Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 May 2015 2 Chronicles 7:14.

27 May 2015 Leave a comment

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

2 Chronicles 7:14.    If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 

 
Well Friends, it’s a cool, cloudy and windy Wednesday morning in my area…and still no signs of rain. Chuh! Yesterday we definitely needed some showers of blessings to cool the hot and humid day, but since we don’t control the weather we just have to grin and bear it. Hn, hn! Today won’t be as hot and humid though. Glory to God!
 
So since it’s Wednesday, the mid point of our workweek, it naturally implies that we have to keep pushing ahead, no looking back, for he who looks back is not worthy of ploughing for Jesus. And I come bearing tidings this morning re patience, something a whole lot of us need to learn in this very impatient world.
 
And I can vouch for that by the different dates on yesterday’s Bit. The top heading was right, the 26th,  but the one later on was wrong, the 25th. How many of you noticed that eh? (smile) But that stems from laziness and trying to do it the easy way, by copying and pasting, rather than typing it out again. I obviously forgot to change the second date. Please accept my most humble apologies.
 
As Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H Schuller) says in his Hour of Power Devotional, patience is the single most identifiable quality of successful people. And that’s no lie Friends! This generation has grown up looking for too many shortcuts and other cheap and easy ways of getting by.
 
We refuse to adopt the discipline necessary to harness our dreams and see them through to fulfillment. The easy road my people, is certainly no remedy for true success. That ephemeral dream that we’re chasing always demands, patience, perseverance and hard work.
 
Listen to these words from Gramps Schuller. ‘The people who win in life are the people who have harnessed the power of patience. You can move a mountain, Christ said – but He didn’t say how long it would take.’
 
And that’s the absolute truth my brethren! Mountains are indeed moveable, but it takes time, patience and hard work to accomplish any dream, be it worthwhile or not.
 
Now without further ado, let’s get to our Bit, this one for the last time… and I hear relieved shouts of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ in the background. Yeh Friends, this has indeed been a long standing Bit, but as we said before, it’s a rather important verse of Scripture that determines our eternal salvation or eternal death and damnation.
 
‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn away from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’ Ah mih breddren, it’s so plain and straightforward… but yet we refuse to accept it, or even consider it.
 
And we’ll get straight into the scriptures that deal with the last of the four things we need to do to have God act positively on our behalf; ‘and turn away from their wicked ways.’
 
Listen to Isaiah as he declares that suffering is a result of sin. ‘They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our gods.’ (Is.42:17) That’s gospel truth my people! And put in simple, unequivocal language too.
 
And this next scripture is from Jeremiah, re the lesson from the potter. ‘Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil (am fashioning a disaster) against you, and devise a device (plan) against you: return ye now everyone from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
 
And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices (according to our own plans), and we will everyone do the imagination (stubbornness) of his evil heart.’ (Jer.18:11-12)
 
Unfortunately Friends, that’s the same foolishness we’re talking today, as we recklessly head down the destructive path of sin and ungodliness! 
 
Now hear the prophet Malachi, re the coming day of the Lord. ‘For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
 
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves). And ye shall tread down (trample) the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.
 
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.’ (Mal. 4:1-6)
 
Oh my people, what another wonderful promise of our most faithful God, most of which has already been fulfilled with the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!
 
Now hear this excellent explanation from the scholars. ‘4:1-6. The coming day is the day of the Lord (or the Great Tribulation), which is in view of the birth pangs for the millennial kingdom. Sun of righteousness is a figurative representation of the Messiah. Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. Both of them appeared at the transfiguration of Christ (Matt.17:3).
 
The Old Testament ends with the promise of the coming of Elijah, which the New Testament identifies as John the Baptist (Matt.3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). John’s own disclaimer (John 1:21) was simply a denial that he was literally Elijah. Jesus, on the other hand, clearly stated that John the Baptist came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Matt.11:14; 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13).
 
Malachi’s promise is quoted by the angel in Luke 1:17 as referring to the ministry of John the Baptist as the forerunner of the Messiah. Therefore, the Old Testament ends in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah and His prophetic forerunner, John the Baptist, who appears in the likeness of Elijah.’
 
Yuh see friends, the Good Book was not, is not, a haphazard concoction by a group of fuddy-duddy old men, but a well laid our plan by the Creator. And for those of you who don’t know, Malachi Chapter 4, is indeed the last chapter in the Old Testament. (smile)
 
And we’ll end this series of messages quite appropriately with the warning and wisdom of the Messiah. ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait (how narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt.7:13-14)
 
Oh my people, my people, please, let’s go out today with those wonderful words of wisdom and warning ringing in our ears, and bubbling up in our hearts, minds and souls, as we continue to live and work diligently and excellently for Jesus! For that’s wisdom at its very highest. Much LOVE!
 
…wisdom and common sense both cry out loudly…accept Jesus…for He is indeed…the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light…and no one comes to the Father…achieves heavenly citizenship… but through Him…
 
P.S.  Oh Friends, I know it’s long, but it’s beautiful, (smile) and a special, just for today! Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 November 2014 Exodus 20:8

09 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

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

Exodus 20:8.  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

And then it was Sunday…the Sabbath Day – the Day of the Lord – a special day set aside for fellowship, to give and receive encouragement from fellow believers, wherein our faith in Jehovah God is renewed, hope is engendered, and thus the strength of our spiritual man is increased!
 
Yes Friends, the Sabbath Day is very important in the life of the believer. So let’s take it from the beginning nuh, from that time when the Lord handed down the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, through Moses, at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Horeb).
 
And the Lord considered the Sabbath Day so important that He included it in those Ten Commandments, as stated so simply but rather directly in our Bit. ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ A simple, but no nonsense statement my people!
 
And to further testify to the high esteem the Sabbath day held in God’s eyes, He went on to explain in this addendum. ‘Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
 
For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.’ (Ex.20:9-12)
 
There can therefore be no argument about the observation of the Lord’s Day my brethren! We might argue –as we so foolishly do – as to exactly which day, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, is the seventh day, and the real Sabbath. But the undeniable fact of the matter is that whichever day we choose to celebrate it, we must seriously reverence the Lord in it.
 
And it’s interesting to note that as the Israelites made their pilgrimage through the wilderness, as the Lord gave Moses directions and instructions on how His chosen people were to live, the celebration of the Sabbath was raised several times. Let’s spend the rest of the Bit looking at some of them.
 
In Exodus 23, in the section on ‘Judgements concluded,’ Moses throws in this timely reminder. ‘Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.’ (Ex.23:12)
 
There you have it Friends, in black and white, from the mouth of the Lord through Moses; the Sabbath day, besides being blessed, hallowed and holy, is a day for refreshing both body and soul!
 
And moving right along, we come to Exodus 31, where the Sabbath is highlighted as a sign. Listen to the Good Book tell it: ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you (set you apart).
 
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth (profanes) it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul (person) shall be cut off (by death) from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
 
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’ (Ex.32:12-17)
 
Yuh see mih breddren, the Lord’s Day was considered so important that if you breached it, death was to be the punishment!
 
Luckily for us though, we don’t go to those drastic lengths today, since Jesus came and declared: ‘The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.’ (Mark 2:27-28)
 
And the scholars explain that thus: ‘2:27-28. Jesus’ reasoning is that divine intuitions on earth are to have a God-honouring, noble, and liberating function. Sabbath laws had for some degenerated into a mockery of God’s intent. Jesus, the Son of man and Lord…of the sabbath, having power to forgive sin, can also teach rightly regarding proper observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Jesus here touches a raw nerve, as the next incident shows.’ That’s His healing of a lame man on the Sabbath day. (Mark 3:1-6)
 
However Friends, it still behoves us to keep the Sabbath day holy, and fellowship with each other, because that is exactly what Jesus did. Wherever He was on the Sabbath day, He made sure that He attended the synagogue to fellowship and hear the Word.
 
Then in Leviticus 19, re the laws of holiness and justice, this little tidbit on the Sabbath is thrown in. ‘Ye shall keep (observe) my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:30) And the same thing is thrown in again on the chapter on Idolatry. (Lev.26:2)
 
Then in Deuteronomy 5, when Moses reminds them of the covenant at Mt. Sinai (Horeb), he goes through the Ten Commandments again, including: ‘Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it (keep it holy), as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.’ (Deut.5:12)
 
And we’ll close with a word from Isaiah on the observance of the Sabbath. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
 
Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places (hills) of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.58:13-14)
 
Yes Friends, if we truly honour the Lord on the Sabbath, then we will surely be blessed! That’s God’s promise. And we know He never breaks them, so let’s go out and honour Him today nuh, on His special day, and keep it as holy and restful as we can. That’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!
 
…if the Creator of the universe could rest from His labour for one day…why can’t His greatest creation faithfully do the same eh…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 August 2014 Jeremiah 6:16

15 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 6:16.    Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
 

And this time the joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ hit the roofs of numerous workplaces. You can literally feel the tensions ease as workers turn their minds to the weekend, away from whatever work that might then be frustrating them.
 
It’s always interesting and amusing to see the relaxed atmosphere in the work place on a Friday. I guess that’s a natural human reaction, looking forward to a day of no work and all the other strenuous activities it brings, lightens the stress.
 
Anyway, regardless of the reason or reasons for our lighter Friday attitude, let’s chant our Friday Chant so that we don’t gravitate to the other extreme and spend the weekend in total lethargy on the couch, in front of the tube, or unlimited earthly pleasures that distract our focus from Almighty God. (smile)
 
As one body in Christ, let’s chant. ‘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 mih people, we need to take a more God-centred than worldly lust attitude towards the weekend, because it’s not there simply for pleasure but even more importantly for the rejuvenation of our spirits.
 
And on turning to our Bit, we see that godly focus being reiterated and strengthened. ‘Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein.’
 
Yes Friends, the paths and ways that our great and wonderful God has laid down for us from the very beginning of time are the ones we ought to follow, not the man-made ones that are steadily leading us down an evil and ungodly path to death and destruction!
 
Humans these days seem to be getting lighter and lighter in the head, becoming sillier and less wise every day. We insist on trying man-made attitudes and ways that obviously don’t work, given the terrible mess our world is currently in.
 
But do you think, in light of that, we’ll even consider going back to the ways and paths of God which worked for our forefathers? Hn! Not on yuh life! Instead we foolishly continue to plod further along the unproductive, ungodly man-made paths that will eventually lead to death and total destruction.
 
Oh Friends, when are going to wake up and see the serious error of our ways eh? Everyday a new theatre of strife seems to open up in our already seriously troubled world, unfortunately without the ending of any of the previous ones, which we conveniently forget, as our focus is trained on the new ones.
 
Ah mih breddren, there are so many scriptures that warn about turning away from God, let’s look at a couple. The prophet Malachi in talking about the coming day of the Lord (the Great Tribulation), wisely warns us: ‘Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements.
 
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.’ (Mal.4:4-6)
 
Oh my people, what are we waiting for to turn our hearts back to God eh, for Him to come and smite us with a curse? Now that isn’t too bright is it?
 
And hear the Lord again, this time through Jeremiah: ‘Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity (worthless idols), and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up (and not on a highway);
 
To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and wag (shake) his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the (my) back, and not the (my) face, in the day of their calamity.’ (Jer.18:15-17)
 
Oh my fellow believers, why do we insist on treating God’s warnings as jokes eh, when we’ve seen them come to pass all throughout history? Why do we think we’re different eh?
 
Remember the Lord NEVER CHANGES; He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So whatever He said yesterday still stands as gospel truth today! And if he says He’ll destroy nations for disobedience, then in His own time and manner, He will certainly do it.
 
My Friends, we’re playing with serious fire here, by so blatantly disobeying the Word of God, even to the point of mocking Him, and trying to remove Him from our society that was founded on His sacred Word. It’s a fool’s wisdom my people!
 
But sadly, we believers are the ones entrusted with the unenviable and mighty task of turning this foolish, selfish, greedy and evil world back to the paths and ways of Jehovah God. The heathen and the ungodly won’t do it because they are foolishly enthralled with the works and idols of man.
 
So for our children’s sake, and the sake of all our descendants, I’m pleading with us to get serious about our bounden duty, and start working diligently on Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, which is the only thing that will save our world from total destruction, either through our own self-inflicted efforts, or those of Almighty God.
 
Please let godly wisdom prevail. Much LOVE!
 
…only LOVE can conquer hate…only faith can conquer fear…only true believers can turn our evil world around…