Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 April 2016 Deuteronomy 31:8‏‏

01 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

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

Deuteronomy 31:8.   And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Well mih people, it’s Friday… 

And my people tossed the ball back into my court thus: ‘Yes mih brother we know that. That is why we’ve been singing and praising and glorifying the Father by declaring ’TGIF! Thank God is Friday. The only better day than Friday is Sunday, the Lord’s Day. And we declare again: TGIF! Thank You Lord that it’s Friday, work is done for a couple days, and the long awaited weekend is finally here!’ 

Ah friends, I know how some of us desperately look forward to weekend, for whatever reason, but please note that we need to use it wisely, not only in profligate and libertine actions. (smile) And to improve our perspective, let’s chant our Friday Chant. 

All together now: ‘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.’ 

Yes my brethren, that is more like how we should use our weekends; to facilitate renewal of our walk with God, not run away from Him in lustful worldly pleasures. And I know that those pleasures may seem so wonderful at the start, but trust me, I’m talking from experience here, (smile) in the long run they only bring pain and sorrow and heartache. 

And please remember that today is April 1st, All Fool’s or April Fool’s Day, so please be wary and don’t allow the wily devil and his evil associates to play any tricks on us. For you know they will use any occasion whatsoever to get a foothold in our lives. 

Now here are a few words of inspiration from a Reggae song I heard last night by Ras Zacahrri, something called ‘Jah is my keeper. And the chorus goes thus: ‘Jah is my keeper; He will hear me when I call. Jah is my saviour, He will catch me when I fall.’ 

And isn’t that the God awesome truth my fellow believers in Christ! Almighty God is indeed our keeper and will hear us when we call. He is also our Saviour amongst many other things, and will certainly catch us when we fall. So this Friday morning, please let’s plant those reassuring thoughts deep in our souls to help us face the day with faith and trust as we go about God’s work. 

Now let’s look at our Bit. ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ 

Oh friends, the amount of times Israel’s leaders said these words to them, and yet they did not listen. And unfortunately the same thing is happening today; the leaders of our churches are crying out this ever-faithful promise to us, but we are also ignoring it. I don’t know how to get it through our thick and stubborn minds, except possibly by repetition. So let’s look at a few of the times it was said to the Israelites. 

Listen to Moses as he reflects on the time when they sent twelve spies into the Promised Land and only Joshua and Caleb voted to go in and take it over. ‘Then said I unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes. 

And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bear (carried) thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, Who went in the way before you to search you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night, to show you the way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.’ (Deut.1:29-33) 

Yeh mih people, can you believe it? After all the miracles and mercies the Lord showed the Israelites in their Exodus out of Egypt, when they came to the Promised Land they were sore afraid to go in and fight for it. Steups! That’s why the Lord allowed them to wander in the wilderness for forty years until all those who had come out of Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb died. 

Now hear Joshua, as he encourages the people to refrain from mixing with the remnants of the nations God had destroyed to give them the Promised Land. ‘But cleave (cling, hold fast) unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day. 

For the Lord hath driven out from before you (dispossessed) great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before (against) you unto this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. Take good heed (be diligent) therefore unto yourselves, that ye LOVE the Lord your God.’ (Josh.23:8-11) 

Oh my people, that promise stands ever so true even to this very day! But like the hard-hearted, stubborn and fearful Israelites, we too refuse to take the message to heart, and simply dilly-dally on the outskirts of true Christianity. 

Consequently friends, because we don’t stand as strong as we should on God’s irrevocable and faithful promises, our lives don’t amount to as much as they should. And therefore too, our witness is not as forthright and palpable as it ought to be. 

So the long and short of the story is that Christianity is not as strong and powerful as it should be. What a sad reckoning! 

And we’ll close with these words from Hebrews, where Bruh Paul talks about service well-pleasing to God. ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb.13:5-6) 

And there we have it friends, the living truth of the gospel! Please, I implore us, let’s take it boldly and use it wisely to advance God’s kingdom as our bounden duty calls us to do! For that’s wisdom that cannot be bought or had anywhere else. Much LOVE!

…the promises of God can only be truly attained…when the trust in God is truly overwhelming…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 November 2013 Mark 6:50

06 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

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

Mark 6:50.    For they all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
 
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s a bit under the weather this Wednesday fall morning. I got up from a good sleep with my nasal allergies acting up some, which caused my spirit to fall a tad, but the Bit has to go out under any circumstance… except death obviously. (smile)
 
And I have no doubt that the Lord will enable me to write something sensible that will encourage His followers and glorify Him.
 
And we’ll begin with the latest story that’s making world headline from Toronto; that’s the inappropriate, ‘unmayoral’ behaviour of Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford.
 
I have to shake my head and sigh, ‘Ah Lord eh.’ That’s because for several months now there’s been talk et al about a video showing him smoking crack cocaine with some youngsters from the Somali community, his hanging out with other undesirables, drunkenness in public and a host of other misdemeanours.
 
Obviously he claimed that none of them were true. But apparently yesterday he changed his tune and confessed to the crack cocaine smoking.
 
This deserves another heartfelt sigh and ‘Ah Lord eh,’ for all that the two Ford boys, the mayor and his brother Doug, a councilman, have done since they were elected two years ago, is cause untold and unnecessary controversy and make the city a laughingstock around the world with their antagonistic behaviour.
 
I stopped paying much attention to them long ago because they behave like a pair of arrogant, bully-boy buffoons, and then they get on their radio talk show and make matters even worse. It even seems that brother Doug is the de facto mayor, because in all the nonsense, you’ve heard more from him than the supposed mayor.
 
They both should resign, but neither of them seems to have even considered that action. And sadly, it’s been said that Rob Ford has a good chance of again winning the mayor’s position in an election scheduled for the not too distant future.
 
The good Lord forbid! Then they’ll truly feel that the city is their personal fiefdom and commit even worse actions. But just remember Friends, that we always get the government we deserve. And that’s enough of the foolish Fords. I’ve spent more time on them than I’d planned.
 
Let’s get to something more important, positive and uplifting like our Bit. ‘For they all saw him, and were troubled. and immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’
 
Yes mih Friends, powerful and encouraging words from a real leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
 
He spoke those words to His disciples when He came walking over the water towards them, as they were fighting to stay afloat and alive in their little boat amidst a terrible storm.
 
All of this happened after He’d fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. He then compelled the disciples to get into the boat and cross over to Bethsaida, while He sent away the multitudes, then went up into a mountain to pray.
 
Please note my people, that everyday Jesus got up early and prayed, strengthening His Spirit, before intermingling with the crowds. He also took time to refresh His Spirit in prayer after engaging the multitudes. We would be wise to do likewise; pray before and after our engaging the world and all its evil, deceit and treachery.
 
It’s amazing and also interesting that after seeing Jesus do the feeding miracle earlier on, the disciples were still terribly afraid when they saw Him walking on the water towards them. In their abject fear, they believed it was an apparition, a ghost. That’s until Jesus spoke those gentle, encouraging and comforting words: ‘Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.’
 
Oh Friends, it wasn’t the first or last time that Jesus said those comforting words, ‘Be of good cheer.’ He first said it to a man sick of the palsy (paralyzed), lying on his bed, before He healed him. ‘Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.’ (Matt.9.2b)
 
And He repeated it again in His famous words to the disciples, and by extension us: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)  
 
Oh my people, we couldn’t ask for more encouraging and comforting words than those! But yet we’re still afraid of life and what the world brings against us. If we weren’t, we’d be fighting tooth and nail to change our disgusting, deteriorating, evil world. But unfortunately Lucifer and his wicked bully-boys have us scared of what they’ll do to us if we stand up and seriously fight for our Christian ways and rights.
 
Oh my brethren, as true followers of Christ, we cannot go around living a scared and half-hearted life! Jesus has already given us the victory, we now have to accept it, and behave as though we’ve won the battle, remember we live by faith and not by sight. Otherwise all Jesus’ sacrifices on our behalf would be in vain. And we certainly don’t want that to happen. 
 
The fact of the matter is that long before Jesus even came to earth, many times the Lord instructed His people not to be afraid. Listen to these powerful, encouraging and comforting words from Isaiah, talking of the final restoration of Israel.
 
‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded (disgraced): they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.’ (Is.41:10-11)
 
Ah mih breddren, what else do we expect our God to do eh – come and hold our hands and lead us like little children? Chuh! We’re big children, full of talk in good times, but we behave like ‘scaredy’ cats when adversity arises.
 
Oh Friends, I’m imploring us today to get rid of that fearful attitude and scared mentality. Instead let’s staunchly accept and believe the ever-faithful promises of our Lord and Saviour like true believers should.
 
As Bruh Paul tells Timothy: ‘Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:12)
 
But then he encourages the Roman church with these words. ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom.8:37) And that’s the gospel truth people!
 
Oh my fellow believers, we shall suffer adversity here on earth, but through the steadfast faith and strength in the promises of Jesus, who’s already conquered the world, we too shall conquer our adversity and adversaries. Please take comfort in that and let’s stand strong and fight the good fight in His Name. That’s the mark of true believers! Much LOVE!
 
…nothing can separate us from the LOVE OF GOD…which is in Christ Jesus our Lord… (Rom.8:39b)