Philippians 1:11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Oh Friends, on this spring-like morning in the northern climes, I sure hope that these words meet you all in good health and steadfast faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! I also hope that you’re enjoying the numerous new mercies and blessings He’s rained down from heaven this morning. Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And all God’s people shouted a joyous: ‘Praise His Holy Name, for He is indeed worthy to be praised!’ And that’s an indisputable fact Friends! Just a reminder here to those who live under the Daylight Savings time obstacle or debacle. And I consider it both, because it disrupts lives. One minute you’re going to work or school in the dark and coming home in the dark. Then next, you’re doing both in the daylight. I really don’t know if it serves any useful purpose to the ordinary citizen, but the powers that be have declared we must have it, and so we do. Anyway, please remember that the clocks go forward one hour at 2 a.m, tonight or tomorrow morning, your choice. (smile) Now let me share an interesting quote from the famous British writer, Somerset Maugham (1874 -1965), who says: ‘The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.’ And all of us can certainly attest to the truth of that statement, since all our lives we’ve been fighting to give up bad habits, but too often find it extremely difficult, if not impossible. However my brethren, when you’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Jesus, then nothing is impossible! That’s because you and Jesus are the perfect pair, together you can do anything, successfully fight any battle that comes along! Together you’re sure conquerors! Just look at how he conquered death and the grave! So the smartest move you can make, if you have a problem habit, or any problem at all, is to get truly connected to Jesus. What an eye opening experience that can be my people! And I’m saying this from personal experience, not simple hearsay. This brings us to our Bit: ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ And as yesterday, we’ll use the scholars’ simpler translation. ‘Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.’ Now the last two days we’ve talked about the fruits of righteousness in our Bit, today we’ll talk about the last half, ‘unto the glory and praise of God.’ And we’ll begin with some choice words of Bruh David from Psalm 22; a cry of anguish and song of praise, where he astutely warns us: ‘Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed (descendants) of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him (hold Him in awesome reverence), all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.’ (Ps.22:23-24) Oh my fellow believers, that’s as good a reason as any to praise and glorify our most awesome God! Now let’s turn to some words of Jesus on the subject. And yuh better believe mih breddren, that doing the Father’s will and glorifying Him was paramount in Jesus’ earthly sojourn. It was His raison d’être, He was totally consumed by it. That’s because He knew where all His strength and power to do His earthly job came from. Right from the start, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached that glorifying the Father was important. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16) Oh Friends, are we doing that? Obviously not to the extent that we should. Next we can turn to just after Jesus told His disciples about His betrayal, and Judas left. (John 13:21-30) ‘Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway (immediately) glorify him.’ (John 13:31-32) To Jesus, the end result was always about the glorification of His heavenly Father! Remember too, as Bruh Paul reminded the Philippians: ‘Who (Jesus Christ), being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:6-8) Yes my people, if only we could be half as obedient to Christ, as He was to the Father, Christ’s church here on earth would be sparkling and growing by leaps and bounds, instead of being more or less stagnant, possibly even shrinking, full of resentment, anger and strife, through too many petty divisions and dissensions. Jesus also drove home the point of obedience and glorification when telling the disciples the parable of the vine and the branches. ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE. If ye keep my commandments; ye shall abide in my LOVE; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His LOVE.’ (John 15:7-10) Ah Friends, it’s all about obedience and LOVE! How are we shaping up in those departments eh? However we’re doing, I’m sure we can all do better. So let’s get a move on with it nuh, so that at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we’ll be able to say, like Jesus: ‘Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee…. I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.’ (John 17:1,4) Oh Friends, all I can say is that we go out into this evil, ungodly world and do the Father’s work as passionately and obediently as Jesus did, consequently glorifying Him. For us believers, that’s wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!…the human being was sculpted by God…with unconditional LOVE…so that he could return that LOVE to God…unconditionally…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 March 2013 Philippians 1:11
09 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: afflicted, bad habits, Christ's Church, conquered death and the grave, Daylight Savings Time, dissensions, divisions, done my assigned work, earthly pilgrimage, fruits of righteousness, glorification of God, glorify the Lord, good habits, good works, humbled, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, LOVE, northern climes, nothing's impossible with Jesus, obedience, praise and glory of God, run the race, saviour jesus christ, servant, somerset maugham, spring-like morning, sure conquerors
Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 February 2013 Ephesians 4:3
28 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: accept Christ as Saviour, action oriented, Bible Study, change, Christ's Church, conundrum, demoralization, destruction, dissensions, divisions, don't put off for tomorrow, faithfulness, February, growing in faith, growing in LOVE, homeless, humility, in deeper fellowship with Jesus, long-suffering, meekness, New Year's resolution, ONE Lord, passion, patience, peace, ponder our spiritual lives, poverty, power, prosperity, sick, spirituality, strength, suffering, unity, walking closer with Jesus, walking in LOVE
Ephesians 4:3. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Oh Friends, today is the last day of February! Can you believe it? I also hope it’s the last day of the lousy snowstorm that messed up everything yesterday. I did get out to the Bible Study last night, though the place is still covered with the dirty white stuff, now that man has been through it. And astonishingly my people, two months of 2013 have already flown by. It’s like time is spinning away ever faster and faster, like the world in which we now live. That’s why it’s so important to be very aware of what’s happening in our lives. We can’t afford to put off for tomorrow, things that we can do today, because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, even if there’ll be a tomorrow. Consequently, we also decided to check at the end of every month, rather than at some longer time period, on that most important New Year’s Resolution we made, about walking closer, in deeper fellowship with Christ, growing in LOVE and appreciation, while carrying out His dictates and wishes in a fuller and more complete manner. So today, please, let’s all take a few moments to ponder if we’re truly keeping that resolution, if our spiritual lives are being enriched with God’s Word, if our faith is growing, and if we’re putting that faith into action so that others can see and experience it and be caused to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour too. And if we discover that we’re not doing as well as we should, then let’s ask the Lord, who hears and answers all sincere prayers, to help us do better, since we can’t improve without His awesome help. Now let me share a li’l something I wrote recently, but lost sight of until just now. I guess now is its appointed time. (smile) It’s simply titled ‘UNITY’ and says: ‘Unity is…brings strength. Unity is…brings power. Unity is…brings prosperity. Unity is…brings peace. But above all…Unity is simply walking in LOVE! Walking in LOVE…like Jesus did. Unity is just being decent to each other.’ Yes Friends, without Unity, we’ll NEVER have peace, prosperity, power, strength or LOVE! That’s why our world, and in particular Christ’s church is so divided. We all want the good things in life, but either don’t know, or stubbornly refuse to recognize the fact that we can’t get them, in a lasting manner, unless and until we’re unified under the umbrella of Christ and His church. That brings us to our Bit, where Bruh Paul is speaking to the Ephesians re the Unity of the Spirit. ‘Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ Ah Friends, it’s one of those conundrums, where without unity, you can’t have peace, and without peace, you can’t have unity. Like we argue about which came first, the chicken or the egg? But to get one, you must have the other. Now hear what Bruh Paul has to say before our Bit. ‘I therefore, the prisoner of (in) the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation (calling) wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness (gentleness), with long-suffering, forbearing (bearing with) one another in LOVE.’ (Eph.4:1-2) Oh my brethren, yuh see what it takes to bring about unity and peace. It’s all about humbling ourselves before our God, living in a manner befitting His commandments and doing what He’s called us to do to the best of our ability. As Bruh Paul continues after our Bit. ‘There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’ (Eph.4:4-6) And the scholars comment on that scripture thus: ‘This passage elaborates on the “unity of the Spirit” (v.3). This oneness among Christians refers to having (1) one body – the body of Christ, the Christian church; (2) one Spirit – the same Holy Spirit who imparts the same spiritual life to all believers; (3) one hope – all Christians share the same future certainty and are headed toward the same heavenly destination; (4) one Lord – all submit to the same divine ruler, Jesus; (5) one faith – all believers have placed the same trust in Christ for salvation; (6) one baptism – Holy Spirit baptism at the time of salvation (1 Cor.12:13); and (7) one God and Father – all believers in Christ have the same God and heavenly Father.’ So friends, our unity is all about ONE! Not me, I, or you, but about One body of Christ, of faith, etc, until we get to the real ONE, who brings and keeps it all together, our Heavenly Father. So my brethren, let’s all sincerely try and come together as ONE nuh, as Jesus so desperately desires. For without unity, all we have to look forward to is more of the same strife, anger, divisions, dissensions, selfishness and ungodliness as is so disastrously personified by the state of our current world. Oh fellow believers, I’m sure that none of us likes the way our world is being ground down, demoralized and destroyed by the powers of evil that control it. But as I also keep reminding us, it’s only us true believers in Jesus, who want to see a better world, that can make any changes to it, and bring about the unity we so desperately need. And to do that, we have to consciously and seriously get up off of our inflated fannies and do whatever it takes to bring about those changes. It won’t come by only mouthing and spouting plenty scripture, but also by being action oriented; actually helping others, like the sick, the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the lost, those whom Jesus had a passion for and came to save. We have to stop beating our chests in foolish pride, like the hypocrite Pharisees and them, as though we’re doing such a great job in our faith, because we aren’t. If we were, there’d never be so much pain, poverty, misery and heartache in our world. So Friends, let’s stop all the talk and concentrate more on action nuh, because all the talk in the world won’t fill any empty bellies, clothe any naked bodies, put rooves over the heads of the homeless, cure the sick or find the lost. The only thing that will do those things is physical action, where as a supposed unified body, we have been tried, and found sadly lacking. Much LOVE!…the Word of God…is always more readily accepted…when it follows the faithful, physical actions of God’s people…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 January 2013 2 Chronicles 24:20
02 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: body of Christ, civil tongues, closer walk with God, commandments, differences, dissensions, doctrines, evil spirits, fellowship, glorify God, God's righteous kingdom, goodwill, heartfelt plea, New Year's resolutions, pleas, pleasant demeanour, positive change, power hungry, prosperity, religion, sacrifice, transgressions, true heart of Christ, unity
2 Chronicles 24:20. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
Oh Friends, it’s day 2 of 2013, and for many of us the common grind and daily task begins again today. But can I plead one heartfelt plea with us? Please, as this Christmas and New Year seasons wind down, please let us not go back to the crude, rude, unmannerly, resentful, disgusting way we’ve been treating each other in the past year. It’s just not becoming of us, my people. For once in our life, let’s allow the goodwill and fellowship of the season to continue right through the New Year nuh. We don’t have to hug and kiss, or even like everybody we come into contact with, but we can surely have a more civil tongue in our heads and more pleasant demeanour. That doesn’t cost us anything, but it shows the true heart of Christ. As I said yesterday, there’s only one New Year’s resolution our entire world needs to make, and that’s to purpose a closer walk with Jesus! And being kind and considerate to our fellow humans is the first step in that direction. As the great philosopher Plato reputedly said eons ago; ‘The beginning is the most important part of the work.’ And that’s no lie Friends! I can attest to that just in writing the Bit everyday. The biggest hurdle is to get started. But once I do, everything comes together smoothly. And I’m sure most of you can also attest to the universal fact that making the first move in anything, always takes the most effort and courage. The Chinese Proverb puts it this way: ‘The longest journey begins with the first step.’ That’s also undeniable truth! So if we really want to have a closer walk with Jesus this year, it means we have to begin at the beginning, for though it’s the hardest part of the process, it’s also the most important. For to accomplish anything, we have to begin somewhere, sometime. Now does that get me any marks as a philosopher? (smile) From the lukewarm response, I’d guess not. But it’s the truth anyway. Now turning to our Bit: ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.’ Oh Friends, I believe this will be the most important Bit of this year 2013, because it’s where we take stock of ourselves and those connected to us, of our individual society and of our world. It’s when we seriously try to turn the tables on the evil spirits and people who are currently controlling our lives and our world and ruining them. And what amazes, as well as disturbs me, is that the answer to all our problems is so easy, it’s right before our very eyes; turning back to having a true and sincere faith in Almighty God and having Him play significant roles in our individual lives and our societies. But for some unexplainable reason we seem afraid and/or reluctant to do it. But I do know it’s the right thing for us to do. It’s the only action that will get us out of the sad state we’re currently mired in. But unfortunately, right now, most of us seem to be listening to a different tune from Lucifer and his evil cronies, and thus they are now holding sway. Believe me though, my brethren, if only we, the church, the body of Christ could get back to working AS ONE, instead of fighting each other, we’d eat up, defeat the enemy in no time at all. But it’s the foolish divisions among Christ’s people that allow Beelzebub’s minions to rule the roost. The enemy is successfully using the old divide and conquer tactic on us. But unless and until the mostly petty and unimportant dissensions and differences are seriously addressed and worked out between Christ’s people, His church will not attain any real victory here on earth. But the devil’s in the details; reducing things like power struggles, streamlining doctrines, etc. etc. It’s always the selfish, power hungry, have to be right attitudes that spoil the show. And sadly, that’s not the attitude championed by Christ. It’s time Friends, for us to put up, or simply shut up. It’s time for Christ’s church to come together, to form a cohesive group, preaching what Christ preached, not what we want to preach or hear. If this doesn’t happen very soon, the church is just going to get more fractured and lose what little authority and acceptance it has left. And it’s only true believers, those who are willing to make the sacrifice, like Jesus did, who will affect or cause positive change in the evil doings of our world. But until we work together as ONE, that will never happen. Oh please, my fellow brethren in Christ, I’m appealing, pleading, begging, whatever action it takes, for us to get real serious about our faith, to get together and fight for it, otherwise we’re going to eventually lose it. Just look at some of the other faiths nuh, who though they worship dead and incompetent gods, their great belief, courage and zeal has them fighting tooth and nail to promote their unrighteous cause. Meanwhile, we, the Christians, who supposedly worship the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, fight amongst ourselves, sit on our laurels, seeking individual fame and glory, and refuse to make the effort to seriously come together and make a concerted effort to win the world for Christ, as He so humbly asked us to do. Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here, because this is one of those times when I was led to just get on our case about our dissensions and divisions, our inactivity, our hypocrisy, and all the wrong and bad things in the church, as we know it. Ah Lord eh! When will we learn my people, when will we wake up to the reality that life’s passing us by, and that our efforts are both lacklustre and insufficient? I don’t know if my pleas will make any difference to anything, but Friends, somebody’s got to cry out for unity between Christ’s people and His church, or else we’ll all just keep on going down to hell in the hand basket of petty divisions, of evil and worldly lusts we’ve chosen to put ourselves into. In closing, I just hope and pray that the Lord will take us to task this notable year of 2013, and put it in our hearts to truly be an example of righteousness to the unbelievers, as well as the believers, because they too need proper examples to help them guide their lives on the right path. But Friends, most of that can, or will never happen unless we start to truly LOVE our God, truly LIVE our Christian Faith, and truly SPREAD the WORD of God, as we ought to. Much LOVE!…may the good Lord convict our hearts and minds…at the start of this New Year…RIGHT NOW…to walk ever closer to Him…and thus increase and glorify His righteous kingdom…Amen…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 August 2012 2 Corinthians 5:17
13 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: all God's children, aura of love, dissensions, divisions, earthly possessions, enthusiasm, faith, glory hallelujah, humble servants, Jesus, lies, Monday, money, passion, passion for Christ, power, praise, taunts, the Word, vitality, wiles
2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
‘Hip, Hip Hurrah!’ Monday’s here Friends! Wow! What an awesome day, since we get to go out into the evil workday world to talk about and live for Jesus! Now isn’t that a wonderful responsibility? And all God’s people shouted a great and moving ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ No Friends, I haven’t gone crazy, I’m just in an exultant mood. Just thinking about Jesus and all the good stuff we get to do today for Him has ignited my passion. And true passion for Jesus is something too many of us believers lack. Please remember my people that we’re in a spiritual battle with the powers of evil and darkness, and we can only fight competently if we are enthusiastic and gung ho about what we’re fighting for. And sadly, I know some non-believers who are more enthusiastic about Jesus and what He represents, than many supposed believers. Now that doesn’t speak very highly of us, does it? My personal feeling is that the body of Christ here on earth, His Church, is rather lethargic and sedentary. We tend to sit back and let everybody walk over us. We behave as though Jesus is expected to fix all our problems without us lifting a hand on our own behalf, but that’s never going to happen my people. Then again, we fight against each other too much. Jesus’ Church is supposed to be a unified body, not one of numerous dissensions and divisions. I know you’re going to say that other faiths fight amongst themselves too, but that’s their problem. And it’s why WE, believers in Christ, should be working together to provide the perfect example to the rest of the world. I don’t know the real root of the problem, but it seems that of all the well known faiths, Christianity is the least proactive. We don’t talk or walk our faith sufficiently. And it’s not like you have to be constantly up in everybody’s face with it either. A true Christian has it showing in his demeanour, his behaviour, his character, his integrity, and when the opportunity arises, he talks about it passionately. Oh Friends, even a subdued passion is better than no passion at all! So having said all of that, let’s see if we can’t raise our passion level in Jesus some nuh, by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as we get ready to go out and greet the world in Jesus’ name. All together now, with loud voices, filled with true praise: ‘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!’ Now if that doesn’t raise our passion level for Christ, then Friends, I don’t know what will. And before we get into our Bit, please let’s offer up some fervent, heartfelt prayers for the unfortunate people of Iran, who, over the weekend suffered two major earthquakes of over 6 on the Richter scale. They may be of a different faith than us, and consider us the infidel and thus want to destroy us, but they are still our brothers, descendants also of father Abraham, made in the image of Jehovah God. And Jesus teaches that we should show LOVE, mercy, kindness and forgiveness to all God’s children, regardless of their colour, creed, race or class. This is definitely one way we can test our faith, because it’s not easy to extend a hand of hope and help to someone who wants to do us harm. Now turning to our Bit at last. (smile) Oh my brethren, these are some of the most important words Bruh Paul ever wrote, for they reflect the very basic and fundamental principle on which our faith is based. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ Friends, many of us know that scripture and quote it, or some paraphrased version, quite often. But how true is it really of the majority of Christ’s Church eh? I believe in actual fact, in real reality, not the virtual reality we tend to worship these days, that it’s nowhere near the truth. That’s because in actual fact too many believers are still caught up in their old ways, still more interested in the things of the flesh and this world than the things of the Spirit and God’s kingdom. We’re still too much into the money and power for their own sakes, plus the frenetic acquisition and amassing of earthly possessions, wanting what others have, though not knowing they sold their souls to get it, being beguiled by the supposed glitz and glamour of a handful of mostly ignorant and unlearned people we term celebrities, who live very ungodly lives. Oh Friends, that’s definitely not the kind of life that Jesus sacrificed His sinless body, spilled His precious blood on the wooden cross at Calvary for us to live. So please, let’s get serious and improve our kingdom walk nuh. If not for our sakes, then for our children and grand children’s, so that they can still lead a fairly decent life in the future. It’s all a question of LOVE for Jesus and our fellow man; the two great commandments. And since we don’t know when Jesus is coming back to set up His kingdom, the best time to begin is RIGHT NOW! That’s wisdom at its zenith! More on this tomorrow Friends, provided Jesus doesn’t return before then and we’re still around, both of which are real possibilities. Till then, please let’s do as Jesus asks: Let’s LOVE our God, LIVE our Faith and SPREAD His Word! Much LOVE!…the wise man lives by the old adage…make hay while the sun shines…
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