Thanksgiving: A time for celebration and honouring God for His goodness and mercy!

14 Oct 2024 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 endureth for ever.

HAPPY  THANKSGIVING  DAY  CANADA!

And then it was another Monday…but this time, a special one in this great country of Canada! It’s Thanksgiving Day my people! The special day, when, all over the land, we take our normal celebrations of thanks and praise to our great God to a higher level, truly acknowledging His awesome presence in our lives and the numerous blessings He’s bestowed on us in this past year. And yuh better believe that we have a whole lot to be thankful for, especially life and breath to see another new day and experience His new mercies and compassions. 

And it’s obviously a holiday, meaning no work for most of us, but plenty celebrations. However, as always, we implore us to have a modicum of circumspection in our celebrations and don’t let them go overboard, because far too often in our festive times we overdo it, and unnecessary tragedy follows.  Please, let’s not allow that to happen today. And remember we’re going back to work tomorrow, which means don’t celebrate too intensely, too far into the night. (smile) 

Ah friends, despite our many problems, our country is so blessed, that we need to truly appreciate it! Why do you think so many people are trying to flee from other countries to come here? Because we have a standard of living and a peace and serenity that they cannot find in their own countries. That’s something we ought to cherish and try to maintain, by not allowing the old animosities from the old countries to take root here, and thus continue the same old patterns from which we’re trying to flee. 

We’re trying to build a new and better life, and that can only be done when we live in unity and not disharmony. As these oh so appropriate words of Bruh David from Psalm 133 stipulate: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ (Ps. 133:1) Yes, my fellow Canadians, if we don’t put aside our old animosities, we’ll never move forward as a nation. Or as Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs. ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic or divine revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18) 

And that’s oh so true! Where we don’t follow God’s law, or moral compass, we will suffer moral and spiritual decline, which will only lead to chaos, as we’re seeing happening in so many countries of the world right now. And before we run out of time and space, let’s have a look at some scriptures that encourage thanksgiving, beginning with these wonderful verses from Psalm 103: 

‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-KINDESS and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps. 103:1-5) Now, what better circumstances do we need to give thanks to our great God eh? 

Then Bruh Paul, writing to the Philippians strongly advises us to: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation (gentleness, graciousness) be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:4-7) Yes friends, everything we do unto God, should be with thanksgiving. 

Now, listen to these marvellous words from Psalm 107.  ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary (desolate) way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 

Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.’ (Ps. 107:1-9) Now, those are all wonderful reasons for thanksgiving my people! 

And we’ll close with these awe-inspiring words from words from Isaiah: ‘And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 

Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings (deeds) among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.’ (Is. 12:1-5) 

And that’s no lie my fellow believers, our God has done great things in the earth, the greatest possibly being giving us salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ! So on this special day of Thanksgiving, let’s go confidently to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking divine aid in these turbulent and strife-filled times. 

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. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but 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. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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 to get divine aid, we must do exactly what our prayer says: pray and sincerely seek God’s face, while turning from our evil ways. There’s no other way! Much LOVE!

…the giving of thanks…should be a continuous…everyday occurrence…for believers…

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

The overwhelming importance of LOVE rather than Strife in our lives!

28 Jun 2024 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.

And at last it was Friday… so the joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ obviously were heard all around the world, but not as much as in this fair and flourishing land of Canada, where today heralds the beginning of our long, Canada Day weekend. Yes friends, on Monday we celebrate our national day, the anniversary of Canadian Confederation, the final coming together of all the disparate sections of this great land on July 1, 1867. So you can just picture the height and intensity of the celebrations this upcoming weekend. 

However my fellow believers, please, let’s enjoy the time, but let’s not go overboard as we are sometimes won’t to do. And with the summer season and it’s many activities now in full swing, we definitely need the gentle reminder of these words as we get off work today… a modicum of circumspection. (smile) Yes, it’s time to celebrate and enjoy the benefits of our good country, but it’s also necessary to keep God first place, as we do so. End of Sermon. 

And today we’re just going to have a refresher  look at the very important sentiments of Bruh David’s words in Psalm 133; the dwelling in unity, or harmony, something that unfortunately no longer exists in this turbulent and ungodly world. The psalm opens by telling us in no uncertain terms: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ (Ps. 133:1) 

Now that’s such a simple and very important truth; one with which we’d all concur, if asked. But in the actual doing of it, we just seem to lose the very essence of the sentiment and instead live in strife with each other. And we just have to look around our world today and see that STRIFE, rather than LOVE is what’s making it go round! How sad! 

But that’s one of the great failings of mankind; we often know to do the right thing, yet end up doing the wrong thing. It’s like we know we should be serving Almighty God with our whole hearts, souls, bodies and minds, but instead we embrace Beelzebub and his lustful desires for the perishable things of this world, reducing the things of heaven to a distant second place. How foolish! But we know it, and still do it! No wonder James tells us: ‘Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:17) 

Sadly though, man’s folly and disobedience has been his downfall from the beginning of time. Our forefathers, Adam and Eve, were told in no uncertain terms not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge, for they would surely die. But they allowed the wily devil to introduce doubt into their minds by deceptively saying, that all the stuff about dying wasn’t true. God just knew that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes would be opened, and they would be like God, knowing good and evil. (Gen. 3:1-8)  

And unfortunately, it’s still the same way today; the devil is still beguiling us into ungodly acts, which are only causing strife and torment all over God’s great earth. But if our world is to survive, we’ve got to stop the constant strife and concentrate instead on harmony. It’s like when there was strife between Abraham and his nephew Lot’s people. Abraham wisely came to Lot and said to 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) And they settled the matter peacefully. 

But today, so many actual brothers and sisters, fellow country men and women, as well as different nations, can’t seem to settle the strife that exists between them. The same goes for Christ’s church, where strife is ever so rampant! Some of us are even allowing the devil to eagerly exacerbate it! But that should not be so my brethren. As the author of Hebrews so wisely reminds us: ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb. 13:1-2) 

And that’s the gospel truth! None of us know with whom we’ll come into contact on any given day. That’s why it’s so important to treat people with LOVE and kindness. Remember one of Jesus’ directives is for us to LOVE our enemies. (Matt. 5:44) Unfortunately though, nowadays, with all the anger, hatred, resentment and the many other negative sentiments overflowing our world, we don’t even seem to LOVE our friends and families, much less our enemies. Oh my fellow saints, all I can do is to try and encourage us to turn back to the imperishable things of God, and leave the perishable things of the world and Satan alone, for they do not show who we really are: the children of God. 

Now let’s go to the throne of grace through our Friday Chant, seeking divine aid, to help with our many earthly problems. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

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

And if we truly want and expect to see divine aid, it would do us well to remember these words of our prayer: ‘by the example, we, your faithful believers set.’ Much LOVE!

…strife is the work of the devil…unity is the work of God…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   22 April 2024 Psalm 133:1.

22 Apr 2024 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 Monday… you beautiful day! Thanks for coming around again so that I can get back out into the dark and dangerous world and share the light and LOVE-filled gospel of Jesus with all those I meet; for that’s my major purpose and greatest desire! Ah friends, I wish that we could all truly feel that way as we return to work on this Monday morning, because it’s only through believers like you and I, as we sincerely spread the enlightening words and deeds of Christ that any real positive and productive changes will ever be made in our rebellious and disobedient world. 

For right now Satan and his evil cronies are running amuck on God’s great earth, and we cannot allow that to go on without trying to stop, or at least curb it. Yes, we believers in Christ Jesus need to put up a valiant fight against that overriding evil that’s currently enveloping our planet. We desperately need to do like Bruh Paul did, when he told Timothy: ‘I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’ (2 Tim. 4:7) And do we ever need to run our race with steadfast faith and trust in Almighty God to help us do His earthly will. 

But because fighting the enemy is not an easy task, we therefore need to do like Bruh Paul also warned Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure harness (hardship), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2. Tim. 2:3) And remember these words of Jesus re discipleship: ‘If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now, that means being willing to sacrifice our own desires every day if Jesus so desires. And this verse of scripture is also a very telling one: ‘And he (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart) (Luke 18:1) 

However, those are the very problems that Christians are having; we’re either too soft or too afraid to enjoin the battle as needs be with the enemy, while some of us just prefer to enjoy the comfortable life and don’t intend to sacrifice anything and/or engage the enemy in spiritual battle at all. But yet we expect to see positive and productive changes in our society and our world. But that’s just a pipe dream my people, because no war will be one if one party just sits on the sidelines and watches the other plunder the spoils, which is what we Christians are doing to a great extent. 

In other words, our efforts and energy are not good or great enough to make a substantial difference in this spiritual war in which we’re currently engaged, whether we like it, or even want to acknowledge it. The long and short of the story is that the enemy is putting up a better fight than we are, that’s why he’s currently ruling the roost, and the only way to turn that around is for us to get busy and significantly increase our puny efforts as one great body of believers. Remember what Psalm 133 says: ‘Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Ps, 133:1) 

And the awful truth of the matter is that Christ’s church is not living in unity, nowhere near it. There’s absolutely too much dissension and division amongst what is supposed to be a unified whole. And until we seriously recognize that and are determined to do something about it, the enemy will be delighted to see us remain disunited, so he can further divide and conquer us! Church unity is the first problem we need to fix before we can even think of making any successful headway against Beelzebub and his crowd of evil doers. 

Unfortunately, what’s happening is that we are fighting each other over mostly petty and unimportant issues; we’re seeing the individual trees instead of the forest as a whole. Consequently, we’re playing right into the enemy’s hands. That reminds me of the time in the reign of King Jehoshaphat, when several of the enemies of Judah came together to war against them. The enemy army consisted of the children of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. However when Jehoshaphat and the people prayed for protection, the Lord told them through Jahaziel, not to worry, for He would be with them. 

So, the next day, they went out with worshippers in their front ranks singing praises unto the Lord, and He so discombobulated their enemies that they eventually ended up destroying each other without Judah lifting a hand, and they gained so much spoil that it took them three days to collect it. (2 Chr. 20:1-30) Now that infighting between Judah’s enemies resembles what’s happening in Christ’s church today. We’re falling all over each other, trying to gain the upper hand, but sadly the evil one is reaping all the profits. 

But my fellow saints, I’m pleading with us, if not for our sakes, but for those of our children and their children, let’s wake up and smell the proverbial roses nuh, and truly get together as ONE body in Christ, so that we can fight the enemy in unity, for that’s the only way we’ll ever make any headway against him. End of Sermon! Now, for divine help to do just that, let’s go to the throne of grace in humble confidence, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

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. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but 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. 

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us 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 it will be to our benefit if we remember on what conditions God promised to help us; if we humble ourselves turn from our evil ways and sincerely seek his face in prayer! Much LOVE!

…no battle can ever be won…unless there’s unity in the ranks…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit    26 September 2023 Genesis 44:4b.

26 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 44:4b.        Wherefore have ye rewarded (repaid) evil for good?

Aye friends, I’m not sure exactly what kind of day we’re going to have this autumn Tuesday in my neighbourhood, because they are telling me about it being partly sunny and to expect high winds soon. But what I do know is that right now it’s a glorious day out there, filled with sunshine and decent temperatures for this time of year. So, I will rejoice and be glad in it, like the Bible tells us to do! 

And now a li’l prayer to remind us of God’s goodness. Please pray with me. ‘The Light of God surrounds me: The LOVE of God enfolds me: The Power of God protects me: The Presence of God watches over me: Wherever I am, God is… And ALL is well!’ Oh mih people, isn’t it just wonderful to know that wherever we are God’s Light, LOVE, Power and Presence are constantly with us, looking over us and protecting us? It certainly is! 

Now let’s get to that intriguing drama that’s Bruh Joseph’s story. We left the saga yesterday where Bruh Joseph sees his brothers seated in his house, and his heart yearns so much for his youngest sibling Benjamin, his mother’s other son, that he goes into his bed chamber and cries. The emotions are beginning to run free. 

The Bible then tells us: ‘And he (Bruh Joseph) washed his face, and went out, and refrained (restrained) himself, and said, Set on (serve the) bread. And they set on for him (served him) by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves, because the Egyptians might not eat bread (could not eat food) with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.’ (Gen. 43:31-32) 

Ah Lord eh, even in the midst of supposed good relations there’s still always separation! Bruh Joseph eats by himself, his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians by themselves because by man’s foolish and ungodly tradition, it’s not fitting for them to all eat together. No wonder there’s still so much anger and resentment in our world, if we can’t even do a simple thing like break bread together. 

But the Bibe continues: ‘And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled (looked with astonishment) one at another. And he took and sent messes (servings) unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess (serving) was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.’ (Gen. 43:33-34) 

Brother! The drama is surely ramping up now! They’re all eating together, but separately, and there are all sorts of thoughts and undercurrents present because no one’s sure of what’s really happening! Bruh Joseph has opened up some, but is still playing his cards close to his chest. The brothers don’t have a clue what’s going on, and though they are eating, apparently joyful on the outside, the ever-present fear of trouble is still only a heartbeat away. And the Egyptians, watching this strange encounter…what are they thinking eh? Who knows? (smile) 

Now, here’s some interesting information from the scholars. They say, as per verse 33 above: ‘And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one at another. At the dinner the brothers failed to leap to one logical explanation of his (Bruh Joseph’s) behaviour, considering his concern for Jacob (vs. 27), his affectionate favouritism for Benjamin (vs. 29-34), and exact knowledge of the interlocking sequence of births of these sons of four mothers (vs. 33).’ 

And yes, those things should possibly have said something to the brothers, although when you’re filled with fear, your mind doesn’t always work properly. But I find one concern in the scholars’ statements above there. How do we know that it was Bruh Joseph who seated them according to their birth rights eh? Perhaps it was just natural for them to sit at table in that manner, since that kind of tradition was very important in those days. 

Anyway, the scholars continue: ‘The fact that Joseph had the brothers separated from the Egyptians (vs. 32)  – it would have been an abomination unto the Egyptians had they not been separated – suggests that this was a native Egyptian Pharaoh. If it were a Hyksos king (non-native), most likely he would not have demanded such discrimination. Evidently the Egyptians had a deep hatred for Asiatic shepherd (cf. 46:34; Ex. 8:26). Verse 34 suggests that the brothers were not jealous or resentful toward Benjamin because of the preferential treatment; thus they seemingly had a change of heart. But Joseph was going to test them.’ 

Yes friends, although everything seemed somewhat hunky dory on the outside, more alarming situations were in the offing. No wonder the Good Library continues thus: ‘And he (Bruh Joseph) commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s money in his sack’s mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup in the sack mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.’ (Gen 44:1-2) 

Bruh Joseph is certainly not making it easy for his brothers. But who knows why he’s setting these traps for them. Is it a matter of deep revenge, or simply playing games, to show them how their actions can have rebounding ramifications? Nonetheless, ‘As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their asses (donkeys). And when they were gone out of the city, and not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye rewarded (repaid) evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth (practices divination)? Ye have done evil in so doing?’ (Gen. 44:3-5) 

Ah mih people, Bruh Joseph certainly wasn’t easy nuh. But who can really blame him after all the trials and tribulations he had suffered because of his brother’s evil machinations. And if God spares life tomorrow, we’ll continue looking at how that most important story in the Good Library plays out. Now, let’s declare (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having made that declaration (awright!!!) it’s now our bounden duty to go out and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…behold…how good and how pleasant it is…for brethren to dwell together in unity… (Ps. 133:1) 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   28 February 2022 Proverbs 25:11.

28 Feb 2022 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 25:11.     A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.

Oh friends, how good and how pleasant it is to awaken on a Monday morning to bright sunshine and dry ground, despite the cold temperatures. (smile) It’s hard enough to get oneself together to go back out to labour on a Monday morning after an energetic weekend. You don’t need to be fighting the elements as well as the traffic jams, in your desire to make a dollar, so you can keep a roof over your head and food on your table.  

And since it’s physically bright and shiny and we also have Jesus with us providing His spiritual light, we ought to be in good humour and be excited to spread the good news of our Lord and Saviour to all we meet today. There’s no reason whatsoever for us to be afraid, embarrassed or ashamed of telling others about the wonderful life we now enjoy with Christ as our King, His indwelling Spirit as our Guide and Leader, all to the glory of God the Father! Praise His holy name my people! 

And no, we don’t have to go ranting and raving about Jesus, but we must be careful how we introduce Him to others, since His name is very controversial in all the earth. And sometimes we even need to let our actions speak louder than our words. Somebody once said something to the effect that we should only use words when it’s absolutely necessary. And that’s true, if we can only bring ourselves to do it, since ‘actions work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.’ (smile) 

That brings us to these apt words of wisdom from Cousin Sol in Proverbs, where he declares (chuh!!) ‘A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.’ (Prov. 25:11) And is that ever the gospel truth my brethren! Timely words can be ever so important, encouraging and uplifting to one’s soul and spirit. The scholars put it thus: ‘A timely and fitting word is precious and pleasing.’ 

And that’s no lie! For we have all been receivers of timely and fitting words at some time in our lives, and have found them to be indeed precious and pleasing. Unfortunately though, this current age in which we are living, especially with the advent of and ferocious spread of social media, timely and fitting words are becoming ever fewer and further between, because we now can talk and share our unwanted and unnecessary opinions with much greater ease than ever before. 

We no longer pick and choose our words, but just spout or tweet, or write whatever we feel with no compunction whatsoever to hold back or even think carefully about what we’re saying. So, our society has just become a cacophony of talk, a continuously loud, discordant noise, with everybody talking at the same time, but very few listening, or paying much attention. That’s just the way she goes today my people! We will certainly go down in history as the very first of the ever so talkative generations who talked a lot, but said nothing of much use. 

And Cousin Sol felt the need for timely talk so much, that he said the same thing earlier on, though in a slightly different way. ‘A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season (at the right time), how good is it!’ (Prov. 15:23) It is very good my friends, no ifs, ands or buts about that! If only a handful of us would shut up for a moment, just stop talking about the things we know nothing about, our world would become a much quieter and more peaceful place. 

Yes, it’s a lot of the foolish talk that’s currently going around which is stirring up the negative behaviour and thinking that’s ever so prevalent in our world right now. Oh, and don’t forget, we also need more talk and action about Jesus too! Less foolish and negative talk, and the increased spread of more information concerning Jesus! Wow! What a wonderful world we would then have! (smile) It’s true though my fellow saints. We all know that. If we sincerely live the way Jesus desires of us, we will have a modicum of peace, joy and LOVE in our world. 

But since Satan’s currently running the show, evil and wrongdoing are on the upswing. However, we faithful believers need to try and tamp down Satan’s overwhelming presence by lifting up the name of Jesus. That’s our bounden duty! So please, let’s get serious about doing our duty nuh, as good soldiers and ambassadors of Christ, and if we want to provide a better world for our children and our descendants. 

And the first step in any interaction with Christ is prayer. So, let’s go to the throne of grace with confidence, but humility, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and place our desires before Jehovah God, the Creator and Controller of the universe. 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!’ 

And now friends, it behooves us to be wise, to consider all that we’ve just promised, and put it all into positive action, so that our heavenly father can look down on us with pleasure and provide that divine grace and mercy we so badly need. Much LOVE!

…talk is cheap…but actions are expensive…and it’s time for Christians to increase their spending… on expensive actions…rather than cheap talk… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8          

Today’s Scrip-Bit   7 December 2021 Romans 8:37.

07 Dec 2021 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 mih bredrin, we moving on! Yes, we conquered Monday, and we going to do the same to Tuesday! Glory be! And how could we not be conquerors when we have a conquering Lord and Saviour named Jesus Christ! As the Good Book so confidently declares of us: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) Yes friends, with the LOVE of Christ flowing through, over and under us, how can we be anything but mighty conquerors eh? And yuh know what too? We can never lose that LOVE, unless we foolishly decide to give it up. 

And if you don’t believe me, then listen to what God’s Word says about it. ‘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). What an awesome statement of LOVE, encouragement and assurance my people! Nothing…yes NOTHING can separate us from God’s LOVE found in Christ Jesus! 

Wow! How big and beautiful is that knowledge eh! That brings us to question then, why do we act powerless, afraid and discouraged when we have all those wonderful assurances from our omnipotent and ever-faithful God? Remember, there is only one thing that can match the LOVE of God, and that’s His wrath! So, what do we need to experience then eh, His LOVE or His wrath? We might say the former, but too often we behave like it is His wrath we want to experience. 

Why then the stubborn disobedience, the foolish pride and the overwhelming ungodliness that’s permeating our world eh? We must think that He’s joking when He speaks of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Otherwise, why would we behave in the foolish and disobedient manner that we’ve manifested in this last generation? We’ve come to value the easy life with all its amenities so much, that we are unwilling to make any sacrifices whatsoever to uplift ourselves or others. 

But we talk about living for Jesus…Hogwash! Heifer Dust! How can you be living for Jesus when you don’t want to make sacrifices eh, when living for Jesus is all about making sacrifices in His name? He said it Himself. If we want to be His disciples, we have to die to ourselves, give up our will, surrender it to His, then take up our cross and follow Him. Now that does not necessarily mean living a broken down, destitute life, but it does mean willing to do it if that’s what He asks of you, although He does not usually go to such lengths. 

And there is something else that we’ve also lost in this past generation…that’s the joy of brotherhood. Remember the marvellous and ever so truthful words of Bruh David from Psalm 133? ‘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) 

We obviously have forgotten that living together in unity, be it at the family or nation level is a blessed thing, authored by our God. Else why would our world be in such turmoil, with resentment, anger, hatred and fighting oh so prevalent, right from the basic family unit up through to national scene itself? There’s war and rumours of war all over the world, and the uncertainty and disagreements over the Covid 19 pandemic has only served to make matters even worse. And as each new variant of the virus crops up, our world becomes more discombobulated and separated. 

I don’t know what it will take for us to realize that the only option left to us is turning back to the God of our forefathers, whom we have so petulantly, that’s childishly and unwisely tried to drive out of our society. We obviously can’t seem to fix what’s wrong on our own, because everything we try turns out worse and there appears to be no agreement on anything at all these days, for everybody is up in arms about something or the other, whether it be the virus, the climate, the economy, race and gender problems, religious differences, etc. etc. 

No one seems satisfied with the status quo, and all want their concerns to be met with and fixed immediately, if not yesterday. What else can we expect then but deep dissatisfaction and disaffection throughout our individual societies and the world at large. And a good point to note here, the natural disasters also seem to be getting worse, with more fires, floods, earthquakes, volcano eruptions and famines all happening at the same time. There’s no doubt that our world is in a mess, and at a most important crossroad in time. 

Who knows what the future holds? Only Almighty God! The same one we are trying to rid our society of. But friends, wisdom and common sense decree that if we want to right our world, a major revival in the name of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to go! For He is the Saviour, the ONLY ONE who has the power to calm the storm, right the sinking ship, heal the sick and lift up the dead to eternal life. And do we ever need those divine remedies in our world right now my people! So let’s try and get wise nuh, and turn back to Jesus…that is, if we want our world to survive the death throes it’s currently experiencing. 

Now, for those of us who are trying to do the right thing, live sincerely for Jesus, let’s go home declaring (oh yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are, to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

And having made those magnificent statements, it now behooves us to go out and share the reality with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Jesus like we do. Much LOVE!

…to whom do you turn when the chips are down…Jesus!…Yahweh!…Jehovah!… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8    

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 March 2021 1 Corinthians 10:13a.

15 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 10:13a.     ​There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,

Come on friends, it’s time to stop singing the new work week Monday Blues and rise to the level that Jesus desires of us. That means, be the circumstances rough or smooth, our attitude will be bright and positive and Christ-like! Awright! So that’s not so easy to do, especially in these pandemic times, but what else yuh going to do eh? Will a bad, sour or resentful attitude help any? No, it will just make matters worse. And besides, if you’re a follower of Jesus, then you need to have the attitude that He had, and try to behave like He would behave…And that’s certainly not sad, miserable, sour or resentful! 

Oh precious people, it’s not that we don’t need Jesus in the good times, for then we can probably get by on our own steam, though not live the abundant life He promised. But it’s in the times that we’re caught between a rock and a hard place, damned if we do and damned if we don’t, like now, that we truly need Him most. For ofttimes, He is the only one who can extricate us from those painful and hurting situations. And even if He chooses, for whatever reason, not to extricate us from them, then He will enable us, give us the wherewithal to handle them with a good attitude, and thus grow and mature from the experience. 

Remember Bruh Paul’s warning of Israel being a good example of a disobedient attitude in the wilderness. ‘Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 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 it.’ (1 Cor. 10:12-13) Now that’s a very important scripture friends, and a very misunderstood one. 

And I like this explanation from Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers, found on the Bible Hub website. ‘(13) There hath no temptation taken you.–What is meant by a “temptation common to man” (or rather, suited to man) is explained further on as a temptation which one is “able to bear.” From the warning and exhortation of the previous verse the Apostle passes on to words of encouragement, “You need not be hopeless or despairing.” God permits the temptation by allowing the circumstances which create temptation to arise, but He takes care that no Fate bars the path of retreat. 

With each temptation he makes a way to escape from it. And that is so, must be so, because God is faithful. The state of salvation to which God has called us would be a delusion if there were an insuperable difficulty to our continuing in it. We have in this verse, perhaps, the most practical and therefore the clearest exposition to be found of the doctrine of free-will in relation to God’s overruling power. God makes an open road, but then man himself must walk in it. God controls circumstances, but man uses them. That is where his responsibility lies.’ 

So God provides all the tools, there are always options for us, but it’s our responsibility to find them and walk in them. Oh friends, the basic idea of the epistle is that God is faithful, as Bruh Paul states in the beginning. ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor. 1:9) 

As the scholars explain. ‘1:9. Unto the fellowship of his son: The term fellowship includes both union and communion. The Corinthian believers had been brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, this great truth implies that they had been brought into communion with one another. Here in a nutshell is the theme of this epistle.’ 

Yes my people, it’s all about fellowship, about fellowship with God and with each other. But are we living in true fellowship with either God or each other eh? Sadly, the answer is no, not nearly enough as required. And that brings to mind these appropriate words of Bruh David from Psalm 133 – The joy of Brotherhood. ‘How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! ‘ (Ps. 133:1) And that friends is the basic reason why our world is in such a mess; we’re not living in true fellowship with either God or man. 

So, no wonder all our efforts to clean it up are failing. It’s only when we get serious about our relationship with God and our fellow man are we ever going to have a harmonious world. So let’s take that first step right now nuh, by going to God in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and letting Him know that at long last we are serious about changing our sinful ways. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive and standing in faith despite the mass confusion that’s currently prevailing in our world. 

We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems; the pandemic of Covid -19, the racial, political, and religious strife that’s ignited worldwide, plus the many natural disasters that now seem more prevalent than ever. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have 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, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction to bring our problems under control. And for those who are currently suffering from the many negative situations, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, 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!’ 

So the ball is in our court now people. We need to show the Lord that we are serious about what we just prayed, and we can only do so with changed behaviour. And until we do, nothing much will improve. Much LOVE!

…it’s time to throw aside unprofitable sin…and dwell together in unity… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 August 2020 Psalm 133:1.

22 Aug 2020 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!

So here we are, a tad late (smile) on this lazy summer Saturday morning, the penultimate one in the month of August, in this crazy, mind-boggling year of 2020! What a ride it’s turned out to be… and it’s not over yet. Whatever comes next though, 2020 will certainly go down in the annals of history as a rather eventful and transforming year. But nonetheless, we’re still enjoying the compassions and mercies of our great God, which are new every single day. And to that we have to say a loud and grateful: 

‘Thank You Lord! We do sincerely appreciate all that you’re doing for us in these disturbing and uncertain times. And we do ask that you keep a close watch over us and help us to stand strong in faithfulness with you. We are confident, because we know that you are still on the heavenly throne, in full control of things, and has promised to work ALL things out for good to those who LOVE you and are called according to your purpose. We pray this in the wonderful name of your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And having made obeisance to our God, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Oh mih people, like our friend Anselm was in a rather grateful and thankful mood this week, (smile) for all his quotes centre around those two emotions. Hear this first one: ‘What you truly acknowledge truly is yours. Invite your heart to be grateful and your thank you’s will be heard even when you don’t use words.’ I can’t dispute that because when your heart is truly grateful, thanks pours out automatically without your saying anything. 

Then there’s this: ‘Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.’ More living truth friends! When we learn to have a continually grateful heart and attitude, it certainly attracts more of the things we like and value. That’s sort of like reaping what we sow, and positive things happening when we think positively. It’s just that way in God’s economy. 

Now listen closely to this quote. ‘We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.’ And isn’t that the God-given truth? Of course it is! We should always be thankful, even extra thankful, to those who help us settle our spirit and soul, help us rekindle the joy and good attitudes we need to face this crazy, evil and uncertain world. Wow! We are indeed blessed if we have those kinds of people around; even one of them. People who can lift our spirits when we are down and depressed are worth more than their weight in gold. 

In fact they ought to be considered blessings from heaven, for restoring the equanimity of another’s soul is ever so important in this mish-mash life. Sadly though, very few of us possess the kind of people around us who can truly do that. They are indeed a rare breed, that’s why they are to be greatly treasured. But the encourager and lifter of our spirits to be most greatly treasured is our comforting, enabling and encouraging God. When there’s no human being around to help lift us up, let’s not worry or be anxious, we just need to go to God for help.

 We do like Bruh David did when his men threatened to stone him after their home of Ziklag was burned and looted by their enemies. ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ (1 Sam. 30:6b) Yes mih bredrin, our mighty and stalwart God is ALWAYS there for us! Let’s never forget it, and don’t rely on fickle and frail mankind. Brother, I never intended to say so much on that quote, but I guess it just opened up, touched something in me. (smile) 

And since the last two quotes are very similar, one just emoting a li’l more, going a li’l deeper than the other, (smile) we’re going to deal with them as a sparkling and encouraging pair, just what they are. Listen, and let them come into our hearts and remain there forever. ‘As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.’ Gospel truth that; we can’t only talk appreciation, we must show it. Now here’s the clincher. ‘To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.’ 

Ah mih people, how true and wonderful is that eh! That brings to mind these marvellous words of Bruh David from Psalm 133 – The joy of brotherhood. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ (Ps. 133:1) That says it all friends. When we live in unity, we take each other’s concerns and feelings and heartaches and problems in mind and we don’t abuse them, but rather use them positively to build up each other. 

That’s what Jesus desires of His followers; unity and tenderness and grace, forgiveness and mercy to each other. What I believe we ought to understand is that gratitude is not just being thankful, but more a way of life, the Christian way of life. As the earlier quote said, when we live a life of gratitude, we don’t even have to say thanks out loud, but it’s understood by our actions. And when we live that kind of life, then we touch heaven, because it’s what Jesus expects of us. 

But that will never happen until the saints of Christ learn to live together in unity and harmony. And how are we ever to do that eh? As Bruh Paul said to the Ephesians re the using of our particular gifts and the edifying of the church: ‘For the perfecting (equipping) of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Till we come in (into) the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect (mature) man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.’ (Eph. 4:13) 

And the scholars explain: ‘4:12. This verse discloses the purpose for the gifted individuals of verse 11. Their responsibility is the perfecting of the saints, that is, to train and equip the rank-and-file Christians to do the work of the ministry. The aim of this ministry of Christian service is for the edifying of the body of Christ, that is, to build up the church numerically and spiritually.’ ‘4:13. The edifying of the church (vs.12) is to continue till we all come in the unity of the faith, that is, until all Christians attain spiritual maturity. Since new believers are constantly added to the church, this objective will not be realized until the Lord returns.’ 

Yes friends, the only way for us to live grateful, and thus touch heaven is by living in unity, bringing all our gifts both spiritual and physical together for the betterment of all! And I’m chuckling here in disgust, because like unity (brother!) is another word I can’t spell right. Every time I’ve used it today, including just now, I’ve spelt it wrong. Ah Lord eh! It’s a good thing the Lord knows my heart. (smile) Please have a blessed and fruitful day, living in LOVE and unity! Much LOVE!

…to the saints of Christ…a normal life…ought to be a grateful life… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2017 Psalm 133:1.

20 May 2017 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!

And then it was Saturday; beautiful spring time in the northern climes! Wow! We just can’t wait for summer to come, after experiencing those two days of summer weather this past week. 

Everybody was out in their shorts and shirtsleeves, walking, riding, the tops of the convertible cars down, with their hair blowing in the wind. I don’t think we’ll see as much of that today though, because it won’t be so warm. Today is shaping up to be a somewhat lazy, hazy day, at least hopefully for me, although I need to go and get some undecipherable noise on my chariot fixed. 

But however it turns out, since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of our friend Anselm’s recent quotes, which are always aimed at inspiring us for a better tomorrow. And this week they were short and pithy – to the point – forceful, clever – like: ‘Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.’ 

And there’s great truth in that simple statement, for success comes in many different forms, and not all of them add value to us or our society. So you can be a successful person, in the eyes of the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are valuable, especially in the eyes of Jesus. All the successful but evil people in this evil world aren’t valuable to Jesus or most of us, for in His realm, true value breeds success, not the other way around. 

And I like this quote. ‘Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.’ Oh friends, if more of us supposed Christians would only stop running down the money and the non-lasting wealth of the world, we’d not only be happier, but much more useful in service to Jesus. We run down the world’s riches, but we don’t have time to enjoy them. What we need more in these tough times is sincere passion; a desire to do good and not evil, to work diligently for Jesus rather than for Beelzebub! 

And this last quote is awesome. ‘If you are willing to do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will be paid to do more than you do.’ Words of biblical content my people! Jesus always inspired us to go the extra mile, to put our best foot forward, give more than we are asked, because in due time whatever we sow, we will reap in greater abundance. 

Unfortunately though, that idea of doing more than we’re paid to do has fallen on deaf ears. The treat today, is to do ever less than we’re paid to do, then smirk and think we’ve outsmarted our employer. Oh, we just might do that, but constantly robbing our employer of our paid time will certainly put our jobs in jeopardy. And remember, God is watching our every move, and if we Christians succumb to such fraudulent behaviour, we’ll definitely hear about it later from Him. 

So friends, it’s all to our betterment, if we live a useful, valuable and passionate Christian life. Not foolishly running down the things of the world, which don’t last anyway, and only cause us all kinds of worry and illness from the stress and strain of trying to acquire them. 

And all of that just leads to our wonderful Bit. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ And that’s the living truth my people! 

I don’t know, but something must be wrong with me yes, because I see others living in disunity and resentment and so much negative vibes around them and they seem to enjoy it, to flourish in it. Steups! I could never live so nuh. And as I’ve told my children many a time, if they ever live in such a sad state, I will come back and haunt them! (smile) That’s because there’s NO good reason for brethren, especially blood siblings, to live in continual disunity. 

Now let’s look at an instance in the Good Book pertaining to brethren not living in unity. And it has to do with Lot and Abraham, when their cattle herders were not getting along, because there was not enough land for all the cattle to feed equitably.

‘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. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.’ (Gen.13:8-9) 

Now doesn’t that make sense friends? It surely does! Why fight amongst each other, when there is ALWAYS some way to mitigate the negativity. We just have to want to badly enough. 

Now hear these words from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring one another (giving preference to another)… Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (do not set your mind on) high things, but condescend to men (associate with men) of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation)… If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.’ (Rom.12:10, 16, 18) Such words of wisdom my brethren!

And we’ll close with these famous words from the author of Hebrews. ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb.13:1-2)  

Yes friends, it’s all about living in unity…What else can it be about eh? Much LOVE!

…only in unity can our world ever hope to find peace…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 July 2015 Psalm 133:1‏

20 Jul 2015 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!

Well Friends, once again it’s our favourite day, Monday…!  

‘Hn! Yuh must be joking yes man!’ is the quick response I receive from one disgruntled member. ‘How the devil could Monday ever be one of my favourite days eh, especially when I have to go back out and do more back breaking labour for that greedy and heartless slave master? Steups! No way Jose!’

‘Awright, awright mih breddren, cool yuhself nuh,’ I try to pacify. ‘It’s not all that bad yuh know’ But to no avail.

‘Doh tell me to cool mihself man! You don’t know how I feel when Monday morning rolls around nuh.  I feel like Sparrow sang in the song ‘Slave’ many years ago every time he thought about escaping. “But when ah think about the whip…and them dogs…oh Lord…mih body just start to tremble and shake.”  Now that is how I feel on a Monday morning, knowing what I have to go out there and face. What yuh have to say to that eh?’  

‘I have plenty to say about that mih friend!’ is my reply. ‘First you have to give your life to Jesus, and He will enable you to get over that morbid fear you have of going to work on a Monday.

And secondly, right now you can join us in singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn which gets the adrenalin going, pumps you up, so that you go out in confidence and strength , knowing that you are LOVED and protected by the might and power of Jesus and His resurrection.  Now let’s sing with great gusto and gratefulness for all that Jesus has done, is doing, and has promised to do for us.

As one loud, harmonious and confident choir now. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’

Awright mih people, awright! That was wonderful! We even had the Father tapping His feet and keeping time with his hands on the sides of the throne. Mama Mia! And was Jesus ever proud of us. Glory Be! Now let’s go out and face the world with that same confidence and chutzpah and faith in Jesus, and really show the heathen what it means to be a follower of Christ.

And there’s no better way to do that than by living up to the gospel truth of our Bit. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’

Yes Friends, that’s how it ought to be! But sadly it just isn’t as good as it ought to be. We all know about the infighting amongst blood relatives and the church families which breaks the Father’s heart, but even more so Jesus’ since He put His very life on the line, sacrificed it so that we could have unity amongst believers and ordinary families.

Yuh know Friends, once there is disunity within the most important unit in society, the family, and also within church, the LOVE Revolution of Jesus will not prosper, will not win the battle over evil and wickedness. Now how can we afford to let that happen eh? We simply can’t. 

Now here is how Bruh Paul put it to the Corinthians, re Christians and the civil law in his first missive. ‘I speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to the law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.

Now therefore there is utterly a fault (an utter failure) among you, because ye go to the law with one another. Why do ye not rather take (accept) wrong? Why do ye not suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that (to) your brethren.’ (1 Cor.6:5-8)

Ah Friends, there is still a lot of truth today in those words written so long ago. Shamefully, we still defraud our brethren and treat them in an unchristian like manner, and we end up in the courts and wash our dirty laundry before the unbelievers. Obviously this does not set a good example for the people we are trying to bring to Christ.

And we’ll end with these wise words of Peter, re being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘And above all things have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover a multitude of sins. Use hospitality one to another without grudging (grumbling) As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.’ (1 Pet.4:8-10)

Oh Friends, all I can add to that is to encourage us to seriously and diligently take Peter’s wise advice and put it into effect in our own lives in these modern times, where it’s so badly needed. Much LOVE!

…the only way to beat the evildoers mantra of divide and conquer…is to live in harmony and unity with each other…

 

 

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