Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 August 2014 Psalm 42:1

01 Aug 2014 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 42:1.    As the hart panteth after (the deer long for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.

Oh Friends, it’s Friday – Caribana Friday! And the joyful but raucous shouting begins: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Caribana Friday to boot! The partying in T.O is going to be fantabulous this long weekend, with everybody drinking, smoking, doing whatever, behaving like real leggo beast…!’
 
Hold down mih people, hold down! Wait a minute here! This leggo beast behaviour is not a wise move at all nuh, for you know it is at times like these, when we are at our most vulnerable, that that ole crook and rapscallion, Lucifer, is busiest, at his most zealous, because he knows when we start carrying on with gay abandon, we’re easy pickings.
 
So please check yuhself from the very start. For if is one time you truly need to heed Granny’s wise advice; ‘drunk or sober, mind yuh business,’ is at Carnival time. And if you don’t believe me and Granny, then listen to Peter.
 
‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet.5:8-9)
 
Yes Friends, it is in times of great celebration that we have to be extra careful not to open ourselves up to the enemy and allow him to get even a toe hold in our lives. Now let’s chant our Friday chant with as much gusto as we were just shouting, ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’
 
As one 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.’
 
Now please take that to heart my people, because it will save us a whole lot of heartache later on. And having said all of that, let’s finally turn to our Bit: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer long for) the water brooks, so panteth (longs) my soul after thee, O God.’
 
You know Friends, I had considered that Bit finished yesterday, but on further research, I found a few more scriptures that also complement it. Listen to Isaiah with God’s free offer of mercy to all. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ (Is.55:1)
 
And the scholars have this to say about that offer: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come to eat and drink without money (or freely). He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles (vs.3) like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him (vs.7).’
 
Ah Friends, you see that from way back when, our wonderful and magnanimous God was freely offering food and drink to hungry and thirsty travellers. But, for whatever reason, people just refused to accept it.
 
And then along comes Jesus, many years later, making essentially the same offer. As He says to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountains) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)
 
And later on, Jesus again makes this incredible offer: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)
 
But even then, the multitudes refused His offer. And unfortunately my brethren, two thousand years later, Jesus’ offer of heavenly succour is still on the table, and millions of earthlings are still unwisely refusing it. What can we say to that eh? Not much, other than it’s a fool’s wisdom!
 
Refusing Jesus’ free offer of grace, salvation and eternal life is the biggest mistake any human being can ever make. But sadly Friends, many many of us are doing it. And it is the job of the true believer to try and show them the error of their ways. To let them know that Jesus is indeed the Truth, the Light and the Way, and no one can come to the Father; enter heaven’s hallowed doors unless they do so through Him!
 
And John in his Revelations of Jesus’ plans, again offers this great invitation to all and sundry. ‘And the (Holy) Spirit and the bride (the church) say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirsts) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life (eternal life) freely.’ (Rev.22:17)
 
Oh Friends, it’s all available simply through belief and faith in Christ, our wonderful Lord and Saviour!
 
So today, let’s remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors, the salt and the light of the world, the ones He left to do His work here on earth. That means we have to  go out and show the evil, unbelieving, ungodly world what Jesus is truly like, by being our best, most excellent selves, putting forth our best efforts on Jesus’ behalf, so that the unfortunate others can also see the light and add salt to richly flavour their lives too.
 
That’s our bounden duty that Jesus bequeathed to us. (Matt.28:19-20) So please, let’s go out and do it nuh, for it is wisdom, guidance and direction from on high! Much LOVE!
 
…too many people are living in the waterless desert… foolishly suffering from thirst…while right in front of them…rivers of living waters abundantly flow…from the free offerings of Jesus…

 

 

 
 

Today”s Scrip-Bit 19 July 2012 Ecclesiastes 2:13

19 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Ecclesiastes 2:13.    Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.
 
Oh Friends, our God was indeed merciful to us today, allowing us to see another beautiful day on Planet Earth! Please give Him some thanks and praise for that. I know that some of us might think we’d be better off dead because of the horrible times we’re currently undergoing, but that’s a fallacy, a lie of Lucifer. Remember at one stage of his life, Bruh Paul badly desired to be with the Lord, but eventually realized that he still had tasks on earth to perform, so he had to continue doing his earthly time. (Phil.1:21-26) The same goes for us Friends. The Lord would not have allowed all we’re going through without a definite purpose, a sure-fire plan to raise us up higher at some stage of our lives. So let’s remember that when we’re going through the fires of life, that’s when we’re growing in faith and stature in God’s eyes. And the less we whine and complain about it, the better off we’ll be. Let’s be like the proverbial seed that’s planted in good, but dark and lonely ground. Let’s endure our troubles without too much hullabaloo, while like the seed, we’re going through that dark period of our lives. Remember the Lord faithfully promised that He’d never leave nor forsake us. (Heb.13:5) So if we endure faithfully like the seed, one day we’ll burst out of the darkness into the light and live prosperously and righteously in the sight of the Lord. It’s not easy, but it’s certainly doable with God’s help. And since faith only grows through adversity, we must suffer some adversity in this life, if we want to be true followers of Jesus. And if we stand strong and do what’s right, then eventually we’ll be able to say like Cousin Sol says in our Bit: ‘Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.’ And that’s the living truth my people! Have you ever noticed how it takes a whole lot of darkness to cover up light, but just a little light to expose a whole lot of darkness? That’s because light is so much stronger and penetrating than darkness. That’s why wise people are attracted to the Light that’s Jesus, rather than the horrible darkness that’s Beelzebub. And as we were saying yesterday, there was no one better positioned at the time than Cousin Sol to do the research on the purpose of life, for he had both the earthly attributes of time and money, and the divine wisdom of God. So whatever he thought of or desired, he went after it. But sadly at the end of his experimentation and research, he concluded that ‘all was vanity (futility) and vexation of spirit (a grasping for the wind), and there was no profit under the sun.’ (Eccl.2:11) Yes Friends, killing ourselves to amass earthly possessions, or to enjoy earthly pleasures doesn’t profit us at all. It turned Sol off so much that he declares: ‘Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity (futility) and vexation of spirit (a grasping for the wind). Yea, I hated all my labour under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity. Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took (toiled) under the sun. For there is a man whose labour is in (with) wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity (with skill); yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion (heritage). This also is vanity and a great evil.’ (Eccl.2:17-21) Ah mih people, we see that happening everyday, more and more in our society, where people work hard for their money then leave it to a bunch of slackers, or else the situation ends up in the courts and the lawyers get most of it. So what’s Cousin Sol’s final conclusion then on it all? He says: ‘There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto (have enjoyment), more than I? For God giveth to a man that (who) is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail to gather and heap up (the task of gathering and collecting), that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.’ (Eccl.2:24-26). True words of wisdom Friends! And we’ll end with a brief explanation of that passage from the scholars. ‘This passage is the first of seven that give one of the solutions to life’s problems: enjoy life and work as God’s gifts. When a man toils in his own strength, he is bound to suffer pain and grief. The answer then is for him to enjoy his work by receiving it as a gift of God. Elsewhere, work is said to be part of God’s curse on man (Gen.3:17-19), but it can become the sphere of God’s blessing. To eat and drink, used five times in the book, must be understood in a good sense. Solomon always counsels the fear of God, and the concept is used in the Old Testament in a good sense (Deut.14:26; 1 Kin.4:20).’ So Friends, let’s remember that ALL things are vetted by God, and He’s given us work and the opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of the earth, once we do so in consort with Him and His will. So let’s search diligently for wisdom, so that we can operate wisely before our God nuh. Much LOVE!…wisdom is good with an inheritance…and by it there is profit…to them that see the sun…  (Eccl.7:11)