Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 March 2012 Psalm 41:13‏

15 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 Psalm 41:13.    Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

Oh Friends, it didn’t take long for the crazies to come out of the woodwork; the fast, loud cars and loud music, the motor bikes, and the skimpy clothing. As though summer’s really here. But I guess when the weather inhibits one from doing those outdoor things for long periods of time, then the first, or any opportunity at all, is not to be disregarded. And you certainly won’t hear me complaining about the beautiful weather, cause it’s what my arthritic bones need. Now we’re only missing the sea and sand. (smile) And I’m not worried about that either, because I know in God’s good time, I will certainly get that too. I even went for a walk yesterday afternoon on my wonky knees. Wow! Wonders never cease, but daily they increase! And Friends, if we sit down and really look at out lives, we’ll find that that is the gospel truth! With each passing day the Lord does more wondrous things in our lives. For that, let’s give Him some thanks and praise: ‘Oh Lord God Jehovah, we the undeserving children of men, do praise and glorify Your Holy Name, and give You much thanks for looking after our earthly needs. We pray that we will keep on being faithful to You, as You are to us, and that our communion with the Holy Trinity will continue right through to eternity. On the precious, spilt blood of Jesus, Your wonderful Son and our Saviour we pray this. Amen!’ Yes Friends, if the Lord wasn’t looking after us, imagine how much more difficult our circumstances would be. That’s why it’s so important for us to stay under the protective umbrella of His LOVING-kindness, His mercy and forgiveness, and at all and any appropriate time give Him the thanks and praise for which He is eminently worthy. Praise like our Bit staunchly proclaims: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.’ Please note the two Amens. That shows how truly heartfelt Bruh David’s blessing is. Those words eventually become a doxology; a church formula for praising God. The psalm itself is about abuse and assurance: ‘Blessed is he that considereth the poor (helpless, powerless): the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing (sick bed): thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness (restore him in his sick bed).’ (Ps.41:1-3) Oh my people, how can we not be eternally grateful to a Deity who treats us with such tender mercies eh? And Cousin Sol follows in Bruh David’s footsteps in Psalm 72, The reign of the righteous king, one of only two Psalms he wrote. The other is Psalm 127. In Psalm 72, Cousin Sol joyfully declares: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.’ (Ps.72:18-19) Now those two men certainly had lots to be thankful for, just like we have, and they voiced their pleasure and their trust in the God of their fathers publicly and vociferously! Oh Friends, are we doing that too? Are we giving our great and gracious God public and enthusiastic thanks for all His wondrous works on our behalf? I sure hope so, else we’d be short-changing our wonderful Lord. And that’s one thing we never want to do, because if He ever stops blessing us, then ‘crapaud will truly smoke we pipe;’ much more calamity will certainly befall us. Ethan the Ezrahite, in Psalm 89, his great contemplation on God’s sure promises to Bruh David, also invokes the blessing on God at the end. ‘Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen, and Amen.’ (Ps.89:52) Note again, not one, but two Amens. Then in Psalm 106, Israel sins against God’s LOVE, the psalmist ends with the same message: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the Lord. (Hallelujah).’ (Ps.106:48) And most fittingly, the last Psalm, #150, is one that encourages praise, and ends with a slightly different but still reverent form of the doxology: ‘Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah). Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness…Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. (sing Hallelujah).’ (Ps.150:1-2, 6) Oh Friends, right in that last, simple verse is the eternal hope for our future. Our future depends entirely on our praise, thanks, reverence, glorification, worship, appreciation and obedience to our God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I cannot stress enough the importance of doing those things which please Him. So today, please, let’s all take some extra and some special time, especially in this Lenten Season, to show God that we really and truly do LOVE and appreciate Him. It’s the least we can do, in return for all that He’s done, and is still doing for us. Much LOVE!…all our God asks of us…is true reverence and undying LOVE…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2012 Psalm 78:32‏

08 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , ,

Psalm 78:32.   For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works

Oh Friends, yesterday was indeed a beautiful spring day in my neck of the woods, except for a somewhat blustery wind! And it’s expected to get up to about 12 Celsius again today. What a joy! But I’m still concerned and perturbed by this unseasonable weather, and all the other abnormal weather patterns that we’ve been experiencing around the world for the last few years. I guess abnormal weather is now the order of the day. But thankfully my brethren, we have the ONE and ONLY Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour to rely on, so that whatever comes against us, we can stand up sure and strong in His Holy Name and either defeat it or ride it out! And the true believers offered a sincere prayer of gratitude. ‘Oh thank you Lord, for your LOVING-kindness to the children of undeserving men!’ Oh, if those children of Israel had only been as thankful and true, then the whole course of History would have been changed. Unfortunately though, as our Bit says: ‘For all this they sinned still, and believed not the for his wondrous works.’ Ah Friends, I hope that yesterday we pondered on how those words related to our personal situations, as I asked, and that we made amends with our forgiving and merciful God for any shortcomings thereof. Now let’s continue looking at the Israelites journey. Yesterday we left them enjoying the easy life in the oasis of Elim, without any complaints. But then they entered the wilderness of Sin, a rather appropriate name, for they immediately began to complain against Moses and Aaron, saying: ‘Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots (pots of meat), and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ (Ex.16:3) Ah Friends, how we like to always have it easy and our way eh! But despite His disappointment at His chosen people’s lack of faith, after all that He had done for them, our God, being such a wonderful Deity, declared unto Moses: ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate (amount) every day, that I may prove (test) them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.’ (Ex.16:4) So the Lord tested them with manna, and they failed, because instead of gathering on the sixth day, enough also for the seventh, some went out to gather it on the Sabbath Day. But they found none, because, as per the Lord’s decree, it was only provided for six days. Obviously this displeased the Lord, and He asked Moses: ‘How long refuse ye (do you refuse) to keep my commandments and my laws?’ (Ex.16:28) Oh Friends, that’s exactly the same question the Lord is asking of us today? When will we stop being so ungodly and return to His fold eh? That’s part of the reason why our world is in such a confused and troubled state. And until we return to a state of godliness and obedience to His commandments, we will continue to live in a confused and troubled state. Thankfully the Israelites eventually learned about the manna. ‘So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.’ (Ex.16:30-31) One more miracle for those unbelieving, ungrateful people. And that doesn’t sound like a bad tasting food either; ‘wafers made with honey.’ But I guess if you have it morning, noon and night, seven days a week, it can get somewhat tiresome. Will we eventually wake up though from our sinful, ungodly, lustful life before it’s too late? I certainly hope so. Now here’s what the scholars have to say about manna: ‘The manna literally means ‘What is it?’ Not only was it remarkable for its size, shape, colour, taste, and variety of uses (Ex.16:14, 23, 31; Num.11:7-8), but especially for its daily appearance at dawn, its tremendous abundance, its strange capacity for breeding worms at the end of each day except the sixth, and its sudden and permanent disappearance as soon as the Israelites entered Canaan (Josh.5:12). It taught the people to look Godward for their daily bread, and it pointed toward the One who claimed to be the true bread from heaven, even ‘the bread of life.’ (John 6:32,35) Oh my people, do we look to our God EVERYDAY for our daily bread, like the Israelites were taught to do, and like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ (Matt.6:11) I sure hope so, because that’s what the Lord expects from us, and also why He sends us new mercies and blessings every day. It’s all a part of His overall plan to have us trust Him anew each day, so that He can show His genuine and unconditional LOVE for us. Please, let’s accept His LOVING-kindness with joy and thankfulness and do our best to walk in His godly ways, so that He can continue to bless and keep us safe. That’s the only healing medicine for what ails us today my people, so let’s be wise and accept it with gracious thanks nuh. Much LOVE!…it is better to trust in the Lord…than to put confidence in man… (Ps.118:8) 

Next Newer Entries