Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 September 2020 Psalm 4:7.

30 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 4:7.     Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased.

Well it’s another brand new day in the life my friends and fellow believers. And yes, like always, it’s filled with all the new mercies and compassions that our Lord God has promised! What a divine blessing and incomparable benefit! But we have to joyfully accept them and then productively use them, for them to be of any real benefit to us. So let’s hope, like the manna the Lord fed the Israelites with so long ago in the wilderness, we have gathered up our mercies and compassions for this day and have put them to work to the benefit of His holy name and will. For that’s the main purpose of our lives on this planet Earth; doing His Will while obeying His Word. 

And that’s all I have to say this morning! (smile) But our friend Ruth Harms Calkin has something wonderful to share with us; it’s a poem called ‘Beautiful Things Happen,’ and it’s taken from our One Year Book of Bible Promises. So please pray with me: ‘O God such beautiful things happen when I meet You day by day In quietness and confidence. There is a deep inner wholeness And the assurance of Your guidance.

 I am not so easily disturbed By changing circumstances. I am less dependent on others And more dependent on You. My eyes may be full of tears But my heart is full of joy. In discovering Your hidden treasures I learn how deeply I am treasured by You. When day by day I am responsive To Your whispered secrets You do more for me in one day Than I could do for myself in a lifetime.’ 

Now isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! The Lord does more for us in one single, solitary day than we could ever do for ourselves in a whole lifetime! But all those things don’t just come automatically; we have to seek Him and meet and greet and reverence and worship and enjoy His friendship,LOVE, grace and mercy that He gives so freely to those who ask for and receive it. Remember friends, in God’s economy, asking and receiving are very important. Remember these crucial words of Jesus: ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ (Matt. 7:7) 

And his brother James follows that up with these immortal words: ‘Ye lust, and have not: ye kill (murder), and desire to have (covet), and cannot obtain: ye fight and war (battle), yet ye have not, because ye ask not.’ (James 4:2) Yes friends, we try to do all those things in our own strength, but the true answer to life is going to our heavenly Father and asking Him for whatever we desire. And James spells out the problem even further: ‘Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts (pleasures).’ (James 4:3) 

And isn’t that the indisputable truth? It certainly is, because when we do ask, we too often ask for unimportant things, lustful things of the world, things that don’t pair up with God’s will for us. And we have this interesting explanation on the subject from the website www.ibelieve.com/faith: ‘Tragedy and shock often prompt us to panic, when it should prompt us to pray. The most powerful weapon we’ve been given to wield often gets shelved for worry, manipulation, and comparison.’ And that’s another indisputable truth! In times of trouble, instead of turning to God with the most powerful tool in the universe, prayer, we unwisely try to manipulate and work things out on our own. 

So the long and short of the story is that we must not only ask, but ask for the right things. And I’m chuckling here because I went off on a tangent there. It wasn’t my intention to talk about all that asking stuff, but it just seemed right and important to mention at this time. 

Anyway, getting back to our poem: ‘Beautiful Things Happen.’ Beautiful things do happen when we surrender our all to God and come humbly and confidently to Him each and every day to renew our fellowship with Him. And though our circumstances might be somewhat rough and difficult, like they are right now, when we encounter Christ, right where we are, though the tears may be flowing like a river from our eyes, because of those unfortunate circumstances, our hearts will be overflowing with joy because we know that our great and wonderful God is ALWAYS near and will ALWAYS look after us once we place our lives in His mighty and oh so compassionate hands. 

Yes friends, our God deeply LOVES and treasures each of His creation. He made NOTHING that He doesn’t LOVE! Remember the remarkable words the Good Book says about the creation? ‘And God saw that it was good…’ (Gen. 1:25) And yes, our sins have disappointed Him greatly, but He still LOVES us so much that He sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ to die for us so that we could be saved from hell fire and eternal damnation! But we need to come to Him! I can’t declare (yeahhh!) how important that is my people. The onus is now on us to accept God’s grace and mercy! 

Now listen to these most reassuring words of Bruh David from Psalm 4 – An evening prayer of trust in God, which are the Bible Promises for our Poem and also our Bit. ‘There may be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn (grain) and their wine increased. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.’ (Ps. 4:6-8) 

Mama Mia! Oh mih people, yuh read them marvellous words of Bruh David! Brother! What could be better than that eh? NOTHING really! When you fellowship and commune with the Lord during the day, you can sleep like a baby at nights, without any worries or real concerns, because He makes those who trust and sincerely believe in Him to sleep in peace! Glory Be! 

Yes, the ole fella’s excited! And if you aren’t excited after reading all that we’ve said today, then ah sorry for yuh yes! And then yuh wonder why life treating yuh so rough and tough. Chuh! It’s simply because yuh not putting enough trust and faith in the Lord God Almighty and living the way He desires you to. And He knows you won’t be perfect, because He’s never made any perfect human beings. But He does require us to come to Him and commune with Him on a regular basis, so that He can give us the desires of our hearts. And not the lustful, ungodly desires, but the true and godly ones! (smile) 

Ah mih people, there’s so much more useful scripture I wanted to quote, but time and space have run out. Maybe tomorrow we can continue, God willing. But now let’s go home declaring (awright!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our most wonderful position in Christ Jesus! 

All together now in strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And we need to remember, that if we do endure until the end, our future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Give our wonderful God some much deserved praise my people!Much LOVE!

…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 July 2020 2 Corinthians 10:12.

25 Jul 2020 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 10:12.     ​For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.
 

Welcome friends, neighbours and Scrip-Bit family to a glorious Saturday, one filled with so many promises that we couldn’t enjoy or accept them all, even if we tried! Wow! But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to accept and enjoy as many as we can, because that’s why our great and wonderful God showered us with them on this glorious summer morn! So let’s make a special effort to do it nuh, especially on a lazy Saturday like this one, let’s action our wonderful acclamation: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL be glad and rejoice in it!’ 

And the first order of business is to check out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Oh brother, we have a full slate of some interesting quotes and I don’t know how to arrange them so we can get the best benefit. Like Anselm trying to tax mih ole brain. Oh chuh! Let’s fly the seat of our pants. (smile) 

We going to start with this one: ‘If you don’t have time to do it right you must have time to do it over.’ Ah mih people, I don’t know how many times my mother directly told me or intimated that it was in my best interest to do it right the first time, because I’d only have to do it over again, and you often don’t have the time to do it over again. And our quote suggests that when we don’t do it right the first time it’s because we have time to do it over again. But I think that’s just a tongue in cheek statement, (smile) because it’s ever so important to try and do it right the first time. 

Let’s pay serious attention to our doings nuh, else we’ll end up like this next quote describes: ‘We are too busy mopping the floor to turn off the faucet.’ Yeh, so often we try to fix the result of the problem, rather than the problem itself. That’s not wisdom, and it’s happening more and more everyday in our confused and busy world. Too many of us don’t take the time to think through stuff before we rush out to fix it. 

But here’s this wonderful quote that explains it all. ‘The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of like is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.’ 

Oh, isn’t that beautiful and ever so wise my brethren! And that last sentence is key. As Jesus proclaimed: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that ye mete withal (use) it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:38) Yeh friends, however we give, generously or grudgingly, it shall be given back to us, like a boomerang. In other words, like Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) says: ‘whatever we sow, we shall reap, more than we sow, and later than we sow.’ Just had to throw that in there. (smile) 

And that brings us to this interesting quote that we all know: ‘Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.’ And that’s for certain sure, because the Lord seems to like using sinners, broken people to accomplish His biggest deeds. Just look at people like Bruh David, Moses and Bruh Paul and the father of nations, Abraham. All of them had speckles on their lily-white skin. That’s just for comparison purposes, to heighten it. (smile) But they all did great things for the Lord, and I guess that’s a point He LOVES to make: use broken people to do big deeds in His name. 

Like the story of the two pots a woman used to carry water every day; one was perfect, the other cracked and thus leaked out half the water by the time they got home. Two years into situation, the cracked one complained about its failure to do its job properly, but the lady pointed to the beautiful flowers on the side of the road of the cracked pot. She knew of the pot’s flaw and had planted flower seeds on his side which he watered as they went along. 

And as the Bible.org website so wisely reasons: ‘Each of us has our own unique flaws. We’re all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His Father’s table. In God’s great economy, nothing goes to waste. So as we seek ways to minister together, and as God calls you to tasks He has appointed for you, don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and allow Him to take advantage of them, and you, too, can be the cause of beauty in His pathway. Go out boldly, knowing that in our weakness we find His strength, and that “In Him every one of God’s promises is a Yes.” 

Oh Mama Mia! What words of divine wisdom! And that’s why we badly need to adhere to this last quote: ‘Be yourself: everyone else is already taken.’ Oh so true! But in this follow fashion world, too many of us are trying to be like other people, who themselves don’t even know who they are. Just look at the nonsense that social media is causing, re shaming each other because of our size, supposed, beauty, race, colour, creed, whatever have you. People are even committing suicide because of the foolishness. 

But friends, God made us to be who we are. He knows all of our weaknesses, flaws and imperfections because that’s how He made us, and that’s what needed for the special plan and purpose He has for our individual lives. So we don’t need to be anybody else but ourselves. Remember Bruh Paul’s warning to the church at Corinth when he spoke of his spiritual authority? ‘For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise.’ (2 Cor. 10:12) 

Oh friends, it is good to follow seemingly godly, good and righteous folks, but we should not let their behaviour affect us to the detriment of the plan that God has for us. In the long run, we need to be whom He has made us to be, regardless of our flaws, if we truly desire to reach our destiny! Much LOVE!

…comparisons among men…reeks of the devil’s influence… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 November 2019 Luke 6:38.

26 Nov 2019 Leave a comment

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

Luke 6:38.    ​Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that ye mete (use) withal it shall be measured to you again.
 

And so, having muddled through Monday, (smile) we’ve finally arrived at Tuesday! And to help us not muddle through Tuesday too, here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, that will wake us up to an all too common and ungodly situation that exists in our society today. It’s called ‘The “Someday” Syndrome!’ We all do it, but are often not even aware we’re doing it, since it now comes so naturally. 

Please pray with me: ‘The “Someday” Syndrome! How prevalent it has become in our “advanced” society. How thought-consuming, how time-consuming. “Someday” when we’ve bought a bigger house, when we’ve installed our swimming pool, when we’ve taken another trip or two… “Someday” we’ll be able to give more to the hungry, to the needy. But right now there are so many pressing demands, so many social events that consume both time and money. 

“Someday” the struggle will be less taxing. However, it doesn’t really work that way. “Someday” never seems to happen. It’s only when giving becomes primary and getting becomes secondary that we begin to see things from God’s point of view. When we obey God’s Word, His giving never stops. We need to be spiritually prepared to catch His gifts.’ 

And oh, how gospel true that is my supposedly believing brethren! Steups! We talk an exceptionally mighty talk, but our actual walk comes nowhere near our talk! And that’s very problematic for us who say we believe in Christ Jesus. Remember, He came to save and to give and to make whole, and the only way we can follow in his footsteps is by sincerely trying to do what He did. But the truth of the matter is that we can’t do any of those things until we first humble ourselves in our own eyes and look to the needs of others much more than we are currently doing. 

I’m sure that we all can see the great need that exists in our overall prosperous society, where foodbanks and shelters for the homeless are no longer a wartime necessity, but the peace time norm. And that’s because those who have, have too much, and are refusing to share with those who don’t. And believe me, a society that doesn’t have more equality of wealth and opportunity than ours now has, will always face revolution and chaos. History repeatedly tells of it down through the ages, and we’re seeing one of those chaotic and revolutionary periods right now, as our world is being torn apart by strife, due to severe poverty, homelessness, lack of economic opportunities, as well as rampant greed and power struggles! 

There is no doubt that the rich are getting richer, while the poor are getting poorer…if the latter is even possible! The stats tell us the richest 1 percent in our society own more than 90 percent of it, and their wealth is daily increasing. So what does that leave for the other 99 percent eh? Not a whole lot. That’s why dissatisfaction is so prevalent and rampant all over the world. Obviously the wealthy have not learned from the woeful tales of history, because they are doing exactly the same thing their fellow wealthy have done; seeking it all for themselves and not wisely sharing some of it. 

And the sad part is that they don’t have to share or give it all away. A small portion of genuine giving will quiet the masses. But people need to see that there is indeed hope for themselves and their offspring to make a better life, if they so desire. And when they don’t, that’s when they revolt. As the ole people would say, when yuh back up a dog against a wall, all he can do is come out fighting! And that’s what so many people in so many of our nations are currently experiencing. Take a look at Venezuela; at Hong Kong, at Bolivia…and so many nations around the world… all across the board, from the first world to the third and fourth world countries! 

And I just realized that we haven’t even mentioned that continual hotbed of dissatisfaction, the Middle East, where wealth and power reigns supreme in the hands of the privileged few, while the many scrounge for a living. But yuh know what friends, our world will only change if we, the supposed Christians take a major lead in changing it. If we truly follow the words and actions of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when He mouthed the promise from our “Someday” Story: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure that ye mete (use) withal it shall be measured to you again.’ 

Oh my people, that’s just the normal law of nature, the economic principle of God’s economy: what you sow, you will eventually reap; how much you receive depends on how much you give! It’s something we know and talk about, but don’t do enough of. As James so wisely advises us: ‘So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgement without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth (triumphs) against judgement.’ (James 2:12-13) 

It’s not rocket science friends, especially for those of us who claim to believe! And therein lies the heart and soul of the problem; we only claim to believe. Unfortunately though, our lives don’t reflect it in a meaningful way. So please, I seriously implore us, for our children’s children sake, let’s try and right this badly listing ship called our world RIGHT NOW nuh, for tomorrow might just be too late. Much LOVE!

…contrary to popular opinion…our world…like the Titanic…is also sinkable…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 March 2019 Luke 6:38.

02 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

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

Luke 6:38.   ​Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket, wallet). For with the same measure that ye mete (use, give) withal it shall be measured to you again.
 

So now it’s Saturday, and I have to go to a friend’s funeral this morning. He’s been sick for some time now, and the Lord has finally decided to call him home. Rest in peace Hamilton my friend, as I remember the many good times we had so long ago. Those were the days when we were young and giddy, and life seemed like it would never end, at least the good times. But unfortunately all good things do come to an end at some stage of the game, some of us are just blessed to enjoy them longer. 

And with the passing of every friend and colleague, we tend to take our mortality more seriously, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before our time will come. (smile) But until then we just have to go about the Lord’s business as best we can. And since it’s Saturday, that means it’s time to look at some quotes from our friend Anselm, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Check out this first one: ‘You’re going to go through tough times – that’s life. But I say, ‘Nothing happens to you, it happens for you.’ See the positive in negative events.’ And there’s no disputing that! Jesus said it Himself that we’ll see trials and tribulations in this world, but we need to be of good cheer, because He has already defeated the world. (John 16:33) 

Consequently, when tough things happen to us, we need to try and extract the positive aspects from them, because there are positive aspects in almost every occurrence. As Gramp’s Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) liked to say: ‘When the going get’s tough, the tough get going!’ And as Christians, faithful followers of Christ, that is exactly how we ought to respond to tough times! 

Now hear this: ‘I believe if you keep your faith, you keep your trust, you keep the right attitude, if you’re grateful, you’ll see God open up new doors.’ There’s absolutely no argument with that nuh friends because that’s the way the Lord has set up His kingdom! And possibly the most famous scripture in the Good Book about opening and pouring out blessings is that verse from Malachi that we don’t like to hear, because it conjures up a lot of sacrifice on our part. 

Hear the Lord’s accusation: ‘Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat (food) in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ (Mal.3:9-10) 

Oh friends, we like to test the Lord in other ways, but not in tithing! (smile) However, we can be obedient in every other aspect of God’s word, and not in that of tithing, giving God ten percent of our income, we will NEVER be as blessed as we can be. We’re quick to distribute our time, talents and treasure to all different places, people and pursuits, but when it comes to giving God what is God’s, what He’s asked for from way back when, it’s like pulling teeth without anesthetic! 

And sadly many churches are not preaching about that nowadays, figuring it’s Old Testament stuff, and wondering why they are not prospering as they expect. But friends, you can’t be faithful in some things and not others where God is concerned. You have to be faithful in EVERYTHING! That’s if you want to receive the crown of righteousness that the Lord has in store for you at the end of your race of life, like Bruh Paul says. (2 Tim. 4:6-8) 

And all of that segues in nicely to this last quote: ‘When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth my fellow believers! Jesus said it in plain and straightforward language in Luke: ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket, wallet). For with the same measure that ye mete (use, give) withal it shall be measured to you again.’ 

In simple terms it’s merely that you have to sow before you can reap, and if you sow miserly, then you will reap miserly. As Bruh Paul expatiates on the subject (smile) to the church at Corinth: ‘But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully (generously) shall reap also bountifully (generously). Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity (compulsion); for God LOVETH a cheerful (joyful) giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor.9:6-8) 

So friends, what more can I say eh? Nothing really, because it’s all spelled out there in black and white in plain language! All I can do now is hope this li’l exercise today will loosen the purse strings of our time, talent and treasure and cause us to be more giving to God and our fellow man…that is if we want to receive in abundance from God and others too! Much LOVE!

…how much you receive…all depends on how much you give…