Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 May 2013 Matthew 27:46.

26 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 27:46.    And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
 
Oh Friends, ‘Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there, were you there, were you there when they crucified my Lord?’ 
 

Thankfully Friends, the answer to that question is NO! None of us was there, but judging from the reports outlined in the Good Book, it must have been a gory sight on a ghastly day. I’m ever so glad that I didn’t witness it in person, because I doubt I could have handled it. Just reading about it now, two thousand years later, is bad enough.
 
That brings me to a subject I don’t think many of us even consider; that’s the ignoble and excruciating torture that Jesus suffered for us; mentally, emotionally and physically.
 
Put yourselves in His position nuh Friends. Can you imagine being betrayed by one of your closest confidantes for money, then having to go through the unfair trials that Jesus did, being shuffled from one court to another, from one egotistic, unfair judge to another? And that’s the good part.
 
What about being slapped around, spat on, then being mocked by having a purple robe put around you, and a crown of thorns placed on your head? And I’m sure that crown wasn’t just placed, but jammed down on Jesus’ head, then a crowd of jeering soldiers bowing before you and crying out: ‘Hail, the king of the Jews!’
 
Just think about the scourging He received nuh. Think about those sadistic blows of a cat-o-nine tails raining down on His very human back. Could you handle it, with the various pieces of metal, etc, attached to the whip, just tearing away at your flesh with every lash? And then the march up to Calvary in such sorry state, bearing His cross. Hn! The only redeeming feature is that the tormentors enlisted Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry the cross.
 
Then when you’ve come to the ugly, hard-scrabble hill and gully called Golgotha – even the name, place of the skull, causes sordid thoughts – they lay the cross on the ground, then lay you down on it and nail your hands and feet to it. And yuh better believe it wasn’t the nice, clean, smooth, refined nails that he have nowadays, but the large, rough, crude pieces of metal of a bygone era. And I’m sure the ‘nailer’ wasn’t being kind or trying to inflict as little pain as possible, most likely the exact opposite.
 
Then they lift up the cross with you nailed to it, plant it in the hard, rocky ground, and leave you there in the hot, midday, desert sun, for your life to slowly ooze away in enormous pain and anguish. And when you say you’re thirsty, they give you gall, bitter vinegar to drink.
 
And all through this hateful and painful fiasco, they keep taunting you. If you’re God, then take yourself down from the cross. You saved others, now save yourself nuh. And to add to the shame, they crucify you between two vagabonds, deserving of crucifixion. Then just be to be sure you’re dead, they pierce your side with a spear, after you’ve visibly given up the ghost.
 
Now Friends, do you think you could handle all of that without uttering a single peep from all the pain and inhumane suffering, or not beg for mercy and recant? Most of us would have been dead before we even set out for Calvary.
 
But Jesus bore it all with great dignity and fortitude, because that was His assigned role, the role he was born to play. And if He hadn’t played it to the fullest, billions of sinners, billions of His Father’s greatest creation would have ended up in the labyrinth-like dungeons of Hades with that foolish fool Lucifer, who just like us today, didn’t realize what a good thing he had going as a high ranking angel in heaven.
 
The only thing that caused Jesus to cry out, not that He didn’t feel the physical pain, was the separation from His Father. That cut Him to the quick, hurt Him to the core, as he declares in our Bit. ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’
 
The scholars describe it thus: ‘Here we have the high cost to Christ of His atonement for our sins, who was accursed of God as our sin-bearer (cf. 2 Cor.5:21; Gal.3:13) and suffered the agony of spiritual death for us.’ So true Friends, so true.
 
Now recently I was thinking about all the punishment that Jesus had to bear for our abominable sins, and it struck me that the Father really extracted a terrible price from Jesus on our behalf. It got me to wondering if I could ever allow that to happen to my only and very BELOVED Son. I don’t think so.
 
But that just goes to show how righteous and just the Father is. Above all, justice must be served, for the wages of sin is death, (Rom.6:23a) and to avoid that eternal fate, a sinless, unblemished Lamb had to be sacrificed, and Jesus was the only One who met that high criteria. But I was also thinking that the Father didn’t have to be so rough on Him, make it so excruciating and torturous. Obviously He thought otherwise.
 
That brings me to two points I want to make. The first is that sin is a very serious matter, and truly disliked by God. He dislikes it so much that He went to such great lengths to provide a way out for us. Secondly, He must really LOVE us a whole heap to put both Jesus and Himself through so much pain and tribulation to redeem us.
 
And thirdly – I guess I have three points and not two. (smile) Thirdly, that we’re such a bunch of no good, ungrateful wretches, that after Jesus met such an ignominious and shameful end so that we could be reconciled to the Father, we still have the ‘boldfacedness,’ the gall to question His sacrifice, doubt His truth and make derogatory remarks about Him. Steups!
 
Oh Friends, we should be so grateful and thankful, that we’d be falling all over ourselves to not even put one foot wrong, to honour, LOVE, worship, obey and revere Him! Look at how we make obeisance to earthly rulers who only oppress and suppress us. But to the One who’s done the ‘MOSTEST’ for us, we ignore, defame and try to remove Him from our society.  How sad…
 
But my brethren, I’m begging, pleading, imploring us to change, to correct our wrong attitude today, right now, this very minute! Let’s truly begin to honour Jesus for the unselfish sacrifice He made for us. Let’s praise and glorify Him, spread His Holy Name throughout the entire world, as He asked us to do, be exceedingly glad to be His followers, and not be ashamed, as some of us are, for He is indeed worthy to be praised and glorified.
 
And please note this about the Father; He faithfully rewards obedience to His Word and Will. And Jesus was nothing but obedient during His earthly sojourn.
 
That’s why Bruh Paul could confidently and unhesitatingly proclaim to the Philippians: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things (those) in heaven, and things (those) in earth, and things (those) under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:9-11)
 
Now that’s the gospel truth my brethren! So please, let’s live like we really believe it nuh. It speaks of both wisdom and gratefulness to the zenith. Much LOVE!
 
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…just to think of what Jesus did for me…makes this earthly life all worthwhile…
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 December 2012 2 Timothy 2:1

07 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Timothy 2:1.     Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’

Oh Friends, it’s Friday, and I’m hearing more ‘TGIF’s’ and “Thank God it’s Friday’ than I’ve heard for a little while. I guess we’re all beginning to catch ourselves and regain our joy after all the natural disasters we’ve recently suffered. It’s also the Christmas season, when we celebrate the most important birth ever, that of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that’s always a joyful time. Today, December 7th, is also an important day in my life, because it marks the 40th anniversary of when I stepped off a plane at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, to begin life as a Canadian. But just imagine that nuh! It’s been forty, long, hard, but interesting years I’ve lived in the cold North Country. Wow! If you’d told me when I landed that cold December day in 1972, that I’d still be here after forty years, I would have laughed and said you were crazy. But here I am, after all that time, and though Canada has been somewhat rough, what with the weather and all the other inconveniences of life, it has taught me a lot, things that I might not have learned had I stayed in the West Indies. I now know, that if I can survive and prosper here, I can do the same anywhere in the world. And though Canada is slipping, like so many of the developed countries, it’s still the BEST big country in the world! Way to go Canada! And all God’s Canadian people said a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ The major problem though is that too many of us believers are sitting on our fat, comfortable fannies, enjoying the laurels of yesteryear, expecting them to last forever, without any more hard work or sacrifice. But Friends, I’m here to tell us that only hard work and sacrifice keeps us at the forefront of anything, be it a simple game or a big country. And to help us remember that, and to write it in the depths of our souls, where we need it most, let’s chant our Friday Chant, with much gusto. As one loud, harmonious voice 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.’ Oh my people, hopefully that will help us be a good soldier of Jesus Christ, as Bruh Paul tells Timothy in our Bit: ‘Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’ And my brethren, we need to do just that, if we truly desire to follow Jesus and enlarge His righteous kingdom. In part, this entails: ‘And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.’ (2 Tim.2:2) And though that’s a very worthwhile task, it’s never easy, for we’ll experience opposition once we speak the name of Jesus, as He says in John 15:20. Oh my people, especially in these most wicked and sinful end times, we badly need endurance, perseverance, fortitude, plenty belly and backbone to be able to stand strong and do Jesus’ work. As Bruh Paul tells Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim.2:3) Now that is an area in which I believe we’re seriously falling down. Christians these days are a bit too comfortable in, and preoccupied with the ways and material wealth of this ungodly world. We’re also too lethargic when coming to proselytizing, finding all sorts of mamby pamby excuses for why we’re not doing a better job for Christ. But please note Bruh Paul’s reminder to Timothy. ‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim.2:4) That means fellow believers, we cannot afford to get caught up in the trifling, mundane, petty, greedy, envious, ungodly, war-like affairs of this world. We need to keep our eyes of faith steadfastly focused on Jesus and the job He’s called us to do. ‘Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds (chains); but the word of God is not bound (chained). (2 Tim.2:8-9) Bruh Paul is here citing examples of two people, Jesus and himself, who suffered real hardship for the cause. And though most of us will never be asked to withstand the hardship and pain those two endured, we will all be required to come up better that we’re currently doing. To improve our work for Christ, means we also have to improve our knowledge and understanding of His mission. Just like in other aspects of life, believers are expected and need to grow daily in knowledge and understanding of the Word. A stagnant, non-growing believer is to all intents and purposes, a dead believer. That means we have to learn to do as Bruh Paul says in verse 10. ‘Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s (chosen ones) sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.’ (2 Tim.2:10) Yes Friends, we the saints of glory in Jesus Christ, have to bear our burdens in this evil, corrupted world with patience, endurance and perseverance, which we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit that indwells us, plus diligently committing the Word to our hearts and minds, and glorifying God with much prayer, praise and thanksgiving. As I keep saying, walking strong with and for Jesus, is not an easy row to hoe, but when we do it with joy and gladness, it’s certainly interesting, exciting and adventurous. So today, let’s all take stock of our soldiering on Christ’s behalf, and then make whatever changes are necessary to improve it. Only then will we be walking the true and fruitful path to freedom, salvation and eternal life. Much LOVE!…working for Jesus is difficult…but the rewards are definitely worth it…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 June 2012 1 John 4:10

08 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 John 4:10.    Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! And all God’s children joyfully shouted: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ And mih people, please don’t tell me that my God isn’t a good and great God nuh, because I experience His goodness and greatness in some form and fashion, every day! Take for instance last night, as I was lying in my bed, contemplating what I would write today, hoping for something a little different, something with a little more spunk, I half seriously, have jokingly asked the Lord to help me write a moving, exciting, encouraging, edifying and uplifting Bit. I wanted and needed a Bit that would put some passion in our souls and give us the necessary gumption, the fortitudinous backbone and belly we need to truly LOVE our God, LOVE ourselves, and likewise our neighbours, to sincerely LIVE our Faith, and to diligently SPREAD His Word. And yuh know what? Immediately, without any hesitation whatsoever, the Lord answered, ‘Why not?’ And I replied,’ No reason whatsoever Lord.’ And the Lord declared, ‘Well let’s do it then!’ So let’s do it nuh mih people, let’s lively up the start of the weekend by chanting our Friday Chant with much reverence, vocal strength and enthusiasm. All together now, as one earthly choir: ‘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.’ So doh tell me that I’m not going to LOVE, serve, revere and genuinely worship the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! You must be joking yes people! For there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that He is indeed THE GREATEST! Where else can you find a God like Him eh? NOWHERE! A God who’s all powerful, all seeing, all about the place at the same time, plus LOVING ungrateful, undeserving, unworthy children unconditionally. He LOVED us so much that He even sacrificed His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on that old, ugly, evil wooden cross at Calvary, so that we could be legally, justifiably be redeemed and reconciled to Him. Hn! As our Bit so remarkably declares: ‘Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that He LOVED us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ Now who else, could, or even would have done that, were they able to? NOBODY ELSE! Yes Friends, nobody else but our great God would have sacrificed their only child for a bunch of ungrateful sinners! And on top of that, He still gives us new mercies and blessings every day, and through His Holy Spirit leads and guides us along earth’s very challenging paths. And that ain’t all nuh mih breddren! As a lagniappe, or broughta (don’t know if I spelled the last one right) but as an extra, on top of all the other good things He’s done and is still doing for us, our merciful, generous and ever-LOVING God, also threw in the most wonderful gifts possible of salvation and eternal life. Wow! And what was the response of God’s people? They all raised their heads, hearts, hands, eyes and voices heavenward, and proudly proclaimed: ‘Oh our God, we LOVE You, we worship You, we give You thanks and praise, and promise to be steadfast members of your great flock, from now until forever. We pray this on the Holy blood of Jesus shed for us at Calvary! Amen!’ And now Friends, what wait we for eh? The Lord’s obviously our hope! Oh my people, I sure hope that this Bit picked us up, reminded us of why we LOVE and serve the Lord God Jehovah through Jesus Christ. I hope it reminds us very forcefully that before we LOVED Him, He LOVED us unconditionally, and gave us salvation and eternal life as a token of that LOVE! And He did it all through His own mercy and generosity: ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done; but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed (poured out) on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified (declared righteous) by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.’ (Titus 3:5-7) So please my people, having witnessed and experienced all that LOVING-kindness, forgiveness and mercy, let’s ramp up our passion for Jesus today nuh, and get out there into the evil, ungodly world and put up a valiant fight, which will eventually lead to victory in His Holy Name! Amen! That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…JESUS…the Truth…the Way…the Light…and the Life…no other name is worthy of such praise…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2012 Matthew 7:7

20 May 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 7:7.    Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Oh Friends, there’s some good news to share this beautiful Sunday morning! The ole fella’s getting better! All thanks and praise to our heavenly Father!  Yeh, I’m not feeling as weak, unenergetic and wishy-washy as I was a couple days ago. I guess that’s because I’m finally getting some more sleep and getting back into the riddim of my normal routine. The ole ying and yang seem to be finally getting in sync again. And I just want to glorify our great God for enabling me to do it, because I certainly couldn’t do it on my own. For remember, without Jesus we can do nothing. (John 15:5) And that’s why He spoke the critical words of advice and wisdom contained in our Bit: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ Those are action words my people, and Jesus desires His followers to be persons of action, like He was during His earthly sojourn, and like He still is, pleading and advocating for us with the Father. Consequently, we should be talking less and putting more of our energy and efforts into actually doing. Now let’s look at some scriptures that corroborate our Bit, obviously beginning with Jesus, where all things begin. (smile) The Good Book says: ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) The parable was about the woman denied justice who kept bugging the judge until he heard her plea, though for the wrong reason. (Luke 18:2-8) Like that persevering woman, followers of Jesus ought to keep on fighting for their rights, for truth and justice! And we can only do those things by taking positive actions, like asking, seeking and knocking on closed doors, since stuff won’t just fall into our laps because we wish it to. Remember it takes plenty backbone and belly, born of a strong, persevering, fortitudinous faith in Jesus, to successfully navigate this evil, ungodly world. Now listen to these famous words of James on our topic: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8) There’s abundant truth in those words my brethren! If we want wisdom, or anything from our God, who’s ever so generous with His gifts, we have to ask for it. But we have to ask with faith, being decisive, not double-minded, for such a one is unstable and untrustworthy. Meanwhile, the beloved disciple, John, in his first epistle, puts it this way: ‘Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and LOVE one another, as he gave us commandment.’ (1 John 3:21-23) Therefore Friends, if we live right with God, He will give us whatever we ask, though with the ever so important proviso; provided it coincides with His will. And before we conclude, let’s hear from the scholars: ‘Both Jesus (Luke 18:1) and Paul (1 Tim.2:1) emphasized the importance of prayer, noting that people ought always to pray. Prayer includes asking and getting answers from God. But it is more than just asking; it is confession, adoration, thanksgiving, and fellowship with God. By its nature, prayer is talking with God. It is the basis of the successful Christian life, and is so important that not praying is considered a sin (1 Sam.12:23). When we pray, we should follow the model prayer Jesus gave His disciples and address it our heavenly Father- beginning with adoration, including thanksgiving and confession of sins, making reconciliation with others, praying for our needs and the needs of others, and concluding in Jesus’ name  (Matt.6:9-15; John 14:14).’ Those are indeed wise and truthful words my Friends, which we should most definitely heed! Now let’s end with the heartfelt, authoritative words of Jesus, as we like to do whenever possible: ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE!’ (John 15:7-9) There you have it Friends, in black and white, from our Lord and Saviour. So, if we’re to be considered His true followers, then let’s do as He desires nuh. It’s the only wise and sensible path! Much LOVE!…,continual heartfelt communication with God…is the hallmark of the true Christian…

 

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