Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 May 2018 Matthew 6:33.

12 May 2018 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:33.    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

‘Sleeping in, sleeping in, sleeping in late on a somewhat cloudy Saturday morning!’ Yeh friends, the ole fella slept in this morning. But what’s the point of being alive if you can’t participate once in a while in some naughty antics eh? (smile) It really wasn’t planned though. I just happened to get up around six, as hungry as ever, and came down and had something to eat. Obviously, after that I had to go back and lie down. And the rest is history. (smile) 

Oh friends, there is so much strife and confusion and bitterness and anger going on all over our world that I don’t know what to comment on. So I’ll just stay with the volcano in Hawaii. At least that’s not a man made disaster. But it does seem to be getting worse rather than better. So let’s keep on praying for them and helping as best we can nuh. 

And since it’s Saturday, let’s take a look at some quotes from our friend Anselm, who truly aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.’ 

And that’s quite true people. The Lord has prepared a plan for each of our lives, with the wherewithal to be successful at it. So there is something out there for each of us to successfully accomplish. But it means we have to seek God’s plan for our individual life and proceed to put it into operation. 

And the second one says: ‘The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.’ Another particle of truth friends! It’s just the way life works. When we celebrate life, life celebrates us back in return, by giving us more stuff to celebrate. It’s just the positive attitude versus the negative one. 

And I believe that not enough of us celebrate the things we do, especially the small ones, falsely thinking that only big, momentous happenings are worthy of being celebrated. But if that’s true, then we’ll very seldom celebrate, because most of us don’t have many big happenings in our lives. Amen! 

Then there is: ‘All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.’ Yes my brethren, life is like a roller coaster ride; up one side, then down the other. But the trick to living it successfully is to stay as even as possible. 

And remember when we are basking on the mountaintop, not to get too full of ourselves, because at some point in the future we WILL be heading for the valley. And when we hit the valley, just remember Bruh David’s immortal words; ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps.23:4) 

Ah my fellow believers, that’s ever so important for us to remember and put into practice, because in the valleys we will experience some very rough times, and it’s only our strong faith and God’s faithful help that will bring us back up to the mountain top. 

And the last quote declares: ‘The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.’ 

Now I want to question that somewhat. Happiness does matter but is that the main reason for us being on earth. I doubt it. It’s true that Jesus said he came that we might have abundant life and enjoy it to the full. (John 10:10) But more importantly, He also said we shouldn’t be overly concerned with the needs of our lives, because we can’t serve two masters at once. (Matt.6:24-32) 

‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ 

There you have it my fellow believers; our most important action on this fragile and confusing earth. Seeking and searching, and knocking and finding God’s kingdom here on earth is our first and major priority. And the beauty of it all, is when we do that sincerely, everything else will fall into place. That’s Jesus’ faithful promise! 

That’s why Jesus continues: ‘Take therefore no thought for the morrow (do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:34) 

And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘6:33-34. This portion of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized by seek ye first the kingdom of God. The disciples who have pledged their allegiance to the King must continue seeking the kingdom and its righteousness. The present imperative form of the verb (Gr. zeteo) indicates a continual or constant seeking. The contrast between the spiritual and the material is again emphasized. 

The believer is to seek first the righteousness that is characteristic of God’s kingdom, and then all these things (material thing) shall be added to him. When our priority is spiritual, God will take care of the material, for where God guides, He provides. 

We need not even worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. This means that each day has its own troubles and challenges to be responsibly handled, without worrying about the hypothetical problems that could arise tomorrow.’ 

Oh my people, I don’t know how it could be stated any simpler nuh. But regardless of how many times we hear it, too many of us still seek the things of the world before the things of God. Remember though friends, there is always a price to pay for disobedience, and sometimes it can be quite high. So to him who has an ear to hear, let him hear. Much LOVE!

…in the immortal words of Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley)…our wisest action is to…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 January 2016 Hebrews 12:1

14 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 12:1.  Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance, endurance) the race that is set before us.

Ah mih people, it’s another cold, bleak winter’s day! But we have to remember that that’s what winter is all about; cold and bleak, though it doesn’t seem so bad when the sun shines through in all its glory. (smile) 

And since this is where we live, we just have to learn to live with it, knowing that through God’s faithful help we will be able to handle it, and eventually come out victorious in the glorious springtime. Oh glory to God friends for His unceasing help! 

Now here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that probably hits the nail on the head with many of us. I couldn’t help but share it. 

It’s simply titled ‘January,’ and reads thus: ‘It’s January, Lord – The drab, dreary middle – And my thoughts are as drab As the miserable month. Does everybody hit a January slump Or am I the only one? 

The first week wasn’t too bad: There were Christmas thank-yous to write A few resolutions to store away The huddle of year-end sales. But thank-you notes bring no returns And resolutions are quickly broken And marked-down trinkets fast lose appeal. 

When you said Behold, I make all things new Did You forget January, Lord? Or in January do I sometimes forget you?’ 

Oh friends, that poem certainly does resemble the mid January funk that many of us find ourselves in. The weather is the pits, the Christmas bills are starting to come in, and we don’t know where the money is going to come from to pay them, and added to that anxiety, we’re still physically and mentally tired from all the Christmas and New Year’s hoopla. It certainly is a familiar predicament. 

But to answer the poets ending question, the response is a definite Yes! We do seem to forget God in these anxious times, when these are the times we should be drawing ever closer to Him. God doesn’t make mistakes or lie. If he says that everything is made new, then it IS made new! 

That means the problem lies with us, which brings us to the promise for that poem, which is also our Bit. ‘Wherefore seeing (since) we also are compassed about with (surrounded by) so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset (ensnare) us, and let us run with patience (perseverance, endurance) the race that is set before us.’ 

Ah my fellow believers that is exactly the kind of advice we need this cold morning in mid-January. And the Lord moves in such mysterious ways, that it’s only last night I watched Uncle John (John Hagee) preach a sermon on that same verse. He titled it ‘Run To Win!’ 

And so it should be my fellow believers. Why else would we run a race if it were not to win eh? And the particular race we’re talking about here is the race of life! 

Bruh Paul likened our earthly lives to a race, having in mind the ancient Greek Olympics, which we can compare to out own modern day Olympiads. 

And the first thing he does is remind us of all the other saints, the heroes that have run this race before us, the ‘great cloud of witnesses,’ who are looking down on us as we run our race. So it’s not like we don’t have any examples or mentors to look back at. 

Then we have to ‘lay aside every weight,’ that prevents us from running this race of life. Yes my brethren we have to get rid of all the impediments that weigh us down and prevent us from putting forth our best efforts. 

And Bruh Paul refers to some of them in Colossians. ‘But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 

Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond (slave) nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.’ (Col.3:8-11) 

Oh my precious friends of faith, those are the kinds of things that prevent us from properly concentrating on running this magnificent race of life that’s set before us. 

And here are some explanations from the scholars, which will help us to further understand those scriptures. ‘3:9. Seeing means “since.” The old man is all that a person was prior to salvation: his worldly thinking and sinful acts. Since all this was renounced at conversion, one should lie not. Falsehood ill becomes the person claiming to be a disciple of Him who said, “I am the…truth.” 

‘3:10. The new man is the person one becomes after conversion: he possesses a new nature, values, aspirations, and a new life-style. This “new man” is constantly being renewed or developed until he attains a mature knowledge of the God who (re)created him. The more a believer knows and understands of God, the more he will be like God in character and conduct.’ 

‘3:11. Not only is the “new man” to put sin to death, he is also to put away man-made barriers that divide people and that nourish the vices of the old life. Among renewed humanity there are no national, ceremonial, cultural, or social distinctions. To the redeemed Christ is all: that is, He is everything and He is what matters most to them. And Christ is…in all; that is, He dwells in all believers.’ 

Yes Friends, we’ll end with those wonderful words of wisdom: Christ is everything to the believer, and He dwells in each and every one of us. Oh what a wonderful scenario! 

Let’s remember that, and ponder on all that we’ve said to day, so that we can increase in the knowledge and maturity of Christ our Lord and Saviour. Much LOVE!

…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…