Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 July 2020 Romans 5:8.

12 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

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

Romans 5:8.     ​But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
 

It’s Sunday my fellow believers, so let’s have church nuh! And all the faithful cried out: ‘Yeah! Yeah! Let’s have church! Let’s sing and dance and give much praise and thanks unto our most merciful, gracious and forgiving God!’ Then let’s gather; either in the few physical sanctuaries that are opened, or around our technological toys, for there is no way to stop the faithful if they truly want to worship their heavenly Father. 

And as always, we begin with a song of praise, today’s being that ole faithful ‘Jesus LOVES Me!’ Why? Because that’s where the Holy Spirit led me. While contemplating a couple others, that one just flashed into my mind, and you can’t disregard zeppos like that. (smile) But before we get into it, here’s a li’l background to its creation. 

The comforting and peaceful words were first written by Anna B Warner as a poem in 1860 for a dying child on her sister Susan’s request. Then a couple years later William Bradbury put the beautiful and heartfelt words to music. And after a century and a half in existence, it’s now become one of the most popular Christian hymns around the world, and because of its simple direct message, is one of the first hymns missionaries teach to new converts. So all together now, in soulful harmony, with total sincerity, let’s make our earthly voices ring out to heaven sweet and pure, in praiseful sacrifice. 

‘Jesus LOVES me! This I know, For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to Him belong; They are weak, but He is strong. (Refrain: Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so.) Jesus LOVES me! This I know, As He LOVED so long ago, Taking children on His knee, Saying, “Let them come to Me.” (Refrain) Jesus LOVES me still today, Walking with me on my way, Wanting as a friend to give Light and LOVE to all who live. 

(Refrain) Jesus LOVES me! He who died Heaven’s gate to open wide; He will wash away my sin, Let His little child come in. (Refrain) Jesus LOVES me! He will stay Close beside me all the way; Thou hast bled and died for me, I will henceforth live for Thee. Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so. Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! Yes, Jesus LOVES me! The Bible tells me so.’ 

And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! It’s exactly what the Bible tells us: He LOVED us so much that He came down from heaven and died to save our sinful souls. Jesus said it in His most famous words: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) Now if that isn’t a stirring and sterling declaration of LOVE, then I don’t know what is nuh! 

And furthermore, Bruh Paul declares (yeahh!) it thus: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly… But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:6, 8). Yeh friends, ALL that Jesus did for us was done out of true LOVE! Why, you ask? Because the Father’s greatest attribute is LOVE! As Bruh Paul says, ‘And now abideth faith, hope, LOVE, these three, but the greatest is these is LOVE.’ (1 Cor. 13:13) And there’s no disputing that! 

John meanwhile said it this way: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God, for God is LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) Simple and to the point my people. Then, when we add the fact that we are the Father’s creation and He did not want to lose us to the enemy, be eternally separated from us if we continued living in sin, He made a way for us to reverse that eventuality, by sending His only Son to be the propitiation, the atonement for our sins. In other words, to pay our sin debt in full and give us the opportunity to spend eternity with Him, like He had planned it from the very beginning. 

The only difference is that because sin came into our world, we now have to make a conscious choice of where we want to spend eternity. So it’s all up to us as individuals now my people: if you want to spend eternity in hell with the fallen angel Lucifer, then you simply continue living in sin. However, if you decide you want to spend eternity with Christ in heaven, then you need to believe in Him and live according to His rules, which are not onerous. As He truthfully says: ‘For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:30). 

Now let’s go home this morning energized and reassured with these wise words from the web site God Tube. ‘The Bible tells us that God LOVES each and every one of us, despite our sins and faults. Be comforted by the simple lyrics of ‘Jesus LOVES Me’ and remember that our Creator is Almighty and ALL-LOVING. He is with us each step of the day and will NEVER leave our side. We may be weak, but He is our strength.’ 

Please, let’s take those words to heart today my friends, as they are filled with eternal truth! Much LOVE!

…‘Jesus LOVES me…simply states…the profound truth of God’s LOVE.’ 

P.S. It’s short and sweet…and early! Wow! Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 January 2020 Psalm 68:19.

22 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 68:19.    ​Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.
 
Awright mih people, we’ve been granted another wonderful day in God’s great universe, so let’s do the right, wise and sensible thing and rejoice and be glad in it nuh! Or, as Papa James Brown would say, ‘Let’s get up on the good foot people!’ And there’s absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t because we true believers in Jesus Christ are the most blessed people on the face of planet earth! And that’s just cause to rejoice and be glad! 

Yuh know how many thousands of people didn’t open their eyes this morning…but the Lord specifically chose us to get on with His work down here in this evil world, so let’s not disappoint Him and do it to the best of our ability nuh. That’s all He asks of us, to do our best, and better still, He helps us to do it, because He gives us all the tools to do what He wants us to do. So all we need to do is hunker down and put it together in His name! 

And yuh see, we’ve made it through to Wednesday, the hump day of the work week, so everything’s progressing as it should, and there ought to be big smiles on our faces and joy and gladness in our hearts! Wow! If anybody ever had a reason to be alive and kicking, it’s the true believer in Christ Jesus! As Bruh David so rightly declares in Psalm 68 – God has gone before his people: ‘Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth friends! 

As Cousin Jerry (smile) rightly says in his Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23) And yuh better believe that we ought to be everlastingly grateful that the Lord has compassion on us, generally speaking, and specifically every day, because if He didn’t, we’d be languishing in hellfire with the ole fool, the fallen angel Lucifer, who calls himself the prince of this dark world! 

Yes friends, it’s God’s compassion, His indescribable, infinite LOVE that caused Him to send His Only Son Jesus to be offered up on the cross as a sacrificial lamb to pay for our sins. As Bruh Paul told the church at Rome: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated His own) LOVE toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 8:5) 

Yuh see that people, our wonderful, compassionate, ever-LOVING God didn’t wait for us to come to Him, cause He would have waited till thy kingdom come, (smile) but showed His awesome LOVE for us first, while we were still the mangiest of sinners! That’s why we ought to praise and worship and reverence and exalt and give endless, undying thanks to Him! For without His LOVING-kindness we’d just be blown away like chaff in the wind. But thank God, He had a heart full of compassion for His sinful creation! 

And that’s why, as Bruh David says in Psalm 103, there ought to be thanksgiving in our hearts, bodies and souls for God’s unending mercy. Please pray these awesome words of his with me: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 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.’ (Ps. 103:1-5) 

Now don’t tell me you can read those awesome words of God’s goodness to us and don’t have a tear fall from your eyes, and a spark of LOVE flame in your heart! If those words don’t touch you, then you’re no child of God! Simple as that! So friends, let’s remember that we owe it ALL to God, our mighty Creator and Redeemer! He first created us with free will, then when we fell out of favour through ungodly sin, He redeemed us through the sacrificial death of His Son, giving us another option, eternal life in heaven with Him, not just eternal separation, damnation and hellfire with Satan. 

So if we’re wise, we’d be truly grateful and rejoice and give thanks to Him all the days of our lives, because we’re headed for heaven, not hell. But there again, that’s where the free will He granted us comes in; we’re free to choose who and whom we belong to or work for. And as we go home this morning, as true believers, let’s shout out our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know just whom we serve and our current position in our heavenward journey. 

In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘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!’ 

Yes my faithful brethren, Jesus is the only wise choice there is! So let’s keep looking to him nuh, because He is indeed our EVERYTHING, and the future with Him will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…only a fool believes there’s no God…and he will pay the price for it…in hell…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 October 2019 Psalm 100:5.

17 Oct 2019 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 100:5.    ​For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

 

It’s chilly, dark and cloudy, and also wild and windy…but it’s HOME! Home sweet Home! Yes friends, the ole fella’s back in the cold northern climes. And though the tropical warmth and sunshine of J.A. would be nice, there’s something about home that just draws you in, that you greatly appreciate even if you are coming from a palace to a hovel. 

That’s the power, the heart power of the word HOME. It has something else, a powerful intangible that nowhere else has for us, and that’s why it’s such a big deal in our lives. And today I want to share with us another big deal in our lives, that’s the LOVE of God, through a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is aptly titled ‘YOU LOVE ME!’ 

Please pray with me: ‘Yesterday, God, I was soaring Like a graceful eagle And You LOVED me. Today I feel like a blob And You LOVE me. Tomorrow I may ask “Whatever happened to disturb me yesterday?” And You’ll LOVE me. God, there are innumerable things I cannot begin to comprehend But the one great certainty In all my life is this: I KNOW THAT YOU LOVE ME.’ 

Oh my people, that is one thing we all ought to know for sure; that our heavenly Father LOVES us! And if we don’t, then our faith is not real, or strong, or whatever you want to call it, for how can we not know that God LOVES us with a fierce and undying LOVE after reading scriptures like these eh? 

Listen first to Bruh Paul nuh: ‘For when we were yet without strength, in due (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 (demonstrated) his LOVE towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:6-8) 

Now if putting out yourself for others who don’t particularly care for you isn’t a showing of strong LOVE, then I don’t know what is nuh?  And John puts it thus: ‘Beloved, let us LOVE one another: for LOVE is of God; and every one that LOVETH is born of God, and knoweth God. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God isLOVE.  

In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought also to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:7-11) 

Ah mih people, what a powerful and true dissertation! But now listen to it straight from the horse’s mouth; from the Son Himself: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) Now if the only begotten Son, the One who actually died to pay the enormous price for our sins, says that’s how it was, then it must be so! 

So please friends, if we don’t know anything else, let’s be sure that our heavenly Father LOVES us, because He was willing and able to pay the great price it required to wash away our abominable sins, even the price of a broken heart and forsaking His only Son for our benefit! And we’ll see, that once we accept that most pertinent fact, everything else will flow smoothly, because everything flows from His everlasting LOVE! 

And thus we can sincerely sing these praiseful and adoring words of the psalmist: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (the whole 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. 

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100.1-5) 

That’s the Bible Promise from our poem, and it’s the gospel truth my people! Oh friends, our God is so good and wonderful that He’s even provided those of us who want to do His bidding with miraculous blessings to enable us to do so. We call them our Thursday Blessings. But they’re not operative until we declare them, so let’s declare them now nuh, in full voice and sincere faith. 

All together: ‘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!’ 

Now please remember those wonderful blessings are for us to use, to share generously, not to hoard selfishly.Much LOVE!

…there is no fear in LOVE…perfect LOVE casteth out fear… (1 John 4:18)