Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 July 2019 John 14:6.

03 Jul 2019 Leave a comment

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

John 14:6.    ​I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
 

Oh how good and how pleasant it is to have only worked one day and yet reached the middle of the week! That’s what a lot of Canadians are saying or thinking this bright Wednesday morning. But many of them are still tired after a hectic weekend of Canada Day celebrations, so there is the trade off. (smile) 

But hear these interesting and encouraging words of Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), English Renaissance philosopher, lawyer, statesman and one time Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of the British Government. He reputedly said: ‘The lame man who keeps the right road outstrips the runner who takes a wrong one. Nay, it is obvious that the more active and swift the latter is the further he will go astray.’ 

Yeh friends, sticking to the right road is ever so important in these evil and ungodly times. And it’s obvious the more active and energetic we are, the more likely we are to go astray. It’s like the story of the tortoise and the hare. It doesn’t matter how fast you are, if you are on the wrong road you’ll end up going astray. As they say, slow, but sure is the best way to be. 

But the word slow is anathema in today’s society, because we want everything quickly, we don’t want to have to wait for anything. Just check out the speed of the computers and cell phones and the other pieces of modern day equipment nuh; each version seeks to be faster than the other. But the problem is that too fast oftimes leads to also being wrong. 

But friends, the important thing in this life is not speed, but keeping our eyes on worthwhile goals and getting to them steadily and with a good and godly attitude. And the long and short of this whole story of the way though people, is that it all begins and ends with Jesus! Yes friends, He said it to His disciples in simple but undisputable terms. ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ 

Oh my people, my people, it couldn’t be put any clearer and more straightforward than that! If you don’t follow the path that Jesus set, both literally and figuratively, you won’t see heaven or the Father’s face! And His way is not the broad and expansive way, but the straight and narrow one, as He says in Matthew. 

‘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) 

Yes precious people of Christ, there are only two options, two available paths to follow in this life; the broad and boundaryless way, that of the evil one, which leads to death and destruction, and the strait and narrow way with boundaries, that leads through Jesus to eternal life! 

And as Joshua so famously informed the Israelites in his last speech: ‘choose you this day whom ye will serve; the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood (the Euphrates), or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell?’ 

Yeh friends, it’s a choice we all have to make. We’ve all got to bow to somebody, the question is whom shall we bow to? And I’d like to think that all of us will make the right choice, like Joshua did: ‘But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ And all of that can be found in Joshua 24:15. 

Ah mih people, serving Almighty God, the ONLY TRUE AND LIVING GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the right way to go in these evil times. Hear how Bruh David put it so long ago nuh. ‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. 

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell securely) in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (the abode of the dead); neither wilt thou suffer (allow) thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.’ (Psalm 16:8-11) 

Mama Yo! What could be better than that eh mih people? Nothing really! And all of it still holds true to this day! Following the Lord, through Jesus Christ, does lead us on the path to eternal life, with fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore! As Bruh David says in a later psalm: ‘Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness (abundance).’ Oh how true that is, my faithful believers! 

And it’s obvious that Cousin Sol must add his two cents worth: (smile)  ‘I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened (hindered); and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble… Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.’ (Prov.4:11-12; 26-27) 

And with those awesome words of wisdom my brethren, let’s go home declaring (yeah!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the world know our wonderful position in Christ Jesus! All together 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!’ 

Yes mih peeps, it will certainly be a rollicking ole time in heaven when the saints of Jesus go marching in! Much LOVE!

…there’s only ONE right way…but many wrong ones…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 January 2019 Psalm 133:1.

03 Jan 2019 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!
 
Oh, it looks so beautiful undisturbed…but disturb it…and like a disturbed cobra it can bite you in an unexpected second! Ah friends, I’m talking about the blanket of snow that’s covering my area this morning. Yeh it does look white and beautiful when just lying there undisturbed by man. But once you get into it, if you’re not careful it can cause you all kinds of damage and disaster. So like we finally had a snowfall where the people we pay to clean our driveway had to do some work; the first time for the season. And I doubt it will be the last. 

Anyway, today’s the 3rd day of the New Year, let’s hope that we haven’t already forgotten our resolution to walk more closely with Jesus this year. And as we begin putting away this season’s Christmas decoration, we won’t also put away the Christmas spirit with it, but allow that wonderful spirit of Christ to dwell with us all year long. And that would make Christ’s heart just overflow and burst with joy! Why, simply because of the immense joy to be found in brotherhood! 

 Hear how Bruh David puts it in our Bit: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 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, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.’ (Ps.133:1-3) 

Yeh friends, three simple verses make up that psalm, but they’re all so wonderful and appropriate to our Christian faith and walk in these treacherous and turbulent times! Hear this explanation from the scholars: ‘Psalm 133. This psalm is all about the preciousness of family unity. Its blessedness is exclaimed in (vs.1) and explained in (vs.2-3). It sanctifies (vs.2) and solidifies (vs.3).’ 

Ah mih people, if individual families in our society could only live that way eh…And even more importantly, if the family of Christ, His church could only do that…Oh what a wonderful place our world would be! We seem to have forgotten that Jesus came to make all nations, all believers in Him ONE! So let’s remind ourselves of some of the ONENESS that Jesus preached so avidly. 

He begins with this awesome statement: ‘I and the Father are ONE.’ (John 10:30) Then, as He prayed to the Father for us, Jesus pleaded: ‘And now I am no more (longer) in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be ONE, as we are ONE.’ (John 17:11) 

And later on in that same awesome prayer Jesus reiterates: ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be ONE; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ONE in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ (John 17:20-21) Yes my people, Jesus is there praying that those like us, who believe after He’s gone, should also live as ONE. 

And the scholars specify ‘17:21. They may be …one conveys spiritual unity, not organizational unity (cf. 1 Cor.12:13; 2 Cor.1:11; Eph.2:19; 4:3-16; Heb.10:25).’  But friends, my contention is that if we live in spiritual unity, there ought to be much more organizational unity among us than is currently in vogue. We have thousands of sects and denominations and religions, all purportedly teaching Christ crucified, why is that eh? 

That doesn’t spell unity, but rather reeks of disunity and division in what is supposed to be one body of Christ. The enemy is using the age-old tactic of divide and conquer amongst the Christian brethren, and we are foolishly and compromisingly allowing him to do it! That’s not right nor wise my friends in Christ! 

Now hear Bruh Paul on the subject: ‘For as the body is ONE, and hath many members, 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 (slaves) or free; and have been all made to drink into ONE Spirit ….For the body is not ONE member, but many…Now are they many members, yet but ONE body.’ (1 Cr.12:12-14, 20) 

Oh my faithful believers in Christ, it’s not rocket science, as Bruh Paul explains using our human body. Although our human body is made up of many dissimilar parts, it is still ONE body, and all the parts need to work together in harmony for the body to function properly. It’s the same with Christ’s church: we are made up of different races, cultures, languages, etc. but we need to come together and do Christ’s work as ONE, otherwise we defeat His whole purpose. 

Yes friends, like the believers in the early church, we need to get together in ONE accord (Acts 2:46) and pursue Christ’s work, not be fighting against each other like hungry wild animals. And if wild animals of the same type can band together against a common foe, why can’t we spiritually led believers do the same eh, instead of foolishly fighting against each other, even purporting it to be in Christ’s name? Steups! End of Sermon! (smile) 

Now let’s go home declaring those wonderful Thursday Blessings that the Lord has bestowed on us, expecting us to dwell in unity. In loud and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

Now let’s go out and share and declare those blessings over the less fortunate, for that’s a big part of the reason they were bestowed on us. Much LOVE!

…and be ye kind one to another…tenderhearted…forgiving one another…even as God…for Christ’s sake…hath forgiven you… (Eph.4:32) 

P.S. Yeh it’s long, but it’s also early…and it’s ALL for Christ! (smile) Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 May 2018 Psalm 133:1.

24 May 2018 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.

Ah mih brethren, another glorious day is in the offing in my neighbourhood! Can’t remember when last I saw so many gorgeous days strung together. And yuh know, even when the rain falls, it doesn’t fall at an inopportune time, and then those days end up glorious too. (smile) 

This springtime has really been a beautiful regeneration of nature! Glory Be! Let’s enjoy it as we thank our great and awesome God for the wonderful blessings of life and LOVE that He has given us. And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ 

And by the way, that volcano watch on Hawaii – well it seems to be getting worse every day. I believe there have been some explosions that are causing even more problems than before. Let’s remember to keep them in our prayers, and hope it doesn’t truly erupt, as volcanoes are possibly the most terrible of all destructions that can occur; it encapsulates the real fire and brimstone, which we so mythically talk about. 

And today we’re going to get into our Bit very early, because it is possibly the most important problem facing Christ’s church right now. Hear these immortal words of Bruh David and give pause, let’s give thought to them in our own lives. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ 

Oh my people, if only that state of affairs even existed to one iota in the church of today, what a great church we’d have! But bickering and quarreling and disunity are the name of the game. Thus Christ’s body has become of little use to a major part of society. They scorn it and turn away from it because of the tremendous infighting and confusion that exists therein, not to mention that we don’t walk the talk we preach. 

So how can Christ’s church ever become the focal point of our society under those conditions eh? Never! And it’s not to say that the arguments are all over major points of doctrine – No- a lot of them are over rather petty and immaterial stuff. But such is the hold of the world on us, that power and supremacy of religion or denomination keeps us from being more together. 

Ah friends, can’t we see that strife is the enemy’s number one goal amongst believers? That way he keeps us warring against each other and not living in the peace and LOVE that Jesus desires of us. How unfortunate that we are allowing it to happen. Let’s look at some scripture on the subject. 

We see way back when Lot and Abraham’s people were feuding over grazing land and water that Abraham wisely told him. ‘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) 

Oh fellow believers in Christ, right there we have the most important aspect of our being on this earth; being brethren in Christ! That means we don’t need to be fighting each other over petty stuff. We won’t ever agree on everything, but this much we ought to agree on: that we are ONE in Christ! 

And there is no better example of that than after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit began indwelling believers and the new church was born. Hear the Good Book tell it re the day of Pentecost. ‘Then they that gladly receive his (Peter’s) word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.’ (Acts 2:41-42) 

Yuh see that friends, ‘they continued steadfastly.’ Those are the most important words in that sentence. And they didn’t believe the apostles’ doctrine because they preached it, but because it agreed with the Word of God, which also called for fellowship and prayers. 

And the Good Book continues: ‘And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by (through) the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted (distributed) them to all men, as every man (anyone) had need. 

And they, continuing daily with one accord (mind) in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat (food) with gladness and singleness (simplicity) of heart. Praising God, and having favour with all people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be (were being) saved.’ (Acts 2:43-47)  

Wow! What a moving memorial of the early church! Now we know that the communal living couldn’t happen nowadays, and didn’t last long there either. People sold their possessions because they possibly thought that Jesus was coming back real soon (smile), but look at how they communed together ‘in one accord, one mind.’ 

That’s how we ought to commune today friends; with Jesus as our guiding light regardless of the circumstance! Not all the other nonsense that we’ve allowed the world to intersperse into the church. Anyhow, time and space are upon us, so please ponder those things and see how we can improve our own situations. 

Now let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings that our LOVING God has bestowed on us, even though we don’t deserve most of them. In strong and sincere voice now: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

And please remember those blessings were not given for us to hoard, but to go out and share with others. Much LOVE!

…stand fast…in one spirit…with one mind…striving together…for the faith of the gospel…(Phil.2:27b)