Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 September 2018 James 4:8a

16 Sep 2018 Leave a comment

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

James 4:8a.   Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you.

Well it’s that special time again friends; time to visit the house of God and give Him thanks through sincere praise and worship, in the company of fellow believers. It’s always a great time, both here on earth and in heaven when believers get together to sing the Lord’s praises, hear His Word and have their spirits renewed and refreshed. 

The celebration is remarkable, as all heaven gets together too, to watch and participate in their own way! And you know we always like to begin the proceedings with a song of praise to get us in the mood and soften up our hard hearts. Today’s song is the well-known hymn, ‘Just a closer walk with thee.’ It’s strange, but there doesn’t seem to be any agreement on who wrote the song or where it first originated.  

But it’s a very appropriate song for believer’s needs, as one commentator says: ‘In this song, we acknowledge our human inability to live righteously, but we also express awareness of the grace and strength that God gives us in our daily walk. Even an esteemed saint as the apostle Paul acknowledged his need for this grace: “But he (God) said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor.12:9a, 10b) 

And is that ever so true, for without God’s grace and guidance our lives would not be worth even the proverbial ‘plugged nickel!’ So let’s open out hearts and mouths, and lift our hands and eyes to heaven and entreat our Lord and Saviour to generously and compassionately offer us a closer walk with Him, for without Him at our side we’re simply bound for Hades and eternal damnation. 

Altogether now my people, let’s raise the roof of the sanctuary with our sweet voices, and let our prayerful requests rise to heaven in song. ‘I am weak, but Thou art strong, Jesus, keep me from all wrong; I’ll be satisfied as long As I walk, let me walk close to Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.) 

Through this world of toil and snares, If I falter, Lord, who cares? Who with me my burden shares? None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.) When my feeble life is o’er, Time for me will be no more; Guide me gently, safely o’er To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore. (Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it, Jesus, is my plea, Daily walking close to Thee, Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.).’ 

Oh friends, that sure was powerful, but also very sincere! And I’m positive that our requests reached the listening ear of Jesus and He immediately instructed the angels to do exactly as we asked. And they have done it, because I can feel the Holy Spirit of our Lord and Saviour moving dramatically in me, strengthening me and reassuring me that everything will be okay, because He’s always near and will never leave nor forsake me. 

And I’m sure that you my fellow believers have also received the same message, because I can see the light of Christ shining in your eyes, with a Moses-like glow on your faces, and your bodies are now standing straight and strong. Ah mih people, that’s the wonderful effect God’s power, through His Spirit, will have on us when we reach out in all sincerity to Him. 

They say that the title and lyrics of this song allude to the Biblical passage from 2 Cor.5:7 which states, “We walk by faith and not by sight,” which we talked about a couple days ago. And also to our Bit for today: ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you.’ 

And isn’t that the awesome truth! Throughout the Good Book our God repeatedly tells us to come to Him, for succour, and comfort. We see it early on when Moses tells the Israelites about turning from their evil ways if they ever become idol worshippers. ‘But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.’ (Deut.4:29) 

Ah friends, that’s the real crux of the matter; not only seeking God, but also doing so with true sincerity. For remember God judges us by the state of our hearts, not by our outward show. And Bruh David tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.’ (Ps.9:10) And friends, He NEVER WILL! 

And Bruh David practiced what he preached.’ When thou saidst, seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.’ (Ps.27:8) Meanwhile through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said to the Israelites about their return from captivity in Babylon: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken (listen) unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer.29:12-13) 

There again my fellow believers, that proviso of seeking God with all your heart, if you want to find Him. You can seek Him in any state, He’ll take you just as you are, but your heart must be right, be truly repentant. And let’s not forget Azariah’s warning to king Asa. ‘The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:2) That says it all friends! So please, let’s be wise and heed all those warnings nuh! Much LOVE!

…if we want to have a steady walk with God…then we must have a steady heart for God…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 November 2017 Ephesians 3:20-21.

02 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 3:20-21.   Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Another day friends, another day! Wow! We’ve been granted another blessed day of life on God’s great earth! Isn’t that just wonderful? It surely is! That means God has great plans in store for us; plans to do His earthly work through the help of His Holy Spirit! Otherwise, why keep us alive eh? (smile) 

But are we ready, willing and able to do our part in that holy partnership? That’s the million dollar question. We might be ready, and even able, but the crux of the matter is, are we willing? Yeh mih people, do we really WANT to do God’s work? 

That is what God is interested in; the state of our hearts, our motives, our true attitudes. That’s because, like we all know, when you want to do something, you usually do it better than if you are merely doing it through compulsion or happenstance. 

We see that everyday in the way people do their jobs; some do it with pleasure, some because they just want to get paid, and some don’t do it at all. So what’s out attitude towards God’s will and work eh? Let’s take a brief moment to ponder that question nuh…. Selah. 

Oh I know that some of us will complain that God’s work is not easy or attractive, or whatever excuse you have. But friends, let’s remember that ours is not to question why, but simply, as a child of God, a follower of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to accept God’s assignments and hopefully not to die, while carrying them out to the best of our ability. 

And even if perchance we do die a physical death while doing His will, remember the great rewards He has promised, both here on earth and in heaven, for those who serve Him faithfully. There is nothing more rewarding than salvation and eternal life with the Holy Trinity! 

And our God is faithful; one of His many names is EVER-FAITHFUL! So there is no need to worry if He will keep His promises like never to leave or forsake us, or to help us bear our burdens, or to walk with us through the flood and the fire. And even more importantly, unlike other supposed gods, He IS ABLE, has the power and might to keep those promises! 

Just listen to Bruh Paul expatiate on His awesome power in our Bit. ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’ 

Yeh friends, the Lord God Almighty is our Maker, our Creator, our Controller and Provider! Consequently He can direct our lives in any which way that suits His plans, but in His ever-LOVING and generous nature, He desires us to WANT to work with Him, and not just be like a fearful and/or obedient slave. 

It’s no different than how we desire others to work for us. And in these tremulous and troublesome times, it becomes even more important that we Christians acquire more gumption, more desire, more backbone, more faith and strength to fight the battles that our world requires us to fight. 

And we can only acquire those things by working faithfully and sincerely with the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, that leads and guides us, that shows us the true path to glory in Jesus Christ. 

So let’s sincerely pledge today to improve our relationship with our great God nuh, through listening to and following the dictates of our Comforter and Guide, His Holy Spirit. That’s the only way life will ever improve here on earth. 

Now listen to Bruh Paul as he concludes with this doxology (praise to God), to the church at Rome, very reminiscent of our Bit. ‘Now to him that is of power (able) to stablish (establish) you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, 

But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.’ (Rom.16:25-27) 

Oh friends, what powerful scripture. Please lets take it all to heart, and let it enable us to do excellent work in Christ’s name. And as we do every Thursday, let’s go home declaring our wonderful blessings from our most wonderful God. 

All together now, in sincerity and truth: ‘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!’ 

Mama Mia! What an awesome God we serve and worship! The next step is to now go out and generously share those blessings with the less fortunate, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!

…the best way to serve Jesus…is to have a heart truly full of Jesus…

 

 

 

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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…