22 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: affirms God's justice, all who forget God, bide time, Bildad, blessings, body, caught in their own net, christianity, communion with god, earthly pilgrimage, endurance, fasting, fellowship, fool's folly, forgiveness, fun, glorious kingdom, grace, heathen, hypocrite's hope, hypocrites, Job, LOVE, mercy, mind, mire, patience, perish, praise and thanks, relaxation, remember God, rest, sorry lot, soul, spirituality, torn in pieces, traffic hassles, wisdom
Job 8:13. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday; the second Friday in Lent! But the joyous ‘TGIF’s’ and ‘Thank God is Friday,’ are not as plentiful or powerful as normal. I don’t know if that’s happening because it’s Lent, but as I recently said, though Lent should be a serious time of reflection, contemplation and communion with God, there’s no need to lose our joy, whatever season it is. And remember those joyous shouts on Fridays are for the ending of the week of labour, the traffic hassles and all the other worldly distractions. It also gives us more time to spend with God, which should make us even more joyous. So please let’s keep our joy going, don’t let Lucifer fool us into thinking that we have to be so pious and holy we can’t have mucho joy in our souls. Remember, it’s that joy we get from being in sync with God that gives us the strength to bear the burdens we all face on our earthly pilgrimage. And to help us with that, let’s chant our Friday Chant with plenty power and sweet harmony. As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ That was awesome my people! Let’s do it for real now. Oh, by the way, the ole fella aced the fasting test yesterday! I got to the lab around ten thirty-five, but was it ever crowded. I knew though that I wasn’t leaving, because I had no desire to go through the fasting situation again. So I sat down and patiently bided my time, reading a novel. Jesus was surely proud of me, because I didn’t whine and complain. (smile) I didn’t leave there until eleven thirty, which meant I fasted for over 13 hours. Mama Mia! Hopefully that’s it for the year. Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit: ‘So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.’ That my Friends, is the living truth, as declared by our living God! Before we get into it though, let’s get some background info. Those words come from Job’s buddy Bildad, as he affirms God’s justice. And just before our Bit, he’s talking about the demise of certain herbs. ‘Can the rush (papyrus) grow up without mire (marsh)? Can the flag (reeds) grow without water? Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.’ (Job 8:11-12) Then he brings up our Bit, comparing those who forget God and lead hypocritical lives to the demise of those herbs. Bildad further declares after our Bit: ‘Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web (house). He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.’ (Job 8:14-15) That’s oh so true my brethren! Those who forget God and play the hypocrite, their hopes shall eventually be dashed to the ground. Though they build their houses, intricate, pretty and supposedly strong like a spider builds its web, they will not endure. Like a house of cards, they will be easily blown down and destroyed. Now let’s look at some scripture that corroborates our Bit, starting with words of Bruh David, from Psalm 9; Praise for God’s justice. ‘The heathen (nations or gentiles) are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken (caught). The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion (meditation or song) Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.’ (Ps.9:15-18) Yes Friends, that’s the sorry lot of all those who don’t revere and worship the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And if you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to that other great psalmist, Asaph, as he righteously proclaims in Psalm 50; God is the judge. ‘Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:22-23) Oh my people, we certainly don’t want to be torn in pieces, do we? So let’s not foolishly forget Almighty God, the ONE who created the universe and all therein. Instead, let’s wisely offer Him praise and thanks, so that He may be glorified, and walk steadfastly in obedience to His Word, so that we’ll see His salvation. That is the wisdom of the righteous! More on this tomorrow, God in favour. Till then, let’s remember our God and spend worthy time with Him, so that He’ll continue to LOVE, bless, forgive, protect and show us His wonderful grace and mercy. Much LOVE!…a fool in his folly…says there is no God…but what happens then…as the wise man believes…that there is a God…
12 Feb 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: afraid, belly and backbone, bounden duty, Carnival Tuesday, Christian walk, Christianity means action, Church of Christ, civic responsibility, evil doings, forgiveness, goodness of heart, help the needy, hypocrisy, Lord of the Sabbath, LOVE, mamby pamby, mercy, opposition, Pharisees, pretty costumes, Sabbath Day, soft, soldiers, spinless, stand up for right, time bomb, walk the talk
Luke 6:9. Then Jesus said unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
Aye Friends, getting old is a helluva thing yes! Yesterday morning after writing the Bit, out of the goodness of my heart, and my civic responsibility, (smile) I decided to at least clear the snow from my porch and the walkway. But would you believe that after about ten minutes out there, having only cleaned the porch and the steps leading down to the walkway, I began coughing? What really annoyed me is that I had been cough free for the previous two days. Well that coughing situation put paid to all my heartfelt goodness and civic responsibility, especially when the snow on the walkway was almost a foot high. If they wanted to charge or fine me for not clearing the walkway, then so be it, but I surely wasn’t going to continue doing anything that made me cough! What knocked me for a further six, was that later in the evening, after a short nap, I got up and felt this terrible pain in my right arm and shoulder. I had to laugh, because I had been fine all day. But them’s the breaks! (smile) Now that got me to thinking that if I was in T & T, taking in the wonderful sights and sounds of Carnival, I wouldn’t be having any stupid aches and pains and coughs. I wouldn’t be able to jump and prance, like I used to, but the old bones would have been warm, flexible and relaxed in the hot sun. Chuh! Anyway, today, Tuesday, is the day for the real Big Mas, where all the pretty costumes and their wearers come out to parade and play. Let’s hope and pray that everything goes off okay for all the pre-Lenten celebrations around the world, and no serious disasters or evil doings mar the festivities. And we’ll continue with our Bit from yesterday: ‘Then Jesus said unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’ Ah Friends, what a potential time bomb of a question back in those overly strict and religious times! Now yesterday in the background leading up to the Bit, we saw where Jesus reminded the Pharisees of Bruh David and his men eating the holy bread in the temple meant only for the priests, when they were hungry and on the run from Saul. (1Sam.21:1-6) After that ‘He said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.’ (Luke 6:5) Obviously the Pharisees weren’t thrilled by that remark either, but they let it ride. Listen to the scholars comment on that verse. ‘Having already asserted His prerogative, like God Himself, to forgive sins (Luke 5:20), Jesus now assumes the right to interpret the Old Testament in a way far different from that of the religious leaders of His time.’ So true my people! And that’s the background to this later Sabbath when Jesus enters the synagogue and teaches, as He is won’t to. On this particular day though, a man with a withered right hand is present among the listeners, and as usual the hypocrite scribes and Pharisees are watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath, to get something to accuse Him of. And though Jesus knew their thoughts, He nonetheless tells the man with the withered hand: ‘Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.’ (Luke 6:8) Now my brethren, you must admire Jesus’ for that; putting His belly and backbone into play, fully knowing the confusion His actions would cause. But knowing that He was in the right, He did what He had to do. Oh my fellow believers, how often do we stand up like Jesus for what is right eh, in spite of the opposition we know will come against us? I’m afraid I’ll have to say not too often, or rather not often enough, otherwise the church of Christ and His dictates wouldn’t be as maligned, unimportant and shunted aside as badly as it now is. Remember as followers of Christ we weren’t called to live an easy, problem free life, but to battle the evildoers and their actions, to be soldiers in this wicked, godless world. And soldiers only win battles when they stand strong in their convictions and fight with plenty belly and backbone for what they believe is right. And sadly my brethren, I believe that’s one area in which we’re falling down today. Christ’s followers have become soft and mamby pamby. We lead the good, relatively soft, easy life and don’t want to, or are afraid to put it in jeopardy by stirring up things, even when we see stuff happening that’s not right. Granted we all can’t be strong like Jesus, but if we’re truthful, we will all acknowledge that we can surely do better than we’re currently doing. So Friends, I’m asking us for the umpteenth time, if we really do LOVE Jesus and want to follow Him and make His church a worthwhile institution in this evil world, let’s pick up the slack in our Christian walk nuh. We need to be much better examples of His LOVE, mercy and forgiveness than we are. We need to bring the level of our actions up to the level of our talk, and even higher, because we can’t belabour people about Christ and His goodness when they are sick, hungry, naked and homeless. Remember Christianity is an action movement, and like Jesus we need to help the needy satisfy their physical wants and needs before we start preaching to them. You can see that’s how Jesus operated, and if we do likewise, we’ll certainly draw many more unbelievers to Him, which is one of our main purposes here on earth. And if some of us don’t want to hear that truth, then too bad yes! We’re no better than the hypocrite Pharisees! Sorry if I went off on a tangent there, but it aches my heart to see the way we supposed Christians, followers of Jesus Christ are behaving so spineless and afraid, so without true LOVE and compassion in a hurting world, where everybody’s looking, fearfully searching for something to hold on to, a something that can only be found in Jesus, a something that we have but are not sharing the way we should. Please Friends, let’s be serious about our bounden duty here on earth and fearlessly do it nuh, with the ever-faithful promises of Jesus and His certain assurance that we have to stand strong on. Only then can we consider ourselves true Christians, true followers of Jesus. Much LOVE!…to simply talk about Jesus…and not do the necessary actions…called for by that talk…is pure hypocrisy…
24 Jan 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: be glad, fever's broken, forgiveness, God of justice, God of strength, God's glorious majesty, I'm geting better, loving kindness, mercy, righteous God, Selah, sing for joy, song of the day, stubborn hold
Psalm 67:4. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth. Selah.
Oh Friends, the song of the day is, ‘I’m getting better. I’m getting better. Thank the Lord, I’m getting better!’ And the ole fella is actually beginning to feel more human than zombie. The cold and cough seem to be under control, though the fever is still trying to resist. But I believe we have finally broken its stubborn hold because twice yesterday I had to get up and change my T-shirt because it was soaking wet with sweat. I guess that’s what the ancients would call the fever breaking. Let’s hope that’s what it was. I’m still not up to snuff though, for I slept out most of yesterday, as has been the modus operandi this past week. But the good news is that I ate solid food for the first time and actually enjoyed it, causing me to regain a couple of the pounds that I’d lost, but I’ll take that trade-off anytime. I also managed to watch two periods of hockey. Still haven’t read the papers though, but there’s one situation that made me laugh. Now there are always oranges and tangerines in the house, but I usually pass on them simply because I’m too lazy to peel them. However in these past few days, have I ever been peeling oranges and tangerines, because they were the only things that really tasted palatable. As they say, if the Lord doesn’t get you one way, He’ll get you the other. But please note that our God is not an unjust or vengeful God, as our Bit so wisely proclaims. ‘O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon the earth. Selah.’ Yes Friends, our God is a God of righteousness and justice, but also a Deity who tempers His decisions with LOVING-kindness, mercy and forgiveness. As such, there is none other like Him! That’s why in a number of Psalms, that theme is firmly proclaimed. For example, in Psalm 93, the Lord is clothed with majesty, the psalmist declares without a doubt: ‘The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty, the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved (shaken). Thy throne is established from old: thou art from everlasting.’ (Ps.93:1-2) Meanwhile in Psalm 96, a call to praise God, the psalmist wisely advises us to: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof (all that is in it). Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the Lord: for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth.’ (Ps.96:7-13) Oh Friends, truer words have never been spoken! But unfortunately we are not doing any of those things today. Instead, our world is casting disparaging aspersions on the name of the ONE TRUE God, removing Him bit by bit from our society, and replacing Him with worship to man-made idols and other foolish men. Now I ask you, if man and his idols were so powerful and wise, would our world be in the catastrophic situation we’re currently in? Certainly not! But man has become so proud, so arrogant and full of himself that he now believes he no longer needs the help of an invisible God. Ponder this for a moment nuh Friends. How much of our everyday tasks can we actually accomplish by ourselves eh? Not much really. And oftimes we can’t even do it with the help of other men, but desperately need an invisible God, someone stronger and more powerful than us. That’s why I don’t understand how we can remove Jehovah God from our society when there’s so much evidence that under His guidance we prosper, and when we move away from Him we suffer immensely. But I guess we’re fooled and bedazzled by Lucifer’s ‘baubles, bangles and bright shining things.’ How often must we be reminded eh my people that all that glitters is not gold? NONE of Lucifer’s stuff is real. They’re just glossed over, just a facade to hide the ugly, lying, deceitful, evil intentions behind his attempt to get back at God for kicking him out of heaven. If he wasn’t so foolish in the first place to want to overthrow God, he’d still be sitting pretty in heaven. But he wasn’t all that wise and is now banished to walk the earth until the Lord chooses to do away with him for good in the lake of fire. Oh my people, is that where we want to end up? I doubt it very much. So please, I’m pleading with us, let’s get ourselves together and covenant once again with our Creator, so that we can avoid the ugly fate that’s eventually going to befall Lucifer and his evil minions. That’s truly wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!…he that hath ears to hear…let him hear…or else he’ll eventually feel…the justice of Almighty God…
01 Jan 2013
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: 2013, closer walk with God, commandments, faithful promises, forgiveness, forsaken God, gospel truth, Happy New Year, heady times, heartfelt greetings, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, never give up, New Year resolutions, New Year's Day, prosperity, Spirit of God, transgressions, victory, wisdom, words of wisdom, worldly things, worldy idols
2 Chronicles 24:20. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
Aye Friends, it’s New Year’s Day 2013! Wow! That calls for enthusiastic, heartfelt greetings. Happy New Year to all my Scrip-Bit Family! And please remember that 2013 will be an even better year for us than 2012 was. The Lord’s promised this, and we all know that He faithfully keeps all of His promises. I guess you also realized that the Bit would be late today, because like many of you, I did a bit of partying last night, celebrated New Year’s all around the world, right up to Calgary at 2 a.m. my time. The party was small, just family, but rousing and interesting. Made me believe the wisdom of staying home, cause when I got tired in the wee hours, I just went upstairs to my bed. And I admit that it was a bit difficult getting up this morning. When the Lord woke me up around 5 a.m. I pleaded, ‘No Lord, please, not yet!’ (smile) And in His wisdom and wonderful LOVING-kindness, He granted me another hour’s rest. Yuh see why I LOVE Him so! No doubt many of you are in the same boat, not in a rush to read my words of wisdom this first day of 2013, (smile) as I wasn’t in a rush to write them. But like the mail, the Bit must go out! Better late than never. Now turning to the problem of resolutions… yes, it has become a problem, because we rush to make them at the beginning of the year, often with good intentions, but a short while thereafter, we either forget them or intentionally discard them. That’s mainly because they are mostly worldly things. However Friends, you know there’s only one resolution we really need to make at the beginning of each year; and that’s just to promise that we’ll walk closer with Jesus. Now that encompasses everything! If we simply concentrate on walking closer with Christ, then everything else will fall into their rightful places. That’s why Jesus was so emphatic and adamant with those memorable words: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) And that, my brethren, is the only strategy we really need to follow in this current, evil, ungodly age! That brings us to our first Bit of this New Year, one I consider rather appropriate for these undoubtedly wicked times. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.’ And that’s the gospel, gospel truth my people! If you’re honest with yourselves, you’ll realize that many of the woes and disasters that have recently befallen our individual societies, and our world in general, is because like the foolish, fickle Israelites of old, who were supposed to know better, we too have turned away from Jehovah God and taken to worshipping Lucifer and his evil, worldly desires. A few days ago, while doing my daily Bible reading, I came upon our Bit, and it struck me as being so relevant to our times that I wanted to rush and use it, but I was guided to hold it until today, a more significant occasion, where people were liable to pay more attention to it. And in one of His small, but nonetheless mysterious and miraculous movements, the Lord caused me to hear a song last night that fits in very appropriately with it. The title of the song is simply ‘Superior’ by an artist called Gentleman. And the chorus goes like this: ‘I know Jah LOVING is superior. Your devil complex inferior. Worshipping material. Bowing to your silver and gold.’ Oh my brethren, that is such an apt description of our current world, that I couldn’t let it go by unnoticed! Unfortunately though, I don’t know what to say or do to change that evil, unwise behaviour, since all my best words and actions seem to fall on deaf ears, so powerful is the current lure of Beelzebub and his worldly lust. But what makes us the champions that we truly are, my fellow believers, is that we don’t EVER give up. The victory has already been won; it’s just for us to keep on fighting tooth and nail to ensure that it stays that way. Oh my people, this year of 2013 gives us the great opportunity to make a brand new start, to seriously consider all the options available to us, and to wisely choose to follow Jesus, cause he’s the ONLY way to salvation and eternal life! I won’t badger us with much scripture today, because I know that even in the best of times we seem reluctant to read it, so you can imagine the resistance this New Year’s day, with all the celebrations going on. However, I will badger us to use logic and common sense, to just look around and see what’s really happening in our world, and remember, if you’re old enough, the bye gone days when our world leaned more towards righteousness and Jehovah God than the evil of Lucifer, and consequently it was also much more prosperous, merciful, LOVING, and forgiving. And if you’re too young to remember those heady times, then please read your Bible, ask your parents or older associates, and check out the history of your own country and the world over the last fifty years, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Anyway, enough for today. Please, let’s all give much thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for bringing us safely through another fateful year, and allowing us to see this new one, where we’ll all seriously endeavour to walk closer with Him. That’s my special wish and prayer for us this wonderful upcoming year of 2013! And all God’s people said a loud, grateful and enthusiastic ‘Praise the Lord! Amen.’ Yes Friends, 2013 will be a most memorable and victorious year, not only for believers, but also for our entire world. Please believe it, see it with your eyes of faith, so that with God’s help, we can bring it to reality. Much LOVE!…just a closer walk with thee…this year of 2013…blessed Jesus is my plea…walking ever closer to thee…let it be…dear Lord…please let it be…
29 Dec 2012
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: blessings, Creator, ends of the earth, exaltation, forgiveness, god the father, God's omnipotence, great god, holiness, Jesus Christ, living truth, loving kindness, man-made idols, mercy, miracles of God, mysteries of God, praise, priorities, respect, reverence, strong Provider, wonders, worship
Psalm 135:5. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
Ah Friends, welcome to another day in the life! One filled with plenty blessings, mercy and forgiveness from our heavenly Father, Creator and strong Provider. For His undeniable LOVING-kindness to us undeserving children of men, we ought therefore to be very thankful, and in return show Him the utmost honour, reverence, respect and worship He so richly deserves. But on the other hand, being the true ingrates that we are, too many of us expect to experience and bask in that LOVING-kindness, but refuse to give Him the glory that’s rightfully His. That’s a very unwise move though Friends, because the Lord is greater than the useless idols to which so many of us bow down. Our Bit puts it quite succinctly and truthfully: ‘For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.’ And that’s the living truth Friends! How do we know that? Listen to the next two verses. ‘Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven, and in the earth, in the seas, and all deep places. He causeth the vapours (water vapour) to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries.’ (Ps.135:6-7) Yes my brethren, the entire universe is the work of His hands and His imagination. Like a potter creating pottery from scratch, He created the universe, doing whatever He pleased with His creation. So how then can any of these other supposed gods be stronger and greater than Him eh? NO WAY! And today we’re going to get into some scriptures that justify our contention…sorry, it’s not a contention, but a definite fact. We’re going to begin with Moses, a man who certainly experienced God’s greatness in his life; what with forcing Pharaoh to set the Israelites free, then parting the Red Sea for them to cross over on dry land, while swallowing up the Egyptian army, then leading a bunch of miserable, ungrateful people, their animals and their belongings through the wilderness to the Promised Land of Canaan, promised many years before to their father Abraham. Moses could therefore rightly state in his song: ‘Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods (mighty ones)? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?’ (Ex.15:11) And the definitive answer to all those questions my Friends is, ABSOLUTELY NOBODY! None of the other supposed deities can hold a match to the candle of our God; the ONE TRUE GOD; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And later on, when Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought Moses’ wife and two sons to meet him in the wilderness and heard about the wonders the Lord had done on behalf of His people Israel, he too was forced to concede: ‘Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt (behaved) proudly he was above them.’ (Ex.18:11) Even Cousin Sol, when he was planning to build God’s temple, he was so overwhelmed by the magnitude of his task and the awesome power of God, that he declared in wonder: ”And the house which I build is (will be) great: for great is our God above all gods.’ (2 Chr.2:5) And my people, those men not only heard about the great God of Israel, but more importantly they experienced His greatness personally. So there is absolutely no reason to doubt them. And I daresay the lives of many of us modern day believers are also filled with the mystical, miraculous works of God. So why then do we still doubt Him eh? I guess because we’re just naturally fickle and fainthearted, wanting everything easy and now for now. But sorry Friends, that’s not how our God operates. We need to do His will first, and in His time, He will reward us. Remember, He’s the Creator, and He runs the show, not us, the created. And now, turning to Psalm 95, listen to the psalmist declare the Lord’s omnipotence. ‘Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him, with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand (possession) are the deep places of the earth: the strength (heights) of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.’ (Ps.95:2-5) Meanwhile, in Psalm 96, the writer confidently proclaims: ‘Declare his glory among the heathen (Gentiles), his wonders among all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.’ (Ps.96:2-6) And in Psalm 97, we read: ‘For thou Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.’ (Ps.97:9) And last but not least, hear Bruh Paul’s proclamation on the subject. ‘For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we (live) by him.’ (1 Cor.8:5-6) And that my brethren is the gospel truth! So today, please, let’s rethink our priorities, and give praise and thanks where praise and thanks are due – to Almighty God! That’s true wisdom. Much LOVE!…no other supposed deity…has the power of the Lord God Jehovah…for they are mere idols…creations of man…
26 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: abundance, blessings, compassion, encouragement, forgiveness, god, God's image, graciousness, LOVE, mercy, redemption, rend your heart, right heart, seek God, sincerity, strong faith, trials, tribulations
Psalm 130:7. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
Oh mih people, it’s a brand new day, with brand new mercies, blessings and forgiveness from our wonderful God! Wow! What a God! So let’s rejoice and be thankful in it nuh. And all God’s people shouted a loud and grateful, ‘Praise ye the Lord, for He is worthy to be praised!’ Yes Friends, our God is indeed worthy of all the praise we are capable of giving, and then some more, for He’s promised that all who come to Him in sincerity of heart will be accepted, LOVED and cared for until eternity. That’s why I’m telling you today, that ‘In dreams and in LOVE, there are no impossibilities!’ Now I don’t remember where I got that quote from, but it’s been up on my office wall, in big red letters, for the longest time, and after noticing it earlier on today, I decided to share it with you. At times like these, I ask myself why put up all those words of encouragement around the office, when I don’t pay any attention to them? I guarantee that there’s enough stuff on the walls, my desk, and my filing cabinet to encourage me in whatever situation is necessary. But do I go to them, as I should, when my spirit is at low ebb, or do I even read them as I pass by them everyday? No. And as I look over to the wall on my right, I notice a calendar that’s still turned to May, while we’re in September, almost October. Hn! I have an excuse for that though; two other smaller calendars on my desk. (smile) But that calendar still shouldn’t be saying May in September, when I pass by it quite a few times everyday. Anyway friends, please don’t be like me. If you put up stuff to encourage you, then read them, so that you’ll be encouraged, otherwise it’s a waste of time and effort. And I promise to do better also. (smile) Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption.’ Yesterday we dealt with the first part that speaks of HOPE in the Lord. Today we’ll check out the second half that talks about His mercy, LOVING-kindness and plentiful redemption. And believe me Friends, our God is full to overflowing with all those things. If we live till eternity, we’ll never see the end of His awesome cache of mercy and redemption because that’s simply a part of His nature. And it would certainly stand us in good stead if we developed some of those attributes ourselves, for we’re supposed to be a reflection of our Creator, made in His own image, which means we also need to have plenty mercy and forgiveness. Now let’s check out some scriptures that validate the truthfulness of the second half of our Bit. We’ll start with Psalm 86, a prayer of Bruh David, when he bemoans: ‘Teach me thy way O Lord.’ In verse 5, he declares with strong faith: ‘For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:5) Then again in verse 15, he staunchly declares the goodness and mercy of our God. ‘But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.’ (Ps.86:15) Ah mih breddren, I don’t know what would become of us with our sinful, rebellious nature if our God wasn’t so kind, patient and merciful with us nuh. Next we’ll turn to Psalm 145, where Bruh David talks about the Lord’s graciousness. He states these facts with utter certainty. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.’ (Ps.145:8-9) There is no hint of doubt in them Friends, because Bruh David lived them; saw and experienced the mercy, kindness and compassion of the faithful God of his fathers. So if Bruh David, a man like us with plenty faults, and bigger problems than we’ll ever encounter, can put his trust in and depend wholeheartedly on the Most High God, why can’t we do likewise eh? Please remember though that the Lord didn’t just flood Bruh David with His mercies and kindness, he had to work and struggle too, with the many personal enemies, including Saul and his own son Absalom, plus those of His nation Israel. But whatever came against him, he stood strong and firm in his faith, and for that the Lord considered him righteous. Please note my brethren that Bruh David’s heart was right from the very beginning, as Samuel told Saul when the Lord took away the kingdom from him. ‘The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart.’ (1 Sam.13:14) We obviously have to clean up our own hearts too, and bring them into right standing with God, before we can expect a whole lot of good stuff to happen to us, amongst all the trials and tribulations we’re normally going to bear in this sinful world, and even more so as followers of Jesus, since that’s where the Lord looks before He decides how to react to our prayers and actions. Hn! A sentence worthy of Bruh Paul. (smile) As Isaiah so rightly proclaims: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:6-7) Oh my people, there is NO God like ours; Jehovah, the ONE, TRUE GOD, Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein! Please believe that and act accordingly. And we’ll end with some more wonderful words on the nature of our God from the prophet Joel, when he called Israel to repentance. ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; And rend (tear) your heart, and not your garments, and turn (return) unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great (LOVING) kindness, and repenteth him of the evil (relents from doing harm).’ (Joel 2:12-13) Yes Friends, that’s the wonderful Deity that we serve and worship! But as His word dictates, we have to draw near to Him, seek Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, if we want to enjoy His many blessings and mercies. Much LOVE!…let him who has ears…hear and repent…or he will eventually feel…the might of God’s wrath…
22 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: antagonism, Democrat, depression, forgiveness, gather together, humility, LOVE, manna, mercy, one accord, oppression, poverty, repentance, Republican, righteouness, rumours of wars, sickness, tearing each other apart, the Lord's anger, wars, wisdom
Zephaniah 2:1. Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired.
Oh Friends, another day has dawned bright and beautiful, though a bit chilly in my area, but still with all the blessings that our faithful God has promised, and has faithfully provided everyday. Blessings like life, mercy, manna, LOVE and forgiveness, just to name a few. But for some reason, many of us either don’t know about, or seem to appreciate these daily blessings, which unfortunately keeps us at loggerheads with each other, which in turn wreaks havoc in our society. Listen to the chorus of this song I recently heard on a T&T radio station. It’s an old fashioned type calypso, apparently penned for T&T’s fiftieth anniversary of Independence, celebrated this past August 31. It says: ‘My prayer dear Lord, is that you keep us in one accord. And if there is a plan, for the destruction of our land. Ah beg you, dear Lord, please stay your hand. My prayer to you dear Lord. Please don’t allow us to continue tearing each other (our nation) apart. Dear Lord, that’s the prayer of my heart.’ Oh my people, that’s a prayer that can be raised up to heaven for almost every nation in our world, because almost all of them are in some sort of turmoil. It can therefore be also applied to our entire world, which is in a truly sad state, with wars and rumours of wars abounding; economic depression, gross poverty and untold sickness in a world of plenty and marvellous medical science, religious confrontation and oppression, and generally speaking very few areas of agreement. Why are we so antagonistic towards each other eh, even in the smallest group, the family? I guess with the exceedingly quick pace of life nowadays, and with all the modern technology and the numerous distractions now available, plus the lack of godly instruction in homes and schools, it’s harder for even families to see eye to eye. And if the smallest and supposedly most close-knit group are at such wide and varied odds, what does that say for the society as a whole eh? It surely doesn’t instil much confidence that we’ll be getting better any time soon. A glaring example of that is the current U.S Presidential campaign. Firstly it’s very partisan, either Republican or Democrat, with no middle ground. Then it’s become so nasty, expensive and more focussed on the personal lives of the candidates, than the numerous serious problems affecting the country and their plans to fix them. Neither side seems truly concerned about the effects that style of campaigning is having on the country, but are both merely concerned with pushing their own agenda in the wild grab for power. And sadly, though not as much as before, as the U.S. goes, so does the rest of the world. So is there no help for us, you ask? Oh yes Friends, surely, for while there is life, there’s always hope. But what’s the help? My people, we can find it in our Bit and the two verses that follow it. ‘Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired (undesirable nation). Before the decree bring forth (is issued), before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility): it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.’ (Zeph.2:1-3) Yes Friends, Zephaniah was desperately calling on the meek to seek the Lord, because of Judah’s ungodliness, and letting them know how terrible it would be when the Lord’s anger strikes. But they paid no heed and when the conquering forces of Babylon ravished them, everybody just held their heads and bawled. But Friends, it was too late then, and if we don’t smarten up and truly seek the Lord today, we will eventually face the same unwanted, but much deserved fate for our ungodly, evil way of life. Oh my brethren, the day of the Lord will not be forestalled, and the scope of divine judgement will be worldwide and truly harsh. Only the meek and righteous will stand a chance of not being utterly consumed. A lot of societies today take the Word of the Lord for a joke, heaping ridicule on it, but if we really looked at the horrible situation the children of Israel faced for their disobedience in the Old Testament, we wouldn’t take it so lightly. And what do you think will be the Lord’s reaction to those who refused to place their faith in His Son Jesus Christ, whom He innocently sacrificed so that His fallen children could be reconciled to Him? I doubt that His reaction will be very wonderful, for although He is indeed a God of LOVE, mercy and forgiveness, Hs is also a God of justice and righteousness and cannot tolerate sin around Him. And we’ll end with some interesting words from Joel, when he called Judah to repentance and fasting because they were living the same wicked, unrighteous lives that we’re now living. ‘Blow the trumpet (ram’s horn) in Zion, sanctify (consecrate) a fast, call a solemn (sacred) assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breast (nursing babes): let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet (dressing room). Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen (nations) should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people (peoples), Where is their God?’ (Joel 2:15-17) Oh my brethren, we certainly don’t want the heathen to rule over us, or to feel the Lord’s full anger, we’re already feeling some with all the calamity that’s befalling our world. So I implore us to all try and improve ourselves, by raising our individual righteousness and humility, thus setting a good example, then start to encourage those around us, friends, families and co-workers to do the same. That’s what we need to do, if we want to see brighter days. It’s the wisdom that’s called for in these turbulent times. Much LOVE!…humans divided…whether in families or nations…will never achieve God’s greatest promises…
18 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: compassion, disappointment, discouragement, eternal life, faith, forgiveness, glory, good news, gospel, honour, justice, LOVE, mercy, peace, power, salvation, steadfastness, thick skin, truth, understanding, winning, wisdom
3 John 4. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
And a blessed good morning to all you beautiful people out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s supposed to be cool and rainy in my neck of the woods today, (it’s already raining) but that’s of no importance. Why, you ask? Because just like neither sleet nor snow stops the mail delivery, so nothing stops the followers of Jesus on their earthly mission to spread the good news of the gospel to all and sundry. And what’s the good news? The peace, LOVE, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, truth, justice, wisdom, understanding, salvation and eternal life that’s found in Jesus and His humble but ever so powerful way! And all God’s people shouted a joyous: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ But the truth of the matter my Friends is that it’s not always easy to follow in Jesus’ path, for Lucifer and his evil minions have made believers the number one target of their wicked and ungodly fiery darts. Today though, I have a few words to share from the Hour of Power Devotional by Robert H. Schuller which will help us in repelling Lucifer and his evil works. The words are: ‘If you will learn how to be disappointed without being discouraged, you need never be defeated.’ What an awesome truth Friends! And when I read them today, a flashlight just went off in my brain, and I knew I had to share them. It’s a simple but powerful strategy, for what’s the first thing or thought we embrace when we experience disappointment? It’s discouragement, oftimes laced with a strong desire to just give up, to let it all go to waste. But my people, that’s the wrong attitude to adopt, for disappointment doesn’t always mean failure or defeat, and if we truly learn to endure disappointment without it making us want to throw away all our hard work, then we’re winning. Believers need to have what the old people called ‘a thick skin.’ That means not letting unimportant things get us down or all worked up. I’m learning that with writing this Scrip-Bit, because not everybody agrees with or like what I write. And believe you me, supposed believers can be the nastiest critics when they’re ready. However, please remember that giving up on Jesus is NOT an option in a believer’s playbook! Those words don’t exist in Jesus’ vocabulary, which means we have to stand strong and steadfast regardless of what or who comes against us. That’s why John so happily declared in our Bit: ‘I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.’ He was exceedingly happy to hear that his buddy Gaius was standing strong and true in the faith. And he also expresses that joy in his second epistle, where he begins thus: ‘The elder unto the elect (chosen) lady and her children; whom I LOVE in the truth; and not I only, but also they that have known the truth. For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth (abides) in us, and shall be with us for ever.’ (2 John 1-2) Now the ‘elder’ there is John himself, and according to the scholars, the ‘elect (chosen) lady’ could either mean a personal friend and her family or a local church. Now, re the truth John speaks of, it will be helpful to have some explanation from the scholars. They declare that: ‘To LOVE in the truth means (1) truly, really to LOVE, and (2) to LOVE in a fashion consonant with the Christian meaning of that word. The truth which John and others have known is a combination of factual knowledge regarding the Word of God and personal knowledge of Jesus Christ.’ Also, ‘John LOVES his readers for the truth’s sake or “because of the truth,” which likely has reference to the personal presence of Christ (John 14:6) The cardinal fruit of the Spirit of Christ is LOVE (Gal..5:22)’ Then a couple verses later, John states: ‘I rejoiced greatly that I found (some) of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.’ (2 John 4) Listen to the scholars here again: ‘Walking is a Jewish idiom for “living.” John is saying that we should “live by the truth,” or in accordance with God’s revealed word and will.’ That’s gospel my brethren! How else can we live for God if we don’t live by His Word and His Will eh? It’s just like living in any group, be it two or more; certain rules and regulations must be laid down and followed, if there is to be harmony and not anarchy in the group. Likewise if there’s to be harmony amongst the followers of Jesus, then we all need to live in close agreement and joyful practice of His dictates. And not to be outdone, when Bruh Paul couldn’t go to visit the Thessalonians, he also told them of his happiness at their steadfastness in the faith. ‘For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy.’ (1 Thess.2:19-20) Yes my brethren, all believers should be filled with unspeakable joy when they hear of others walking steadfastly in the LIGHT and LOVE of Jesus, for that’s what this life is all about. And what better way to end than with the words of Jesus. When Pilate asked Him if He was a king, Jesus answered: ‘Thou sayest (rightly) that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice.’ (John 18:37) End of story Friends! So now, if we have indeed heard Jesus’ voice, then let’s go out and sincerely and energetically live that truth nuh! Much LOVE!…to truly LOVE Jesus…we must walk steadfastly in His way…just like He walked steadfastly in His Father’s…
08 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: arrogance, breath of life, compassion, forgiveness, hearts and heads, Jehoshaphat, Jerusalem, Joshua and Jericho, joyful sound, Judah, mercy, Praise the Lord, pride, rainy morning, the light of the Lord, traffic jams, victory
Psalm 89:15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.
Oh Friends, it’s a rainy morning in my area; excellent for sleeping in on this quiet, peaceful Saturday. And many of us will no doubt be doing just that, after a tiring week of work, especially the commuting aspect. I really don’t know how some people do it nuh; traffic jams in the mornings, traffic jams in the evenings, five days a week. Luckily, I’m usually going in the opposite direction, but when I do get caught in one, I realize the amount of time that’s wasted sitting there, with the highways looking like gargantuan parking lots. Recently a survey came out about the productivity, time and money that’s lost due to so much traffic congestion. I don’t remember the exact figure, but it surely was in the plenty millions of dollars. Can’t we, as supposedly the smartest of God’s creations, devise some means to get round that disastrous situation? One would certainly hope and think so. However, that task is too big and complicated for my simple mind, (smile) so let’s move on to something that I can handle. Well, a couple days ago, I found this white 5 by 4 inch card, with some big, bold, black letters printed on it. The truth is, I didn’t find it. It’s been sitting at the front of my desk for at a least a couple of years now. As soon as you enter the study, you ought to see it, but I’ve never paid any attention to it, until now. I guess now was the divine time for it to be noticed. And it says: ‘God’s tape measure goes around hearts, not heads.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth my people! God’s not interested in how big our heads are, but how big, generous and full of LOVE, mercy, compassion and forgiveness our hearts are. The problem though is that nowadays too many of our heads are way bigger than our hearts, which is a significant contributor to the sad state of our society. Pride and arrogance are much too prevalent in our current society. But enough of my ruminating, let’s look at our Bit, which brings lots of joy to my heart cause it deals with music and the Lord, two of my most favourite subjects. ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.’ Now yesterday, we saw how the Lord in Numbers 10 commanded Moses to make trumpets and to sound them for several purposes, from calling the faithful to worship, to offering sacrifices and going into battle. And we have two wonderful examples of music being used in battle. We all know about the episode with Joshua, when he captured Jericho. The Lord instructed him thus: ‘And ye shall compass (march around) the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of ram’s horns: and the seventh day, ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend (go up) every man straight before him.’ (Josh.6:3-5) And we all know it happened just as the Lord directed. We also have Jehoshaphat’s deliverance when several armies united to come against Judah. The Lord promised him victory through the rising of the Holy Spirit in one Jehaziel. ‘Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’ (2 Chr.20:15) Jehoshaphat believed God’s promise and the next day when he went out with his army, he instructed them. ‘Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushments (ambushes) against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten (defeated).’ (2 Chr.20:20-22) The Lord made the opposing armies to fight amongst themselves and destroy each other, while Judah sang praises to His Holy Name. Then they collected much spoil, without raising a hand in battle. Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship Friends! And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘You can say that again!’ And I will: (smile) What a wonderful God we serve and worship Friends! And on that positive note we’ll end for today. More on this tomorrow if the Lord blesses us with the breath of life. Till then, please walk safely under His protective umbrella, singing and giving Him much thanks and praise. For that is the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!…there’s nothing that warms the cockles of God’s heart…like sincere songs of praise and worship…
04 Sep 2012
by randyobrien50
in Inspirational Living
Tags: anguish, blasphemy, confidence, cry out to God, destruction, evil, forgiveness, Glory Halleujah, god, God is good, hear, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, prayer, prophecy, punishment, save, surrender, violence, wisdom
Habakkuk 1:2. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Oh Friends, oh Friends, our God just proved to me once again what a wonderful and faithful God He is! Just now, when I came to write the Bit, my confidence seemed to be at a rather low ebb. I can’t say what really caused it, because when I came downstairs earlier on it was fine, but somewhere in between it faltered. And all I did was read a few e-mails, most of them to do with God too, including yesterday’s Bit, then played a set of games that purport to enhance my mental prowess (smile). And even though I didn’t do as well in some of the individual games as I usually do, my overall score was higher than yesterday. So I really can’t say what triggered this lack of confidence. But somehow or the other Lucifer got into my mind – yes that’s where it all begins, in the mind – and knocked me for an unhealthy six. (smile) But what he obviously didn’t consider Friends, is that I would cry out to my God in anguish and sincere surrender, and that being the True, Faithful and LOVING Father that He is, He would renew that confidence, through the gentle touch of His Holy Spirit, and my looking up some scriptures on confidence in His Word, in particular Proverbs 3:25-26; Proverbs 14:26; and 1 John 5:13-15. And now my brethren, I can truly say a very big and bold ‘THANK YOU FATHER FOR RENEWING MY CONFIDENCE!’ Wow Friends, what a great and mighty God, endowed with much mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness we serve and worship! And all God’s people let forth a mighty shout of joy, boldly declaring: ‘Glory Hallelujah to the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE! Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here now as I consider God’s mysterious movement in my life this morning. Apparently He felt that I needed a testimony; I’ve been doing enough talking, and needed to walk some of that talk. So Friends, I can boldly testify now, that if your spirit is somewhat downcast and on the low side, you can successfully cry out to God, get in His Word and feel His Sprit work in you, to bring you back up to a decent level. And on another good note of God’s faithfulness, I read where an Imam was arrested in the last couple days for framing the young Christian girl being held in a Pakistani jail on blasphemy charges. Somebody apparently squealed on him. But what’s even more surprising and important is that they actually arrested him and took him away in chains and a white blindfold. That decree must have come from some real powerful person, cause when have you ever heard of an Imam’s word being doubted in a fanatical Muslim society, especially when it comes to the burning of a holy work by a Christian believer? God truly is good my people! Now let’s see if we can get some action on our Bit. (smile) ‘O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!’ Ah mih breddren, Habakkuk’s words on the state of his country Judah so long ago, so closely mirrors the state of our own society now that it’s not funny! Rather, it’s heartbreaking and unsettling. For it seems that severe punishment is also going to be meted out to us for our proud and obnoxious disobedience and rebellion towards Almighty God, Creator and Everlasting Ruler of our Universe. Habakkuk’s cry of unanswered prayer sounds like Jeremiah’s in his Lamentations for Judah’s fall. ‘He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about (walled me in), that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry out and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.’ (Lam.3:6-8) But what else did Jeremiah expect eh, when he himself had prophesied to Judah about their coming destruction, and they refused to listen to him? Oh my people, we are always declaring that our God doesn’t change; He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So in light of that, let me ask a seemingly foolish question here. If God severely punished Israel so often, plus all those others who were supposed to believe in and worship Him faithfully, what do you think is going to happen to us, especially since we LOVE to claim that our society was founded on Christian principles? Oh my fellow believers, it doesn’t take the brains of a rocket scientist to understand God’s rules because they are quite simple: obey, or you pay! It’s the same thing our earthly parents taught us from a tender age, and we obeyed them lots of the time because of fear, fear of the punishment that would be meted out to us mostly in a physical manner. But Friends, our God doesn’t want us to obey Him because we’re afraid of His eventual punishment, but because we LOVE Him the way He LOVES us, and thus want to do His will. But we’ve gotten so big for out ‘britches’ these days that we only do what we think is right. Anyway mih people, the long and short of the story is that our world is in a despicable state, partly because of our wilful, blatant and stubborn disobedience to ALL the commandments of our Creator. And we’re already paying dearly for that disobedience. So let’s end with some wise words from the prophet Micah, re the terrible end of the oppressors of the poor. ‘Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work (plan) evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take (seize) them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage (inheritance). Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil (I am devising disaster), from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.’ (Mic.2:1-3) And this time is surely evil my people, so please let’s wake up and hear what God is saying to us nuh: repent, and come back to my fold, else it won’t be well with you. Friends and fellow believers, I implore us to listen and heed God’s advice. That’s wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!…there’s none so deaf…as he who refuses to hear…
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