Today’s Scrip-Bit   19 June 2023 Acts 1:4.

19 Jun 2023 Leave a comment

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

Acts 1:4.       but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me….

Here we go round the merry-go-round, the merry-go-round, the merry-go-round. Here we go round the merry-go-round, on a Monday morning! Yes friends, the work week has made its way back around again and grabbed us by our proverbial whatever (smile) as it has the inhumane and obstinate habit of doing every week without fail. We simply cannot get away from it because that’s the way our wise and wonderful God planned it.

 So what’s the answer then? Just grin and bear it! Get used to it, learn to enjoy it and use it to enhance your life and lead you to your God-given destiny. That’s what the Lord desires of us. And none of us like the recurring work weeks over a number of years, but you might as well embrace it because it’s not going to change, and even when we return to the dust from whence we came, it will keep coming back every seven days. 

We need to learn and accept that life is mostly the same old, same old, a mostly mundane and unexciting existence, with only a few exciting periods in it. It cannot be exciting every day, though it can be interesting, especially if you’re walking with Jesus, as your Guide and Leader. Then I can assure you that interesting things will happen, but not necessarily every day. 

We have grown so used to the pseudo excitement of the world with all its celebrities and stars and superstars and influencers and social media and all the other foolishness and foolish people who claim to lead such exciting lives, which in many cases is nothing but a blatant lie, as fostered on us by the enemy, trying to make us believe that we too can live that exciting life the rich and famous supposedly enjoy. But it’s all hogwash my people, for nobody can live a life of continual excitement, on the go all the time, else it will kill you before your best due date. 

Did we ever see Jesus rushing all over the place like crazy, like we’re doing these days? No. He took His time in going where He needed to go and in doing what He had to do, and still accomplished a lot more than some of us do, rushing about like there’s a bee under our bonnet. And remember that Jesus had to walk almost every place He went. And that was desert-like territory, with the hot sun blazing down mercilessly on you. 

Can you imagine us doing that now? Of course not! Although with all the road closures and congested roadways, oftentimes we can get to where we want quicker by walking. How many of us are embroiled in traffic jams morning and evening, five days a week eh? Too many of us. But that’s the modern society…and we call it progress. 

Now don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to be walking all those distances that Jesus did, although as a young boy going back and fro to school, my regular method of travel was usually by P2 (my two legs). Nowadays, most of us walk for exercise, not as a means of getting from one place to another. One of the reasons why our society is so obese and unhealthy. 

I wish I could show you a map of Jesus’ travels, from Jerusalem in Judea, the south of the country to places like Capernaum in Galilee to the distant north, about 78 miles, all travelled on foot. Just walking from Jerusalem to Jericho, both in Judea, in Jesus’ day was a 15 mile journey. And from Cana to Capernaum, both in Galilee was about twenty miles distance, possibly a day’s journey. So it wasn’t an easy life. But Jesus persevered and did what He had to do to spread His ministry all over the area. 

However, in these modern times, with the advent of technology, many of us don’t even have to leave home to do that, yet we still find it difficult to spread the good news of the gospel and the wonderful kingdom of heaven with eternal life that awaits believers. Just look at the distance Abraham travelled from his original home in Padan Aram when the Lord told him to pack up and leave his father’s house and He would lead him to a land that He would show him. That was from way up in the northern part of the country, right down south to lands bordering Egypt. 

And what about the several missionary journeys Bruh Paul took that carried him all over Europe and Asia, a lot of it on foot. And without those people in the days of the early church, having the faith to expend that energy and willingness to share the gospel, we would never have heard about it, and not gotten the chance to accept it and thus receive salvation and eternal life. 

So please, let’s not complain about the relatively easy time we have today in spreading the gospel. Instead, we should think it a wonderful privilege and be ever so joyful about sharing it. Though one roadblock still exists today like it did back in the early days: we still need the equipping and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We still can’t do it in our own fleshly selves. 

Note what Jesus said to the disciples re the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. ‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself (on his own authority); but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.’ (John 16:13) 

And likewise, before ascending back to heaven, Jesus told them not depart from Jerusalem, ‘but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me….But ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.’ (Acts 1:4, 6) It just goes to show that though things change, they still remain the same. (smile) We still need the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to successfully share the good news of the gospel. 

Now let’s go to God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking solace and alleviation of our many problems. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, let’s keep those promises we just made, if we want to receive divine help. Much LOVE!

…to truly serve God…sacrifices are necessary… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ     

Today’s Scrip-Bit   22 May 2023 Romans 8:6.

22 May 2023 Leave a comment

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

Romans 8:6.         For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

And this Monday has turned out to be a tad cool, but mainly sunshiny with a li’l overhead cloud. However, it most definitely has not spoiled or quelled the celebration of the Victoria Day holiday, in honour of the long reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria. And I’m chickling here because many of us don’t like the monarchy, especially with the recent crowing of King Charles 111, but just try and take away the holiday named after a British monarch nuh, and see how they rebel. 

But that’s just our human nature; we might dislike something strongly, but once it benefits us, it’s not easy to take it away. Our fleshly lusts always seem to outweigh our emotional or spiritual convictions. (smile) That’s why Bruh Paul wrote thus to church at Rome. ‘For they that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh (set their minds on fleshly things); but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.’ (Rom. 8:5-8) 

That says a whole lot there friends! But before delving deeper into the subject, let’s first clarify what we mean by carnal or fleshly lusts. One commentary explains it thus: ‘Carnal feelings and desires are sexual and physical, without any spiritual element. Their ruling passion is that of carnal LOVE.’ Yes, and for our scriptural purposes the scholars explain: ‘To be carnally minded means to have one’s life dominated by the sin nature, (our inherent human instincts and desires). To be spiritual minded is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.’ 

‘For he that soweth to his flesh of the flesh shall reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.’ (Gal. 6:8) And that’s why, if we live by our human instincts and desires, we cannot please God, because God wants us being guided by His Holy Spirit, in reverence, obedience, faithfulness and trust in Him. That’s what He desires of Christians, that’s us, the followers of Jesus Christ. 

And if we are Christians, then according to Bruh Paul: ‘But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.’ (Rom. 8:9-10) The scholars explain that our bodies are still mortal and are subject not only to death, but also to temptation of sin. While the Spirit of life anticipates verse 11, which speaks of being resurrected in a new body with Christ, if you belong to Him.

 And in his letter to the Galatians, Bruh Paul spells it out in a little more detail, getting down to the practical side of things. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 

Now the works of the flesh are manifest (evident), which are these; Adultery. Fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (licentiousness), Idolatry, witchcraft (sorcery), hatred, variance (contentions),emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife (selfish ambitions), seditions (dissensions), heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revilings and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.’ (Gal. 5:16-21) 

And what does all of that mean? Let’s hear from the scholars. Walking in the Spirit means ‘That Christians are to live with the Spirit’s help. How does one “live by the Spirit?’ (1) The Christian must believe that the Spirit is with him, having been sent by God into his heart (4:6). (2) In every spiritual confrontation the believer must yield to the Spirit, that is, submit his own desires to those of the Spirit. (3) One must depend on the Spirit for help, enabling him to live a God-pleasing life (vs. 5) (4) The believer should anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in his daily life. Thus the believer who “lives by the Spirit,” will not fulfill (accomplish, carry out) the lust (strong desires) of the flesh (sinful nature).’ 

Ah friends, it’s not easy living by the Spirit when the devil and his evil cronies are always on our case, trying to drag us down, but as in most things, we can only get better and stronger by experience, that’s by being patient and persevering in living sincerely for Christ. As our time under the rule of the Spirit grows, then so will our faith and ability to live for Christ grow. So, let’s not ever give up. And to help us do that, let’s go right now to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for help to keep walking in the Spirit. 

As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, let’s go out and do what we know we need to do nuh, so that the heavenly grace and mercy, which our world needs so badly, can flow down to us! Much LOVE!

… the true believer need not fear the lusts of the flesh…for God has given us a spirit of power, LOVE and a disciplined mind… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ         

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 March 2023 Psalm 107:1.

27 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 107:1.          O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.

Aye mih people, it looks like spring has really sprung this Monday morning in the last week of March. Once again, you can hear the joyful birds singing their sweet songs of morning praises to their Creator and giving their thanks for seeing another day. Now that’s what we should also be doing, because we have even more to be thankful for than the birds of the air. The sun’s up and shining brightly, and I believe the weather is above the freezing mark, giving us another reason to be glad for the air we breathe and God’s breath of life that’s energizing our souls, our bodies, and our spirits. 

And all of God’s children said a grateful and thankful: ‘Thank you Lord for your magnanimous gifts to your underserving children!’ That brings to mind the opening verse of Psalm 107: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy (LOVING-kindness) endureth for ever.’ (Ps. 107:1) And that’s the indisputable truth friends! God’s mercy (LOVING-kindness) is from everlasting to everlasting! That’s why we are still around to tell the tell the tale. 

Unfortunately though, not as many of us as should, do truly give God thanks for His mercy and goodness. Right now, so many people and situations are crying out for the removal of God from our society, but please think for a moment, if we actually got rid of God – which by the way will NEVER happen – what would become of us eh? We certainly can’t govern or rule ourselves. Just look at the mess we’re in right now, even with God somewhat in the picture. Can you imagine if there was no God to help us up when we falter and fall, like so many of us are doing? 

And what I can’t understand, is that we can’t fix our problems, but we don’t have the wisdom to turn to God, because our foolish pride and the devil’s goading is preventing us from doing so. Oh friends, I beg of you to listen and turn back to God. Please look at what’s happening to our world; the scary, unpredictable weather conditions, with more powerful hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and so many other natural disasters than we’ve ever known at one time. Not to mention, the pervasive drought and famine all over, the economic futility and poverty in a world of plenty. 

Then add the worldwide sickness and disease in a time when we’re transplanting hearts and other organs like it were child’s play, but the scourges of cancer and stress are still consuming our young in great numbers because of the food we eat and the lifestyle we live. We’ve put man on the moon and are tearing up and down in space, like it was our own backyard, while focusing on building ever bigger and more powerful weapons of mass destruction. No wonder there are wars and turbulent times all over. It’s almost impossible to find a place on the globe where there’s no strife and serious unrest. 

And yet we look down our noses at the Israelites who had God’s goodness surrounding them, but when they became prosperous turned away from Him because of foolish pride, believing they had engineered their prosperity on their strength. In Deuteronomy 8, Moses warned the Israelites of that very thing. But they didn’t listen, and it’s the very same thing we are doing today. We’ve entirely forgotten that it’s the Lord God Almighty who has given us the power to get wealth and prosperity. (Deut. 8:18) 

But the big difference between the Israelites and us is that when they suffered their disastrous times for turning away from God, they eventuallywoke up, realized their mistake and turned back to Him, and were reinstated in His mercy. But not us. We’re so modern and inventive, twenty-first century people, we don’t need some far away, nebulous being to handle our affairs. And that’s why all the negative stuff that’s currently overwhelming our world is going to continue, with Satan forcing us down further into the mire of darkness, until we either wake up and smell the roses, or our world implodes. 

We certainly cannot continue in this negative vein, without more disastrous things happening, because each one just fuels the other. Remember the basic law of God’s economy? You reap what you sow, more than you sow and later than you sow! And we’re already reaping the harvest of our earlier negative deeds, but one day, if we persist in this negative manner, we’re certainly going to reap the big boomerang. Remember, another law of nature is what goes around comes around. 

That’s why we should take these cathartic, cleansing and refreshing words of Psalm 107 very seriously. ‘Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron (prisoners): Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned (despised) the counsel of the most High: 

Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder (broke their chains in pieces). Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he hath broken the gates of brass (bronze), and cut the bars of iron in sunder.’ (Ps. 107: 8-16)  

Yes my people, that’s what the Lord did for the children of Israel, and what He will do for us if we get wise and ask Him. And there’s no better time to do that than right now! So, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and place our petition before Him. Altogether now:  ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And if we truly expect a positive answer from heaven, then now is time for us to keep our part of the covenant and turn from our evil ways. Much LOVE!

…God is the Creator and Controller of the universe… while we are only frail and fragile created beings…why do we keep forgetting that eh… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ  

Today’s Scrip-Bit   20 February 2023 Micah 7:5.

20 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

Micah 7:5.        Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.

As the man in the song sings: ‘Mas, mas: mas in yuh mas! Play mas!’ And that’s exactly what’s happening in countries like Trinidad and Tobago and Brazil where big Carnival Celebrations are now taking place, where, for the next two days, the streets will be filled with all kinds of floats, all kinds of music bands, all sorts of performers in pretty costumes and thousands of onlookers there to enjoy the party. Yes, it’s going to be bacchanal fuh so! 

Meanwhile, in the U.S it’s President’s Day, and in staid Canada we are celebrating a holiday known as Family Day in some Provinces and by local names in others. I guess the day is held in recognition of the importance of home and family to the founding Fathers of the nation. And in these desperate and trying times, do we ever need the foundations, the groundings of a strong family situation in our nation, as well as our world. That’s because the breakdown of the original family unit is one of the main causes of the godlessness and hooliganism that’s terrorizing the earth today. 

Once upon a time the family was the backbone of our society, the intimate group that raised us, taught us about God, and good principles of living. But then the family unit began falling apart as our lives got busier, where mothers now went out to work, so the family could make ends meet, and thus they could not pay as much attention to their children. Then, with the rate of divorces on the rise, it meant many single parent homes with less fathers around to bring discipline and proper structure. 

Unfortunately, it was aided and abetted by the removal of all aspects of God from schools, and public places. It also meant less families, and less people overall going to church. Obviously that elemental family unit could not be sustained under all the pressures of our modern lifestyle, and so it eventually crumbled, leaving us with no proper single unit to curate a godly lifestyle. No wonder we are now in a state of chaos and lawlessness, despite the many amenities and advancements we’ve achieved. 

It’s like the prophet Micah described when talking about no goodness or trust in the land of Israel. ‘The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly (successfully), the prince asketh (asks for gifts), and the judge asketh for a reward (bribe); and the great man he uttereth his mischievous (evil) desire: so they wrap it up (scheme together) (Mic. 7:2-3) 

Ah friends, that’s exactly the picture in our world today; selfishness, greed and evil schemes rule the roost! That’s why Micah continues with these words of wise advice: ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.’ (Mic. 7:5-6) 

And sadly, in way too many cases, that is the indisputable truth! We don’t only have a lot of national and worldwide strife; we also have more strife and family feuds than we’ve ever had before. It’s truly pitiable to see how siblings and parents behave towards one another these days. Whatever happened to that first commandment of promise which so boldly stated: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex. 20:12) It has obviously gone the way of the dodo bird…become extinct. 

The same seems to be the fate of Bruh Paul’s words to the Ephesians. ‘Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and thy mother: which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And ye fathers provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ (Eph. 6:1-4) 

But then, the Lord is no longer as important a part of our society even as He was just a generation ago. So, if that’s the case, there must then be a dearth, a shortage or scarcity of children being brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, thus our family units remain broken. But as we keep saying, while there is life, there is hope in Jesus, and today, this Family Day holiday, is one of those days when we believers have to step up and take the bull by the horns and begin bringing the godly family back into our world. That’s the only way our world will ever survive and prosper. 

And the first phase in any revival is always prayer. So, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and place our problems before our wise and compassionate God. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Our next move is now to keep our promises, turn from our evil ways, so that the Lord an do His part. Much LOVE!

… family is God’s wise desire for His children…devoted mothers, fathers and children…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 February 2023 Psalm 78:7.

13 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 78:7.       That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

‘Ugh!! Another Monday? But didn’t we just have one last week?’ Yes friends, we surely did, and unfortunately, whether we like it or not, we’re going to have one every week that the world stays afloat. By the way, that intro was from an old edition of the Mutts Comic Strip. And I know that’s the way many of us feel on a Monday morning, but like so many other things in this crazy world, we just have to grin and bear it, get out there with Jesus in our hearts and with His awesome help spurring us on, make a difference for Him. Remember, ‘we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’ (Phil. 4:13) 

And once we have that written indelibly in our hearts, souls and minds, then things won’t be as difficult, or appear as hopeless as they often do. Now, facing Mondays should also get easier in the northern hemisphere because the sun seems to be rising a tad earlier, so you don’t have to go to work in the dark. And please note that I didn’t say winter would be soon over. (smile) We still have at least another two months to go before we can safely that. And even then it’s not a certainty, because I’ve seen snow in May and June, and with the crazy weather patterns we now have, anything is possible.

But we really can’t complain because it’s not been that cold so far, and we haven’t received as much snow as some other parts of the country, and of the U.S in particular. For some reason they seem to think that because we’re a little further north than some parts of their country that we’re living in the tundra. But the reality is that they are often colder than us, and this year for sure they’ve received much nastier weather than we have. 

And as I was just skimming through the Good Library, looking for a worthwhile scripture to address, I came upon this most important passage, especially for us in these ungodly times, from Psalm 78, a Maschill or Contemplation of Asaph, titled ‘Teach Children God’s Laws.’  So please read with me. ‘Give ear (listen), O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings (riddles) of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.’ (Ps. 78:1-4) 

Yuh see that friends, God has done wonderful works all down through the ages, which our fathers have told us about, which we in turn are supposed to tell the next generation about, so they would not lose the knowledge of God. But unfortunately we have not done as good a job as we ought to in that direction, that’s why this generation is as godless as it is. 

And listen closely as the psalmist Asaph continues: ‘For he (the Lord) established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.’ (Ps. 78:5-8) 

Now doesn’t that remind you a whole lot of our generation my fellow believers? It certaindoes! The Lord established a covenant with Jacob that fathers would teach their children about God, about His laws and of His great and mighty works on behalf of men. That way the word of God and His praise would be passed down from generation to generation, since they didn’t have as much of the written word as we now do. But even if you have the written word and you’re not directed to it, or taught about it from young, in your parents house, how are you to gravitate to it eh? 

For the main point of the psalm is verse 7: ‘That they (the children) might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.’ And that’s where our generation has seriously fallen down on the job. We’ve turned away from God like Israel did, thus our children know precious little about God, because we have not taught them about God at home, and since God is no longer taught in the schools, how will they know about Him eh? 

The society is becoming more godless every day because that’s what’s been taught in the Educational System. And since our children have no basic foundation in the laws and works of God, they have nothing on which to disprove the new education, even if they desired to. Remember the words of Cousin Sol: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and (even) when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov. 22:6) Now it’s obvious that we haven’t trained up enough of our children in the way they should go; that’s the way of God. So it’s one of the reasons why our society is so lawless and immoral; God is not in so many of our hearts. 

But it’s never too late to turn things around, for with Christ, while there is life there is hope. And as always, the first step in anything we do ought to be prayer. So let’s go to God right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn for help to turn our godless society around, for He is the ONLY One who can enable us to do it. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. 

We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now it’s up to us to do what we know we need to do, so that God can bless us and our out of control world. Much LOVE!

…if God and His Word had not been passed down to us…how would we know of them eh…  

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ     

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 February 2023 Psalm 133:1.

06 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 133:1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Aw shucks friends, it’s Monday again! But you know what: ‘Today I will celebrate Monday. I will embrace the potentiality of the new week!’ Glory to God! By Jove, that’s how we ought to do it! And that bit of wisdom comes from a cutting of the comic strip ‘Between Friends’ that I recently found in my old Bible. No doubt I’ve shared it before, but it’s never too old for a rerun. But here’s the clincher, the last panel spoils it all by grumpily saying: ‘tinged by the aftershocks of the old week.’ 

And sadly that’s how many of us behave; desiring to be strong in the new week, but allowing the negatives of the past week to intrude on our good intentions. But please, let’s remember that good intentions are just that, they don’t pay the bills or cook the food. It’s only when we hook actions to those good intentions that things truly begin happening. Therefore, I’m asking us this week to secure positive actions to our good intentions, so that we can make it a great week for our Lord and Saviour Jesus, because that’s to whom all our efforts ought to be directed.  

And here’s why we must consider Jesus in all our endeavours and actions. Just before telling Peter about His upcoming denial, where Peter would deny Him thrice, before the cock crowed twice, Jesus informs His twelve main followers: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another; By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) 

Yes friends, showing LOVE; that’s compassion, kindness, mercy and forgiveness to each other is a mighty good way for people to know that we are sincere followers of Christ Jesus. Too often though, the way we treat fellow believers doesn’t show that distinction at all. I don’t know what it will take for us to truly believe that regardless of our race, class, colour or creed, that once we hold up Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then we’re all in the same boat and we should not allow petty differences to cause us to give Christ a bad name, like the uncalled for strife and unwise disunity amongst us are currently doing. 

When you are in the same boat on a rough and tumultuous sea, any unwise behaviour will mean the ruin of all. And yuh better believe that our world right now is indeed a rough and tumultuous sea; a raging storm like we’ve probably never seen before. Consequently, if we want to ride out this raging storm and come out as the chief survivors, then unity of Jesus’ people is absolutely essential. Because we all know the enemy’s favourite tactic is to divide and conquer. 

But we have to conquer that divisive action with a strong and steadfast togetherness in Christ, despite our differences. It’s as Bruh David acknowledges in Psalm 133: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ (Ps. 133:1) And that’s the glorious truth my people! It’s one of the greatest blessings we can ever have! There’s nothing as wonderful and precious in this world as unity; people dwelling together in good faith and being kind and forgiving to each other! 

Here’s how Bruh David describes it nuh. ‘It is like the precious ointment (oil) upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts (edge) of his garments; As the dew of Hermon (Mt. Zion), and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing; even life for ever more.’ (Ps. 133:2-3) That’ how it is when people dwell in unity; God blesses them!  Remember Abraham’s wise plea to his nephew Lot when disunity disrupted their lives. ‘And Abraham said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.’ (Gen. 13:8) 

Yes my fellow believers it couldn’t be said any simpler or clearer! And let’s not forget what Bruh Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians, re the body or church of Christ. ‘For as the body is one, and hath many members (parts) and all the members of that one body, being many are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond (slave) or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.’ (1 Cor. 12:12-14) 

And that’s the indisputable truth! We are indeed all a part of one body, that’s Christ church, but like our human body, the church has many members, and also like the human body, if it doesn’t work together in harmony, the whole body falls into disrepute and disrepair. That’s it in a nutshell. All aspects and parts of the church of Christ must work together in unity if it wants to stay alive and of good enough account to make a significant difference in our divided and upended world. 

Now, let’s take the bull by the horns and go to God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for His help to come together in unity and uplift Christ’s church. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

It’s obvious now that our next move is to pray and turn from our evil ways, if we want to see positive help from heaven. Much LOVE!

… let brotherly LOVE continue…for Christ is LOVE…

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ     

Today’s Scrip-Bit   19 December 2022 John 13:34.

19 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

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

John 13:34.       A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another.

And then it was the Monday of Christmas week, and I hope that we are all excited to go to work this morning to meet and greet our friends and co-workers with a ‘Merry Christmas and a ‘Happy New Year!’ Yes my people, if the Monday before the birth of Christ can’t get us enthused about work, then I don’t know what will, especially when a lot of us don’t do much at this time of year anyway. (smile) What with the shopping, office parties and what not. 

But please, I implore us to take a moment every so often and remember the real reason for this Christmas celebratory season, which is unequivocally the birth of Christ, some two thousand years ago. Without that incarnate birth of the Son of God, there would be no holidays and/or celebrations now. So, as the old people would say, let’s give jack his jacket and Jim his gym boots. Yes, let’s give Jesus the recognition He so appropriately deserves, by remembering Him in our hearts and souls and sharing the miraculous and marvellous story of His birth with others. 

Let them know that Jesus’ birth was the first step in God’s plan of salvation, in His plan to bring us woeful sinners who had gone astray from Him, back into His fold. To redeem us, to make us righteous, to reconcile us back to Himself, so that we could be rightly called the children of God, and eventually enjoy eternal life in His company! Now nothing could be better than receiving God’s unmerited grace and favour my faithful brethren! 

And we who believe, are supposed to be His disciples, His ambassadors and spread His Word all over the earth. As he said in the Great Commission He assigned to us: ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always.’ (Matt. 28:19-20) Now that is our basic assignment as believers. 

And I just LOVE how Bruh Paul explains the spreading of Christ’s gospel, as he talks about righteousness by faith in Christ to the church at Rome. Quoting the prophet Joel (Joel 2:32), he writes: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.’ (Rom. 10:13-15) 

And it’s ever so interesting how Bruh Paul uses his vast knowledge of the Old Testament scripture to make his New Testament points. In that last verse he quoted Isaiah 52:7 and Nahum 1:15. Now not everybody needs to be a preacher, but every believer needs to know and grow in the scriptures so that they can share their faith with others. For how can you truly share what you don’t know about eh? Neither do we have to breathe down people’s necks with the scriptures, but the Holy Spirit will lead and guide us when an opportunity arises for us to witness in Christ’s name. 

And there’s no better season to witness than at Christmas time, when everyone is joyful and receptive to good tidings. But friends, you know the best witness ever? Our everyday lifestyle. If we model it on that of Christ, then we won’t have to do any shouting from the rooftops, but others will just see the difference in us and want to live the life we’re living. 

And that’s just what I want us to go out and do this Monday morning, and all through this Christmas week: live a life that’s reflective of Christ; one filled with LOVE, kindness, compassion, mercy, goodness, gentleness and peace, while getting in some scriptures edgewise, as the Holy Spirit directs us! I don’t think we can do a better job of reminding the world of the reason for this holiday season than to live a rich and full life based on Jesus’ teachings. 

So, this Christmas season, let’s be the salt of the earth and light of the world as He desires. Not forgetting this most important directive: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) 

Oh my fellow saints, it’s remarkable that because of the birth of Christ, this is the season when even the unbelievers show LOVE and caring to each other, so why can’t we do the same eh? And I’ll leave us to ponder for a moment on that thought.   Selah. Now, let’s go to God in heartfelt prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, it’s time to get our hearts and our motives right with God showing the world the LOVE of Christ! Much LOVE!

…only the birth of Jesus… could bring peace and tidings of good things…to our embittered and embattled world… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   12 December 2022   1 Peter 5:8.

12 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 5:8.        Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour:

Oh friends, let’s be thankful that we got the blast of cold weather and snow yesterday morning rather than today, otherwise this Monday morning’s commute would have been a nightmare out on the snow-covered roads with the white stuff lazily, but dangerously drifting down. (smile) However, most of the snow has either melted or has been cleaned away and the roads are in good shape for the opening day of this workweek. 

And I do hope and pray that most of us are also in good shape as we journey out to earn a living and do God’s bidding. Because if we aren’t, then the day will frustrate us, causing unnecessary anxiety. That’s why before we leave home, we ought always to commune with our Maker and heavenly Father asking for His strength and guidance to handle the day as it inexplicably and uncertainly unfurls before us. 

Remember, we are more than conquerors, but we can only do what Christ strengthens us to do. Therefore, we need Christ in every moment of our day, if we are to successfully see it through. That’s why Peter so wisely warned and advised us thus: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) 

And that’s the living truth friends! Our God cares for us so much that He even sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to die on the cross at Calvary so that He could justly forgive our sins and reconcile us to Himself! As Bruh Paul said to the church at Rome: ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Now if that isn’t the epitome of LOVE and caring, then I don’t know what is! 

But my people, since we are in a partnership with God, it means we also have a part to play. And Peter lays it out for us, when he advises: ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet. 5:8-9) 

Ah friends, although many of us experience similar temptations, it’s not always easy to resist the devil, especially when he goes around roaring loudly. Remember though, that he’s a toothless lion, only has a big roar, for Christ has already defanged him, taken away the keys of hell, death and the grave from him, and his only power now is to frighten us with his loud voice. He plays on our fears like a dog loudly barking on a dark night; we can’t see him, but we know he’s close by, and we tremble with a spot of fear as the sound seems to get closer with each bark. 

But the truth is that those dogs who make so much noise are either tied up or are fenced in, that’s why their only avenue is to bark loudly and frighten us. And it’s the same with Satan; he has no power over us unless we give it to him, unless we allow him to scare us into doing his bidding instead of Christ’s! And Peter also covers that by saying: ‘But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (establish) strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 5:10-11) 

What a mighty and gracious God we serve my fellow believers! He won’t allow us to fall into a circumstance from which we cannot extricate ourselves with His help. As Bruh Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians. ‘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) 

Yes my people, the Lord won’t always allow us to escape from the temptation completely, but more likely He will give us the strength, the wherewithal to withstand or endure said temptation, because that will test and build our faith, bring us more like Jesus, which is God’s basic plan for all His children. That’s why we have to pay close attention to the people and things that come into our lives and early on winnow the wheat from the chaff, or else the chaff, the devil’s iniquity workers will just muck up our lives. 

And once he acquires a stronghold in us, it’s certainly difficult to get rid of him, he holds on for dear life. So, the best way to avoid that is by resisting him, by being sober and diligent in the first place, and not let him gain any strongholds in our lives. And it all begins with prayer. So let’s go to God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and place our problems in His caring, merciful and gracious hands. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’  

Now my fellow saints, it’s up to us to do the things we know will get us a positive answer from God. Much LOVE!

…Satan is very persistent… but Christ’s followers are more steadfast and persevering… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ        

Today’s Scrip-Bit   31 October 2022 Romans 6:23.

31 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

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

Romans 6:23.       The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ah friends, can you believe it’s already the last day of October; what we term Halloween Day, a pagan ritual to darkness, evil and the making of money! Yes, the dark night will be filled with young children going around their neighbourhood dressed up in ghoulish, ugly costumes, crying, ‘Trick or treat!’ hoping to get some candy from the house owners. At one stage it also involved fruits, but then wicked people began putting things like razor blades and other sharp, harmful objects in the fruits, so now it’s mostly a candy-based operation. 

Remember how once upon a time the dentists would caution us against too much candy? But apparently those days are over, for the dentists, like the retailers, also seem to welcome the brisk business they get from Halloween. Hn! It’s all about the money, and any evil or foolish scheme that will fill the coffers is fair game. But as true believers, we have to resist the devil and his deceitful schemes and instead of accepting his darkness and lies, seek, accept and nurture within our souls the light and truth that’s Jesus Christ! 

And He said it out loud and clear. ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6). Then there’s this other concrete pronouncement to the unbelieving 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) Thus, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is ‘the way, the truth, the life and the light’ of this troubled world. If you want to come out of the darkness and into the light, and find the way, which is based on truth, that leads to eternal life, then He is the answer! 

Now, that’s why Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians thus: ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship (in common) hath righteousness and unrighteousness (lawlessness)? And what communion (fellowship) hath light with darkness?’ (2 Cor. 6:14) Now those are very good questions, but the answer to both of them is absolutely nothing in common! Although light and righteousness should be always trying to invade darkness and turn unrighteousness around. That’s one of our jobs as a disciple of Christ. We don’t hook up with those who don’t believe in hope and goodness, don’t let their toxic energy cannibalize our godliness, but do our best to turn them around. 

And these words of Bruh Paul to the church at Ephesus also remind us of the great care we need to take regarding darkness and unrighteousness. ‘Let no man deceive you with vain (empty) words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord: walk therefore as children of light. (For the fruit of the Spirit (Light) is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.’ (Eph. 5:6-10) 

Excellent words for us to remember and live by! And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘5:8. Darkness indicates that the readers used to be spiritually unenlightened and accompanying this ignorance was immorality with its resultant guilt and misery. Light denotes that the recipients are now to be religiously informed. Their knowledge of the truth is attended by moral purity and happiness.’ ‘5:10. Because of constant temptations and solicitations to evil, believers must always be proving or discerning what is and what is not acceptable unto the Lord.’ 

Then these words of James anchor us even more to the truth and the light. ‘Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried (has been proven), he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that LOVE him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust (desires), and enticed. 

Then when lust (desire) hath conceived, it bringeth forth (gives birth to) sin: and sin, when it is finished (full grown), bringeth forth death. Do not err (be deceived) my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:12-18) 

Yes friends, the unchangeable Father of lights made us with the word of truth to be the shining light of His creations. But the devil, the prince of darkness tries to mess up our witness with his evil temptations, not God. And please note that the temptations that James is speaking of here are different from the ones in verses 2-12. In our verses ‘the source is identified as internal, from one’s own lust, and the outcome is death. 

In verses 2-12 the “temptations” or trials have an external origin in that they fall on man. Those trials cannot be avoided, so believers are encouraged to endure them, and mature as a result. The temptations of verses 13-15 must be avoided, according to God’s express commandments (Rom. 13:14; 1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22). The progression of sin, from temptation to death, has an analogy in the physical life cycle: conception, birth, maturity, and death.’  

Wow! Isn’t that last sentence rather interesting? It surely is! That’s why Bruh Paul wrote to the church at Rome: ‘The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) In other words: ‘Wages: Emphasizes what we deserve. Gift of God: Emphasizes God’s unmerited favour.’ And sadly, right now our world is in a terribly sinful state, so you know what we are looking at; death, rather than life. But there is always hope when you believe in Christ, so let’s call on that hope right through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now it’s time to turn from our sinful ways, keep on praying and asking for forgiveness, so that we receive eternal life and not death. Much LOVE!

…only two options in eternity…life…or death…your choice… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   24 October 2022 Romans 8:37.

24 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

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

Romans 8:37.       Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that LOVED us. 

Oh gee, it’s Monday! Chuh! Another day of repetitive and non-uplifting work… But wait, please note that it’s also another day of enjoying God’s awesome mercies and compassions, that are created brand new for us each and every morning! And believe me, with those powerful, encouraging and confidence building tools of God in our tool kit, we can handle anything that comes against us, have a positive, godly attitude regardless of the situations in which we find ourselves. 

Remember Jehovah’s promise through the prophet Isaiah a long time ago. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 54:17) Now that’s a mighty promise, and since we are the Lord’s servants, then it’s still applicable to us today. And those are the kinds of encouraging and uplifting scriptures that we need to write indelibly in our hearts and minds so that we can recall them when the times get rough and our spirit and confidence are lacking. 

Then there are these magnificent verses from Bruh Paul explaining to the church at Rome, the marvellous unbreakable bond we have with Almighty God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He confidently writes: ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:35-37) 

Oh my faithful brethren, what uplifting and confidence building verses! Yes! In all these things we are indeed more than conquerors. Though the enemy tries to overcome us they just can’t because they don’t have the power nor the authority for Christ has already won the victory over hell, death and the grave, leaving Satan a toothless lion with only a loud growl, but no real bite since he can’t inflict any damage with just gums. (smile) Oh, by the way, verse 36 above comes directly from Psalm 44:22. 

And I like this simple explanation on ‘we are more than conquerors,’ offered by an article on the gotquestions.org website. It reads: ‘To be more than conquerors means we face the trials of life with the certainty that we are not alone. We have a mighty Father who fights for us. We approach the darkest valleys with confidence, knowing that nothing can happen to us that is not permitted by our LOVING Father for our good (Psalm 23:4; Romans 8:28). 

We have His promise of eternal life (John 3:16;Titus 1:2; 1 John 5:11) and the presence of Almighty God every moment of every day until we see Him face to face (Psalm 139:7-12; Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews 13:5; Matthew 28:20). No sin of ours and no attempt of the enemy can steal the LOVING care of God from our lives, and that makes us more than conquerors through Christ who LOVES us.’ 

So true my people, so true! And don’t forget to check out those scriptures referenced above, because they too are also powerful and encouraging verses that keep us strong and confident in the Lord. But Bruh Paul’s not done. He continues his missive to the Romans, delving even deeper into the subject, leaving us in absolutely no doubt on the matter. He says: ‘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) 

Glory be my people! Bruh Paul leaves no stone unturned. In the first few verses he addresses the earthly things and trials that can beset us, then in the last two, he deals with the spiritual aspect of the situation. And isn’t it joyful and faith-building to know that NOTHING whatsoever can separate us from God’s LOVE? Indeed it is! 

And the scholars offer their two cents worth on the subject by saying that ‘We cannot be separated from God’s LOVE, because it is set forth in a person who is God Himself, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. God’s desire to redeem believers cannot be frustrated, because He is infinitely greater than any potential enemy. His plan will be realized because it is His purpose. (Rom. 8:28).’ And all of that’s gospel truth friends, so for our sake, our peace of mind and salvation, we had better believe it! 

And just for added protection (smile) let’s add this other uplifting promise from our omnipotent God, this one when the Lord called Jeremiah to be His spokesperson. He told him in no uncertain terms. ‘And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.’ (Jer. 1:19) More food for spiritual strength my people! (smile) And can we ever use all the help possible. And when yuh talking about help, well brethren, there’s only one place to go: to the throne room of heaven with confident, sincere prayer. So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And after asking for divine favour through prayer, it’s then wise to keep whatever promises you’ve made, for as Cousin Sol says as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes: ‘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 that thou shouldest vow and not pay.’ (Eccl. 5:4-5) No wonder Cousin Sol is considered the wisest man who ever lived. (smile) Much food for thought today friends, please don’t let it go to waste. Much LOVE!

…if you sincerely believe in God…then God won’t let you down… 

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