Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 March 2024 Philippians 4:7.

02 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 4:7.        And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Well friends, this lazy-day Saturday looks like it’s going to be wet and cloudy, but with decent temperatures. So it’s up to us to make the best of it, either by cuddling up under the covers and enjoying some more sleep time, or getting up and just generally lazing around, after a hard week’s work. (smile) But before you do either of those things, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, in all sincerity and truth. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now how can we ever go wrong with a sincere prayer like that eh? And you know friends, sometimes these kinds of wet and cloudy days are the best kind to cozy up, to cuddle up to our wonderful God, in the sense that it’s a quiet and dark time, and when we are surrounded by darkness, there’s a powerful sensation that keeps drawing us to light; hopefully the fulfilling and eternal light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. So now might just be the ideal time to get involved in reading and studying the Lord’s Word, listening to it, or even just spending some quiet time conversing with Him. I’m sure our spirits will be lifted and our souls rest quietly in His peace. 

And there’s no greater consolation we can ever have down here on this turbulent and eccentric earth than the peace of Christ. Please note His two famous speeches on peace; His peace in particular. When speaking to the disciples about the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, He tells them: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) 

Yes my fellow believers, Jesus’ peace is a different kind of peace to what the world offers. As Bruh Paul writes to the church at Philippi: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7) Oh how wonderful that is, Jesus’ peace surpasses all human understanding! 

The scholars tell us: ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; and (2) God’s peace far surpassing one’s own understanding of the problem, and His ability to cope with and solve it. Shall keep means “shall guard.” This is a military term for a sentinel standing guard duty. As Philippi was guarded by a Roman garrison, and its citizens were accustomed to seeing soldiers protecting the city, this word would be especially appreciated by the readers.’ 

So you see the power and compassion with God’s peace, guarding us from all worry and anxiety, even in the most difficult and overwhelming times in our lives! And it’s not that Jesus didn’t know we’d face tough times, for He spoke of it in His second message on peace to the disciples. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) And I like how Jesus talks about the trials and tribulations we will find in the world, but there’s no need to be worried or afraid of them because He has already overcome the world! 

Wow! What assurance my people! And remember in the first speech on peace, He also warned us not to be troubled or afraid. That’s the beauty of being in fellowship with Jesus; though we might face tough times, we don’t have to worry or be afraid, because we have His omnipotent power, LOVE, grace and mercy surrounding us all the time! 

But we need to sincerely believe it, if we expect to see and feel His peace. And that’s where so many of us are lacking. We talk about it, but when those tough times come, we apparently forget Christ’s words, or our faith just isn’t strong enough to put them into action, and thus quell what ever worry or fear that’s in our spirit. And remember that in Isaiah’s famous verse on Jesus’ birth, one of His many titles was ‘The Prince of Peace.’ (Is. 9:6) So Peace is definitely one of His strongpoints! 

Remember also that Jesus’ greeting to the disciples after His resurrection, was ‘Peace be unto you.’ He said it to them three times, twice when He appeared unto them without warning. (John 20:19, 21, 26). And why did He greet them thus. I like this commentary on the subject. ‘The reason Jesus said ‘peace be with you’ as more than a platitude, was because he had to settle and calm all the emotions that were raging inside of them. He had to speak rest to their souls and peace of mind to their hearts. He also had to do this more than once.’ 

And it’s the same way with us today my fellow saints. Jesus needs to quiet our worried and anxious souls, in these times of excessive strife and confusion in our world. That’s why He keeps saying to us: ‘Peace be unto you,’ whenever He sees us frustrated and lacking in the faith that we need to overcome our many earthly problems. But as always, we need to pay serious attention to His still, small voice emanating from the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, if we are to find that peace that passes all human understanding. And remember too that since the Holy Spirit doesn’t shout, we need to be listening very closely, if we want to hear His words of wisdom and godly advice. 

Now, hopefully, all that we’ve said today will stir us up, motivate us to be better, stronger and more faithful believers in Christ Jesus, so that we can get out into the evil and ungodly world and be the good ambassadors He desires us to be! Much LOVE!

…greater is he that is in you…than he that is in the world… (1 John 4:4)

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 January 2024 Hebrews 13:8.

27 Jan 2024 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 friends, I don’t know what to say about our recent weather patterns nuh. Remember, yesterday I said how it was so wet and cloudy in my neighbourhood and we couldn’t hope for much of a change. Well, lo and behold, when I went back upstairs a couple hours later, I was greeted by brilliant sunshine and almost dry streets. And though the brilliant sunshine did not stick around for the rest of the day, it certainly made it’s presence known and the place remained dry. And by the way, just for your information, on this lazy-day Saturday, the last one in the month of January 2024, it’s damp and cloudy out there right now. (smile) 

But thankfully, that is immaterial at present, for we have God with us, so let’s get to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and appeal to our heavenly Father with true conviction. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And with those words of prayer floating up to heaven, we find the Lord’s presence floating down to us, in such abundance that we cannot handle it. But that’s the generous kind of Deity we serve. The more you LOVE Him, the more LOVE He bestows. Ah Lord eh! What would we do without Him eh? Just crumple up and die, I suppose. For who truly knows what to expect from anything or anybody in these confusing and convoluted days? The ONLY person we can be sure of is our great and wonderful God Jehovah! 

Yes my people, it’s only God we can trust because He is ever-faithful and reliable, He never changes, remains the same all the time. Please beleive it my faithful brethren, our God is unchanging. The Bible tells us so. The prophet Malachi says it thus: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal. 3:6) And are we ever thankful for that, because if He was liable to change and wishy-washy like so many of the other false gods, we would have  been destroyed long ago. As Jeremiah so aptly says in his Lamentations. ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.’ (Lam. 3:22) Words of indisputable truth! 

Meanwhile the author of Hebrews reminds us: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.’ (Heb. 13:8) That means ‘While everything around us is changing, we can depend on God continually showing us His grace, LOVE, and compassion.’ How awesome is that eh! And this commentary puts it nicely into perspective. ‘What does it mean that God doesn’t change? We call this attribute immutability. This means He doesn’t change His character, His plan, or His mind. Frankly, with the instability of life, this is the security we all long for—consistent unconditional LOVE. The Unchanging God.’ 

It couldn’t get any better than that friends! With God being the same all the time, we know exactly what to expect from Him, no hemming and hawing or constantly changing His mind, but a steadfastness and reliability that no one or nothing else can ever match. That’s why James could write these encouraging words to his readers. ‘Do not err (be deceived) my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1:16-18) 

And so it should be, now and forever! God is good – ALWAYS GOOD – and doesn’t change, and we the redeemed, are the first step in His redemption of all creatures. Now if you want to find more information on that last aspect, the scholars give a reference to Romans 8:18-27. And it might not be a bad idea to check out that scripture, because it does deal with some interesting stuff. (smile) Finally, turning to Psalm 102, we find the unknown psalmist writing about the ‘Lonely Soul,’ and making some profound statements re the everlasting and unchanging nature of our most marvellous and magnificent God. 

He writes: ‘My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations…. I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old thou hast laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.’ (Ps. 102: 11-12; 24-27) 

Oh my fellow saints, I don’t know about you all nuh, but being reminded of all that stuff, I do feel refreshed and revitalized knowing that our God is good and generous, He’s unchangeable, is compassionate and LOVING, and will endure forever with the redeemed of His people! Now isn’t that wonderful news? It certainly is! So let’s accept it with opened arms and enjoy the abundant life that Christ died for us to have. Otherwise it doesn’t make any sense being a Christian, reconciled, justified and set apart by Almighty God! Much LOVE! 

… in this ever changing and unstable world…it’s good to know we have a stabilizing and unchanging rock of ages…Jesus Christ…to rely on…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 December 2023   1 John 2:15a.

30 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

1 John 2:15a.        LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

And here it is, another lazy-day Saturday clouded in darkness and drizzle! The eve of New Years’s Eve to boot! The time when preparations for the big day are at an all time high. But I don’t think the inclement weather will stop the celebrations, or even curtail it much, for in years past when it was snow instead of rain, everything went on as normal. It seems we will brace any kind of weather to celebrate the incoming New Year. However, for those of us who are not into all the hoopla of the time, and just want to be lazy and relax quietly with God and our thoughts, after all the hullabaloo of Christmas, this wet and cloudy day is admirably suited for it. 

So let’s turn to God and open up our hearts and souls to him, through our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. As one sincere voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Ah friends, it’s ever so good to be quiet and talk to out heavenly Father, knowing that He hears us and will react favourably to our requests to grow closer to Him. And there’s really nothing in this world that pleases God more than when we seek to have greater intimacy with Him, because that’s the main purpose for which He created us; to have close fellowship, enjoyable communion together. And sadly, that’s where many of us believers, and the world in general has fallen down; we don’t favour close fellowship and communion with God, our Creator and Controller. 

Now, isn’t that somewhat foolish, not to want to communicate with the One who made you and still pulls all your strings? I would say it’s downright foolish, since within our own strength we can’t do a whole lot. Jesus puts it very clearly: ‘without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) And as Moses says in the Good Library: ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth that he may establish (confirm) his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other Gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.’ (Deut. 8:18-20) 

No wonder we’re suffering so many trials and tribulations in these ghastly times! We have certainly turned away from the Lord God Jehovah and served and worshipped other supposed gods. We are even attempting to get rid of Him completely from our society. What madness, what foolishness! Do you really think the Creator of the universe will allow some mickey mouse creation of His, called mankind, to overthrow Him? No way Jose! Look at Satan, as the archangel Lucifer, he tried the same foolishness, to overthrow God. 

And what happened to him eh? He was unceremoniously kicked out of heaven along with the other foolish angels who sided with him, to walk the earth and dwell in hellfire in sorrow and pain, eternally separated from the One True God! Is that what we want for ourselves and our families? It would certainly seem so, since so many of us have turned away, or are turning away from the God of our forefathers and embracing some pagan form of religion like materialism that the world favours so much. But friends, that’s the wisdom of a fool, for you cannot carry any of that material stuff with you when you die. You only take what you brought with you, your soul! 

And as Jesus so gravely warned. ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28) But we seem to fear mankind who can only kill our bodies, much more than Jehovah God who can destroy both our bodies and souls in hell, as he has already done with the fool Satan, the prince of darkness and foolishness, whom we seem so intent on following. Oh my people the scriptures tell us so often that it’s unwise to follow any other deity than the One and ONLY True God. 

That’s the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, who created the world and all therein and stills controls it, and will NEVER give up what He created. But we simply refuse to listen and keep going our own way, only to suffer the pangs of the devil and hell. When are we going to wake up and realize that the devil is only out to cause confusion, hatred and violence on the earth eh? Anything that will turn us away from God is what the enemy is searching for and ever so ready and willing to use. And unfortunately, we give him so many opportunities to enter our souls and disturb and destroy them when we don’t stay close to God; don’t read His word, don’t pray, don’t talk to Him and obey His holy will. 

That’s why James also warns us to ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God and he will draw nigh (near) to you… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7, 8a, 10) And Peter likewise cautions us: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) And the Lord showed His heartfelt care and compassion when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross at Calvary to save us from our abominable sins. So how can we believe, much less say that He doesn’t care for us eh? 

And we’ll close with this other warning from John written in his first epistle. ‘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-interest), 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) 

Oh friends, when are we going to wake up to the reality that there’s no greater force in this world than Jehovah God, it’s Creator and Controller, and He cares for us and desires us to spend eternal life with Him? If we allow Satan to plunge the world in much more darkness, then it might just be too late. Let’s be wise and make the necessary changes in our lives and in our world right now nuh. Much LOVE!

…he who doesn’t hear…will surely feel…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 December 2023 Luke 2:14.

23 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

Luke 2:14.        Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And then it was Christmas Saturday! Wow! Already! And though it’s a dark and rainy lazy-day Saturday, and  all the preparations have not been completed, the celebrations are underway! That’s just the way it is. We can’t wait to celebrate Jesus until all the preparations are done! No way Jose! Ah friends, it’s good to be alive and celebrating the incarnate birth of Christ, although I do so with a heavy heart, thinking about all those who are unable to do the same because of strife, disaster or some other negative action. But as we said yesterday, prayer is the first avenue we must always consider when adversity strikes. 

So, in keeping with that philosophy, that eternal truth, let’s turn to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer and declare (yesss!!!) it with all sincerity. As one voice. ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And this Season of Christmas, when the Prince of Peace was born, is the ideal time for a prayer like that; one that opens us up to our great and faithful God, and draws us nearer to Him, to enjoy His peace, joy and LOVE, all the elements of this birthday bash! (smile) The biggest birthday bash ever! We even had angels coming from heaven with the good news of the birth of Christ and choirs of heavenly host praising God and singing: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’ (Luke 2:14) 

Oh my people, if only we could have much more of that peace and goodwill on the earth that those angels sang about some two thousand years ago, what a wonderful place our world would be! But, unfortunately, those things are sadly lacking, while strife, war, chaos and all kinds of negative activity are prevalent on the earth today. How did we ever get so warlike, hateful and negative eh? Only a generation ago, we were fairly peaceful and LOVING…remember the hippy days of a couple of generations ago, when peace and LOVE were revolutionizing the world? When the young people talked about, focused on peace and LOVE and not rebellion and hate and anger as they are doing nowadays. 

Oh, we’ve always had strife in some place or other, and we’ll always have it until Jesus returns and sets up His Millennial reign, but we’ve never had it as widespread as this. Back then, it was easy to count the places where serious strife was occurring, now it’s easier to count the places where serious strife is not occurring. What a mess we’ve made of our world, and ONLY the Good Lord Jehovah can help us fix it. But the sad part of that situation is that many of us are turning away from the Lord God of heaven and earth to follow the evil and ungodly deeds of Beelzebub, and those of us who still profess the faith are not doing enough to stop the exodus and bring unbelievers to Christ. 

We obviously are not doing as Jesus requested, when He said: ‘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. Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:13-16) 

There we have it friends, the majority of us supposed Christians have been neither salt nor light to the world, otherwise our world would never be in such bad shape. Don’t tell me that if the body, the church of Christ went into the world and behaved like we ought to behave, as salt and light, that there wouldn’t be a great improvement in all aspects of our world. We are a large enough body to make a substantial difference! We just have to stop wanting to be as comfortable as possible and enjoy all the amenities available, for the worst kind of Christian is a comfortable one. 

Also stop being afraid of what the world can do to us, instead let’s remember the awesome and faithful promise of God, made through the prophet Isaiah. ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is. 54:17) And unfortunately it doesn’t seem like enough of us believe that to ramp up our faith and get out there and make a positive impact. 

Neither do we seem to believe these words of Jesus. ‘And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.’ (Matt. 10:28) And that person who can destroy both body and soul is Almighty God, but it certainly seems like we’re more afraid of Satan and his evil cohorts, who can only destroy our body, instead of God, who can destroy both body and soul. But, for whatever reason(s) our witness, our activity as agents and disciples of Christ has not been of sufficient impact to turn others to Christ in the great numbers that’s necessary. 

So, if we believers are not making a positive impact on the world, what else can we expect but for more people to turn to evil and ungodly ways; to lay up earthly treasure for themselves here on earth instead of in heaven. And there’s no better way to end than with these wise and encouraging words of Jesus. ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt. 6:19-21) 

And yes, too many of us supposed believers are still too enamoured of the wealth and power of the earth and still insist on running it down and storing it up. But when will we learn that in the long run, the wealth of the world is of no real significance eh, for once we die, we cannot carry any of it with us, we just leave it here for our friends and families to fight over, and consequently the lawyers get most of it in the end. My fellow saints, the long and short of the story is that if want to see a better world, to leave a better world for our descendants, then we must get up RIGHT NOW, and start being what Jesus desires and expects of us; being the salt of the earth, the light of the world and stop laying up treasures for ourselves on earth, but in heaven above! Much LOVE!

…only when Christians behave like true Christians… will there be any godly improvements in our world…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 December 2023 John 14:6.

16 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

John 14:6.       I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

And it’s a perfect lazy-day Saturday morning; cloudy, cold and dry. Yes friends, all the elements we need to instigate laziness. (smile) But let’s hope that in that laziness we do take some time to communicate with our wonderful God, who’s given us the breath of life for another day. It’s a good day to spend time talking to our Maker, pouring out our hearts to Him, casting all our cares upon Him, as He’s recommended in His Word. (1 Pet. 1:7) And after emptying our souls to Him, rest quietly to hear what He has to tell us in answer to our doubts and fears. 

Now, it’s been said that that’s one of the believers’ biggest problems and mistakes; talking to God then quickly moving off to other things, instead of waiting to hear what the Lord has to say. Remember, it’s a conversation we’re having with the Father, and a conversation is usually a two way street. So please, let’s not rush off as soon as we finish uttering our cares, but stick around quietly and hear what the Father has to say, for He will say something, and you cannot afford to miss anything the Lord has to say. (smile) 

And, in preparation for that outpouring of our personal cares, let’s raise up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer to heaven, with strong conviction and true sincerity. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now, let’s rest a moment and allow what we’ve said to truly sink into our consciousness, as the Lord does quiet our souls and raises our awareness of His LOVING presence. Ah mih people, what a wonderful God we serve! Who else but Jehovah God would make His presence so tangibly felt to His followers eh? Nobody! And He does it all through the power of the third person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit, which dwells within us to lead, guide, comfort, and make known the desires and plans of the Father. 

What an awesome team is our Triune Godhead! The Father plans and directs; the Son, Jesus came to earth and did the dirty, sacrificial work, taking the sins of the whole world on His sinless shoulders; then the Holy Spirit comes along to do the everyday work to enable believers to communicate with the Father and stay safe under the refuge of His mighty wings! You couldn’t find a better team than that friends, that’s why it’s ever so necessary and important to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour, then follow the lead and guiding of the Holy Spirit, who comes to dwell within you, once you’ve accepted Christ as the number One priority in your life! 

And why is that you ask? Because Jesus died to pay for our sins, and only if we accept Him as Lord and Saviour will we be entitled to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Otherwise we’ll be headed straight for hellfire, death and damnation with Satan, meaning eternal separation from God, which is the worst possible thing that can happen to a human soul. Jeus warned us so often of that terrible fact during His sojourn here on earth. For instance, He declared (chuh!!!) to the disciple called Doubting Thomas and also to us in no uncertain words: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) 

What’s in that not to understand eh mih bredrin? Jesus is the ONLY WAY that a human being or soul can get into the presence of the Father. That means, if you don’t accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then you’ll never even see the pearly gates of heaven, much less enter them! And per the way to get to heaven, Jesus further tells us: ‘Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait (narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult, confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life (eternal), and few there be that find it.’ (Matt. 7:13-14)  

Ah friends, what else must Jesus do and say to make us believe that His way is the best option in this world eh? And I like how this commentary explains those two verses. ‘The wide gate of the world promises life and happiness but delivers destruction. The way of Christ requires that we lay our lives down, but in that sacrifice we find a reward of (eternal) life. Sadly, the gate that is wide and the way that is broad is the one most people travel. That way leads to destruction.’ Yes mih bredrin, because the gate to Christ and eternal life is so narrow and ofttimes hard to negotiate, fewer people travel it, and thus are led to their destruction, to eternal separation from God. 

Meanwhile in the gospel of Luke Jesus words on the subject are recorded thus: ‘And he (Jesus) went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that are saved? And he said unto them. Strive to enter in at the strait (narrow) gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek  to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without (outside), and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not, whence are ye (where are you from). 

Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are (where you are from); depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Issac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.’ (Luke 13:22-30) 

Oh my people, if after reading and hearing all of Jesus’ words, we still refuse to accept Him as Lord and Saviour and don’t endeavour to walk the straight and narrow path, then we have no one else but ourselves to blame, when we are thrust out of God’s kingdom and lay there weeping and gnashing our teeth, foolishly thinking that because we were in the upper echelons of society, a power broker, we would automatically get to enter heaven. Unfortunately though, those who were far below us but accepted Jesus and walked the straight and narrow path will be greeted first at the pearly gates. 

Please let this be a lesson to us all: our positions here on earth don’t mean a thing in heaven. What’s important is our personal relationship with Jesus. And if you don’t have one, you’d better get one, RIGHT NOW, before it’s too late! That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!

…following Jesus is not easy…but it’s the ONLY WAY to heaven… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   9 December 2023 Luke 1:37.

09 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

Luke 1:37.       For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Oh, I do hope this lazy-day Saturday turns out like yesterday! Yesterday they promised that it would be mostly cloudy, but by lunchtime bright sunshine was engulfing the whole area, and we had sunshine for a few hours in the afternoon. Today, the forecasters are again calling for cloudy conditions, although with temps in double digits, but let’s hope the good Lord proves them wrong again, at least for a li’l while. (smile) In the meanwhile, as we slowly get up and reacquaint ourselves with life, let’s lift up our Lazy-Day Saturday prayer to heaven in all sincerity and truth. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ And hopefully that prayer brought to our souls, bodies and minds the peace, LOVE and quiet awareness of God’s Spirit that we asked for, and will enable us to live all the more for Him. 

And today, as we are going through the season of Advent, in quiet but exciting expectation of the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I want us to look at how it all began, at how our magnificent God does move in mysterious and miraculous ways. Jesus’ birth was foretold by an angel. The Bible tells the story like this: ‘And in the sixth month, (of John the Baptist’s mother Elisabeth’s pregnancy) the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city in Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused (betrothed, engaged) to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail (rejoice), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind (considered) what manner of salutation (greeting) this should be.’ (Luke 1:26-29) 

And that’s a normal response, or perhaps a better than normal response, for I’m sure, many of us, if as we’re going about our daily chores, we’re suddenly greeted by this spiritual apparition with that abnormal greeting, we’d be scared out of our skins and probably go running out the door. But Mary’s quiet and patient reaction speaks loads about her maturity and faith, though she was only a teenager. She did not react with fear, anger or any other negative emotion, just quietly sat and waited out Gabriel’s message. 

‘And the angel said unto her, fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest (Most High): and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’ (Luke 1:30-33) Now can you imagine this young girl, whose life had only just begun, sitting there listening to this spiritual being tell her all those remarkable things that were going to happen to her. Most of us would have been overwhelmed with fretting and worry, but not Mary. She was confused about how such a thing could happen, but did not show any angry or negative reactions. 

The Bible tells us of her simple response. ‘Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man (I am a virgin)? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest (Most High) shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing (One) which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin (relative) Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the hand maid (handmaiden) of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.’ (Luke 1:34-38) 

And all I can say to that is Wow! Just imagine that simple, unquestioning response nuh from a young girl who had been probably sheltered all of her young life. No tears, no tearing out of her hear, no apparent fear nor anger or whatever such an important announcement would usually bring. And to make matters worse, she had just recently been engaged and to have a child without being married, especially if it was not her betrothed’s, that would have been certain disaster to all concerned. But Mary was quiet and accepting of her fate, whatever turmoil it might cause in her life. 

And yuh know what, something just occurred to me that’s never really occurred to me before, re Mary’s simple acceptance of God’s outstanding favour. It’s obvious that God vetted all the young women very carefully to see who would and would not cause a scene, and even more likely had Mary in that time and place especially for that purpose, since the prophecy said that the Son of God would be born of a virgin, and had to be of the line of Bruh David. So let’s check out a few of those prophecies nuh, beginning with this one from Isaiah, where he talks about a sign from God. 

‘Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us).’ (Is. 7:14) Then in chapter nine Isaiah gets a little more explicit, when he writes of the birth of the Prince of Peace. ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is. 9:6-7) 

And perform it He did my brethren through the incarnate birth of Christ to the virgin Mary in the city of Bethlehem as prophesied by the prophet Micah. ‘But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little  among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting (the days of eternity).’ (Mic. 5:2) 

Ah mih people, our Lord isn’t like us, He doesn’t do stuff in a vie-ke-vie (T&T slang) or careless, unplanned manner. His stuff is always well ordered and prepared, so that things fit together like a hand in a glove. And such was the birth of Jesus foretold hundreds of years before his actual birth and it all went as prophesied. Now, isn’t it a wonderful thing that our God isn’t vie-ke-vie like us, (smile) else we’d be in even more trouble than we currently are! Much LOVE!

…when God orders our steps…He knows what He’s doing…so stop fighting Him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 December 2023 Psalm 31:24.

02 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 31:24.       Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

And it looks like the first lazy-day Saturday in December will be just like the first Friday yesterday; wet and cloudy with promises of rain and intermittent snow. But it’s a perfect day for staying inside and allowing all the stress and tension to flow out of you, as you get quiet and somewhat lazy (smile) and contemplate your position in life: like where you’re going, how you’re going to get there, are you improving, especially your spiritual self, becoming more Christlike… 

Yes friends, today, at the beginning of the Christmas Season, when we celebrate the incarnate birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, it’s a perfect time to reconsider our goals in life and see if they line up with the Lord’s will and Word. And to help us do that, let’s say our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with sincere hearts, minds, bodies and souls. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And it never ceases to amaze me, that every Saturday when we say that prayer, how quiet, relaxed and thoughtful I become. I surely hope it does the same for you, because at the end of our busy work week, we certainly need something to quiet our spirits and keep our souls in communion with God and His awesome plan for our lives. And there’s nothing better than prayer to do so! In fact, that’s what prayer was designed for; to bring us closer to our heavenly Father. 

So anytime you feel like you’re drifting away from Him, please turn to prayer, sincere prayer, so that you can get reconnected and be safely ensconced, hidden in the refuge of His ever-LOVING embrace. For, as Moses so wisely wrote in the book of Deuteronomy so long ago: ‘There is none like the God of Jeshurun  (righteous people), who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them.’ (Deut. 33:26-27) 

Yes my faithful brethren, that’s the strong and powerful and ever-LOVING God we righteous serve. As one commentary puts it. ‘Deuteronomy 33:26-27 Prays For Those Who Are Struggling, saying: Oh God, that they would rest in you, the eternal God as their dwelling place. That they would find deep rest in you today, right now in this moment, and they would know underneath them are the everlasting arms of the eternal God.’ 

And that’s our prayer for all of us this lazy-day Saturday my fellow saints, for in this troubled and chaotic world we all need a safe and secure refuge when the enemy comes with his evil minions to tempt and test our souls and spirits. And the only place we believers can find such security and refuge is in the everlasting arms of our great and wonderful God, who has faithfully promised to protect us from all the attacks of the enemy if we would only surrender our souls and lives to him. 

That’s why Bruh David could afford to write in Psalm 27: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ (Ps. 27:1) Oh my people, those sure are powerful words of faith and trust! And until we can declare (yesss!!!) them with the utmost certainty and sense of purpose, we will be forever doubtful when the enemy tempts and tests us. 

Now, we’re not saying that those are easy words to proclaim, but we can only do so if we keep practicing what they say. That means we need to be continually turning to the Lord for whatever we desire in our everyday lives, for only with practice can we ever come close to perfection. And Bruh David could utter those words with complete conviction because he had personally experienced the safety and security of God in his everyday life, especially in those crazy times when he was running from King Saul who desperately wanted to kill him.  

And these words of Bruh David from Psalm 31, subtitled ‘My Rock and My Fortress,’ gives us more insight into how it is when we walk sincerely with God. Please read with me: ‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear (reverence) thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence (secret place) from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues. 

Blessed be the Lord: for he hath shewed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplication when I cried unto thee. O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth (fully repays) the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.’ (Ps. 31:19-24) 

Oh my fellow saints in Christ, I could not put it any better than that, and I do hope that what we’ve said this lazy-day Saturday will help to fill us with the strength the courage and the will to sincerely turn to Almighty God, to surrender our all to Him, and be obedient to His will, because that is the highest form of wisdom for all the ages! Much LOVE!

…the One who created you…He’s the One who will keep you safe from all harm… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 November 2023 Mark 1:35.

18 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

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

Mark 1:35.        And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.

And the sunshine missing from yesterday has returned this lazy-day Saturday friends. Thank the Lord! Oh, there are a few clouds hanging around, but it’s good to know that the sunshine is in the ascendance! Glory be! And with all of that thankfulness in our minds and on our tongues, (smile) let’s get to out Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer, and declare it (yesss!) like we really mean it. 

Altogether now: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Now let’s hope that our sincerity shone through in our words and that the Lord did quiet our souls and deepen our breaths while surrounding us with His glorious presence, because there’s no greater feeling of peace and joy than when one can truly feel the Lord’s presence surrounding us. That aura of light and LOVE, of compassion and well-being that emanates from His presence is like no other in this whole wide world! 

And sadly, that’s something too many of us don’t take the time to seek and find. Even when we pray, we often just get up and go about our business, without spending a few moments to either listen to what the Lord has to say in reply to our prayers, or to just sit quietly and enjoy the peace and stillness that radiates from His awesome presence. And that unfortunately detracts from the power and rejuvenation that prayer is supposed to have. 

Taking time to just spend in God’s presence is one of the most energizing and refreshing things we can ever do. We don’t even need to say a single word, but silently ask Him to come into our presence and be with us. And believe me, He will do it very enthusiastically, because, like any other father, there’s nothing the Lord enjoys and relishes more than being in the presence of His children. 

Remember how Jesus always went off by Himself somewhere to pray, especially after some tiring preaching, even to the point of leaving the disciples on their own. Like the time he fed the five thousand men, besides women and children, then sent the disciples to the other side of the lake in a ship. ‘And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart (by himself) to pray: and when evening was come, he was there alone.’ (Matt. 14:23) 

Yes friends, Jesus relished the quiet time He spent with the Father, because He knew that He desperately need the refreshing and rejuvenation for His human body and soul to do the tasks the Father had set him. And, except in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before His crucifixion, when things were really on the bubble, I’m sure that Jesus didn’t say all that much to the Father, for they both knew the plans that were afoot, but He just felt so much better simply basking in the Father’s presence. It’s like those times in our own experiences when we’re with a friend or somebody close to us, and there’s no need for words, because the silence between us says it all. 

But my favourite verse about Jesus’ prayer life is this one found in the gospel of Mark, where he writes: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) Wow mih bredrin! If Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself, needed to get up early and go out and pray to his heavenly Father, so that He could handle the days difficulties and do His bidding, what does it say about us eh? 

We need the guiding of the Holy Spirit even much more, especially in these days of worldwide chaos and disaster. But so many of us just get up and run out of the house desperate to get to work on time, without even giving the Lord a simple thank you for bringing us safely through the night, much less asking Him to take us safely through the day! And then we wonder why our lives are so miserable and chaotic. 

Hn! What else do we expect when we don’t honour God eh? When we’re too busy with the perishable things of this evil world, and don’t sufficiently consider the imperishable things of the next life! There’s no magic or miracle to it nuh my fellow believers. All the Lord asks of us is basically to LOVE and reverence Him, and be obedient  to His Holy Will, which we can find in His Word, the Bible. 

But being the stubborn, rebellious, sinful children we are, we foolishly refuse to adhere to His wishes, and instead lustfully listen to the lies and deceits of Satan, just like our foolish foreparents, Adam and Eve did. And when we find ourselves deep, and sinking ever deeper in the mire of Satan’s cesspool, we wonder why that is. 

The foolish and ever-stubborn ones simply accept their fate, but the smart ones desperately cry out to God for help, because they know deep down, that our LOVING God will NEVER turn down a sincere cry for assistance from one of His human creations. Just like He heard Jonah’s sincere cry from the belly of the fish and delivered him, likewise He will deliver all who cry out to Him from the mire of Satan’s sinful cesspool. 

And that is our prayer for all of us today friends; that wherever we are, and at whatever stage of our lives, if we need help, then let us cry out to our heavenly Father for it, because He’s promised never to turn away a single soul who comes to Him in all sincerity and truth! 

And yuh know what, every single, solitary one of us needs divine help, right this very minute, for none of us are perfect, and if the ONLY perfect One that ever lived on planet earth, Jesus Christ, needed divine help to handle his situation, then we most certainly do too! So let’s do what we know we need to do nuh; cry out to God for divine help! Much LOVE!

…it’s not a shame to cry…for tears are the window washers of our souls… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   11 November 2023 Jeremiah 29:13.

11 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 29:13.       And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

And it’s cloudy and windy on this lazy-day Saturday November 11th , 2023, as we celebrate Veteran’s Day, honouring the many brave souls who fell in the wars of the last century. Not many of them are still alive today, and if they are, they are not doing so well medically, financially or emotionally because down through the years their services had not been properly appreciated nor rewarded. 

And every year we drag out the few remaining veterans before the cenotaphs and other markers of those great wars, and make big speeches and promises, but nothing much still ever happens to improve their situations. But the Lord is in His high heaven and is closely watching down on the affairs of men, and we know that He has a heart for the poor, the marginalized and the downtrodden. So we’ll leave their affairs in His capable hands. 

Now, let’s say our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer with all sincerity of heart. As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And do we ever need to know and be more aware of our great God in these evil and ungodly times, if we hope to come through them as unscathed as possible! Yes friends, in times like these, only a strong attachment to and knowledge of Jehovah God will enable us to overcome all the evil stuff that’s coming against us in droves. The big problem though is that we need to seek the Lord, not the Lord seek us. We desperately need Him, He doesn’t need us. He LOVES us a whole lot, but that doesn’t mean He’ll just roll over and satisfy our every need, like a doting grandfather. Not at all. 

The Lord God Jehovah is a just and righteous God, thus He must act justly and righteously and allowing us to do whatever we want without repercussions is not acting justly and righteously. Thus, He demands that we come to Him, in obedience and reverence, and if we don’t, then we’ll suffer the consequences. It’s as simple as that. And furthermore, it’s so easy to find the Lord if we truly desire to find Him, for He’s always around, not in some far off heavenly place, the way so many of us falsely think. 

And these words from the prophet Jeremiah say it all. ‘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) Now that’s what the Lord has in store for us, but it does not happen automatically. We also have a part to play in this covenant relationship. 

And here’s our part: ‘Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken (listen) unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ (Jer. 29:12-13) There it is in black and white friends, written thousands of years ago but still the definitive way to find Jehovah God: search for Him with all your heart! 

Unfortunately, not enough of us are doing that, either individually or as Christ’s body, the church, and thus we have this great divide between our heavenly Father and ourselves. And we are the ones who are suffering, but we’ve become so stubborn, ignorant and hardhearted that we refuse to seek Him, even though we are been eaten up by the evil doers like the big fishes eat up the small ones. But yet we listen to the lies and the deceits of Satan and run down the material wealth of the world, instead of seeking the righteousness of God’s kingdom. And his evil majesty is laughing as it were, all the way to the bank, because of our foolish and unwise behaviour. 

When are we going to wake up and do what’s right my people? Every day it gets later, with less time left to make the necessary changes. And remember Jesus could come at any time, and once He comes, most likely like a thief in the night, it’s all over. So please, let’s do what we’re supposed to do nuh. We call ourselves Christians, believers in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, members of His august body, the church, that means there are things we need to do to keep it all afloat and successful. And we know what we need to do. So please, please, I plead with us, let’s do it nuh! 

Let’s lift up Christ’s name on high like we promised to do when we first believed. Let’s be the true salt of the earth and the light of the world as He desires of us. Let’s show the world that we’re truly His disciples by the LOVE we show to each other and to the rest of the world. That’s our bounden duty and what Jesus expects of us. Come on my fellow saints, let’s pull up our socks and do better nuh. We all know that there’s more in us than we’re showing, so for Jesus’ sake, let’s up the ante! We desperately need to, if we’re going to turn things around! Much LOVE!

…you’ll find God…if you look for Him in the right places… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   4 November 2023 Philippians 3:10a.

04 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 3:10a.       That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,

And the lazy-day Saturday began wet and cloudy, but now there’s sunshine filtering through the clouds, promising to be a good day after all. And since I enjoyed more of the lazy day Saturday morning than I should have, (smile) let’s get right to our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. 

As one voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

Oh friends, how relaxing and peaceful is that prayer that quietly brings us into the presence of our wonderful God! And getting to know our Lord and Saviour better each and every day, ought to be one of our spiritual projects, for the better we know Him, the better we can serve Him! And why do we seek to know God better? This commentary puts is thus: ‘Why do we have the desire to know God? A lot of good reasons, but the chief ones are “to LOVE Him” and “to worship Him.” This is the Christian life and behind why God saved us from our sins. PRAYER: “Father, help me to pursue You to know You that I might LOVE and worship You.” 

And what does it mean to desire to know God? ‘If the desire of your heart is to know God more intimately, that is a sign that the grace of God is drawing you. Your part is to respond by setting yourself to seek after and pursue Him (Matt. 6:33). Those who seek will find (Jer.29:13) And for those of us who don’t those very important scriptures here they are. Matt. 16:33 says: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ And that simply means that God should be the number ONE priority in our lives. 

Meanwhile Jeremiah 29:13 says: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ Yes my fellow believers we need to seek God with all our hearts. As Jesus said when asked what is the greatest commandment in the law. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’ (Matt. 22:37) Oh friends, all of that just means that God must occupy first place in our daily lives. No wonder Bruh Paul so boldly stated in his letter to the Philippians: ‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;’ (Phil 3:10) 

And the scholars say: ‘This verse may also be paraphrased: “In order that I may personally know Him, that I might both experience His resurrection power, and share in His sufferings, and thus I will be more and more conformed to His death.” Paul wants “the righteousness… of God” (vs. 9) so that he can obtain a personal relationship with Jesus in actual day to day experience. This knowledge of Christ is obtained by experiencing in daily problems, needs, ministry, and so forth, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. 

Knowing Christ also entails participating in His sufferings. Paul desires to share in the Lord’s sufferings because they bring him into a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him; companionship in sorrow establishes the most intimate and lasting of ties, as afflicted hearts cling to each other. The result of participating in Christ’s sufferings is that Paul is being made like Him in death. This word “death” has a double meaning here, including inward and outward, ethical and physical death. As Jesus died in regard to sin on the cross, so Paul is doing more and more in his daily life. As Jesus was bodily slain, so the apostle, should Caesar’s verdict go against him, is prepared to be slain.’ 

Ah mih people, Bruh Paul was a zealot of the first order, but the good news is that we don’t have to be as zealous for Christ as he was. Oh, we do need to work towards that goal, but not many of us will be forced to give up our physical lives for Christ, although it should always be an option, as Christ sacrificed so much for us. However, we do need to increase our witness and LOVE for Christ, because too many of us are just armchair Christians, merely sitting on our comfortable fannies and spouting a whole lot of scriptural rhetoric but doing nothing to truly build Christ’s church. 

That is totally unacceptable friends! Jesus put His life on the line for us, the least we can do is to show some appreciation by spreading His word around the world. And with all the technology we now have, you don’t even have to leave home to do it. So let’s ramp up our witness nuh, put our best foot forward, so that we can reclaim some lost souls for Christ. That’s all He’s asking of us; to get out there and let those still hiding in the shadows of darkness, know that the true Light has come into the world to save them! Much LOVE!

…disciples of Christ…must be willing to suffer in His name… 

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