Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 July 2023 John 6:37.

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 July 2023   John 6:37.

John 6:37.       All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out.

It’s Sunday friends, the day we gather in the Lord’s Sanctuary to give Him all the glory that He so rightly deserves! There’s no better time to be had than when believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob get together to praise and worship our Triune God! The gathering just resounds with joy and fine fellowship as we thank God for abundant life and Jesus Christ. 

So, let’s get the festivities rolling with a song we haven’t sung for a while. I was lying in bed thinking what we should sing today when this beautiful song just floated into my mind, one that I LOVE everlasting. (smile) It was written and recorded by Fernando Ortega in 1999, as well as by several other artists, my favourite version being the live, soulful one by Christian vocalist Danny Gokey with an amazing choir in the background, the haunting piano and strings. Now, let’s give it up for Jesus, as we offer up our soulful, harmonious sacrifices of praise through the song, ‘Give Me Jesus!’  

Singing: ‘Ohhh ohhh, Give me Jesus… In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise Give me Jesus. (Chorus: Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.) When I am alone, Oh When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus. (Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. For He is all that I need. Just give me Jesus) When I come to die, Oh, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus. 

(Ohhhh Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Oh it’s all I need, all I need is Jesus. So Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, He’s all I need. Give me Jesus…in the morning when I rise…when I lay my head down… when I wake up, when I lay my head down, said I need him, said I need you… said I only want Jesus…when I wake up… Just give me Jesus. All I need is him. We worship you, we worship you Lord. You’re the answer to my prayers, you’re the calm in the storm, you’re my rest and my refuge…oh yeahhh… Just give me Jesus!’ 

And that’s the indisputable truth of the matter my people: Jesus is all we ever need in this life, for He is our Lord and Saviour, who provides for all our needs! He gave His sinless life so that our sins could be forgiven and now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. What more can one ask eh? Absolutely nothing! 

And this song is the epitome of the need for seeking Jesus? Why? Listen to this commentary: ‘Have you felt like you’re getting weak and losing hope? Are there situations in your life that you would like to give up? Then bear your ears for a moment, this song “Give Me Jesus” will strengthen your faith in God. A song that will change your beliefs and will help you have a greater relationship with God.’ 

And they give this testimonial to prove it. ‘Moreover, this is the song sang by the old soul Mo Pitney. “Give Me Jesus” actually strengthened his faith in God. It helped his marriage become stronger and made him a responsible father.’ Mo Pitney was a troubled country music star when he recorded this song and things turned around dramatically for him. And if it can do it for him, it can do it for any and all of us. 

And why should we seek God early each day? This other insightful commentary tells us: ‘Every morning, let’s be mindful that the day is a gift from God, and we are alive on this earth for a reason. At the start of every day, we should re-submit our will to His in order to fulfill our purpose.’ Mama oh Mama! That’s the gospel truth! Every day we ought to renew our relationship with God, giving Him thanks and praise for allowing us to see another glorious day on planet earth, and finding out His will for us that day. 

And furthermore, that’s what Jesus did. The gospel of Mark relates it thus: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (secluded) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) Yes friends, Jesus rose early every morning to have time to talk to His Father, and if the first-born Son of God needed to talk to God every day, then his adopted sons ought to do likewise. 

And here’s another reason why calling for Jesus is important. “We sing “Give Me Jesus” because we want what He wants. He is the One who prayed that we would be with Him and see His glory (John 17:24).” And what does that verse say? ‘Father, I will (desire) that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou LOVEDST me before the foundation of the world.’ 

‘We sing “Give Me Jesus” because we trust we have been given to Him, and we believe His promise that we will never be cast out (John 6:37). And that says: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out.’ There you have it my fellow saints, Jesus’ faithful promise that whoever comes to Him will be with Him forever! You can’t get a more faithful promise than that. 

And if you’re worried about Jesus taking care of you, then please don’t, for Psalm 55 tells us quite plainly: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22) And you can bet your bottom dollar on that my fellow believers, because our great God is ever faithful! 

And we’ll cement that with two other translations of Psalm 55:22. The first is from the New Living Translation (NLT) that says: ‘Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.’ Then there’s this from the Message translation: “Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders – he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin.” 

In other words: ‘God LOVES us with unconditional LOVE, He forgives our transgressions, and He takes care of us. By faith and with prayer, give up your worries, burdens, and fears to God. During trials and temptation, He sustains and strengthens the faithful. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.’ 

Now, if after hearing all that faithful stuff, you still have doubts about putting your trust in Jesus, then I really don’t know what to say, except to keep on trying. Much LOVE!

…Jesus is the answer…but you’ll never know it…until you put your trust in Him… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2020 John 6:39.

John 6:39.    ​And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 
 
Ah mih people, life really not fair nuh, and it is indeed a bully-boy. Just when you’re down, it chooses to put you even further down! Steups! Good example. A few minutes ago I came down with my coffee, already feeling lousy from lack of sleep, and telling the Lord that I needed His help ever so badly this morning because of my poor state. Next thing I know, I put down the coffee and spill it! Chuh man! That only made me more aggravated and later than I already was, because I had to spend some valuable time cleaning up the mess. 

And would you believe in all the years I’ve been doing this, I can’t remember ever spilling the coffee, even one time before now. But as they say, after one time is two. And I have to chuckle, because I didn’t have any opening remarks in mind, so the Lord gave me something to write about. Oh, how He does move in ever-faithful but ofttimes mysterious ways eh! (smile) How then can we not LOVE and adore Him eh? The One who LOVED us so much that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for us while we were yet sinners and had no positive relationship with Him? 

The One who created us from the dust of the earth, then breathed His miraculous and marvellous breath of life into our mortal souls eh! The One who makes a way, where there seems to be no way, and eventually works everything out for our good, despite the prevailing circumstances! And yuh know what friends, our great, merciful and miracle working God is the same one who will find a way for us to withstand the rigours and trepidation and calamity of this Coronavirus pandemic that has so many of us living in fear. As He says, this too will pass! 

But as Jesus told His disciples when they could not cure a young epileptic boy: ‘Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt. 17:21) Likewise, this pandemic will only pass through sincere prayer and repentance! Oh friends, I don’t know whether I’m right or wrong nuh, but I feel it deep down in my soul that this plague is a serious wake up call from our heavenly Father. Yes, He is long-suffering and merciful and all that, but there comes a time when even He must get tired of our disobedience and say enough is enough! 

And I believe this is what He’s saying right now. He’s tired and fed up with our efforts to throw Him out of our society and the awful sinful way in which we’re currently living. Remember, He’s a living God, with feelings and emotions just like us, and He’s promised that NO ONE will ever take away His glory: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is. 42:8) And right now in our sinful, idol worshipping society, that’s exactly what we’re trying to do; rob Him of His awesome might and power and honour and glory! 

So don’t be surprised that He might be fighting back. I can assure you, He’s not going to go down without a major fight. That again just goes to show how much He LOVES us, that He’s not willing to see us waste our lives and end up eternally separated from Him, dwelling with the fallen angel Lucifer in Hades, and being eventually destroyed in the lake of fire. Oh friends, Jesus came to earth to save us from sin, and as our Advocate in heaven right now He’s still fighting to save us and give us eternal life. 

Hear these wonderful, reassuring words He spoke down here on earth nuh. ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35). Yeh mih people, Jesus is the One through whom eternal life is found! Glory be! And remember what He told the Samaritan woman at the well? ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water (fountain) springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14) 

And how can we consider ourselves wise and not want that eternal life eh? But here’s the crux of the matter. Jesus said: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up the last day.’ (John 6:37-40) 

Oh my fellow saints in Christ, what wonderful and encouraging sentiments! And if that doesn’t touch you, then listen to these further words of Jesus to the doubting Jews: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck (snatch) them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck (snatch) them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.’ (John 10:27-30) 

And the scholars say of those verses: ‘10:27-29. Never perish: These verses declare the assurance that all believers will be utterly safe from any creature that might wish to destroy them.’ Mama Yo! That’s the best news I’ve heard for the day mih bredrin! No one can take us away from Christ or destroy us if we walk sincerely with Him! So why wouldn’t I want to walk in company with him eh? Ah friends, to me it’s cut and dried that the best way to live this life is by following Christ. 

But we each have to make our own decision on that matter, that’s why the Father gave us free will. But please remember that whatever decision we make, once we depart this earthly life, or Jesus comes again, we cannot change our minds then, and we’ll have to bear whatever consequences those decisions bring, come eternity. Matter fix! 

Now for those of us who choose to follow Christ, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, telling the world of our wonderful and secure position in Christ. All together now, in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘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 endure until the end, then it will be even better than we can ask or imagine! Much  LOVE

…let him who has ears to hear…hear…else he’ll certainly feel…