Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 September 2021 Mark 9:23.

18 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 September 2021   Mark 9:23.

​Mark 9:23.      If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 

So at last it’s Saturday – and a nice sunny day in God’s universe, at least in my area. (smile) So what plans have we for this new day, so beautifully clothed in God’s new mercies and compassions eh? I do hope it’s something that involves Him, and will eventually bring Him some glory, or at least have others leaning towards Him. Why is that you ask? Because our earthly purpose is twofold; to communicate with God personally, and to live a life that will have others want to come to Him! It’s as simple as that! In whatever we do, be it great or small, God must be involved in some form and fashion. That’s just the nature of things. 

But enough talk yes, let me get to what I have to do this Saturday morning, which is share and try to explain, in a Christian and biblical light, the quotes we got from our friend Anselm this past week. And I’m chuckling here because they are all interesting and I don’t know where to start. But Chuh! Let’s take the bull by the horns yes, and start at the first one. (smile) And that says: ‘Sometimes it’s better to take a leap of faith and just believe what you hear instead of trying to find the story behind it.’ 

Now that’s a tricky one, because taking a leap of faith is ofttimes good, but under what circumstances? And I definitely won’t endorse believing whatever you hear, especially in these times of false news, disinformation and outright lies flying around like crazy. I would strongly advise that you hear the story behind the situation first, before you even consider taking a leap of faith. Yes friends, with all the stuff out there right now, that has such beautiful outward covering, but in reality is only a façade, it’s downright easy to take a leap of faith right into the welcoming arms of the devil in hell! 

So please be very careful, for I don’t know if we’ve ever seen such a time like this one with so much fraudulent and deceitful stuff everywhere. Meanwhile, the next quote tells us: ‘We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea.’ So we come to that scary word again, ‘change.’ A lot of people are afraid of it, sometimes with good reason, since change can turn your life topsy turvy and leave you not knowing where to go, or what to do, even place you in some dreadful dilemma. 

That means change is another aspect of life that you must tread carefully on. But by the same token, you cannot afford to stay stationary, remain forever in the same womb-like state, for life desires change, is made up of change. But change that’s made with some amount of wisdom and common sense. We can’t stay in our comfortable cocoon all the time, or we will never see what God’s great universe has to offer. But we can’t venture on the big sea, without first having a good idea of how to handle the small pond. 

And we do need to make changes as life moves along, sometimes even big ones, but as we said earlier on, Jehovah God must be involved in all we do, if we are to make right decisions and fulfill the plans and purpose He has for our lives. But please, don’t go making changes just for the sake of making changes. Don’t follow the crowd, as so many of us are doing today. Don’t follow those they are now calling ‘influencers.’ Steups! Those making money off of foolish and ungodly lifestyles. And the sad part is that most of them can’t even run their own blooming lives. But they are influencing others with a whole lot of nonsense. That’s partly why our world in in such an ungodly mess! 

And it’s a sore point with me, so let’s move on to the next quote, which says: ‘Keep going. Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.’ And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! We grow more in times of adversity than in the good times. As they say, what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. And if you are a child of God, you will undergo adversity. Jesus said it loud and clear. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

So there’s no need to consider whether we will or will not have troubles, for they are inevitable in a sinful and evil world such as ours. But when you have Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of your life and His Holy Spirit leading and guiding you, you can handle any adversity that comes your way, because He has already overcome the world. Thus, these reassuring words from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor. 4:8-10) 

Yes my brethren, it’s the old adage: You live for Christ, suffer with Him, die with Him, and be resurrected to new life with Him! But then, that takes a whole lot of believing, and our last quote tells us that: ‘Believing involves thinking, talking and acting as though you have already received what you’ve asked for.’ Only if you are a believer in Jesus Christ though! And only if it is within the will of God! Listen to these words of Jesus to the father of the young man who was filled with a demonic spirit that His disciples could not cast out. ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.’ (Mark. 9:23-24) 

And the scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘9:24. He (the father) had a certain faith, but it was confession of his undeniable inner turmoil and doubt that marked his faltering faith as truly authentic, if imperfect trust. Before God honesty is a wise course.’ Yes friends, when we come to God it is always best to bare our souls and hearts before Him, as He will be much more open to helping us when we do so. 

And when the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demon from the boy, Jesus said to them. ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you.’ (Matt. 17:20) It’s all about belief and faith my people. In the world, seeing is believing, but in God’s economy, believing is seeing. You don’t see until you believe. 

That’s why the Good Book tells us that: ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) And also: ‘And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) 

And we going to leave with this last but oh so important scripture that applies to all of us. They are Jesus’ words to Thomas when he had to see Jesus before he believed in His resurrection. ‘Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Please let that be food for thought this weekend my fellow saints. Much LOVE!

…we walk by faith…not by sight… (2 Cor. 5:7)                                                                                                                 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 May 2020 Deuteronomy 32:4.

27 May 2020 Comments Off on Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 May 2020 Deuteronomy 32:4.

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

Deuteronomy 32:4.    ​He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
 

And so the confusion, the lies, disinformation, false news and whatever continues! I just saw a trailer video of a film supposedly released in 2003, 17 years ago, that talks about all the things that have happened and are happening today: the Coronavirus, lock down, quarantine, chloroquine, etc. etc. And rather astutely, the brown-skinned guy, dressed in a priest’s collar, does not say a word about it, except it was made in 2003 not today. He leaves you to draw your own conclusions. 

So what is one to make of that eh? Is it a man-made plan, an accident, or who knows what? And that is what’s driving the pandemonium in the pandemic – the absence of real truth, too much supposition and theories! But that shouldn’t surprise us when there are supposedly so many different kinds of truth around in these troubled times. I thought there was only one kind of truth; the truth, and there couldn’t be more than one kind, else one would be false, not the truth. If you follow my logic. (smile) 

As the old Oxford dictionary describes it: ‘Quality, state, of being true or accurate or honest or sincere or loyal or accurately shaped or adjusted… in accordance with fact or reality, not fake or erroneous.’ So, apparently, with all the varying info on the same subjects, one can theoretically have several different kinds of truth nowadays. But friends, I’m here to tell us that there is ONLY ONE PLACE one can find TRUTH; real and unvarnished TRUTH! That’s in the Good Book; the Lord’s Law, that was written ages ago and never changes. The Lord God of Israel is the embodiment of TRUTH! 

Moses said it in His song: ‘Because I will publish (proclaim) the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children (they are not his children because of their blemish): they are a perverse and crooked generation.’ (Deut. 32:3-5) 

And believe me, with all the current havoc and confusion, it’s only in the God of Israel, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that real truth can now be found, through the person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! He said it as plain as day: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Yes friends, no one comes to the Father, the One real, true and living God, but through the Son, Jesus Christ! 

And that’s where our truth begins! Anything else that doesn’t correlate with that is a lie! And it’s strange how down through the years many of the writers of the Bible spoke about truth, or even more about the lack of it. Cousin Sol in Proverbs advised us to: ‘Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.’ (Prov. 23:23) That’s how important those things are in our lives. We’ve got to get them and not lose them because they are the things that lead to a rich and fulfilling life. But our world, since way back when, has always seemed to resist truth. 

Hear Isaiah as he talks about national corruption and consequent suffering. ‘None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity (empty words), and speak lies; they conceive mischief (trouble or evil), and bring forth iniquity.’ (Is. 59:4) Oh my people, my people, is it possible that Isaiah is alive and well today? One could be led to think so since all those things he talks of in olden Israel are also rampant today. Injustice, corruption, lies, evil doing, as well as empty words and promises describe our world to a T! 

But please remember what Isaiah was talking about; national corruption, and consequent suffering. And if you don’t think the consequential suffering has begun with this pandemic thing affecting the whole corrupt world, then good for you. And if you don’t believe Isaiah, then perchance you might belief Jeremiah, as he declares (yeahh!) that disobedience brings God’s judgement… 

Ah Lord eh friends! The computer might be a God-send, but it’s also a tool of the enemy. Some forty five minutes ago, I was going along quite well and was typing Jeremiah’s opening statement when something made me look up. And lo and behold I saw just four inverted commas on the page and nothing I had typed about Jeremiah. Then I couldn’t delete them or type anything else. I called my young daughter for help, but she couldn’t help me either. She suggested shutting it down, but that didn’t work. And when I shut it down a second time I could not even type in the password to get on. Steups! 

So finally, I had to come up and resort to my lonely and hardly used laptop, so I could continue. Satan truly knows how to get under one’s skin yes. But thankfully I didn’t lose my cool. Yes, I was annoyed, but with God’s help, kept my peace, cause the devil’s purpose was obviously to steal my joy since I was talking about so much truth. (smile) So let’s hear, finally, what Jeremiah has to say nuh: ‘Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! For they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. 

And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. Take ye heed every one of his neighbour (friend), and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour (friend) will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.’ (Jer. 9:2-5) 

And it is indeed sad that all that stuff is still happening in our world. Consequently, we have to be ever so careful of whom we associate with, what we watch and listen to. It’s a full time job just to winnow the chaff from the grain nowadays. Instead friends, we must do like the psalmist did in Psalm 119, cry out to God for help. 

‘My soul melteth (weeps) for heaviness (grief): strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgements have I laid before me. I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.’ (Ps. 119:28-32) And friends, if we’re sincere in all we say and do, then the Lord will help us, not put us to shame and enlarge our hearts! 

So let’s go home this Wednesday morning declaring (yeahh!) our Wednesday Wail nuh, letting all the doubters and unbelievers know of our safe, secure and truthful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong voice 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!’ 

And we know with indisputable truth, that if we persist and endure to the end, those words will indeed come true! Much LOVE!

…it cannot be truth…if it doesn’t agree with the Good Book…