Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 January 2023   1 Corinthians 15:57.

02 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 15:57.       But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

           So it’s another holiday Monday for many working folks because the official New Year’s Day fell on the Sunday! What a way there’s been lots of time to celebrate this Christmas and New Year’s seasons. Let’s hope though that we don’t get too accustomed to these long weekends and completely forget the work ethic that we already don’t have much of. (smile) 

           Ah friends this new year of 2023 must be one of exceeding diligence if we truly want to make some headway against the evil enemy and his iniquity cohorts. Their army is vast and they are serious about taking over and ruling the world. And their methods of warfare are lowdown and inhumane…and that’s putting it nicely. 

           Therefore, if we hope to make any positive changes, we have to be serious, disciplined, work hard and requite evil with good, because the enemy won’t give us an easy break. We’ll have to fight for every bit of ground we conquer. But the good news is that we have Jesus in our corner, and if we use His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us then our victory will be assured, because ‘In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) 

            Please note though, that victory will only come through our following the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, for we cannot defeat the enemy in our own strength. As Bruh Paul wrote in his first missive to the church at Corinth: ‘The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:56-57) Yes friends, only when we are working with and through Jesus is victory possible. 

            So Bruh Paul continues with the practical application: ‘Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:58) And we can only do that if we follow Peter’s advice: ‘But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To hm be glory both now and for ever.’ (2 Pet. 3:18) 

           Oh my fellow believers, we can’t ever work properly and consistently with Jesus until we know what He’s truly about, which necessitates spending time in His Word, and in prayer, then putting those things we learn into practical use. And that’s one of Bruh Paul’s strengths; after giving you the theory, he usually gives you the practical application, like he did with the Ephesians, when he explained some of the practical aspects of living the new life in Christ. 

            Listen up as he exhorts them and us. ‘This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind.’ (Eph. 4:17) And the scholars explain that ‘since each Christian is divinely enabled with some spiritual gift, he must walk not as other Gentiles walk, lest his much-needed contribution to the church’s growth be sorely missed. Unbelieving Gentiles live in the vanity (futility) of their mind, without proper purpose, causing all their efforts to obtain happiness to end in failure.’ 

           And Bruh Paul delves further into the theory. (smile) ‘Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through (because of) the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardening) of their heart.’ (Eph. 4:18) Now the scholars tell us that ‘The blindness of their heart refers to the hardness of their will. Gentiles’ obstinacy against the divine will has caused them to be separated from God’s life.’ 

            And all of us know this to be true! When your heart stubbornly refuses to do God’s will, then you become separated from Him. As Bruh Paul further explains: ‘Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness (licentiousness), to work all uncleanness with greediness.’ (Eph.4:19) That means those unbelievers have become so calloused, have gone so deep in sin that they are insensitive to moral right and wrong. 

            And unfortunately, that can apply to many of us, though as Bruh Paul maintains: ‘But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.’ (Eph. 4:20-21) Yes my fellow saints, we have not learned Christ or Christian teaching like that. Our Christian doctrine has instructed us NOT to live like the unbelievers portrayed in verses 17-19 above.  And that’s the basic theory of living the new life in Christ. 

           Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll tackle the practical aspects of that theory. Trying to do that today with our short attention span will just get us all confused and also make the Bit too long. (smile) Now let’s go to our ever faithful and merciful God, in confidence, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn sincerely seeking His grace and mercy. 

           As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

            Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

           And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

           And to receive a positive answer, the solution is obvious: humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek God’s face. Much LOVE!

           … it’s all about living for Christ…in a Christ-like manner…

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Today​’s Scrip-Bit 31 March 2019 Isaiah 53:7.

31 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 53:7.   ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’  
 

Aye friends, just a gentle reminder that this is vacation time so the Bit will not always be early or even at the same time every day. (smile) It all depends on where I have to go or what needs to be done. So please don’t feel badly, or take umbrage, if it shows up at all weird sorts of times. 

Anyhow, we done late already this Sunday morning, or rather afternoon; had to go to church and then fellowship afterwards, then come home and eat some of the breakfast stuff I bought at church, bake and saltfish, then rest. Yuh know the rest is essential for the ole fella these days. (smile) 

So let’s go directly to our song of praise and worship. It’s one of my favourite hymns from my boyhood days, and as I was resting there a while ago contemplating what song we’d sing today, the Lord reminded me of that one and requested it. And it’s obvious I could not refuse His request. (smile) 

It’s titled ‘There is a green hill far away.’ It was written many moons ago by Cecil Frances Alexander (nee Humphreys) (1818-1895), the Anglo-Irish hymnodist and poet. And just for your info, she apparently also wrote that other popular hymn ‘All things bright and beautiful,’ and the Christmas Carol, ‘Once in Royal David’s City.’ 

So let’s now sing those fateful and true words of ‘There is a green Hill far away,’ like if we really mean them nuh, because in another few weeks, on Good Friday, we ‘re going to be truly celebrating the sad and sorrowful but oh so necessary and important demise of Christ on that cross in a far away land! 

All together in strong, sweet, harmonious voices: ‘There is a green hill far away, Without a city wall, Where the dear Lord was crucified, Who died to save us all. We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear, But we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there. He died that we might be forgiven, He died to make us good, That we might go at last to Him, saved by His precious blood. 

There was no other good enough To pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate Of heav’n and let us in. Oh, dearly, dearly has he LOVED! And we must LOVE him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’ 

Yes my faithful brethren, we cannot doubt those truth bearing words of Cecil Frances Alexander, because without the redeeming deeds of Jesus we’d still be living in darkness and headed for Hades at the end of this miserable earthly life. But all thanks and praise be to God the Father, who sent Him, and to Jesus, God the Son, who obediently went to the cross to die for our abominable sins which had kept us very removed from the holy and righteous Jehovah God! 

Ah mih people, I don’t know about these words of Frances nuh: ‘We may not know, we cannot tell, What pains he had to bear,’ because the Good book plainly states them; lashes with a cruel whip, taunting and jeering and spitting, a crown of thorns pressed down upon his head, then made to carry His cross through Jerusalem like a common thief, then to make matters even worse, nailed to that cross between two common criminals after being speared in the side and His clothes auction off by casting lots! 

So don’t tell me we don’t know what pain He had to bear, because it was immense and inhumane! But it definitely was for us that He underwent that horrific ‘sufferation!’ No doubt about it! As Isaiah had foretold eons before that terrible day at Golgotha: ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’  

Yes friends, Jesus did it all for us on the basis of LOVE which personifies the Father, and also to bring to reality, the magnificent and ever-faithful promise of the Father, as Isaiah also prophesied when talking about the Lord’s servant. ‘Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect (my chosen one), in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgement (justice) to the Gentiles. 

He shall not cry (cry out), nor lift up (raise his voice), nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking (dimly burning) flax shall he not quench (extinguish): he shall bring forth judgement (justice) unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgement (justice) in the earth: and the isles (coastlands) shall wait for his law.’ (Is.42:1-4) 

And so said so done, my people! In fact it’s not quite done as yet, because Jesus has to return to clean up the mess that’s the earth today. As the scholars explain: ‘The ministry of the Servant of the Lord will be to bring forth judgement or justice to the Gentiles and in the earth. His kingdom knows no barriers of nationality or race. Of all the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah saw this fact most clearly. While Jesus’ early ministry was to the house of Israel, His ultimate commission extended to the Gentiles as well.’ 

And just for our info, the New Testament quotes this prophecy as being fulfilled in Jesus in Matt.12:18-21. Please check it out. (smile) So what’s the long and short of the story my people? Christ died that our sins might be forgiven, He paid the price that ONLY He could pay with His precious, sinless blood, so that we could be reconciled to the Father and thus have the wonderful option of enjoying eternal life in the company of the Triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

Ah friends, it was not an easy row that the Father gave Jesus to hoe, but He did it obediently because He LOVED both the Father and us. Consequently, our response to all of that should be exactly what we sung in the hymn above: ‘Oh, dearly, dearly has he LOVED! And we must LOVE him too, And trust in his redeeming blood, And try his works to do.’ Nuff said! Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…otherwise the consequences will be…extremely disastrous…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 October 2018 2 Corinthians 5:17.

06 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 5:17.    ​Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (new creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

Ah, a rainy Saturday morning, just right for sleeping in! Yeh, woke up to find showers, or rather drizzles of blessings watering the land. And I know that many of you are going to take this opportunity to sleep in this morning, as the mind is saying: ‘Chuh! Forget all the household chores yes! Forget the groceries yes! There’s enough stuff in the fridge for another day!

Snuggle up next to your significant other and enjoy their human warmth, which is like no other warmth in the universe! Just pamper yourself today; rest and relax and smell the coffee gurgling away in the coffee-maker downstairs.’ 

And that ties in quite nicely to our first quote from our friend Anselm, whose quotes we review each Saturday, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.  He says: ‘You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.’

Yeh friends, that’s absolutely true! Earthly life is very short in comparison to eternity, so we don’t need to get all uptight and worried, just mosey along confidently and enjoy all the stuff the Lord has placed down here for us to enjoy. 

And that leads us to this next interesting quote: ‘I think being in LOVE with life is a key to eternal youth.’ No doubt about that my brethren! When we LOVE life, it keeps us young and sparkling! We smile a lot, are contented a lot and have much less resentment than those who struggle with life. For it’s really the negative emotions we harbour and display that really drag us down and make us old before our time. (smile) 

Now listen to this quote: ‘You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.’ I don’t necessarily agree with that, because the changes needed are sometimes small and very doable within the existing model. And just look at our current situation, where everyday we have a new model of something; oftimes they are no better than the old one, but inevitably they make the old ones obsolete. 

And look at the amount of different models we have of human societies! People are trying to change them from both inside and outside, but they’re not getting any better. Some of the old models worked much better than the new ones. Look at the French Revolution, and the Communist Revolution in Russia. Neither made life any better. In fact both were more cruel and inhumane than the previous models. 

And there’s much truth in this next quote: ‘People can cry much easier than they can change.’ For sure, for sure! Crying comes much easier than changing because ‘Our dilemma is that we hate change and LOVE it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.’ What insight into our human nature! 

We all want things to change for the better, but we hate to go through the tough changes that change always brings. As the quote says, we want it to get better while staying the same. That’s because change takes us out of our comfort zone, into one we don’t know, and might not like. But friends, change, whether for good or bad, always means changing something in our lives. 

Look at the butterfly nuh, look at its metamorphosis; how it creeps along like a snail for a while, then sheds its reptile-like skin and suddenly transforms itself into a beautiful butterfly! I’m sure it’s no easy task to shed that skin, but it knows the rewards that will come from making such a painstaking change. 

And so it is with us friends, we all are changed, go through our own metamorphosis, when we come to know, LOVE, and work for Christ. As Bruh Paul says to the Corinthians in our Bit: ‘​Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (new creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ And that’s gospel truth my people! 

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour we just become entirely different people! We stop living by the carnal lusts of the flesh, by the evil and sinful ways of the world. We are first changed on the inside by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us, then others gradually see those changes manifested on the outside as the Holy Spirit begins to work Christ-like ways in us. We embrace a totally new way of life; a Spirit filled life. 

As Jesus told the disciples once when they were murmuring about His teaching: ‘It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ (John 6:63)

Yes friends, the flesh is basically worthless, because it eventually dies and returns to the dust from which it was made. However, the spirit lives on forever; either in hell fire and damnation, or in heaven with our Triune God. 

But that distinction can only be made by an earthly decision to accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Believe me people, it’s the wisest decision you can ever make in this earthly life, because failure to do so, will bring the worst fate possible to a human soul; eternal separation from Almighty God for ALL of eternity! 

And believe me, that’s a long, long, long…exceedingly long time! So please make that oh so wise decision today nuh; right now, because the Grim Reaper can come calling at any time. And once He comes, it’s too late! Much LOVE!

…don’t put off for tomorrow…what you can do today…it can mean hell fire…instead of heavenly bliss…