Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 January 2016 Psalm 32:5‏‏

08 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 32:5.  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.

Well Friends, I can just imagine how you all must be shouting it from the rooftops this morning eh: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Thank God that the weekend is here at last! Wow! It certainly has been a tiring week! Thank God it’s Friday oui, and no more work for a couple days! The body certainly crying out for some rest!’ 

Ah mih people, I know that this first Friday of work in the new year has indeed been somewhat trying and tiring after all the season’s celebrations. But unfortunately, them’s the breaks. (smile) We can’t just play alone, sometime or other we need to work too. 

And remember that it’s working which enables us to play. And I have to laugh how we crying out for rest, rather than the usual party scene. Hn, hn! Anyway, let’s all hang in there and chant our Friday Chant that will give us a better perspective on the weekend. 

As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. 

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Yes friends, rest and worship are essential parts of our weekend, so that we can come back out strong on Monday and continue the cycle of building Christ’s LOVE Revolution. Remember that this is the year that the LOVE Revolution must sweep the world if we want to have any chance of turning things around. 

It’s our job, as believers in Christ, to go out there and make believers of the unbelievers through both our talk and our walk. Nothing else is going to change them! 

Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.’ 

Ah mih people, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! There’s no other supposed deity who forgives sin! Just the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

Yes my brethren, our God is indeed a truly magnanimous and forgiving Deity! But that doesn’t mean it gives us the right to keep on participating in sin, because on the other side of the coin, sin bears serious penalties from a holy God. 

We saw yesterday, how God’s friend and man after His own heart, Bruh David paid an enormous price for his sin with Bathsheba, although he repented and was forgiven. But his sin had caused great occasion for God’s enemies to blaspheme His name, and that was definitely not acceptable. 

So though we may sincerely repent and be forgiven, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be no negative consequences. So the best remedy is to sin as little as possible. (smile) Oh we all know that that is easier said than done, but we must always give it our best effort, with God’s help of course. 

Now hear this gem on sin from Cousin Sol. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov.28:13) 

Oh glory to God my people for His mercy and LOVING-kindness! But please note that Cousin Sol didn’t just say to confess our sins, but also to forsake them, stop committing them; especially the same ones over and over. That is also a necessary part of the whole scenario my brethren. 

Remember, though confessions and repentance and forgiveness are ours, it doesn’t give us a licence to sin. But when we do sin, it is essential that we come to God in repentance and confession as soon as possible, because any sin that burdens our hearts, also keeps us out of God’s good graces, and we definitely don’t want to be excluded from that. 

Now let’s look at some scripture on sin and its effects on the human body and psyche. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 38 – The prayer of a penitent heart. 

‘O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me (pierce me deeply), and thy hand presseth me sore (down). There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest (health, peace) in my bones because of my sin. 

For mine iniquities have gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt (are foul and festering) because of my foolishness. I am troubled (bowed down) greatly; I go mourning all the day long.’ (Ps.38:1-6) 

Yes friends, that’s how sin ought to make us feel, so that we can come running to God and sincerely declare: ‘For I am ready to halt (to fall), and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin…. Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ (Ps.38:17-18, 21-22) 

Ah my fellow believers, sin is no joke, so please let’s not encourage it in our lives, because we’re liable to pay a hefty price of negative consequences if we do. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so wisely declares: obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. Now that is indeed the wisest way to live! Much LOVE!

…sin is the devil’s handiwork…and it can only be erased through…confession, repentance and God’s mercy…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 August 2015 Ecclesiastes 5:7

03 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 5:7.   For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.

Well Friends, the Caribana weekend is wrapping up today. Sadly though, it seems to be on a wet and watery note. Yesterday evening around six o’clock a powerful thunder storm hit the area, unleashing a fair amount of rain. It caught me on the highway, and the rain fell so hard that it sounded like pellets hitting the car. Eventually I had to turn up the music to hear it over the sound of the pelting rain. (smile)

And it’s still wet out there, don’t know if it will last all day though. I’m sure a lot of Caribana festivities suffered because of it, and more will suffer today if the weather continues on the negative side.

But look at it this way, here in the Province of Ontario many of us don’t have to go to work today, because it’s a local, civic holiday. Interestingly enough, different regions around the province call it by different names. So we can just curl up in bed with a good book or just go back to sleep if the weather stays foul. (smile)

However, many of our fellow believers around the country and the world have to get up and face the Monday morning music; getting out on the traffic clogged roads, regardless of the weather, and fighting their way to work. Ah Lord eh! You’d think that by now with all our brilliance and technological advancement we’d have designed a better system for getting to and from work.

Unfortunately traffic jams are still a way of life in most countries, and the developing ones are getting just as bad, for as the standard of life goes up, so do the number of polluting vehicles on the sub-standard roads. Billions of dollars are lost in productivity every year because of this unsightly and very inefficient way of getting to and from work.

But until some bright light comes along and improves it, we just have to grin and bear it and leave home a couple hours earlier than necessary to get to work on time. Steups! Anyway, to help those folks who have to get out to labour today, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle hymn with great gusto and plenty confidence nuh.

As one 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!’

That wasn’t bad at all Friends. Hn! But I notice that every time we have a Monday where one group has a holiday and the others don’t , it’s always those with the holiday that sing the loudest, with the most gusto and verve! Can it be they are more enthused because they don’t have to go out and labour? Now that’s a very observant observation! (smile)

That brings us to our Bit, an interesting statement from Cousin Sol as the Preacher. ‘For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities (futility abounds): but fear thou God.’  Ah mih people, both statements there are indisputably true! In this chapter of Ecclesiastes the Preacher is cautioning us against hasty vows.

Earlier on, he wisely advises: ‘Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few. For a dream cometh through the multitude of business (effort or activity); and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.’ (Eccl.5:2-3)

Gospel truth Friends, gospel truth! When we get so busy with life we dream up all sorts of stuff, and oftimes talk too much, especially in this modern-day talkative society, where talk shows abound and social media is running rampant 24/7.

And Cousin Sol further cautions us; this time re vows in particular with God. ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl.5:4-5)

Oh my brethren, I am sure that resounds with all of us, because at some time in our lives, in the heat of trials, tribulations or temptations, we have cried out to God: ‘O God, if you will only get me out of this situation, then I will do such and such!’ We make grand promises, many of which we are not able to keep in our own strength, and promptly forget about them anyway, when the Lord bails us out. But that is not the way to get into God’s good graces my people. As the Preacher advises, it would be better if we didn’t make any promises at all.

Now that whole thing about promises and vows is again a sad matter in our current society. Vows and promises no longer mean what they used to even thirty years ago. We make them now fully intending not to keep them. But you know what Friends? Broken promises usually turn right around and bite us when we least expect them.

Like a boomerang they come back to haunt us, and then we get all peeved, disappointed and angry at the perpetrators, conveniently forgetting the vows that we had insincerely made, and/or inconsiderately broken.

So Friends, it’s all up to us. We can bring less pain and disappointment on ourselves by thinking a little more before we talk, and not making promises that we can’t or don’t intend to pay, for our words are powerful and can create good or bad situations, which can greatly affect us. Much LOVE!

…for by thy words…thou shalt be justified…and by thy words…thou shalt be condemned…  (Matt.12:37)

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 April 2014 Psalm 66:19

08 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 66:19.     But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.

Oh Friends, how good and pleasant it is to hear the refreshing sound of raindrops falling on the rooftop, as has been happening intermittently in my area for the last fifteen or so hours! At last the early rains! The blessings from heaven to saturate the dry and parched land, and cause the harvest to be plentiful.
 
There’s one problem though; right now our land is not dry and parched, as it has been well watered over the last couple of weeks through the gradually melting mountains of snow that have covered it for most of the winter. That means, although we appreciate the rain, we just don’t want too much, since it’s highly likely to cause flooding.
 
But all we can do on that front is to hope and pray that our wonderful God will look down on us there with mercy and LOVING-kindness, for we certainly couldn’t afford to have any more nerve-wracking disasters than we’ve already had in the past six months. Remember we had a massive flood just before winter began.
 

Oh my people, that is why it’s so important to stay in close contact with Almighty God, to remain in His good graces, for He controls our destiny. And the best way to do that is through sincere prayer.
 
That’s why the psalmist in our Bit, could say with profound conviction: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
 
And that is such awesome truth Friends! When we try to abide by His rules and regulations, which are not onerous at all, He does listen to and answer our prayers. Though we must realize and accept the fact that they will not necessarily be answered how or when we desire, but in God’s own way and time.
 
Remember too His timing is ALWAYS right, NEVER late, and ALWAYS in our best interest. That’s why prayer is such an overwhelmingly important aspect of the believer’s life! 
 
And though we keep hammering that idea home, it’s surprising the large number of people, supposed believers included, who refuse to take it seriously. No wonder so many of us are living sub-par lives.
 
Anyway, today we’ll continue to highlight scriptures that show how men of great faith found prayer to be the solid foundation of their lives.
 
Yuh know what Friends, and I’m chuckling here, there are so many scriptures, that to make life easy on us all, I’ll just concentrate on Bruh David’s declarations of prayer, because he has so many heartfelt ones in the Psalms, and we know that the Lord heard and answered him.
 
We gave you a couple on the first day from Psalms 4 and 5, so we’ll now begin with Psalm 6; a prayer for mercy.
 
Listen to the man after God’s own heart. ‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed (greatly troubled): let them return and be ashamed suddenly.’ (Ps.6:8-10)
 
Then in Psalm 17; a prayer for protection against oppressors, he pleads unto the God of his fathers: ‘Hear the right (a just cause), O Lord, attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned (deceitful) lips. Let my sentence (vindication) come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal (upright)
 
Thou hast proved (tested) mine heart; thou hast visited me (searched me out) in the night; thou hast tried (examined) me, and shalt find nothing (nothing evil): I am purposed that my mouth shalt not transgress.’ (Ps.17:1-3)
 
And again, in Psalm 28; a prayer for God’s help, Bruh David cries out unashamedly: ‘Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle (sanctuary).’ (Ps.28:1-2)
 
Then in Psalm 64; plot and punishment, there is more pleading: ‘Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer (meditation or complaint): preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection (tumult) of the workers of iniquity.’ (Ps.64:1-2)
 
And we’ll close with this one from Psalm 109; a prayer for the punishment of the wicked. ‘For my LOVE they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my LOVE.’ (Ps.109: 4-5)
 
And I particularly like that one, because I can personally relate to it, as no doubt many of you readers can.
 
Oh my brethren, from all of that it’s impossible not to see how devoted Bruh David was to prayer. He turned to Jehovah God in each and every situation. And even more importantly, he wasn’t afraid or ashamed to cry out, to lay bare his soul to the God of his fathers!
 
That’s because from a tender age he had seen the Lord’s hand moving in his life. And it was by no means an easy life, for though he was anointed to be king in his mid-teens, he faced many obstacles, much hate, anger and rebellion from within his own family, not to mention the harassment from his nemesis Saul.
 
But if it’s one thing Bruh David had and bravely showed, was what the old people called ‘stick-to-it-tiveness!’ That’s patience, perseverance and an unshakeable faith in Almighty God, despite all his troubling and dangerous circumstances. He NEVER gave up on God… and consequently, God NEVER left him in the lurch! 
 
Oh my people, we couldn’t want a better example than Bruh David when it comes to prayer. So today I pray that we will all get this message; the fundamental importance of prayer in a believer’s life, and that we will all take it to heart and begin, or continue to call upon our awesome God, without fear, in bold, yet humble manner, through sincere and heartfelt prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
 
 And all God’s children gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord!’   Much, much LOVE, my fellow believers in Christ Jesus!
 
…blessed be God…which hath not turned away my prayer…nor his mercy from me… (Ps.66:20)