The Faithful Promises of God to the Righteous!

Psalm 92:12.         The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon (strong and tall).

And then, at long last, it was our favourite workday, Friday. And although the sun’s not as hot and shining as we might like it, with a few clouds overhead, it doesn’t stop those shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ from rising on high. I guess it would take a really terrible Friday to stop those shouts from rising up. (smile) Anyway, since God has spared our lives to see another day on His beautiful planet earth, that’s sadly beset by all kinds of disasters, both natural and man-made, let’s keep our promise of yesterday to check out God’s promises for the righteous, having seen how He intends to utterly destroy the wicked.

And one of the best scriptures on God’s blessing on the righteous is found in Psalm 1, aptly titled – Blessings on the Godly. The psalmist opens with this awesome proclamation: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder on) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps. 1:1-3)

Wow! What a wonderful blessing the Lord proclaims for the righteous! And if that scripture doesn’t take your fancy, then try this one from Psalm 92, titled – Give Thaks to God. The psalmist confidently declares: ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon (strong and tall). Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in their old age; they shall be fat and flourishing (plump and green); To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.’  (Ps. 92:12-15)

Now, that’s the indisputable truth! There is no unrighteousness whatsoever in the Lord God Almighty! That’s why we can trust His every word and lean on His everlasting arms without fear! And even in their old age, the righteous will still be flourishing bringing forth good fruit, because the Lord is with them. But if you still don’t believe, then try this word from the prophet Jeremiah. ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see (fear) when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer. 17:8)

Another wonderful verse of the Lord’s blessing upon the righteous! And you might be wondering why all these metaphors about trees planted by water. That’s because in the old time agrarian society, where farming was a major part of life, it was much easier for them to understand that kind of comparison. And furthermore, when you receive Christ as Lord and Saviour,  afterwards you don’t just sit around and do nothing, No, you’re expected to grow in spirituality and obedience, in faith and righteousness.

And what better way to explain that than by talking about trees planted by a plentiful supply of water with long, strong roots that go deep into the ground, and bear good fruit even in a season of drought. That’s how the righteous Christian ought to be; with strong roots planted in God and His Word, not afraid of whatever comes against him because of his strong faith in His Creator and Giver of Life, who blesses Him with all the necessities of life.

And Psalm 37 further tells us: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and am now old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever (always) merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. For the Lord LOVETH judgement (justice), and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.’ (Ps. 37:23-29)

Now, you cannot want better testimony than that! Straight from the personal experience of Bruh David. He was a man just like us, with all our faults and foibles, but He trusted the Lord with all of his heart, and though his life was not easy, he still ended up victorious because of the Lord’s faithfulness. And  he perfectly describes the Lord’s faithfulness and blessings on the righteous in his famous and heartfelt Psalm 23 – the Lord is My shepherd. Perhaps you should take a minute afterwards and check it out and see how rich and wonderful it is in godly faithfulness and blessings. (smile)

In the meanwhile please follow these most reassuring words of Bruh David from Psalm 37. ‘Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.’  (Ps. 37:34) And that’s the gospel truth my people! Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help in these tough and turbulent times.

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times.

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’

And  truthfully, one of the major reasons for the chaotic state of our world is insufficient Christian witness. We have been too much a part of the world, rather than being apart from it and spreading our marvellous salt and light so that the unbelievers could be attracted to Jesus. And if we want to see productive and positive changes in our world, then we have to step up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park. And do it right now! It’s as simple as that my faithful brethren! Much LOVE!

…to enjoy the good life…one must live the good life…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Wisdom of having Jesus as our Pilot and Anchor Bearer in Times of Storm!

Psalm 34:17.       The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Here it comes again friends, Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the first day of this new week, when we get together in fellowship and worship in the Lord’s house and find strength and confidence to both build and renew our faith so we can handle all the problems of the upcoming week. And this week’s song of worship is certainly an interesting and very appropriate one for these troubled and trying times. It’s one of our favourite Contemporary Christian songs titled, ‘The Anchor Holds.’ 

And the story behind the song is definitely a moving and uplifting one. It seems in 1992, the writer, Lawrence Chewning and his wife were experiencing some real tough times. He later termed it the year of their sorrows. His father had died, and He was a burned out pastor in a church that was having problems, then to further complicate matters, his wife had her third miscarriage. It was truly a time of sorrows. 

He then took a six months sabbatical and spent most of his time simply playing the piano. And it was during that period of difficulty and discouragement, of loss and lack of direction that the Lord opened his heart and filled it with that song. How marvellous and mysterious are the ways of our wonderful God! He’s always with us and never allows us to struggle more than is necessary. Whenever the time is right, He does something awesome to bring us out of our misery. 

And in God’s awesome agenda, He later led Chewning to speak with singer Ray Boltz about his difficult times and the song the Lord had poured into his heart. Boltz took the song remodelled to its current form, then in 1995, recorded it and made it a hit. And it’s still going strong today, having been recorded by several people in several genres. But today we’ll do a reggae, lover’s rock version as done by Jamaican Christian singer, Miss Judith Gayle. 

So, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a sincere, heartfelt manner, remembering the many times when the storm raged around us, but the anchor held fast because Jesus was our pilot and our anchor. Singing: ‘I have journeyed, Through the long, dark night Out on the open sea By faith alone, Sight unknown And yet His eyes, were watching me. (Chorus: The anchor holds, though the ship is battered. The anchor holds, though the sails are torn. I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm.) 

I’ve had visions, I’ve had dreams, I’ve even held them in my hand, But oh Lord, I never knew, They would slip right through, Oh my Jesus, Like they were only grains of sand. (Chorus: But the anchor holds…) Oh, I have been young, but I am older now, thank the Lord, And there has been beauty, that these eyes have seen, But it was in the night, through the storms of my life, Oh, that’s where God proved, His LOVE for me. 

(Chorus: And the anchor holds, though my ship is battered. The anchor holds, though my sails are torn. And I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm.  I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Thank You Jesus! I have fallen on my knees, As I face the raging seas, But the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Yes, the anchor holds, In spite of the storm. Thank You Jesus!’ 

Ah friends, what powerful a testimony and uplifting message! And I know that many of us can attest to the authenticity of the sentiments in the song, because many of us have indeed gone through tough times when it’s only because of Jesus’ strong, solid, guiding hand on our rudder and anchor, that we made it through. That’s why Bruh David could write these reassuring words from Psalm 34. 

‘The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite heart (crushed in spirit). Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned, held guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned). (Ps. 34:17-22) 

And that’s the gospel truth my fellow believers. Our God won’t see us falling and not stop us from doing so, or if His purpose is for us to learn something from falling, to help us up when we do fall. As Cousin Sol wisely says in Proverbs: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov. 24:16) And there are so many scriptures that attest to the goodness of God, that I don’t know which ones to quote. 

But as they say, when in doubt, you can’t go wrong with Bruh David. (smile) So here he is from Psalm 37: ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) are blessed.’ (Ps. 37:23-26) 

Oh my fellow saints, our great and faithful God will not see us in a precarious situation and not do something to help us out of it! He will never turn away from us. That’s why Jeremiah, though going through agony of body and soul in his Lamentations could still write: ‘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) 

And yuh know what friends, when we can voice sincere sentiments like those in precarious times, then we’ll know that we’re on our way to true righteousness! Much LOVE!

…there is indeed life after the storm…and the anchor does hold…with Jesus operating it…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 June 2015 Psalm 37:5‏‏

Psalm 37:5.   Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

So what it is eh my people? (smile) How all yuh doing? Hope all yuh doing good! But just in case oonoo not doing so good, then I certainly hope that you all are in constant communication with our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For He is the ONLY One who can truly ease and/or solve our problems.

Yes Friends, He’s even invited us with the Great Invitation to come to Him when we are heavily burdened, and He will give us rest and peace for our tired and burdened souls. (Matt.11:28-30) And that is not an invitation to be sneered at or taken lightly, for He will indeed do as promised.

Ah Friends, it’s a proven fact that when we’re doing poorly, that’s when we most need to communicate with the Saviour. For the best antidote for sadness and sorrow, or anything that discombobulates us, is prayer! Never forget that.

So having said all of that, I guess we can get down to brass tacks now. (smile) And I guess you all know that today is Friday…

And as expected, I’m greeted with a joyous shouting of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! And we going to have a wonderful weekend; good weather, good food, good LOVE, plenty laughter, joy, compassion and forgiveness…Oh Glory to God! Thank Him for the weekend!’

What wonderful sentiments my brethren! And I do hope that our weekend does turn out that way, as we get involved in praise and worship and fellowship and enriching family time, for the name of the game is good relationships; both with each other and with Jehovah God!

Now let’s chant our Friday Chant to help us stay on the straight and narrow path. As one chanter 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 my people, that is how we ought to use the weekends, not merely for partying and our own amusement. And yuh know what? If we follow the wise advice of our Bit, we won’t have any real problems living life the way we ought to. ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.’

Oh Friends, there’s absolutely no doubt in that statement, for our gracious and most merciful God is indeed a faithful keeper of His promises! So whenever you come to Him, He will never turn you away.

Listen to how Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs, in his exhortations to obedience. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make smooth or straight) your paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov.3:5-8)

Oh my brethren, in all the Good Book, there is no better advice than those four verses. If we live our lives by them, we will never go wrong… Oh you know what I mean; we’ll live under the shade of the golden umbrella of our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God!

Now that doesn’t mean we won’t have trials and tribulations, but when we go through them, we’ll know, we’ll be assured that Almighty God is there with us through all the sadness and mayhem. And on top of it all, He won’t give us more than we can bear, and will bring us out of the negative situations better than before, meaning more Christ-like, for that is often the purpose of our problems.

And Bruh David offers these wonderful words of advice after our Bit. ‘And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (plans, schemes) to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evil doers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:6-9)

Oh mih lovelies, why is it so difficult for us to take such simple advice and live faithfully by it eh – especially when we know that it’s all gospel truth? I don’t know the answer nuh. I can only surmise that our natural sinful nature is getting the upper hand of us in these relatively sinful and godless times.

Plus the fact that Lucifer and his evil minions are in control of the day to day world, and are making a protracted push with lots of worldly things and advice, to get us to move away from God.

But my people, we are supposed to be the best creation of our God, therefore we cannot allow the wicked and wickedness of this world to get the better of us. But we can only do so if and when we take the Word of God seriously and truly live by it. Otherwise we’ll be very susceptible to the wiles and lies of the enemy.

And we’ll end today with some more encouraging advice from Bruh David from Psalm 37. ‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.’ (Ps.3723-24)

Oh Friends, that’s gospel truth! And I can personally vouch for it, because though I’m not the greatest or the most godly and righteous, yet the Lord has upheld me with His mighty hand several times over the years! So you can imagine what He’ll do for the very godly and righteous.

Oh mih people, mih people, there’s only one wise and sensible path to follow in this crazy, calamitous and disaster-prone world – the straight and narrow one, which leads directly to Jesus and our heavenly Father! And we can successfully do that if we allow the Holy Spirit which indwells us to lead and guide us in all truth. That’s our ‘ponderation’ for today my people. (smile) Much LOVE!

…only as we sincerely trust…and have true faith in God…will we see Him work in our lives…

Visit the Scrip-Bit Blog at https://randyobrien50.wordpress.com