Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 October 2013 Matthew 5:7

26 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:7.      Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
 
Well hello there you beautiful believers in Jesus Christ; King of Kings and Lord of Lords! How goes it this wonderful Saturday morning eh? I guess many of you are enjoying a rare morning of sleeping in, that is until your young offspring start clamouring for food and attention. All I can say there though, is better you than me yes. (smile) I went through that many moons ago.
 
Anyway, today I want to share a poem I got from the Between Friends Magazine published by the Friends of the Society of the Little Flower. It comes from an article written by its Director, Father Bob Colaresi. He himself was quoting a Spanish Carmelite Nun, St. Teresa of Avila. She’s different to the society’s patron Saint, St. Therese, also a Carmelite Nun, but of French origin. 
 
It’s claimed that St. Teresa taught this poem. ‘Christ has no body but yours, No Hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
 
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, Yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks compassion on this world. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.’
 
And that Friends, is the gospel truth, because Christ left us here on earth to do His work; to spread the good, exciting news of His gospel; the wonderful rewards of salvation and eternal life, if we embrace His Deity. It’s now our duty to go around the world, with our eyes, feet ears, hands and bodies, be His representative, and let the lost and unfortunate masses know of all that He’s accomplished on our behalf. 
 
But again, to do Jesus’ work successfully, we need physical, mental and spiritual strength backed by divine wisdom, which can only be had by being in tune with Almighty God. Today’s Bit, another Beatitude, tells us: ‘Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.’
 
And that is absolute truth in more ways than one. First of all, like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer; ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt.6:12) If we don’t forgive we won’t be forgiven. The same goes for mercy; if we don’t show mercy to others, neither will the Lord show us any. It’s basically the universal motto of, you reap what you sow.
 
You cannot be neither merciful nor forgiving and yet expect to receive forgiveness and mercy. Hn! Although that seems to be the prevailing wisdom in our world today. Generally speaking, forgiveness is NOT getting the punishment we deserve, while mercy is getting the good things that we DON’T deserve. 
 
Then we have this take from the scholars: ‘5:7. Those who are merciful…shall obtain mercy has reference to those who have been born again by the mercy of God. Because divine LOVE has been extended to them, they have the work of the Holy Spirit in them producing a mercy that defies explanation by unregenerate men. Jesus Himself became the ultimate example of this when He cried from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)’
 
Oh Friends, I like that part about ‘a mercy that defies explanation by unregenerate men.’ And that’s the God-awesome truth! For mankind still can’t figure out or understand how Christians can be so merciful and forgiving when faced with serious and troubling circumstances. But it all depends on that Holy Spirit of His Divine Majesty dwelling in us, which shows us the right way.
 
Unfortunately, mankind will never understand the Christian attitude unless and until he wholeheartedly embraces Jesus, and consequently receives that wonder-working Spirit in his own soul. It all bolls down to, NO JESUS, NO HOLY SPIRIT, and therefore no divine understanding!
 
And when we talk about God’s mercy, there’s no better example in receiving it, than Bruh David. Listen to him from Psalm 41, Abuse and Assurance. ‘Blessed is he that considereth the poor (helpless, powerless): the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.
 
The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing (his bed of illness): thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness (restore him in his sickbed). I said, Lord be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.’ (Psalm 41:1-4)
 
Oh my people, two things are evident there: One must be kind and/or show mercy to the poor and needy, and secondly, one must confess one’s own wrongdoing to Jehovah God. Bruh David knew that, and tried to live that way. That’s why the Lord was so merciful to him, in spite of all his shortcomings and wrongdoings.
 
Unfortunately though, today, many of us figure that confessing our wrongdoings is for the birds, therefore we lose out on God’s precious grace and mercy. And sadly my people, that’s a fool’s wisdom!
 
Oh Friends, the Lord doesn’t expect us to be perfect, because He never made us that way. But He does expect us to be man and woman enough to own up to our faults and frailties.
 
Please, let’s be brave and admit our wrongs, so we can receive God’s generous grace, forgiveness and mercy. Now that’s truly divine wisdom! Much LOVE!
 
…O give thanks unto the Lord…for He is good…for His mercy endureth for ever… (1 Chr.16:34)
 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 October 2013 Matthew 5:5

23 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:5.    Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (land).
 
Oh Friends, this is what I had planned for yesterday, until I read about the disastrous school shooting incident in Nevada. And in God’s everlasting wisdom, this project can, and will, definitely alleviate those kinds of tragedies, if we sincerely and seriously put our hands to the plough and furrow straight ahead without looking back.
 
Now it’s not a new project, but a very old one that we’re guilty of not doing properly. However, we’re starting over TODAY, in a more serious and sincere manner. So listen to the basic nature of the project, as Johnny Reid, in his drawling baritone, tells it to us in song.
 
‘Today I’m going to try and change the world. Gonna take it one day at a time. I’ve made my resolution, opened up my eyes. Today I’m going to try and change the world.’
 
That’s just the chorus people, but even that’s very eye opening and inspirational!
 
Now listen to the verse. ‘I’m gonna say hello to my neighbour. Going to greet him with a smile. And shake the hand of a stranger, sit and talk to him for a while. I’m gonna tell someone I LOVE them from the bottom of my heart. Today I’m going to try and change the world… Chorus’
 
Oh my brethren, isn’t that a wonderful project? It sure is! And the beauty is that we’ll just take it one day at a time, no rush, doing the simple things that Jesus did in his sojourn down here on earth, and now wants us to carry on in His name.
 
And the whole thing is very easy; greet our neighbours with a smile and a pleasant hello; shake a strangers hand, then spend a li’l time chatting with them; tell someone we LOVE them, with a sincere and heartfelt feeling of truth.
 
Oh my people, my people, that’s the only way we can ever change this world!
 
But to do it sincerely and successfully, we have to live according to the dictates of our Bit. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (land).’
 
Yes Friends, we cannot do those things, or anything that Jesus requires of us, unless we’re meek, unless we’re humble. Now please remember that meek and humble don’t mean weak and afraid, like many people think, but rather strong, with an inner confidence in God, that you don’t have to huff and puff, get angry, or show off and boast.
 
Meekness and humility simple means we have a quiet, inner strength, steadfast faith, not afraid of the world or whatever it brings our way.
 
And this is the scholars’ take on our Bit. ‘5:5. The meek…shall inherit the earth refers again to those who have been humbled before God and will not only inherit the blessedness of heaven, but also will ultimately share in the kingdom of God on earth.
 
Here, in the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount, is the balance between the physical and spiritual promise of the kingdom. The kingdom of which Jesus preached is both “in you” and is yet “to come.”
 
Solid truth that mih breddren!
 
And even before Jesus spoke those memorable words of our Bit in the Beatitudes, Bruh David solemnly declared in Psalm 37, The true state of the wicked: ‘For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider (look diligently for) his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ (Ps.37:10-11)
 
And as per inheriting the earth, Bruh Paul wrote this to the church at Rome. ‘For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.’ (Rom.4:13)
 
And the scholars’ explain that thus: ‘4:13. The promise: Many Jews thought that the privileges they enjoyed came from their adherence to the Mosaic Law. This is false. The promises were given to Abraham 430 years before the law was given, hence the law does not annul the Abrahamic covenant. It was merely added alongside until Christ should come to fulfill it. (cf. Gal.3:17-19)’
 
So we see Friends, it’s all based on faith, trust, and surrender to Almighty God; from the day Abraham received the promise, till the day the last trump sounds. Therefore let’s try and stop living by sight nuh, and instead live by faith, as we ought to, since it’s the ONLY WAY we can truly embrace Jesus and all that He stands for.
 
That means we continually need to ponder the strength of our faith and find ways to make it stronger. Now that’s where divine wisdom comes in. Much LOVE!
 
…if each believer tries to make a positive difference…each and every day…then we’ll soon change the world…as Jesus… so long ago, asked us to… 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 April 2013 1 Corinthians 1:22

16 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 1:22.     For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.
 
Oh Friends, as it was ordained from the very beginning of time, yesterday has passed away into history, the future, tomorrow, has not yet arrived, but thankfully, the gift of today, the present time is here! And all God’s people said a loud and delightful ‘Praise the Lord!’ So please, let’s use today wisely, because that’s all we have. As the psalmist so rightly declared: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24) And the people shouted a loud and thankful ‘Amen!’ Yes Friends, today is all we have, so let’s concentrate fully on it nuh. Yesterday’s done gone, and as Jesus said, tomorrow will take care of itself. (Matt.6:34) And I have an interesting quote to share, one that’s attributed to Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, a prominent American churchman. He proudly declares: ‘Religion can never be the answer to human problems. All of the religions of the world are inadequate. Christ alone is the answer. Christ alone understands. Christ alone forgives. Christ alone eliminates your guilt. Christ alone saves and then assures you that you are God’s child and the most wonderful person possible! Christ alone fills the human heart with LOVE – joy – peace – self-confidence. No wonder a genuine Christian LOVES himself.’ And if that isn’t the undeniable truth, my Friends, then I don’t know what is! For Jesus is indeed our everything; our be all and end all. In Him we find our purpose, our strength, our joy, and help to bear our sorrow. He is truly the very lifeblood of our lives. And I’m so sorry for those of us humans who don’t know, realize and recognize Him for what He is, because they’re missing such an incredible, interesting journey as a pilgrim following in Christ’s footsteps. As I keep saying my people, working for Jesus is often very difficult, but I can guarantee you, from personal experience, that it’s mightily interesting, much more interesting and lasting than anything the world has to offer. And oh my brethren, the rewards…the rewards are just to die for! (smile) The faithful promise of salvation and eternal life with Jesus in the hereafter, are way way more interesting and worthwhile than anything this evil, sinful, ungodly world has to offer. And what I don’t understand about human nature is that they’re willing to try every little nonsense, like diets and other fads that the greedy, deceitful world puts out, wasting time, effort and money on them, but they’re not prepared to spend one moment with Jesus. Jesus, whose manifesto is plainly stated in the Good Book, and has been proven to be undeniably true down through the ages. In addition, Jesus is the most generous and faithful leader there’s ever been, or will ever be! So why do people refuse to get to know Him? Why at the name of Jesus do so many people become angry, fearful and refuse to listen to what He has to say? Why eh? No other name in history has ever provoked such a reaction, and still does to this day. There must obviously be great power in the name of Jesus, else why would people react to it so fearfully, so violently and so negatively. There’s no such reaction to other names like Satan, Allah, Buddha, and the multiple other supposed gods and idols humans worship. Our wonderful Lord and Saviour certainly strikes fear in the heart of the heathen. But to those of us who truly know Him, it’s only LOVE, tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and those kinds of positive emotions that He conjures up in our hearts, minds, souls and bodies. That’s because those are the attributes for which He is truly renowned. Peace, LOVE and Good Cheer was, is, and always will be His mantra! So why people get so confused and discombobulated over His name certainly boggles my mind. Instead of running to His always opened and inviting arms, they run away instead. How foolish! And I can personally testify to the ‘wonderfulness’ of Jesus! Our vocabulary is so inadequate, I can’t find a better or more appropriate word to describe Him. Anyway, I was testifying – testifying that this very morning, I came down here, not feeling too hot, or knowing what I was going to write, except for Dr. Shoemaker’s quote, but before I could even sit down and contemplate the situation, He engineered the thoughts in my mind and brought them to fruition in the words you’re reading. To tell the truth, I haven’t even had a chance to open the Good Book yet and look for a Bit. So why would I ever turn away from, and denigrate such a kind, thoughtful, gentle and generous leader eh? Not on yuh life, mih breddren! It simply doesn’t make sense, and it’s being proven everyday, especially in these fearful and troubled times. Just look at the nonsense yesterday, with the bombs exploding in and around the Boston Marathon. Ah Lord eh! Followers of Jesus would never do such a thing! Oh Friends, let’s tell the world nuh, let’s show them their dreadful mistake in not embracing Jesus and all the wonderful stuff He has to offer! They quickly embrace all the man made nonsense, but shy away from the One, True, Faithful Helper, Comforter, Friend, Guide and Saviour that’s available to us. They’ve tried everything else and failed. Let’s convince them that it’s time to try Jesus. I’m sure that once they’ve sincerely tried Him, and seen what He’s really all about, the blessings, mercy, forgiveness, the overall LOVING-kindness, so generously bolstered by the wonders of salvation and eternal life, they’ll never go back to worshipping the other non-gods they once worshipped. However Friends, the one big impediment to getting that done, lies with us, His followers. We don’t sincerely live the life that Jesus wants us to live, we’re too often hypocritical, which obviously turns off the non-believer. We talk a good talk, but fail miserably in walking that talk. Just look at all the divisions and petty dissension that permeates the church of Jesus. How could that ever draw unbelievers to Him eh? Oh my brethren, for Jesus’ sake, as well as ours and our children’s, let’s seriously try and improve the image we hold amongst the heathen nuh. Remember, it’s Jesus’ name and image we’re hurting and bringing shame and negative press to, which then holds back the progress of His earthly church and glorious, righteous kingdom, which we’re supposed to be promoting. Remember we’re His ambassadors. But we’re certainly not doing our ambassadorial job to the best of our ability, not to the standard of excellence that Jesus expects. So how can we expect His Name, His Word and His Church to prosper eh? Ah mih people, how sad it is that we’re not doing a better job for Jesus. And I just got a divine zeppo (smile) to stop here and look for a Bit, as time and space are running out. So soon come. Oh Friends, I found it, I found it! I found and appropriate Bit – in exactly three minutes! It’s so amazing that when the Lord gives you a task, He also enables you to perform it! Glory Hallelujah! Now here’s our Bit for today: ‘For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.’ And that still holds true for a lot of people today. However, as Bruh Paul so wisely continues to the Corinthians: ‘But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling bloc, and unto the Greeks foolishness: But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.’ (1 Cor.1:23-25) That says it all in spades my brethren! Please embrace Jesus in wisdom and in truth, for He’s the ONLY ANSWER! Much LOVE!…but as for me and mine…we’ll certainly follow Jesus…regardless of what it takes…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 March 2013 Proverbs 30:24

20 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 30:24.     There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise. 
 
And the merry-go-round that’s life, has turned one more time my Friends, to this cold, dreary looking day called Wednesday. Now officially it’s supposed to be the first day of spring in the northern climes. Hn! But outside looks nor feels anything like spring, with the snow covered ground and the bone chilling temps, made worse by a whipping wind. But please remember my fellow believers that regardless of how the day physically appears or looks in your particular area, just see it through your eyes of faith as being beautiful, because it really is. It’s still filled with wonderful, brand new mercies and blessings as decreed by our heavenly Father. And all His faithful children acknowledged His LOVING-kindness by declaring in a loud, sincere voice: ‘Oh Father God, You are so wonderful and generous to us, the sinful, undeserving children of men. That’s why we worship and serve and LOVE You so much, and will continue to do so till eternity! We praise You, give You thanks, and bless Your Most Holy Name! Amen.’ Now Friends, we have a very interesting Bit today – not that we don’t have them every day – but something about this one just seems special. It’s taken from the contribution of the sage Agur to the Book of Proverbs. According to the scholars, ‘Nothing is known of Agur, but he was likely one of the international sages of Solomon’s day (cf. 1 Kin.4:30-31).’ Anyway, he does write some very interesting and truthful stuff, showing great insight into nature and man’s life here on earth. And in our Bit today, he solemnly declares: ‘There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.’ And what he says is gospel truth my brethren! Now let’s look at the first of these small but wise things. ‘The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat (food) in the summer.’ (Prov.30:25) And we all know that’s very true, because we’ve all seen the ants working diligently, doing whatever they need to do to provide a good life for themselves. As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs chapter 6: ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide (leader), overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat (food) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.’ (Prov.6:6-8) And that’s the absolute truth people! As children growing up in the West Indies, we’d often watch an army of ants, fascinated by their scurrying around, busily doing their own thing, wondering how they were so diligent and focussed. But that’s built into their very nature by the Creator. And as to how that fits in with human life, listen to the scholars: ‘The sluggard is the habitually lazy person. He is admonished to learn two important lessons from the ant. (1) The ant has no guide, overseer, or ruler (v7), meaning that the ant does not have a taskmaster standing over it to make it work; it is a self-starter. (2) The ant is wise enough to prepare for predictable circumstances.’ Oh Friends, those lessons are even more important and valuable to us today! What with the great proliferation of laziness and idleness, especially amongst our young. Now let’s turn to the second small thing which Agur finds exceedingly wise: ‘The conies (rock badger or hyrax) are but a feeble folk, yet make their houses in the rocks.’ (Prov.30:26) Oh my brethren, how many of us of feeble strength and intellect can build our spiritual houses in the rocks, away from evil marauders eh? Not too many. But these small animals find a way to live in hills and rocks, away from the prying eyes of potential enemies. We need to be able to do the same thing my people. But that can only happen when we sincerely and securely embrace Jesus and all the good things He has to offer. Until then, we’ll be weak and feeble, driven to and fro by any kind of dogma, like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea. And the third thing which Agur talks about is; ‘The Locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands (in ranks).’ (Prov.30:27) Now isn’t that very strange, but rather interesting? Insects that have no leader, but yet go forth by their millions in proper ranks and formation! And their strength as a united body is enormous, for they rape and pillage the land like nothing else can. After locusts pass over an area, it looks like a moonscape, barren and desolate. Now if we humans, especially those in Christ’s church could only come together in such large numbers, with such vision and strength of purpose, then we’d have a much better chance of defeating the evildoers than we are now with comparatively puny numbers and petty divisions and dissensions. And last but not least of these strong and wise things of nature is; ‘The Spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.’ (Prov.30:28) Now the spider is certainly a work of true skill, cunning and strength! It builds its web all over, from the poorest hovel to the most pristine palace. It’s no respecter of places. And it cunningly catches its prey, its food in the sticky membranes of the web. We tear down these webs, but they soon build them back again. That’s tenacity people. Do we have that attribute? Not as much as we ought to. Too many of us get disheartened and discouraged at the first sign of danger or problems and quickly consider giving us. But please remember that giving up does not exist in Jesus’ vocabulary or that of His followers. Christ never gave up though the going was exceedingly rough. And can you imagine if He had given up as soon as the going got rough? Where would we be now eh? Left out in the cold, on the outside looking in, or rather facing a hellish time in the depths of hell with Lucifer, facing eternal death and separation from Almighty God. But with the Father’s generous help, Jesus stuck it out, so that we could have a chance to dwell in heaven, rather than hell for all eternity. And there ends the lesson for today my brethren. There’s a lot for the supposed smart and thinking humans to learn from the small, lowly, but very instinctive parts of nature, if we’ll only take the time to study them. Yuh see how the ancients did it and ended up wiser. But today with all our clever inventions and great expertise, we think we’re too high and mighty to learn anything from the smaller, lowlier creations of God. How wrong we are! So please, today, let’s take a few moments to ponder the attributes of those four lowly creatures, insignificant in our sight, but very pesty and pesky in our lives, and see how our individual lives and actions line up with them. Then let’s consciously make the decision and effort to do better. That’s wisdom in spades! Much LOVE!…though we look down disparagingly on the lesser creatures of nature…they do have a lot to teach us…supposedly first class beings…
 

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