22 Apr 2018
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a godly life, a guide book, almighty god, an expected end, be glory, be perfect, bound to Him eternally, calamity, call upon God, camp meetings, Christ my king, Christian, conditions, correct wrong, correction, couldn't do them justice, do what God wants, dreadful weather, empty souls, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal ages, faith, faithful believers, favour, fellowship, for earthly living, for ever and ever, foundational hymn, furnished, given by inspiration of God, God my Saviour, God shall supply all your needs, God willing, good works, guidance, ice storm, instruction in righteousness, Jeremiah, joyful voices, listening every moment, look to the glorious spring weather, love's strong cord, make merry, mercy, mere words, ministry, not of evil, Our Father, overcoming daily, pray, profitable for doctrine, readily available, reproof, resurgent confidence, revivals, righteousness, Russel Kelso, scripture, seek him, shout, sincere hearts, sing, sing and praise, slipping and sliding, Standing on the promises of God, the Lord's sanctuary, the man of God, the Spirit's sword, the Spiti's call, the truth of scripture, the word of God is true, thoughts I think toward you, thoughts of peace, to his riches in glory, under God's authority, unique character, unto God, with all our hearts, without any fear, written by mortal men
2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Ah mih people, this Sunday morning we can go to the Lord’s sanctuary without any fear of slipping and sliding or getting in an accident because of the dreadful weather! Glory be! The ice is slowly disappearing as the weather gets a little warmer. But last week it was something else. And that ice-storm was not half as bad as one a few years ago. They are worse than just the ordinary snow storms.
Anyway, that’s in the past now, let’s look to the glorious spring weather that’s ahead of us and go to fellowship with other faithful believers, to sing and praise and make merry to Almighty God, and receive His resurgent confidence and enthusiasm in our tired and empty souls. Some of us might need two weeks resurging, since we didn’t get any last week. (smile)
But whatever, or how much ever we need, we know we will get it in the Lord’s house, so let’s open as always with some praise and worship, with this foundational hymn ‘Standing on the Promises of God’ written by Russel Kelso Carter, a professor in the Pennsylvania Military College of Chester.
His bio reads thus: ‘While there he was licensed to preach by the Methodist Episcopal Church. He became very active in leading camp meetings and revivals. After failing health forced him to abandon this work, he studied and became a medical doctor as well as a writer. He wrote novels as well as hymns.‘
Yeh friends, it’s obvious he knew what he was talking about when he wrote the hymn. So let’s declare it now nuh, with joyful voices and sincere hearts, because those are such wonderful promises we have to stand on, that mere words alone couldn’t do them justice.
As one glorious choir now: ‘Standing on the promises of Christ my king, through eternal ages let his praises ring; glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, standing on the promises of God. (Refrain: Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God my Savior; standing, standing, I’m standing on the promises of God.)
Standing on the promises that cannot fail, when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, by the living Word of God I shall prevail, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain] Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, bound to him eternally by LOVE’S strong cord, overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword, standing on the promises of God.
[Refrain] Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit’s call, resting in my Savior as my all in all, standing on the promises of God. [Refrain].’
Oh friends, oh friends, doesn’t that just elevate your soul and spirit to new heights of rapture? (smile) It ought to since we have such golden promises made to us by a most faithful Deity. And today friends, we are going to check out some of those awesome promises found in God’s word.
And we’ll begin with one that lays the foundation for them all, the words of Bruh Paul to Timothy re the truth of scripture, as stated in our Bit. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’
That is the first step my brethren; to acknowledge that the word of God is true, and though written by mortal men, was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, under God’s authority and guidance, and it is indeed a guide book for earthly living in righteousness. As Bruh Paul continues: ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim.3:17) There we have it friends, guidance and regulations to lead a godly life.
Here are some useful explanations from the scholars. ‘3:14-17. Inspiration of God (lit. “God-breathed.”) describes the unique character of scripture. It is not only written by men, but authored by God. For doctrine means to tell one what to believe. For reproof means to tell one what is wrong. For correction means to tell one how to correct wrong.
For instruction in righteousness means to tell one how to live. Perfect (Gr. artios, “proficient, capable”) is having everything needed to do what God wants.Thoroughly furnished means “thoroughly equipped.” God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Mama Yo mih breddren! Where can you find another all-encompassing tome like that eh? Nowhere else in the world but in the Christian faith! Glory to our great God, who in His endless wisdom gave us ALL that we needed to live the kind of life He desires of us. And so having acknowledged that the word of God is true, let’s look at a couple of promises that are contained therein.
The first one is a scripture that we all know and quote, but how many of us truly believe it eh? It’s from the prophet Jeremiah and says: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end.’ (Jer.29:11)
But that doesn’t come just so friends. We have to pray, call upon God, seek Him with all our hearts, live the kind of life He expects of us, then we’ll see His mercy and favour and the plan He has designed for each one of His people. Now I think we only have space for one more promise; that from Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil.4:19)
Yeh friends, because of the Philippians sacrifice on behalf of Bruh Paul, God will meet their need in a glorious manner through Jesus Christ. The same applies to us today my fellow believers – live the way God desires, and you’ll want for nothing. And we’ll end with these most appropriate words of Bruh Paul. ‘Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Phill.4:20)
More on the promises of God tomorrow friends, God willing. Till then, please walk safely with Him. Much LOVE!
…some promises have conditions…others don’t…but they are ALL readily available…
15 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a hard row to hoe, accusation, among the lost, an attitude of prayer, anxiety, blameless, bounden duty, Christian witness, communicating with God, complaining, crooked, defeated, difficulties, disputing, dissatisfied, do all things, dread, earthly pilgrimage, energized, equipped, everlasting covenant, evil, follow instructions, friend of Jesus, furnished, glorify Jesus, glory for ever and ever, God's Word, good works, guiding, harmless, heavenly Father, Hebrews, influence, inhospitable, innocent, intolerant, Jesus Christ, lack nothing, leading, lights in the world, lose, LOVE, make you perfect, morally pure, murmurings, negative things, obey the commands, One Year Book of Bible promises, our prayer life, perfect, persecutions, perverse nation, Philippians, positive power of God, pray so little, prayer, prohibited, protest, quarrelling, restless, Ruth Harms Calkin, Scrip-Bit family, share His love, shine, spiritual damage, susceptible, temptation, testimony, the beloved of God, the BIBLE, the blood, the God of peace, the gospel, the Holy Spirit, the man of God, the reason, the sense of God''s shining presence, the shepherd of the sheep, Tuesday Mantra, undisciplined, ungodly world, violently, weak, well-pleasing, without rebuke, witness, working in you
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Oh friends, I’d like to open this Tuesday morning with a call to prayer for Scotty Richards, one of our staunchest Scrip-Bit family members.Every time he sees me, he asks me something about the Bit.
Scotty, one of my church Wardens, is presently in the hospital and I ask us all to kindly remember him in our prayers. Let’s pray that the Lord will heal him of all that’s causing him to be hospitalized right now, and that he will soon return to his normal life.
Scotty, mih brother, we still need you here with us. So please hurry up and get well. Amen.
Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled; ‘The Reason’ and I daresay that it applies to many of us.
It says: ‘God, why am I so often defeated? Why am I so full of dread and anxiety? Why am I so lamentably weak – So perilously susceptible to temptation? Why am I often inhospitable So intolerant of the needs of others?
Why am I so undisciplined So restless and dissatisfied? Why do I protest so violently? Above all God Why do I so frequently lose The sense of Your shining Presence? God, why? Why?’
And God’s answer; short and to the point: ‘Because you pray so little.’
Yes friends, that could be the reason why so many negative things keep on assaulting us; our prayer life is just not full enough. We don’t spend enough time communicating with our heavenly Father.
Remember, we can’t fight off evil or negative situations unless we have the positive power of God working with and for us. And we can only get that power by constant communication with our Creator. As the promise for that poem so rightly tells us: ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thess. 5:17)
Oh my brethren, as followers of Jesus Christ, we should always have an attitude of prayer, though we might not be praying audibly, which will allow the Holy Spirit that indwells each believer, to do a better job of leading and guiding us.
And today will probably the last day for this renowned Bit. (smile) ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’
Yes my people, our wise and wonderful God has provided a guidebook for us, in the Bible, and also provided the Holy Spirit to help us walk this earthly pilgrimage. We have been given EVERYTHING we need to be successful in this life. All we have to do now is faithfully follow the instructions and directions.
Now let’s look at a scripture that corroborates the words of our Bit. The author of Hebrews declares unto us: ‘Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect (complete) in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ’ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Heb.13:20-21)
Ah my fellow believers in Christ, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! In His supreme wisdom, He’s provided for all our needs. We lack for nothing, but through His Word and the Holy Spirit we are energized to do all that we need to do.
Now listen to these words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of (according to) his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings (grumbling) and disputings.
That ye may be blameless and harmless (innocent), the sons (children) of God, without rebuke (fault), in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), among whom ye shine as lights of the world.’ (Phil.2:13-15)
And the scholars give us some explanation re those verses. ‘2:14. Since God is producing in the Philippians the willing and doing of His good and perfect will (v.13), there can be no legitimate reason for murmurings and disputings.
Not only are they forbidden to complain about the difficulties and persecutions that will befall them in carrying out God’s good pleasure, but quarrelling among themselves is also prohibited.’
The same things apply to us in these modern times my friends. We have no good reason to murmur or complain, because God has already provided all we need to do His good work.
‘2:15. If the readers obey the commands of verses 12-14, they will be (become) blameless [i.e., no finger of accusation can justly be pointed at them] and harmless (i.e.’ morally pure). Due to party strife and bickering, this is not true of them.
As the sons of God…in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), they are to be without rebuke – without incurring spiritual damage. The proper place for God’s people is among the lost. For only in such a position can true Christian witness be borne and influence for the gospel be effectively exerted.
Yet believers must remain “without rebuke” in that they suffer no moral damage by contact with the unsaved. Then among unbelievers they will shine as lights in the world. As stars are readily noticeable in a dark sky, so healthy Christian lives stand out in testimony among the lost and give credence to one’s witness.’
Yes my people, I know it’s seems like a hard row to hoe, but please remember that we have already been granted all we need to succeed in God’s work. Now let’s go home loudly and sincerely declaring our Tuesday mantra.
As one now: ‘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 the world. Amen!’
And with all of that sizzling in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, let’s go out and shine like stars in the darkness of this evil and ungodly world nuh, and thus glorify our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…to shine…to shine…to shine in the darkness…that’s a believer’s bounden duty…
14 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a positive attitude, abiding relationship, actions, adrenaline, antidote, aura of love, believers, cancer, canker, choirmaster, Christ's body, Christ-like, cleanse our souls, confidence, dishonour, disputes, dissent, division, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal life, evil, faith, false teachers, fellowship, friends, furnished, glorious kingdom, glory hallelujah, good things, good works, grace, gracious, greetings, holy spirit, honour, humble servants, Hymeneus, iniquity, invincible, Jesus, joy, lead us astray, lies, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, loving kindness, may be perfect, meditating, merciful, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, perfect, permanence of the church, Philetus, physical reactions, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, resurrection, righteousness., roll out of bed, salutations, salvation, scriptures, slow to speak, slow to wrath, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surrender, swift to hear, taunts, the Christ, the foundation of God, the man of God, trust, truth, ungodly world, unite, vain babblings, vessels of gold and silver, wiles, wisdom, words
2 Timothy 2:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Well hello there my people! Greetings and salutations on this glorious Monday morning! (smile) Now let’s roll out of bed with a positive attitude, expecting and declaring that good things are going to happen to us today, and also through us. That’s the only wise and sensible way to begin each new day that we’ve been blessed to see.
And since some of us might be shaking it somewhat rough this morning, consequently finding it difficult to get in a positive, godly frame of mind, we have our wonderful antidote for that situation right here at hand, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, guaranteed to get your spirits uplifted, and your physical reactions much stronger and more positive.
So having said all of that, let’s belt it out with much verve and plenty enthusiasm nuh, and thus bring joy to the heart of our choirmaster, Jesus, and a bright smile to His handsome face.
As one godly inspired choir now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yeah mih breddren, that was most excellent! From the first few bars you could see Jesus’ face light up, and His baton work energized, as He realized that we were going to honour Him with a good rendition. Wow! There’s nothing like seeing a bright smile on Jesus’ face!
Now let’s not waste the adrenaline that’s currently coursing through our bodies, let’s go out and fight the good fight of faith, work diligently to ensure that Jesus’ LOVE Revolution carries the day, for that’s one of our major purposes in this life.
And as our Bit says, we have already been given, everything we need to do the job successfully. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’
Yes indeed friends, our most merciful and gracious God has thoroughly equipped us with all the tools we need to do His will. Through constant reading and meditating on His Word found in the Bible, plus a close and abiding relationship with His Holy Spirit which indwells us, we have everything we need to further God’s glorious kingdom down here on earth.
The important thing my fellow believers is for us to sincerely surrender our souls to Him and trust in His LOVING-kindness, faithfully believing He won’t lead us astray, and will eventually work out everything for our Good. The essential words here are faith and trust.
Now listen to some scripture that will further help to guide us on the road to proficiency in God’s earthly kingdom. Here, Bruh Paul is talking to Timothy about personal conduct and relationships. ‘But shun profane and vain babblings (worthless talk): for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat (spread) as doth a canker (cancer): of whom is Hymenus and Philetus (false teachers);
Who concerning the truth have erred (strayed), saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth (clay), and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge (cleanse) himself from these (the latter) things, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified (set apart), and meet for the master’s use (useful), and prepared unto every good work.’ (2 Tim.1:16-20)
Ah friends, we need to cleanse our souls of all the evil things that we tend to store there, otherwise we will not be good workers for Christ. And we’ll end with these explanations from the scholars. ‘2:16-21. Shun profane and vain babblings refers to useless disputes about genealogical histories and hair-splitting debates over the law. Eat as doth a canker (“like gangrene “): Useless bickering is a dangerous cancer that destroys the church.
Hymeneus is the one whom Paul delivered to Satan (cf. 1 Tim.1:20), and Philetus is unknown apart from this mention. Hymeneus and Philetus were false teachers who denied the literal resurrection of Christ. The foundation of God standeth sure refers to the permanence of the church which is built on the foundation of the apostles. This seal guarantees the security of the body of Christ.’
Yes precious people of God, we seriously need to pay attention to all the useless bickering, back biting and infighting that is going on in our churches today, because like a cancerous tumour it’s just destroying the fabric of Christ’s church. Instead of dissent and division, we need to unite, so that the church can become stronger and thus spur Christ’s LOVE Revolution to greater heights.
I therefore implore us to be more Christ-like, to carefully watch our words and actions so that we don’t do any more damage to Christ’s church than we already have. Much LOVE!
…Christians ought to heed the words…be swift to hear…slow to speak…slow to wrath… (James 1:19)
13 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: adventure, adversities, affection, believers in Jesus Christ, blood, by water, charter of salvation, Christ-like, Christians, church, conforming to God's will, consummation of peace, correctness, encouragement, enthusiasm, equipped, eternal life, face the upcoming week, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight of faith, flee these things, for her life he died, fruit of our lips, furnished, God's guidebook, God's inspired Word, godliness, good works, grace, hardships, heresies, his holy bride, inspiration of God, Jesus Christ, lay hold on eternal life, live eternally, LOVE, lowly, man of God, material wealth, maturity, measure up, meek, meekness, ministry, money, new creation, obedience, passion, patience, perfect, perseverance, phenomenal, praise, progress, relaxation, Remembrance Day, rent asunder, rest, reverence, rewards, righteousness, sacrifice of praise, saints, salvation, schisms, standards of righteousness, steadfastness, strength, sweet communion, thanksgiving, the Book of answers, the church's one foundation, the Lord's Sabbath, the man of God, the morn of song, the Word, toil, tribulation, trust in God, tumult, union with God, victorious, war, weeping, woes, worship
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Ah friends, that wonderful day called Sunday, the Lord’s Sabbath, has rolled around once more! It’s a day of rest and relaxation, but more importantly one also of worship and fellowship amongst Christians.
That means, if we are able, we ought to get together with other believers in Jesus Christ to sing and offer praise and thanksgiving for His goodness to us, to listen to His word, as well as receive encouragement and strength to face the upcoming week.
Now let’s begin with a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips, by singing the inspirational hymn, ‘The Church is One Foundation.’ With sincere enthusiasm and passion friends: ‘The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.
Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued. Though with a scornful wonder the world sees her oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up: “How long?” and soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore, till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won: O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, may live eternally.’
Glory to God my people for such a wonderful worship song, written way back at the end of the 19th century by the British pastor Samuel J. Stone! And over a century later, it’s still a worship favourite. I wonder if the songs we’ve recently penned will be sung so victoriously a century from now eh? Who knows? That’s even if the world is still around the way we know it.
But regardless of what exists then, right now we have to go back to our Bit of a few days ago. I fully intended to continue it on Friday, but that was Remembrance Day, and the other Bit about a man laying down his life for his friend, just fit better. Then yesterday, the scripture about the true light, also seemed to be a better fit, per the direction in which I was being led. (smile)
So let’s refresh our memories a tad with the verse before our Bit. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) And we said that the Bible was God’s guidebook to us for earthly righteous living, and though it was physically written by men, it was authored by God, through His divine inspiration.
And our Bit tells us of the very important reason why the Lord authored it. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ And the scholars told us that ‘God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Glory Hallelujah my people! We don’t need anything else to live this life proficiently, capably, righteously than God’s Book of Answers!
Now let’s check out some scriptures on the subject. Listen to Bruh Paul admonish Timothy in his earlier letter. After talking about the LOVE of money being the root of all kinds of evil, and how some have ruined themselves through covetousness, Bruh Paul tells him.
‘But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim.6:11-12)
Oh friends, all of that also applies to us today, if we want to be considered a man or woman of God!
And the scholars offer these interesting explanations. ‘6:11. Flee these things means shun a LOVE for money (v.10) and the striving for material wealth (v.9) with all its resulting woes. Follow after means pursue. Righteousness is practical correctness, conforming to God’s will in one’s thinking and acting.
Godliness is proper reverence for, and obedience to, God. Faith is a trust in God that grows stronger. LOVE is a maturing affection for God and man. Patience is perseverance or steadfastness in life and service. Meekness is gentleness.’
There we have it my brethren; a chart against which we can measure our progress and success in being a true man, or woman of God.
And the scholars continue: ‘6:12. The good fight concerns the daily struggle with sin in the Christian life, and the hardships and adversities in the ministry. A genuine believer demonstrates the reality of his faith by being engaged in this warfare. Lay hold on eternal life does not negate the fact that a believer now possesses spiritual life (John 3:36); rather, it speaks of fully realizing or appropriating salvation as the believer matures.’
Yes friends, those few words do say a lot about our Christian faith, and I think it’s a good time for us to take stock of our personal faith, or maturity, whether we’re making any progress or not. So let’s take a few moments sometime today, find a quiet spot and see how we measure up against those standards of righteousness nuh.
Let’s see if we are truly fighting the good fight, really involved in the spiritual warfare; see how we doing with shunning the LOVE of money and the material things of the world. Let’s check to see if our faith is as strong as it ought to be, if we’re persevering and steadfast and gentle…and all the other righteous attitudes and capabilities we need to live a Christ-like life, for that’s supposed to be our earthly goal.
And as always, wherever we find ourselves lacking, let’s turn to our heavenly Father and confidently ask for His always available help. Much LOVE!
…a Christian’s life is not an easy go…but the adventure involved is worth it…and the rewards at the end are truly phenomenal…
10 Nov 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a compassionate heart, a new day, a positive outlook, abundance, an inspired record, answers, assured of, authored by God, authority, broken in the name of Jesus, Christian, clear direction, Comforter, correct wrong, correction, courage, creativity, curse, divine protection, doctrine, equipped, eternal life, faith, faith in Jesus Christ, family, favour, friends, from a child, fulfillment, God's help, God's work, godly inspiration, good works, groundwork, Guide, guidelines, health, History, inspiration, inspiration of God, instruction, learned, life, LOVE, maturity, may be perfect, meditating, ministry, negative word, number one priority, oral instrcutions, original manuscripts, our daily walk, perfect, personal relationship, prayer, privilege, prosper, reproof, righteousness, salvation, scriptures, self-control, self-discipline, strong will, succeed, supernatural guidance, supernatural wisdom. promotion, talent, Thanks be to God, the BIBLE, the Book of answers, the divine Word of God, the gift of the present time, the Good Book, the holy scriptures Old Testament, the Holy Spirit, the man of God, the Spirit of God, thoroughly furnished, Thursday Blessings, Timothy, today, tomorrow, unconditional love of God, unique character of scripture, wise, wise unto salvation, yesterday
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Oh my precious people of God, a new day has been birthed, and we’ve been blessed with the privilege of seeing it, experiencing it, and enjoying it!
And all God’s people loudly and gratefully declared: ‘Thanks be to God!’
Yes friends, it’s all because of the great unconditional LOVE that our heavenly Father has for us, and we’d be very wise to accept and use it to benefit His holy kingdom.
We can’t do anything about yesterday because that’s already past and gone, annotated in the books of history, no more to be seen. And as for tomorrow, we’re not sure that we’ll be around to see, much more enjoy it.
So we’re left with only today, the gift of the present time, and wisdom dictates that we dedicate ourselves to using it fully, with God’s work being our number one priority.
And how do we do that? First off, by having a close personal relationship with the Father through prayer, and reading and meditating on His holy word found in the book we call the Bible, which contains His guidelines for our daily walk on this planet earth.
Now it’s not an easy walk, but if we stay steadfast in prayer and in the scriptures, we will be ably assisted by the Holy Spirit that dwells within it us, as our Guide and Comforter.
Yuh see friends, our wonderful God has it all planned out; we hang with Him, read His word and be guided by His Holy Spirit and we’ll be fine.
And what I want to deal with here today is the authority found in the scriptures and how they came to be. We’ll begin by listening to Bruh Paul as he tells his young protégé Timothy before our Bit.
‘But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.
All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim.3:14-17)
Yes friends, the Good Book has been created through godly inspiration to make us wise in Christ, so that we can achieve salvation and eternal life.
Wow! What a great God we serve and worship my brethren!
Now here are some insights from the scholars on those verses.’3:14-17. Continue literally means “remain.” The things which thou hast learned were his oral instruction in the holy scriptures (the Old Testament here) by his mother (Eunice) and grandmother (Lois).
Inspiration of God (Gr. theopneustos), lit, “God breathed”) describes the unique character of Scripture. It is not only written by men, but authored by God. For doctrine means to tell one what to believe. For reproof means to tell one what is wrong.
For correction means to tell one how to correct wrong. For instruction in righteousness means to tell one how to live. Perfect (Gr. artios, “proficient, capable”) is having everything needed to do what God wants.
Thoroughly furnished means “thoroughly equipped.” God’s inspired word, properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry.’
Ah my fellow believers, God has left nothing to chance, He has given us the groundwork for earthly living, filled with answers for any and every situation we’ll ever face! That’s why the Bible is called ‘The Book of Answers!’
And I’d be amiss if I didn’t share these further insights on Inspiration as set out by the scholars. ‘3:16. This (Inspiration) refers to the supernatural guidance of the writers of Scripture by the Spirit of God, so that what they wrote was the divine Word of God, transcribed accurately, reliably, and without error in the original manuscripts (“autographs”). The word inspiration itself pictures God breathing out His Word to men.
Illustration: Not everything written by an apostle or a prophet was necessarily inspired. Paul wrote at least three epistles to the Corinthians, but apparently only two were an inspired record (1 Cor.5:9). Samuel, Nathan and Gad each wrote accounts of David’s life, only one of those prophets produced and inspired record (1 Chr.29:29).
Application: Since the Scriptures are given to help the Christian grow in maturity, they should rely on them for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instructions in righteousness (right living). First Ref. Gen.1:3; Primary Ref. 2 Tim. 3:16-17; cf. 2 Pet.1:21).’
Oh friends, I do hope that all that info will help us better understand the use and purpose of the Bible, because it’s essential for us to do so, if we intend to grow in Christian maturity.
Now let’s go home this gracious Thursday morning declaring our Thursday Blessings with much enthusiasm and faith. Remember, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone.
All together now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life!
I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Now let’s go out into the world and make it all come through, with God’s help of course! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
13 Mar 2016
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a better tomorrow, a pure heart, accept conditions, Anselm's quotes, bickering, blessings, blood of the everlasting covenant, charity, children of God, choices in life, clarion call of Jesus, clay, cleanse, coaxed down, cold-turkey, comfort, compassion, complain, complaining, correction, Daylight Savings Time, dishonour, disputes, doctrine, encouragement, equipped, faith, fellowship, fight the good fight, fluctuating, friends, furnished, gentle, gold, good examples, good works, habits, honour, inertia, inspiration of God, LOVE, March break, may be perfect, meekness, patient, peace, penchant, profane, purge, reproof, responsibility, righteousness., sanctified, scripture, set apart, silver, sit on the fence, social media, spiritual strength, spring-like, step up to the plate, strife, sunshine, teach, technology, the circle of life, the God of peace, the grand scheme of things, the Holy Bible, the man of God, the shepherd of the sheep, the weather, those in opposition, time of need, tools, tossed out a window, truth, ungodliness, useless talk, vain babblings, vessels, walking hand in hand with Jesus, well-pleasing, wisdom, youthful lusts
2 Timothy 3:17. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.
Aye friends, how goes it this Sunday morning at the beginning of the March break, where so many people try to get away to the sunshine for a week or so?
But yuh know what? There might not be much sense in doing that this year, because the weather up here is more spring-like than winter. And it is fluctuating crazily; yesterday morning there was frost on the ground and on the cars parked outside, but by mid-afternoon the temperature was in the low to mid-teens.
And to add to all the weather fluctuations and craziness, this morning at 2 o’clock, the clocks went forward by an hour, initiating Daylight Savings Time, meaning that some people will lose an hour’s sleep, while those who are working will work an hour less. Now who all of that benefits I don’t know, but I do know that a lot of people, including me, don’t like it.
But then again, in the grand scheme of things, none of that really matters once we are walking hand in hand with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And since it’s Sunday, it means heading for the Lord’s sanctuary to praise and worship and give thanks as one harmonious body, and receiving His awesome blessings of spiritual strength, encouragement, compassion and LOVE, so that we can keep on fighting the good fight, and also help and comfort others in their time of need. It’s all about the circle of life and LOVE friends!
And since I haven’t shared a quote in some time from our friend Anselm, who aspires to inspire us today for a better tomorrow, I’ll now share two. (smile) The first one says that ‘A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.’
Now I do agree with that under certain circumstances, but there are some people who can only break their bad habits by throwing them out the window all at once, in other words going cold-turkey. I guess in the long run it all depends on the character of the person and the habit involved.
And the second quote from our friend Anselm declares: ‘There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.’
And that is the basic truth. We must either shut up and accept what we have, or step up to plate and do what is required to better the situation. Unfortunately though, too many of us just want to sit on the fence and complain and do nothing to solve the attendant problems, while hoping that someone else will fix them.
Now our current penchant for complaining and epidemic of inertia are two big reasons why our society is so messed up. We all want to live high on the hog but don’t want to do what it takes to accomplish that. And that’s rather unfortunate, because as children of God we have all the tools available at our disposal to function at a high level; namely God’s Word, the Holy Bible.
And as we recently saw, the verse before our Bit tells us that ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’ (2 Tim.3:16) Now why is that eh?
So ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’
So my people, we have all the tools for improving the world at our disposal, why aren’t we using them eh? We are obviously not following Bruh Paul’s advice earlier on his letter.
‘Study (be diligent) to show (present) thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (properly interpreting the Word of God). But shun profane and vain babblings (worthless talk): for they will increase unto more ungodliness.’ (2 Tim.2:15-16)
And that is exactly what’s happening in our society! This explosion of social media and its attendant technology have us involved in more useless talk and bickering than ever before.
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth (clay); and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge (cleanse) himself from these (the latter), he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified (set apart), and meet (useful) for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow (pursue) righteousness, faith, charity (LOVE), peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions (ignorant disputes) avoid, knowing that they do gender (generate) strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive (quarrel); but be gentle unto all men, apt (able) to teach, patient.
In meekness instructing (correcting) those that oppose themselves (who are in opposition); if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of (so that they may know) the truth; And that they may recover themselves (come to their senses) out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at (to do) his will).’ (2 Tim.2:20-26)
Oh my fellow believers, our duty is spelled out in black and white right there for us. And it’s not an easy duty, but with some diligence, some steadfastness, sincere faith and trust in God, we can all do much better than we’re currently doing. Remember the forging and growing of Jesus’ church, His LOVE Revolution is in our hands. As we go, so do His body, His influence and His saving of the world go.
And we’ll close with these immortal words of Bruh Paul from Hebrews. ‘Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect (complete) in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’ (Heb.13:20-21)
And that’s my sincere wish for all of us today my brethren. Now let’s get ourselves together, come to our senses, and do what is necessary to bring the rest of the world back to its senses, back to God where they belong. Much LOVE!
…only as believers live godly lives…be good examples…will the world ever respond to the clarion call of Jesus…
23 Feb 2014
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: all things were created by god, always be found, amazing things, authored by God, Bible, blessings, breath of life, collusion, Colossians, come true, correction, curses, deceitful communication, divine inspiration, divinely inspired, doctrine, dominions, dust of the ground, earth, earthly living, equipped, faith, families, Father of lights, fellow believers, formed man, friends, God doesn't change, God's inspired Word, God's wisdom, God's Word, good gift, good works, gospel truth, Guidebook of Life, heaven, Holy Scriptures, humility, inspiration of God, instruction, invisible, lead us astray, life, living soul, looking for God, LOVE, Loving and generous God, material possessions, ministry, praise and glorify your name, praise and thanks, principalities, profitable, prophesy, reproof, righteousness., scripture, serve, shadow of turning, shout of joy, stand strong and steadfast, stewards, strength, Thank You Lord, thrones, travel manual, uneducated men, unique character of scripture, variation, visible, what to believe, wisdom, worship
2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
And then it was Sunday – a new day… And all God’s people declared with a mighty shout of joy: ‘Thank You Lord! We praise and glorify Your Holy Name!’
And what are we praising and thanking God for? Why for everything we have or don’t have! For life, for all our material possessions, for our families and friends! That’s because He created the universe and all therein, which means everything belongs to Him, and He’s just being His kind, merciful, gracious, forgiving, LOVING self to allow us to use His stuff, as grateful stewards.
And how do we know that? Why of course because God’s Word says so! Bruh Paul explained it thus to the Colossians. ‘For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in (on) earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities (rulers), or powers (authorities): all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by (in) him all things consist.’ (Col.1:16-17)
Yes my brethren, God created everything, and He’s still holding it all together! Give Him praise and thanks, for He is indeed worthy of it!
Then, in talking about faith and humility, James boldly proclaims: ‘Do not err (be deceived), my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning.’ (James 1:16-17)
That means only good comes from our God, and since He doesn’t change, neither will His good gifts. So we obviously ought to be grateful to God for all that we have, especially the breath of life, because He LOVINGLY breathed it into us. ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Gen.2:7)
Wow mih breddren! What a LOVING and generous God we serve and worship!
But then that brings us to the all-important, ever-present and cantankerous question: How do we know that what’s supposed to be God’s Word is true? ‘Elementary, my dear Watson!’ As Sherlock Holmes would say to his sidekick.
In the first place, from a practical standpoint, EVERYTHING that’s written there, or was ever prophesied has come true, and ALL God’s promises, both blessings and curses, have been fulfilled! Plus His Word has been written over many centuries, so there’s been very little opportunity for collusion or any other such spurious or deceitful communication between the writers.
And then finally my fellow believers, because our Bit says it’s true. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’
Now Friends, that just had to be true, because our God specialized in using ordinary, much of the time, poor, uneducated men to convey His message, men who certainly could not have written such amazing things on their own strength and wisdom. And furthermore, all of us, believers and non-believers, do have some personal experience(s) of being divinely inspired in some aspect of our lives, at some time or other.
So it isn’t that far-fetched to imagine poor, uneducated men being granted divine inspiration to write what God wanted His people to know. ‘That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim.3:17) As we noted yesterday my brethren, the Holy Scriptures is our guidebook, our travel manual for earthly living.
Now listen to some explanations from the scholars. ‘3:16-17. Inspiration of God (Gr. theopneustos, lit., “God-breathed”) describes the unique character of scripture. It is not only written by men, but authored by God. For doctrine means to tell one what to believe. For reproof means to tell one what is wrong. For correction means to tell one how to correct wrong.
For instruction in righteousness means to tell one how to live. Perfect (Gr. artios, “proficient, capable”) is having everything needed to do what God wants. Thoroughly furnished means “thoroughly equipped.” God’s inspired Word, properly used and applied, provides all we need for life and ministry.’
So how can we ever go wrong by following God’s Word eh? NEVER, MY PEOPLE!
So please Friends, don’t let anyone lead us astray by telling us nonsense, that the Bible, the Good Book, our earthly travel guide, was not, and is not the divinely inspired Word of Almighty God, who created this universe and all in it!
Please stand strong and steadfast on the Holy Scriptures, for ‘The Bible is God’s Word to us, still fresh through all the ages. And if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom on its pages!’ And that’s the indisputable, irrefutable, unequivocal, gospel truth, my fellow believers! Much LOVE!
…looking for God…then look no further than your Bible…for He can ALWAYS be found…in His Holy Word…
SCRIP-BITS 