Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 October 2015 Psalm 57:7

13 Oct 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 57:7.   My heart is fixed (steadfast), O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast): I will sing and give praise.

Well Friends, the Thanksgiving partying is over and done with now! Time to get back to some productive labour. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop giving thanks and praise to Almighty God as individuals.Yesterday was just a day set aside to give thanks as a nation. 

But really, every time we open our eyes to greet a new day, we ought to give thanks to our Creator, for the breath of life that He has imbued in us, because it is a gift of such immense proportions, which ONLY He can give. 

And when we hear the birds singing, and feel the joy their trilling brings, our thanks meter ought to rise up even higher. Then when we enjoy the wonderful mercies and blessings of our heavenly Father throughout the day, and contemplate upon the salvation and eternal life He has provided through His awesome grace and the atoning death of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ… 

Oh brother, then our thanks ought to ramp up so high that it breaks the measuring equipment! That just shows we are so grateful for His LOVING-kindness and compassion to us, undeserving though we are. 

So let’s never forget my people, that thanks and praise is an every day, all day attitude of appreciation to the Most High God Jehovah, our wonderful Creator and ever-generous Provider! 

And since today is Tuesday, it’s only appropriate that we give some thanks and praise through our Tuesday Mantra. 

Now as one harmonious body, let’s pray. ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to hurry. I don’t have to worry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen.’ 

And all of that is ever so true Friends! Once we have the LOVE of God flowing through us, then there is no need to worry or be anxious about ANYTHING! For in wisely taking EVERYTHING to Him in prayer, and casting ALL our cares upon Him, He will unburden us and give us rest and peace like no one else can. And that is even more reason to be generous in our thanks and praise. 

And to show how real our thanks and praise ought to be, just listen to our Bit, taken from Psalm 57 – A Prayer for Deliverance – written when Bruh David fled from his persecutor Saul to a cave in the wilderness. ‘My heart is fixed (steadfast), O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast): I will sing and give praise.’ 

So you see my brethren, even during some of Bruh David’s roughest times he still was wise, steadfast and faithful enough to keep on giving thanks and praise to the God of his fathers. Likewise Friends, our wisdom, steadfastness and faithfulness ought to have us giving thanks to God in ALL situations, be they good or bad, for that’s what Jesus advised. 

The first part of Psalm 57 is filled with Bruh David’s lament and petition to God for succour, while the second half, starting at our Bit, portrays his trust and thanksgiving. 

Listen to Bruh David pour out his heart in praise after our Bit. ‘Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery (lute) and harp: I myself will awake early (will awaken the dawn). I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: 

I will sing unto thee among the nations (gentiles). For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.’ (Ps.57:8-11) 

Oh my fellow believers in Christ, can we give such acknowledgement to Almighty God during our times of adversity? Most of us cannot, but we ought to be able to, according to the level of our faith and maturity in Christ Jesus. 

Sadly, some of us don’t even sing His praises and give Him thanks during our good times, much less in the rough ones. But we must keep seeking to grow in Christ-likeness, until we can give thanks and praise even in the midst of our trials and tribulations. Then and only then will we have attained a strong enough foundation to take us through our earthly problems and tests. 

But please be careful though, that if and when we achieve such a state, we don’t stop and rest on our laurels, but keep on striving, striving with Jesus to win this race of life. 

Oh my people, we can never afford to stop learning, to stop growing in Christ Jesus – not until the day He takes us home – or else we are liable to backslide, and backsliding is one of the worst things a believer can ever do. 

And please note that the verses of Psalm 57, which we have just read, are also the beginning stanzas of Psalm 108 – Israel looks to God for help. 

And the scholars inform us, re ‘Psalm 108. This Psalm is composed of fragments from two other psalms. The first section verses 1-5, is taken from 57:7-11; the second section, verses 6-13, is taken from 60:5-12, with little change in the wording of either fragment. 

Though taken from psalms of individual lament (ch.57) and national lament (ch.60), the present psalm is composed of the most positive sections of confidence in both. The resulting work is a psalm of victory that only briefly alludes to the nation’s lament, namely, their ever-present enemies (vv.12-13).’ 

And we’ll end with last two verses of Psalm 60 – A prayer for help against the foe – and Psalm 108, verses which are ever so appropriate to our current world situation. 

Please pray with me Friends. ‘Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.’ (Ps.108:12-13) 

Yes my people, it is indeed the great God of Hosts who will trample down our enemies! But first we have to repent and come back to Him in all sincerity and truth. Let’s wisely begin doing that today nuh, because that’s our ONLY hope. Much LOVE!

…only through Christ’s LOVE Revolution…can the world be saved…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 June 2015 Ephesians 2:8

13 Jun 2015 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 2:8.    For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Aye Friends, in some parts of our world night is swiftly falling, while in others, day is slowly dawning, but be it known that the controlling factor in both circumstances is the hand of Almighty God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

So while some on the other side of the world are praying, asking for a restful and refreshing night of sleep, we on this side of the pond are giving thanks for being able to see the Son’s glorious light for another wonderful day.

And we’re also asking for strength, guidance and wisdom to do God’s Will as we go about our day, hopefully doing good like our Lord and Saviour Jesus did while He sojourned here on earth. Later on tonight, the situations will be reversed, but in His absolute wisdom, that’s just the way God planned it.

Now this past week on In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, I heard a male quartet open the proceedings with a beautiful spiritual song that touched my heart mightily. (smile) Some of you who watch Uncle Charles might have also heard it. I don’t remember the verses of the song, but the chorus was so memorable that it stuck in my mind.

Please sing it with me. ‘Saved by grace. I have been saved by grace. My name’s written in the Book of Life. And my sins are washed away. Saved by grace. I have been saved by grace. It’s not what I deserve. But I have been saved by grace.’

One more time people, so that the truth of those statements can sink right down deep into our souls. ‘Saved by grace. I have been saved by grace. My name’s written in the Book of Life. And my sins are washed away. Saved by grace. I have been saved by grace. It’s not what I deserve. But I have been saved by grace.’

Yes Friends, it’s by God’s free gift of grace that we are saved, not by anything else! And yuh know what too? We absolutely don’t deserve it. But nonetheless, we have been saved by God’s grace.

‘And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Give the Lord much thanks and praise for His great LOVE and concern for us!’

Yuh better believe that too yes Friends, for without God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness we’d all be heading for Hades with Lucifer, with no chance for, or of redemption.  Glory be for such a wonderful Deity!

Now let’s check out our Bit and delve a little more into the ramifications of the whole situation. (smile) ‘For by grace are ye (you have been) saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:’ That’s Bruh Paul telling it to the Ephesians plain and clear!

And the scholars offer this explanation re the Grace of God. ‘2:8. The grace of God is the expression of His goodness toward the undeserving. Grace means unmerited favour, and can be expressed by the acrostic “God’s riches At Christ’s Expense.” This grace is the basis of our salvation (1:7; 2:8).

Illustration: In salvation, men who deserve hell obtain heaven. This cannot be explained apart from God’s grace. When Paul (Saul) met the Lord on the Damascus Road, Paul was a persecutor of the church. Yet God made him one of the church’s chief preachers. Application: We need to remember that we are saved, given the Holy Spirit, and allowed to serve God – by His grace. (First Ref. Gen.6:8; Primary Ref. Eph.2:8; cf. Ps.139:1).’

Yes my brethren, the whole shebang has nothing to do with us, but all with God. As Bruh Paul continues after our Bit. ‘Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph.2:9-10)

Now listen to the scholars’ explanation of those two verses. ‘2:9. The reason, in part, that salvation is not achieved by good works is to prevent men from bragging of having earned a place in heaven by themselves.’ ‘2:10. For verifies the assertion of man’s good works having no part in obtaining salvation.

Workmanship refers not our original or physical birth, but our spiritual birth: what we are spiritually in the good sense is due to God, not ourselves. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works means “having been (morally) re-created by Christ Jesus for good works”; that is, Jesus remade our spiritual lives so that we could then do good works.

The apostle’s thinking is this: since the Christian has been given spiritual life for the purpose of doing good works, there could have been no good works by him prior to conversion that would merit salvation. Good works follow – do not precede – salvation.’  

And there we have it my people, some basic facts about that most wonderful attribute of God, called grace! Unfortunately though, not a whole lot of us seem to appreciate it, because we don’t hold God in high esteem. Many of us refuse to even believe that there is a God. I’m sorry for that poor lot, but there’s not a whole lot that we can do except tell them about Christ and live the way He wants us to live. Hopefully our Christ-like example will make a bigger difference than our talking. 

And we’ll end with these moving words of John. ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made (became) flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:10-14)

Oh Friends, that puts it all into a nutshell, so that we can see it at one glance. Please ponder all that we’ve said to day, so that we can improve our faith, our Bible knowledge and our righteousness as befitting true believers. Much LOVE!

…but Noah found grace…in the eyes of the Lord…  (Gen.6:8)