I know the thoughts I think toward you | SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 September 2022 Psalm 105:4.

09 Sep 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a steady spoke in the wheel, according to the Lord's will and timing, all these things shall be added unto you, be responsible, bring backsliders back to your fold, Friday chant, he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever, I know the thoughts I think toward you, introduce a new flock, legendary diplomacy, made a positive difference, omnipotent help, Queen Elizabeth II, seek his face evermore, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, seek ye the Lord and his strength, show them the error of their ways, strife and hatred more prevalent than peace and love, strong and steadfast leader, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the example your faithful believers set, the world goes on without us, the world passeth away, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a hope and a future, true leaders lead by example, unexpected storm, wake up and smell the coffee, wise guidance, ye shall search for me with all your heart, ye shall seek me and find me

Psalm 105:4. Seek ye the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

Oh friends, it’s Friday, and many of us around the world have already shouted that seminal phrase: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But unfortunately, many of us around the world are also mourning the passing yesterday of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, in her 97^th year, having reigned for almost 71 consistent years on the throne of Great Britain, after being unexpectedly thrown into the spotlight by the abdication of her uncle and the death of her father.

Just the numbers alone say a lot, and regardless of how you felt about the Queen herself, her family or the monarchy, you have to admit that we’ve lost one of the very few strong and steadfast leaders in our crazy world. Much of her power has been eroded over the years, but her diplomacy was legendary, and she was undoubtedly the one steady spoke in the wheel that kept the United Kingdom and many parts of the universe from falling apart or going on dangerous strategic runs.

Let us pray that her son, King Charles III will keep that steadfastness and diplomacy of his mother going, because we desperately need a lot of that in our leaders, instead of the despotic, autocratic and dictatorial attitudes that are currently prevalent. Our sincere condolences to the Royal Family. We forget that they are people just like us, with the same human frailties and feelings. May the Lord receive you into His glory Queen Elizabeth the second!

Ah mih people, with strife and hatred prevalent in more places around the world than peace and LOVE, it’s sad and frustrating to lose one of the few people who sincerely tried to keep matters on an even keel. But that’s life, we all have to go home to our Maker one day, and the world goes on in whatever fashion without us. And much to our chagrin, very few leaders in this day and age can be said to have made a positive difference in the lives of their people, and in the world in general.

It’s interesting to note that the U.K now has a new King, or titular leader, and also a new Prime Minister, or active leader, a female at that. Hopefully that’s a sign for better days to come. In the meanwhile though, all of us plebs, (smile) must continue to do as the psalmist advises in Psalm 105. ‘Seek ye the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth.’ (Ps. 105:4-5)

Yes friends, seeking God’s face and remembering all that He’s done in our lives is extremely important, especially in times of serious change like our world is currently experiencing. That’s because the Lord God Almighty is the One who has brought us this far, and who will determine our future by our righteousness.

Remember the promise of God the prophet Jeremiah made to the people of Israel, when they were in captivity in Babylon? ‘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). 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. 29:11-13)

Oh my brethren, that is exactly what the Lord is saying to us today too. We desperately need to come to Him with full surrender and trust, seek Him with all our hearts, if we want our world to be improved. There are no ifs, ands, and buts about that! Only if we sincerely seek the face of the Lord God Jehovah, turn away from all the evil idols we’re currently worshipping, give up all the ungodly things of the world that are still so much a part of our lives, will we ever find the One, True, Living God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

Jesus also made that very clear when He commanded us: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 16:33) All of us know that foundational scripture, yet we refuse to practice it. Instead, we continue running down the things of the world like wealth and power, on our own. That’s the total opposite of what Jesus taught and what the heavenly Father expects. And please don’t think that because you are a Christian you cannot possess a lot of the earth’s wealth and power, because there are a lot of rich and powerful believers in the world, but you just have to do it according to the Lord’s will and timing.

And it is of the utmost importance that we read, know, inwardly digest and practice these words of scripture from the first epistle of John. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (physical desires), and the lust of the eyes (personal desires), and the pride of life (self-interests), is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)

Ah my fellow saints, when are we going to stop paying lip service to our God and His will eh? When are we going to begin taking His edicts and promises very seriously eh, and realize that a lot of our current suffering rests on our own sinful and ungodly desires and behaviour? Until we wake up and be transformed in our minds and actions, our world will continue to go down the drain in spectacular fashion. So, having said all of that that, the first thing on our agenda of change, is prayer. So, in confident but humble voice, let’s go to the throne of God, through our Friday Chant and ask for His benevolent help.

Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that viruses and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the viruses and the unrest in our streets.

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.

And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’

And if we sincerely want divine help, then we must keep our promises, and have right motives in our hearts. Much LOVE!

…true leaders lead by example…as Jesus did…not by deceit or force…as Satan does…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 July 2022 John 3:16.

17 Jul 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: behind each cloud there's a silver lining, everlasting life with Jesus, fear thou not for I am with thee, George Bnaton, God is not a man that he should lie, God so loved the world, hath he said and shall he not do it, have everlasting life, he gave his only begotten son, health to thy navel, Hold On Better must come, hold on till the end, I know that the sunwill shine again, I know the thoughts I think toward you, I thanked the Lord for another day, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness, in each life a little rain must fall, Jesus will fix it for you, lean not unto thine own understanding, LOVE, marrow to thy bones, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, the best will eventually come, the darkest night is just before the dawn, the God awesome truth, to give you an expected end, toiling in the boiling sun, trouble don't last always, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, when you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders

John 3:16. For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Well, it’s gathering time once again for praise and worship my fellow believers in Christ Jesus! Sunday is the day we put everything else on hold and join together to acknowledge our wise and wonderful God; He of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. And per our custom, we open the proceedings with song, with beautiful, throaty, harmonic praises (smile). Today’s song comes from the 2002 album titled ‘Jesus Will Fix It for You,’ performed by the Jamaican Canadian Gospel Artist, George Banton. But the name of the song we are going to sing now is called ‘Hold On (Better Must Come).

Now, there’s also a ska version, but today is a day for seriousness, so we need to get really soulful, let the music and the words come up right from our hearts, from the very core of our beings, with the soul that our forefathers felt when they were toiling in the boiling sun, but praising and worshipping a God who seemed to have forgotten them in their abject misery. But their faith was strong, they acknowledged Him faithful who had promised, and so they stood strong and held on, just like we’re doing today, because we know that better must come. The Lord promised it, and He doesn’t lie.

So, let’s raise those sweet, soulful, harmonious voices in sacrificial praise to high heaven, letting our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ know that we staunchly believe in Him, and totally trust Him to keep all the promises He’s made to us. Altogether now: ‘You know in each life, a little rain must fall, and sometimes the darkest night is just before dawn. I’m here to tell you, hold on, hold on, better must come one day. Oh let me tell you children, hold on, hold on, better must come one day.

I woke up this morning, with sunshine on my mind, but as I looked through my window, there were clouds all over the land. Then I thanked the Lord for giving me another day. And when I opened my eyes, there was sunshine everywhere, telling me to hold on, hold on, better must come someday. The clouds were all rolled away, yes they did, And I’m here to tell you, Oh I just can’t keep it to myself now, I’ve gotta tell somebody else, to hold on, hold on, better must come one day. Hold on till the end, and don’t give up now, I know your change is going to come, like the clouds give way to the sun.

Whenever you’re down and out, and you have no one around, remember this song, telling you to be strong. Let me tell you children, hold on, hold on, better must come one day. The sun will shine, yes it will! So, go tell your friend, go tell your mama, tell your sister about it, tell your brother, tell your daddy, to hold on, hold on, better must come one day.

And sometimes when you feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, and happiness is nowhere in sight… I’m here to tell you that trouble don’t last always, behind each dark cloud there’s a silver lining. Yeh, let me tell you children, hold on, hold on, better must come one day, better will come, I know, Oh I know it will,

Hey, hey, you’d better hold on, hold on, for better must come one day. I’d like to share this with every man, every woman, with every boy and every girl. Let me tell you, you’d better hold on. I don’t know about you nuh, but sometimes I get a little weak, yes, I’ve been there, and know that the sun will shine again, so I’m holding on, and you’d better hold on too, hold on, for better must come one day, Yes hold on, hold on, for better must come one day…better must come one day…’

And that’s the God awesome truth my brethren: better will come one day! As we said earlier on, Jesus promised it, and He doesn’t lie. And right off the bat, here is a scripture that says it all. From way back in time, the prophet Balaam said unto Balak, king of Moab: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ (Num. 23:19)

Yes friends, whatever our God promises He will make come true. But just to refresh our memories and offer some encouragement and reassurance, let’s look at a few of the many promises of good tidings in God’s word. Hear this one from Isaiah, re the final restoration of Israel. ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is. 41:10)

And if that doesn’t move you, then try this one from Jeremiah. ‘For I know the thoughts 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) Now we all know that, and if you don’t believe it, then you’re in the wrong club. (smile)

Or perhaps you prefer how Bruh Paul puts it to the Roman church. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) Oh friends, if we sincerely LOVE God and are called to do His will, then we ought to know and believe that eventually all things will work out for our good, or as George Banton puts it, ‘better must come one day.’ Otherwise we’re just wasting our time and God’s.

And here’s another scripture that we all know. This one from the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol. He writes In Proverbs: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov. 3:5-8)

And we could continue all day (smile) because there are many more promises of the good times to come at the end if we endure as faithful believers, so that when Christ returns, He finds us faithful, ready and waiting; eagerly expecting His coming. That’s because we truly believed His most important words down here on earth. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16)

And that’s exactly why we need to hold on in faith my fellow saints! Please remember that the whole purpose of this earthly life is to end up in heaven with Jesus. Yes, let’s hold on, because better… no the BEST, will eventually come in the form of everlasting life with Jesus! Much LOVE!

…only true faith in Jesus…will cause us to see heaven with Him…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 August 2016 Ephesians 3:20.

31 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a future, a hope, a man of his word, according to the power, all that we ask or think, an expected end, be strengthened, by faith, by his Spirit, calamity, change, Christ like attitude, Christ may dwell in your hearts, Christian, come what may, comprehend, Congratulations, corruption, crime, divinely enabled, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, easy going, Ephesians, ever-faithful God, fall from God's grace, fun and laughter character, glory hallelujah, glory in the church, glory to God, God's grace, gospel truth, Granny's warning, Happy Birthday, heartfelt, I am halfway home, I know the thoughts I think toward you, I'm not looking back, inner growth, Jawaharlal Nehru, LOVE, made its mark, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, not evil, on the world stage, open the eyes of the people, positive, prayer, prosperous country, repent of their sinfulness, revolutionary, rooted and grounded in love, sincere, stand strong and steadfast in faith, thank God, that worketh in us, the breath of life, the error of their ways, the evil one, the inner man, the Love of Christ, the power, thoughts of peace, to a glorious future with Jesus, to do exceedingly abundantly, tremendous pace of change, Trini vibe, Trinidad and Tobago Independence, Wednesday Wail

Ephesians 3:20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Happy Birthday T&T! Wow! Congratulations! You’ve made it to a big 54 years old!

Yes friends, today is the 54^th birthday of Trinidad and Tobago. It received Independence from Britain on August 31 1962, and has certainly made its mark on the world stage in several different areas.

Now obviously things have changed over those 54 years, some for good, others for worse, and although right now it’s allegedly steeped in crime and corruption, it hasn’t lost its essential Trini vibe; one of an easy going, come what may, fun and laughter character.

And you can imagine the partying that will be taking place today! But please, I implore us to remember Granny’s warning: ‘Sonny Boy, please, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ For it’s in those times of great celebration that the evil one does his best work.

And I sincerely pray that the Lord will open the eyes of the people of T&T and show them the error of their ways and encourage them to repent of their sinfulness and return to the God who once made them the most prosperous country in the West Indies.

I don’t know if any other small country had as many churches, and well attended ones too, in its heyday. And like so many other countries, these days that’s changing, God is also being pushed out of the society.

That brings to mind the quote of the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) that says: ‘The basic fact of today is the tremendous pace of change in human life.’ Hn!

And if Nehru thought that life was changing fast in his time, he wouldn’t like to experience it now, for at no other time in man’s history has change been as quick and revolutionary in all aspects, as today.

Now some change is good, but others not good. Unfortunately though, our world seems to be accepting more readily the changes that are not so good, thus our continuing fall from God’s grace.

But yuh know what my people? We’re not going to complain about all that’s wrong with our world nuh, instead we’re going to do our very best to fix it, while enjoying the good things. And that all begins with a positive, Christ like attitude which is found in our Wednesday Wail.

So, as one strong, positive enthusiastic, energetic Christian body, let’s wail it nuh! ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home.

My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’

And if we’re true Christians, that should be gospel truth my brethren! We should be excited about being alive, of securely holding the plough and moving forward with Jesus to what ever wonderful opportunities He has planned for us!

Remember His promise in 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 our ever faithful God is truly a man of His word. So if He says that He has a good future in mind for us, then there is an excellent plan laid out for each of our lives. I don’t know about anybody else nuh, but I believe my best years are still ahead of me…Glory to God!

Now let’s check out our Bit. ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.’

Steups! As usual, I’ve left too little time and space for our Bit. But we’ll soldier on and do our best. (smile)

Now yesterday we saw that Bruh Paul was praying for the inner growth of the Ephesians, and by extension us too. Today, we’ll look at the actual prayer, the three verses before our Bit.

‘That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in LOVE,

May be able to comprehend (understand) with all saints what is the breadth (width), and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the LOVE of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.’ (Eph.3:16-19)

Oh friends, in these desperate times, we also desperately need that prayer over our lives. We need to understand, be strengthened, rooted and grounded in Christ’s LOVE, so that we can courageously and faithfully go about His business here on earth.

Now here is some info from the scholars. ‘3:16-19. In these verses Paul makes three prayer requests for the addressees: (1) That they would be strengthened with might by his Spirit (v.16), that is, that they be divinely enabled to successfully live the Christian life.

(2) That the readers be able to comprehend…the LOVE of Christ, that is, to better understand the enormous LOVE Christ has for them. And (3) that they might be filled with the fullness of God, that is, that the life, character, and virtues of God Himself may be fully developed in them.’

Yes my faithful brethren, we need to have all of that worked into our lives too. So let’s end like Bruh Paul did; sending those prayers up to the One who could successfully answer them.

‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’ (Eph.3:20-21)

And may the Lord answer our sincere, heartfelt prayer my people, as we stay strong and steadfast in faith! Much LOVE!

…only when our lives are built on the strong foundation that’s Jesus…can we truly enjoy our earthly life…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 September 2022 Psalm 105:4.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 July 2022 John 3:16.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 August 2016 Ephesians 3:20.

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