life. 

And hear how He puts it to the disciples. ‘I am the true (genuine) vine, and my Father is the husbandman (vinedresser)… Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:1,4-5) 

Now that’s telling it like it is my brethren! Without Jesus we can do nothing! All of our substance comes from Him, both as Creator and Saviour. And when we walk in lockstep with Him, we are mighty and courageous in the land, through His power that runs through us. Glory to God! 

Now listen to the Lord speaking to His people Israel through the prophet Isaiah, letting them know that He will restore them to Zion when the time is right. ‘Strengthen ye the weak (sinking) hands, and confirm (make firm) the feeble knees. 

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.’ (Is.35:3-4) 

That’s the awesome power and LOVE of our mighty God friends! Once we are walking faithfully with Him, He will never leave us in the lurch. Hear how Bruh David puts it at the end of Psalm 27, from which our Bit is taken. 

‘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) 

Yes friends, when we abide in God, and wait in faith on Him, He will strengthen us, and we’ll also see His wonderful goodness right down here on earth! And that goodness is indeed shed forth in our Thursday Blessings. 

So let’s declare them in strong voice and true belief. ‘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 everyday! Amen!’ 

Oh, the wonderful glory of God, my people! Now let’s go out and share those blessings with others, as our God desires of us. Much LOVE!

…just a closer walk with thee…blessed Jesus…let it be…please let it be…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 May 2012 Acts 1:5

30 May 2012 Leave a comment

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

Acts 1:5.    For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
 
Oh Friends, it’s a new day and we’re still alive and kicking! Wow! Praise the Lord! Now here’s an interesting prayer to start our days, taken from Dr. Robert H Schuller’s Daily Devotional, attributed to Norman Grub (1895-1993) an American missionary, statesman, writer and theological teacher. It says: ‘Good morning Christ. I LOVE You! What are you up to today? I want to be part of it! Thank You God. Amen!’ Isn’t that nice Friends; simple and straightforward? For sure! I believe that’s the kind of prayer the Lord truly appreciates, because though it’s so short and simple, it still fulfills all the necessities. It glorifies Him with LOVE; is humble, yet confident, and displays a whole lot of enthusiasm and preparedness to do whatever Jesus desires. Oh my people, are we displaying those properties in our prayers to our ever-LOVING God? I sure hope so. Now let’s continue looking at the wonderful workings of the Holy Spirit, beginning with the heart warming promise of Jesus in our Bit: ‘For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ And even more compelling and heart warming was the fulfillment of that promise on the Day of Pentecost! Now today, I want to share two Old Testament examples of the Spirit being used on particular individuals, and also a couple more instances where the Lord promised it. And the first of those instances of the Holy Spirit on man that we want to share comes from the very important prophet Isaiah. In Chapter 61, where he’s bringing good tidings of salvation to Zion, he confidently declares: ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.’ (Is.61:1) And the Spirit of God obviously had to be on him, especially in those olden times, for him to do such mighty deeds! Now hear Ezekiel after the Lord commissioned him to be a prophet: ‘So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat (anger) of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.’ (Ezek. 3:14) But nuh must Friends! The Lord’s hand is strong upon all whom His Spirit indwells! Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, had a hard time accepting God’s commission, but as always, the Lord’s will prevailed. Please my people, when the Lord comes a calling on us to perform some particular work in His Holy Name, please, let’s not fight it, for we will only cause ourselves unnecessary trouble, grief and heartache, since the Lord will eventually prevail. And I can testify to that from personal experience, for when He approached me about writing the Bit, like Sara, I laughed. But here I am some six years later, writing it with pleasure. Yes Friends, when the Lord says jump, it’s best to ask right away, how high Lord? That’s because the longer you delay and complain, the higher you’ll eventually have to jump. Now here are two more instances from the Old Testament where the Lord promised to send His Spirit upon His people. Yesterday we heard from Joel (Joel 2:28-29) today, let’s listen first to Isaiah declare that the Spirit of God would be in 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) Then Ezekiel proudly proclaims in his promise of restoration and renewal of Israel: ‘And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you (them); and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances (judgements), and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.’ (Ezek.11:19-20) Ah Friends, yuh see how our wise and mighty God works! Each prophet that arose in Israel, though they brought some sad tidings, they always brought that faithful and everlasting promise of rebirth, of restoration, reconciliation and salvation from the God of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And note too, how it all dovetailed smoothly and was fulfilled by the coming of Jesus. That was God’s plan from day one! So in light of all those promises and their fulfillment in the earthly pilgrimage and person of Jesus, how can we ever doubt the authenticity and truth of the Good Book eh? Oh Friends, I’ll leave us to ponder that today, and also strongly advise us to get in touch, in close relationship with the Holy Spirit of Christ which indwells us, for He’s there to lead and guide us. However, since He’s not the pushy, aggressive type, if we don’t consciously seek Him out and ask for His wise and godly advice, then follow it, we’ll surely get lost on the highway to hell, taunted by, and falling for Lucifer’s evil wiles and lies. And we definitely don’t want that to happen! So please cozy up to the Holy Spirit today. It’s wisdom at it’s finest. Much LOVE! …we cannot stay on the straight and narrow path…without the Holy Spirit’s help…  P.S. The Bit was late, partially because my young daughter called me on the phone this morning and had me gabbing instead of writing. (smile)