Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 November 2017 Romans 12:2.

22 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

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

Romans 12:2.   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.

And then it was Wednesday…another brand new day of mercies and God’s everlasting goodness! Wow! Are we ever blessed my fellow saints in Christ! And I do hope that we truly appreciate God’s LOVING-kindness, else we’ll be missing out on a lot, foolishly shortchanging ourselves. Anyway, that’s a sermon for another day. (smile) 

Today, we’re going to get right into our Bit. ‘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.’ As we said yesterday, you cannot enjoy the good things of God, unless you change your way of thinking, adopting the way God thinks, instead of the way the world operates. 

The scholars offer this explanation: ’12:2. Be not conformed  (lit; “stop conforming yourselves”): They are to resist being poured into the mould of the present thinking, value systems, and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’  

And the important thing there friends is to RESIST being made like the world. We have to consciously and forcefully resist the world’s titanic efforts to swallow us up in its evil schemes and dreams, because it is an unrelenting force that never stops trying. 

And the only way we can resist is by having the mindset of Christ, keeping us resilient and ever strong. Remember friends, all that we are and do begins and ends in our minds. As Sister Joyce’s (Joyce Meyer) book title indicates, it’s a battlefield, ‘The Battlefield of the Mind.’ 

And that’s no lie, for all our battles are first fought in our minds, then we put whatever it is we think into action. That’s why they say be careful what you think about, because whatever is uppermost in your mind will be revealed in your actions. 

Now listen to this cerebral quote from Dallas Willard (1935-2013), American Philosopher, great spiritual thinker and writer. He says: ‘The ultimate freedom we have as human beings is the power to select what we allow our minds to dwell on.’  Selah! 

Yeh friends, ponder that for a minute nuh. We have total control over what we think about, but like everything else we need to practice it continuously, for the enemy is always around trying to put unholy and ungodly thoughts into our minds. But when we know who we are in Christ, and consciously take control, then we can fight tooth and nail to keep our minds in a Christ-like state. 

Our minds are like a garden; it must be carefully and continuously tended, otherwise like a normal garden, the weeds and other unwanted stuff will spring up and choke the good seed. And as Jesus says, that’s when ‘the care(s) of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.’  (Matt.13:22b) 

Yeh mih people, if we want to be fruitful for Jesus, we have to stay attached to His vine and carefully tend the garden of our minds, otherwise we’re liable to lose whatever fruitfulness we might have. As I heard Cousin Bobby (Bobby Schuller) say the other day: ‘Good thoughts bear good fruit. Bad thoughts bear bad fruit.’ 

And that’s indisputable truth my brethren. So let’s try to keep good thoughts circulating in our minds nuh, so that we can bear good fruit for Jesus. Now here is another very important sister scripture to our Bit, this time from John’s 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. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)  Oh friends, it couldn’t be stated any simpler, and yet as profound! 

Now hear the scholars: ‘2:15. LOVE not the world is a command implying that action now in progress must cease: “STOP LOVING THE WORLD!” There is, of course, one sense in which Christians should LOVE the world, since God Himself did and does (John 3:16). But in the sense of pledging personal loyalty and devotion to one’s whole being and means, Christians are to “LOVE” God first and foremost (Deut.6:5; Mark 12:30).’  

And all God’s people declared a loud and sincere ‘Amen!’ 

Now here is some more important info from the scholars re ‘Temptation.’ ‘2:16. Though all people are tempted differently according to their individual weaknesses, temptations follow patterns. They appeal to three fundamental areas of life: (1) the lust of the flesh (physical desires; (2) the lust of the eyes (personal desires); and (3) the pride of life (self-interests). 

Illustration: When Satan caused the fall of the race, he appealed to each of these areas of weakness (Gen. 3:6). He also appealed to them when he tempted Christ (Matt.4:1-11), who defied Satan’s temptations by relying on the authority of the Scriptures. Application: The Christian today should also depend on the Scriptures to defeat temptation. (First Ref. Gen 3:1-6; Primary Ref. 1 John 2:15-17; cf. Rom.5:12).’ 

And having taken in all of that, (smile) and we do have the God-given capacity, let’s go home proudly and sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know that we’re on a long and wonderful journey with Christ. 

As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Oh friends, let’s weep for joy that we are in Christ, and that He is in us! Much LOVE!

…to truly know Christ…is to be totally enamoured of Him…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 August 2015 John 14:6‏

06 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

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

John 14:6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Aye Friends, welcome to another somewhat cool, but otherwise beautiful summer’s day in God’s wonderful universe!

New mercies and blessings specially prepared for today, this terrific Thursday in August 2015, have already been flooding our space. The most important being the breath of life that’s still flowing through our bodies, which allows us to enjoy the salvation and eternal life offered by Jesus’ debt payment on the cross of Calvary.

Wow! Glory to God! Have you given Him thanks and praise for those two things as yet? As soon as we rise and greet each new day, we ought to float prayers of thanksgiving up to heaven on them. For without them, we either won’t be rising to greet a new day, (smile) or spending eternity with Jesus. And that last option is the most important for a Christian soul.

Now here’s an interesting and rather appropriate quote from Toronto born, North American writer Grenville Kleiser (1868-1935). He says that ‘Today is the day in which to express your noblest qualities of mind and heart, to do at least one worthy thing which you have long postponed…’

And my people that is indeed a worthwhile decision, for over the last decade or so, we have become such great procrastinators, even about things that we consider important.

But what better way to show our appreciation for life and God’s grace and mercies than by stepping up to the plate today and doing something that we’ve been putting off, whether it’s volunteering or simply cleaning up stuff that needs to be cleaned up.

That reminds me of the Johnny Reid song that we shared with you sometime aback which declared: ‘Today I’m going to change the world…One day at a time…’

Yeh Friends, we desperately need to change our world, but the reality is that we can only do it one day at a time. And there’s no better time to start than the present. So let’s make today that day nuh.  Let’s override procrastination with pro-action, and with Jesus’ help we can certainly do it.

For as our Bit wisely informs us: ‘Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ And I like to add to that, He’s also the Light of this darkened world.

So if Jesus Christ is indeed all those things, why aren’t we more enamoured of and interested in Him and His doings eh Friends? Our general behaviour and actions certainly don’t seem to indicate the esteem and appreciation that He truly deserves from us.

It’s also definitely instructional to see how that statement of Jesus came to be made. He was telling His disciples about His going away and preparing mansions for them. ‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?’ (John 14:3-5)

Ah mih people, even those who were closest to Jesus in His earthly sojourn didn’t appear to pay serious attention to His words. Jesus then declared our Bit to Thomas, before continuing with this admonishment. ‘If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord show us the Father, and it sufficeth (will satisfy) us. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father?

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of my self (of my own authority): but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.’ (John 14:7-10)

Oh my brethren, so sadly, a couple thousand years later, the Lord Jesus Christ is still asking those questions of too many supposed believers! Granted that if Thomas and Philip who actually walked with Jesus had doubts and didn’t fully understand, who are we to be so well informed and enlightened?

But that argument doesn’t hold any water, for we have had two thousand years of much better information and time to understand and ingest the Good News of Jesus. So just like Jesus reproached the disciples back then, He is today also reproaching us for our unbelief, our lack of faith and understanding when it’s all clearly spelled out in His Word and the times of His earthly life.

Friends, it’s either we believe or we don’t believe! There is no halfway point, no way to waffle, no sitting on the fence, being double minded and/or constantly wavering from one position to the other. For as James tells us: ‘A doubleminded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:8)

So please my people, today, let’s get off the fence nuh, let’s stop procrastinating and wavering. Instead, let’s truly take hold of Jesus and all that He so wonderfully stands for and represents and believe with all our hearts, souls and minds that He is indeed the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light! Now that is true wisdom! Much LOVE!

…only believe…that He is who He says He is…that’s all Jesus asks of us…