Psalm 42:1. As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.
30 Jul 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a life lived without passion, a wasted life, abundance, blessings, Bruh Paul, driving thirst for God, enthusiasm, enthusiastic, ephemeral Being, Ephesians, faithful God, for all things, forgiveness, giving thanks always, God is a real presence in our lives, God's promised never to leave nor forsake us, grace, gratitude from the heart, grudgingly, have hope in Almighty God, heaven, hold our attention, holy spirit, hope thou in God, hunger and thirst after righteousness, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, intense longing for God, Jesus Christ, joyful lips, longing for God, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, loving kindness, mercy, my soul longs for God, offering thanks, passion, passionate, physical circumstances, pour out my soul, praise, praise Him for his presence, Praise the Lord, proselytize, responsibility, Scrip-Bit family, Sermon on the Mount, serving God, state of our souls, stoke our fires, tears, thanks, the hart longs for the water brooks, the house of God, the living God, the sons of Korah, the tenor of our days, things of the world, unto god the Father, walk obedient to His commands, Wednesday, where is thy God, Why art thou cast down o my soul
Psalm 42:1. As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.
28 Jun 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a consistent basis, angry, another day of life, blessings, breath of life, broken, business, busyness, caring, choose to view the world, consequences, contagious, Danish Proverb, despair of the world's goodness, disarray, disfavour, earthly pilgrimage, Elementary my dear Watson, encourage, enthusiastic, excuses, friends, give the Lord genuine thanks, giving, go astray, God is with us, God's promises will be faithfully fulfilled, God's Word, gospel truth, gracious God, gratitude, guide to earthly living, heartfelt thanks, heifer dust, hogwash, hope, I might not sin against God, I've hidden God's word in my heart, joyful, lives would blossom, lost in the darkness, LOVE, make time, obedient to God's will, optimistic, planet earth, resentful, responsibility, sad, sin, study God's Word, take heed to God's word, take it for granted, thankful, that fateful day, the blind man doesn't see it, the Good Book, the Holy Bible, the reality of the world, the sky is not less blue, true believers, truth, witness another sunrise, words of wisdom
Psalm 119:11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Oh Friends, once more our gracious God has seen it fit to bless us with another day of life on planet earth. For such a wonderful blessing we ought to be most thankful, since a large number of our fellow earthlings, for whatever reason (s) have not been so gifted.
The breath of life is one of the most important blessings we have received from our Creator, and too many of us take it for granted, and are most surprised on that fateful day when we don’t open our eyes. (smile)
So please, every morning that you open your eyes to a new day, please remember to give the Lord genuine thanks for allowing you to witness another sunrise, or even another rainy, gloomy day, for every day, many who don’t arise, would have given all they possessed just to see another day, regardless of how it turned out. And you know that there’s nothing our God likes better than our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for His blessings.
That brings us to an interesting sentence hiding under the guise of a Danish Proverb. ‘The sky is not less blue because the blind man doesn’t see it.’
And really my people, we can’t find any fault with that statement because it is the truth. But Friends, the same thing can be said about our lives. The choices most of us make don’t change the reality of the world around us.
We can choose to be optimistic, caring, giving and joyful, or to be angry, resentful and despair of the world’s goodness. But none of that will truly change the world; it will still be whatever it is. However, our choice will either make us broken and sad, or optimistic and enthusiastic. It all depends on how we choose to view the world around us.
And I strongly advise that choosing the optimistic and enthusiastic route is the much better one for true believers, in fact for every single soul on planet earth, because it gives us hope, despite what is actually happening around us. Hope that God is with us, and that ALL His promises will be faithfully fulfilled in His time, if we are obedient to His will. Hope is also contagious and helps us to encourage others.
But where can we find that hope that sustains us in all kinds of weather eh my brethren? In God’s Word of course! Listen to the psalmist as he asks that question, then wisely declares the answer. ‘Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.’ (Ps.119:9)
‘Elementary my dear Watson!’ as our renowned sleuth Sherlock Holmes would say. Unfortunately though, in this modern world, reading the Good Book and following its dictates has fallen into great disfavour. But then we wonder why our lives and the world around us are in such a terrible state. Hn!
Now hear how the palmist continues: ‘With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.’ (Ps. 119:10-11)
Oh what words of wisdom my Friends! If only more of us would sincerely allow those desires to permeate our hearts and souls, we’d all be much better off. I particularly like the expressed intentions of our Bit: hiding God’s Word in our hearts, so that we don’t disobey Him. How resourceful my brethren!
But before we can hide His Word in the uttermost depths of our being, we first need to READ IT!
That however is where the problem comes in. It’s awfully hard to get people, even sincere believers, to read the Good Book on a consistent basis these days. But that’s the only way we’ll ever know what it says, and be able to hide it in our hearts.
We have all sorts of excuses why we can’t read the Word regularly, like being so busy and otherwise. But Friends, that’s pure hogwash, pure heifer dust! We find time to do all sorts of other stuff of much less importance. Don’t tell me if the Lord was important enough in your life that you couldn’t find a fifteen minutes or half an hour each day to study His Word.
And note I said STUDY, not merely peruse, or give a cursory glance through. Like all the other stuff we need to study to enhance our careers, so too we need to STUDY GOD’S WORD, so that we can know what it says and be obedient to it!
I’m tired with all the business and busyness we claim to have. Something must be wrong with me then, because I don’t seem to have that much business or busyness, but I still have to consciously make the time to read the Word, or else my time will be taken up with much less important things.
Friends, we DON’T FIND TIME, we MAKE TIME, especially when it comes to God’s Word!
And most of us would be surprised to find that our lives would blossom ever so brightly, if we just made the time to spend a few minutes everyday poring over the Word. Yes my brethren, please remember that the Good Book is our guide to earthly living, and if we don’t pay serious attention to it, then we WILL go astray.
And I don’t have to tell us that that is the gospel truth, because it is highlighted right before our very eyes; the total disarray in which our world now finds itself, because it has ceased making the Word of God its guide.
Oh my people, I can only encourage us to read and follow God’s Word, every individual has to take the responsibility upon him or herself to do so or not. Remember though, that you will also have to bear the consequences of whatever path you follow. Much LOVE!
…to truly find our way on our earthly pilgrimage…to not get lost in the darkness of this evil world…it’s essential to read and follow our guide book…THE HOLY BIBLE…
09 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: alive, blatant lie, cares and concerns, dominant characteristic, encouraging, enthusiasm, enthusiastic, eternal life, eyes of faith, faith, God LOVES me, holy spirit, hope, joy of the lord, LOVE, loving kindness, never forsake us, never leave us, sacrifices, salvation, sandy sea shores, saviour jesus christ, Song of LOVE, the Way of LOVE
Song of Solomon 2:4. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was LOVE!
Top o’ the morn Friends! Unfortunately my neck of the woods – dark, dreary and snowy – doesn’t engender enthusiasm to the physical sight and senses. In fact it’s rather depressing to keep seeing that sort of bleak, uninviting landscape everyday. However, when we look through our eyes of faith, we can plainly see calm, clear, blue waters gently breaking over golden brown, sandy sea shores, with a brilliant, hot sun reigning supreme in a cloudless blue sky. And why is that my people? Because of God’s LOVE for us! He puts that unnatural ability in our hearts through faith in His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And from the moment I read this poem in Dr. Robert Schuller’s ‘Hour of Power Devotional earlier on, I just knew that I had to share it with you. And you’ll realize why, because it’s titled: ‘GOD LOVES ME! Thank you, Lord, for this holy sentence, this good news, this happy report, this exciting thought, this graceful truth, this fantastic lesson: God LOVES me! Even when I’m at my worst – God LOVES me. Even when my faith is dim – God LOVES me anyway! It’s incomprehensible and fantastic! Thank you, Father: Amen.’ Oh Friends, one of the reasons I like Dr. Schuller’s writings is because they are always full of bright, and strong faith, with vibrant expectations of good things to come, using encouraging words and uplifting language! One of the serious problems with believers these days is that we’re too dreary and dead, lacking in real life, our enthusiasm doesn’t come out in our prayers and our every day lives the way it should. Too many of us still believe that to be a true Christian we must walk around cowed, with head bowed, shoulders limp and low, and a sad, ugly countenance. I guess that’s our erroneous definition of being humble. But Friends, I’m here to tell us that that’s a most blatant lie that Lucifer perpetrates to get us to lose our joy in Jesus. Remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) And if we lose it, then what do we have? Nothing! Please my brethren, with all the good things Jesus did for us; dying that ugly, horrible death on the cross to pay for our sins, being resurrected and ascending into heaven so that we can have salvation and eternal life, plus the wonderful promises of never forsaking us and always being with us through the wonderful aura of His Holy Spirit, Christians should be the happiest and most cheerful people in the universe. We should be laughing, enthusiastic and exuberant every minute of every day. Even when we’re asleep, there should be a beatific smile on our faces, because we’re dreaming of heaven and God and all the great things that await us there. Sadly though, too many of us allow the cares and concerns of this evil, ungodly world to drive us to doom and gloom. Remember Friends, Jesus said that in this world we’d surely find trials and tribulation, but since He’s already overcome it, we should therefore be filled with peace and good cheer and enjoy the benefits of His sacrifice. (John 16:33) Otherwise all His sacrifices would have been in vain. I know we can’t always go around grinning like Cheshire cats, but we certainly need to be more alive, enthusiastic, encouraging and expectant than a lot of us are. Oh Friends, the greatest thing in this world is LOVE! And LOVE brings joy! No wonder in our Bit, Cousin Sol describes the bride’s admiration of her groom with these choice and moving words of truth. ‘He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was LOVE!’ Aye people, that’s exactly what our Creator, the Lord God Jehovah has done for us! He brought us to the banqueting house of salvation and eternal life through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ. For that we should be eternally grateful and joyful. Remember the Good Book says that ‘God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth (abides) in LOVE dwelleth (abides) in God, and God in him.’ (1 John 4:16) LOVE is the dominant characteristic of our God, and should therefore be also the dominant characteristic of the true believer. Now let’s hear some appropriate scripture on LOVE, it’s power and how it ought to cause us to live. And we’ll begin with Cousin Sol, from his Song. ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench LOVE, neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give all the substance (wealth) of his house for LOVE, it would utterly be contemned (despised). (Song 8:6-7) Yuh see that mih people? LOVE is as strong as death, you can’t drown it, nor buy it! Now listen to ole Jeremiah. When talking about the restoration of Israel, he boldly declares: ‘The Lord hath appeared of old (from afar) unto me, saying, Yea, I have LOVED thee with an everlasting LOVE: therefore with LOVING-kindness have I drawn thee.’ (Jer.31:3) Oh mih breddren, again we see the power of LOVE, and the Lord’s LOVING-kindness that He uses to envelop us, to wrap us in His LOVING embrace. Meanwhile, in talking about the Lord’s LOVE for faithless Israel, the prophet Hosea says of God: ‘I drew them with cords of a man (gentle cords), with bands of LOVE: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws (necks), and I laid meat unto them (stooped and fed them).’ (Hos.11:4) But foolishly they refused to be drawn to Him. Please my people, please don’t let us follow that foolish path of disobedience, cause there will only be severe punishment later on. Come to think of it, that’s what we’re facing right now; punishment for turning away from the God of our fathers and embracing the evil Lucifer and the worldly lusts of the flesh. Now hear Jesus, as He lambastes the hypocrite Pharisees: ‘But I know you, that ye have not the LOVE of God in you.’ (John 5:42) Yes Friends, if the LOVE of God is not in us, then we’re not His children. And we don’t have the space or time for one of the most profound writings on LOVE; 1 Corinthians 13, titled ‘The Way of LOVE,’ from the godly pen of Bruh Paul. But I ask us all to read it today, so that we can get a new or refreshed look and attitude towards the world’s most wonderful characteristic – LOVE. And you know that, whenever possible, we like to give Jesus the final, definitive word on the subject. ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) Oh Friends, that says it all. Our Leader commands it, so please let’s go out and do it nuh. It will certainly enrich our souls more than we can ever imagine. Much LOVE!…and now abideth faith…hope…LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor.13:13)
06 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: belive and trust, blahs, down in the dumps, eloquent, encouragement, energy sapping, enthusiastic, fainting, isaiah 40, merry-go-round, power, renew strength, spiritual energy, understanding, uplift, wisdom
Isaiah 40:28. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
Ah Friends, the ole fella’s feeling a bit down in the dumps this morning. Yuh know sometimes yuh just feel blah; yuh get the blahs. (smile) Well that’s my unfortunate position today. Why? I really don’t know, because there’s no good reason for me to be feeling less than enthusiastic. I guess my spirit is a tad tired from the constant merry-go-round that’s life. Obviously I asked the Lord to boost my spirit, to rejuvenate me so that I could write something worthy of His Name. Therefore it wasn’t so strange or surprising that in my search for a Bit, I was guided to this particular scripture verse. ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.’ Yes Friends, I have heard, and I do know that the Lord our God, Creator of this vast, diverse, beautiful universe and all therein doesn’t faint or get tired, and there’s no understanding of His great wisdom, power, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE by mere mortals like myself. That’s why in my time of need I turned to Him without hesitation. And He has boosted my spirit, has rejuvenated my enthusiasm that was faltering, for I’m once again in fighting mode. Praise Him my brethren! Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here now as I write, but some twenty minutes ago, I certainly wasn’t chuckling. Instead I was dreading having to write the Bit in that blah state of mind. But our God is such a wonderful God, uplifting and comforting those who believe and trust in Him! As Isaiah so eloquently and truthfully continues: ‘He giveth power to the faint (weak), and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:29-31) And I can testify right now Friends, that that’s the gospel truth, because he just did it for me! Give Him some thanks and praise! So it is for real when I keep saying that we must turn to the Lord, especially in the rough and tough times, for the fortitude and strength to renew our faith and keep us keeping on. Our world is so filled today with all kinds of faith breaking and energy sapping stuff, that being only human, frail and fragile, at some time or other we will get tired and frustrated by the energy and focus required for successful living. But fortunately my brethren, when either or both our physical and spiritual energy ebb to low tide, that’s the time we need to use our faith by turning to Almighty God for help and succour. It won’t always come easily, or right away, or even the way you want and expect it, but rest assured, it will come, and in a way that’s best for you. My ‘blahness’ today is a good example of that. I asked for a boosting of my spiritual energy, but it wasn’t just simply boosted, or even the way I expected it. It came through my act of faith. I knew I had to write the Bit, regardless of how I felt, so I went seeking one, and through the Spirit’s guidance, I was led to one that rejuvenated me. I could easily have moaned and groaned and pleaded without getting up off my fanny and doing my part and most likely nothing would have happened, or it would have taken much longer. But because I persevered some, in spite of my less than enthusiastic feelings, the Lord worked more quickly on my behalf. That’s one of the secrets to unlocking God’s mercy; doing what we need to do, in spite of how we feel! When we persevere regardless, in due time the Lord will bring our feelings around to line up with whatever we’re doing. Ah friends, I don’t know what else to say nuh, except that I’m quite bright and bubbly now! Praise the Lord for His goodness to the undeserving children of men! I guess He figured that I needed to provide some testimony today; some faith strengthening act of true reality, that I could pass along which would uplift and encourage others. And I sure hope that my little episode does provide some encouragement to you my fellow believers, for we all need encouragement at some time or another. But whatever the reason Friends, let me encourage and exhort us to stand strong in our God, for He has the most wonderful action going on in this crazy, troubled world. And if we stay close to and faithful to Him, we’ll never lack for nurture or anything else in our earthly pilgrimage. That’s the living truth….and don’t you forget it! Much LOVE!…our God…He is the GREATEST THING…before…since…and after sliced bread…(smile)