gladness | SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 December 2013 Ecclesiastes 12:14

19 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a part of the world, actions, almighty god, Amen, ask for, behold the sun, best interest, blessings, calamitous days, cautionary note, comparison, condemned, consciousness, constancy in prayer, constancy of weather, corrupt, cursed, day of judgement, days of darkness, deceitful world, decision, desired reults, divine guidance, doing godly stuff, embracing ungodly activities, encouraged, enemy, engulfed, enjoyment of life, enlist, enthused, evening, every work, evil, evil stuff, evil world, eyes, faithful, feeding connection, friends, futile life, futility, give account, gladness, good, good fruit, heavenly Father, hold out our hands, hopeful, Hour of Power, idle word, immortal words, insights, Jesus Christ, Jesus' desires, joy of the lord, joyful fellowship, joys, judged, judgement, judgement day, justified, lead us away, lifeblood, light, light is sweet, live for Jesus, living truth, LOVE, machinations, mistakes, moment of prayer, morning, mysterious ways, new day, new week, omnipotent god, pleasant thing, possibilities, prayer, prosper, puzzling, receive, rejoice, righteous, robert h schuller, sap our strength, secret thing, share, sink deeply, solve problems, sow seed, sown, stand the test, strong sensation, succeed, sunlight, sure of success, testing flames, the help of God, things of God, thwart, treasure of the heart, true believers, trust God, umbilical cord, upright in heart, vanity, wicked designs, wisdom, word of warning, workings, wrested

Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Oh Friends, wonder of wonders! It’s supposed to go up to 4 degrees above freezing with sunshine in my area today! Bubba! From minus temps during the last few days to plus temps today, then back to minus tonight. That’s going to cause much icing up, then freezing rain and possibly snow on the weekend.

What a mish mash of weather conditions! There’s just no constancy to it these days. But my people, there is constancy in prayer; the lifeblood of the faithful, of the true believers in Jesus Christ!

And here is a prayer I’ve been trying to include since the day we spoke of prayer being the umbilical cord, our feeding connection to Almighty God. It comes from Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, and says.

‘Father, I have a strong sensation that you brought me to this moment of prayer because you plan to share with me insights to solve my problems. So I will go out and face the sunlight of a new day and a new week crammed with undiscovered possibilities. I am encouraged! I am enthused! I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time! Amen.’

Yes Friends, I do hope that encouraged us some this morning, because in this cursed and evil world, we desperately need to build hope, encouragement and enthusiasm, if we’re going to live sincerely for Jesus. The world tries to sap our strength, energy and enthusiasm and lead us away from the things of God.

But we need to enlist the help of our God through prayer to thwart the evil stuff that comes against us. And right now, too many of us are still being a part of the world, involved in, and embracing its ungodly activities, instead of just being in it, doing godly stuff, as Jesus desires. And that is definitely not in our best interest. Why?

Because as our Bit so plainly states: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’

Yes my brethren, all our work will be judged by the Almighty at some stage, and it won’t go down well with the judge if our works were evil, were too tied up with the ungodly machinations of this ungodly world. So what are we to do then?

The Preacher wisely declares: ‘In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper (which will succeed), either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.’ (Eccl.11:6-7)

Yes Friends, since we don’t understand the mysterious ways and workings of our omnipotent God, and are never totally sure of success, we need to get involved in the good and godly things that life has to offer, and trust God to produce the desired results.

However, the preacher includes a word of warning here. ‘But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity (futility).’ (Eccl.11:8)

And isn’t that the living truth! Now here some notes from the scholars. ‘The comparison with light (v.7) speaks of the enjoyment of life (cf. Ps. 97:11).’

Ah mih people, I’m going to spoil us here by quoting that referenced scripture, since I know that very few of us will take the time to look it up. (smile) “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” (Ps.97:11)

Now getting back to the scholars’ notes. ‘Verse 8 adds a cautionary note to enjoyment that may be summarized in two ideas: (1) There will be many days of darkness, calamitous days. (2) All that cometh is vanity: That is, joys will not come easily, they must be wrested from a puzzling and futile life.’

And don’t we all know that my fellow believers! Real joy in this unstable and deceitful world is hard to come by, unless we are tied by that umbilical cord of prayer to our heavenly Father, and ask for and receive His divine guidance and blessings.

That’s why the Good Book so staunchly advises us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) For only when we have a joyful fellowship with the Creator and Controller of the universe, can we really be strong and thus resist the wicked designs of the enemy.

Oh Friends, I wish I could impart the true importance of all that we do on this pilgrimage down here on earth, because it’s going to make a substantial difference in our after-lives. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus, as He talks about good and corrupt fruit.

‘A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:35-37)

Now those aren’t my words Friends, but the Master’s, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, so it is certainly reasonable to expect that He knows what He’s speaking about.

Oh my people, we can’t do much about what’s already passed, but we surely can do something about the days to come. Therefore my fellow believers, from today, RIGHT NOW, let’s try to get those immortal words of Jesus to sink deeply into our consciousness nuh, so that we can more closely watch our words and actions, thereby cutting down the mistakes we make, and consequently the judgement we’ll face, come that judgement day.

That’s wisdom at it’s highest and very best my brethren! Much LOVE!

…on that fateful day…our words and actions…will either stand the test…or they will be engulfed by the testing flames…the decision is ours to make…NOW…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 September 2013 Psalm 81:9

05 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: almighty god, anger, appreciation, blessings, bondage in Egypt, bottomless morass, catastrophic history, christianity, compacent, covenant, deprivation, fat, finest wheat, first commandment, followers of Jesus, foolish pride, forgiveness, forgot who brought us to the dance, gilty of the same crime, gladness, god, God's dictates, God's goodness, gospel truth, greed, honey, house of bondage, I am the Lord, idolatry, In Touch, insular worlds, Israel's waywardness, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, joy, lazy, let us rejoice and be glad, live as though everything matters, lives of excellence, lives of significance, LOVE, loving kindness, lust of their hearts, make a positive difference, mournful lament, my people would not listen, negative results, new mercies, no other gods before me, omnipotent god, one true God, pangs of want, peace, picture of your soul, prosperity, prosperous society, protective umbrella, psalmist asaph, rebellious, refuse to walk in covenant with God, religion, rumours of war, showing LOVE, sin, sincere repentance, sinful nature, stop focusing on ourselves, stubborn people, subdued their enemies, the day of the Lord, too big for their britches, topsy turvy world, tough times, true disciples of Jesus, true discipleship, true reflections, ungodliness, uniform authority, walked in their own counsel, walling in the mire, wars, wickedness, wisdom, worship strange gods, Yahweh

Psalm 81:9. There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

Oh Friends, another new morn is here with new blessings, mercies and forgiveness! Wow! Are we ready to receive this new day and all the positive things it brings with joy, gladness and humble appreciation? I certainly hope so, because if we’re not, then we’ll lose out on the best stuff that Almighty God has to offer.

And all God’s children joyfully declared: This is the day the Lord has made, WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!’

Yes mih people, that’s the way I like to hear us shout out loud and proud in the name of Jehovah God! It’s the only way to go, otherwise we’re showing ourselves unappreciative of His wonderful blessings, mercies and forgiveness.

Now, while going through some papers here just now, I came upon this little note I’d taken from an article of the June issue of In Touch Magazine. It’s simple, but it says a whole lot. ‘The way you live your life everyday is a picture of your soul.’

Now that sounds like gospel truth to me! Why? Because we generally live our lives the same way everyday, and thus they are true reflections of how we feel, think and behave.

And to expand on that, I’m saying that we should therefore live everyday of our lives as though everything matters. We should try to make a difference, a positive one that is, and stop focusing on ourselves, and our little, insular worlds.

As believers we ought to live lives of excellence, lives of significance that impact positively in, and on the lives of others. Then and only then, will we be showing the LOVE and true discipleship that Jesus desires of His followers.

Now here’s our Bit: ‘There shall no strange (foreign) god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.’

Oh Friends, that verse comes from Psalm 81, where the psalmist Asaph is writing of God’s goodness and the Israelites waywardness. But in fact it’s the very first commandment the Lord gave His people when He brought them out of bondage in Egypt way back in time.

‘And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ (Ex.20:1-3)

Oh my brethren, those words are self-explanatory, simple and to the point, as are most of the words of our great God! That meant the Israelites were entering into an exclusive covenant with Yahweh, the One, True God.

But as we all know, they were a rebellious and stubborn people and did not keep the covenant for very long. In fact they reneged on it several times during their long, stormy and catastrophic history.

This led the psalmist to write of God. ‘But my people would not hearken (heed, listen) to my voice; and Israel would (have) none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts lust (stubbornness): and they walked in their own counsels.’ (Ps.81:11-12)

Ah Friends, there’s a direct connection and relationship between the Israelites turning away from God, and our present behaviour, for we are doing the very same thing. We’re refusing to walk in covenant with God, and instead are taking Him out of lives; schools, public places and even homes, as quickly as we can.

And like the Israelites, the Lord has allowed us to walk in our own counsel. Hence the negative results, just like it befell the Israelites, EVERY TIME they turned away from the God of their forefathers.

I don’t have to paint a picture for you of the wars and rumours of war, of the strife, greed, anger foolish pride and idolatry that’s engulfing, no sorry, that’s already engulfed our ungodly world. And it’s getting worse everyday my friends. Everyday we’re sinking ever deeper into the bottomless morass of sin and ungodliness.

That brings to mind the psalmist’s writing, re God’s response. ‘Oh that my people had hearkened unto (listened to) me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their enemies…. He should (would) have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should (would) I have satisfied them.’ (Ps.81:13-14,16)

Oh my people, our wonderful God is mouthing the same mournful lament today, as He sadly sees us wallowing in the mire of wickedness as put forward by Lucifer. But He’s also willing and able to help us. However, we need to first turn back to him in sincere repentance and start living obedient to His dictates.

The Israelites belatedly realized this, but they were smart enough to turn back to Yahweh when it finally dawned on them. And in accordance with His covenant their society prospered. But again, that holding on to the covenant only lasted as long as it took for them to become prosperous, and they then forgot who made them so.

We’re guilty of the same stupid crime today my people. Some years ago, when times were really tough, a majority of society worshipped the Lord God Jehovah, and eventually the land prospered. But then, as is our sinful nature, we got fat, lazy and complacent and forgot who brought us to the dance.

We began believing that it was our own hands that had brought us the prosperity. So the Lord left us to our own foolish ways. Now every thing is falling down, coming apart at the seams, because there’s no single, uniform authority, namely Almighty God, to hold it together.

Oh Friends, when are we going to learn that our omnipotent God controls the entire universe and all that happens in it eh?

Listen to what He said long ago through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed (proclaimed), when there was no strange (foreign) god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yes, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let (reverse) it?’ (Is.43:11-13)

Yes mih breddren, the Lord’s omnipotence rules over His universe, and just like the Israelites, we are witnesses to it, especially with the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We’ve seen what Jehovah can do, so why are we so foolishly turning away from Him only to suffer the pangs of want and deprivation, when we could be comfortably enjoying peace and prosperity under the protective umbrella of His LOVING-kindness?

It makes no sense Friends, especially when history has a whole lot of societies buried in His dust, when they got too big for their ‘britches.’

So let’s be wise nuh mih breddren, and start turning back to Almighty God. That’s provided we want to see our topsy-turvy, troubled world stable and prosperous again. Now that’s certainly wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!

… what is history eh….history provides a record of the past…to light the way of the future…but this foolish generation refuses to see the light of the future…Jesus…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 July 2013 Psalm 90:14

11 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a friend in Jesus, a-whoring, anger, believe in Jesus, benefits, bless the Lord, blessings, busyness, disasters, disbelief, do God's will, everything to God in prayer, evil ways, faith, faithful promise, fear, forgiveness, gladness, God's LOVING-kindness, hard times, healing, human failings, maturity, mental and emotional radar, needless pain, negative stuff, new blessings, obey God, Old Testament, one true God, petition God, petty differences, positive stuff, praise, pride, privilege to carry, prosperity, rejoice and be glad, salvation, satisfy us with mercy, sins and griefs to bear, something for nothing, souls of humans, summer, thanksgiving, the Good Book, true believer, truth, turn away from God, unified body of Christ, walk in God's ways, wisdom, worship

Psalm 90:14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Aye Friends, how are we this summer Thursday morning in July eh?

Hn! Summer! Steups! Believe me it feels more like spring or fall in my neck of the woods. And I can say that because around 4 a.m I went for a walk to clear my mind – and I sure got it cleared in a hurry by the brisk wind and rather cool temperature. I even had to shorten my intended walk, because it must have been in the mid teens.

But none of that really matters nuh Friends, when we’re all being chased down and pursued this morning by numerous new blessings and God’s LOVING-kindness, as so faithfully promised by the Good Book!

And I surely hope that they will soon catch up to us and overwhelm us with positive stuff. So much so that the negative stuff won’t even show up on the screens of our mental and emotional radar.

Oh I know it seems a lot to hope for, but that’s where out faith and level of maturity in Jesus come in. The Lord’s promised those things to those who believe on His Son, so it’s up to us receive them by faith now, if we truly believe.

And I want to share the first verse of an old but still popular hymn that will help us to do just that. ‘What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer! O, what peace we often forfeit. O, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.’

Now my people, that’s one of our major failings today. For one reason or another, we don’t take our problems to God in prayer, although He begs us to do so. I don’t know if it’s pride, the stupid and false kind, fear, busyness, disbelief, or some combination of them all, but that’s definitely not a wise move on our part.

I’m therefore imploring us, starting today, RIGHT NOW, to take EVERYTHING to the Lord in prayer – and BEFORE you take it anywhere else too, because that’s the wisdom of a true believer in Christ!

And now that I’ve said my piece, (smile) let’s turn to out Bit: ‘O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.’

And doesn’t our Bit jibe ever so well with what we were saying before – turning to God in prayer?

Moses, the author of Psalm 90, knew that only the Lord God Jehovah could grant true mercy and bring gladness to the souls of humans. But before we can get that gladness and mercy, we have to do our part, that’s walk in His ways and do His will.

Though our God is merciful and bounteous, there’s no getting some thing for nothing, although that’s the prevalent approach in our current society. Getting much more of whatever the world offers, than we’re willing to give, is a motto that too many of us live by.

Unfortunately though Friends, our God doesn’t operate like that. We have to walk in faith, with praise, worship and thanksgiving, otherwise our blessings will dry up. And you can see that already happening from the sad state that our world’s currently in. Blessings are indeed drying up, but disasters are multiplying, because of our turning away from God.

And as we said yesterday, Moses wasn’t the only one who recognized our human failings and petitioned God for mercy. In Psalm 85, God has removed his anger from Israel, the sons of Korah say it thus: ‘Turn (restore) us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger towards us to cease.

Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou draw out (prolong) thine anger to all generations? Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people will rejoice in thee? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation.’ (Ps.85:4-7)

Yes my brethren, we need to come to God with petitions like that, but we also have to change our evil ways, if we expect the Lord to hear us and grant our petitions. Until we do that, all the petitions in the world won’t make any difference.

You’ll notice throughout the Old Testament that whenever Israel obeyed God, they prospered, but whenever they went a-whoring after other gods, they fell on extremely hard times. Well that’s exactly what’s happening to us today Friends, and we’ll only return to prosperity when we return to truly worshipping the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

And here are some appropriate ending words from Bruh David on the subject, taken from Psalm 103, Thanksgiving for God’s mercy. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies;

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s… Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers (servants) of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.’ (Ps.103:2-5, 21-22)

Oh my fellow believers, those are words of absolute and eternal truth! But we need to get ourselves together as one, unified body in Christ to make them come true. Fighting each other over petty differences and being more interested in the things of the world more than those of heaven will get us absolutely nowhere.

And we can only get together by truly pursuing LOVE for God and LOVE for each other as Jesus told us to do. So do we really want mercy and gladness all our days?

Well then, let’s do the things that will bring them to pass nuh! Let’s truly live for Jesus, do what He desires of us! Otherwise we’ll just keep on falling, going downhill, until we end up in Hades. And I’m sure we don’t want that. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…for the price of disobedience…is awfully high…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 April 2013 Psalm 97:11

25 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: alone with God, blessings, compassion, complaining, faithful promises, fear, fellow believers, gladness, glorious day, good life, goodness and mercy, gracious, grateful, grateful praise, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, light, light of the world, light shining, loving kindness, new mercies, peace, petty stuff, Praise the Lord, prayer, showered down, steadfast, thanks and praise, the light's that Jesus, the righteous, the true light, the upright in heart, wonderful god

Psalm 97:11. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.

Oh fellow believers in Jesus Christ, another wonderful day of life is in the offing! What with new mercies and blessings being showered down on the people of Jehovah God, and the faithful promises He’s made us, there’s no reason why every day couldn’t be a glorious day. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful, ‘Praise the Lord!’ Yes Friends, I think we should do a lot more praising and a lot less complaining than we do, simply because we have it so good, compared to most of the world. However, we’ve gotten so comfortable and accustomed to the good life, that if we break a fingernail, we cry out in pain and complain. The Lord expects us to put up with the simple stuff though. Just look at what Jesus bore without complaining eh. Now that should make us feel bad when we complain about minor, petty stuff. So please let’s stop with the endless complaining when we have it so good. Instead, let’s give more praise and thanks for all the goodness and mercy our wonderful God has showered, is showering, and will shower down on us. And on that note, I’ll ask, have you given Him thanks and praise as yet, for allowing you to see another new day? Well that’s the first thing we ought to do when we arise each morning, for the Lord delights in the thanks and praise of those who benefit from His largesse and LOVING-kindness. That’s why our Bit today so wisely declares: ‘Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.’ And that’s an undeniable fact Friends! When our hearts are right, we shine with the glory of God, like Moses when he came down from Mt. Sinai bearing the two stone tablets that held the Ten Commandments. His face shone so brightly that Aaron and the people were afraid to come close and look upon him, and he put on a veil to talk to them. (Ex.34:27-35) And according to the scholars: ‘From that time onward the veil became part of his ordinary dress. Only two occasions were exceptions. (1) When he was alone with God, and (2) when he had a message for the people from God.’ It’s also interesting to note that when Job’s friends lambasted him, they too referred to his life bearing light if he repented and sought righteousness. Listen to Zophar. ‘For then thou shalt lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shall not fear: because thou shalt forget thy misery and remember it as waters that pass away; and thine age (life) shall be clearer (brighter) than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.’ (Job.11:15-17) Now hear Eliphaz. ‘Acquaint now thyself with him (God), and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.’ (Job 22:21, 27-28) Yes my brethren, light is indeed a big part of the Christian’s walk with God. It was important in the Old Testament and Jesus made it even more so. He spoke a lot about light and darkness. Remember that all important statement He made about us? ‘Ye are the light of the world.’ (Matt.5:14a) He was also characterized as the light shining in the darkness of this evil world. John referred to Him as ‘the True Light.’ (John 1:9) Jesus also portrayed Himself as light; ‘that true light is come into the world.’ (John 3:19) ‘Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.’ (John 12:35-36) So there’s no denying that light is closely associated with belief in Jesus. All God’s dealings are done in light and not darkness, because He has nothing to hide, plus the light is a refreshing change from the darkness of evil where underhanded deeds are done and hidden from the light of truth. Therefore all God’s children affairs should also be done in, or be able to withstand the light, exposed to the truth, for only lies, rebellion and deceit need the cover of darkness. For as Cousin Sol so wisely points out. ‘But the path of the just is as the shining (bright) light, that shineth more and more (ever brighter) unto the perfect day.’ (Prov.4:18) So all in all Friends, we need light in both the metaphorical and physical worlds, for without either, we can’t find our way in the darkness, making us very liable to stumble and fall in both situations. Consequently, our words and deeds should be above board, capable of setting worthy examples for both the believer and unbeliever to follow. As the psalmist so rightly declares in Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. ‘Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.’ (Ps.112:4) Oh my brethren, as followers of Jesus, and therefore children of light, please let’s go out today and in all our endeavours, endeavour to be gracious, righteous and full of compassion, so that we may further the righteous and glorious kingdom of God, as we are expected to do. That’s the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!…don’t hide your light under a bushel…set it at the top of the hill…so that all the world can see…and be gloriously reflected in that light…the light that’s Jesus…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2013 Philippians 1:11

08 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a holy people, believers, bondage, christianity, Christians, fellowship, fruits of righteousness, gladness, glorious kingdom, god moves in mysterious ways, God's people, God's Word, godly character, gospel truth, grace of God, hope, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, LOVE, mysterious ways, noble conduct, praise God, principles, religion, righteous fruit, Sabbath, salvation, serve the Lord, sheep of His pasture, sincere praise, sins, special treasure, spiritual wisdom, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, the glory of God, theology, transgressions

Philippians 1:11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God.

Oh my wonderful Friends, neighbours and co-workers, it’s Friday! And a joyous shout of ‘TGIM! Thank God is Friday yes!’ rises up to heaven as the words register. Yes mih people, we’ll soon be released from bondage for a couple of days. But by the same token, we have to use the short time off wisely. So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which helps us to keep the weekend in its proper perspective. With great joy, enthusiasm and sincere praise, let’s chant. ‘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.’ Now let’s settle down and try not to overdo anything over the weekend, but make sure we find time for the most important aspect; fellowship with other believers, regardless of what day you celebrate the Sabbath. And it’s certainly true that wonders never cease, but daily they increase, for when I looked outside awhile ago, the lane was snow-covered as well as all the driveways … except mine. It’s not plenty snow, but mine was pitch black, the asphalt totally bare. What’s amazing is that usually mine is the one that’s covered with either snow or leaves, or whatever is blowing around the neighbour hood. But we all know that our God moves in mysterious ways, too high for our simple brains to understand, and that’s why He IS God! And that finally brings us to our Bit. ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God.’ Now in Bruh Paul’s usual highfalutin style, that verse can be a challenge to understand, so we’ll use the simpler translation the scholars gave us. ‘Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.’ That should make it much easier for all of us to understand. Yesterday we ended by looking at corroborating scriptures, and today we’ll continue to do so. And believe me, there are quite a few. So let’s go way back to Moses, who, in the course of telling the Israelites about clean and unclean food, reminds them: ‘For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people (special treasure) unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.’ (Deut.14:2) Oh Friends, we need to remember that because as believers, followers of Jesus Christ, we also are a chosen gathering, a special treasure, blessed by Almighty God on Jesus’ behalf! That means we also have to behave as a specially chosen and blessed people. But that’s something I don’t think we’re doing too well, otherwise so many people wouldn’t have such a bad opinion of us as Christians, often considering us hypocrites, which is often true. And until we change our lifestyle, until we bring it into true accordance with God’s Word and the principles found therein, we’ll never be filled with that righteousness that sincerely causes us to praise and glorify the Most High God Jehovah. So that’s something we’ve seriously got to work on. Now we’ll turn to Colossians, where Bruh Paul is writing to them about his prayer for their spiritual wisdom. And for us to understand what’s happening, I’ll quote from the beginning of that passage to the verse that actually corroborates our Bit. ‘We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the LOVE which ye have to all the saints. For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth.’ (Col.1:3-6) And we’ll get some amplification from the scholars of most of it. According to them: ‘Evidence of a person’s faith in Christ Jesus is his LOVE…to all the saints. Hope is salvation, as it refers to the object for which one hopes. Word of the truth of the gospel could be rendered as “the message of the gospel which is true.” This is meant to contradict the Colossian heresy: unlike its false teaching, or “vain deceit” (2:8), the gospel is true indeed. The universal spread and effectiveness of the gospel verify the assertion in verse 5 that it is the truth. The Colossian heresy is merely local; while the gospel has come to the Colossians, it has gone beyond them in all the world. And it bringeth forth fruit; that is, when embraced by faith, the gospel produces godly character and noble conduct in its converts.’ There we have it my brethren; when through faith, we sincerely embrace the truth of the gospel, it leads us to right thoughts and actions in Christ. And we’ll end with some words from Psalm 100; A call to praise the Lord: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (all the earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.’ (Ps.100:1-3) And that’s more gospel truth Friends! Now let’s read, mark and inwardly digest all those things, then go out and do what is right in the sight of God, as our Lord and Saviour, Jesus expects of us. That’s wisdom at its zenith! And only then can we be called true believers. Much LOVE!…to sin is human…but the righteousness of God is given to believers…to help us keep our transgressions to a minimum…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 December 2012 LUke 1:28

18 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: blessed, dark places, faith, gladness, heart of darkness, highly faovured, incarnation, joy, light, listening to God, sadness, separation, the SON, wedding anniversary, wings of the morning, woman

Luke 1:28. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Oh Friends, it’s one of those days when the ole fella had a busy yesterday, keep forgetting I’m not 25 anymore, (smile) then went to bed late, and had a hard time getting up this morning. But today’s also a very important day in the ole guy’s life; it’s my forty-first wedding anniversary! Wow! Yes mih people, forty-one years ago, the Duchess tied up my foot (smile) on a serene and sublime Saturday at St. Crispin’s Anglican Church in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad. It sure was a fun day…what I remember of it! So thanks for all your congrats, but don’t think it was easy; interesting, yes; oftimes fun, yes; but nothing is easy for forty-one years. There have been many ups and downs, a couple periods of separation, but somehow or other, we always got back together again. I guess that was the Lord’s doing – and sometimes I question His wisdom in that respect. (smile) But Friends, overall, it has been good. And it seems like we’ll still be together for the foreseeable future. Only the Good Lord knows that though. Now here’s an interesting quote attributed to Jean Giraudoux (1882-1944), a French novelist, playwright and diplomat. It says: ‘Sadness flies on the wings of the morning and out of the heart of darkness comes the light.’ That’s undeniable truth my brethren! We see it happen all the time. The night, or merely being in a dark place, usually has us thinking morbid thoughts, or just being sad and blue, even when there’s no reason to be so. Even in times of sickness, we often feel sicker at nights. But oh brother, when the sun rises over that eastern horizon, it’s like a new day is born in our lives, and suddenly all the sadness, sickness, morbidity and every other evil thing just disappears. Oh Friends, it works in the same manner with Jesus! When you’re suffering and struggling with the temptations and evil forces of this world, your soul experiences darkness, negative thoughts and untrue images of finality. But once the SON rises in your life…oh what a beautiful day appears; joy, gladness and true positivity enter your soul! Your spirit sings and dances with pleasure when it encounters the wonderful Spirit of Jesus that comes to live within you, after He’s risen in your heart. Mama Mia! Then, and only then, can we truly say that we’ve seen the light! We become new people, look at life differently, and begin coming up over our problems instead of stagnating and suffering under them. Oh Friends, I could carry on in this enthusiastic vein all day, but we have a Bit to deal with, a most enthralling one today. ‘And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail (Rejoice), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ Oh fellow believers, you know we constantly talk about the men of great faith listed in the Good Book, and tend to ignore the few women whose names are mentioned there. But some of the women had greater faith than some of the men. And the one I want to consider today is Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose faith I believe was only surpassed by her son’s. Just imagine this scenario nuh: You’re an ordinary teenaged girl in a backwater town called Nazareth, engaged to be married to an ordinary man named Joseph, a carpenter by trade. Your life’s simple and uncomplicated, without any great expectations, possibly just looking forward to marriage and raising a family. But then, one day, all of a sudden, out of the blue, an angel appears and greets you in that highly respected fashion. In the first place, many of us would be downright scared by the whole scenario and possibly run away, bawling our heads off in the process. But we see the strength of Mary’s character right off the bat. She doesn’t get all flustered and discombobulated. The Good Book simply says: ‘And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind (considered) what manner of salutation (greeting) this should be.’ (Luke 1:29) Then the angel explained the situation. ‘And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest (Most High): and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ (Luke 1:30-33) Now can you imagine somebody, angel or otherwise, telling you that two thousand years ago, when even to this day of great technological advances, it still takes the sperm of a man to mate with the egg of a woman to create a human embryo? And that doesn’t seem as if it’s ever liable to change. The only difference is that it’s no longer necessary for the man to actually and physically lie with the woman to create another human. We’d either run them out of town, calling them mad, or laugh them to scorn. But Mary’s reaction is quiet and thoughtful, without any fuss. And her one question is simple and very logical. ‘Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man (I am a virgin)?’ (Luke 1:34) Now that’s a very good question Friends, one that we’ll answer tomorrow. But in the meantime, please ponder Mary’s situation; that surprising meeting with the angel, and her calm reaction, then consider our own response under similar circumstances. There must have been a whole lot of unseen depth to Mary’s character for the Lord to choose her to bear His Son in human form. In the same way, our God is seeing a whole lot more to each of us than is physically visible, and that’s why He’s talking to us about all sorts of things. Most likely they’re not as big and memorable as Mary’s situation, but they’re all still very important to our lives and our doing His will. The problem is, are we receiving it with the calm, grace, trust and faith like Mary? Please, let’s ask ourselves that question today, then do whatever it takes to answer it with a resounding ‘YES!’ Therein lie the seeds of wisdom and greatness. Much LOVE!…when the Lord speaks to our hearts…what’s our reaction…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 April 2012 Proverbs 20:19

26 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: a day in the life, celestial king, depravity, gladness, gossip, joy, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, My Jesus is everything, pain, reality t.v, reassurance, soap operas, sorrow, telling tales, wisdom of fools

Proverbs 20:19. He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.

Ah mih people, it’s another day in the life! A day that will hopefully bring lots of joy and gladness and little or no pain and sorrow. But it sure is reassuring to know that regardless of what comes our way in this calamitous world, today or any other day, that we have a strong and powerful Being in Jesus to back us up, console and protect us. And all God’s people gave a mighty shout of praise: ‘Oh thank you Jesus!’ Now Friends, here’s another instalment of ‘My Jesus is…Everything,’ from the book of the same name by Anne Graham Lotz. ‘MY JESUS: He had no predecessor, and He will have no successor. He is the Lion, and He is the Lamb. He is God, and He is Man. He is the seven-way King: He is the King of the Jews…that’s a racial King. He is the King of Israel…that’s a national King. He is the King of righteousness…that’s a moral King. He’s the King of the ages…that’s an eternal King. He is the King of heaven…that’s a universal King. He is the King of glory…that’s a celestial King. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! MY JESUS IS…EVERYTHING!’ Yes my brethren, we serve and worship the Highest Power in the universe, which should make us untouchable, but being fallen humans, we’re still gullible and liable to embrace evil words and people. Hear how our Bit puts it: ‘He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not (don’t associate) with him that flattereth with his lips.’ And my people, that’s the awful truth! There are too many people in our society, including believers, who make it a habit to go around spreading tales, false and true. Gossip mongering has become a fanatical pastime of our society. Just check out all the gossip papers, the tweets and facebooks and all the other places where we place personal information that can be easily obtained by anyone with a smattering of computer knowledge. Then we have the reality t.v programmes, the soap operas and the paparazzi who run around invading the lives of supposed celebrities. All of this has now become a multi-billion dollar business. Secrets are no longer safe. And why has it become so widespread? Because we, the ordinary folk, think these people live such glamorous lives and through them we get some sort of reflected joy, both wishing and imagining ourselves living the same glamorous lifestyle. But Friends, have you noticed that most of the stuff, both true and false that comes out about those people, and thrills us too, is mostly negative? I sure don’t want to behave like most of them, because they have no real class. Though they might have money, power and much earthly possessions, their standards are lower than lower, but unfortunately that’s the kind of people our society looks up to. And we encourage it by buying the rags, filled with heifer dust, and watching the foolish, insipid t.v shows. Tell me, in these soap operas and the latest trend, the reality shows, do you see anybody living decently or sensibly, in spite of their great wealth and power? No! It’s always fighting and backbiting! What then can you expect from our children when that’s all their young minds are inundated with? And don’t tell me if you constantly watch the nonsense it won’t seep into your souls! That’s a fool’s wisdom, for anything we concentrate on for a period of time, will have some effect on our minds, the way we think and live! And that’s certainly not the way Jesus sacrificed His holy, sinless life for us to live! Oh my brethren, from way back when, in Leviticus, God sternly warned the Israelites: ‘Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood (life) of thy neighbour: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:16) What part of that is so difficult to understand eh? But as usual, we have ignored the majority of the Lord’s edicts, and have made gossiping, tale bearing, etc. big business and given it a huge, legitimate place in our lives. I’m sure we don’t like others going around babbling our business. But if it’s someone else’s, we welcome it with great joy and words like: Oh god girl! Is that really true? Yuh really mean that so and so did so and so? Tell me more girl…tell me more! Ah can’t wait to hear the whole juicy story!’ But yuh know what Friends, when we encourage others to go around spreading gossip, be it true or not, we’re doing everybody, including ourselves, a great disservice, because those same people will go around spreading tales about us. And then we’ll get all hot and bothered, completely forgetting that we encouraged it in the first place. I’ll end with some earlier words of Cousin Sol, where he describes the situation thus: ‘A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.’ (Prov.11:13) Ah Friends, let’s ponder those words today and then search our minds and souls to see if and where we’re encouraging this negative type of behaviour; a behaviour that’s definitely contributing to the lawlessness and ungodliness of our world. We can’t continue like this Friends, the moral decay and depravity have already driven us to distraction, the next step down is destruction, either by our own efforts, or God’s! More on this tomorrow, God willing. Till then, please walk safely and securely with Jesus. Much LOVE!…the most deadly sins don’t leap up on us…they creep up on us…

SCRIP-BITS