Today’s Scrip-Bit   3 May 2023 Galatians 5:23.

03 May 2023 Leave a comment

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

Galatians 5:23.       If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Oh, what a glorious, wet, damp, drizzly, arthritis inducing Wednesday May morning! (smile) Yes friends, the last few days have been a combination of drizzle and weak sunshine, and the dampness that sneaks into the bones, causing the arthritis malady to raise its ugly head. But thank the Lord the weather doesn’t affect my aching bones. I don’t know why, but it’s never really made my supposed arthritic condition any worse. My pains come around when they feel like, regardless of the weather. And I’ve learned over the years to just grin and bear them, taking the odd medication when the pain gets a bit much. 

What I don’t like about my joint pains is that they are annoyingly intermittent; suddenly showing up out of the blue, with no warning, and no obvious aggravation on my part. They’ll stick around for a bit, then disappear just as suddenly as they came, for another period of time. It’s a good thing Jesus warned us that in this world we’d have trials and tribulations, but we ought to be of good cheer, for He’s overcome, He’s conquered this evil world! Glory be my brethren! 

And we do have to learn to handle some of our pain and not run to the medication bottle as soon as the pain shows up. My logic is that if we use the medications too often then they will cease to work properly after a while. But that’s just me, and I suppose my aches and pains might not be as bad as some of you my fellow believers. Each of us though need to keep Christ first place in our lives especially in our times of illness, for remember He is the Great Physician and prayer is our greatest privilege. So let’s try and use it more than we use the medications nuh.

 And we can begin right now with this prayer I found amongst some papers while doing some spring cleaning in one of the many cubicles on my desk. I found all sorts of stuff, written ages ago, some that I couldn’t even read properly because of the terrible handwriting, and that was just a small portion of what’s hiding there. I’m sure there are many gems amongst the crud, but only time and my persistence in cleaning the desk will tell. Anyway, enough talk. Let’s pray this prayer that’s titled ‘Renew Toronto,’ but is very appropriate for renewing both our cities and our lives. And please don’t ask me where I got it from, (smile) because I haven’t the foggiest notion. 

Instead, please pray with me: ‘Gracious God, in your wisdom and LOVE, You create us in your image and likeness. You call us to be your Presence in the world. Let the Spirit of Jesus grow with us for this journey  – inspire in us insight and vision for our Church community  – ready our hearts and hands to bring healing to our sinfulness  – move our feet to live the Gospel of Jesus with courage and joy. Renew us, GRACIOUS GOD. Renew us by your LOVING acceptance of us. Renew us to do justice, to LOVE kindness, and to walk humbly with you, our God. To renew the face of this earth. Amen.’ 

Ah friends, I like it, and I hope you do too, because it’s simple and straightforward, yet covers all the bases. And oh, do we ever need a total renewing in these ungodly and evil times, where faith and trust in Almighty God is sadly on the wane, and the enemy is getting bolder and more prevalent every day. How we do need the Holy Spirit of Jesus to fill us up like Bruh Paul exhorted the Ephesians. 

‘See that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation, licentiousness); but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:15-21) 

Yes my fellow believers, that’s how we ought to live; being filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to fill us with God’s own life, character and values, rather than the dissipating wine that leads us astray to ungodly and sinful thoughts, deeds and actions. For it is only when we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God that we can receive the things we just prayed for; that’s inspiration for insight and vision for our Church community, to ready our hearts and hands to bring healing to our sinfulness and to move our feet to live the Gospel of Jesus with courage and joy. 

Then, and only then can we fulfill Bruh Paul’s words to the church at Galatia. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirt, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal. 5:16-18) That’s oh so true my fellow saints, we only have two options; to walk in the Spirit or to walk in the flesh and Bruh Paul breaks down what both consist of in the verses that follow: ‘the lust or works of the flesh vs.19-21, and the fruit of the Spirit, vs. 22-23. 

Please read and study them, so that they can take root in our souls, so that we can therefore do as he later says: ‘And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections (its passions) and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory (conceited), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal. 5:24-26) Now, those are certainly words to live by, especially in these turbulent and contrary last days my brethren! And for those of us who are sincerely trying to live that way, let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our fabulous position in Christ Jesus. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘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!’ 

Now, please remember that it’s also been promised that if we stick with Jesus right down to the very end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Yes, our puny, finite minds simply won’t be able to comprehend it. (smile) So let’s use that as further encouragement to endure to the end nuh. Much LOVE!

…a spiritual walk with Christ…has so much more to offer…than a lustful, carnal walk with the enemy… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ              

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 August 2022   Ephesians 5:15.

05 Aug 2022 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 5:15.       ​ See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise.

Well friends, the big sighs of relief went up this morning, as everybody declared: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ You’d believe that we worked so hard this week, when many of us only worked four days. That’s not counting those who booked off sick sometime therein. (smile) 

And would you believe the same thing that happened on Wednesday evening happened yesterday afternoon. The skies got dark, as though they were preparing for a huge deluge, with plenty thunder rolls. But yuh know what? Eventually we still only got a small sprinkling of heavenly blessings. 

Chuh! The thunder rolls were more than the rain. When yuh hear the rain didn’t even wet my porch, that’s to tell you how poor the shower was. Sorry, can’t even call it a real shower, for real showers splatter all over my porch, and soon thereafter the place was dry like chip again. So, Mother Nature is still crying out for thirst. 

Don’t know what is the problem between rain and my neighbourhood nuh. Can it be that we’re so ungodly that the Lord is withholding His blessings? Who knows? Anything is possible. But today, I want us to concentrate on some verses of scripture from Bruh Paul’s letter to the Ephesians that are ever so important in these dangerous and disastrous times. 

The first one says: ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise.’ (Eph. 5:15) Yes friends, it’s of the utmost importance that believers walk very circumspectly if we are to set a good example for the unbelievers, for it’s so easy to fall into the deceitful and lying traps of the always prowling enemy. 

Then Bruh Paul writes: ‘Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.’ (Eph. 5:16) Wow! That shouldn’t be news to us, because we are seeing and experiencing very evil times and actions! That’s why we need to take every opportunity to redeem, reveal or expose the sins of the lost, being a faithful witness to them in these seriously evil days. 

And Bruh Paul continues: ‘Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.’ (Eph. 5:17) And believe me, my people, do we ever need to be wise and understand what’s the Lord’s will since the world is so overrun with evil. It’s like Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Rome. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) 

And the only way we can know the true will of God is by meditating on His Word, talking to Him in prayer and associating with other believers. Then, as is his wont, Bruh Paul gives a few practical and physical examples of what he’s talking about. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation); but be filled with the Spirit.’ (Eph. 5:18) 

Yes my fellow saints, ‘drunkenness leads to moral intemperance, which is clearly contrary to God’s will. His will is that Christians be filled with (by) the Spirit; that is, they are to allow Him to fill them with God’s own life, character and virtues. The analogy between these two moral states is this: a person filled with wine is under its influence; similarly, a Christian is filled with the Spirit when he controls his thoughts, attitudes and actions.’  

This brings us to a rather interesting subject -The Fullness of the Holy Spirit. What’s it all about eh? The scholars explain it thus: ‘The words be filled here mean “be continually filled,” emphasizing that the fullness of the Spirit is a repeated experience for believers. When a person is drunk with an alcoholic beverage, his walk, talk, and sight are controlled by alcohol. 

God desires that the minds of Christians be controlled by the Holy Spirit so that they will walk in the Spirit, speak on behalf of God, and understand the things of God. Because people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation, they do not need to get more of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Spirit occurs when the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer. 

Illustration: As we establish our fellowship with God through confession of sins (1 John 1:9) and yield to Him (Rom. 6:13), we can be filled with the Spirit if that is our desire (Matt. 5:6) and prayer Luke 11:13). (Please take a moment and check out those scripture references) Application: Every Christian should be filled with the Spirit in order that he may have God’s power to serve Him (Acts 1:8).’ Now, hopefully that gives us a better understanding of what it means to be filled with Spirit. (smile) 

And we move on to some more practical examples of Bruh Paul’s will of the Lord. He advises: ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:19-21) 

Oh my brethren, that kind of stuff is so essential to helping us lead the true Christian life: songs and melodies that lift up our spirits, encouraging words and deference from and to each other, giving thanks to God, being grateful for all that He’s done, doing and promises to do for us. Those are just a few things that keep us on the straight and narrow path. And then there’s sincere prayer. So let’s get to that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. 

As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

Also, please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, if we are to receive positive answers to our prayer, then we need to clean up our act and give the Lord some incentive to act on our behalf. Much LOVE!

…in these very sinful and ungodly times…the Holy Spirit ought to play a greater part in the believer’s life… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8​            

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