Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 June 2021 Jeremiah 13:15.

28 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 13:15.     ​Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.

So our favourite day, Monday, has rolled around once again. Some people seem to think that the days are passing very slowly, but friends, I beg to differ. In my opinion, they are passing rather quickly, and consequently I’m not doing as much as I want to – although I did improve some last week. (smile) Look, the year didn’t too long begin, and we are already at the end of June, despite the pandemic and all the other controversy that’s been recently plaguing our world. And before we even turn around, it’s going to be Christmas and New Year’s again! (smile) 

But as they say, time waits on no one. So, if you don’t want to get up and do your thing, make hay while the sun shines, then too bad for you. And I think that is a message the Lord is sending to us in these last days. It is a message which He sent to the people of Judah and Jerusalem in the days of the prophet Jeremiah. 

‘Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar (ruin) the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination (stubbornness) of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle (sash) which is good for nothing. 

For as the girdle (sash) cleaveth to loins (clings to the waist) of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto (cling to) me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the Lord; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name (renown), and for praise, and for a glory, but they would not hear.’ (Jer. 13:9-11) 

Yes friends, back then, though the Lord had told Judah and Jerusalem to cling to Him, to be His people, so that He could raise them up with glory and renown, they blatantly ignored Him and did their own thing, being totally disobedient and ungodly, thus the Lord’s warning that if they didn’t humble themselves and turn back to Him, He would cut them down to size. Remember pride is one of the things that our God detests, since it means we have little or no need for Him. 

As Jeremiah declares later on in the chapter: ‘Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for the light, he turn it into shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:15-17) Now that’s a strong warning my brethren! 

And the scholars explain those verses thus: ‘13:15-17. A third illustration ( the first was the marred girdle, and the second filled bottles of wine that were smashed together), concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’ And if you remember rightly, Judah didn’t comply with the warning and were eventually transported away as captives to Babylon. 

Now I beg to put forward the argument that we have also become very prideful, disobedient and ungodly during the last few generations, to the point where we have very little respect for Almighty God and are doing our best to eradicate him from our society. And what’s happened to us during the last fifteen months eh? Doesn’t it seem like what we’ve been going through during that period closely resembles that example of a weary traveller being caught up in the darkness of night? It certainly does. 

Just look at all the ‘sufferation’ we’ve endured, and are still enduring. And we didn’t merely have the shadow of death, but the real thing that took away millions of lives! Then look at our lack of knowledge re the Covid -19 virus and all its variants that’s still plaguing us. Look at the controversy about the value of the vaccine and all the other disinformation that’s flourished on the subject. And fifteen months later we’re really not much further ahead, because of some people’s refusal to comply with the few variables we believe can stop the flow of the virus. 

And in all of this, has our society ever turned to the Creator of the universe and tried to invoke His help? A comparative handful of believers. But the majority of the world has ignored God and continued being dependent on the efforts of mortal and frail mankind. Now, I don’t know if this is the Lord’s way of punishing us for our disgusting pride, disobedience and ungodliness, but I do know that wisdom dictates that we turn to Him in times of trouble, especially if we can’t seem to correct the situation on our own. 

So please friends, let’s do that right now nuh. Let’s turn to our Creator, lift up our voices in sincere prayer, asking for His divine help in this our time of very critical need. Therefore, as one voice, let’s offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. ‘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!’ 

But then again friends, our prayer will only be positively answered if we keep our promise and sincerely turn from our evil ways. So it’s all in our hands now. Much LOVE!

…when is the created ever going to learn…that it cannot diminish or defeat the Creator…                                                                                   

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 May 2021 Matthew 5:13a, 14a.

24 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:13a, 14a.     Ye are the salt of the earth: Ye are the light of the world.

Let’s get to it people! Let’s get to Monday nuh! There’s a lot of work to be done, even though it’s a holiday in these parts. Why do you think we are alive today eh? Because the Lord has important work for us to do, towards furthering His kingdom. Stuff that He’s planned from the beginning of time. As Bruh David so prophetically declares in Psalm 139: ‘Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.’ (Ps. 139:16) 

That means exactly what it says, the Lord planned our lives before He even made one of our bones! And this is our time, the moment in history that He earmarked for us to be alive and producing on His behalf! So let’s get with it nuh. And, by the way, there’s nothing that says you can’t enjoy yourself and do Jesus’ work at the same time eh. (smile) So even if you’re in a party, hopefully a small one, you can still let Jesus and His wonderful vibes flow from your spirit. 

In fact, He deeply desires others to see Him shining forth in our normal behaviour, where the fruit of the Spirit – LOVE, joy peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control, are prominent in the way we always carry ourselves! And yes, I know that’s not always easy to do, but if we set our minds to it, and request Christ’s help, we can certainly accomplish it a fair amount of the time. 

The truth is, if people don’t see Christ shining forth in us, then they won’t be inclined to believe what we say about Him, or want to invite Him into their lives. That’s why Jesus desires us to be like salt and light. As He says:‘Ye are the salt of the earth:but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) 

Yeh friends, we all know the many uses of salt, and that we could not survive without it. Back in Jesus time though, it was even more useful and more important. And that’s how He would like His followers to be; useful and important…not self-important, but important to our communities, leading by example. The same thing goes for light. Jesus says: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’ (Matt. 5:14) 

And that’s the gospel truth; the light of a city set on a hill can be seen for miles around. It’s like a beacon in the dark night, drawing others to it for safety. And that’s how we ought to be; sentinels, beacons, lighthouses shining in the darkness of this evil world to show others the light that’s Jesus and draw them to Him for their eternal protection. And Jesus puts it into perfect perspective when He declares: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:16) 

It couldn’t be said any better than that my brethren! Trust Jesus to know how to clothe it with just enough dig to get our dander up, but not be too self-conscious and ashamed. Oh my people, in those two simple statements – the salt of the earth, and the light of the world – Jesus sums up the basic character of the believer’s life. 

As the scholars explain: ‘5:14-16. Ye are the light of the world describes the essential mission of the Christian to the world. He is the condition (salt) to meet the world’s needs and he has a mission (light) to the world. His light is to shine forth into the darkness of human depravity. He is to set his light upon a candlestick, not hide it under a bushel, or basket. Darkness is the absence of light; and darkness alone cannot dispel the light, but the smallest light can dispel the greatest darkness.’ 

Words of indisputable truth my fellow believers. And from that, we can logically draw the conclusion that our world is so clothed in darkness because Christ’s followers are not putting forth enough light to quell the darkness. What a crying shame my friends! But starting today, I know we are going to make significant changes; we’re going to flavour up our salt and turn up the light in our lamps, so that the world can see Jesus through us. Now it won’t be easy, but since we know that God will help us do whatever needs doing for His glory, let’s go to Him now in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, sincerely asking for His 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 we all know the necessary drill; show sincere repentance if we want our prayers answered in a positive manner. Much LOVE!

…for our world to improve…Christian influence…must become much more prominent than it is currently…                                                   

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 May 2021 Matthew 28:19a.

10 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 28:19a.    ​Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations,

Awright friends, it’s Monday, so let’s be up and at ‘em nuh! It’s a new day, with new mercies and compassions; a new work week for those still with jobs to go to. And even if you don’t have a paying job in the world, and you are a believer in Christ, you still have something important to do each day in His name. 

What’s that you ask? As always, Jesus spelled it out loud and clear for us before He ascended back up to heaven. ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20) 

That’s what we call ‘The Great Commission!’ Yes, my fellow believers, after His resurrection, Jesus was given total power over both heaven and earth. As the Good Book tells it: ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11) 

So you see Jesus wasn’t lying when He told the disciples He had all authority in heaven and earth. It was therefore in His power to command them to go and spread His gospel, the good news of salvation which He had imparted to them, all over the world, to the very ends of the earth. That way, all the earth would know of the mercy, forgiveness and eternal life available through belief in Him. 

And I like how the scholars characterize the Great Commission. They say: ‘Christianity is not represented here as the mere reverential devotion of disappointed men who honour their martyred leader. Here is a far different scene. The triumphant, living Lord sends forth His ambassadors to proclaim His gospel throughout the world. The Great Commission is not just and order but a pronouncement of victory by the risen Saviour through His disciples.’ 

Wow! Yuh hear that mih people? The Great Commission is a pronouncement of victory by the risen, Living Lord!! Glory be! The only problem is that we His disciples, His ambassadors, His agents, His representatives, or whatever we choose to call ourselves, need to go out every day and proclaim that victory to whomever we meet! That’s the ONLY way they will know about it! 

And that’s why I said at the beginning, even if you don’t have a worldly job to go to today, as believers in Jesus, you always have something important to do; that’s spread the good news of His victory over Satan, over hell, death and the grave, and His wonderful promise of salvation and eternal life to all who sincerely accept Him as Lord and Saviour! 

So please, let’s not think that our lives are being wasted if we don’t have physical jobs, we always have a spiritual job to perform for Jesus. To be living examples of His goodness and mercy, so that others can see the wonderful relationship we enjoy with Him, and also come to desire that wonderful relationship. We can’t always preach people into accepting Jesus, but we can always lead them to Him by the life we live. And that’s all He’s asking of us. 

As the opening lines of the old classic book ‘Joseph Andrews’ by Henry Fielding, published in 1742 state. “It is a trite but true observation that examples work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.” That’s indisputable truth. Or as the old people would say, ‘Monkey see, monkey do.’ We just seem to live more by what we see than what we hear. That’s why many of us got licks as children, because we didn’t follow our parents’ advice: ‘Do as I say, and not as I do.’ And it’s only human nature to want to do what others do, especially if they tell us not to do it. (smile) 

So please my brethren, let’s remember that our heavenly Father has a purpose and a plan for all of our lives, which include remaking us into the image of Christ, and also spreading His gospel around the world. That’s why He said through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’  (Jer. 29:11) And that future and hope are all wrapped up in Christ and His good news of salvation. 

Now, what would Monday be like if we didn’t offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn eh, especially in these very trying and troubled times? (smile) So, as one 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!’ 

Now, it’s all up to us to show God that we really mean what we just prayed. Much LOVE!

…the Christian motto…be not overcome of evil…but overcome evil with good… (Rom. 12:21)                                      

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 April 2021 Psalm 40:4.

26 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 40:4.     ​Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Ah mih people, Monday has rolled around once more…that’s just a bad habit it has. (smile) But we cannot change the days and times of the Lord, so we are forced to deal with it as best we can. Once upon a time, that’s before the Covid pandemic, Monday was the whipping boy of the week. Many people disliked it because it meant going back out to work after a lazy or partying weekend, and we were usually tired and not very enthusiastic about resuming another week of labour to earn our daily bread. 

However, with the coming of the pandemic and the loss of so many jobs, Monday is not as badly maligned as before because many of us now have nowhere to go on a Monday morning. It’s an amusing though yet a sad occurrence, for now fear, anxiety, sickness, lack of money and worldly goods have become much more problematic than they were before our whole world went into lockdown. But friends, there is no need to worry. 

Oh, there is need for concern…but worry…no. For the Lord God Almighty, the Creator and Controller of the universe and all therein, is still on the throne. He’s still running things, and nothing happens in this life unless He allows it. That means there must be a reason, and a good one too, why He’s allowing this pandemic and all our other problems to come upon us at this time. And I believe that’s because He’s feeling hard done by, feeling left out of our society, relegated to an unimportant role in our modern way of life. 

And if that’s the case, we really can’t blame Him, because so many of us have turned away from Him, even to the point of trying to uproot and throw Him completely out of our society. But here’s a li’l secret friends; that will NEVER happen, because the sovereign power of the universe will not allow it. Remember Satan tried to overthrow God when he was the archangel Lucifer, but he got kicked into fiery furnace of hell and eternal damnation? And that’s what will happen to anyone or ones who try to get rid of the Lord God Almighty. 

What we should be doing instead, is getting closer to Him, getting to know Him and His awesome Son, Jesus Christ better, not listening to our fellow man, the minions of Satan, who’s avowed purpose is to stir up rebellion, and get as many of us as he can to be tossed into hell with him. And the scriptures, the Word of God, tells us so often not to trust in man, but in God, but we’re so hard-headed and stubborn, with an inherent sinful nature, that we don’t listen. So today we’re going to play back some of those scriptures which we all know, to help us turn back to the one and only true Living God. 

Listen to these scriptures from the psalms. ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.’ (Ps. 118:8-9) And hear this from Psalm 146. ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (a human being), in whom there is no help (salvation) His breath goeth forth (his spirit departs), he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever.’ (Ps. 146:3-6) 

What more do we need to come to our senses eh friends? If the God of Jacob is the most powerful being in the universe, why are we foolishly trying to rebel against Him eh, especially when we have numerous examples of what happens to those who do so? But hopefully a couple more scriptures might help turn us around. (smile) Hear Bruh David from Psalm 60 – A prayer for help against the foe. He pleads to the God of his forefathers: ‘Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.’ (Ps. 60: 11-12) 

And that’s the indisputable truth my brethren, for the help of man is uncertain and deceitful, and like the grass, he’s here one minute, then the next, gone back to the earth from when he originally came. Now here is the last scripture from the psalms. Bruh David’s words again, this time from Psalm 40 – Praise for answered prayer. He joyfully and truthfully proclaims: ‘Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’ (Ps. 40:4) And remember people, Bruh David and the other psalmists didn’t write these words from hearsay, but from personal experience. Thus, it is certainly in our best interest to believe them and do what they say. 

Now here is one last scripture, but not from the psalms (smile). It’s even more important, because it’s from the Lord Himself, when He made Joshua leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death. He told him, in no uncertain terms: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (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.’ (Josh. 1:8) And whenever Israel complied with the Word of God, thy had good success. When they didn’t, they had serious calamity, like we’re now having. 

So let’s get with some wisdom nuh and turn back to God. And there’s no time like the present time to do so. So right now, let’s go to Him in prayer, pleading for His forgiveness, mercy and grace, without which, we’ll certainly be goners. As one voice, let’s offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. ‘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!’ 

Now let’s go out and show that sincere repentance and humility nuh, if we want the Lord to positively answer our prayer. Much LOVE!

…the Lord doesn’t just listen to our words…He looks at the motives of our hearts… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 April 2021 Matthew 10:22.

19 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 10:22.​     And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

What a bizarre time we’re going through my people! One day we hear that the police are authorized to make random stops to find out where you’re going, but the police refuse to do it. So, next day, we hear that authority has been rescinded. The government and the medical people don’t seem to be on the same wavelength at all, as there are too many conflicting statements on how to best handle the pandemic situation. But there’s no way to fix it without a fair amount of consensus among all parties. And when you add all the controversy surrounding the vaccines the whole scene is one chaotic mess. 

But let me remind us, that as sincere believers in Christ Jesus, we always have Him to turn to in times of doubt and despair. Life will never be easy or comfortable, especially when we’re living for Jesus, but He has faithfully promised that whatever negative stuff we are experiencing in the world, we can always turn to Him and receive His awesome peace and comfort that are way better than what the world offers. So, with all the bickering and dispute that’s currently going on, now is definitely a time to turn to Him for solace, comfort and wise guidance. 

A time to remember His amazing words of promise, like these. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Yes friends, that’s sometimes hard to understand and accept when our whole world seems to be falling apart. But we need to keep speaking it, keep believing it, until it sinks into our very soul and becomes a natural tool for us to handle unpleasant situations. 

And what about this other warning of persecution. ‘Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless (innocent) as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues…And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt. 10:17-18, 22). And as the scholars explain: ‘In the ancient Near East the serpent was commonly regarded as the wisest of beasts. A cautious wisdom was necessary in order to deal with the fierce opposition that the disciples would face.’ 

And up to this day, the situation has remained the same: believers have to be wise and cautious in their dealings with the world. In some places today, the persecution is just as bad as in the days of the early church, but you see what a huge difference the perseverance and strong belief of the disciples made in the world, despite the terrible odds they faced. 

And in our western world, we don’t even have an ounce of the persecution they faced, yet we’re whining and crying. That ought not to be so friends. We are supposed to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The ones to lead others to Christ and all the good benefits He has to offer. And please remember that nothing worthwhile is ever easy to accomplish. 

Now listen to some more inspirational words of Jesus nuh. ‘If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would LOVE his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.’ (John 15:18-19) That’s something we too often forget my fellow saints; that we are IN the world, but not OF the world. So let’s stand up strong and face the world mano a mano nuh. Remember Jesus has already overcome it, and we only need to keep the victory going, with His help obviously. 

And in what is known in some circles, as the long version of the Lord’s Prayer (John 17) Jesus didn’t only pray for the disciples but also for us. ‘Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.’ ( John 17:20-21) 

Yuh see that mih bredrin, Jesus knew that His plan would work, and that down through the ages people would believe in Him having not seen Him in person, and He wanted them to be separate, sanctified, living as one, not as the many warring denominations we now have. But as we say, while there is life, there’s always hope, and I believe these difficult times were meant to bring us together and back to God, so let’s do just that nuh, be as one, in sincere prayer, and offer up what we term our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

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!’ 

Now, having said all of that, we need to show true humility and sincere repentance, if we want God to affirmatively answer our plea. Much LOVE!

…bear patiently the slings of the world…and your reward will be great…both in heaven and on earth… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 April 2021 Hebrews 13:8.

12 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 13:8.     ​Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.

Ah mih people, the days just keep rolling along, from one to the other, without any apparent recognition of mankind’s many problems. Some things change, while others remain the same, but throughout it all, we still need to deal with all sorts of controversial situations and upheavals, not knowing what will happen from one day to the next. But those ole days don’t seem to care at all, they just keep doing their thing; running changelessly into each other, detailing weeks, months, seasons, years, and even centuries. 

But fortunately for us, there’s been ONE Being, that’s remained constant over the many topsy-turvy days of mankind, that’s our Creator: Almighty God. Yes friends, He’s been there from the very beginning…and wonder of wonders, He’ll be there right to the very end! And why is that eh? Because as He says in His word, He is unchangeable, immovable, immutable, irreplaceable, the ONLY Living God! So let’s hear some scripture that will remind us of our God’s omnipotence, omniscience, omni-presence, steadfastness, unchangeability and immutability. 

And we’ll begin with His message to Cyrus the pagan king, through the prophet Isaiah. ‘I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me. That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west (to its setting), that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil (calamity): I the Lord do all these things.’ (Is. 45:5-7) And yes, the Lord does create physical evil or calamity, not moral evil or sin. And yes, the Lord did use pagan kings, like Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar as conduits to fulfill His eventual will. 

Moving on, we come to Malachi, where through that prophet, the Lord confronts His people Israel about turning away from Him and their lack paying tithes. He says: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?’ (Mal. 3:6-8) 

Oh friends, that’s the exact thing the Lord is saying to us today, and the very same answer we are giving Him. We have turned away from Him, and instead of returning to Him like He desires, we are trying to turf Him and His ordinances out of our society. So what can we expect but calamity eh? 

Now listen to the author of Hebrews, as he talks of service well pleasing to God. ‘Remember them which have the rule over you (who lead you), who have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end (outcome) of their conversation (conduct). Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers (various) and strange doctrines (teachings). For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats (foods), which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.’ (Heb. 13:7-9) 

But do you think we have followed, or are following that directive? Oh no sir! Instead, we are being led away by a whole set of strange teachings and proceedings that don’t profit those who practice them. Steups! How sad it is my people! And then we wonder why our world is in such a mess. 

So, let’s now consider James words on the subject. ‘Do not err (be deceived) my brethren. For every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variations, unexpected, unforeseen changes), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will he begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18) 

Oh my people, our God created everything that exists, and mankind as the jewel of His creations, that’s why He so desires to redeem us all, and not lose any to the enemy. And he gave us His holy word that we should walk in it. But being the disobedient, stubborn, hard-headed creatures we are, we have refused to do so, with disastrous consequences to our ungodly actions. 

Now here is the last scripture from John the Revelator, from the mouth of Jesus Himself. ‘And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.’ (Rev. 22:12-13) All I can now say friends is that wisdom dictates that we return to the waiting arms of our Creator. And if you agree, then please join me in offering up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in heartfelt prayer. 

As one sincere and humble voice 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!’ 

Now let us go and keep our solemn vows to our wonderful, forgiving and LOVING God! Much LOVE!

…God is the ONLY thing in this universe that has NOT changed…and will NEVER change…whether you believe it or not is immaterial… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 March 2021 Ecclesiastes 3:1.

01 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 3:1.     ​To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:

Will somebody wake me from hibernation when the pandemic’s over and we have returned to some kind of a normal life? I just don’t feel like facing another Monday morning of confusion, sickness and controversy, of false news and all sorts of conspiracy theories. As the old people would say, too much of anything is no good. 

And we do have too much of all those things listed above, as well as too much information that our minds can’t properly handle and it’s too easy for us to spread that info even when we don’t know if it’s true or false. And the bad thing with our social media revolution is that once the info hits the street, it’s impossible to take it back, for it then takes on a life of its very own. So please wake me when the world adversity is over! (smile) 

And would you believe that today is also the first day of March in this brand new year of 2021? But we’ve been so busy fighting the pandemic and each other that we have hardly noticed that the days are quickly going by; two months have now passed and we’re still no closer to a kind of new normal. But hopefully, we are making some progress towards it. And it’s not like this is the first time we’ve been surrounded by numerous difficult problems. It’s just a part of life. 

As Cousin Sol so wisely said in Ecclesiastes: ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:’ (Eccl. 3:1) And isn’t that the gospel truth! There’s a season and a time for everything to happen in God’s world, for that’s how He planned it. 

And Cousin Sol spells it out for us. ‘A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep , and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

A time to get (gain), and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend (tear apart), and a time to sew (together); a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to LOVE, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.’ (Eccl. 3:2-8) 

Now doesn’t that sound rather interesting? It surely does! And hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘3:1-8. As Solomon reflects on all of life, he expresses a beautiful poem of 14 pairs of opposite events that God has a sovereign design behind all events (cf. Rom. 8:28). To gather stones (vs. 5) refers to the process of clearing land for planting or building. To hate (vs. 8) means to withdraw from intimacy and should not always be taken in an absolute sense (cf. Mal. 1:2-3).’ 

Yes friends, because our wonderful God has a sovereign design for life on planet earth, we can faithfully believe that He will eventually work everything out for the good of those He’s called and who respond favourably to that call. (Rom. 8:28) And I think we should take serious note of that reference to Malachi. 

Listen to how the scholars explain the Lord’s words. ‘1:2-5. Yet I LOVED Jacob, and I hated Esau has caused concern to many. This expression involves the use of a Hebrew idiom. If a father had two sons and made one heir, he was said to LOVE the one he made his heir and to hate the other whom he had not made an heir. The LOVE and hate spoken of here is not related to the emotions, they are related to the will of God. The words challenge Israel to recognize the responsibilities inherent in its privileged position.’ 

And the same criteria stand today for us believers in Christ Jesus, which means that we are also being challenged by God right now to recognize the responsibilities inherent in our privileged position. And we can’t deny that we are privileged, for no other people but believers have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in them and actively leading and guiding them in all sincerity and truth. 

Consequently, we are called to up our game; be highly flavoured salt of the earth, and a bright shining light in the darkness of this evil world. So right now, let’s do like Israel did when they finally woke up from their foolish disobedience nuh; turn to God in sincere repentance and prayer. And the words of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn are rather appropriate for just such a time as this. 

As one strong and sincere voice 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!’ 

Now it all depends on the sincerity of our hearts and if we uphold all that we’ve just vowed to God. And Cousin Sol had solid advice on that too. ‘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) Words of mucho wisdom, my brethren! Much LOVE!

…common sense dictates…that the created should pay obeisance to their Creator… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 February 2021 Jeremiah 29:12.

01 Feb 2021 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 29:12.     ​Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you.

Aye friends, can you believe it, we in February now, January done already! Brother! How come January finish so quick eh? Didn’t we just celebrate New Year’s? But with all the recent confusion, it seems we never noticed January just speeding by like greased lightning! (smile) And if we don’t pay attention, February, and even the whole of 2021 could just speed by and leave us in the same sad and tragic situations that it began with, or even worse ones. Who knows how this world shaping up these days eh? Only our heavenly Father…and He doesn’t seem to be letting on. 

So what are we supposed to do under those uncertain and ofttimes critical circumstances eh? Just keep on doing what we been doing; having faith and trusting in the Lord God Almighty and LOVING each other like there was no tomorrow! If you claim to believe in God, His promises and all that He stands for, then you have no choice but to keep praying, being obedient to His word, giving thanks, helping your fellow man, and looking forward to Christ’s Second Coming. Now that also means being fully prepared for it and not getting caught with yuh pants down below yuh knees. (smile) 

Ah mih people, this world is really something else yes…but please remember that our God is also something else, and He’s bigger, brighter and better than this world. In fact, He created it and all therein, and still controls it, although some of us and the evil powers in it, think that they do. But don’t be fooled people, nothing happens in this universe unless our Lord allows it to happen. He might not cause it, but if it doesn’t suit His purpose, somewhere down the line, then it won’t get anywhere. 

So we need to understand that whatever is happening in our world today is serving some useful purpose in God’s overall plan. And yes, lots of things might seem wrong, unfair and cause us pain, sometimes it’s even our wrong decisions that cause problems. But whatever the reason, it’s still our duty to stand strong and fight the good fight, knowing that in the long run, because of God’s promises, we will come out victorious. 

And I know that many of us are scared of all the controversial stuff that’s happening in our lives right now, but remember that we believers are to be the beacons of light to the unbelieving world, so we have to put on a brave face, raise the level of our faith, and show them that Christ is indeed the ONE TRUE WAY for all mankind to go! His momentous and indisputably true words: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me,’ (John 14:6) ) tells the whole story. 

And to boost our assurance, let’s take a gander at some reassuring scriptures. (smile) And I think this verse is fitting to be the first in our set. Through the prophet Isaiah, the promise of a free offer of mercy to all. ‘So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void (empty), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.’ (Is. 55:11) Yes friends, that’s the first lesson we need to learn; that the Lord’s promises are not empty, whatever He promises He will keep, because he’s a faithful God! 

Consequently, we also need to be faithful, for as Hebrews tells us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) So we can’t get close to God unless we truly believe that He exists and does indeed reward those who diligently seek Him. Thus these promises through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). (Jer. 29:11) 

And how will we reap that promise? ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto (listen to) you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13) Oh my people, there’s that recurring theme that runs throughout the entire Good Book; we need to continually seek God with all our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. That’s a basic part of both the Old and New Covenants He made with us. Sincerely seeking Him is paramount to all that we do. 

That brings us to these last few practical steps from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome that show the awesome LOVE of Christ through the believer’s actions. ‘Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer…Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not…Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth (depends on) you, live peacefully with all men.’ (Rom. 12:12,15,17-18) 

No, living for Christ is not easy, especially in these controversial and turbulent times, but when we remember that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, then we know that it’s all possible in Jesus’ name! Now, let’s participate in that recurring theme above nuh; seeking God sincerely, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, letting Him know all our hopes and fears and desires. 

As one voice 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 natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

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!’ 

And as God considers the state and motives of our hearts, we must move along and do our part, keep our promises in the partnership. Much LOVE!

…be not overcome of evil…but overcome evil with good… (Rom. 12:21)  

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 January 2021 Psalm 24:1.

04 Jan 2021 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 24:1.     ​The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Welcome to the first Monday in 2021! Who knows what it holds for any and all of us eh? Nobody but Jesus! So doesn’t it make sense to get in touch with Jesus, or consult Him if we want to know what’s happening? That seems like the wise and logical thing to do. But sadly, a lot of us refuse to do it, foolishly thinking that we’re better off without Him. But how can that be eh friends, when He controls everything, and everything belongs to Him? Bruh David said it in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers)’ (Ps. 24:1-2) 

And the New International Readers Version (NIRV) explains it in everyday language: ‘The earth belongs to the Lord. And so does everything in it. The world belongs to him. And so do all those who live in it.’ Yes my people, nothing really belongs to us, we are only stewards of the Lord’s possessions here on earth, and it behooves us to take good care of, to look after what’s His with the same dedication and diligence as if it were ours. And if you are a believer in Christ, then stewardship of His assets are a necessary part of your duties. 

And I like this quote on the Importance of Stewardship found on the Christianity.com website: ‘According to scripture, God created Earth for mankind and we are now stewards of His creation. This means it is our responsibility to look after and take care of this world. We should accept this responsibility and appreciate God’s gift of creation for being our home. Our stewardship of creation involves the caretaking of the environment and animals as well as our families and communities. Being a good steward in this world is one way of expressing our LOVE for God and our gratitude to Him.’ 

And God made His desires very clear right at the beginning of the game. The Good Book tells us that after He made man in his own image, creating both male and female. ‘And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Gen. 1:28) Then later on it further tells us: ‘ The Lord God took the man (Adam) and put him in the garden of Eden to dress (work) it and keep it. (Gen. 2:15) 

Yes friends, Adam and Eve’s job was to work the land, till it, look after the garden like a garden should be looked after. And nothing has really changed since then, except that man has fallen into sin. But the earth is still the Lord’s, and we’re still responsible for taking care of it. And I don’t need to tell us that we haven’t done such a good job, because we can all see it in the ravaged, unpredictable climate, disaster-filled, world we now inhabit. I’m sure that breaks Jesus heart since He also told us during His earthly sojourn that it was our job to look after whatever the Father has given us. 

And the parable of the talents is a good example of that, of personal preparation and faithful service to our Master. ‘For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several (own) ability; and straightway took his journey.’ (Matt. 25:14-15) Now that symbolizes the gifts God has given to each of us. Not all of us got the same ones or the same amount. But He expects us to use whatever He’s given us profitably. We’re all entrusted with different tasks and the gifts or ability to perform them. 

But it turns out that when the Master returned, the one with five talents had invested his and made five more, while the one with two talents had also invested his and made two more. However, the one with only one talent went and hid it in the ground, and only had the Master’s original money to give Him when He came back. Obviously the first two were treated well, ‘Welcome thou good and faithful servants,’ and promised further honour in the future. But the last one was called ‘Thou wicked and slothful (lazy) servant.’ And his talent was taken away and given to those who had more. 

And that’s how it’s going to be when Jesus comes back to sit on His throne; those who have wasted their gifts, not made any productive use of them to further God’s kingdom, ‘shall be cast into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matt.25.30) And Peter corroborated Jesus’ words when he said: ‘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. 4:10) 

Oh my people, we are to use our various gifts and talents to serve each other as well as to further God’s kingdom in this evil world. That’s why He entrusted us with the many gifts we have. And Bruh Paul gave this advice to the Colossians, re their domestic life. In particular to the servants. ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.’ (Col. 3:23-24) 

Yes friends, even servants can carry out their menial tasks with enthusiasm, because in the long run, they are serving God and not man, and from God they will receive the inheritance of salvation not from man. The same thing applies to us my fellow saints in Christ. We must carry out our earthly duties as though we’re carrying them out for God, and not man, because it’s God who will reward us in the end, not mankind. And this last scripture puts it all in a nutshell. ‘For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain.’ (Titus 1:7) Oh so true my brethren! 

Now it’s time to turn to the Lord for help in renewing our activities, so we can better use our gifts and talents to further His kingdom. Let’s plead to Him through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. As one voice: ‘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 natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

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!’ 

Now when He looks at our hearts, please let Him see right motives and sincere desire to do His will. Much LOVE!

…a gracious gift…should always be treasured… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 November 2020 Hebrews 13:8.

02 Nov 2020 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 13:8.     ​Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.

Well friends, we saw the first signs of inclement winter weather yesterday evening. Thankfully though, in my area, it was just some wet snow; the kind that falls and quickly dissipates. But a warning nonetheless of what’s in store in the not too distant future. (smile) But would you believe too, that the weather people are forecasting temperatures in the mid-teens for later this week? What a crazy world we living in eh Dr. Jack! 

It’s a good thing that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is not as temperamental and uncertain like the weather nowadays, otherwise we would be in even worse shape than we currently are. Thankfully the Good Book describes our Lord and Saviour thus: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.’ (Heb. 13:8) That means we have a steady rock and refuge to look to in times of need. 

Our world is constantly changing…and so are we, but not our God. Malachi says it boldly and plainly on His behalf: ‘For I am the Lord thy God, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal. 3:6) Yeh mih people, if our God wasn’t steady and long-suffering, we would have been fish food long time! (smile) 

And to cement the unchangeability of our God, and our everchanging hearts, hear the prophet Isaiah as he talks about the voice crying in the wilderness: ‘The voice said, Cry (out). And he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness (loveliness) thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit (breath) of the Lord bloweth on it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.’ (Is. 40:6-8) 

I don’t think we need any more scripture to tell us of our frail and short earthly lives, or the everlasting standard that our God maintains. But because we are so frail and fickle, we tend to fall into all sorts of stuff, moving from one to the next without much rhyme or reason, unsure of what we want or intend to do. In other words, we don’t stick to any one thing for long; because our foundation is built on sinking sand. 

That’s why the author of Hebrews, after telling us that Christ is steadfast, continues with this important warning. ‘Be not carried about with divers (various) and strange doctrines (teachings). For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats (food), which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.’ (Heb. 8:9) And are there ever a whole host of various, strange and false doctrines that abound in these turbulent times my brethren! 

No wonder Bruh Paul could warn Timothy of the coming apostasy (abandonment of the faith). ‘Thus know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be LOVERS of their own selves, covetous (money LOVERS), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…’ (2 Tim. 3:1-2) And isn’t that the indisputable truth in these last days of the church age. All those things above are rampant in our current society. 

And Bruh Paul also adds to the list of ungodliness of our time. ‘Traitors, heady (reckless), high-minded (haughty), LOVERS of pleasures, more (rather) than LOVERS of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.’ (2 Tim. 3:4-5) Yes friends, there are a whole lot of false teachers out there, who tout a form of godliness, mere religion, but without power or spiritual life. We definitely don’t want to get mixed up with that kind. We need to stay pure and true to the gospel of Christ. 

Bruh Paul said to Timothy. ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (tell us how to live): That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17) Yes precious people of God, the Word of God was inspired by His Holy Spirit, meant for mankind to read, study and obey, to help us grow in spiritual maturity, and be useful in whatever situation we find ourselves. We need nothing else but the Word of God in this world to live a godly life! (smile) 

So with all the false and evil stuff that’s currently bothering us, let’s go home now taking all of our problems to God in sincere prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. All together 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 natural disasters like storms, famine, drought, plagues, climate change, wildfires, earthquakes and erupting volcanoes that suddenly seem to be blossoming more and more as time goes by. 

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!’ 

And now, please remember that we just made a vow to God change our evil ways and sincerely seek His face, so let’s pay that vow nuh, because God has no pleasure in fools, who don’t pay their vows. Much LOVE!

…in uncertain times…Christ is the only true refuge… 

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