The Overwhelming Importance of Believers Understanding what is the Good Life and How to Live It!

12 May 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   12 May 2026   John 10:10b.

John 10:10b.        I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

So, we’ve gotten through Monday with flying colours, and now come to this sunshiny day called Tuesday. Well what’s in for us we wander? Is it more heartache, more trials and tribulations or the Good Life? Now all of us pant for the Good Life, but what exactly is it? Today, we’ll look at what Dr. Robert H Schuller wrote about it in his Hours of Power, Daily Book of Motivation and Inspiration. He wrote thus about the Good Life.

‘If you want to know what is meant by the good life, direct your attention to Jesus Christ. This was the good life incarnate.’ Oh, for sure! None of us would ever doubt that Jesus’ life was indeed the good life, but what was it all about eh? Dr. Schuller continues: ‘What was life like for Him? Take a look at His last days on earth and you will see the secret of His satisfying life. Shortly before He died he said to his apostles, “I would that my joy might be in you and that your joy might be complete” (John 15:11). The good life, then, is a life that has an inner joy.

Then hear this: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The good life is a life that has a deep undercurrent of profound peace. The last words to fall from Christ’s lips, as he hung and died under the Jerusalem sky, were short and simple, but triumphant: It is finished” (John 19:30). He had carried out His divine mission. The good life is the awareness of fulfilment. For “every man’s life is a plan of God.” God has a plan for you. And the good life is the deep feeling that we are fulfilling God’s plan and purpose in our life.’ 

Yes friends, that’s the basics of the good life! Doing what God desires us to do, while doing it with a sense of joy and inner peace. And to help us find those things, we need to remember these reassuring words of Jesus, as he talks about the good shepherd in the gospel of John. ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) That was certainly Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth, so that we could have the abundant life of being saved, taken from darkness into the light, not be overwhelmed by our trials and tribulations, have joy and peace, with the eventual action of eternal life in His wonderful presence!

Wow! Who would not want that sort of life eh? But it doesn’t just fall in our laps, no, we have to get up and live it; live it sincerely and seriously by the rules set out by Christ for His church; the people who truly believe in Him and follow Him. On the other hand though, the devil will fight us tooth and nail to not do what Jesus desires, but to succumb to his evil and ungodly will. That’s why it takes a lot of belly and backbone, a lot of gumption and perseverance to live the good and abundant life.

And one of the first steps in living that life, is found in these words of Paul. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) And you might ask, why do we need to do that? James answers that question thus: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants to) be a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God?’ (James 4:4)  

And you might want to delve further in the reason for that. John explains it this way in his first epistle. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him.’ (1 John 2:15) Basically, it means that living as the world dictates is living by the flesh, by our feelings, carnally minded, while living for Christ is done through the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, found in the Bible, and these two ways of living are totally different and thus cannot exist together in the same body. It’s either one or the other.

But listen to this more in depth explanation from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for (on account of) sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness (righteous requirements) of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For they that are after flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.’ (Rom. 8:1-9)

That’s the technical reasoning for the differences in the two ways of earthly living; one by what the world desires, or fleshly living, and living by the Spirit of Christ which dwells within believers. So you have to be a believer if you want to live by the Spirit, because that’s the only way to receive the Holy Spirit. So yes, it is possible to live the good life, the abundantly life that Christ died for us to have, but it must begin with an individual decision, and then lots of perseverance, study, prayer and fellowship.

Now let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’

That now makes us duty bound to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…living the good life…begins and ends with living for Christ…

Visit the Scrip-Bit Blog at https://randyobrien50.com

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance Of Keeping Our Bodies Clean And Holy…Because Holy God Resides There!

17 Feb 2025 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 3:16.       Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

And the great deluge of snow has finally stopped. It did so sometime during the evening hours…and now it’s clean up time! And to enable us to do that in a somewhat easy manner, the Lord has seen fit to gift us with a bright and sunshiny Family Day Provincial Holiday Monday! Isn’t He a good God? For sure He is! Remember too that after the last snowstorm on Thursday, we also had a bright and sunshiny Friday to clean up. (smile) The problem today though is that there’s a strong wind that’s causing some havoc, blowing the snow all about the place, so that as soon as you’ve finished cleaning one spot, it’s very likely for the wind to blow more snow back there. But it’s a matter of simply pressing forward, until you’ve done all you can. 

By the way, here’s another reason that our God is good: He chose the Family Day long weekend to aggravate our souls bodies and minds. Can you imagine if this was a regular Monday and everybody needed to go to work. There would be even more chaos than we already have. But the Lord in His LOVING-KINDNESS chose a day when most of us would be at home celebrating Family Day, which is a public holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February, that gives people a day off to spend with their families. It was introduced in 2008 to give provincially regulated workers a long weekend in February and most provincially regulated employees receive the day off with pay. 

Many of the other Provinces have the same holiday, but not all call it Family Day. For example in Manitoba it’s Louis Riel Day, named after a Métis (Indigenous) leader who fought to protect French and aboriginal rights. Meanwhile, in the Province of Nova Scotia, it’s called Heritage Day. Unfortunately, Family Day is not a federally mandated holiday, so federal workers, such as post office employees and public servants, work on Family Day. So please don’t say our God is not good, for even in the midst of chaos and disaster, He still eases our path with His awesome grace and undeserving mercy. 

And having said all of that, what shall we talk about scripturally today eh? (smile) Soon come. Let me check the Good Library…. And we’re back, a minute later. The Good Book opened to 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, where we find these interesting and rather appropriate words for these decadent and sinful times. Bruh Paul writes: ‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile (destroys) the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’ (1 Cor. 3:16-17) 

And truthfully, many of us know that we are supposed to be God’s temple, because His Holy Spirit dwells within us, therefore we ought to keep our bodies as holy and clean from sin and it’s associates. However, with the busyness of our society and the many distractions steadily hurled at us, it becomes somewhat difficult to do, even if we remember it. But remember it we must my faithful brethren, for it affects our very lives, our cordial relationship with Almighty God. 

Now, Bruh Paul also wrote something similar to the Roman church, where he proclaims: ‘For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom. 8:5-8) 

 And that’s the gospel truth my people! If we’re living carnally, for and in our flesh, then we certainly cannot please God. However, here’s the good news as Bruh Paul continues: ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit if life because of righteousness.’ (Rom. 8:9-10) Yes friends, let’s praise the Lord that the Spirit of His Son Jesus Christ does dwell in us, and we are going to do our best to live by it’s guidance. 

But here’s one more interesting scripture we ought to pay attention to today, that’s this one from Bruh Paul to the Galatians: ‘Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ (Gal. 6:7-8) Now that’s a scripture we should always keep front and centre in our lives: God sees it all because He looks at our hearts and not our outward doings, therefore we cannot fool Him, by saying one thing while doing another, as so many of us still foolishly try to do. 

So, let’s go now to the throne of grace in confident humility, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid to help us with our many earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And it’s all well and good to pray, but if we do not make changes in our lives in accordance with God’s will, then no divine aid will be forthcoming. Let’s remember that and act accordingly. Much LOVE!

…the Spirit of God lives in His temple…our bodies…therefore we need to keep them as clean and holy as possible…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   4 April 2022 Galatians 5:25.

04 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

Galatians 5:25.      If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit.

​Epilogue! Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but after I began it, some unexpected personal problems developed, and like problems do, they took longer to fix than I desired. But I think it’s a good Bit, so I wish you enlightened reading. (smile)  

It’s time friends, on this sunny Monday morning, for us to get back into the everyday working world and keep on living for Jesus! After the resurgence of faith and confidence we’ve received yesterday from our session(s) of praise and worship, this opening day of Monday should be a cakewalk for us. (smile) And why not eh, if we’ve been refilled with the power and glory of the Holy Spirit, which guides believers to do mighty, marvellous and miraculous things, all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? 

As Bruh Paul said so confidently to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) So it’s not like we are going out to fight our battles all alone, but with the mightiest power in the universe standing right by our side. And also with the most powerful and protective armour in the universe: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and an amazing power of prayer and supplication to back it all up! 

Wow! What well-dressed, protected and well-led soldiers we are! That means there is no need to fear or be anxious when we’re walking in the omnipotence of our resurrected Saviour. Instead, we should be all ready and set, just rearing to get out there and fight a mighty battle, even to the death for our wonderful Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! 

It’s time to let the fruit of the Spirit blossom in our souls and lives, just like the bright new spring blossoms that will soon be appearing on the trees. The fruit of our Spirit has been lying dormant for the winter season, so now it’s time to let it blossom forth with new life: that’s new joy, new LOVE, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faithfulness (dependability), meekness and temperance (self-control). 

A new season ought to bring forth new things in a believer’s life. We hear it in these fateful words of Bruh Paul to the Galatians, and consequently to us: ‘And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (it’s passions) and lust. If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal. 5:24-26) 

Now, for some interesting explanations from the scholars re those verses. ‘5:24. At conversion every believer crucified the flesh, that is, in repentance he turned from and renounced his life of sin and all its wicked passions. This verse then implies that the virtues of verses 22-23, rather than the vices of 19-21, should characterize them that are Christ’s.’ Per ‘5:25. This verse means. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.” That is, since the Spirit gave us new life at conversion, we then should try and stay in step with His leading and promptings throughout life.’ 

And as true believers, we all know that our goal is to follow the Holy Spirit as best we can, because He is our Guide, our Lead-Hand, our Comforter, our purveyor of truth, doing the work that Jesus desires of Him. Bruh Paul spelled it out  in his missive to the church at Rome, re Life in the Spirit. ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for (on account of) sin in the flesh: That the righteousness (righteous requirement) of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind (set their minds on) the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom. 8:1-8) 

Bless the Lord, oh my soul! What marvellous and encouraging sentiments my fellow saints in Christ! As a believer we are not condemned, and though, as the scholars tell us: ‘There is nothing inherently wrong with the law, the presence of sin renders the believer powerless to do what the law demands.’ Simply stated, without the Holy Spirit, we could not live a righteous life. Because without Him, we are carnally minded, that is, we have our lives dominated by our basic sin nature. But when we walk in the Spirit, or are spiritually minded, having the Spirit of Christ control our lives, then we are enabled to live righteously! 

And since sin and God do not agree, are on opposite ends of the continuum, it naturally means if we live for the things of the flesh, then we can’t live for or please God. And that’s certainly not the wisdom we ought to entertain. So, let’s hope that all we’ve said today, will sink into our hearts and souls and help us to walk as we ought to…that’s in the Holy Spirit of Christ! 

Now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s go to the One who sits on the throne of grace, and repledge our allegiance, while asking for His awesome help. As one sincere but confident voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And, in response to all those words, we now must go out and sincerely action them, if we desire a positive answer from the throne room of grace. Much LOVE!

…the law of man says yes…the Spirit says no…the law of man says no…the Spirit says yes…it is indeed a situation of enmity… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8