Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 August 2021 John 14:18.

19 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 14:18.     I will not leave you comfortless (orphans): I will come to you.

Well come on down Thursday, the day before Friday! Are we ever so glad to see you, because it means that Friday is one day closer and the end of the work week is winding down nicely. The only problem is that we still have to deal with you Thursday, before we get to Friday. But with Christ Jesus leading and guiding us through His Holy Spirit, it’s a cinch that we will get it right! (smile) 

However, that totally depends on our obedience to the prompting of the Spirit. Any deviation from His guidance will definitely produce unwanted problems, that will only make our lives more difficult than they already are. Consequently, we must understand the great importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. 

So let’s check out a few scriptures on that subject nuh. And we going to start right at the beginning where Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob: ‘God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24) That’s the first thing we must realize when we come to God; that He is a Spirit Being and worshipping Him entails doing it spiritually, not in flesh and blood. 

And the scholars offer this explanation re, the Definition of God. ‘4:24. John gives three descriptions of God. He is Spirit (John 4:24), LOVE (1 John 4:8), and Light (1 John 1:5). God is a spiritual being who is invisible and without a body. He is a divine person who reveals Himself in perfect intellect, emotion, and will. He is the source and personification of all material and spiritual life. 

He is self-existent; He is eternal in relationship to time. He is unlimited in relationship to the immensity of space; He is immutable (unchanging) in His nature. He is the unity of all existence; and He is consistent in His being – that is, He corresponds in actual fact to His nature and attributes as they are revealed to us. (First Ref. Gen. 1:1; Primary ref. John 4:24).’ 

Yes friends, our God is a Spirit Being, but nonetheless, He is the source of all that exists, both spiritual and material. And sometimes our problems derive from the fact that our mortal minds cannot conceive of, or comprehend the real immensity of the God we claim to worship, thus we tend to underate His size and power, and though we say it, we don’t truly believe that nothing is impossible to Him. 

And that first verse of His Word says it all: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ (Gen. 1:1) It’s speaking of ‘the absolute beginning of the temporal and material world, when God created the original heaven and earth from nothing.’ Now you can’t truly believe in God unless you believe the Creation Story and all it entails, otherwise you will end up minimising the great God you claim to serve, and that means also minimising the benefits and blessings you can receive from Him. 

And I’m chuckling here because I never intended to veer off like I did, but it just seemed so relevant that I could not pass it up. (smile) So, getting back to the doings of the Holy Spirit, the third aspect of our Triune God… Oh that’s another important thing to realize, that the Holy Spirit is a person, a part of our Godhead. I guess you can say it’s the workhorse of the Godhead. He carries out the actual decisions made by them. 

Now hear Jesus again on the subject of spiritual matters. ‘It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ (John 6:63) Yes my people, spiritual things are more important than fleshly or material stuff, for the body dies, but the spirit lives on. That’s where our real life is found, in our spirit-person. The body is just a temporary cover for it. And that’s why our God communicates through our spirit, why the Holy Spirit is so important in our lives. 

As Bruh Paul says to the Corinthians re Spiritual Wisdom: ‘We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. And this is what we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.’ (1 Cor. 2:12-15) 

What we are seeing here is that the natural or unspiritual man is unreceptive to the truth of God because it is delivered through His Holy Spirit. However, the spiritual man, who ‘has founded his faith on God’s revelation is able to receive the truth of God’s Spirit. He can judge now both earthly and heavenly things. He can discern what is and what is not of the gospel and salvation, and whether a man truly preaches the truth of God.’ 

And then we come to Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit to the disciples. ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14: 15-18) 

Oh friends, what a glorious promise! One which Jesus kept by sending the Holy Spirit to indwell all believers after that fateful Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). And yes, the Holy Spirit is also our Comforter, our advocate, our help in time of trouble. But whereas, Jesus, as a man on earth, could only be at one place at one time, the Holy Spirit can be all about in each believer, all the time! Glory be my people! 

And one of the mighty jobs that the Holy Spirit does is bestowing God’s blessings upon us, what we call our Thursday Blessings, so that we can do His earthly work. Let’s declare (chuh!!!) them now nuh, to give them light and life in our souls and spirits. As one strong voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! 

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And now, to indeed be true followers of Christ, we need to go out and use and share all of those wonderful blessings with others, just as unselfishly and generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!

…only believe on Jesus…and the Holy Spirit automatically indwells you…                                                                                                                      

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 March 2021 John 14:15.

19 Mar 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 14:15.     ​If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.

Welcome my Scrip-Bit friends and family to a glorious sunshiny Friday morning! Springtime is almost here in the northern climes, but I certainly don’t trust Mother Nature, especially in these days of climate change. I won’t put it past her to drop another rough snowstorm upon us…just for good measure, just so we can remember her for the rest of the year. (smile) But until we see and experience it, let’s just fill our hearts, minds, bodies and souls with Jesus nuh, for He is the answer to our every problem, our every wish, our every desire! Glory be my people! 

Jesus is indeed what we call today; one stop shopping! Whatever our needs and wants, He can meet them. In fact He is the ONLY one who can do that! But there’s something we must do so that He can help us. We have a responsibility in this wonderful partnership, and it’s a simple, but at times quite difficult rule to follow. Jesus said it this way: ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15) Yes, it is a simple rule, but in this evil, aggressive, strife-filled and hateful world it’s not always easy to follow it, although when we sincerely come to Jesus, He will enable us to follow it through the workings of His Holy Spirit that indwells all believers. 

As one Bible commentator says: ‘God’s commandments are a manifestation of His LOVE for us, and obedience to His commandments is an expression of our LOVE for Him.’ And that’s the glorious truth my people! God gives us rules to protect and guide us, just like we have rules and regulations for our children’s safety. But as our children often rebel against our rules, feeling that they are somewhat onerous and restrict their personal freedom, we also often rebel against God’s rules for the same basic reason; infringement on our personal freedom. 

But my people, as we reach out to God, dig deeper in His word, try to understand what He’s really all about, we realize that those rules and regulations are actually for our safety and protection and they are all linked up to LOVE, the same way our rules for our children are based on our LOVE for them. John puts it this way in his first epistle. ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).’ (1 John 5:3) As the commentator above says, His LOVE for us, and our LOVE for Him. 

It’s a two-way street friends. But, unfortunately, we only recognize that as we grow in faith, as we mature in our Christian belief. And that can’t happen until we begin to show greater trust towards our Triune Godhead: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who each have a different but vital role in our lives and our growth. Technically speaking, the Father sets the overall agenda; the Son lays the foundation, and the Holy Spirit enables, leads and guides the builders in the task of building the magnificent memorial! 

But we need to implicitly trust each of them as they do their part in our lives, otherwise the glorious memorial in which we are involved in building won’t turn out right. And that basically means acknowledging that the Father is the Creator and Controller of the universe; the Son is our Redeemer who died to save us from our sins, and the Holy Spirit is the one who indwells us to show us the way to obedience in Christ Jesus. 

Notice what Jesus said to His disciples after He told them our Bit. ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide in you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.’ (John 14:16-17) Yes friends, Jesus was there stressing that though He had to go away and leave them, the Holy Spirit would come and replace Him, dwell in them permanently. But most importantly, He’d be just like Jesus, a Helper and an Advocate; to lead and guide them in righteousness on their earthly journey. 

And hear His awesome promise nuh. ‘I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.’ (John 14:18-20) Wow mih bredrin! That’s a promise of our security in Christ; everlasting security for all believers. We are secure in Christ, and Christ is secure in God! It couldn’t get any better than that! 

But I like how Jesus never leaves us without a gentle reminder on whatever topic He’s talking about. ‘He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that LOVETH me, and he that LOVETH me shall be LOVED of my Father, and I will LOVE him, and will manifest (reveal) myself to him.’ (John 14:21) 

So the question now is, have we kept His commandments and thus shown our LOVE for Him? And the obvious answer is a big NO! And consequently, our world is in a thorough mess, with sickness and strife and what have you. But now we’re tired of the current situation and want some relief from it, and belatedly realize that Almighty God is the ONLY source of the kind of help we so desperately need. That means swallowing our foolish pride and going to Him in prayer and asking for His help. 

And we can do that right now through our Friday Chant. So, as one sincere voice, let’s pray: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. Yuh know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife causing. We not accustomed to that kind of life Lord, and it really telling on us. And we know we can’t handle it on our own, that 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 virus 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 sure and 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, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. 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 the simple message is like it’s been from the very beginning; ‘If you want my help, then keep my commandments.’ It’s now up to us friends to keep our vows to God. Much LOVE!

…we can’t be disobedient to God’s commandments…and yet expect His divine blessings… 

P.S. The ordinary workingman refused to speak to us today because he was real angry about the continuing confusion and negativity of the pandemic situation. (smile) Much LOVE! 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 October 2020 Isaiah 30:21.

06 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 30:21.     ​And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

Wow! It’s Tuesday already? Yes mih bredrin, Monday done, and Tuesday take over now! Reminds me of Sparrow’s famous kaiso – Jean and Dinah – ‘The Yankees gone, and Sparrow take over now.’ So we have to forget Monday and concentrate on Tuesday, because we can only live one day at a time, for that’s all we get, all the Lord’s given us; one day at a time. So let’s be upbeat as we declare that this is the day the Lord has given us, and then let’s rejoice in it, because it’s been given to us by the Lord for that exact purpose! 

Yeh, it might be a li’l confusing, but you know what I mean. (smile) Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice! That’s what the people of God do, for they have seen the light in the darkness, and that light, that bright, shining light, whose name is Jesus, is oh so good! Give Him thanks and praise my people! 

Now here’s an interesting quote that the Director of Alumni Relations of the University of the West Indies, Celia Davidson Francis, recently shared in her news update, as an encouragement to us all in these trying times. It comes from the work of the French-Algerian, author, journalist and philosopher, Albert Camus (1913-1960). 

He said: “In the midst of hate, I found, there was within me, an invincible LOVE. In the midst of tears, I found, there was within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found, there was within me, and invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found, there was within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” 

And that’s the living truth my people! We all have that little space within us that’s been set there by our Creator, that can come up strong when things get tough. The only problem is that we have to activate it for it to come to life and help us stand strong and push back at our enemies. And for us believers in Christ Jesus, it’s His Holy Spirit that helps us activate that push back. But again, we have to listen to the prodding and pushing and pleading of the Holy Spirit, as it leads and guides us, else nothing positive will happen. 

And my fellow believers, do we ever need the wisdom and advice of the Holy Spirit in these turbulent times to help us be strong and steadfast and walk the straight and narrow path as we ought. And we can outlast these tough times by listening to the Holy Spirit that dwells within each one of us. That’s why Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) could say without any hesitation: ‘tough times don’t last, but tough people do.’ That’s because the Holy Spirit of God enables us to be tough and withstand the tough times. 

And do I ever get a high from, and have to chuckle at the mysterious ways and the faithfulness of our wonderful God! Yeh friends, I just decided to stop and look for a scripture to corroborate what I’ve been saying, so I turned to the opened Good Book next to me. I hadn’t looked at it before, just saw that it had opened at Isaiah when I opened it earlier. And lo, and behold, what do you think I espied with my own two little eyes eh? (smile) This most amazing and encouraging verse that so deftly describes the actions of the Holy Spirit in our lives. ‘And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.’ (Is. 30:21) 

Oh my people, that’s what Isaiah said to the Israelites many moons ago when he appealed to them to turn to the Lord for help. But thankfully that has all changed for the better, because with the coming of Jesus and the New Covenant, each and every believer, as soon as they accept Christ as Lord and Saviour receives the Holy Ghost as well, who comes to dwell within them to lead and guide them into all righteousness! 

Glory be mih people! How blessed are we to have the Holy Spirit of God Himself dwelling within us, showing us the way to live a godly and righteous, a joyful and abundant life! Mama Yo! We couldn’t ask for anything more or anything better! Our big problem though is that we don’t listen, and/or we don’t hear. 

Now listening and hearing are two entirely different things. The first means an active act or expectation of hearing something at some time or other. It’s like faith, so we’re paying attention, waiting with great expectation. Meanwhile, hearing is basically anything and everything that’s going through our ear-waves, stuff that we’re not necessarily expecting or paying particular attention to, stuff that we can ignore or do with as we please. However, as believers, we are supposed to listen to, to expect that still, small voice that’s the Holy Spirit to talk to us, to lead and guide us in the way we should go. 

Now too many of us don’t listen for that still small voice, or if we do, when we hear it, we ignore it’s advice. So what else can we expect but unwise doings then eh? Remember Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit to the disciples? ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.’ (John 14:15-17) 

And Jesus did fulfill that promise at the first day of Pentecost after He ascended back to heaven. That day all the disciples were sitting together in a room ready to enjoy the feast day; ‘And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:2-4) 

Oh mih people, what a glorious day that was; the day when believers were first baptized with the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised in Acts 1:5. ‘For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ And from that day onwards, all believers receive the Holy Ghost to indwell them, when they accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour! What a magnanimous and magnificent Deity we serve and worship my brethren! 

So let’s go home now letting all and sundry know who we are, and to whom we belong, by declaring (awrightttt!) our Tuesday Mantra. In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

It now behooves us to go out and show that trust and spread that wonderful LOVE with those who don’t know Christ. Much LOVE!

…you can’t hear…if you don’t listen…and you can’t be successful…if you don’t obey… 

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