Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2020 Matthew 26:28.

09 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 26:28.     ​For this my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.
 
Ah Lord eh…it’s just one of those days! Yuh know when nothing seems to go right. Chuh! I got up late, what else is new eh? (smile) Then I began writing the Bit…but lo and behold the Roofers finally showed up to fix my roof, from which shingles had blown off during the strong winds in the past couple of weeks. So I dealt with them, then came back to the Bit, only to discover that I could not find all the information I needed to continue in that vein. Steups! And it was a very interesting vein. That meant I had to discard all that I’d previously written and start all over again. 

So obviously I’m not a happy camper, as I hear the roofers pounding on the roof, for a significant outlay of money, and I am having to reset my thoughts. But I’ll just have to grin and bear it, as I keep telling others when they go through some annoying times. (smile) And on this Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday in Holy Week, why should I expect to have no problems eh, when Jesus trials were just coming to a head? If we expect to rise with him, then we should also expect to suffer with Him. 

Anyway, on this Maundy Thursday, so called because of Jesus washing His disciples feet. He also instituted the ceremony of Communion or Holy Eucharist, during what we call the Last Supper that He held with His disciples at the beginning of the Passover Feast. It was a very moving supper. First off, as they sat eating, Jesus declared : ‘Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.’ (Matt. 26:21) What a bombshell to throw out to your followers on a supposed day of rejoicing!  

Obviously that stirred up things. ‘And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, (“that indicated the highly personal and intimate nature of the betrayal”) the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born.’ (Matt. 26:23-24) Steups! Just had another interruption. The roofers were finished and I had to go and pay them. But we’ll get through it, with the Lord’s help…and it will be good! (smile) 

Now after that, there’s a verse that in my opinion is very significant, but you never hear anybody really talking about. ‘Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master (Rabbi), is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said (it)’ (Matt.26:25) In other words, Jesus told him, ‘yes.’ So how come more attention isn’t paid to that by any of the gospel writers eh? Matthew and John and Simon Peter were there. But as John writes, I guess Simon and he were too busy with their own li’l drama, with John, the disciple Jesus LOVED, (Hn!) leaning back on Jesus’ chest, and Simon motioning that he should ask who it was. 

And according to John, ‘Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop (a piece of bread) when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon (not Simon Peter). And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly…. He then having received the sop went immediately out, and it was night.’ (John 13:26-27, 30) 

Now according to John, nobody in the gathering knew why Jesus spoke thus to Judas, possibly thinking that because he held the communal money, he was to go out and buy things for the feast or give to the poor. (John 13:28-29) But the scholars seem to think that possibly only John heard the exchange between Jesus and Judas.

 ‘And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them saying, Drink ye all of it (drink from it all of you – hence the communal cup); For this my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins.’ (Matt. 26:26-28). Oh friends, what a monumental moment that was! 

Now let’s get some explanations from the scholars. ‘Jesus took bread: The head of the Jewish household was accustomed to doing this during the Passover Feast. Jesus gave a completely new significance to the action. This is my body: During the Passover feast the Jewish householder took bread in his hand  and said, “This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt,” meaning of course, that the one represented the other. 

By His words the Lord changed the whole significance and emphasis of the feast from looking back to the typical redemption from Egypt to faith in the redemption from sin accomplished by His death. The bread and wine were only outward symbols of our Lord’s death. Nothing in the Gospels indicates that these were to be viewed as a means of grace, sacraments, or that they were physically necessary for one’s salvation.’ 

Yes friends, celebrating the Eucharist is important, but it’s only and outward sign of our inner acceptance of Christ as our Lord and Saviour. And we have one more set of explanations from the scholars. ‘The cup: Three cups were passed around by the Jewish householder during the Passover meal; the third, which is probably the one referred to here, being known as “the cup of blessing.” My blood of the new testament taken from the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus 24:8, (please read it) with allusions to Jeremiah 31:31 and Zechariah 9:11. 

The covenant in Exodus was sealed with blood. The word ‘testament’ (Gr. diatheke) can also mean “a covenant.” Shed for many for the remission of sins: Here is a clear statement that the death of Jesus was necessary to enable God to forgive sins. It, in fact, made it right or morally justifiable for Him to do so.’ 

Oh my people, so many other important things happened on Maundy Thursday that we don’t have space nor time to talk about them. Like Jesus foretelling Peter’s denial, then going to the Garden of Gethsemane and praying for guidance and strength, so impassioned that His sweat seemed like drops of blood, and finally being arrested through Judas’ recognizing kiss and a mock trial, where Peter betrayed Him. But you can read all of that for yourself in the gospels. I just hope that this Bit makes sense and gives us some new insight into the last supper and it’s meaning, since I had so many interruptions and changes of mind set. (smile) 

Now let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!) our Thursday Blessings, so generously granted to us to help us with our earthly work…spreading the gospel of Jesus. In strong voice, with sincere hearts – that’s the only way to do it (smile) –  ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

Now let’s share those divine blessings as best and as generously we can with the tough constraints we’re currently under. Much LOVE!

…to be blessed is wonderful…but to share the blessing is heavenly…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 August 2019 Luke 19:10.

06 Aug 2019 Leave a comment

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

Luke 19:10.    ​For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
 

And now that the Caribana party done, is time to get back to work mih people! But you wouldn’t like to see the way some of us dragging as we attempt to reach the slave master’s place of slavery! Hn, hn! Too much partying over the last few days. But that’s the nature of the beast.

Now we going to drag we foot in the people work, just dying for Friday to come around. And the few times we lucid, we going to boast about the good time we had over the weekend. Ah don’t know if much work going to get done this week nuh, or if whatever is done will be up to scratch. But hear is a li’l something from a Jewish Proverb that might help us. 

It says: ‘From happiness to suffering is a step; from suffering to happiness is an eternity.’ And isn’t that the awesome gospel truth! We jump from happiness to suffering like right off the bat. But it takes an eternity to move from suffering to happiness. The suffering doesn’t ever seem to want to finish, while the happiness is like over since yesterday. 

And that’s the lesson for we partygoers this week: You partied hearty for a few days, now you going to suffer long before you recover! (smile) But don’t worry friends, if you’re a believer, Jesus will take care of you, even though you didn’t pay proper attention to Granny’s warning and partied as if there was no tomorrow. That’s because He specifically came to save people like you and me; the lost, the suffering, the sick, the downtrodden, those shunned by society. 

Listen to how often Jesus tried to tell His listeners that nuh. The Jewish big wigs criticized Him for having lunch with Zaccheus, one of the rich and hated tax collectors, even though Zaccheus repented. But Jesus’ reply was simple. ‘This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:9-10) 

Yeh friends, Jesus’ enemies saw it as a blight on His record, but Jesus saw it as a win, because He had saved one house from eternal damnation, and that was His avowed purpose here on the earth. Likewise, when the disciples wanted to call down brimstone and fire on a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus, He rebuked them, saying: ‘Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.’ (Luke 9:55-56) 

And we all know, what is possibly the mightiest saying of Jesus: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17)  

Ah mih people, our heavenly Father’s deepest hope and most sincere wish is that not even a single one of His human creations will end up in Hades with the foolish and fallen Lucifer. 

Hear Jesus in conversation with the Jewish elite again nuh. ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 

And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ (John 6:37-40) 

Yuh see how important we were, and still are to the Father my people! All He wants is that we be saved from eternal separation from Him! And Jesus referred again to saving the lost, when He prayed that after His ascension, the Father would keep the disciples in perfect peace in the world, but not of it. 

‘While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest, me I have kept, and none of them is lost (destroyed), but the son of perdition (destruction) (Judas); that the scripture might be fulfilled.’ (John 17:12) 

So precious people of God, there’s nothing to be afraid of or be anxious and worried about when the Holy Spirit convicts us of any wrongdoing, because it’s all a part of the Father’s overall plan to save our souls from hellfire and damnation. We should in fact be glad and appreciate any warnings from the Holy Spirit because it’s all for our good. 

Remember as believers in Christ, we’re not condemned, just convicted, and then it’s up to us to confess and repent and do better. The Lord, in His awesome wisdom and LOVING-kindness, has made whatever we need to come to Him readily available. So please, let’s be wise and use those tools for our benefit nuh. 

Now let’s go home declaring (yeah!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know our awesome position in Christ. All together now: ‘In God’s eyes, 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 worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And if we sincerely meant it, let’s now go out and share that monumental LOVE and friendship of Jesus with the rest of the world, as He so greatly desires of us! Much LOVE!

…working for Jesus…the most rewarding work in this whole wide world…

 

 

Today​’s Scrip-Bit 7 April 2019 John 12:3.

07 Apr 2019 Leave a comment

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

John 12:3.   ​Then took Mary a pound of ointment (oil) of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour (fragrance) of the ointment.
 
Oh mih people, mih people, please accept my most humble apologies for the Bit being so late, but it all happened under circumstances beyond my control. First off I was up and about early to make it down to church for 7.30. Then there was a baptism at church this morning, so that took up even more time than usual, for we can’t just welcome a new member to Christ’s church family any ole how, we got to go through the proper rituals. (smile) 

Then the lay reader, soon to be ordained deacon, preached a long, but very good sermon on offering our talents to God, like how Mary, Martha and Lazarus’s sister broke the jar of expensive perfumed ointment and washed Jesus’ feet, then dried it with her hair. ‘Then took Mary a pound of ointment (oil) of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour (fragrance) of the ointment.’  feet, pulling teeth

Jesus didn’t have to ask her, she just did it because of her great LOVE for Him! (John 12:3) The washing of Jesus’ feet also showed her humility. That got the deacon to wondering how many of us supposed believers are willing to wash someone else’s feet eh? Not too many, cause we too proud and nice and vain and full of we self! And remember, in Jesus’ time the washing of feet was a slave’s job! And yuh see how Jesus also washed His disciples’ feet? (John 13:1-11) Well let’s contemplate for a moment or two, if we that humble nuh! (smile) 

And then there was communion, with quite a bit of people in church this morning. There were also a lot of announcements, including the raising of funds to repair the church floor because the tiles raising up as water from some ground source invading them. But which church ain’t begging for funds nowadays eh? Hn! 

It’s sad, but God’s work has now become a beggarly situation! In the early times the believers gave generously of their possessions, but today, mih brother, it come like pulling teeth without anesthetic to get God’s people to give generously to His work! We quick to give to the world, but where God is concerned it’s an entirely different kettle of fish, where we always wondering where the two pennies we done give already going, and how come they always needing more. 

But friends, the truth is that we suppose to put God first, because He’s put us first through His unconditional LOVE for us, His sending of Jesus to die and pay for our sins, as well as making us His adopted children and heirs to His kingdom! And besides, He is the one who gives you the power to get wealth in the first place. (Deut.8:18) And all things belong to Him, we are only stewards looking after His business. 

Now what is all of that worth to you eh? I think that will show up in the generosity of your time, talents and wealth to Christ’s work! And remember, is not me, or some earthly minister you have to answer to eh, but the Lord God Almighty Himself! When He asks you, come that big day, what you did with all the talents He imbued you with? (Matt.25:14-30) For your sake, I hope you have a good answer, and you don’t tell Him, like the foolish and lazy fella who only had one talent, that you went and buried it and didn’t make proper use of it for His master’s cause. 

And here is where the service got real interesting. It was noted to the congregation that someone had stolen the speakers of the church…for the second time in a short while too! Glory be! And it seems like it was a church goer. But not only that, there was some paint and varnish being kept to spruce up the physical appearance of the church for Easter, that was also stolen! Mama Yo! 

That led the lay reader to compare whoever was doing such dastardly deeds to Judas, Jesus’ betrayer, who had complained: ‘Why was not this ointment (oil) sold for three hundred pence (denarii), and given to the poor. This he said, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the (money)bag and bare (used to take) what was put therein.’ (John 12:5-6) 

Jesus didn’t make a fuss because He knew that Judas had a major role to play in His upcoming proceedings. He simply said: ‘Let her alone: against (for) the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you, but me ye have not always.’ (John 12:7-8) And that was quite true at the time. But after Jesus set the world on fire with His death, resurrection and ascension things changed somewhat; we still have plenty poor, but we now also have Him for all time through the presence of His Holy Spirit that indwells us! 

Glory to God my people! What a big difference that has made in our lives! And when church was finally over, we had to stay and fellowship some, and buy breakfast; saltfish and bake and then I had to go down the road to get gas. And yes, I forgot to check out the quote on the board down there. (smile) Then I had to drop home a friend from church, and on the way home we stopped by my Aunty Cicely, who lives in the same area. So with all of that, I never got home until after eleven. 

Then the duchess wanted to go up to the Magdalena Hotel for brunch, which took place around twelve. And by the time we got back, around one thirty, with the good food, the blazing hot sun and the Magdalena Rum Punch I had imbibed, I had to rest, and the rest just took longer than I expected. That’s my story…and I’m sticking to it! (smile) 

And I’ll leave us with these immortal words of Jesus, after He washed the disciples feet. ‘For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.’ (John 13:15) Yes friends, please let’s be wise and  go out and follow Jesus’ example nuh! Much LOVE!

…the best example to follow…the best mentor…the best person to look up to…JESUS…! 

P.S. I know we didn’t sing any songs of praise today, but we just didn’t have time…and I didn’t have anything ready to sing anyway. (smile) Much LOVE!

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 July 2017 Matthew 6:13.

16 Jul 2017 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:13.   And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Ah friends, it’s another glorious Sunday morning and we’re gathered in the Lord’s sanctuary to praise and worship, glorify and exalt Him, as well as receive His awesome grace and mercy, strength and guidance for the new week that’s upcoming. 

And as always, let’s open with a song of wonderful praise; ‘When I survey the wondrous cross.’ This is one of my favourite hymns, and it brings back fond memories of a boy growing up in Tobago and St.Andrew’s church in Scarborough during the Easter season, packed to capacity on a Sunday morning, full of young people, all raising their voices in praise. 

So let’s raise our own voices in sacrificial praise now my people, let the heavens reverberate with the powerful and sincere sound of our voices, singing these inspirational words penned by Isaac Watts many moons ago, which Charles Wesley, another prominent hymn writer, reputedly said he would have given up all his songs, to be able to say he wrote this one. 

‘When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God! 

All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and LOVE flow mingled down! Did e’er such LOVE and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? 

His dying crimson, like a robe, Spreads o’er His body on the tree; Then I am dead to all the globe, And all the globe is dead to me. Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; LOVE so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. 

[Added by the compilers of Hymns An­cient and Mo­dern] To Christ, who won for sinners grace By bitter grief and anguish sore, Be praise from all the ransomed race. Forever and forevermore.’ 

Oh my fellow believers what a magnificent pouring out of praise in words that just touch the heart and truthfully reflect the awesome and sacrificial deed that Jesus so selflessly suffered on our behalf! 

Without His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary, we’d all still be worthless sinners pegged for hell with the evil one Lucifer. But through Jesus’ superhuman efforts we now are bound for glory instead through salvation and eternal life! Oh Glory be my brethren! 

Ah friends, as Christians we should be happy like pigs in mud! (smile) And when we check out our Bit, those immortal words of Jesus in His blueprint for prayer, we should get even more joyful – if that’s possible (smile), because it assures us that we have a heavenly Father who is constantly watching over and guiding us, to whom we can turn to for comfort and succour in ALL situations! 

Wow! How could we not LOVE Jesus eh, after all He’s done for us? And if you don’t believe me, then please listen to how Jesus prayed to His heavenly Father on our behalf before He underwent His own tough times. 

‘I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more (longer) in the world, but these are in the world; and I come to thee Holy Father, keep them through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost (destroyed), but the son of perdition (destruction); (Judas), that the scripture might be fulfilled. 

And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil (one). 

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart for your purposes) through thy truth: thy word is truth. And as thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou has sent me. 

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast LOVED them, as thou hast LOVED me. 

Father, I will (desire) that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou LOVEDST me before the foundation of the world. 

O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the LOVE wherewith thou hast LOVED me may be in them, and I in them.’ 

Wow mih breddren, what an awesome prayer! I never intended to print it all, but once I got started I just could not stop. I doubt that anyone else has ever prayed so sincerely and fervently for any of us. Jesus even prayed for those that would come after Him, meaning the Gentiles, people like us. 

And I have to confess, that though I’ve read those words before, they’ve never meant so much, or made such a difference before. I truly appreciate them now, and so I hope do you my fellow believers. It just goes to show the truth in the saying, the more we read the Word, the more our eyes are opened. Much LOVE!

…Jesus didn’t only die for us…He also prayed for us…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 March 2016 Philippians 1:29

26 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 1:29.    For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.

Well friends, all the Good Friday hoopla is finally over. The feast of the Passover is in progress. The Romans and the ruling Jewish class are happy that Jesus the interloper, troublemaker and very possible threat to their power and political status is dead. They are exhaling a big sigh of relief and resting satisfied in the culmination of their most heinous and criminal act; causing Jesus to be crucified on lies and circumstantial evidence. 

Thanks to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, His lifeless body is now lying in a new tomb sealed by a big rock, with soldiers guarding it, so that there is no chance of any mischief from His rag tag band of followers. 

Meanwhile, in reality, that group of followers have fled hither, thither and yon, fearful for their own lives, because of their association with Jesus. Sincere disappointment also clouds their spirits, because they had had such high hopes for and in their leader. All His great sermons and miracles and wonderful philosophy had fuelled their hearts and minds with dreams of a much better and brighter day. 

But now, in the blink of an eye, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem some six days earlier, (Palm Sunday) everything  had suddenly been turned topsy-turvy by His sudden betrayal, arrest, mock trial and death on that wooden cross at Calvary. I guess, like any of us mired in a similarly difficult situation, they were wondering what would become of their lives, since they had given up everything to follow Jesus. 

Judas, His betrayer, has gone and hung himself, remorse and guilt having gotten the better of him. Then Peter, who had denied knowing Jesus three times, was tearing out his hair, wondering how he could have done something that stupid and cowardly. Mary, Jesus’ mother, per His dying directive, had gone to live with John, the disciple whom He LOVED. And the once solid band of believers was now in total disarray. 

It had all happened so suddenly that they had all been taken by surprise, although Jesus had tried to warn them of His impending troubles. As they were going up to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Feast of the Passover, Jesus had tried to tell them what was about to happen. 

‘Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles (Roman rulers): and they shall mock him, and shall scourge (flog) him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.’ (Mark 10:33-34) 

But obviously none of them were paying serious attention to His words. Even the night of the Last Supper, when He informed them that one of the group would betray Him, they still didn’t take it seriously, although they all wondered and asked if it was them. But now things had come to up bump; the Master was dead, and they were like lost, fearful sheep scattered to the four winds, without the LOVE and guidance of their shepherd. 

Yes friends, that was the general state of affairs in Jerusalem, come Saturday morning. I guess it taught that first band of believers a serious lesson; namely that being associated with Jesus could be a dangerous endeavour, entailing suffering and persecution. 

I sincerely hope it has also taught us that too, some two thousand years later, as our Bit details. ‘For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.’ 

It’s not all wine and roses my people, we ofttimes have to get down and dirty and also suffer some on Jesus behalf. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great life, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other, but like life itself, there are problems and difficulties to encounter, bear and overcome, obviously with Jesus’ help. 

As Bruh Paul declares earlier in the chapter: ‘For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ (Phil.1:21) 

And the scholars tell us: ‘1:21. For explains why Paul is just as happy to magnify the Lord by death as by life (v.20). It is because to him, to live is Christ. He means that living consists of serving and glorifying the Son of God; apart from this, his life has neither meaning nor purpose. 

But why is Paul just as content to magnify Christ by death? Because to him to die is gain; that is even though living and serving God are good, death is a graduation to something better: it is a promotion to the heavenly presence of Christ and perfect fellowship with Him.’ 

Now friends, all of that is perfectly true, but like most of you, I don’t think I’m ready for that heavenly promotion just yet. I still have a lot of serving and magnifying and glorifying to do down here on earth. (smile) 

But seriously though my people, like Bruh Paul, our main objective, whether down here on earth, or in heaven on high should be to seriously magnify Christ. That ought to be our basic desire; whatever we do or say should have God’s glorification as its number ONE objective. 

Yuh see all the really rough times Bruh Paul went through fearlessly for Christ’s sake! And Christ brought him safely through them all! Now most of us won’t have to go through anything like that, but we will meet opposition and even persecution, if we become and behave like serious followers of Christ. 

Now that is the number ONE question: how many of us are willing to go through trials and tribulation in Christ’s service? 

And what better day to ponder and consider that question my people, than on the Saturday between Good Friday, when Christ sacrificed His life on the cross, and Easter Sunday, when He rose triumphantly from the grave? 

Please, let’s all do that today nuh. And hopefully we’ll all come up with the same resounding answer: ‘Yes! We will go to the grave magnifying our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! After what He’s done for us, we can do nothing less!’ 

Now let’s go out and put that promise into action this Easter Saturday nuh, before we have time to think about it and change our minds. (smile) Much LOVE!

…by His stripes we are healed…by His precious blood shed on the cross we are saved…thank You Jesus for salvation…