Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 July 2021 Mark 4:40.

11 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

Mark 4:40.     Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?

Awright friends, time to get excited, hopefully we’ll be going into stage 3 of the pandemic reopening next week, meaning we can then have about fifty percent capacity in our churches. Isn’t that good news? It surely is! For the first time in over a year it might make sense to reopen, although I believe some of the pandemic regulations like masks and physical distancing might still be in place. But whatever happens, today is Sunday, which means we ought to be celebrating the Lord’s Day, by gathering technologically, hopefully not for much longer, (smile) to give Him much thanks, sing His praises and glorify His holy name. 

And, as we do each Sunday, our opening salvo is a glorious burst of worshipful song. Today’s song of worship is titled ‘Ride Out Your Storm.’ And we could not find a more appropriate song for these rather stormy times we have been recently experiencing. We are going to do the Reggae version, as done by the well-known Jamaican singer George Nooks. So, in an upbeat reggae tempo, with plenty riddim and background vocals, let’s raise our voices in sweet harmony, offering up sincere sacrificial praise to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

‘Don’t give up just ride out your storm. You’ve been in the storm and it seems like forever. And your nights of confusion have been too long. Your ship has lost anchor, and the storm’s got you drifting. Just hold on to Jesus And ride out your storm (Chorus: Ride out your storm, God is there with you, you may not feel him, but you’re not alone. You’re hurting now, but your morning is coming…Lord have mercy, just hold on to Jesus and ride out your storm) Remember His promise, He said I’ll never forsake you, though the waters are troubled, they’ll do you no harm. Don’t give up the battle for your answer is coming, just hold on to Jesus, hold on to Jesus, and just ride out your storm. 

Ride out your storm God is still there with you, you may not feel him but you’re not alone. I know you’re hurting now but your morning is coming, Lord have mercy, just hold on to Jesus and ride out your storm. Oh Ride out your storm God is there with you, you may not feel him, but you’re not alone. Although you’re hurting now, your morning is coming, just hold on to Jesus and ride out your storm. You know He’ll never leave you, so just hold on to Jesus, and just ride out your storm. Hold on to Jesus, and ride out your storm.’ 

Oh friends, that was magnificent! There was no doubt in heaven that we were sincere in singing the praises of Jesus. The problem now is for us to put all that we’ve just said into action, which is much easier said than done. Yes, even for those of us with strong faith, when the violent storms of life hit us with hurricane-like force, it is ofttimes difficult to bring it to the forefront and stand strong on the promises of Jesus. But we have to do it, if we expect to overcome the storms, or merely to ride them out. And today I just want to reacquaint us with some scripture that helps us to do just that. 

So let’s start at the beginning, it’s usually the best place. (smile) That means we are going right back to the Old Testament, when the Lord brought the Israelites out of 400 hundred years of bondage in Egypt. Now what does the Good Book tells us about that mighty Exodus? ‘And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people.’ (Ex. 13:20-22) 

And the scholars inform us that ‘This glowing cloud was the shekinah glory of Yahweh (a visible manifestation of God on earth), which later filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:35) and then Solomon’s temple (1 Kin. 8:10), and finally departed from the temple and the city just before the Babylonian captivity (Ezek. 8-11). This “glory of the God of Israel” will not return to Israel until the Second Coming of Christ (Ezek. 43:1-7), at which time the glowing cloud will once again cover God’s earthly people. But back then, it guided the people through the wilderness, assured them of God’s presence, and protected them from the Egyptians (cf. Ex. 14:19-20).’ 

Now that alone should be enough to convince us that God is always with us, and will never leave nor forsake us. But I know that we are a stubborn, hard-ears lot, (smile) so listen to Moses to those Israelites who were just as stubborn and hard-ears as us. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them (the enemies they’d meet in the Promised Land): for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut. 31:6) Then Moses said the same thing to Joshua, the new leader, adding at the end ‘fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8) 

And if that wasn’t enough, after Moses died and Joshua took command, the Lord Himself reassured Joshua. ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Josh. 1:5) But they had to meditate on His word and keep His commandments; ‘for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:8-9) 

And nothing has changed since then my brethren, except for Jesus coming and giving us even more assurances. Like He promised the disciples and all those who believed on Him and did His work: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) And remember the physical calming of the storm, when they were crossing the Sea of Galilee? The disciples were terribly afraid because the boat was in serious danger of capsizing, but Jesus lay sleeping comfortably in the stern, But they awoke Him and asked ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish?’ (Mark 4:38) 

He obviously did, but He knew that there was no cause for worry since He was with them. That’s why after getting up and rebuking the wind, saying to the sea, ‘Peace be still,’ He also rebuked them by asking: ‘Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?’ (Mark 4:39-40) And friends, it’s the same question Jesus asks of us when the storms of life beset us and we become so terrified that we don’t know our A from our E. (smile) ‘Where is your faith? Why is it so small? Haven’t you seen and heard enough about me and My word, and know that I am the eternal calmer of storms?’ 

Yes my fellow saints, we ought to know better than to be terrified of the storms of life when we have Jesus running the show. So, I hope this li’l review will reassure us, boost our faith, and keep us standing strong and steadfast, so that we can confidently ride them out on the strong and massive shoulders of Jesus. Much LOVE!

…the greatest storm pilot there ever was…Jesus…                                                                                                    

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8      

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 April 2021 Matthew 8:26a.

25 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 8:26a.     ​And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?

A blessed Sunday to you, my fellow believers in Christ! The days are rolling by ever so quickly in these turbulent times that we don’t even have time to notice them. Some of us would like to hide from our individual problems, and those that are plaguing our world, but that’s not a wise idea, especially if you’re a follower of Christ Jesus. We believers need to stand up strong in faith and fight our battles courageously with the awesome help of our Lord and Saviour. It’s all a matter of faith my people, how mature we are in our belief in Him. 

But enough talk, today is Sunday and we are gathered, virtually though it might be, to celebrate the Lord’s Day. So let’s do that nuh, beginning as always, with a song of praise and worship, a song that renews our faith and confidence in the true, living God, He of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And today’s song is meant to do just that. It’s titled ‘Ride Out Your Storm.’ 

And the version we are singing today is a reggae version made famous by the Jamaican artist, George Nooks. So, as we are wont to do, let’s raise our voices in harmonious, joyful praise, letting heaven and earth know, without any doubt,where our sympathies and beliefs lie, the true, strong and solid foundation on which our faith is built; none other than Jesus Christ! 

Altogether now, in an up-tempo, reggae riddim: ‘Don’t give up just ride out your storm. You’ve been in the storm and it seems like forever. And your nights of confusion has been too long. Your ship has lost anchor, and the storm’s got you drifting. Just hold on to Jesus And ride out your storm (Chorus: Ride out your storm, God is there with you, you may not feel him, but you’re not alone. You’re hurting now, but your morning is coming…Lord have mercy, just hold on to Jesus and ride out your storm) 

Remember His promise, He said I’ll never forsake you, though the waters are troubled, they’ll do you no harm. Don’t give up the battle for your answer is coming, just hold on to Jesus, hold on to Jesus, and just ride out your storm. Ride out your storm God is still there with you, you may not feel him but you’re not alone. I know you’re hurting now but your morning is coming, Lord have mercy, just hold on to Jesus and ride out your storm. 

Oh Ride out your storm God is there with you, you may not feel him, but you’re not alone. Although you’re hurting now, your morning is coming, just hold on to Jesus and ride out your storm. You know He’ll never leave you, so just hold on to Jesus, and just ride out your storm. Hold on to Jesus, and ride out your storm.’ 

Yes people, our only hope for survival is to hold on tightly to Jesus and ride out our storm, for He is theONLY ONEwho can calm the angry seas. And it’s not like the Lord hasn’t promised never to leave nor forsake us. Hebrews 13:5 in the New Testament reminds of us that. But let’s go right back to the Old Testament nuh, and get it first from Moses, then from the Lord himself. When Moses passed the leadership mantle of the Israelites to Joshua, he told him thus: ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ (Deut. 31:8) 

And if that wasn’t sufficient, when the Lord officially enshrined Joshua as the leader, hear His fateful words to him. ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ (Josh. 1:5) And a few verses later, the Lord reminded Joshua. ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9) Strong words indeed my brethren, but also ever-faithful ones. 

And before Jesus left us to return to heaven, He made the same promise to the disciples: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the very end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) So it’s not like we don’t have word promises, but we also have actual situations where those promises were kept. We’ll just look at two situations with Jesus and the disciples, situations that we all know about, but unfortunately don’t take them as seriously as we ought to in these perilous times. The first is when Jesus, after feeding the five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes, sent the disciples across the lake in their boat, while He went up into the mountain to pray. 

But when the boat was in the middle of the lake, a serious storm arose and began tossing the boat to and fro in a wild manner. Obviously, the disciples became fearful, but Jesus knew their plight and came walking to them on the water. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying it is a spirit (ghost); and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer (take courage), it is I, be not afraid.’ (Matt.14:26-27) 

Then we have the episode of Peter going out of the boat and walking on the water towards Jesus. And he was doing very well until he took his eyes off of Jesus, and focused on the wind and the stormy sea, then he became afraid and began to sink and had to implore Jesus to save him, which Jesus did, saying unto him, ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt.’ (Matt. 14:28-31) Unfortunately though friends, that’s how it is with us to this day. We start out strong and confident in Jesus, but as soon as the storm begins to seriously kick up, we take our eyes off of Jesus, lose our faith, get scared and begin to sink. 

Then we have the granddaddy of all the examples of losing faith, of not staying focused on Jesus. That time when they were going across the sea in their ship. ‘And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he (Jesus) was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!’ (Matt. 8:23-27) 

What can I say eh friends? After spending so much time with Jesus, and seeing so many miracles, the disciples still showed serious fear, even when He was with them. But here are some interesting words on the subject from commentator, Danielle Bernock, from the Christianity.com website. 

‘The significance of Jesus calming the storm is pertinent to what’s happening in our world today and is evidence of God’s love for us. COVID -19 has had a significant impact on our lives. We’re flooded by numerous types of storms daily. These storms are both internal and external. The intense surges of emotion within us are due to our humanity while the chaotic circumstances around us are beyond our control. Right now, many can relate to the disciples’ emotions when Jesus calmed the storm…

There have been many epidemics and even pandemics throughout history, and now we have many skilled scientists in the world. So, it seemed that we were prepared for COVID-19. But as country after country and state after state go into lockdown, the same fear and panic the disciples experienced looms over us. So, when things come upon us suddenly, we find out what’s in our hearts. Like the disciples, fear is coming out of many people’s hearts. It’s an emotion common to being human. 

One might say that the disciples were just being human. All of us during this pandemic are feeling our humanity deeply as fear sweeps across the world like a dark cloud. But Jesus was human too. He often took time away to refresh. During the storm, Jesus was sleeping because he was exhausted from ministry.… A good question for us to ask ourselves as COVID-19 rages is, where is our faith? The disciples spent a lot of time with Jesus and saw him perform many miracles. You would think that they’d have a lot of faith. But in their humanity, it became evident they had more faith that the storm would destroy them than in Jesus saving them. 

Jesus may have rebuked the disciples for their weak faith, but he didn’t abandon them to let them drown. Instead, he calmed the storm and then continued to teach them who he was and demonstrated what it was to have faith in God. Do we have more faith in the pandemic than in the mercy and grace of God? There is not a disease that Jesus was unable to heal. If the fear in us is stronger than our faith, we can turn to God and he’ll teach us because his mercy endures forever. Feeding on God’s word will build your faith and calm the storm raging within you.’ 

And we’ll end with those wise words my brethren. But please, please, let’s take time today, and in the upcoming ones, to ponder those questions that Mr. Bernock has posed, for they are very important to our current situation.Much LOVE!

…if we truly believe in Jesus…there is NO storm that we can’t ride out… 

P.S.Yes, it’s pretty long (smile), but I think it’s all very worthwhile. Much LOVE! 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8