Today’s Scrip-Bit   20 March 2023 Psalm 23:1.

20 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Oh friends, on this sunny but chilly Monday morning, we want to open with some monumental news! Yes, it is a momentous occasion! One where we hear and understand that The Bible is God’s Word to us. That it is still fresh through all the ages, and if we read it, we will find God’s exceptional wisdom on its pages! Wow! What magnificent news that is my people! Because it means that all of us who are sincerely seeking wisdom just have to read the Bible, God’s Word to find it. 

Yes friends, wisdom is right at our finger tips, no further than the Bible that sits looking pretty on your desk or table, but is truly gathering dust, since you don’t read it. And by the way, here’s this other piece of monumental information: One truth from the Bible is worth more than all the wisdom of man! That’s worth another Wow! Yes mih bredrin! Imagine that nuh. One li’l truth from God’s Word is worth more than all of man’s wisdom! Meaning to say that man’s wisdom is not worth very much, especially when compared to God’s.

 So why then do we all insist on learning and spouting the wisdom of man and not God’s eh? If man’s wisdom is worth so little, we should all be hungry and thirsting for the wisdom found in God’s Word. But to get that means reading God’s Word, the Bible, which so many of us claim to be too busy to do. That’s why so many of us are unwise in an unwise world, because the world doesn’t value God’s Word and His immortal and infinite wisdom. 

And it’s the basic answer to all of the earth’s problems. If you ignore the Word of the Creator of the universe and all therein, and the amazing truths it contains, how can you ever live a successful life, either individually or communally? No way Jose! The fly in the ointment here is that in addition to His Word, God also gave us free will to do as we please, sincerely hoping though that we’d be wise enough to read His Word and then follow His plan for our lives. But unfortunately, too many of us are trying to do it our own way without God’s help, and that is a sure and perfect recipe for disaster. 

Jesus Christ. God’s Son, whom He sent to earth to help us see the light said it quite simply and clearly. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) Now that’s one of the essential truths of God’s Word. If we seek His kingdom and His righteousness before anything else, then we will have all our needs fulfilled. How did Bruh David put it in that marvellous psalm that we all know and revere with our mouths but not our hearts: ‘The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.’ (Ps. 23:1) 

And what does a shepherd do for his sheep eh? ‘A shepherd is committed to a flock and the one responsible for guiding the sheep, protecting them, and attending to their needs. So, to serve as a shepherd means to demonstrate commitment to the well-being of other people. It involves watching out for them, helping them, and teaching them.’ Therefore, that means if the Lord God Almighty is our shepherd, then He is thoroughly committed to our well-being. And His Son Jesus Christ said it in so many words. ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:11) 

And that’s exactly what He did; gave His sinless life on the cross of Calvary so that we, His sheep could be saved, could have victory, salvation and eternal life. So why is it so difficult to follow him eh? So hard to read God’s Word, believe it and then live it, despite all the marvellous examples of great men of God laid out in that Good Library, we call the Bible? I truly don’t know. Instead, we’re all going crazy for the things of the world and its evil doings, which don’t truly satisfy, and therefore we have to continually run them down, regardless of how much we have already accumulated. 

But friends, here is another word of wisdom for us. When you live for Christ, you don’t have to run down anything because God’s favour, grace and blessings run you down! But I guess we all have to find out the uselessness in running down the things of the world for ourselves before we believe. Meanwhile, here are the words of Bruh David, who as we all know personally lived them, and consequently experienced the joy of God’s favour. Hopefully, hearing them again will light a spark in our own souls and lives and wake us up to the reality that God, through Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to go. 

Please read with me: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’ (Ps. 23: 1-6) 

Oh friends, if we look at all the things Bruh David wrote there, we will see that he experienced it all. His life wasn’t easy, but God never promised us an easy life. He promised us a full, abundant and interesting one. And that’s a big part of our problem as believers. We think that because we’re following Jesus, life should be easy. But that’s the furthest thing from the truth, because Jesus said it quite clearly. ‘If any man will come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) That doesn’t mean easy living my brethren, but rather a sacrificial sense of purpose, because Christianity was not made for cowards. 

So now that we’ve acquired some godly wisdom, (smile) let’s go to God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and place all our problems before Him, as He’s said in His Word that we ought to do. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

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

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

And having said all of that, it now behooves us to turn our words into sincere action, so that the Lord can do His part. Much LOVE!

…if you’re seeking wisdom…why go anywhere else than to the fountainhead…Almighty God…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 March 2023   1 Peter 5:7.

13 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 5:7.Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

Why does Monday have to come every week like clockwork eh, you ask? Because that’s the way God and man planned it.(smile) And why does snow seem to fall in our area on Friday evenings and Monday mornings, making it difficult to get home on Fridays, while spoiling all one’s plans for the weekend, then doing the same thing to the Monday morning commute, when Monday is already difficult in itself? (smile) Some snow fell in the Greater Toronto area overnight, but it wasn’t that much, and the roads should be mostly wet and a tad slippery this morning. 

And as per the questions above, sorry folks, I don’t have answers to any of those questions nuh, but I can share this very important information with you. There’s a person by the name of Jesus who knows the answers, and though He might not desire to share them with you, if you become associated, or intimately acquainted with Him and His organization, the church, He will enable you to handle all the problems those trials cause. Glory Be! 

Yes, we saw in yesterday’s Bit where Jesus offered His Great Invitation for all who are weary and heavy burdened to come to Him for rest. He is gentle and humble in heart, and His yoke is easy and His burden light. (Matt. 11:28-30) And that’s a wonderful invitation, but to many of us it’s merely theory, we want to know how to put it into practice, how to make a practical application of that theory. No problem my people. Listen to the master of practical applications, Bruh Paul. 

Here’s how he advises us to turn that theoretical situation into a practical one. In his letter to the church at Philippi, he writes: ‘Be careful for nothing (do not be anxious about anything); but in every thing (every situation) by prayer and supplication (petition) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known (present your requests) to God.’ (Phil. 4:6) Now that certainly seems like a practical solution to our problems. God is the Creator and Controller of the universe, and therefore has much more power, wisdom and knowledge than us mere mortals made from the dust of the earth, to which we will all eventually return. 

But you still don’t understand how taking our problems to Almighty God will solve them, so listen to Bruh Paul’s continuation in his message to the Philippians. He declares (yesss!!!): ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!’ (Phil. 4:7) Glory be my faithful brethren! Yes, the tranquility or divine peace of mind that comes from God is such a high level of peace that our finite and puny minds can’t fully understand it, but it will quell our fears and anxieties. 

Remember the Lord said in Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That sets the bar right there my brethren. Our understanding is far below that of our Creator, therefore we need to obediently accept His word and His way of doing things if we ever want to grow, to mature, to rise from glory to glory in His eternal kingdom. 

Now, here’s another scripture that encourages us to take all our problems to Almighty God. Peter says: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:’ (1 Pet. 5:6) And you then ask? How do I do that? Here’s Peter’s answer: ‘Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:7) And there’s absolutely no doubt of God’s great LOVE and compassion for us! You just have to look at how He sent His only Son Jesus to earth to die on our behalf. That says it all my friends! 

But according to Peter we also have a part to play, when He says; ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Pet. 5:8) Now that’s more gospel truth, because Satan is walking around, lurking in the background, ever ready to deceive those who are not paying attention, who are not standing strong in Jesus. So Peter then warns us to be very wary of the devil: ‘Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet. 5:9) 

Yes my fellow saints, all believers in Christ experience hardships, trials and tribulations. ‘But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm) strengthen, settle you.’  (1 Pet. 5:10) And that’s God’s promise, which He will keep, if we keep our promise to be obedient and faithful to Him through His Son Jesus Christ! That’s why Peter ends by declaring: (awright!!!) ‘To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 5:11) And that’s exactly how it will be, if we truly believe! 

Now, let’s take advantage of that awesome privilege that Bruh Paul and Peter spoke of; that’s going to God in prayer, casting our care upon Him, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Altogether then: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

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

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

Now let’s keep our promises, so that the Lord will keep His. Much LOVE!

…all to God I carry…all to God my praises sing… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 March 2023 Revelation 21:7.

06 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 21:7.       He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Awright friends, the work week is upon us again, and that opening day called Monday, is hanging like a dark cloud over many of us, trying to intimidate us, to raise up the dormant fear that lies deep inside our souls. But yuh know what, that apparent intimidation by Monday is only a façade, a front of the devil to keep us in darkness and fear, so we can’t rise up and conquer him and his evil cronies, like our Lord and Saviour Jesus expects. 

Let’s remember though that Jesus has already given us the victory through His conquering Satan, wresting the keys of hell death and the grave from Him, with a triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday, while the foolish devil wrongly thought that he had finally ensconced Him forever! 

But Satan of all people should have known better, having spent so much time with Jesus in heaven as the ark angel Lucifer. Obviously his loss in the battle to overthrow the God of heaven didn’t teach him anything about the power and glory of our magnificent Trinity! However, unfortunately, it’s the same with many of us; we don’t learn from our mistakes. 

One would have thought that Satan would have learned from His previous defeat that He could NEVER best the Creator and Controller of the universe, no matter the deceitful and evil means he uses. That’s why Jesus warned us of Satan’s propensity for evil and destruction. ‘The thief cometh not, but for to (except to) steal and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) 

Now tell me who’s presence would you rather be in, the one who steals and kills, or the one who gives life? The people with common sense and or wisdom would obviously choose the latter. Sadly though, there are many in our world who lack both those attributes and therefore choose the former. 

And I guess, for Satan to simply give up the fight, to suffer the terrible pangs of defeat and subjugate himself to Jesus would have meant a terrifying and humiliating end that he could not face. So, like an animal whose back is against the wall, with no apparent avenue of escape or victory in sight, its only resort is to brace itself and come out fighting, regardless of the possible consequences. And that’s how it is with Satan. 

There was obviously no way for him to accept an honourable defeat at the hands of Jesus, so his only face-saving response was to come back out fighting to the death, with whatever dirty and evil means he has at his behest. But we believers all know that it’s all over bar the shouting for the devil and his evil cronies, because they will eventually end up in the lake of fire when Jesus gets around to dealing with them. 

Yes friends, it’s only a matter of time, as the Bible, the Lord’s indisputable, unquestionable Word in Revelation 20 tells us that before Christ’s Millennial reign, the devil will be chained and locked up for those thousand years of peace and righteousness on earth in a bottomless pit, the abode of evil spirits (cf. 9:1-11; Luke 8:31). 

Then after the expiration of those thousand years, he’ll be released to make strife and war with Gog and Magog on the earth again. But then what happens? After losing that final battle, when ‘fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever.’ (Rev. 20: 9b-10) 

Now please note this other very important scripture about the end times, re the fountain of life. John writes: ‘And he (Jesus) said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful (cowardly), and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ (Rev. 21:6-8)  

Oh my people, if you truly believe the Bible, the Word of Almighty God, then there’s no more to say! It’s clear as day that evildoers will pay a very steep price for their unbelief and wrongdoing. It’s only a matter of time. And though our God is long-suffering, He will run out of patience at some stage of the game and pull the plug if we continue with our ungodly and evil shenanigans. So it’s totally up to each individual to choose how they will spend eternity. Nuff said. 

But the wonderful thing about our God is that when we need help, we always have access to His throne room. So let’s go there right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and ask for His divine guidance. As one sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

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

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

Now, if we’re serious about the sentiments and promises we made in the prayer, then we’ll need to go out and action them for divine help to come. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 February 2023 James 2:17.

27 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

James 2:17.       Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

One more time around the block my people. It’s another Monday morning to get ourselves in gear and navigate our working world. But it should be a cakewalk for believers if we went to church yesterday and got refreshed, renewed and filled with the confidence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because that’s one of the reasons for attending the Lord’s sanctuary on Sundays. 

However, just going to church doesn’t mean that you will automatically be refreshed and renewed and refilled with the Holy Spirit. No sir! You must come with a godly mindset and play an active part in the worship, be serious and sincere about gaining something from the fellowship with the other believers, and also giving something of yourself. Just moseying along without any effort and input on our part, while hoping for some of the godliness in the service to rub off won’t cut it at all my brethren. Participation is the name of the game! 

And that’s one of the reasons why our world is in such an unruly and ungodly mess; too many of us believers are too lethargic and lazy and fearful to make worthwhile contributions to the efforts of saving our world for Jesus, of spreading His gospel and making disciples of all nations like He commanded. (Matt. 28:19-20) 

Remember, all that He’s ever asked us to do is basically for our benefit, not His. Helping to save the world is not for Jesus’ sake, but for ours; that we would have a good, godly and prosperous world for ourselves and our families to dwell in, and also be the recipients of God’s grace through salvation and eternal life. But look at what we have for a world nowadays nuh; prosperity for a few, but not much good or godly for the many. And even the prosperous few are not happy either. They have all the amenities that the world can provide, but their spirituality is sadly lacking. 

Granted, our world will never be as equitable as we desire until Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom, but there’s absolutely no reason for the world to be as inequitable as it is right now! And unfortunately, a lot of the inequity comes from the lack of sincere faith, positive action and brimming over passion of Christians! 

Remember what James says: ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.’ (James 2:14-18) 

Ah friends, that is the gospel truth! We can’t have true faith without some good works to back it up. We can’t quote scripture and tell people about Jesus when they’re hungry, naked and destitute. We need to feed and clothe them first, because we cannot expect them to believe that Jesus came to save the poor and lowly, the sick and suffering and all the other good things that comes from His ministry and leave them without the basics of life. And sadly, that’s what’s happening too much around our world. A lot of us are preaching to unfortunates, but not giving them the basic life-giving stuff they need to survive. 

Jesus said after dining with the tax collector Zaccheus, who repented after their meeting. ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) And He philosophized on that through the parables of the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Son. (Luke 15:1-32) And when He sent out the disciples to proselytize, He instructed them: ‘And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils (demonic spirits): freely ye have received, freely give.’ (Matt. 9:7-8) 

Yes friends, faith without works is indeed dead! And with our sloppy faith and paucity or insufficiency of works, we’re playing right into the devil’s hands. Which is not what Jesus expects of His followers, His ambassadors, His agents and stewards down here on earth. That means we badly need to raise the level of both our faith and works, if we are to make any worthwhile inroads into the wickedness and evil of our current world. And to help us do that, let’s take it all in prayer to the throne room, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

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

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

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

Our next move now is to wake up to the reality of the sad situation in our world and do something about it! And as a group of serious and sincere believers, with the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling within us, we can do quite a lot, if we set our hearts and minds to it! Much LOVE!

…it’s time for believers to stop merely talking the talk…and walk the glorious walk instead… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 January 2023 Psalm 145:20.

23 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 145:20.       The Lord preseveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

Well, a fine Monday morning to all you my Scrip-Bit friends and family! I do hope that all is well with you on this the first day of the new work week, and you’re bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to get out into the evil and ungodly world and do your thing for Christ; be full of salt and shine like a blazing fire, so much so that those who come into contact with you, simply cannot refuse your witness! 

Wow! Yes that’s the way we ought to be my fellow believers, especially in these rather disturbing and turbulent times, where Christ’s church and His LOVE Revolution are falling behind the eight ball. But we’re not here today to cast aspersions, or render judgement, rather to offer encouragement and enlightenment. 

And I had to chuckle a short while ago when I came to write the Bit and had no inkling what to write about. So in my mind I asked, ‘What should I write about today Lord?’ And in a few seconds the answer came: ‘Go back to Psalm 145!’ So, since He’s the Boss and I’m just an obedient servant, then we will go back to Psalm 145, Bruh David’s Psalm of Praise to God’s Unsearchable Greatness. And beginning in verse 14, where we had stopped the last time, we read with great encouragement. 

‘The Lord upholdeth  all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat  (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear (reverence) him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preseveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy.’ (Ps. 145: 14-20) 

Yes my fellow saints that’s the greatness and everlasting faithfulness of our Lord God Jehovah! He NEVER turns away those who sincerely put their trust in Him in all sincerity and truth. And He’s great and loyal enough to stand up for all who cry out to Him, to come to their rescue! Now that’s the wonderful, merciful, gracious and LOVING God we serve! There’s no other like Him in all creation! 

And I like how the scholars spell out the specifics for us. They say: ‘After the characteristic call to praise (vs. 1-2), David offers four key reasons to praise the Lord in the section called the cause for praise vs: 3-20): the Lord is great (vs. 3), He is gracious and merciful (vs. 8-9), He sustains all who fall (vs. 14), and He is righteous in His ways and kind are His deeds (vs. 17)’  And what’s the welcome conclusion of all that? A renewal of the call to praise in (vs.21), which we haven’t look at as yet. 

So let’s do that right now nuh. In conclusion, Bruh David solemnly proclaims: ‘My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. Amen!’ (Ps. 145: 21) Oh my people, if we could only do those two things – praise the Lord and bless His holy name – a li’l more often that we do, life would improve so much, that we wouldn’t even recognize it. (smile) 

And that’s a major problem we have amongst believers today. For whatever reason, too many of us refuse to praise the Lord and bless His holy name, refuse to pay Him the homage He so rightly deserves for all the wonderful things He’s done, is doing, and has promised to do for us. Please remember that second to last verse: ‘The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE Him; but all the wicked will He destroy.’ 

And believe me that’s no idle promise as so many of us believe today in this era of false gospel and false teachers. Our God never makes promises He doesn’t intend to keep, which you can discover by looking through the Old Testament. So please, let’s not get caught up in all the lovey-dovey and feel-good stuff that some are preaching and wake up and understand that if we don’t truly LOVE God and act accordingly, we will end up amongst the wicked and be sentenced to eternal separation from Him, the worst sentence we can ever get. End of Sermon! 

Now, let’s go to Him, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for divine guidance and protection. As one strong and confident 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!’ 

So, if we desire to see positive, God-given changes in our lives and our world, then we have to do our part; that’s turn from our evil ways and adopt His righteous ones. As simple as that my fellow saints. Much LOVE!

…sincere LOVE for God…ought to be our number One priority…that’s what Jesus said…and He doesn’t lie… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   26 December 2022 Ephesians 6:11.

26 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 6:11.       Put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.

Now this is one Monday that we all are going to LOVE! Yes, It’s Boxing Day, and a holiday for many of us, meaning an extension of the Christmas celebrations for another day. It’s always good when a Public Holiday falls on the weekend, because it gives us the next day off in lieu of the holiday. And since Christmas Day fell on this Sunday, and New Year’s Day will be falling on the next Sunday, lots of time off is in the offing. (smile) But please, let’s not use all our free time for physical celebrations, do spend some in valuable self-examination, looking back at what we did in 2022, and evaluating our goals and dreams for the new year of 2023, which will be another tough cookie. 

That means we have to buckle down in our faith, in our walk with God; either giving Him more of our time or simply digging deeper into His Word to find more of His eternal wisdom and understanding, for we will need those things even more in the turbulent days ahead. Why? Because life seems hell bent on getting more difficult and unnerving in the near future, than getting easier. And now is when believers need to strengthen their faith in Almighty God so that we can stand strong and steadfast in His name against the evil enemy who is putting up a stout fight, with no intentions of backing down. 

And with all the ungodly and negative stuff that’s happening in our world we must know that we’re in a fight for our lives, both spiritually and physically. But the good news is that we already possess the weapons to win that fight, provided we want to use them, and not simply give up in fear. NO! Not on your life! As soldiers in the army of Christ we must arm ourselves and fight the enemy mano a mano! That’s our God-given purpose, our bounden duty, which too many of us are currently shirking. 

But friends, this upcoming year of 2023 will separate the boys from the men, the sheep from the goats, and hopefully we’ll be numbered amongst the men and the sheep. But not unless we get serious about God, do like Bruh Paul says: ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’ (Eph. 6:11) And please remember we’re not talking about physical warfare, but spiritual: ‘against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ (Eph. 6:12) 

That means you won’t see the demons and the powers of darkness that are coming against you, including Lucifer himself, but you’ll feel them invading your spirit, attempting to lead you astray, away from the straight and narrow path that leads to Jesus. And we cannot afford to make such a serious mistake, for the consequences of that are eternal. So, what do we do to prevent it? Like Bruh Paul writes: ‘Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph. 6:13) 

Oh my fellow believers, it’s essential to avail ourselves of God’s provision for we are facing a formidable foe, an expert at mind bending, and if we’re without God’s armour, then he can destroy our Christian witness and ministry, his avowed goal. So, in ‘the evil day,’ that’s when we face those enemy onslaughts, we must do all we can, that’s dressed in God’s armour and staunchly resisting the enemy. And I know you’re anxious to recollect the six pieces of God’s armour. So here they are in a nutshell. 

The belt of truth; a knowledge of the truth of God’s Word that holds up all you believe. The breastplate of righteousness, which ‘represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the known “truth” produces a godly life (righteousness).’ Then, one’s feet must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That’s an eagerness or willingness to advance against the enemy, to take the fight to him, not just stand back and allow hm to come to you. Remember, the best method of defense is attack! And the gospel gives us peace from anxiety, which then allows us to advance fearlessly against Satan and his evil cohorts. 

Next, we need the shield of faith to protect us from the fiery darts of the wicked. That means trusting God, taking Him at His word, believing His promises. That trust will protect us from doubts induced by his satanic majesty. And we cannot go into battle without proper head gear, that’s the helmet of salvation; that’s the hope, or assurance of salvation! Neither can we enter a fray without a weapon to do damage to the enemy, and our weapon is the mightiest one in existence: ‘the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.’ 

Mama Mia! What awesome power! Remember how Hebrews describes God’s word: ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’ (Heb. 4:12) Wow friends! Imagine the damage we can do with the word of God nuh as we wield it through the army of the evil doers! 

But wait, there’s one more important and powerful addition to all that armour, that’s the power of prayer. Yes my people, we must wrap up all that stuff in ‘prayer and supplication in the spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ And all that about the pieces of armour can be found in Ephesians 6:15-18. Please remember to read it occasionally so we don’t forget it and get caught napping by the enemy. And I know that some of you might not think this Christmas season a good time to talk about armour and warfare, but it is in fact the best time, when we have let our guards down to celebrate, and the enemy is just licking his chops and moving in for the kill. 

Now, to wrap it all up in prayer, let’s go to God with our Monday Morning Battle Hymn sincerely seeking His divine assistance. As one strong voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

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

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

Now, let’s look to turning from our evil ways if we expect to see God’s grace and mercy! Much LOVE!

…Christmas is not only a season to celebrate…but also one to raise the level of our faith… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 December 2022 Hebrews 13:6.

05 Dec 2022 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 13:6.       So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.

And then it was Monday once again! That continuously recurring first day of the workweek which causes our frustrations to rise to abnormal and unnecessary levels! (smile) Yes, although we know the right way to handle Mondays, it still often gets the better of us. So what do we do about it eh? 

Simple! With the Lord’s help, make better preparations and come to terms with the fact that once we are in the work force, after a short weekend break, Monday will come around every week and require us to get back out into the evil and ungodly world and walk our walk for Christ, which in itself will undoubtedly cause us some problems, since the world is not very receptive to Christ at this particular period in time. 

But the good news is that our Lord and Saviour will never ask us to do anything and then leave us in the lurch to do it alone. Of course not! He always gives us the necessary tools, anoints us to do whatever He requires, which means we ought not to get overly frustrated and disappointed when problems come against us. Please remember this magnificent and ever so encouraging scripture that we’ve been talking about the last few days: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me!‘ (Phil. 4:13) 

Now, if you sincerely believe in Christ Jesus then that ought to be a foundational scripture in your repertoire, indelibly written in your spirit, to draw from for spiritual support, whenever the need arises. Oh friends, it’s of the utmost necessity that we have a bunch of scriptures at the ready for when problems come upon us. But we cannot ever get our repertoire sufficiently enlarged without constantly perusing and meditating on the Word. 

Please remember that the Bible is God’s Word to us, and it’s still fresh through all the ages. Therefore, if we read it, we will find God’s wisdom on its pages. And there’s no better example of that than the directive the Lord gave to Joshua when He appointed him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. 

‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth (be constantly in thy mouth); but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage: be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:8-9) 

Oh my faithful brethren, those are some of the most profound and wise words in the scriptures. And so they should be, if they were uttered by the Lord Himself. And yuh know what? Those words were not meant to apply to only Joshua, but to ALL God’s children, right down through the ages! 

And if you are a child of God, sincerely studying His Word is the only way to grow in spiritual maturity and strength; to have no fear of what the world can do to you, because your heavenly Father is with you all the time. Don’t forget He has also promised: ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall (can) do unto me.’ (Heb. 13:5-6) 

And it’s ever so true that lack of knowledge of the Bible is a big cause of the fear that so many of us feel as we go through our everyday lives. You’ll surely notice that when we have the Word buried deep in our hearts and souls, then we walk with a spring in our stride, with pep in our step, because we are confident of what Psalm 91 says. ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh (near) thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 

They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. he shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps. 91:9-16) 

Oh my fellow saints that’s what we have to look forward to when we faithfully adhere to the Lord and His Word. Now, let’s promise each other to pull up our socks and do better because better must come, and it will only come through God’s people, by us rising to the challenges we face! And for help to do that, let’s approach the throne of grace, and through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, plead our case. 

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

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

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

Now, if we want to see a positive response then we’ve got to clean up our act, including the motives of our hearts. Much LOVE!

…promises, promises, promises…man’s are made to be broken…but God’s are ALWAYS fulfilled… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   28 November 2022 Luke 9:23.

28 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

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

Luke 9:23.        If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

So it’s Monday! What’s the big deal about that eh? Monday comes around every week, and we face it, with hope, prayer and faith in Almighty God, successfully defeat it and move on to the next day. And the reason why so many of us are in a tizzy come Monday morning is because we don’t make proper preparations for it on Sunday evening. 

Oh friends, the only way to successfully greet a new day is by being prepared for it, having some plan(s) to take it under our wing and control it, rather than have no plans, and allow it to control us. And since we all know that Monday is a day of work, it should be common sense, not rocket science to prepare for it beforehand, so that we’re not aimlessly rushing around looking for stuff on Monday morning. Surprisingly, no other day of the workweek seems to give us as much trouble as Monday, the one we have the most time to prepare for. Perhaps that’s the problem; we have too much time to prepare for it, so we keep putting it off until it’s too late. 

That recalls Cousin Sol’s wise words from Proverbs: ‘He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.’ (Prov. 25:28) And this other Proverb describes the same thing. ‘He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.’ (Prov. 16:32) Likewise this one: ‘The discretion (self-control) of a man deferreth his anger (makes him slow to anger); and it is his glory to pass over (overlook) a transgression.’ (Prov. 19:11) 

Yes my people, self-control is an essential aspect of successful living. In fact, it’s possibly the most important aspect, because if we don’t have it, we won’t be able to do the other necessary things properly. And remember it’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which means it will only flourish if we allow the Holy Spirit to water and nurture the godly seed planted in us. And the Bible gives us oodles of scriptures that bear out the importance of self-control, so let’s look at a few, hoping that they will help us in our ongoing battle with life. 

And probably the most famous one is that written to Timothy by Bruh Paul: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) And to both Timothy and Titus, Bruh Paul wrote about the qualities needed for bishops and deacons as well as for ordinary believers and they all include that aspect of self-control. (1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9, 2:1-10). And as well, in his treatise to Timothy on apostasy (turning away from faith in God) Bruh Paul writes that one of the signs would be ‘incontinent men,’ that’s men without self-control. 

Meanwhile Peter in his second epistle writes to the Jewish diaspora regarding growing in grace, in spiritual maturity. ‘And beside this (but also for this very reason), giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue (moral excellence); and to virtue knowledge (spiritual truth); and to knowledge temperance (self-control); and to temperance patience (endurance); and to patience godliness; (2 Pet. 1:5-6) 

Now we can all see that the importance of self-control is no lie by just looking at the terrible state of our current world filled with so much confusion and strife, dissatisfaction, greed and an insatiable hunger for power, most of which is driven by a lack of self-control. 

And if you want it clearer than all that, then listen to Jesus as He discusses the terms of discipleship in His organization. ‘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) That’s as plain and straightforward as you can get. You have to be bubbling over with self-control to follow Jesus, meaning denying your own desires and instead following His. And there is more to say on the subject, but since I’m aspiring to keep the Bit as short as possible (smile) we’ll leave that for tomorrow, God willing. 

The next step then is to go to God in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine assistance. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

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

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

And for us to get a positive reaction, it’s imperative that we keep our promises and show some improvement in our daily lives. Much LOVE!

…self-control is like body building…you have to exercise it for it to grow… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ      

Today’s Scrip-Bit   21 November 2022 Proverbs 24:17.

21 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 24:17.       Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:

Prologue: Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but I had some personal stuff that needed immediate attention, and it took longer than I expected. But as they say, ‘better late than never.’ (smile) 

Now friends, let’s just be glad and ever so thankful that we didn’t get the terrible snowstorm that the city of Buffalo, across the U. S. border got this weekend. The city was shut down for the entire weekend. Oh, we got a decent amount of the beautiful white, but ever so dangerous stuff, but God be praised that this Monday morning, as the work week opened, our roads were dry and clean and the sun’s shining ever so brightly in a cloudless sky! 

Let’s not laugh though at Buffalo or crow over their misfortune for sooner or later we will get our fair share of the winter blues. (smile) And that just draws my attention to the wise words of Cousin Sol on the subject of mocking one’s enemies from the Book of Proverbs. Please listen carefully, as he wisely advises: ‘Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him (be evil in his eyes), and he turn away his anger from him.’ (Prov. 24:17-18) 

Oh my people, that is such a wise scripture, especially in these turbulent times, of strife, envy and greed and autocratic behaviour. And I like how one commentary explains it. ‘God commands you to LOVE your personal enemies, and it is one of the chief measures of a true Christian. Such LOVE includes being grieved when your enemy falls or stumbles in life. If you are glad or rejoice when he is hit by adversity, you have sinned.’  And I know some of us will find that a hard scripture to accept, but it’s one of the basic tenets of our faith. As Christ said, LOVING our neighbour as ourselves is the second greatest commandment in the law of God. (Matt. 22:39) 

And just look at how God LOVED us when we were totally clothed in sin and disobedience. He could have laughed and gloated and turned away from us, but He didn’t. The Bible tells us that instead, ‘But God commendeth (demonstrated) his LOVE to us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) That means, if we want to be like God, show grace and mercy, then we cannot gloat over the demise of our enemies. 

And I guess one of the best examples of that is found in the Book of the prophet Obadiah, when the Lord threatened Edom, the descendants of Esau, for failure to help their cousins, the sons of Jacob, that’s Judah when they were besieged by their enemies, as well as their constant hostility towards them. 

The prophecy reads: ‘For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon (for) Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. But thou shouldest not have looked, (gazed on, gloated over) on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger (captive); neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. 

Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the days of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway (crossroads), to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up (made captive) those of his that did remain in the day of distress.’ (Obad. 10-14) 

I guess that solidly states the case for not rejoicing over the demise of one’s neighbours. (smile) And as always, God’s prophecies do come true. It seems that the Edomites who lived in the fortress-like hill country neighbouring Judah, were brash and bold, figuring that they could not be subjugated because of their hilly terrain. They also seemed to have gotten wealthy by taxing those who passed through their land. The scholars tell us the ‘Edomites remained a constant threat to the Israelites until Bruh David conquered them (2. Sam. 8:13-18). 

Ah friends, you should read that scripture and see the mighty warrior king Bruh David became with God’s help, as he subdued all those nations around him and united Israel for the first time. However, when Israel again became a divided land, the monarchy was broken up, the Edomites regained their independence and their constant hostility towards God’s people, their cousins, was frequently denounced by Israel’s prophets. But as the Lord had promised, they were later subjugated by Assyria and eventually overrun by the Nabateans in the third century B.C. 

Wow! That should teach us never to doubt the promises and prophecies of God, no matter how long they take to come to pass, for, like He told the prophet Habakkuk: ‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab. 2:4) That’s why, as we raise our voices in prayer through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s understand that it’s all about God’s timing, not ours, and our duty is simply to pray and then wait for His answer. 

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

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

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

Now, my fellow saints, let’s do our part, and wait patiently, expectantly, with strong faith, for the Lord to do His. Much LOVE!

…recompense to no man…evil for evil…be not overcome of evil…but overcome evil with good… (Rom. 12:17, 21) 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ          

Today’s Scrip-Bit   14 November 2022 Romans 10:17.

14 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

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

Romans 10:17.       So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Christ).

Oh friends, another Monday morning has rolled around, much to our despair. (smile) And, unfortunately, that means we have to get our act together and face the working world to fight the good fight of faith as a faithful soldier in Jesus’ army. As a believer in Christ, as a Christian, that’s what we’ve signed up for. Now, for some of us, it might be harder than for others, depending on God’s will for our lives, but we can all be assured that whatever the Lord asks of us, He will give us the wherewithal to do it. 

And Jesus’ promise at the end of the Great Commission, warms the cockles of my heart on the matter. Yes my brethren, our commission, our basic job is to go out and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, teaching them all that Christ has taught us, ‘and, lo, I am with you always, unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28-19-20) Wow! What a marvelous Leader is our Jesus! He’s faithfully promised to be with us wherever we are in the world, once we’re spreading His gospel, His Holy Word. 

That brings us to Bruh Paul’s take on the subject as he wrote to the church at Rome, where he proudly proclaims: ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Rom. 1:16) Oh my people, do we feel as strongly as Bruh Paul about the gospel of Christ? I certainly hope so, otherwise we are not true believers, true Christians. That’s because the power of God is so powerful, so dynamic, like dynamite, from which the English word “power” is derived. 

The scholars tell us that if ‘Bruh Paul was writing today he would probably speak of atomic power. The gospel is so powerful that it takes people all the way into heaven. Everyone that believeth: The basis of salvation is God’s gracious provision – His free gift of grace. (Rom. 3:23-26) But the only means by which the sinner can appropriate this gift is faith. (Rom. 10:9-17) The gospel is the essential content of that faith. This is why Paul is so burdened to preach Christ to the world.’  And as faithful believers, we should also be carrying that bright burning torch for the gospel of Jesus. 

That takes us to the words of Bruh David in Psalm 40 -Praise for answered prayer – where he imparts in all faithfulness. ‘Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward: they cannot be reckoned up (recounted) in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire: mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. 

Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book (scroll) it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy LOVING-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.’ (Ps. 40:4-10) 

Oh my people, Bruh David also knew the power of God’s Word and faithfully broadcast it to all and sundry, to the great congregation. And he did not hide it in his heart, keep it selfishly for himself alone, like so many of us modern-day believers do, either through fear or just plain laziness. But please, let’s remember these oh so important and fateful words of Bruh Paul to the Romans. 

‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Christ).’ (Rom. 10:13-17) 

Yes friends, it’s ever so important that the gospel of Christ be communicated worldwide. And that’s our job, our responsibility. The Lord gave us salvation, but expects us to pass it on to each other. And we obviously are not doing such a bang-up job, otherwise our world would not be in the terrible mess it’s currently in. But let’s remember that there is always hope where Christ is involved, for with and through Him anything is possible, but we have to set the stage. And the first step in setting the stage is always prayer. And there’s no better time for prayer than RIGHT NOW! 

So, let’s begin there nuh, by offering up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for help to change. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

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

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

And as Cousin Sol, writing as the Preacher, so wisely advises: ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.’ (Eccl. 5:4) Now that should give us pause for thought, and hopefully have us doing as we ought. Much LOVE!

…if you believe God’s Word…then it’s your bounden duty to spread it… 

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