Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 September 2019 Ecclesiastes 12:13.

26 Sep 2019 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 12:13.    ​Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
 

Ah mih people, it looks like the ole fella’s been in lost mode this past week yes! First, I lost my I-pad in the Paris Airport, then I came home and got sick, then apparently on Monday when I went into the concrete jungle called Toronto to see the medic, I lost my cell phone. Brother! So now I am without cell phone or I-pad, and have a lousy cough that’s just irritating my asthma. 

I can do without the cell phone and the cough, but I miss my I-pad, because now I can’t play any games before I get my daily naps. (smile) Life’s certainly strange yes, for at first I didn’t want an I-pad, complained that it was too much technology, but they made me take it so I could stay in the electronic loop. And now I miss it. Chuh! I put in a Lost and Found Report on it, cost me money, and I’m still waiting to hear from them. 

According to my young daughter, the loss of the cell phone though was God’s mysterious movement because it’s time I got into the 21st century with a smart phone so I can stay connected. But I think it might just be His desire for me not to have a phone at all, (smile) because most of the time it’s turned off anyway. But who knows eh? We’ll just wait and see how it all plays out. Anyway, those are my present woes. 

However, when I opened the Good Book earlier on, it opened at these wise words of Cousin Sol, acting as the Preacher. ‘The preacher sought to find out acceptable (delightful) words: and that which was written was upright, even the words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads (to stimulate to action), and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies (collections), which are given by one shepherd. 

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:10-14) 

Mama Yo! That says it all friends! Our main duty on this earth is to reverence God and obey His commandments, and be very careful of our deeds, because He will eventually expose them all in the time of judgement, so we’d better make sure that they are mostly good deeds, whether they are done in secret or in public. 

And the scholars explain it thus: ‘12:12-14. God has not answered every problem of life, but He has commanded man to live joyfully, responsibly, and wisely. Finally, the controlling factor of all of life should be the fear of God, that is submission to God and His revelation (cf.Prov.1:7) The certainty of divine judgement demands it.’ 

And who in his right senses wouldn’t want to live joyfully, responsibly and wisely eh? Only a fool who has no knowledge of God! And since most of you won’t go and look up the above recommendation, I’ll spoon-feed us, as usual. (smile) Proverbs 1:7 declares (Steups! Yuh know I couldn’t even spell that right! What’s it with me and that word eh?) 

Anyway, Proverbs 1:7 declares (spelled it wrong again!) this most important warning: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ Yes my people, as I said earlier on, only a fool will turn away from worshipping, adoring, obeying and exalting Almighty God, because that’s where it’s all begins in this life, and also ends in the eternity of time! 

And the scholars make an interesting point here: ‘The beginning does not mean that “the fear of the Lord” is left behind in the course of acquiring wisdom, but that it is the controlling principle of wisdom.’ So “the fear of the Lord” should always be before us if we sincerely desire to search for wisdom, since we can’t acquire it without that reverential awe of the Most High God Jehovah. 

Now just a couple more scriptures to reiterate what Cousin Sol has said. Hear Moses, as he tells the Israelites about the Great Commandment. ‘That thou mightest fear (stand in awe of) the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.’ (Deut.6:2) That doesn’t require any rocket science to understand it. 

Now listen to the prophet Micah. ‘He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God.’ (Mic.6:8.) That doesn’t require any rocket science degree to understand it either! 

And finally listen to Jesus in reply to the hypocrite Pharisee lawyer: ‘Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.22:36-40) 

Now if you didn’t believe Moses, or Cousin Sol, or Micah, Jesus says the very same thing! So we have no excuses now not follow His directives. And our God is so wonderful that for those of us who sincerely desire to serve Him, He gives oodles of blessings to enable us to do it! Wow! What a great God we serve and worship my brethren! So let’s declare (right ho!) what we call our Thursday Blessings with loud voice and strong conviction: 

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!’ 

And lest we forget and get too caught up with foolish pride, (smile) those blessings are to be shared, not hoarded! Much LOVE! 

…let’s hope…that all we’ve said today…will goad us…into truly serving the Lord…(smile)

P.S. Yes, it’s somewhat long, and a tad late, but I likes it… (smile) Hope you do too. Much LOVE! 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 August 2015 Ecclesiastes 5:7‏

04 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 5:7.   For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.

Ah Friends, it was Caribana Monday, so the ole fella had to celebrate, which meant a late night – early morning scenario! Well it wasn’t any real celebration, just doing my family thing a little later than usual.

Anyway, Caribana Monday did turn out to be a beautiful summer’s day after all! Glory to God! That means most of the festivities planned for the day were able to go ahead and the day wasn’t spoiled for the many out of town visitors and our residents who look forward so much to the weekend, and the Monday holiday in particular.

However, as the song says, ‘The party’s over my friends, time to call it a day,’ time to get up and go out and labour on this fine Tuesday morning that has been specially prepared for us with many new blessings, and mercies. Give God a shout of praise and thanks for His wonderful goodness to us undeserving children of men!

And all God’s children loudly declared: ‘All praise and glory to our great and wonderful God who makes a way for us when there seems to be no way, and who provides for our every need, when we come before Him in humble obedience! Amen.’

Now here’s a li’l something from Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) from his Hour of Power Devotional. He calls it ‘POSSIBILITIES UNLIMITED.’

And it goes like this: ‘I can count the seeds in an apple. But, Lord – you alone can count the apples in one seed! Some things are impossible, Lord! It’s impossible for me to see immeasurable, unlimited possibilities in one fertile idea. Praise the Lord. Amen.’

And that’s solid truth my people. We can see the small, finite stuff, but only Almighty God who created the heavens and earth, in His great wisdom and foresight, can see the unlimited possibilities in any given idea. Glory to God!

Consequently, we need to come before Him in sincere prayer and humble obedience for Him to point out the numerous possibilities in each fertile idea with which He has blessed us.

Oh, we can possibly envision a few in our own strength, but to get the real gist and gumption, (smile) of what He desires of us, we have to have serious communication with our heavenly Father.

In all of that though Friends, we still need to consider the wise words of our Bit. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’ Everlasting truth that my people!

And the scholars explain this section about hasty vows thus. ‘5:1-7. The emphasis on the passage is on the folly of an empty religious profession before a sovereign God: God is in heaven, and thou upon earth. God expects sincerity and meaningfulness in worship. He is not impressed with foolish vows…’

And believe me Friends, we do make a lot of foolish vows to God, especially when we are caught up in the heat of a moment’s anguish and concern. But long, long ago, Moses exhorted the children of Israel with the Lord’s desires.

‘And now Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to LOVE him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, for thy good (benefit or welfare)?’ (Deut.10:12-13)

Yes my brethren, we need to ALWAYS remember that whatever our God commands, in the long run is for OUR benefit and welfare, not for His. I think we often lose sight of that most important fact, and thus murmur and complain unnecessarily when He asks us to do certain things.

Please remember that the Good Book is OUR lifeline to God, our guidebook, so that we can walk the straight and narrow path and eventually come to the throne of the Most High, reconciled and headed for salvation throughout eternity.

In His great and unconditional LOVE for us, He designed it so that we could find answers to whatever questions we might have down here on this frail and fallible earth. And many of us have problems we can’t solve because we don’t, we simply refuse to read that awesome Guidebook of Life!

But how can we know what God desires of us eh friends, if we don’t read His Word eh? We simply can’t. That’s why so much emphasis is placed on personal reading of the Bible. But as usual, too many of us are too proud, stubborn and arrogant to read it, preferring to decipher the whys and wherefores of life in our own strength.

However my people, that is undoubtedly a fool’s wisdom. What better way could there be to understand the ups and downs of life than through the words of the One who created life in the first place eh? None whatsoever!

And these words of Micah from times bygone, aptly paraphrase what the Lord expects of us. ‘He hath showed thee, O Man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Mic.6:8)

Yes Friends, it’s that simple; not rocket science or any other great mind exercise; do good and righteous deeds and walk in humble obedience before Him.

What’s so difficult to understand about that eh? It might not be always easy to put into action, but we do need to understand what is required of us before we can consider doing it. And I believe that’s where many of us fall down; we simply don’t understand, or refuse to understand God’s requirements for this pilgrim’s journey called earthly life.

And we’ll give the last word to Cousin Sol in his capacity as the Preacher. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)

That says it all Friends! So please, let’s be wise nuh, and go out and do just that, so that we may glorify our Great God and lay up storehouses of treasures in heaven for us to enjoy at a later date. That is true and simple wisdom. Much LOVE!

……be not hasty…consider thy words and thy works…before a just, holy and righteous God…

P.S.  Would you believe that just when I was ready to send out the already late Bit, my trusty sidekick, my desktop computer froze on me, and I had to reboot it? Ah Lord eh! The trials and tribulations we have to endure in this life eh! (smile) Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 April 2014 Proverbs 16:16

23 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

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

 Proverbs 16:16:      How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver.

 

Oh Friends, it’s Wednesday; a new day! I certainly hope you’re all looking forward to the new blessings, mercies, grace and forgiveness that our wonderful God has planned for us today!

 

And all God’s people declared a loud and lusty: ‘But of course! Everyday we look forward to our God’s new favour, as we try to walk in obedience to His Word!’

 

Oh what a great following we are my Friends. (smile) But by the same token, sometimes we get carried away by the ways of the world and stray from the straight and narrow path that’s connected to Jesus.

 

And as the Easter season begins to fade, many of us tend to either forget about what it means, or simply lessen its importance as the busyness of life gets in the way. That’s why this morning I was led to remind us that Jesus is wonderfully still alive, and also of what He’s done, currently doing and promises to do in the future in the lives of all His followers.

 

So here are the words of one of our favourite Resurrection Hymns, My Redeemer Lives. Let’s read or sing them aloud, so that they can take firm and solid root in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies, thus continually reminding us of the wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Jesus Christ.

 

A Saviour so in LOVE with us, that He paid for our detestable sins with His shed blood on Calvary’s cross, and is still out there working, pleading and advocating on our behalf. Wow! What a giant of a man and God!

 

Now let’s sing, or read out loud, these beautiful, uplifting words; words to encourage and strengthen our faith. In perfect harmony now Friends.

 

‘I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever living Head. He lives to bless me with His LOVE, He lives to plead for me above. He lives my hungry soul to feed, He lives to help in time of need.

 

He lives triumphant from the grave, He lives eternally to save, He lives all glorious in the sky, He lives exalted there on high. He lives to grant me rich supply, He lives to guide me with His eye, He lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to hear my soul’s complaint. He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears

 

He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives all blessings to impart. He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly Friend, He lives and LOVES me to the end; He lives, and while He lives, I’ll sing; He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death:

 

He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there. He lives, all glory to His Name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives!’

 

Ah mih people, how wonderful is our Jesus! And I surely hope that that gave us all a mighty lift, as we focused on Jesus and His unparalleled actions on our behalf.

 

And wonder of wonders, it all flows so smoothly into the wise advice of our Bit: ‘How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!’

 

And my brethren, by now, there should be no doubt in any of our minds as to the absolute truth, the indisputable veracity, (smile) and the ultimate wisdom of those words!

 

Now hear another of Cousin Sol’s proverbs on the subject: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.’ (Prov.15:33) More words of solid advice and truth my people!

 

And Friends, don’t for one moment believe that Cousin Sol is the only one who sings the praises of God’s wisdom. Listen to Jeremiah, as he too extols the power of wisdom in God’s arsenal of tools. 

 

‘He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.’ (Jer.10:12)

 

And mih people, Jerry thought that that was so nice, he wrote it twice. (smile) Chapter 51:15. In fact, Chapter 10:12-16, is exactly the same as Chapter 51:15-20. Please check it out.

 

And we’ll end this series of messages on the humongous importance of wisdom and understanding in a believer’s life, with these pertinent words from the Preacher.

 

‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)

 

Oh my people, what a fitting end to this message. It’s all there in black and white (sorry – blue and white) for us to see, read, mark and inwardly digest!

 

Let’s not be like the foolish men of this evil, ungodly world and refrain from accepting and inculcating the foundation tools from which our Christian faith springs. Much LOVE!

 

…oh wisdom…oh understanding…please fill my heart today with your wondrous presence…so that I may stay always close to my Redeemer…my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…