Today’s Scrip-Bit   3 September 2023   2 Corinthians 5:21.

03 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 5:21.       For he (God the Father) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

And this Labour Day Sunday is indeed a glorious day in my neighborhood, all sunshine and blue skies!  A day that makes you want to get up and head for the Lord’s sanctuary so that you can enjoy the wonderful camaraderie involved there, worshipping and singing the praises of our great God, and being refilled with Hs Holy Spirit! But even if your day is not as glorious as mine, it is still the best decision, the wisest decision you can ever make, to get up and join your fellow believers in the Lord’s house. 

And as always, we begin with a song of praise, but today we going way down South, to T&T, Trinidad and Tobago for some sweet West Indian Gospel music, the sweetest gospel music there is. (smile) Now, a friend wrote me this past week and sent me two songs by Denyse Plummer, the former soca artiste turned Christian performer, also telling me that we should celebrate Denyse. So mih people,  it’s a chutney soca Sunday, the reworking of her earlier hit ‘Na Leaving,’ about all the good things in T&T, into a Christian song titled ‘Ah Cyar Leave Him!’ 

So, let’s raise the roof with our sacrificial praise, as we tell the world, and heaven too, in no uncertain terms that we can’t leave Jesus. And as the sweet, easy rocking chutney soca music start, we hear a couple bars, then we shout out ‘Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah! From revelry to righteousness…Cyar leave Him. From hell-bound to holiness…Cyar leave Him. From sin to salvation…Cyar leave him. A kingdom destination…Cyar leave Him. There I was, in my glee, wallowing deep in a pig pen, full of life, but so empty, on my way to a fiery end. 

But someone told me about a Saviour, who said He LOVES me and He cares. In times of storm He is my shelter, so in His arms you’ll find me there. Yuh see ah cyar live life without Him, He is my King of Kings, He’s the reason I’m still living. Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. Never condemn or forsaken me dread…Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. For God man I living, For God I go dead. There are so few, who made it through, and come from the darkness of this world. But I saw the light, I found the truth. I have more than silver, more than gold. I gave my life over to Jesus, the greatest decision I’ve made. Boy I recommend you try Him, Jesus is the best upgrade. 

He came to earth and died on the cross, rose up just like a boss, when yuh see me smiling, He’s the cause. Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. Never condemn or forsaken me dread…Ah cyar leave Him…ah cyar leave Him. For God man I living, For God I go dead. I am under the rock. The rock is higher than I. Jahovah hides me. I am under the rock. Go tell my enemies, that I am under the rock. Jahovah hides me, I am under the rock. I am under the rock. The rock is higher than I. Jahovah hides me. I am under the rock. Go tell my enemies, that I am under the rock. Jahovah hides me, I am under the rock. 

From revelry to righteousness…Cyar leave Him. From hell-bound to holiness…Cyar leave Him. From sin to salvation…Cyar leave him. A kingdom destination…Cyar leave Him. Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah! (And we shout again) Jesus…Yahweh…Yeshua… Jahovah!’  

Oh friends, wasn’t that beautiful? It certainly was. The whole house, including heaven was rocking! The Father was definitely feeling it, because He was up and jiving. He couldn’t be happier hearing such praises shouted out from earth for His Son. Even Jesus couldn’t resist the tantalizing riddims, and you could see Him tapping His feet and drumming His hands on the hand rests of the throne. And yuh better believe that is the kind of difference, the amazing transformation Jesus performs in our lives when we surrender our all to Him! 

And furthermore, once we get with Him, it’s impossible to leave Him! No, we just cyar leave him at all at all. Mama Mia! Such is the LOVE and inspiration He inspires in us! Yes friends, Jesus carries us from a sinful life to one of salvation, for He came to earth and died on the cross of Calvary so that our sins could be paid for with the shedding of His precious, sinless blood, and thus be saved from hellfire and damnation. As He said: ‘For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17) 

And by dying on the cross, He not only saved us from eternal damnation, but also made us new people and reconciled us to the Father. Hear Bruh Paul tell it nuh. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit (that is), that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.’ (2 Cor. 17-19) 

Yes, Christ promoted a reconciliation between sinful mankind and a holy and righteous God. Christ also made us righteous and justified. And what is righteousness. This commentary puts it nicely. ‘In its deeper spiritual meaning, righteousness is the quality of being right in the eyes of God, including character (nature), conscience (attitude), conduct (action), and command (word). Righteousness is, therefore, based upon God’s standard because He is the ultimate Lawgiver (Isaiah 33:22).’ And Bruh Paul writes to the church at Corinth: ‘For he (God the Father) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’ (2 Cor. 5:21) 

Oh mih people, Christ not only paid for our sins through the shedding of His blood, but He also took the whole weight of our sins on His sinless shoulders so we could become righteous in the Father’s sight. And Christ also justified us. And what’s justification? Hear this commentary. ‘Justification is that gracious and judicial act of God whereby a soul is granted complete absolution from all guilt and a full release from the penalty of sin (Romans 3:23-25). This act of divine grace is wrought by faith in the merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).’ 

And what do those scriptures say? ‘For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God. being justified freely (without any cost) by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (a mercy seat) through faith in his blood, to declare (yesss!!!) (demonstrate) his righteousness for the remission (passing over) of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.’ (Rom. 3:23-25) 

And Romans 5:1, says: ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ In other words, ‘Christ made justification possible for us by what He did in His death and resurrection. His resurrection was the ultimate sign that the penalty for sin, which was death, had been paid once and for all.’ 

And that’s not all Christ did for us. Listen to Bruh Paul again: ‘But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us (became for us) wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.’ (1 Cor. 1:30) And we don’t have time nor space to get into those last two, but sanctification is basically being set aside for God’s purposes, while redemption is being saved from sin, which Jesus did in spades…if we’ll only believe in Him. 

Now tell me nuh my fellow saints, how can one ever leave a man, or a God like that eh? No way Jose! And for all you computer geeks out there, please remember that Jesus IS the best upgrade! (smile) So please, let’s upgrade to Him today nuh! Much LOVE!

…if you truly believe in Jesus…then despite all your trials and tribulation…you’ll NEVER EVER leave Him…because He’s the BEST THING that there is…. 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 November 2015 Matthew 24:3‏‏

18 Nov 2015 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 24:3.   And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?

Aye Friends and neighbours, if I never truly believed it before, I certainly do now! And I guess you’re wondering what the ole fogey is talking about eh? (smile) Well I’m talking about going to bed early is really for the birds. 

I had a long and busy day yesterday, so last night I decided to go to bed early, early my time, that’s about 12.30, so I could get some of the much vaunted and valuable rest and sleep. Hn! 

Unfortunately, though normally one would think fortunately, I got up at 8 o’clock this morning.And would you believe, I could hardly get out of the bed because my back was in such bad shape. 

Ah Lord eh! Obviously I’m not meant to lie in bed for even a measly 7 hours. And its not like I never got up at all. I got up at least twice to go to the bathroom. So what does this supposed norm of 8 hours of sleep per night do for me eh? Absolutely nothing! 

And it’s not like I don’t know that I cannot lie in bed for so long, but I never intended to get up so late either. But I guess the ole body needed the rest. And there I was gingerly putting one foot in front of the other, moaning and groaning with every step. Hn, hn, hn! 

Ah friends, I can laugh now because I’m sitting down writing, but an hour ago, it was definitely no laughing matter. But let me stop joking about it yes, because when I get up from here, it might not be a laughing matter either. (smile) 

The long and the short of the story though is that I just have to stick to my short times of rest, and do it more often. Now that’s my gripe for the day, and I’m sticking to it! (smile) 

And since today is Wednesday, it means we have to declare our Wednesday Wail. So altogether now, let’s wail: ‘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!’ 

Oh my people, though my back is in a sad state I truly am glad to be alive, and am looking straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus, because NO ONE else has such a glorious future to offer! 

And I do hope that you feel and believe like me, because Jesus is undoubtedly the BEST thing going, the BEST show available in this evil and disturbed world! Obviously He is not a thing or a show, but that is just the language that some of us best understand. (smile) 

And finally we come to our Bit: ‘And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?’ 

Ah mih breddren, it does seem as though all the signs of the world’s demise point to a time in the not too distant future. As we recently saw, the numerous wars and rumours of war are on the increase. So too are the natural disasters; earthquakes, floods, disease, volcanoes, famines. They are happening all over the world, in some of the least expected places.

 Persecution of Christians is also on the rise as Jesus foretold, just because we are called by His name. Then there’s serious hatred and anger, with strife and betrayals on the rise in our decadent and decaying society. False prophets abound like Jesus said, and the lack of LOVE is certainly noticeable. 

But in spite of all of these negative happenings, Jesus reminds us to stand strong and steadfast in His name, because if we endure to the end we will be saved. Now isn’t that wonderful news my brethren? It surely is! With Jesus there’s always a silver lining to the dark clouds. Glory Hallelujah! 

But while we’re waiting for the end to come, we ought to be doing ONE more thing. Listen to Jesus. ‘And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt.24:14) 

Yes friends, the good news of Christ MUST be shared with ALL the nations of the world, before the end comes! And whose job is that eh? Ours of course! It’s all a part of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently every following generation, which now includes us. 

‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt,28:19-20) 

So there it is my fellow believers, despite all the turmoil and uncertainty in our world, we are expected to stand strong and steadfast in Jesus’ name, as well as to spread His Word to all parts of the earth. And strangely enough, we are the first generation who actually have the wherewithal to do that, through our modern communication technology. 

So please, let’s get up and do that nuh. Let’s seriously engage ourselves in the spreading of the gospel of Christ, so that many others might hear it and believe on Jesus, and thus not get lost with the infidel Beelzebub, but instead attain to salvation and eternal life, as our heavenly Father so greatly desires. Now that is indeed the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!

…the Lord doesn’t want to lose even one of His human creation…so what we doing to prevent that eh…