Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2020 Revelation 21:6.

08 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 21:6.    ​It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst (who thirsts) of the fountain of the water of life freely.
 
Well it will be good to darken the church doors once again today, after a two week hiatus. Watching service on the tube is fine, but definitely not the same as actually being there in body and soul. The former lacks the personal touch where fellowship is concerned. And since I am an 18th century man, the technological aspect with television worship doesn’t thrill me as much as the personal interaction in a physical sanctuary. (smile) But be that as it may, it’s Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and we all ought to find our way to His sanctuary sometime today to personally interact with fellow believers to praise and sing and worship Him and receive the awesome power of His Word in return. 

What a moving time that can be in a believer’s life, bringing him ever closer in His relationship to His Lord and His God! So let’s begin the proceedings as usual with a song of praise and worship. And today’s sacrifice of praise is an old but highly favoured one by the master of hymn writers, Charles Wesley, titled ‘LOVE Divine All LOVES Excelling.’ We all know it so let’s get serious and soulful, and in strong, harmonious and melodious voice (smile) offer up our song of praise. 

‘LOVE divine, all LOVES excelling, joy of heav’n, to earth come down, fix in us Thy humble dwelling; all Thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, Thou art all compassion; pure, unbounded LOVE Thou art; visit us with Thy salvation; enter ev’ry trembling heart. Breathe, O breathe Thy LOVING Spirit into ev’ry troubled breast! Let us all in Thee inherit; let us find the promised rest. Take away the LOVE of sinning; Alpha and Omega be; end of faith, as its beginning, set our hearts at liberty. 

Come, Almighty, to deliver; let us all Thy life receive; suddenly return and never, nevermore Thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, serve Thee as Thy hosts above, pray and praise Thee without ceasing, glory in Thy perfect LOVE. Finish then Thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be. Let us see Thy great salvation perfectly restored in Thee. Changed from glory into glory, till in heav’n we take our place, till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder, LOVE, and praise.’ 

Oh friends, that was indeed a great rendition and heaven received it with great joy. Jesus, as always, blushes when we sing His praise, the Father smiles, and the Holy Spirit is the One working so astutely in us to get us singing with the right motives. And the song itself is like a compendium of Biblical quotes and attributes to our Three in One Godhead. Let’s see if we can pick out a few of each. It opens with Jesus being referred to as the ‘expression of divine LOVE.’ Then it talks about His compassion, His salvation, and the urgent need for His Second Coming so that our change to a new creation can be completed, and at last be sinless and finding the promised rest in Him. 

That possibly alludes to Jesus Great Invitation in Matt. 11:28. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ The new creation obviously refers to Bruh Paul’s words to the Corinthians. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor. 5:17) Yes friends, when we come to Christ we have to become new, changed, and give up some of the old things in our lives which don’t fit into Christ’s will. 

Then the Holy Spirit is cast as ‘the agent of sanctification,’ in the second verse. And the Father, the ‘source of life’ in the third verse. Meanwhile the casting of the crowns before God’s throne comes from Revelation 4:10-11 ‘The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns down before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created (for your will and pleasure they exist.’ And isn’t that the living truth! The Lord created the universe and all therein for His pleasure and purpose! 

So then we are gradually changed from glory to glory: ‘But we all, with open (unveiled) face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ (2 Cor. 3:18) ‘The believer himself “reflects” the glory of the Lord, just as the face of Moses reflected the glory of the Lord. For Moses the glory eventually faded away, but under the New Covenant  the believer is changed into the same image. This transformation takes place by the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.’ 

And then we come to Alpha and Omega. As Christ says to John in Revelation: ‘It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst (who thirsts) of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.’ (Rev. 21:6-8) 

And the scholars offer some interesting explanations. ‘21: 6-8) It is done: The eternal purpose of God to gather a holy, devoted people for Himself has now been accomplished. Alpha and Omega: (see 1:8; 22:13. Beginning: God is the origin and source of all things (cf. Is. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12). End: He is also the goal or aim of all things. (cf. Rom.10:4).The water of life represents eternal sustenance and provision (cf. 22:1; Ps. 36:9; Is. 55:1; Jer. 2:13; John 4:14), available freely  by faith (22:17). 

He that overcometh is the one who has genuine, saving, persevering faith (cf. 2:11; 3:5; 1 John 5:4-5). He will inherit all that belongs to him as a son of God (cf. John 1:12; Rom. 8:16-17; Gal. 3:29; 4:7). But sinners, who have shown their rebellion against God by their lifestyle of sin, have already been cast into the lake of fire (20:12; cf. 22:15). The second death is eternal death (cf. 20:14).’ 

Brother was that ever hard to copy, but I did not want to deprive you of the references which can be an important part of understanding the scriptures. And now that we’ve all got it straight, it’s time to put it into serious operation, so that we’re not cast in the lake of fire to eternal death, obviously with the Lord’s help. Much LOVE!

…The Holy Trinity was there long before us…and will be there long after us…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 November 2019 Psalm 55:22.

17 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 55:22.    ​Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).
 

Come Sunday morning, we’re going to the house of the Lord, to have sweet fellowship with other believers. And there we will encourage each other, as we sing and dance and praise His holy name, while giving thanks for His faithful mercies and compassions that are new each and every day. And by the hearing of His life-giving Word, our minds will be renewed, our faith will grow stronger, and we shall be uplifted in soul, body and spirit! Glory be my people! There’s no one place beside the Lord’s sanctuary that we can go and leave so strong and refreshed. That’s because the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh. 8:10) And in His house, His joy resonates like nowhere else. (smile) 

And this morning, to get us going, we’re going to sing a rather poignant and soul-searching hymn written by John Willard Peterson (1921-2006). It’s titled ‘No One Understands Like Jesus.’ And if you’re a true believer, you know that’s the gospel truth! But before we get into the song, here is a li’l background on its composition. Apparently, in his early days of ministry, Mr. Peterson held a fairly high post  at a well-known gospel ministry. One day a supervisory position became available, and he was led to believe that it would be given to him. But as so often happens, someone from outside was eventually brought in to fill it. 

Obviously he was broken-hearted and struggled to keep a good attitude. To make matters even worse, he happened to spend an evening with that new man, and though he seemed to be a decent sort, for some reason that night he made some caustic, unfeeling remarks that obviously hurt Mr. Peterson. And as he sat at home, later that evening, contemplating all the recent hurting and negative experiences, a terrible feeling of being alone and forsaken overcame him. 

But then suddenly, in his own words: “I sensed the presence of the Lord in an unusual way and my mind was diverted from my difficulties to His faithfulness and sufficiency. Soon the thought occurred to me that He fully understood and sympathized with my situation – in fact, no one could ever completely understand or care as He did. Before long, the idea for the song came and I began to write.” 

Only with Jesus, yes friends, only with Jesus, can that kind of experience be experienced! Now let’s sing what he wrote, in a sincere, soulful and heartfelt manner. Altogether now, let’s raise our earthly voices to heaven and acknowledge Jesus’ Kingship and Lordship over the earth and all therein! 

‘No one understands like Jesus. He’s a friend beyond compare; Meet Him at the throne of mercy; He is waiting for you there. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him!) No one understands like Jesus; Ev’ry woe He sees and feels; Tenderly He whispers comfort, And the broken heart He heals. (Chorus) 

No one understands like Jesus When the foes of life assail; You should never be discouraged; Jesus cares and will not fail! (Chorus) No one understands like Jesus When you falter on the way; Tho’ you fail Him, sadly fail Him, He will pardon you today. (Chorus: No one understands like Jesus When the days are dark and grim; No one is so near, so dear as Jesus– Cast your ev’ry care on Him! Cast your every care on Him, Cause no one understands like Jesus.’ 

Oh my people, what words of indisputable truth! No one cares like Jesus! When the hard, dark times come, as they do for all of us, the best source of comfort, care and healing is certainly the arms of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For He is the Great Healer, the Great Comforter, the Great Carer…in fact He is the Great I AM, the Great EVERYTHING! Glory to God! Just like the Lord’s sanctuary is a one stop-shop, likewise Jesus is a one stop healing and caring and comforting station. In your deepest sorrow, He is the best one to run to, for He will NEVER turn you away, but will instead welcome you with wide opened arms. 

And there are no better words to describe His compassion and care than His Great Invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30) Ah people, if you don’t take advantage of that glorious invitation, then, as the old people would say, yuh not righted, yuh mental! Yeh! Is only crazy people who wouldn’t accept such a wonderful, life-giving, life-saving invitation! 

And yuh know what, long before Jesus ever came to earth, Bruh David’s been saying the same thing. Listen to him in Psalm 55; his plaintive cry against deceitful friends. ‘The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken). But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody (bloodthirsty) and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.’ (Ps. 55:21-23) And friends, we all know how Bruh David overcame his many enemies through that sincere trust in Almighty God. 

And after Jesus, Peter, with his own problems of denying Jesus, received healing, comfort and forgiveness, thus he could later on declare: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) And if you can’t believe the words of Bruh David, Peter and Jesus, then all that’s left for me to say is… Much LOVE!

…like mothers care greatly for their children…so does our heavenly Father care greatly for His children…