Today’s Scrip-Bit   11 April 2024 John 8:12.

11 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

John 8:12.      I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Ah Lord, why couldn’t today be like yesterday eh? Unfortunately, the bright and warm sunshine of Wednesday has been transformed into a wet, bleak, dreary, dark, uninviting Thursday morning. And yesterday afternoon I so enjoyed sitting on my front porch for the first time this year, very comfortably drinking in the activity on the street, whether they were humans, cars, dogs, or simply Mother Nature. That looks though, like it will just be a one day stand, (smile) as the computer is calling for rain today. But that’s okay, we’ll live with it, for we’ll enjoy the sunshine even more after having experienced the rain. As they say, you can’t enjoy the light, until you’ve experienced the darkness. 

And that’s oh so true, especially when speaking of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Before He came, we were totally enshrined in darkness, without any hope of ever getting out of it, but with His miraculous appearance and formidable actions, we did get out of the darkness into His glorious light! Glory be! As Isaiah so gloriously testified: ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath shined the light.’ (Is. 9:2) And that prophesy was certainly fulfilled by the coming of Jesus! 

 As Matthew writes of Jesus’ teaching ministry. ‘Now when Jesus had heard that John (the Baptist) was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias (Isaiah) the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up (has dawned). From that time Jesus began preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  (Matt. 4:12-17) 

Yes friends, there’s no doubt that Jesus came a to shed light on our darkness. As Luke also writes of Zacharias’ speech at the birth of his son, John the Baptist. ‘And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission (forgiveness) of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (the Dawn, the Messiah) from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And the child grew, and waxed (became) strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing (manifestation) unto Israel.’ (Luke 1:76-80) 

And we all know that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, setting the stage for Him, talking of repentance, of baptism and the forgiveness of sins. The words of John the apostle also attest to those facts. ‘There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of the Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, (own domain), and his own (his own people the Jews) received him not. 

But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on  his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made (became) flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:6-14) Oh my faithful brethren, Jesus was indeed the One sent by the Father to bring us out of darkness into His wonderful light. 

And if you still don’t believe that He is, was, and will always be the Light of this world, then listen to Him say it Himself. He said to the disbelieving religious sect of the Jews, the Pharisees: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) And the Pharisees did not believe, because He bore witness of Himself, or as we would say today, was tooting His own horn. But the fact still remains that if Jesus did not come to earth, die on the cross of Calvary to atone for our sins, then rise again on the third day, so we could do the same, we would still be forever shrouded in the darkness of Satan, the evil ruler of this world, who desires to keep us chained to his evil doings. 

But Christ, the Light of the world, came and set us free! Glory Hallelujah! And to make it even better, He told us that when He left this world, that we, His true followers would assume that  mantle. ‘Ye are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14a, 16) And our God is so wonderful that He even gave us the tools, the undeserved blessings to do the job. We call them our Thursday Blessings, so let’s declare them now, so that they can be activated in our lives. 

As one 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!’ 

Now, it’s our bounden duty to go out and put those blessings to work in the lives of others, as generously as the Lord shared them with us. Much LOVE!

…it’s high time that we Christians behave…like the real salt of the earth…and the true light of the world…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   14 December 2022 John 1:12.

14 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

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

John 1:12.       But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children of God), even to them that believe on his name:

Unfortunately friends, Wednesday didn’t open as bright and sunshiny as Tuesday, but it’s not totally overcast, the sun is still making a valiant effort to come out and overcome the dark clouds. And that’s how we believers in Jesus ought to be; making valiant efforts to shine like Jesus in the darkness of this evil world! That’s supposing we want to spend eternity with Jesus and not with the devil in sinful and fiery bondage. It seems though, that many of us are intent on doing just that, because so many of us are shamefully turning away from God, from our Creator and Provider to live the evil and ungodly life that Satan promotes. 

Why is that eh? I really don’t know, but I guess it’s because we’re angry with God since He didn’t give us what we wanted, when we wanted it, and we haven’t seen the goodness and LOVING-kindness that’s been so bandied about. But what we’ve failed to realize is that Almighty God is not our doting grandfather, who is just there to cater to our every whim and fancy. Instead, He is a just and righteous God, who cannot stand sin, and we are supposed to be obedient to His will, not Him to ours. 

We’ve got the slave and Master relationship all backward. In fact, the Lord is not bound to give us anything at all, unless we are obedient to His will. Oh yes, He does LOVE us unconditionally, but that doesn’t mean He’ll spoil us like we’ve spoilt our children by falsely thinking that we’ve got to make life easy for them and give them everything they desire. His Son Jesus didn’t have it easy down here on earth, and most of us parents didn’t have easy growing up either, but that’s what built our sense of godliness and responsibility. We had to learn to depend on God! 

And that’s where our generation of parents have fallen down and done a grave injustice to our children, so much so that they don’t have a clue about the word responsibility, and furthermore, think that they are entitled to whatever catches their fancy, and are thus rather sinful and godless. And we’ve no one to blame but ourselves. The simple fact of the matter is that too few of us are willing to do as Jesus says: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto us.’ (Matt. 6:33) We want all these things added to us before we seek the Lord’s kingdom and His righteousness, but there’s no guarantee that we will if He gives us all we ask first. 

Anyway, we all know that we’ve screwed up as parents because our children are as far removed from God as they can be, but it’s not too late for us to try and bring them back into God’s LOVING fold. And remember yesterday we were talking about the choices available for the next life; either with Jesus in heaven, or with Satan in the lake of fire. We finished up with Daniel’s prophecy of what would happen at the end times. And I know some of you think that’s all hogwash, everybody is going to heaven because the Lord is such a LOVING and merciful God. 

But friends, please remember what John said of Jesus’ first coming. ‘He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children of God), even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:11-13) Yes, Jesus’ people, the Jews, rejected him, but He gave the power to anyone, Jew or Gentile to become a child of God by sincerely believing in Him. And those who don’t believe will die a sad eternal death. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. There’s not much any of us can do about it. 

And if you didn’t believe Daniel yesterday, then hopefully you’ll believe Jesus today, when He says: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (judgement); but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. 

And hath given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (condemnation). I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgement is just (righteous); because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.’ (John 5:24-30) 

Ah my fellow saints, all the way down through the Good Book it’s the same story, of eternal life and eternal condemnation according to our choices in this life. Jesus doesn’t lie, neither does the Good Book, so let’s boost our spirits and faith by looking at what it says will happen at the end. 

John writes in Revelation of seeing the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. ‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev. 21:3-4) 

Oh my people, isn’t that a wonderful ending! It surely is, but we will only get to enjoy it if we accept Jesus and live the way He desires of us. Please believe that and turn to Him RIGHT NOW! And for those of us who already believe and are doing our best to live for Him, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 

As one strong and sincere 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 believe me my fellow saints, if we endure to the very end with Jesus, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! So please let’s use that as encouragement and incentive to endure with Jesus for the long haul nuh! Much LOVE!

…living for Satan is extremely foolish…living for Jesus is the epitome of wisdom… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 September 2021 Luke 19:10.

01 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Luke 19:10.     For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Well mih people, it’s Wednesday 1st of September 2021…and the cooler weather has already begun! (smile) Anyway, what’s new with you eh? Has Covid 19 and all the other problems we’re facing brought you so low down that you don’t know what else to do? I hope not, but just in case your problems are weighing you down, here’s the best advice I can give you….Call out to Jesus for help! Cry out to Him from the depths of your broken spirit and hurting heart! He will immediately come running to your side and offer whatever help you need! 

Yes friends, that’s the name our world needs to cry out to right now amidst all the many problems we’re currently facing! He is the Lord and Saviour of this world; whose main job is to save all sick, lonely and lost souls. I didn’t say it, Jesus Himself did…and several times too. Listen to Him before He told His disciples the parable of the lost sheep. ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost.’ (Matt. 18:11) 

Then at the repentance of Zaccheus, the chief tax collector, He joyfully declares: ‘This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) Yes my fellow believers, as the scholars explain: ‘Jesus is the compassionate, searching Herdsman who seeks to save those who can by no means save themselves.’ 

Meanwhile, in the gospel of John, Jesus solemnly informs the Jewish leader Nicodemus: ‘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) Oh my brethren, it’s all about God, through Jesus, doing great saving work by faith and grace! 

And I like how Stephen J Cole puts it in his commentary found on the bible.org website. He says: ‘When Jesus says in our text that “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost,” He was thus referring to the fact that as the second person of the Trinity, He had taken on human flesh and had come to this earth to offer Himself in the place of sinners. He took our penalty on Himself, so that we could be saved from the penalty we deserve. God would not have taken such extreme measures as the incarnation and death of His Son if lost people were able to save themselves. They are lost and so they must be sought and found. Christ came to seek the lost.’ 

Ah friends, how wonderful is Jesus, our Lord and Saviour eh? He took the initiative and came to seek us worthless sinners out, so that we could be saved, be reconciled to the Father after being in bondage to sin for so long. And as Stephen J Cole continues: ‘Salvation is not due to the will of man, but rather to the will of God (John 1:12-13). His purpose in saving the lost is never frustrated by the rebellious will of sinners.’ 

And that’s an indisputable fact friends! If Jesus wants you, He will get you, one way or another!  Your rebellious will certainly won’t stop Him. I can personally testify to that, as I continually refused to accept His offer to write the Bit, but He eventually wore me down, and here I am doing it for over fourteen years now, (smile) obviously with His awesome help! And just in case you don’t know the two verses that Mr. Cole talks about above, let me spoon feed us. (smile) 

John writes about Jesus: ‘He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:11-13) 

That says it all my fellow saints! Jesus came to earth to save us, but many of us refused, and are still refusing, to acknowledge Him. However those who were wise and did, or do sincerely believe in Him, acknowledge His Lordship, He gave us the right to call ourselves children of God, which means we are spiritually reborn, we no longer take orders from the evil one, but from Christ Himself, through the Holy Spirit which dwells within us to lead and guide us on the safe and narrow path that leads to salvation and the waiting and ever-LOVING arms of the Father! Glory be mih people! 

I don’t know what else we need to wake up and heed Christ’s call nuh. He left the comfort of heaven, came to earth, died for our sins, paid a hefty price with His own sinless life, gave us all the tools we need, including the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us! What else can He do eh? It’s all up to us now friends. We either believe and live, or don’t believe and die! That’s the long and short of the story! 

And re, the guiding of the Holy Spirit, I like how Isaiah said it way back when: ‘And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.’ (Is. 30:21) And that’s exactly how it is! But the most important thing is, do we listen, are we listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit as we live our lives and allowing it to guide us? That is what makes all the difference! 

As they say, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. The same thing applies to finding Jesus – you can be led to Him, but you must make a conscious decision to follow Him. Now, for those of us who have made that conscious decision, let’s go home declaring (yeah!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 

As one mighty voice now: ‘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 brethren, living for Jesus is wonderful, but we need to endure until the end, when that future will be even more glorious than we ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…if God can come to seek and find us when we are lost…why can’t we accept His wonderful offer of salvation eh…too much stubborn pride… 

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