Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 July 2019 1 John 5:13.

04 Jul 2019 Leave a comment

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

1 John 5:13.    ​These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
 
​HAPPY 4TH OF JULY U.S. OF A!

 

Yes while we are working today, the U.S is celebrating their Independence Day! And those who can swing it might be able to make it a four-day weekend! Just think on that nuh! (smile) But I’ll tell our U.S friends and family members the same thing I told the Canadian section last Monday, when we celebrated our Independence Day; be careful, remember Granny’s warning: ‘Sonny Boy, drunk or sober, please mind your business,’ because if you don’t, the devil will mind it for you. That’s for certain sure. So please be aware while you’re celebrating.  

Now earlier on in the week we talked about the secondary message in John’s first epistle; that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)  Today I want to delve into the primary message of the epistle: ‘These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’ 

Ah mih people, what a blessed message! We have eternal life because we believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God! Glory to the Lamb who was slain for us! The sad part is that not all of us are assured of the fact that we are saved and heading for heaven. And the scholars offer this exhaustive explanation about assurance that I think I should share. 

‘5:13. The scriptures clearly teach that it is possible to know whether you are saved or unsaved. The assurance of the believer is not based on feeling, (though the Christian may “feel” saved), but on the principles of God’s Word. We can know we are saved because Christ is in our hearts (Col.1:27; 1 John 5:12), because of the witness of the Word of God (vs.10-11), because of answered prayer (John 14:14; 1 John 5:14-15), because of our understanding of the Scriptures (vs.20), because we keep His commandments (2 Cor.5:17; 1 John 5:18), because we LOVE the brethren (3:14), and because we have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:16). 

Illustration: Paul claimed to have this inner confidence and was fully persuaded concerning the keeping power of God in salvation (2 Tim.1:12). Application: Because of this assurance, the believer need not be ashamed of Christ, even when He finds himself in difficult circumstances (2 Tim.1:12). First Ref. Gen.15:13; Primary Ref. 1 John 5; cf. John 10:28).’ 

Oh my fellow believers that’s sure a lot of Scriptures to look up! But if we are in any doubt at all about our deliverance, about our saved state, then we should look them up. And even if we’re sure about it, we should still check them out, because in this evil day and age, we all need as much reassurance as we can get. And just for your info, I took a few minutes to look up those scriptures my brethren, and are they ever interesting and most reassuring! (smile) 

I can’t share them all here, but check out these two that follow our Bit. ‘And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of Him.’ (1 John 5:14-15) And the scholars tell us: ‘5:14-15. Assurance of salvation (vs.13) leads to confidence in petition. Effectual prayer is according to his will.’ 

Yeh friends, please remember that: we can ask for anything we want, but our prayers are most effective when they are in line with God’s will! And I want to share one more scripture here dealing with something that’s ever so pervasive in our Christian society today; that’s being ashamed of Christ, being afraid to acknowledge Him in public. 

Ah friends too many of us today are in actual fact ashamed of Christ, but you can’t be saved and/or go to heaven if you refuse to acknowledge His presence in your life. Remember Jesus said it plainly: ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.10:32-33) 

Yeh friends, you can’t be a Christian in secret, at least not in our free religious society. So please stop being ashamed of Christ! Stop letting the enemy make us afraid of possible negative consequences or otherwise. We keep saying that anything and everything is possible with God, and we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us…Well let’s show that in public nuh, let’s stop being wishy-washy and fearful! 

Let’s say and do like Bruh Paul, who, in writing to Timothy admonished: ‘Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.’ (2 Tim.1:12)

Yes my people, Christ is indeed able to keep us assured until the judgement day! But we have to first believe it and then work at it! It doesn’t just happen by osmosis! So with that point made and our assurance of salvation being reassured, (smile) let’s go home declaring (yeh!) our Thursday Blessings; those wonderful promises that the Lord has showered down on us to enable us to do His work. 

In strong voice and full belief now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! 

I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

Oh how blessed we are my fellow saints in Christ! But please remember that those blessings are not for us to selfishly hoard, but to share with the less fortunate! Much LOVE!

…no need to worry…true believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit…until the day of Salvation…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 January 2019 Philippians 2:9.

27 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 2:9.   ​Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
 

Well friends, it’s Sunday and there’s snow on the ground. But I’m not going to let it stop me from going to church for two Sundays in a row. And anyway I don’t think it’s all that much, although you never know how much it really is until you step out in it.

But between my trusty chariot ‘Blue’, my most amazing shotgun rider, Jesus, and myself, we ought to make it there and back safely. If we don’t, then something’s terribly wrong with this picture! (smile) 

But let’s get to matters nuh, some softening up of our hearts to receive His holy word, by singing some awesome praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father, that He so obviously deserves.

And today’s hymn is a very popular one, sung by many Christian denominations. It’s titled ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name.’ Glory to God! And so in fact should His Name be lifted up because of His great, unselfish, selfless works. 

They also say that this hymn is often called the “National Anthem of Christendom.’ And it very fittingly deserves that title too. Apparently one Edward Perronet wrote the lyrics while he was a missionary in India, some where in the mid 18th century, and there have been several tunes associated with it. But let’s sing the one we know and LOVE! 

So in unison, powerfully, in warmth of heart and true sincerity, let’s sing. (smile) ‘All hail the power of Jesus’ Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all. Ye seed of Israel’s chosen race, Ye ransomed of the fall, Hail him who saves you by his grace, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all. 

Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe, On this terrestrial ball, To him all majesty ascribe, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all. O that with yonder sacred throng We at his feet may fall; We’ll join the everlasting song, And crown him, crown him, crown him, And crown him Lord of all.’ 

Yes mih people! What a fitting name and position for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – LORD OF ALL! And He’s definitely earned it! As mere mortals, we can’t offer up any more fitting praise because our minds are so puny and finite, thus our vocabulary is small. 

But we all know and greatly appreciate the fact that He died on the cross at Calvary to save us, to blot out our awful sins and pay the penalty we owed, thus allowing us to once again have serious and sincere communication with Almighty God!

What a mighty and LOVING man He was…and still is…and ALWAYS will be! NO ONE ELSE could have borne our sins…and please note, He didn’t have to, but because the Father, who LOVED us so much, asked Him to, He did! 

Fellow believers, I don’t know if we truly realize how much our heavenly Father, our Creator really LOVES us nuh, or the awesome act that Jesus performed on our behalf. Here how Bruh Paul puts it to the Roman church nuh: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his LOVE (demonstrates His own LOVE) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8) 

Ah friends, that ought to drive home to us just how much our Creator and His wonderful Son LOVE and want us to spend eternity with them! Most of the other supposed deities would expect us to repent and come to them first…but not our great, omnipotent and merciful God! He paid the price for our sins first, before asking us to repent and come to Him! What a wonderful God we serve and worship my faithful brethren! 

However, church is calling now, I’ve got to go and do a li’l worshipping myself (smile) so I’ll have to leave you for a spell. Soon come… 

We back! The troika made it safely there and back. Some of the roads weren’t clean when we left, but most were by the time we returned. And most importantly, a good time was had at church; we raised up Jesus’ name, just like we’re doing in the Bit today. Yes friends, there’s nothing more refreshing and worthwhile than thanking and praising Jesus for all He’s done for us, is still doing, and has promised to continue doing. 

Here is this awesome scripture from Bruh Paul to the Philippians explaining the Father’s response to the Son’s selfless sacrifice. ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 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 (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in the earth, and (those) things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:8-11) 

And all God’s people shouted a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Glory to the Lamb that was slain for our abominations! All praise and honour to His gracious Name that is now exalted above every other name, in heaven on earth, and even beneath the earth! And also that every knee should bow to Him and call Him Lord!’ 

Oh friends, yuh see how the Father lifted up Jesus for being obedient to His will? Well, He will do the same for each and everyone of us who shows Him obeisance and obedience. We don’t have to sacrifice our lives, because Jesus has done that once and for all. We just have to believe in His Son, read His holy word and be obedient to it. And a crown of glory will eventually be in the offing for us. 

It’s all laid out there for us on a silver platter; we just have to make the decision to receive it. Let’s show some wisdom and accept it today nuh! Much LOVE!

…there are no sweeter words to the ear…than on entering heaven…to hear Jesus say…Welcome, thou good and faithful servant…