Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 December 2017 Psalm 118:5.

06 Dec 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 118:5.   I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large (broad) place.

Oh precious people of God, it is Christmas time; the season of peace, LOVE and goodwill to all men, in honour of the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

And what a magnificent time it can be, if we don’t forget that Jesus is the reason for the season and keep Him first place in our hearts as we busily rush around making preparations for this joyful occasion. 

Yes friends, we need to keep ourselves reminded of that all-important fact, otherwise the incredible noise and the hullabaloo of the secular world and their avowed intention to remove Jesus from our society, will drown it out of our hearts, minds and souls. 

And today I want to share a quote that resounds with the atmosphere of the season. It’s attributed to Dag Hammarskjold (1905-1961), Swedish, diplomat, economist and author, who served as the second Secretary General of the United Nations, and was killed in a plane crash in Zambia, while on his way to investigate some irregularities. 

He reputedly said that: ‘Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is again made clean.’ 

And doesn’t that perfectly fit this Christmas season, when Christ came as a child, the miracle that was to fix our broken and fallen sinful nature, offering forgiveness, while eventually washing us white as snow, and thus making us clean again, so that we could communicate in holiness and righteousness with our heavenly Father? It sure does to me! 

And I guess that’s why Christmas is such a time of forgiveness, where joy and laughter, peace and goodwill triumph over the usually selfish, morose and negative rest of the year. The wonderful Spirit of Jesus is in the air my brethren! Glory to God for His LOVING-kindness to the children of men! Let’s keep His wonderful Spirit alive as we keep shouting, ‘Merry Christmas to All…and to All a Happy New Year!’ 

That brings us to our Bit: ‘I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large (broad) place.’ 

Ah friends, isn’t it wonderful to have the Lord to cry out to in times of trouble? It surely is! No other faith has that divine promise of hearing and responding in positive fashion to our requests. And we see it in so many places in the Good Book. Yesterday we saw Bruh David crying out for help, and receiving it. 

Now let’s look at a couple of other situations where heartfelt pleas were made to the Father, and He responded positively. The psalmist in Psalm 120 – Prayer for deliverance from lying lips – begins by declaring: ‘In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue.’ (Ps.120:1-2) 

Oh my fellow believers, in these deceitful, strife filled and ultra-talkative times, many of us need to cry out to the Lord for help in that area, for truth is sadly lacking in our society. And one of the best examples of our Bit is Jonah’s cry from the belly of the fish after he had disobeyed the Lord’s directive to go and preach to the people of Nineveh. 

‘Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, and said, I cried by reason of mine (because of my) affliction unto the Lord, and he heard (answered) me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 

For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst (the heart) of the seas; and the floods compassed me about (surrounded me): all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then said I, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.’ (Jon.2:1-4) 

Yeh friends, I am sure being in that fish’s belly for three days and nights was certainly hell for Jonah. But please note that though he was disobedient and being punished for it, he never lost faith in the LOVING-kindness and forgiveness of his God. 

Later on in the chapter he declares: ‘When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto (went up to) thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities (worthless idols) forsake their own mercy (LOVING-kindness). But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.’ (Jon.2:7-9) 

Oh my people, yuh see even when we are in the most desperate and distraught situations, it is never too late to call on our wonderful God. Jonah did it, as it were from the very depths of hell. And what was the response? ‘And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.’ (Jon.2:10) 

Even so will the Lord cause us to be released from our misery if we call upon Him in humility and sincere belief, because that’s what He is all about; LOVING-kindness, mercy and forgiveness. Friends, oh friends, please remember that and NEVER lose faith in Him, regardless of the circumstances! 

Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, boldly letting the world know of our faith and our wonderful position in Jesus Christ. As one strong and solid voice now. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! 

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And what a glorious future that will be my fellow believers! Much LOVE!

…Christmas…the time of joy and LOVE…celebrating the miracle of the coming of Jesus…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 September 2013 Matthew 16:18

21 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 16:18.    And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter (a stone) and upon this rock (large rock) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Oh Friends, it’s one more morning, one more day! And though it looks like it might be a rainy day in my area, it certainly won’t stop the outpouring of new mercies, blessings, manna and forgiveness from heaven above. Don’t you just LOVE the faithfulness and LOVING-kindness of our wonderful God? Nothing stops His daily benevolence to His children, although we most often don’t deserve it.
 
And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful shout of, “Praise the Lord God Jehovah for His unceasing goodness to the children of sinful men!’ And that’s certainly how it ought to be my brethren!
 
Anyway, I want to clear up something that I said yesterday, which was, and is liable to cause some confusion. In the last scripture I spoke of getting some wise words ‘from the Rock – Petros, Peter.’ Thankfully one of my readers pointed out the problem, that some people would take it to mean that Peter was the ‘Rock’ on which Christ intended to build His church.
 
And this would be totally plausible after reading our Bit. ‘And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter (a stone) and upon this rock (large rock) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ 
 
Now let’s get some background on it. This scripture came up after Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. And the ever bright and feisty Simon chirped up: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona (son of Jonah): for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.16:16-17)
 
Jesus was saying there that Simon had achieved that conclusion through spiritual insight. Then He launched into our Bit.
 
I believe the problem comes from the translation of the Greek words used in the original; ‘Petros and Petra.’ The first, ‘Petros’ which we translate as Peter, apparently means a small stone, while ‘Petra,’ means a large rock. The distinction has obviously gotten lost in the English translation. And though Jesus’ next words tend to convey the ‘Rock’ meaning, we’ll see differently afterwards.
 
After our Bit, Jesus tells Peter: ‘And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matt.16:19)
 
But Jesus says the same words to all the apostles later on when talking about lost sheep. ‘Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matt.18:18)
 
Now hear the scholars take on the subject. ’16:18. The Greek word used for rock (petra) is played against the name Peter (Gr. Petros). Some use this passage to teach that Peter was the foundation stone of the church, that he had a primacy among the apostles, and that he became Bishop of Rome. The verse will scarcely bear the first of these propositions, and certainly none of the others.
 
Peter may be meant by the rock, but he is not the exclusive foundation. For the twelvefold foundation of the apostles of the church, see Ephesians 2:20 and Revelation 21:14. This seems borne out by the fact that the same words are spoken to all the disciples in Matthew 18:18 as are spoken to Simon Peter in 16:19. Therefore the rock or foundation of the church is the confession (ultimately, the doctrine) of the apostles, which became normative for the true church.’
 
Oh Friends, I surely hope that clears up any confusion my words may have caused yesterday. And to make life easier for us all, (smile) I’ll quote two of the other appropriate scriptures the scholars referenced, beginning with the one from Revelation. Here John is talking about the New Jerusalem which an angel spiritually carried him away to see. ‘And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in (on) them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.’ (Rev.21:14)
 
Obviously Peter was not the only foundation stone of the church, though he played a large part in its creation and continuation. Now turning to the Ephesians scripture. Bruh Paul is here telling them about the unity of all believers.
 
‘Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed (being joined) together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.’ (Eph.2:19-21)
 
Yes my brethren, Jesus came and tore down all the barriers between Jews and Gentiles, ripped down the veil of the old temple and laid the foundation of His church on the work of the apostles and prophets, with Him being the corner stone.
 
As Jesus said when relating the parable of the wicked husbandmen: ‘Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner (cornerstone): this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?’  (Matt.21:42)
 
There Jesus is quoting the words of the psalmist, (Ps.118:22-23) words that were written long before He came to earth in human form, thus again proving the importance of the Old Testament as a foreshadowing of the New.
 
Ah mih people, I do hope that today’s message will bring some clear or even clearer insight into the rock situation with Peter. He was important in the foundation of Christ’s church, but not the rock, or even the chief stone. Much LOVE!
 
…the Church’s ONE foundation…is Jesus Christ her Lord…She is His new creation…by water and the Word…