Today’s Scrip-Bit    13 September 2023 Genesis 41:28.

13 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 41:28.       This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharoah: What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh.

And Wednesday has opened somewhat cool and cloudy, but the sun is valiantly fighting for survival, and who knows how it will turn out? We just have to hope for the best and believe that whatever comes our way, we will be able to handle it with the grace of our great God. And all God’s people said a loud ‘Hallelujah! Amen!’ 

That’s the beauty of living with and for Jesus; nothing that happens will steal our peace or bring us to the point where we lose interest and thus faith in Him. For once He is in our life, we are surely more than conquerors, and can do all things that He desires, through the awesome power of His Holy Spirit. So, one thing believers ought not to fall prey to is the satanic encouraged emotion of fear. For as Bruh Paul so rightly writes to Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) 

And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! Our omnipotent God has certainly not given us a spirit of fear! Why would He when He is the supreme ruler of the universe and all therein? Surely, He would not want His followers to be afraid, but rather to be strong and unflappable like Him. (smile) Anyway, with that li’l pep talk for this Wednesday morning, let’s get back to the drama that is Bruh Joseph’s story. Yesterday, we left off where Pharaoh told Bruh Joseph his dream. Today, we’ll pick it up where Bruh Joseph interprets Pharoah’s dream. 

The Good Library tells it thus: ‘And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine (cows) are seven years; and the seven good ears (of corn) are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill favoured kine (ugly cows) that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears (of corn) blasted (blighted) with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.’ (Gen. 41:25-27) 

And who says our great God doesn’t move in mysterious ways eh? Who else would have thought to place such a mixed-up dream in Pharaoh’s mind, all to the favour of a young Hebrew man ensconced so unfairly in the Pharoah’s jail? No one but our great and omnipotent God! 

Then Bruh Joseph continued to Pharaoh. ‘This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharoah: What God is about to do he showeth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout the land of Egypt: and there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume (deplete the food) of the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following: for it shall be very grievous. And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice (repeated); it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.’ (Gen. 41:28-32) 

Wow! Imagine this young Hebrew man expounding to one of the most powerful rulers in the world on what his Hebrew God planned to do in the near future. Poor Pharaoh must certainly have wondered what was really happening. But to his credit, he listened intently to Bruh Joseph’s words. 

And so he continued: ‘Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet (discerning) and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers (overseers) over the land, and take up the fifth part (of the produce) of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn (grain) under the hand (authority) of Pharoah, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store (a reserve) to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through famine.’ (Gen. 41:33-36) 

Bruh Joseph was certainly in his element, telling the great Pharoah how to handle the affairs of his country. No doubt he was buoyed by the grace of God, the spirit that made him not afraid to speak what God was saying to him. Now that’s how we ought also to be my faithful brethren; unafraid to speak God’s word, regardless of how worldly powerful the person or people with whom we are communicating. And sadly, in these trying and fearful times, many of us believers are indeed afraid to voice the truth(s) of our faith, afraid that we will either be rejected and shunned by our peers, or in some cases actually punished for our faith. 

But remember, as we said earlier, God did not give us a spirit of fear, but one of LOVE, power and a sound or disciplined mind, which means we have to be like Bruh Joseph and stand up bravely and speak whatever truth the Lord desires us to speak to whomever He directs us to speak. And yes, that’s easier said than done, but that’s all a part of our discipleship in Christ. Remember the tough requirements to become a member of that august and awesome group? ‘Jesus said to them all, If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) 

Yes friends, that means every day we draw breath, we’re expected to take up our cross and do like Jesus did, sacrifice ourselves if, when, and where necessary. There can’t be any hemming and hawing or wishy-washy behaviour when it comes to representing Christ to the world at large. And if God decides to spare our lives, tomorrow we’ll continue with the amazing saga of Bruh Joseph, but now, let’s go home declaring (chuh!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus! 

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

And my brethren, it’s been promised that if we endure to the end with Jesus, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So please, let’s plan to meet at the very end with Jesus and enjoy that future nuh! It’s the wisest decision we can ever make! Much LOVE!

…faithful disciples of Christ…are not afraid to speak their truth… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 December 2015 Revelation 1:3‏

02 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 1:3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Oh my people it’s a brand new day! Glory be! That means there are things for us to do, plans for us to accomplish in the Lord’s name, otherwise we would have read our names in the obits this morning. (smile) Oh glory to God for being such a wonderful Saviour and Provider! 

So let’s proclaim, as the psalmist did: ‘This is the day the Lord has made. We WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ 

Yes friends, every day that we’re alive should be one of rejoicing and giving thanks and praise for all that we enjoy. But to do that we have to do one thing in particular; develop a positive approach to life and dwell therein. 

And we have a two for one offer today on the subject from our Friend Anselm, who always tries to inspire us to have a better tomorrow. The first quote says: ‘In order to carry a positive action we must develop a positive vision.’ That’s oh so true my people, we can’t do positive stuff unless we have a positive outlook. 

And the second quote gives us some insight into how to accomplish the ‘positivity’ in our lives.  ‘You can make positive deposits in your own economy every day by reading and listening to positive, life-changing content, and by associating with encouraging and hope-building people.’ 

What glorious truth my brethren! We can only become positive and stay positive by reading positive stuff and associating with positive, hope-filled people on a regular basis. And the most positive book in the world is the Bible! And the most positive people ought to be Christians! 

So what does that tell us eh? That we ought to read the Bible regularly and associate with Christians to a great extent. 

Now we can’t only associate with Christians, otherwise we’d lose opportunities to witness to the unbelievers, both by word and deed, and personal witnessing is one of our great tools for spreading God’s Word. 

And to help us stay in a positive mode and frame of mind, let’s do what we do on Wednesdays nuh; that is proclaim our Wednesday Wail. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. 

My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Oh my people, my people, what a wise and wonderful way to look at life! We’re not looking back, but ahead, running our race of glory with our eyes fixed on the prize of one day seeing Jesus in heaven, having Him place a crown of righteousness on our heads and enthusiastically saying: ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servant!’ 

Nothing can be sweeter or more worthwhile than that my fellow believers! But to have that wonderful encounter in heaven, we need to do certain things down here on earth. And our Bit says it all: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ 

Yes friends, we desperately need to follow that dictate. Remember the scholars told us yesterday that our Bit has a three-part condition to it: we need to READ the Good Book, then HEAR or UNDERSTAND it, and finally KEEP or OBEY it! Yes my brethren, that’s the magic formula for piling up rewards in heaven and being welcomed by a beaming Christ at the end of our earthly pilgrimage! 

Well, in truth, there is nothing magical to it, but more a lot of things like hope and faith and belief, forgiveness, LOVE and perseverance. Those are the essentials for obtaining our eventual goal, of one day being welcomed by Christ in heaven. 

Now let us look at some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. And there’s no better way to begin than with the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. One day, while explaining to His listeners that a divided house cannot stand, the Good Book tells us. 

‘And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company (crowd) lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked (the breasts which nursed thee). But he said, Yea, rather (more than that) blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.’ (Luke 11:27-28) 

And the scholars have an interesting explanation on those verses.’11:27-28. These verses are unique to Luke. They show that spiritual relationship with Jesus is more important than family ties, and that blessedness is a matter of both hearing and doing God’s word.’ 

Oh friends, we can never overstate the importance of reading, hearing and doing God’s Word! 

Now let’s end with the opening passage from Psalm 119 – ALEPH – The Lord’s judgements are righteous. ‘Blessed are the undefiled (blameless) in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.’ (Ps.119:1-3) 

Yes my precious people, that’s gospel truth! So today, and everyday henceforth, let’s show our wisdom by doing what it says nuh. That way we can be assured of a great welcome in heaven by Jesus and all the saints. Much LOVE!

…oh when the saints…go marching in…oh when the saints go marching in…oh Lord…I want to be in that number…when the saints go marching in…