Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 June 2024 Lamentations 3:24.

06 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

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Lamentations 3:24.        The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

It’s Thursday friends! One more day and it will be Friday, and the weekend will be here! Give the Lord thanks and praise! (smile) Ah, we do LOVE our weekends, especially the summer ones, where we can gad about free and easy and enjoy the hijinks of the summer season. However, though it’s good to be free and easy, let’s remember that when too many free and easy things are overdone, they eventually bring hardship and pain, and then we hold our heads and bawl, saying why didn’t I think about it before I did it. 
And yes, we have to do some of that to learn what life is truly all about. But the earlier we learn to have a modicum of circumspection, the better off we’ll be. Now, having expounded such wonderful advice, I’m at a loss for something to talk about today. So let’s see where the Good Library will lead us nuh. (smile) I’m sure it will never lead us astray. 
And lo, and behold, it opened unto the Book of Lamentations, where the prophet Jeremiah shed tears for both himself and his people. But then, he remembers the Lord’s faithfulness in all the negative situations that he and his people had faced. Then he laments: ‘Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness). My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled (bowed down) in me. This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope.’ (Lam. 3:19-21) 
Yes friends, though we go through tough times, experience the bitterness of wormwood-like stuff, it is essential that we never lose hope in our wonderful God. For He only tests or chastens us for our own benefit. And as Jeremiah so wisely and rightly continues: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23) And that’s the gospel truth my people. If it wasn’t for the Lord’s mercies, LOVE and compassion on us, we’d be wiped off the face of the earth long ago. He is ever so faithful to us, although we don’t return the faithfulness. 
As Bruh Paul said to Timothy. ‘It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim. 2:11-13) Yuh see mih bredrin, the Lord’s faithfulness is so embedded in Him, that even if He wanted to, He could not be unfaithful! And we’d better be thankful for that, with all the nonsense, all the sin and disobedience we commit, when it’s also a requirement for us to be faithful in our lives and service to God.  
But then, when things get hard, when we find ourselves at the end of ourselves, we run crying to Him, begging for mercy and He hears us and offers His mercy, compassion and unconditional LOVE! And it’s interesting to hear what the scholars say about real faith. ‘Real faith is more than inner belief, even more than whole-souled committal. It is a condition of the soul marked by such a stable character and an attitude of total trust that the believer’s whole life is imbued with consistent, responsible service to God. (cf. 1 Sam. 26:23; Ps. 37:3-6). From the biblical standpoint, true faith results in faithfulness in one’s life.’ 
And we admit that that’s not easy to do, with all the temptations and negative situations we encounter, but we have the help of the Holy Spirit, and I’m sure we can do much better than we’re currently doing, if we only paid greater attention to His still small voice that leads and guides us. And these words from Jeremiah’s lament point the way to where our hearts ought to be steadfastly directed. ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:24-26) 
The question is my people, do we feel as strongly about those words as Jeremiah did? Obviously not. For if we did, then we would not be so disobedient and rebellious, and would show much more faithfulness, more discipleship, be full of salt and light in our daily lives. Remember that though our God is faithful, merciful, LOVING, and all those good things, if we claim to be believers, yet continue to be unfaithful, we will eventually pay a high price for it. 
That’s why the scholars referenced above, these wise words of Bruh David. ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto he Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday.’ (Ps. 37:3-6) 
That’s all we have to do friends; trust in the Lord, and do good; delight ourselves in him, and commit our way to Him. He will do the rest. As Jesus said: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) The same thing goes for if we trust and delight in God and commit our ways to Him. Now let’s declare (chuhhh!!!) our Thursday Blessings so we can activate them. Those blessings so generously bestowed on us so that we can do God’s earthly work. 
As one: ‘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, let’s go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!
…faithfulness is a requirement…to whatever cause we hold dear to our hearts…
 
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit   29 May 2024 Psalm 143:10.

29 May 2024 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 143:10.       Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

And then it was Wednesday…and the Bit is somewhat late, as usual. (smile) However, that should not happen for the next couple of months because my priest will be on a sabbatical and holidays for that time period. That means there will no Wednesday mid-morning church services to attend, and hopefully no errands to run afterward, so that I won’t have to come home tired from all my running around and have to nap before I can start writing the Bit. And all God’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ (smile)

 Enough idle chatter though, let’s get down to the Lord’s business. And today we’ll check out an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘Three Discoveries.’ And this one I am sure I’ve shared before, but I believe it’s very necessary to share it again in these trying and troubled times. So please read with me: ‘I have made three overwhelming discoveries regarding God’s reliable faithfulness: The first: God will NEVER let us go – NEVER! We may fall flat on our faces. We may resist until we feel exhausted, but nothing can separate us from His matchless LOVE. 

The second: God will NEVER let us down – NEVER! He is forever faithful, even when we are faithless. He cannot deny Himself. He will NEVER leave us nor forsake us. The third: He will NEVER let us off – NEVER! Whenever we give in to temptation, when we determine to have our own way – He says with all the LOVE of His Father-heart, “I LOVE you too much to excuse disobedience.” Whom He LOVES, He chastens. God is determined to bless us. He is eager to show us His kindness. He is glad to teach us the proper paths; but He MUST have access to our hearts. He will allow guilt to become a burden until conviction comes, then confession, and finally renewed commitment! May David’s prayer be our prayer:’ 

And what you ask was David’s prayer. ‘Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.’ Or as the New Living translation puts it at the end: ‘May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.’ (Ps. 143:10) Yes friends, that’s the prayer of Bruh David our poem is referring to, and it’s the Bible verse associated with it. By the way, all the bold capitalizations are mine, done to provide a li’l more emphasis (smile) 

And what do we learn from the poem? Three basic things. The first is that once we surrender our lives to God, He will NEVER let us go! No NEVER! Even if we resist till we’re blue in the face. The Bible greatly reassures us of that through Bruh Paul’s words to the Romans. ‘For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:38-39) Oh my people, it could not be any clearer or more reassuring than that! 

And the second thing we learn from the poem is that God will NEVER let us down! And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! Our God is everlastingly faithful! As the poem says, He is faithful and cannot deny Himself. And Bruh Paul wrote that exact thing to Timithy in his second letter. ‘If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim. 2:13) And you ask, what does cannot deny himself mean? This commentary explains it quite nicely. 

‘God cannot go contrary to his word; that would be to act contrary to his nature and perfections, and would be a denying of himself, which is not possible; wherefore his faithfulness will never fail, even though, the faith of his people does, as to the exercise of it.’ So although we might fail and fall and become faithless, our great God will NEVER fall to such depths, will NEVER be faithless. We can count on it with all our heart, minds, bodies and souls. And if that doesn’t reassure you, then listen to the scripture from Hebrews. 

The author writes: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he (God) hath said, I will NEVER leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5) And if that still does’nt satisfy you, then try this other scripture from Hebrews. ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’ (Heb. 10:23) And if all of those scriptures don’t reassure you of God’s faithfulness, then I don’t know what else to say, but that you will have to learn it through hard experience in your own life. (smile) 

And the third lesson we’ve learned from our poem is that God will NEVER let us off. No. He will NEVER let us get away with sin and rebellious behaviour, because He LOVES us too much to see us go down the wide path that leads to destruction and allow us to continue down it unimpeded. No. He will be like a dog constantly nipping at our heels, reminding us of our inappropriate behaviour, until we finally confess, repent and turn away from that sinful activity. And why is that eh? Simply because of His great LOVE for His prized human creation. 

And you can find scripture that attests to that in Proverbs 3, where Cousin Sol writes: ‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of (detest not) his correction: for whom the Lord LOVETH he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.’ (Prov. 3:11-12) And the Lord is simply behaving like our earthly father’s do; correct us when we go astray. If He didn’t do that, He would not be the LOVING and caring God He claims to be. Now, the author of Hebrews also has some invaluable words on the topic of the Lord’s chastening, but we don’t have time to go through it, so please read it for yourselves in Hebrews 12:5-11, and hopefully you’ll understand it better. Let’s remember though that the Lord’s chastening is ALWAYS FOR OUR BENEFIT!’ 

Now, let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one 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 if we endure to the very end, then it’s been promised that the future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So let’s be wise and plan to meet there nuh! Much LOVE!

…our God is exactly whom the Bible says He is…a faithful, LOVING, kind, caring and compassionate God…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 April 2022   1 Corinthians 15:57.

16 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 15:57.      But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh my people, the rain we experienced last night has washed away the darkness and sorrow of Good Friday and has opened us unto a bright and shining Holy Saturday morning, where, with bated breath, we are eagerly waiting the magnificent, world-shaking, earth-shattering, and triumphal rising of Jesus Christ tomorrow on Easter Morn! 

Right now, Jesus is in a state of metamorphosis, like the caterpillar, who when the time is right, when he has accomplished his time and purpose as a caterpillar, undergoes a mighty change from an ugly crawling species, throwing of its old self, painfully divulging itself of its old nature, and being reborn as a brand new entity, a beautiful butterfly with a new purpose, who can take wings to the sky to serve and worship it’s heavenly creator!  

Yes friends, right now we’re in a state of waiting, that time between asking the question, or sending up the prayer and waiting for the answer. And I know we’re all eager to see Jesus rise tomorrow, but it calls for some patience. So, let’s just relax and do like Bruh David advises: ‘Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord.’ (Ps. 27:14) But, unfortunately, that’s oftentimes the hardest part of our ordeal, the waiting without knowing what’s going to happen, or when it might. 

This, however, is a different situation, we know, without a doubt, that Jesus will rise tomorrow on Easter Sunday; it’s just a matter of time. Nothing can stop it, because our Lord God has decreed it, and whatever He decrees comes to pass! That’s another fact of which we are absolutely certain! So all we are waiting for is the passage of time, which does seem to go rather slowly when you need the solution to a big problem or are excitedly waiting on something special, like we are waiting on tomorrow to celebrate Christ’s triumphant resurrection, His marvellous defeat of hell, death and the grave, to life everlasting. 

So that we can declare with confidence and overwhelming surety, like Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Corinth: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave (O hades), where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:54a-57) 

And all God’s children gave a mighty shout of joy as they gratefully declared (steups!!!): ‘Oh praise the Lord, for His wonderful kindness, His awesome grace and mercy to the undeserving children of men!’ And this is the time, that of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection when that praise is desperately needed, for it’s when our whole outlook on and options on life dramatically changed! Yes friends, it’s at this Easter season that we were given the opportunity to receive salvation and eternal life through Jesus’ work on the cross of Calvary and His rising on that first Easter Sunday. 

As Bruh Paul said to the Roman church. ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.’ (Rom. 8:16-17) Oh my fellow saints, if we live devotedly and sacrificially to the Lord, then we will be glorified just like Jesus was! 

Like the Good Book details about Christ: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:8-11) 

Ah mih people, all of us want to be exalted and glorified, but we don’t want to do the things, make the sacrifices necessary to attain such heights. But Jesus did it; that’s why the Father exalted Him. And it’s for our sakes that He suffered such agony and shame, so that we could have forgiveness of our sins, and have the option of salvation and everlasting life, instead of just hellfire and damnation that brings eternal separation from our Creator. So why is it so difficult for us, as His disciples, His ambassadors, to do, or to make the little sacrifices He asks of us eh? 

Remember He said that if we want to be His followers, we need to take up our cross daily and follow Him. That means forsaking ourselves for Him and those who look to Him. And what’s ever so disappointing in our refusal is that He never asks of us what He will not, nor has not done, and always gives us the wherewithal to accomplish His tasks. However, we think that because we are Christians, the chosen of the chosen, once we say we believe, we should enjoy the good and abundant life without lifting a finger or making any sacrifices. 

But that’s not how it works my brethren. And I believe that these immortal words of Bruh Paul to Timothy explains it quite nicely. ‘It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim. 2:11-13) That’s it in a nutshell friends! Or, as the scholars tell us: ‘The principles of endurance are enumerated on the basis of the assurance of salvation.’ And the two best examples of endurance are Bruh Paul and Christ Himself. 

And no, (smile) I did not forget about our usual Saturday happening, that of looking at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us, but I only got two, and they seem to fit very nicely at the end of Todays’ Bit. The first says: ‘If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.’ And that’s the gospel truth! We can never stand still in our walk with Christ. We have to be continually growing, maturing, as we read and study His Word and put it into practical application in our lives. 

And the last quote says it all: ‘The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.’ Now that’s also an indisputable statement my people! Wisdom is not only knowing what to do, but even more being willing and able to do it! So please, this Holy Saturday morning let’s seek to acquire real wisdom nuh, and then put it into action, make the changes we need to make, obviously with Christ’s help, the only way we can accomplish it! Much LOVE!

…be of good courage…and he shall strengthen your heart…all ye that hope in the Lord…  (Ps. 31:24)  

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 May 2020 Psalm 143:10.

12 May 2020 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 143:10.    ​Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. 
 

Well that promise of snow finally came through yesterday morning to disrupt the early morning commute. Good thing there weren’t as many travellers on the road as in normal times. And it was only wet snow too, although some big flakes fell and remained on the ground for a while. By mid-morning though, it was all over. Just goes to show that anything’s possible in this modern world! (smile) And today we’ll look to our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin for some words of sincere encouragement; they’re titled ‘Three Discoveries.’ 

Please pray with me: ‘I have made three overwhelming discoveries regarding God’s reliable faithfulness: The first: God will never let us go – NEVER! We may fall flat on our faces. We may resist until we feel exhausted, but nothing can separate us from His matchless LOVE. (Rom. 8:39) The second: God will never let us down – NEVER! He is forever faithful, even when we are faithless. He cannot deny Himself. He will never leave us nor forsake us. (2 Tim. 2:13) (Heb. 13:5) 

The third: He will never let us off – NEVER! Whenever we give in to temptation, when we determine to have our own way – He says with all the LOVE of His Father-heart, “I LOVE you too much to excuse disobedience.” Whom He LOVES, He chastens.’ (Heb. 12:6) You could say that again! Yeh, whom He LOVES, He definitely chastens! (smile) No doubt about that, as many of us can attest to. 

Anyway, the poem continues: ‘God is determined to bless us. He is eager to show us His kindness. He is glad to teach us the proper paths; but He must have access to our hearts. He will allow our guilt to become a burden until conviction comes, then confession, and finally renewed commitment! May David’s prayer be our prayer.’ And what prayer is that you ask? Psalm 143 – Teach me to do thy will. 

Yeh faithful saints of Christ, like Bruh David, we too can pray: ‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no living man be justified (righteous).’ (Ps. 143:1-2) And is that ever so true friends! None of us can ever come to righteousness on our own; it’s only attained through belief in the finished work of Christ. 

And Bruh David continues: ‘For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten (crushed) my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness (dark places), as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.’ (Ps. 143:3-4) And I know my people that many of us are currently feeling that way, especially in these unprecedented and uncertain times. But we should not give up hope, instead let us remember and do like Bruh David did: 

‘I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse (ponder) on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land.   Selah.’ (Ps, 143:5-6) Yes mih bredrin, in tough times, instead of losing faith, that’s when we need to build it up more than ever! And we do that by remembering all that God has done for us in the past, plus His numerous promises for the future, meditate on His works and words, work up a sincere and mighty thirst for Him and seek Him with a renewed passion! Wow! 

And cry out to Him in all honesty and sincerity: ‘Hear (answer) me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be (become) like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk: for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me (take cover under thee). 

Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken (revive) me O Lord, for thy name’s sake: for thy righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off (put an end to) mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.’ (Ps. 143:7-12) 

Yes friends, in times of trouble, we need to desperately call out to the Lord for help, for He is indeed our guide, our help and our refuge, as Bruh David rightly declares in Psalm 25 – A prayer for guidance and protection. ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps. 25:4-5) 

Now there are two things I want to point out friends. The first is that last clause from Ps. 143: ‘for I am thy servant.’ I just want to remind us that we can’t go crying that out to God unless we try to make it true in ordinary life. And the second thing deals with the last clause from Ps. 25:5: ‘on thee do I wait all the day.’ With that we need to remember that God’s timing is not like ours, thus we should not expect an answer right away, unless it’s a real emergency. Waiting on God is one of the joys of this life! (smile) I can assure us though that just as God is faithful and always near, He is NEVER late! To that I can testify! 

So please, today, when all the world’s problems assail us, let us not forget who is our Maker, Our Guide, Our Hope, Our Trust and Our Refuge – Almighty God, in whom we live and die and have our very being. And having reignited our passion, let’s go home declaring (Steups!) our Tuesday Mantra letting the whole world know who and whose we are. 

In strong voice with sincere hearts. ‘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 the world.  Amen!’ 

And the natural response is for us to now go out… sorry, to physical distance and use technology (smile) and do just that! Much LOVE!

…thy word…is a lamp unto my feet…and a light…unto my path… (Ps. 119:105)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 November 2019 2 Thessalonians 3:3.

18 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

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

2 Thessalonians 3:3.    But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish (establish) you, and keep you from evil (the evil one).
 

Here we go again friends, the beginning of another work week! I know sometimes we shake our heads, sigh, and wonder if they will ever end. (smile) But the sad truth is that they won’t. They will keep cropping up every seven days, until they drive us crazy and we end up in the loony bin, we just get tired and give up, which, as a believer is not a viable option, or we get too old for the work force and they put us out to pasture, or the last option; the Lord calls us home. Until one or all of those things happen my people, most Monday mornings we will have to arise, whether we like it or not, ofttimes in the dark and in the cold, and join the human throng unhappily headed for a place called work. 

And please remember Bruh Paul’s warning to the Thessalonians, that he who doesn’t work, shouldn’t eat? (2 Thess. 3:10) So I don’t know why we don’t try and plan for it properly, so we’re not disgruntled and frustrated come Monday morning. You know the human spirit can rise above anything  if it really wants to, and if you are a sincere follower of Jesus, He will enable you to get over these weekly Monday morning blues. But as always, just in case you stumble, (smile) we’re here to catch you with our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, the perfect antidote for your ailment. So let’s turn to the most powerful tool in the universe, prayer, to help get our day started right. 

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 yes, precious people of God, before we could even finish praying, the Holy Spirit had already begun working His miracles in our souls and spirits! Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship! Please give Him some much deserved thanks and praise because most of us are now ready and able to go out and join the tumultuous fray that’s the working world, on Jesus’ behalf! And the thing we so badly need to remember here friends is that our God is FAITHFUL! Whatever we ask for in sincere belief, He will provide, if it’s within His will or plan for our lives. 

And Bruh Paul reminds us of that most salient and important fact: ‘But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish (establish) you, and keep you from evil (the evil one).’  No doubt whatsoever about that! And we’re just going to wind down with some scriptures on the Lord’s faithfulness. Bruh Paul mentioned it quite a few times. To the Thessalonians, he also said: ‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’ (1 Thess. 5:24) 

Then to the Corinthians: ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor. 1:9) And also: “There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ (1 Cor. 10:13) Then to Timothy: ‘If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim. 2:13) 

And it’s most appropriate to close with this compelling verse from Isaiah, re, Israel, the Lord’s servant. ‘Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his (its) Holy One, to him whom man despiseth (the despised of soul), to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princess also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose (has chosen) thee.’ (Is.49:7). That was all about the coming of the Messiah, and we know that it was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus. 

Yes friends, our God is faithful; He will do whatever He’s promised, but in His own time. Look how long it took for the promised Messiah to come, centuries. But He did come…in God’s good time. I know His timing isn’t usually in concert with ours, but I can assure you, from personal experience, He’s NEVER late! Much LOVE!

…without faith…it is impossible to please…a faithful God…