Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 February 2019 Ephesians 4:27.

15 Feb 2019 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 4:27.   ​Neither give place (opportunity) to the devil.
 

‘And it looks like inclement weather today. Don’t know what kind just yet, but it sure looks like inclement weather today!’ Ah friends, what else is new eh? We’ve been having inclement weather for the last how long, so a li’l more today isn’t going to make much difference. (smile) It does look cloudy and wet outside, let’s hope is rain and not the other terrible stuff that’s on the way. 

But whatever it is, we going to handle it just fine, because we have the Great I AM living in us, and also walking beside us, so there’s no need to fear, just be careful! And all God’s children declared (right ho) a loud and grateful ‘Praise the Lord for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’ And that’s for sure friends, for without God’s unequivocal LOVE, we’d be like lost sheep at the enemy’s mercy. 

And since it’s Friday, you know the workingman is just dying to sing his song: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend…the weekend is finally here! And Valentine’s’ day weekend to boot. Didn’t get much time to celebrate with mih sugar yesterday, so I’m going to make up for it come the weekend! 

Mama Yo! Got to take her out and wine and dine her! Show her how much I LOVES her! Let her know in no uncertain terms that she’s my one and only! That she is the main reason I put up with all the nonsense in the slave driver’s work! Cause I’d be nothing without her! So forget all the housework this weekend mih sugar! This is we time to party, to shine like a bright shining star! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui! Don’t know how I’d manage otherwise nuh!’ 

That goes for all of us yes my brethren! Don’t know how any of us would manage without God and the weekends giving us a chance to rest from our labour. And though the workingman’s sentiments might be well intentioned, his actions do step over the line some. They surely are not in sync with Jesus’ behaviour pattern for His followers. Christians need to be somewhat more focused than the workingman’s song allows. 

So let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, which shows more circumspection in our behaviour and focus. In true sincerity now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Sorry mih people, but that’s just how Jesus set up His business. He wants His people to be somewhat restrained in their effervescence and not display leggo beast behaviour, since that gives the enemy opportunity to infiltrate and destroy our eternal souls. 

That’s why Bruh Paul instructed the Ephesians thus: ‘That ye put off concerning the former conversation (conduct) the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts (renounce your pre-conversion life). And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (bring your life into line with God’s viewpoint). 

Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another (members of the same Christian body), Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (opportunity) to the devil.’ (Eph.4:22-27) 

Yuh see friends, once we accept Jesus we have to adjust, to change our behaviour from that of the sinful world around us, cause we’re now a part of Jesus’ army, and any successful army needs to have discipline and good behaviour. That’s why Bruh Paul went to so much length to give us some practical tips for kingdom living here on earth. The most important being don’t give the devil any opportunity, any chance to gain a foothold in our souls, because you know his sole aim is to just turn our lives topsy turvy, so that we have no strength, no joy and peace in Jesus, our wonderful Lord and Saviour. 

And Bruh Paul continues with his admonition: ‘Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the things which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto hearers. 

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.’ (Eph.4:28-32) 

Oh my fellow believers that stuff is not too hard to do. We will not always be perfect, but if we put our hearts and minds to it, we can definitely behave like Bruh Paul advocates most of the time! It should be a no-brainer once we claim to receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour, otherwise we’re just a bunch of selfish, greedy, hypocrites like the Pharisees and them were! 

So this Friday morning in February 2019, let’s hold up this passage of scripture, with those very practical points and decide that we’re going to improve our daily walk with Christ by trying to adhere to them more than we’re currently doing. That’s why the world has very little use for us; we talk one thing then practice something else. So for Jesus’ sake friends, let’s wake up and try and do better nuh, with God’s help obviously! Much LOVE!

…one cannot be a true believer…if the world’s pleasures still hold you captive…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 October 2018 Ezekiel 20:19.

26 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

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

Ezekiel 20:19.    ​I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them.

Aloha one and all! It’s Friday morning in Kingston, J.A! Glory to God! We’re alive and kicking, and very grateful for that fact! Ah mih breddren this will be another holiday of unforgettable memories! Chuh! When I sit in my rocking chair and reminisce, this will be definitely one of my favourite reminiscences.

Yesterday morning I took the Knutsford Express from Mo Bay to Kingston, and after a three and a half hour drive through some lush green and beautiful mountain scenery, amongst which large, beautiful homes nestled, we arrived in the hustle and bustle of Kingston Town. Brother, has it ever grown and gotten busier since my days some fifty years ago! But you can never mistake the unmistakable, unique flavour of Kingston, because it has a flavour all its own.

My sister from my other family (smile) picked us up at the Bus Depot, and after taking us to lunch at a quaint J.A. restaurant, don’t remember its name, she left us in her apartment to rest.  And it’s a good thing that we did rest, because when some of the old U.W.I class of 69 began to show up, it got real hectic real fast! Now we’re all seniors many times over, but just like you couldn’t beat our indefatigable energy back in 1966-69, you still can’t beat it now!

And brother, did the old memories and reminisces fly! Most of us looked vaguely familiar to how we were back then, but there was no mistaking the camaraderie and friendship that three years at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica Campus bred! And the best part is that most of those who showed up were in the Social Sciences Faculty, so we didn’t only share social but also work related experiences.

Oh, by the way, if you added up the years of the dozen or so people that showed up, you’d probably come close to the thousand year figure. (smile) But all of us looked good and prosperous. Now that total would have even higher if several of our classmates hadn’t gone home to be with Lord a li’l bit early.

And I want to thank my big sister Maureen from my heart and soul for putting this amazing gathering together, because I hadn’t seen most of those people since I left the campus a half century ago. Just like how she looked after me in my campus days by writing my notes for the many lectures I missed, gone gallivanting somewhere about the country with friends – and I mean copying the actual notes from her notebook to mine, she’s still looking out for me fifty years later. The Lord bless her wonderful soul!

And as I sit here writing this, looking at her in the kitchen washing stuff from last night’s party, my eyes just flood with tears of joy and thanksgiving because she’s still the same warm, giving, caring and LOVING person she was all those years ago. So how can I say that I’m not amazingly blessed eh, when the Lord has brought such beautiful people into my life? It would be a certain lie, and the Lord would just cut me down to size.

Chuh! I had to stop there for a moment because I got all choked up. And is the ole fella getting choked up a lot on this vacation! (smile) But it’s Friday and we can’t leave out the workingman’s song for two straight weeks. So what’s he singing this bright, sunny, pay day Friday eh?

As usual, he opens with his thanks for Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday…and the weekend here at last. Oh bwoy! Is also payday weekend, so you can imagine how the food and the waters going flow! Hope some of we not foolish enough to blow it all on drinks and pleasure and not pay we rent and we bills and buy food for we pickney them! It good to party and enjoy life when we work hard all week, but we must do what we need to do first. Mama Yo! I done pay mih rent and mih larder full, so is time for me an’ mih friends them to drink up the waters and stuff we face with food, as we thank the Lord for Fridays and weekends!’

Yes mih people, it’s all right to have fun after you have taken care of your immediate responsibilities. But still the workingman allows too much freedom for the enemy to infiltrate his soul. That’s why we believers have a different weekend song, we call our Friday Chant which keeps us rooted and grounded in the straight and narrow way.

So let’s chant up the usual storm, in unison now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen!’ 

Yes friends, we need to keep up our diligence in the spiritual battle against the evil enemy. And the Lord has sent us this reminder this October morning. ‘I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them. And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.’ (Ezek.20:19-20)

Ah friends, the Lord is crying out to us in heart felt sorrow to come back to Him, to give up our evil ways and the worldly idols we’re now worshipping. Remember when He warned the nations long ago, they did receive punishment when they refused to listen. So I don’t know why we think it would be different with us. The Lord is LOVING and gracious and merciful and forgiving… but only for a time. When you continue in willful disobedience, you will pay a harsh price.

Unoo see all the natural disasters that happening in the world today? So let’s wake up and smell the caffeine nuh, and return to where we came from nuh, when life was so good; the LOVING arms of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Please friends, please let wisdom prevail! Much LOVE!

…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) is wont to say…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…words to live by…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 March 2018 Matthew 7:14.

02 Mar 2018 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 7:14.   Because strait (narrow) is the gate, and narrow (difficult, confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

‘Enough now…enough of this spring-like break nonsense yes!’ said the snow. ‘This is supposed to be the winter season, and that means snow…lots of it…!’ So we’ve reverted to the white stuff being on the ground. 

Yeh friends, the spring break is over, we got some snow overnight, and a serious winter storm of rain and snow is scheduled for the North Eastern side of North America. Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t do too much damage and cause any loss of life. 

But none of that prevents the workingman from singing His Friday song with much gusto and gratefulness. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Whoopee! No more work for a couple days! Spit in the massa eye! Is my time now to do whatever I want to do. And come rain or snow I’m going to do it. 

And ah going to start by partying like there’s no tomorrow…for who knows if there’ll be a tomorrow…And if I don’t show up for work Monday morning…then let the greedy, stupid massa fire me nuh. Ah going to get another job. Thank God for Fridays and the weekends and them yes!’ 

Ah friends, sometimes it would be nice to have that attitude, and get away from all the Christian responsibility, but unfortunately our Leader Jesus Christ does not cotton to that kind of behaviour. He wants a high level of responsibility and some tighter boundaries in His organization, and if we intend to be a part of it, then we have to meet those levels. 

No two ways about it. That’s why our Friday Chant is so different to the workingman’s song. Let’s chant it now with a strong sense of purpose. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. 

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Yeh mih people, in Jesus’ organization we need to keep a balanced outlook on life and the things He calls us to do. We can’t afford to go overboard, otherwise we’ll give the enemy a chance to infiltrate the organization, and with his deceitful, lying self, do untold damage to Christ’s body. 

That’s why we need to walk the straight and narrow path that doesn’t offer as many enticements as the broad highway that the world favours. And that’s why, amongst the many warnings Jesus gave in His Sermon on the Mount this one containing our Bit, was included. 

‘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, and few there be that find it.’ (Matt.7:13-14) 

Yes friends, there are only two ways to live this life; like the workingman, letting it all hang out, or like the believer, keeping within certain circumspect boundaries. Listen to the scholars on those two verses. ‘7:13-14. The closing section of the Sermon on the Mount presents two choices to the listener. 

These are presented in a series of contrasts: two ways (vs.13-14); two trees (vs.15-20); two professions (vs.21-23); and two foundations (vs.24-29). This was a common method of teaching in both Jewish and Greco-Roman thought. Enter ye in at the strait gate (narrow) means that one must come through the narrow gate in order to reach the path that leads to eternal life. 

Though many are on the broad…way, that leadeth to destruction (eternal separation from God) the gate that leads to life is so narrow that few there be that find it. Christ Himself is both the gate and the way (cf. John 14:6), and God enables men to find that gate (cf. John 6:44).’ 

Oh my fellow believers the gate to the eternal life path is indeed narrow, that’s why so few people find it. First you must sincerely want to find it, and then look very closely and search diligently for it. But I’ll be so kind and generous as to show you both the gate and the way. (smile) And His name is JESUS! 

Yes people, as Jesus Himself said: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) Yes friends, JESUS IS EVERYTHING! Please remember that. 

And just in case you don’t know the verse that the scholars refer to about God enabling men to find the narrow gate, here it is. Oh, I’m being so generous this morning, I can’t stand it. (smile) ‘No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day.’ (John 6:44) 

Yuh see, we can’t even get to Jesus, unless the Father points us to Him. However, the Father IS pointing and directing all creation to His Son, it’s just left up to the creation to decide whether or not he’ll accept the directive. And if we’re wise, we’ll run to Him, and accept it with open arms. Much LOVE!

…Jesus said…come unto me…that’s an offer too generous and worthwhile to refuse…