Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 April 2013 Matthew 6:24

13 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:24.     No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Oh Friends, the ole fella’s struggling this morning, and I just don’t know why.  Nothing’s particularly wrong in my life, but for some strange, unknown reason my spirit’s been at a low ebb. I obviously asked the Lord to bring me unto myself and unto Him, but it took a while to happen. My search for a Bit lasted over half an hour. That’s much longer than it usually takes. The important thing though is I didn’t give up and go, ‘woe is me.’ I kept persevering because deep down I knew that that too would pass, the Lord would eventually pull me up out of whatever mire in which I was wallowing. That’s the beauty of our God, my brethren! Though He may allow us to wallow for a while, to suit His own mysterious, superior purposes, He will NEVER leave us to do so forever, once we sincerely seek Him. And I guess that’s why Jesus kept telling His listeners to stop worrying about what they should eat and drink and wear, using examples of the birds and flowers, which don’t sow or toil, but due to the Lord’s generous mercy and grace have food in abundance, and turn out to be very beautiful. Even Cousin Sol in all his splendour and glory wasn’t as beautiful as the lilies of the field. (Matt.6:25-29) In other words, we shouldn’t be overly concerned or anxious about material things, especially those of us who don’t have a lot. Don’t stop seeking God in order to acquire material possessions. Instead, Jesus offers this advice. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow (do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:33-34) Yes my people, when we seek the Lord sincerely and conscientiously, all our material needs will be met. The scholars have this to say: ‘This portion of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized by the statement seek ye first the kingdom of God. The disciples who have pledged their allegiance to the King must continue seeking the kingdom and its righteousness. The present imperative form of the verb (Gr. Zeteo) indicates a continual or constant seeking. The contrast between the spiritual and the material is again emphasized. The believer is to seek first the righteousness that is characteristic of God’s kingdom, and then all these things (material things) shall be added to him. When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He provides. We need not even worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. This means that each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled, without worrying about the hypothetical problems that could arise tomorrow.’ And it’s rather interesting to see that all of that came about because of our Bit. ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ That’s so logical that even a blind man can see the truth in it! (smile) I like how the scholars explain it. ‘This kind of spiritual double vision causes one to believe he can serve two masters. Totally loyalty to God cannot be divided between Him and loyalty to one’s material possessions. A master (Gr. Kurios) is a lord or an owner. That God claims total lordship over His own is obvious in this passage. Therefore, Jesus rightly proclaimed, Ye cannot serve God and mammon. The term mammon is derived from the Aramaic term for possessions of wealth. Jesus is not condemning money or possessions in and of themselves, but the improper attitude of enslavement toward wealth.’ And that my people is the unfortunate bane of our existence in today’s society! We worship wealth and material possessions, treasure them and in of themselves, not as mere tools, not simply as what they can do for us. Right there we’re contravening the first commandment: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:3) And that’s not very wise my brethren, because earthly possessions are just that; they rot, are stolen and eaten away by insects, and when you die, they stay right here on earth. You don’t take a single thing with you. So why give them such prominence in our lives eh? Granted, they are important, but seeking and worshipping Almighty God is even more important, because in the first place, it’s He who causes us to get earthly wealth, and secondly also provides us with the two most important things, salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ, when we give up this earthly body. Now let’s look at a few scriptures that support our Bit. Bruh Paul told the Galatians in no uncertain terms: ‘For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.’ (Gal.1:10) You can’t please men and please Christ too. Then he tells Timothy: ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (give), willing to communicate (share); Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim.6:17-19) So Friends, being rich is not a problem, it’s what we do with our riches. The scholars correctly explain that ‘Salvation is not purchased by the giving of money, but generosity demonstrates the reality of one’s faith. Since the believer trusts God and not money, he gives. This giving shows where his heart is and that he views his wealth in light of eternity.’ Meanwhile James adamantly declares: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy (makes himself the enemy) of God.’ (James 4:4) And finally from John: ‘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, truer words were never spoken! It’s now up to us as individuals to believe or disbelieve those facts and act accordingly. I would definitely advise us to play it safe and believe, for disbelief will doom your soul to eternal separation from Jehovah God, the worse fate that can befall a man. Much LOVE!…anything that keeps or takes us away from God…is an idol…and thus sinful…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 December 2012 Psalm 89:48

15 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 89:48.     What man is he that liveth, and shall not see (experience) death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand (power) of the grave?   Selah.
 
Oh Friends, when will it end eh? When will we learn that those who live by the gun, die by the gun? The U.S. is so proud of its gun culture, that in some states people legally walk around with guns plainly showing in their waist bands, and it’s easy as pie to buy firearms down there. Unfortunately, another massacre, this time of 20 elementary school children and some 8 adults took place at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut yesterday. It seems like the 20 year old shooter first took his mother’s life at her home, then did his evil deed at the school, including his own life. Oh people, what does it say about our society when it’s the youth, the young people who are committing such atrocities? Not a hell of a lot! We obviously are not raising them right. And yet the criminal, but very powerful gun lobby in the U.S spends millions of dollars every year to keep gun control off the law books, rationalizing it with their right to bear arms. Steups! This past year they even sent representatives and money to lobby the Canadian Government when those fools were intent on repealing the Gun Registry law, despite the call of all law enforcement agencies and the majority of citizens for it to stay in force. But with the Conservative majority in Parliament, that law is now history. Even the data, the Feds want to destroy. And with their culture being the biggest U.S. export, the lax gun laws down there are obviously contributing to our gun problems up here, where smuggled guns are now fairly cheap and easily obtained, where in this past year we’ve seen several daylight shootings in public places, with no apparent fear of, or respect for the law. And again it’s mostly young people committing these crimes. I don’t understand the Feds up here nuh; they claim to be coming down harder on gun crimes, but are killing legislation that helps to keep the guns somewhat in check. It seems that it’s only when the families and friends of the gun manufacturers, the gun dealers, gun enthusiasts and greedy, spineless politicians are gunned down by some disturbed person that we’ll wake up and realize the stupidity of it all. Anyway, on a less fearful note, but still on the subject of death, here’s a quote I planned to share even before I heard about the terrible tragedy in Connecticut. The quote is attributed to American socialist philosopher, Corliss Lamont (1902-1995), and says: ‘The wise man looks at death with honesty, dignity and calm, recognizing that the tragedy it brings is inherent in the great gift of life.’ Oh Friends, the statement makes sense, because we all know that one day we will meet our Maker, but nonetheless death is a subject we still can’t handle and try our best to ignore. Believers in Jesus Christ though should not fear death, because it’s after this earthly demise that the real good life and living begins, in the company of the Holy Trinity for eternity. No wonder Bruh Paul, given a choice would have opted for being with Christ in the spirit, rather than on earth in the flesh. And as our Bit says: ‘What man is he that liveth, and shall not see (experience) death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand (power) of the grave?  Selah.’ The answers Friends are NONE and NO! Nowlet’s look at some scriptures re death, that inspire us and give us hope. The psalmist in Psalm 116, Praise for deliverance from death, says it thus: ‘Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’ (Ps.116:15) And every believer knows that to be the undeniable truth! Meanwhile Isaiah staunchly proclaims: ‘He (God) will swallow up death in victory (forever); and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ (Is.25:8-9) Gospel truth Friends, pure gospel truth made real in the person of Jesus! ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death into life.’ (John 5:24) And all of that led Bruh Paul to make his famous pronouncement, quoting Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14. ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ (1 Cor.15:54-55) Then we come to the final times in Revelation, where Jesus having overcome death, and speaking from His spot of power at the right hand of the Father, tells John: ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.’ (Rev.1:17-18) And all God’s children breathed a sigh of relief and intoned a heartfelt; ‘Thank You Jesus!’ Then in His message to the church at Smyrna, Jesus says to them: ‘Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried (tested); and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: He that overcometh shall not be hurt by the second death.’ (Rev.2:10-11) And that second death is the eternal punishment, separation, when Lucifer and his cohorts are cast into the lake of fire. (Rev.21:3-4) That means if you aren’t saved, you’ll suffer eternal separation from Jesus, a thought too terrible to even contemplate. Then Friends, shall the great day come, when the New Jerusalem, the New Earth is brought into being, and with it, this wonderful news. ‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev.21:3-4) Oh my brethren, it can’t get any better than that, but to enjoy it you must be saved, with your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. So please turn to Jesus today, RIGHT NOW, unless you want to be cast into the lake of fire at the final judgement. Jesus gave up too much for us to act so cowardly and foolishly. Much LOVE!…in death with Jesus…there’s life for ever…Glory Hallelujah…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 August 2012 1 John 4:16

22 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 John 4:16.      And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth in LOVE dwelleth in God, and God in him.
 
Oh Friends, the word for today is LOVE! It is the supreme attribute and characteristic of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore it should also be the supreme characteristic of those who claim to follow Him. And how do we know that LOVE is the major attribute of our God eh? Because His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ told us so. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) And Jesus later corroborates that feeling of LOVE by saying: ‘Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.’ (John 15:13-14) And what did Jesus do shortly after that? He gave His sinless, holy life as a sacrifice on the cross at Calvary for His Friends, those who were doing as He instructed! Wow! What a champion my people! Just think about it nuh Friends, Jesus gave up His good life in heaven to come to earth and die for us, a bunch of unworthy sinners, so that we could be reconciled to The Father, and receive forgiveness of our sins, salvation and eternal life. Now if that isn’t the highest form of selflessness, which in this case denotes absolute LOVE, I don’t know what is. Jesus walked His talk! And so should we. But sadly Friends, our world is desperately lacking in that kind of selflessness. Instead everything begins and ends with ‘Me, My, I and Mine.’ In contrast to that, selflessness talks about ‘You and Yours,’ puts the other person’s welfare first. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if God, then Jesus, had said: ‘Chuh pool! They’re just a bunch of ignorant, disobedient, rebellious, lustful, fleshly, pleasure bound no goods. Leave them be, and let them fend for themselves. They think they know everything anyway. And if they want to follow that fool Lucifer, then let them. They’ll pay the price of death and eternal separation for their stupidity, just like he will.’ But no my brethren, the Lord God Jehovah made every one of us, and just like we LOVE even our most rebellious, disobedient children, He LOVES us the same way too! Please note when our children do wrong and end up in the courts, or prison, we still don’t give up on them, although they may justly deserve their punishment. No, we still pray for them, talk to them, and try to show them the error of their ways, notwithstanding that we’ve been preaching the same sermon to them from their youth. Friends, it’s the same way our great, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God felt, and still feels about us. As John says in our Bit: ‘And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth (abides) in LOVE dwelleth in God, and God in him.’ Those are powerful words of truth my people! If God could do us such a great favour, we should also be able to do it to our fellow humans. And it doesn’t necessarily mean actually giving up one’s physical life, although in some cases it can, but it refers to more of a selfless attitude towards others, thinking about their well-being above ours, making sure they are well taken care of, helping them in any way we can. Oh my Friends, the basic premise of God’s LOVE is that we don’t only look out for ourselves, but also for others. As John asks earlier on: ‘But whoso hath this world’s good (goods), and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion (heart) from him, how dwelleth the LOVE of God in him?’ (1 John 3:17) It obviously doesn’t, my people! Now listen to Jesus, when Judas Iscariot asked how He would manifest Himself to the disciples and the world. ‘If a man LOVE me, he will keep my words; and my Father will LOVE him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him.’ (John 14:23) It’s simple Friends, if we truly LOVE Jesus, we will keep His commandments. As the scholars say: ‘The divine indwelling (of the Holy Spirit) is conditional on LOVE, and obedience to Jesus’ words. The Word of the gospel is primarily (though not exclusively) in view here.’  And John tells it this way: ‘And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and LOVE one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.’ (1 John 3:23-24) Oh Friends, that’s the gospel truth! Please let’s ponder that scripture today and see how it works in our lives, so that we can better represent Jesus here on earth. More on this tomorrow, provided we’re still breathing. Till then, let’s all try and walk in as much LOVE as possible nuh. Much LOVE!…he who truly walks in LOVE…is a true reflection of Jesus…and truly pleases Him…
 
 

Next Newer Entries