Today’s Scrip-Bit   25 July 2023 Matthew 13:57b.

25 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 13:57b.       A prophet is not without honour, save (except) in his own country, and in his own house.

Well Tuesday doesn’t seem like it’s going to be much different weather wise than Monday was; somewhat cloudy with li’l sprinkles of rain, here and there, then the sun coming out for a while. And you know, not even the rain falls like it used to, we now get mostly drizzles, not full showers of heavenly blessings. But I guess we should be very thankful that’s all we get because some places are getting way too much resulting in terrible floods, while others are getting no rain at all and experiencing terrible drought. And everybody’s getting heat waves that are becoming record temperatures. 

That’s 2023 for you! A year of severe weather fluctuations! And although the weather changes make life somewhat uncertain and inconvenient, we’re not worried, because we have Jesus, the great weather controller, on our side. And all God’s people declared (yesss!!!): ‘Praise the name of Jesus!’ We also have the awesome privilege and power of prayer that takes us straight to the throne of grace and mercy as true believers in Christ. So, let’s use some of our prayer power right now nuh. It’s the prayer found in the July edition of the In Touch Devotional. 

Please pray with me. ‘Lord, help me to know You in a fresh way – to see you with renewed perspective. Forgive me for letting familiarity with You lead to being complacent about walking with You. Forgive me for mistaking my own lack – my dissatisfied and distracted mind – for a lack in You. Help me now to let go of any expectations, habits, or routines, that make my heart wander from You, my true home. Help me now to notice again the way You surprise me with the grace of your attention and care. Kindly dismantle whatever limits I’ve placed on You and open my eyes to see You as You truly are. Amen!’ 

Wow! What a timely prayer my people! I don’t know about you, but I see some of myself in there, that I never saw the first time I read it. The part where we get complacent about our walk with God. I think that stems from our maturity. The more we mature, the more we take things for granted, and lose the sense of wonder and openness the new believer has on beginning their walk with Christ. We behave as though God is an old friend and we can take some liberties like we do with our old human friends. 

But though God welcomes our friendship, we still need to know our place; He is indeed Father and Friend, but He is also Almighty God, and thus deserves a tad more reverence than we sometimes give Him. And the lackadaisical attitude we sometimes adopt because of our familiarity poisons and retards our advancement in the things of God.  So what does it mean to be too familiar with God eh? let’s look at some commentaries and scriptures on the subject. 

This first commentary explains it thus: ‘It means that God has met you by grace. It means that he has opened the eyes of your heart to what, without him, you would not see or understand. He has drawn you close to his side. But familiarity often does bad things to us. Often when we become familiar with things, we begin to take them for granted.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! This commentary further explains: ‘Familiarity is used especially in the expression familiarity breeds contempt to say that if you know a person or situation very well, you can easily lose respect for that person or become careless in that situation.’ 

And don’t we always do that! We tend to get careless with our good friends, more than we do with our new associates or acquaintances. And it’s fairly easy to do that with God when we reach a certain level of maturity. The scriptures tell us that ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.’ (John 4:24) That means whatever we do with or for God must be done with a right heart, and not in a wishy-washy, complacent manner. And there’s a good example of that found in the Book of Malachi, chapter 1, re the Israelites not taking God seriously. 

The priests were dishonouring God by not doing their duties in the temple, offering polluted bread, offering the blind for sacrifice, etc. Meanwhile, the people were giving blemished offerings in a half-hearted manner. God chastised them for profaning His name. ‘But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted (defiled); and the fruit thereof, even his meat (its food) is contemptible. Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed (sneered) at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye have brought that which was torn (stolen), and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord.’ (Mal. 1:12-13) 

Obviously not! One commentary explains Israel’s behaviour this way. ‘The offerings Israel made at this time were not done with a right heart. They were becoming indifferent toward God and the way they conducted their lives. They were treating the commands of God with familiarity and carelessness. They came to look upon them as simply ordinary. Thus, He says that He has no pleasure in Israel and would not accept their offerings.’ And one of the best examples of that familiarity breeding contempt is Jesus’ return to His hometown of Nazareth. 

‘And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? when then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in (at) him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save (except) in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.’ (Matt. 13:54-58) 

And that’s how it is my people, we don’t give those close to us the honour or notice they really deserve because we feel our knowing them doesn’t call for any hero-worship on our part. But the truth is that heroes desire, place a higher value on the hero-worship of those close to them, than on the general public. And nothing breaks their hearts like when their own families and friends just pass them off as nothing important. 

And we’ll end with a test. Please read this commentary with me. ‘Have I become too familiar with God? Do I treat Holy Things as Holy? Do I still believe in the power of prayers or am I just praying for the fun of it? Do I still have the fear of God in me? Do I invite visitors to my church only for the visitors (non-believers) to be the ones telling me to keep quiet in church? Am I hooked in a sinful life all because I take God for granted? Do I value the Bible or treat it as just one of those books?’ 

Please take a few moments and consider how those words shape up in our own lives nuh Are we over-familiar with God, take Him too much for granted? And if so, let’s make any corrections that are necessary. (smile) Now it’s time go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel, bought for a huge price by the precious blood of Jesus. 

As one voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

That means we must now go out and share the awesome friendship and LOVE of Jesus with others. so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…God is indeed our friend…but first and foremost He is God…and must always be treated as such… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   15 September 2021 John 4:24.

15 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 4:24.     God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

Another day my people; another day of new mercies and compassions from Almighty God! Wow! What a marvellous God we serve and worship! No other supposed deity puts themselves out to give us new stuff every single day. But our great God Jehovah does! That’s because He LOVES us with the everlasting LOVE of a Father and only desires the best for us! 

And that led to Him sending His sinless Son Jesus Christ to earth to die for the propitiation of our abominable sins. All other false gods expect mankind to sacrifice to and for them, but ONLY the One true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was willing to sacrifice for mankind. And not just a simple unimportant sacrifice, but His most beloved, the apple of His eye, His one Son Jesus. And if that doesn’t tell us the depth of LOVE and compassion that the Lord holds for us, I don’t know what else will nuh. 

The false gods, and the man-made idols that so many of us worship, don’t do a thing for us, and in fact they can’t do a bloody thing for us since they are all dead, inanimate and without life. So how can a dead object do anything for you eh? But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is alive and kicking, that’s why He can make promises and keep them! So today we are just going to look at a few scriptures that describe our God as a living being. And the first scripture comes from Jesus Himself, when He told the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob: ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.’ (Matt. 4:24) 

Yes friends, our God exists, but not as a being with a body, but as a Spirit. And the scholars give us this explanation re, the Definition of God. ‘4:24. John gives us three descriptions of God. He is Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body; He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion, and will: He is the source and personification of all material and spiritual life. 

He is self-existent; He is eternal in relationship to time; He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable in His nature; He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us. (First Ref. Gen. 1:1; Primary Ref. John 4:24).’ 

So you see friends, the only thing our God lacks is a material body. But as a Spirit, it means He can be all places at the same time. And that’s one of the many reasons He’s so valuable to us; He can be with ALL of us ALL of the time. And if we turn to Genesis 1:3, we will find the first and biggest reason why we say that God is alive and kicking. The Good Book tells us: ‘And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.’ Now please tell me, how can a dead God speak eh. One must have life, that’s breath to speak. And it’s oh so worthwhile to know that God spoke everything in the world into existence, except man. 

And if you still don’t believe that God is alive and speaks, then check out Deuteronomy 5, where Moses reminds the Israelites of how they heard God’s voice in the fire at Mt. Horeb on their journey through the wilderness, when He made the covenant with them and gave them the Ten Commandments. Moses recounts: ‘And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath showed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth (still lives).’ (Deut. 5:24) 

So God doesn’t only talk to the universe, He also talks to man, whom He created to be in relationship with Him including to talk with Him. But like everything that concerns the ears, you won’t hear God, or anything or anyone else unless you LISTEN! That’s the crux of the matter…LISTENING! And unfortunately, that’s something we don’t do very well at in these modern times. We all desire to talk, to be heard, but we rebel when it comes to listening. 

Just like the church leaders in Jesus’ time weren’t listening to Him when He quoted them the scriptures re marriages in heaven. ‘But as touching (concerning) the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,’ (Matt. 22:31-32) Ah mih people, if our God is the God of the living then it means that He must also be alive! Glory be! Bless His holy name! 

And though there are several other scriptures I would like to include, because of time and space this is the last one. And it’s a scripture that’s always fascinated me. They are the words of the pagan king of Babylon, Darius, after Daniel walked out of the lion’s den unscathed. He right royally declared: ‘I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men (must) tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power (paws) of the lions.’ (Dan. 6:26-27) 

Now if an idol worshipper can make such a testimony to the power of Almighty God, a God who doesn’t change, why do we have such trouble acknowledging Him and His sovereignty eh? I don’t know, and I won’t venture to comment. (smile) But anyway, here is an interesting part of a commentary from the Christian Science Monitor website – It’s titled ‘A Christian Science perspective: What does it mean that God is a ‘living God’? By Liz Butterfield Wallingford. 

She ends the article by saying: ‘To know God as a truly “living God” goes beyond simply acknowledging that He exists. He is unceasing, unending Life itself. His goodness can’t fade. Our receptivity to His infinite goodness, inherent in our very nature as the reflection of the living God, can’t be diminished. When we wholeheartedly yearn to know God better, to receive the forever-active Christ, to understand that God could never for a second stop expressing His LOVE and goodness in each of us – then we begin to see this spiritual fact increasingly evidenced in our everyday lives.’ 

And that’s totally true my brethren. The more we yearn for the living spirit-filled God and all that pertains to Him, the more we will see real evidence of Him in our everyday lives. So, for those of us who have that eternal yearning for Almighty God, let’s go home now declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting all and sundry know of the wonderful position we now enjoy in Christ Jesus. 

As one strong 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!’ 

And yuh better believe friends, that if we endure unto the end, that future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So let’s hang in there nuh, and with Jesus’ awesome help live and LOVE for Him! Much LOVE!

…now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible…the only wise (living) God…be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen… (1 Tim. 1:17)                                                                                                                

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 August 2021 John 14:18.

19 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 14:18.     I will not leave you comfortless (orphans): I will come to you.

Well come on down Thursday, the day before Friday! Are we ever so glad to see you, because it means that Friday is one day closer and the end of the work week is winding down nicely. The only problem is that we still have to deal with you Thursday, before we get to Friday. But with Christ Jesus leading and guiding us through His Holy Spirit, it’s a cinch that we will get it right! (smile) 

However, that totally depends on our obedience to the prompting of the Spirit. Any deviation from His guidance will definitely produce unwanted problems, that will only make our lives more difficult than they already are. Consequently, we must understand the great importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. 

So let’s check out a few scriptures on that subject nuh. And we going to start right at the beginning where Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob: ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24) That’s the first thing we must realize when we come to God; that He is a Spirit Being and worshipping Him entails doing it spiritually, not in flesh and blood. 

And the scholars offer this explanation re, the Definition of God. ‘4:24. John gives three descriptions of God. He is Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body. He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion, and will. He is the source and personification of all material and spiritual life. 

He is self-existent; He is eternal in relationship to time. He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable (unchanging) in His nature. He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us. (First Ref. Gen. 1:1; Primary ref. John 4:24).’ 

Yes friends, our God is a Spirit Being, but nonetheless, He is the source of all that exists, both spiritual and material. And sometimes our problems derive from the fact that our mortal minds cannot conceive of, or comprehend the real immensity of the God we claim to worship, thus we tend to underate His size and power, and though we say it, we don’t truly believe that nothing is impossible to Him. 

And that first verse of His Word says it all: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ (Gen. 1:1) It’s speaking of ‘the absolute beginning of the temporal and material world, when God created the original heaven and earth from nothing.’ Now you can’t truly believe in God unless you believe the Creation Story and all it entails, otherwise you will end up minimising the great God you claim to serve, and that means also minimising the benefits and blessings you can receive from Him. 

And I’m chuckling here because I never intended to veer off like I did, but it just seemed so relevant that I could not pass it up. (smile) So, getting back to the doings of the Holy Spirit, the third aspect of our Triune God… Oh that’s another important thing to realize, that the Holy Spirit is a person, a part of our Godhead. I guess you can say it’s the workhorse of the Godhead. He carries out the actual decisions made by them. 

Now hear Jesus again on the subject of spiritual matters. ‘It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ (John 6:63) Yes my people, spiritual things are more important than fleshly or material stuff, for the body dies, but the spirit lives on. That’s where our real life is found, in our spirit-person. The body is just a temporary cover for it. And that’s why our God communicates through our spirit, why the Holy Spirit is so important in our lives. 

As Bruh Paul says to the Corinthians re Spiritual Wisdom: ‘We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. And this is what we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.’ (1 Cor. 2:12-15) 

What we are seeing here is that the natural or unspiritual man is unreceptive to the truth of God because it is delivered through His Holy Spirit. However, the spiritual man, who ‘has founded his faith on God’s revelation is able to receive the truth of God’s Spirit. He can judge now both earthly and heavenly things. He can discern what is and what is not of the gospel and salvation, and whether a man truly preaches the truth of God.’ 

And then we come to Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit to the disciples. ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14: 15-18) 

Oh friends, what a glorious promise! One which Jesus kept by sending the Holy Spirit to indwell all believers after that fateful Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). And yes, the Holy Spirit is also our Comforter, our advocate, our help in time of trouble. But whereas, Jesus, as a man on earth, could only be at one place at one time, the Holy Spirit can be all about in each believer, all the time! Glory be my people! 

And one of the mighty jobs that the Holy Spirit does is bestowing God’s blessings upon us, what we call our Thursday Blessings, so that we can do His earthly work. Let’s declare (chuh!!!) them now nuh, to give them light and life in our souls and spirits. As one strong voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’ 

And now, to indeed be true followers of Christ, we need to go out and use and share all of those wonderful blessings with others, just as unselfishly and generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!

…only believe on Jesus…and the Holy Spirit automatically indwells you…                                                                                                                      

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2019 Psalm 145:18.

20 May 2019 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 145:18.  The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. ​
 
‘Monday morning… Oh boy! No work today, no work today! Party all day…eat, drink and play, cause there’s no work today! Glory be!’ Yes friends, that’s the song a lot of people are chanting this Monday morning, as we in Canada, celebrate the Victoria Day holiday. And who’s to blame them eh? You have to take it and enjoy it when you can get it. 

But just remember Granny’s warning all you party people: ‘Drunk or sober mind yuh business!’ Don’t give the enemy a chance to infiltrate your souls by throwing caution to the winds and behaving in an unacceptable bacchanalian fashion! (smile) And you know that’s what we’re liable to do when we get too party conscious and let it all hang out. So enjoy yourselves, but please be on your p’s and q’s because it’s at these sorts of times that the devil is able to get in some licks. 

And unfortunately, some of us always have to go to work because of our modern 24/7 society where stuff never stops, and it’s always more difficult when the majority of workers are off. So for all you unfortunate ones, we’re going to be nice and join you in singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get you started on your journey. (smile) 

All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. 

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. 

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. 

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ 

And why aren’t we surprised that the loudest, most raucous and gravelly voices were those from the partygoers eh? That’s just the way it always is; man’s natural habit to be loudly and deeply involved when the onus, or the rough time is not on them. 

But I do hope that that jaunty rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn did lessen the jealousy of those of you who have to go out and labour, and that you will do it with a true sense of purpose, with diligence and in excellent fashion, as becomes a sincere follower of Jesus Christ. Give Him all the glory people! 

That brings us to our Bit; some rather interesting and reassuring words of Bruh David. ‘The Lord is nigh (near) unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.’ And that’s no lie my people! If we call on the Lord with a sincere and truthful heart, He will always hear our prayer and respond to it. 

As Moses said to the Israelites so long ago: ‘For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh (a God so near) unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for.’ (Deut.4:7) It didn’t change in Bruh David’s time, and neither has the situation changed in our time my faithful brethren! Our great and wonderful God is still there, ALWAYS NEAR, when we need Him! 

But it takes two actions from us to communicate with Him. We first have to call on Him, and then do so in truth, with sincerity and right motives. Jesus said it thus: ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24) So since God is a Spirit, then our connection to Him must be spiritual in nature, namely through His Holy Spirit which dwells within us to lead and guide us, help us to pray, to understand God’s plans for us. 

Jesus promised His disciples: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide with you for ever. Even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-18) 

What awesome promises my people! And they all came true! Give God the glory! And as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians: ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that LOVE him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

For what man knoweth the things of a man save (except) the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given of God.’ (1 Cor.2:9-12) 

And we’ll end with this interesting explanation from the scholars on verse 10. ‘2:10. Revealed…unto us: ‘Unto us’ is in the emphatic position in Greek, emphasizing the enormous privilege granted the recipients of divine revelation. The magnificent treasure of God’s revealed truth is accessible to the mature believer.’ 

Oh friends, please, please, I implore us, let’s not abuse that great privilege of divine revelation that we’ve received through the Holy Spirit nuh, else it will surely be our undoing! Much LOVE!

…The Holy Spirit…is like the worker bee of the Trinity…the action oriented third person…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 August 2018 John 4:24.

15 Aug 2018 Leave a comment

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

John 4:24.   God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.

Aye mih breddren, this morning the Lord inspired me to share some of His beautiful creation with you. The attachments above contain some of the contents of my backyard garden, lovely stuff I get to look out at every time I look through my bedroom window. 

And it’s one of the first things I do every morning I get up. I just look out and drink up the beauty created through the Duchess’ green thumb and the Lord’s grace. Mine is just to admire, to feast my eyes on the wonder of nature! Glory be! You surely won’t hear me complain. (smile) 

But on a more serious note, I want us to consider this quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) the 32nd President of the United States. He tells us that ‘Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.’ 

And isn’t that the God-awesome truth! Man’s physicality can never withstand the immense power contained in his spiritual being for any length of time. Just look at how the body shrivels up and dies over time, while the Spirit keeps getting stronger and lives forever. That means we should not always bow to our physical nature but pay more attention to our spiritual side. 

Remember we’re basically a Spirit being encased in a fleshly body, and the first ought to control the second. Just look at when we’re hurting physically, how our spirit can lift us up, bring us to our Higher Power, and even make us forget about those physical hurts. 

The spiritual side of our lives can always be relied on to enhance the physical, because that’s the way the Lord made it to be. So please, let’s not forget the importance of our spiritual nature as we journey through the dark times of our lives, for God created it to alleviate our ills, be they physical, emotional or whatever kind they might be. 

And the most important aspect of our Spirit is to be able to communicate with our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God. Remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well in our Bit? ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.’ 

Yeh friends, our God is a Spirit Being and operates in the spiritual realm. So if we want to communicate with Him, we have to do so through the spirit that He has placed in us for that very purpose. Listen to this definition of God as proffered by the scholars. 

‘4:24. John gives three descriptions of God. He is a Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body; He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion, and will: He is eternal in relationship to time. 

He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable (unchanging) in His nature; He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us. (First Ref. Gen.1:1; Primary Ref. John 4:24).’  

Ah friends, that might be a bit much for some of us to understand and digest, but all it’s basically saying is that our God is great; in fact the Greatest! He is a perfect, divine, spiritual Being. As the Good Book says, the First and the Last, the Alpha and Omega, the Be All and End All! 

And the first words of that wonderful, exciting life giving and guiding tome tells it like it certainly is: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was moved upon (hovered over) the face of the waters’ (Gen.1:1-2) 

Yeh friends, God made our world and us from scratch; one piece at a time, in perfect harmony, no chaos or confusion. Oh, the Story of Creation is such a mighty and wonderful one! No big bang and utter chaos and confusion thereafter. And in any case, what caused the big bang eh? Something must have caused it…It couldn’t have just happened out of nowhere and nothing… Could it be our God eh? (smile) 

Ah friends, enough with the theories, suffice it to say that there IS a God, One who looks down on, and controls the affairs of men, and if we’re wise we’ll get into concert with Him for He determines the outcome of ALL things and people. Our world doesn’t just run vikey vie by itself, there is a heavenly Controller whose name is Almighty God and it would be to our immense benefit to stay in His good graces. 

What more can I say eh? I’ve presented the facts, now it’s up to each individual to make their decision. Let’s hope we all make the right one. And for those of us who have already done so, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our position as it relates to Almighty God. 

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!’ 

And that future will be even more glorious that we can ever imagine. Much LOVE!

…the wisest decision man can make…is to hang out with Jesus…

P.S. Sorry friends, but I could not put the pictures of the flowers in my backyard in the post, so you’ll just have take my word for it that they are beautiful. (smile) Much LOVE!