Psalm 64:1: Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, another new day has dawned, just like so many others down through the ages! Wow!
Aren’t you excited? I sure hope so, because this new day is also loaded with blessing and mercies just like every other day that has so far dawned! So let’s give our most wonderful God and Creator some thanks and praise for that nuh.
Please pray with me. ‘Father God, our minds are small compared to yours. That means our vocabulary is also small, and consequently we have to use the same words most of the time to thank and praise You. But we know that You’re a magnificent and magnanimous God, very aware of our frailties and deficiencies, and thus understands our situation. So You don’t mind if we repeat ourselves, once our hearts are filled with the right spirit and motives.
Today we thank You, many times over, for creating and looking after us. And we just want to tell You this morning, that we LOVE You Lord! Yes Father, we truly do. And we’re also eternally grateful for all You’ve done, are doing, and plan to do for us, even though we don’t deserve most of it.
Oh, and we can never thank You enough for sacrificing Your innocent, sinless Son Jesus, so that we could have salvation and eternal life in Your awesome presence.
Oh gracious Lord, we thank and praise You this Wednesday morning, humbly asking that You keep allowing Your Holy Spirit to work in us, to lead and guide us along that straight and narrow path that joyfully ends in your heavenly embrace.
We LOVE You Lord, and glorify Your Holy Name! All this we pray on the shed blood of Jesus that washed us clean from all sin.’ And all God’s people declared a loud and heartfelt ‘AMEN!’
Oh mih people, you know that you can’t let the ole fella loose! You have to keep him on a tight rein, otherwise he’ll just run off, like a rider-less horse. (smile)
But seriously though, once you get caught up in praying and thanking our heavenly Father, it just seems right, easy and never ending. You feel His Spirit just moving and grooving in you, awakening and raising up all the wonderful stuff He’s embedded in us from the day we acknowledged His amazing Son Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. That’s because we were created to be praying and prayerful beings.
No wonder Bruh David prayed so often, and wrote so many heartfelt prayers, like this one in our Bit. ‘Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer (meditation or complaint): preserve my life from fear of the enemy.’
And today we’ll continue looking at scriptures that show us the value of sincere prayer. Let’s begin with King Hezekiah’s prayer in his time of sickness and healing as revealed in Isaiah 38.
‘In those days was Hezekiah sick unto (and near) death. And Isaiah, the prophet the son of Amos came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, And said, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect (loyal) heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore (bitterly). (Is.38:1-3)
Oh Friends, that solemn, heartfelt prayer of Hezekiah’s, reminding the Lord how he had always walked with and sought after Him with a right heart, caused the Lord to send Isaiah back to Hezekiah with this awesome promise.
‘Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city.
And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees (on the sundial), which is gone down in (which has gone down with the sun on) the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, (on the dial) by which degrees it was gone down.’ (Is.38:5-8)
Oh Friends what an awesome, powerful and amazing God we worship! God knew all that Hezekiah had done, but until he came to Him in sincere prayer, his life was going to be filled with sickness, even close to death. Then you see the awesome miracle He worked as a sign; turning the sundial back ten degrees.
Wow! Who else could accomplish such an amazing feat eh? None but the One who had created the sun in the first place!
It’s the same way, my fellow believers that the Lord knows all of our doings, but He made us to come to Him, and until we do that on a right basis, we won’t be granted all the relief or blessings and mercies possible.
Now listen to Bruh David pleading in prayer for deliverance from evil men. ‘Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man; Which imagine mischiefs (plan evil things) in their heart, continually are they gathered together for war. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders (asps’) poison is under their lips. Selah.
Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings (make my steps stumble). The proud have hid a snare (set a trap) for me, and cords; they have spread a net by the wayside; they have set gins (traps or snares) for me. Selah.’ (Ps.140:1-5)
Oh Friends, if great and powerful kings could bow down to Jehovah God and plead for respite from their problems, who are we eh, to think that we can get by otherwise?
That again is a fool’s wisdom my people! That’s because part of our purpose is to be consistently on our knees, bowing before Almighty God, giving Him thanks and praise, as well as asking for help in time of need.
Please, let’s all remember that and therefore do as we ought; pray to and praise Almighty God, for that’s the true wisdom of all the ages. Much LOVE!
…when in sincere prayer we come to God…He listens with a fatherly ear…and then answers as a LOVING father would…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 June 2013 Hebrews 10:23
04 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: can't find jobs, captains of industry, communion with Jesus, corrupt politicians, don't be afraid, double minded, eternal life, excellent qualifications, excuse, faith, global village, globalization, God's faithful, gospel truth, greed, grow in faith, hold fast, human-rights, hunger and thirst for righteousness, hungry hope, in God's good time, inept leaders, inhumane practices, keep life and limbs together, lackeys, lay offs, LOVE, maximize profits, peace, peace of mind, prosperous society, ruse, salvation, shortsightedness, sufferation, thankful for jobs, the confession of our faith, the wicked will eventually pay, union with Jesus, unity, waivering faith
Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Oh Friends, it’s already Tuesday! Wow! That means Friday and Freedom soon come! (smile) Yeh mih people, I know that many of us are labouring under less than ideal conditions, in less than ideal jobs. But as we sang in our Battle Hymn yesterday, we’re still thankful for them because they at least keep life and limbs together.
Unfortunately though, there are so many many today, in this supposedly prosperous society, who don’t have jobs, in fact can’t find one, even though they have excellent qualifications, and sadly, many more are being laid off every day.
Ah Lord eh! What a mess of things these foolish, misguided, inept, corrupt politicians whom we call leaders, have made of this world!
That’s because they aren’t true leaders, but just the lackeys of the greedy, short-sighted, inhumane captains of industry, who are only concerned about the almighty bottom line and the abnormal profits they can make. They don’t give a damn about those they condemn to ‘sufferation’ through their inhumane practices!
And all this talk about globalization and a global village is just that, a ruse, an excuse for them to move their money, means of production and power anywhere around the world so that they can maximize their profits on the backs of the struggling poor of the new country, without an iota of concern for those unfortunates they’ve left high and dry behind in their last location.
But Friends, as the Good Book says so many times over, the wicked, the greedy and the proud will eventually pay for their evil deeds. Yes, my brethren, all will be made right in God’s good time. There’s absolutely no doubt about that, because we know that our God has promised it, and He’s eternally faithful, as the end of our Bit declares.
Therefore ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’
Yes my people, since our great God promised us eventual peace, LOVE, salvation and eternal life, and since He never reneges on a promise, then it is absolutely essential, totally necessary for us to keep hold of the hope and expectation that’s to be found in our faith.
And I like how somebody termed it, a hungry hope. Yes my brethren, we must exhibit a hunger and thirst for righteousness as our faith demands. For without a palpable hunger gnawing at our souls, our faith is very liable to waiver, and then we’ll become insecure, double minded and very wobbly, with no peace of mind about the issues of our faith.
And that is definitely not a welcome trait in a believer, for as James so wisely points out: ‘A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:8) And that’s a proven fact Friends!
In any case, even if we have nothing else, a believer ought to have peace of mind, because that’s one of the reasons Christ sacrificed His sinless life for us on that ghastly cross.
Listen to His assuring words on the subject. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
So my fellow believers, having received that unsurpassable peace of Jesus, let’s look at some scripture that then assures us of God’s faithfulness, starting in 1 Corinthians.
Right from the very beginning, in his introduction and greeting, Bruh Paul confidently assures them that, ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.1:9)
Now hear this useful explanation from the scholars. ‘Unto the fellowship of his Son: The term ‘fellowship’ includes both union and communion. The Corinthian believers have been brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, this great truth implies that they had been brought into communion with one another. Here in a nutshell is the theme of this epistle.’
And so have we also my brethren, been brought into union and communion with Christ and each other. Unfortunately though we don’t seem to regard those two things as highly as we should, otherwise our lives would not be as lacking as they are in true LOVE and unity, both with Christ and with each other.
But that’s a topic for another day. And anyway, if there’s real truth in our hearts, we all know that we’re not being as Christ-like and righteous as we ought to and can be.
Now let’s end with this scripture from 1 Thessalonians, where Bruh Paul exhorts them to stand strong in the faith, and do what is right, because ‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’ (1 Thess.5:24)
And that’s the gospel, gospel truth my Friends!
Once the Lord calls us to Him, or to do anything for Him, He will faithfully see us through it. Please have no doubts about that, cause I can testify to it from personal experience.
However, it is still very necessary that each and every believer should experience that faithfulness for themselves, because it’s only as each of us personally experiences God’s goodness, mercy, LOVE and faithfulness that we’ll individually grow in faith.
So please hang in there, even if times are rough, and do whatever God calls you to do. You’ll see that He won’t ever let you down, and your faith will grow as a consequence of it all. Much LOVE!
…if God had not planned on being faithful to us…He’d never have sent Jesus to die for us…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 May 2013 Acts 2:4
21 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a kind word, after you, better world, Christ's Church, Christian living, Christian soldiers, disaster, dissension, division, each one, faith, fellowship, handshake, harmony, healing, Holy Ghost, hug, humble apologies, knowledge, live better, marching to war, maturity in Christ Jesus, miracles, misfortune, old hymn, power of the holy spirit, principles of jesus, sense of oneness, sense of togetherness, smile, speaking in tongues, spirituality, testimony, thank you, tornados, treat one better, unity of the Holy Spirit, wisdom
Acts 2:4. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
‘Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war. With the cross of Jesus, going on before.’
Oh Friends and fellow believers, are we living the kind of life that old hymn depicts? Is the testimony of our lives reflecting the principles of Jesus embedded in it? Do our actions verify the words we speak?
I would like to think so, but from the sad and sorry state of our world, our church and our individual lives, it just doesn’t seem so. For there is no way that we could ever be living a godly life and yet be engulfed in so much misfortune and disaster on a worldwide scale.
Just look at the many natural disasters that are occurring, and with increasing frequency too. Recent examples of just this past weekend are the terrible tornados that touched down in Oklahoma, reputedly killing 51 people. Then we had snow in Newfoundland; 58 centimetres in 36 hours, beating the record of 49 centimetres for the whole month of May. There were also serious snowstorms in the U.S Midwest, and the Canadian Province of Manitoba.
The natural disasters just keep happening. And I won’t even bother to mention the many man-made ones, for we see, hear about, and experience them every day.
Oh Friends, this is a wake up call! For if we want to live in a better world, or see our children live in one, then we absolutely have to live better with each other, starting RIGHT NOW.
And the great thing is that it doesn’t have to increase by leaps and bounds and all at once. That would be highly unrealistic. A little bit each and every day is fine. If each of us decided that every day we’d treat at least one person we come into contact with decently, you wouldn’t believe the great multiplier effect it would have.
A good motto would be: Each one, treat one better every day. And it doesn’t have to be anything special, or anything we go to great lengths to do or provide. A simple handshake, a hug, a smile, a kind word, a ‘thank you’, or ‘after you’, or ‘I appreciate that’ will do.
Those simple, decent, everyday things will eventually forge a harmony, a sense of togetherness in mankind, the way Jesus desires. That’s why He sends His Holy Spirit to indwell us when we accept Him as Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit is supposed to bring a sense of oneness, of fellowship, of belonging to the same body, Christ’s church.
But unfortunately we don’t seem to be using it for that purpose, because the great amount of dissension and division currently present in Christ’s church certainly doesn’t reflect that unity of the Holy Spirit.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’
Yes my brethren, such is the power of the Holy Spirit, that it can work many wonders in us, and also cause us to work many wonders!
In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 – please read it for yourself – Bruh Paul talks about the spiritual gifts given to each of us; whether it be wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, the working of miracles, etc. etc.
‘But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing (distributing) to every man severally (individually) as he will.’ (1 Cor.12:11)
Each of us has a special gift or gifts given to us, but it all comes from the same, the one and only Holy Spirit of Christ. Just like our physical bodies have different parts to perform different functions, likewise we have individual gifts to do certain things, which in concert, are expected to bring together and solidify the necessary aspects and functions of Christ’s church here on earth.
Bruh Paul spells that out for us in 1 Corinthians 12. ‘For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into the one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond (slaves) or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.’ (1 Cor.12:12-13)
That’s why my fellow believers, it is so important to use those gifts we’ve been given. We can only spread God’s Word, increase His kingdom and thus glorify Him by doing the things He’s gifted and entrusted us to do.
If we don’t, then we won’t be able to fulfill the mandate given to us by Christ: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
But until we understand what the Holy Spirit is all about, how it works in us, and how we’re supposed to use it, we won’t be able to maximize its resources and great potential. That statement leads me to chuckle, because I had fully intended to continue explaining the two basic aspects of the Holy Spirit; baptism, as we read yesterday, and the filling and regeneration today. But obviously I got somewhat sidetracked. (smile)
But that’s okay, because we still dealt with the topic of the Holy Spirit. And anything we can learn about it is going to prove invaluable in all areas of our well being, be it physical, or spiritual, earthly or heavenly. So I’m asking us to please remember that the Good Book and the Holy Spirit are the two main tools we have for wise Christian living on this ungodly earth.
More on the Holy Spirit tomorrow, God in favour. Till then, please walk safely, using the tools and gifts the Lord has given us to enable us to LOVE Him, LIVE our Faith, and to SPREAD His Holy Word. Much LOVE!
…our maturity in Christ…depends in direct proportion to how we use our gifts and tools…
P.S. The Bit’s somewhat late because I got up late. Stayed up till some ungodly hour watching hockey. Please accept my most humble apologies. (smile) Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 May 2013 Psalm 40:6
16 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: atonement for sins, awesome truth, blessings, burnt offerings, christianity, contrite hearts, faith, forgiveness, formalism, heart reality, loving kindness, mercy, one more day, one more morning, path to righteousness, peace offerings, penitence, psalm 40, reception of God's goodness, sacrifices, showers of grace, sin offerings, truly blessed, unblemished Lamb of God, understanding, walk humbly, windows of heaven, wisdom
Psalm 40:6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire: mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
And the choir sang: ‘One more morning, One more day. Filled with blessings and mercies new. One more morning, One more day. The Lord’s opened the windows of heaven, and sent us grace, through forgiveness; sufficient for One more morning, One more day.’ Oh Friends, are we ready to receive the steady showers of grace, mercy, blessings and forgiveness that our wonderful God is preparing to rain down on us today? I surely hope so. Because, if we’re not, then we’ll be missing something very special in our lives, something only believers can experience and receive. And therein lies the rub; the reception of God’s goodness. Many of us know and talk about it, but don’t really receive it. And that part is solely up to us. It’s just like if someone offers us something physical. If we don’t accept and receive it, we’ll never have it. It’s the same principle with God’s LOVING-kindness, only this time it’s spiritual and not physical offerings, but you still have to actually receive it in and by faith. A good example is when we ask for forgiveness, the Lord grants it, but until we acknowledge it ourselves, and actually feel forgiven, the forgiveness is wasted. So it’s essential that each and everyday, we brace ourselves to sincerely receive God’s grace, mercy and blessings through our faith and the help of the Holy Spirit that indwells us. That will enable us to get on and stay on the path to righteousness. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. And all God’s people gave a mighty shout of ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ And in passing, I’d like to say that the weatherman actually got it right yesterday, because by mid-morning the sun had come our bright and sparkling, though the wind played a hard and fast tune all day. Hurrah for the weatherman! (smile) When he screws up, we let him know, so in all fairness we should applaud him when he gets it right. And he says it’s going to be hot and sunny again today. Let’s hope he can get it right two days straight. And now turning to our Bit: ‘ Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire: mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.’ Words of awesome truth my brethren! Sacrificing things or animals doesn’t cut it with our God. As we saw yesterday, it’s our penitent and contrite hearts and minds that He’s interested in. Today, we’ll continue to highlight scriptures that deal with this fact. Listen to the prophet Amos on God’s behalf, in a call to repentance. ‘I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell (savour) in your solemn (sacred) assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols (stringed instruments). But let judgement (justice) run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.’ (Amos 5:21-24) That’s surely telling us eh! The scholars explain that scripture thus. ‘I hate, I despise your feast days: Religious activity without heart reality is repugnant to God. God-ordained forms of worship and religious expression without heart reality become only nauseating, empty formalism: and they anger rather than appease God.’ Truth in spades my people! And if we read Hebrews 10:1-18, we’ll find the subject discussed in greater detail, where we see Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God, being the once and for all time atonement for sin. Hear the Good Book: ‘But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.’ (Heb.10:3-4) And that’s the honest truth! Under the Old Covenant, sacrifices for the remission of sins had to be made every year. But God, in His infinite wisdom did away with that under the New Covenant, where Christ atoned for the sins of ALL mankind for ALL time. We surely are wonderfully blessed, my fellow believers! There’s no other faith but Christianity where forgiveness of sins can be had by contrite repentance and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. What a kind and caring God we worship! So I can’t understand why we’re so bent on removing Him from our society. He is the One who created us, cares for us, causes us to get health, wealth, peace, wisdom and understanding. And have you noticed that since we embarked on the erroneous task of removing God from our lives, that we’ve had much less of all those things mentioned above. Everything has gone into a deathlike tailspin because God is the One who causes all of that to happen, and if we’re not dealing consistently and truthfully with Him, then He’ll obviously stop blessing us. Now let’s end with another very informative and telling scripture. This from the prophet Micah, re the requirement of the Lord. ‘Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body (my own child) for the sin of my soul? 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.6:6-8) That says it all Friends! So today, let’s ponder our individual situations and see how we shape up per those requirements, then ask the Lord to help us rectify whatever is wrong in that respect. That’s truly wisdom of the highest order. Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…or else he’ll pay an exorbitant price for his disobedience…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 April 2013 Psalm 46:10
11 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abomination, be still, Bless His Holy Name, courage, divine help, esteem, exalted, faith, glory hallelujah, glory of God's majesty, God of Abraham, gospel truth, heathen, hope, I am God, I am the vine, mysterious machinations, new blessings, new mercies, one and only true God, our refuge and strength, pilgrim's life, planet earth, Praise the Lord, promises fulfilled, psalm 46, rejoice and be glad in it, reverence, strength, the day the Lord has made, the haughty brought low, the proud humbled, undeniable truth, we will not fear, works of the Lord, write indelibly
Psalm 46:12. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Oh Friends, another day is dawning beautifully in many parts of God’s wonderful universe, and many new blessings and mercies are being made ready for distribution to God’s people down here on planet Earth! Wow! And just the thought of all that wonderful, divine, heavenly help drives God’s children to boldly declare: ‘Thank You Lord, thank You! You are so LOVING and generous to the undeserving children of men. We praise You and bless Your Holy Name, and promise to serve and worship You forever. Amen.’ Yes my people, this is indeed the day that our Lord God has made for us to enjoy, therefore let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad in it, for there’s no deity like the one we bow down to! That’s why the psalmist could confidently proclaim in our Bit: ‘Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.’ And that’s no lie Friends! The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob whom we worship, is the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD IN ALL THE UNIVERSE! As the first few verses of the psalm declare: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present (abundantly available) help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst (heart) of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.’ (Ps,46:1-3) Oh my fellow believers in Christ, those are very strong, reassuring words, based on God’s actual help to the Israelites, not simply the unrealized hopes and dreams of a troubled, enslaved people. Therefore, they are words that we should also hold on to, write indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls to give us the strength, faith and courage to live this difficult, but oh so interesting pilgrim’s life down here on Mother Earth. And even more importantly, through the Lord’s mysterious machinations, His Holy Name will eventually be exalted amongst the unbelievers. We obviously have a major part to play in that exaltation, but without God’s help we’re basically powerless to do much of anything. For as Jesus said: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) Words of undeniable truth my Friends! And though the heathen seems to be in control of the earth right now, there’s no doubt that in the Lord’s time, that evil and unworthy scenario will change. Listen as the psalmist continues: ‘There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles (dwelling places) of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved (shaken): God shall help her, and that right early (at the break of dawn). The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.’ (Ps.46:4-7) And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! And it encouraged all God’s people to declare a loud and grateful; ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Oh Friends, it’s so sad that so many of God’s human creation don’t know and don’t worship Him, for He is truly a most magnificent Deity! And the psalmist continues raving about his God: ‘Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in fire.’ (Ps.46:8-9) Yes my people, all of that is indeed possible with our God! And in His time, it will surely come to pass. As Isaiah prophesied, re the day of the Lord: ‘The lofty (proud) looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.’ (Is.2:11-12) So please don’t join the ranks of the heathen, the unbeliever, the evil enemy, for as Isaiah continues: ‘And the loftiness (pride) of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear (from the terror) of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth (to make the earth tremble).’ (Is.2:17-19) Oh my brethren, on that fateful day, when the Lord decides to pronounce judgement on the sinful earth, there will be no escape for the heathen! And the scholars provide an interesting note. ‘The unshakeable confidence with which the psalm leaves the believer prompted Martin Luther, (the Protestant leader) to pen one of the great hymns of all time, ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.’ Ah mih breddren, that bit of info should just boost our strength, faith, hope, trust, esteem, reverence and LOVE for our most worthy God! If the psalm was powerful enough to move the fiery Martin Luther a few centuries ago, when things were much rougher than now, then it certainly ought to move us too. And we’ll end with some wise words of Cousin Sol on the subject. ‘The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil (doom). Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged (atonement is provided for iniquity): and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.’ (Prov.16:4-6) Oh Friends, those verses cover it all; from the beginning to the end, so please take serious note of them, so that in that fateful day, you will not be numbered amongst the proud, haughty, evil heathen. That’s the ultimate in wisdom! Much LOVE!…it starts with a promise from Jehovah God…that leads to hope, faith, trust and surrender…then ends in the promise being fulfilled…becoming reality…for the Lord God is faithful…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2013 Psalm 5:12
09 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a man after God's heart, abundant favour, awesome truths, benefit of the doubt, bless the Lord, bless the righteous, burn the candle at both ends, disobedient, divine assurance, do unto others, faith, God's Holy Will, henry wadsworth longfellow, holy spirit, judge others, judgement, LOVE, mount up with eagles wings, outward behaviour, peace, rebel against God, rejoice, rest, run and not be weary, secret sorrow, shout for joy, steadfast, strong and true, surround with a shield, trust, walk and not faint, wisdom, wonderful creator
Psalm 5:12. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Oh Friends, this is one of those mornings when the ole fella found it hard to rise and shine. That’s because I did some running around yesterday and didn’t get proper rest, so the ole body rebelled on me this morning. Hn, hn! That sort of reminds me of how we rebel against our wonderful Creator. I guess that ought to give me some inclination of how He feels when I’m disobedient. Don’t know when I’ll realize that I’m no longer a spring chicken nuh, that I’m not young, resilient and sprightly as I used to be, and can’t burn the proverbial candle at both ends, without eventually paying a price. (smile) Anyway, we’re up now, and with God’s help, ready to blast off for places unknown. And we’ll begin the lift-off with this quote from the famous American poet and educator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). ‘Believe me, every man has his secret sorrow, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.’ And that’s truth in spades, my people! We use outward behaviour to quickly judge others, and in many cases our judgements are completely wrong. The quandary though, is that most times the outward behaviour is all we have to go on. We either can’t, or don’t want to get to know the other person on a deeper level. The solution to that problem then is not to judge as much or as harshly as we like to do. Let’s give the other person the benefit of the doubt, just like we’d want them to do with us. As the basic principle of our faith decrees; do unto others as we’d like done unto us. Let’s try and follow that principle as closely as possible today nuh Friends, it’ll make life so much easier and much more pleasant for all concerned. And to help us do that, let’s also take this advice from Bruh David’s prayer for protection. It’s the verse before our Bit. ‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest (protect) them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee.’ (Ps.5:11) Why should we do that, you ask? Our Bit gives us the answer. ‘For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ And that my people, is one of the most awesome truths in this world! So much so, that all God’s children rose up with one accord and with a mighty shout, gratefully declared: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, for He is indeed mighty, and will look down with abundant favour on those who put their sincere trust and faith in Him!’ That’s for certain sure my brethren! And please remember that those words of our Bit didn’t come from any hearsay nuh, but from the personal experience of Bruh David, who was so tight with God, that he was called a man after God’s own heart. (1 Sam.13:14) Oh fellow followers of Christ, to me that is the greatest commendation a human can receive. And I think it’s what all believers should endeavour to be called. It’s not an easy task, but as with every other good thing, with the Lord’s help and our own diligence, we can certainly reach that level of excellence. Now let’s look at some scriptures that support our Bit. In Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord in the storm, Bruh David solemnly ends with this great statement of faith. ‘The Lord sitteth (sits enthroned) upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth (sits) for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.’ (Ps.29:10-11) More awesome truth Friends! And in Psalm 68, Bruh David again ends with another declaration of utmost faith. ‘O God, thou art terrible (awesome) out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.’ (Ps.68:35) Oh my fellow believers, it’s all these scriptures of divine assurance, faith and trust that we need to write deeply and indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, so that we too can stand steadfast, strong and true in this evil world, empowered by them, through God’s Holy Spirit, to do His Holy Will! And we’ll end with one of the most famous passages of scripture, one that we all know, but as usual, don’t put enough trust and faith in, otherwise we wouldn’t be as anxious and fearful as so many of us are. That great man of God, the prophet Isaiah, assures us of the protection and strength of our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God. ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:28-31) And all God’s children sent up a mighty shout to heaven. ‘Thank You Lord! You are most worthy to be praised! We truly LOVE You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen!’ Yes Friends, let’s go about the Lord’s business today with those powerful words of truth and assurance reverberating in our souls, so that we can stand strong and diligently pursue His Will in a most excellent manner. That’s certainly wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…though God’s promises are tried and true…believers should never take them for granted…but always maintain a sense of awe…at the majesty and generosity of our great God…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 April 2013 John 21:21
01 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: April Fool's day, celebration, confidence, confusion, Creator, criticism, dissensions, divisons, drunk or sober, Easter Monday, enthusiasm, faith, glorious kingdom, humble servants, Jesus Christ, jobs, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, mind your business, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience, our Saviour, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, spiritual armour, spirituality, TGIM, Thank God is Monday., thanks and praise, times of celebration, walking God's path, weary souls
John 21:21. Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?
Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 March 2013 Luke 22:42
28 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Calvary's cross, conformity, crucifixion, discipline, disobedience, earthly purpose, faith, frailties, Gethsemane, God's lesson, Holy Thursday, human weakness, ignorance, ingrates, negative actions, negative consequences, obedience of Jesus, rebellion, rebellious behaviour, religion, selfless sacrifice, sin-bearer, spirit of rebellion, stubbornness, think first, thy will be done, troubled times
Luke 22:42. Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Oh Friends, ignorance is something else yes! As the old people said, when you don’t hear, you feel. And I’m definitely feeling this morning with an aching back. I went to bed last night at a decent hour, but got side swiped when I decided to read a few pages of a novel I had on the go. Needless to say the novel was interesting and I lay in bed reading until I finished it at one thirty this morning. Hn! Now the problem is not that I didn’t get to sleep until late, but that I lay in bed all that time while reading, then continued by going right to sleep afterwards. And it’s not like I don’t know that I can’t do the reading in bed thing for any length of time, then go straight to sleep without my back aching when I get up. Where some people can lie in bed all day and have no problems, after five or six hours in bed, my back starts to act up. But such is the stubbornness and rebelliousness of man, that we insist on doing what we shouldn’t do, although we know the negative consequences that will arise from those negative actions. And my people, that’s the lesson our God wants to put before us this Holy Thursday morning; think before you act, consider the consequences before you put your hand, foot or mouth in the proverbial whatever it is. (smile) In fact the Lord’s been trying to teach us that since Adam was a little boy and ate the forbidden apple, when he knew full well he shouldn’t. But do we listen? Obviously not! For even in our childhood there’s that spirit of rebellion which causes us to go against the wishes of our parents and teachers. The same goes for when we achieve adulthood, for just look at our society today. Look at the numerous things we do, even though we know that they are wrong and the consequences can and/or will be painful, even disastrous. Oh my brethren, what is it in mankind that makes him think he can constantly disobey his Creator and not pay the price for that disobedience eh? I certainly don’t know nuh friends. But today we have a most excellent example of obedience in Jesus, who knowing the fate that awaited Him the next day on Calvary’s cross, and who had ample reason and opportunity to rebel, fortunately did not do it, else crapaud would certainly have smoked we pipe. And it’s not like He didn’t feel anxious and somewhat fearful, for who in human flesh wouldn’t be appalled at the thought of being cruelly and criminally nailed to a wooden cross and left to perish in the hot sun. Remember that though Jesus was God, here on earth He had all the human weakness and frailties except sin. But instead of out and out rebelling, what did He do? After the Last Supper, where He blessed His disciples with the body and blood of His spiritual self, He went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, to spend some quiet, if agonizing time with His heavenly Father. And though He anguished over the upcoming events, even praying that the Father might excuse Him from the task at hand, He knew that that wasn’t possible, for it was that very event, crucifixion, sinless sacrifice, for which He had come to earth. Our Bit details His predicament and resolve in a few simple words. ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.’ Yes my brethren, for us followers of Christ, it’s never really about our will, but our heavenly Father’s. Jesus even enshrined that in the example He gave us of prayer. ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.’ (Matt.6:10) That means our prayer is to be in conformity with God’s will, not the other way around. And if we think that Jesus didn’t endure real anxiety in the garden that fateful Holy Thursday night, just listen to what the Good Book says after He stated our Bit. ‘And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’ (Luke 22:43-44) Oh my people, we can’t sweat to such an extent, without physical labour, unless we’re very anxious about something. The scholars claim: ‘Surely Jesus wrestles, not so much with death itself, but with His own destiny to be made the sin-bearer for all mankind for all the ages. The punishment that had to be borne for our sins brings Jesus to His knees in anguish.’ And why wouldn’t it eh, especially for a bunch of rebellious ingrates! And to buttress the fact that Jesus totally saw His role as doing God’s will, let’s look at several scriptures where He emphasizes it. First though, listen to Isaiah, who foresaw Jesus’ great dilemma. ‘The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters (those who struck me), and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair (beard). I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded (disgraced): therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.’ (Is.50:5-7) And that’s exactly what Jesus did! Now hear Him enshrine the Father’s will. It all comes from John’s gospel. The first example is after He’s spoken to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and His disciples not knowing that fact, offer Him food, and He answers them thus: ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34) Then, in talking about the Son’s relationship to the Father, He humbly declares: ‘I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just (righteous); because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.’ (John 5:30) And when saying that He’s the bread of life, Jesus offers these words as His earthly purpose. ‘For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.’ (John 6:38) And finally, in talking about being the light of the world, Jesus concludes: ‘And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.’ (John 8:29) Oh Friends, fellow believers and followers of Jesus Christ, on this Holy Thursday, when we commemorate the selfless sacrifice that Jesus suffered for us two thousand years ago, please, I sincerely plead with us, to take serious stock of ourselves, note any rebellious behaviour we have towards our heavenly father, and consequently Jesus, then purposely try to correct that ungodly behaviour with sincere repentance and prayer, so that in these very trying, confused and troubled times, we will measure up much better than ever to the character of Jesus, where He always considered the Father’s will before committing any action. I pray that as of this day, we’ll all come up a little higher, losing most of our rebelliousness, coming ever closer to the perfection that’s Jesus. In Jesus’ Holy Name, I pray. Amen. Much LOVE my people!…free will is nice to have…but it means being very disciplined…or facing negative consequences… P.S. Oh Friends, our God is so wonderful that I came down here this morning with nothing to write about, feeling lousy, and consequently figuring that the Bit would be pretty late. But He didn’t even give me a chance to cry out to Him for help and guidance, but simply guided me to write about my aching back, because of my wilful disobedience to my physical problem, then everything just fell right into place. So how can I not sincerely LOVE, ADORE, PRAISE, THANK and WORSHIP Him eh? Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 March 2013 Isaiah 51:12
26 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: awesome followers, birds praising God, budding leaves, charles stanley, Christ, comfort of God, confidence in God, confidence in man, enemies, ever-faithful God, ever-LOVING God, faith, fear of man, flowers fade, god, God is for me, God's commands, God's Word lasts forever, gospel truth, grass, grass withers, joyful singing, light, living truth, lovely attributes of spring, mere believers, mortal man, move mountains, naked branches, refreshed ground, religion, salvation, skype, spring, spring rain, true believers, true followers, trust in the Lord
Isaiah 51:12. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.
SCRIP-BITS 