Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 October 2016 Proverbs 8:17.

14 Oct 2016 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 8:17.   I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.

Well friends, it’s that day we all clamour for; Friday, because it means the end of the workweek and the start of the weekend. And for those of us living in this beautiful country of Canada it was a short week because of our Thanksgiving celebrations. 

But yuh know what, whether we work five, four, or even three days a week, we’ll still cry out on a Friday: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! No more slave driver looking over mih shoulder. I can do as I please. Eat and drink what I want, when I want. 

Don’t have to ask permission to go to the loo, or have anybody looking to see how often I go and how long I stay, as though I’m some little short pants schoolboy. Chuh! 

The weekend is MINE! Mine to do as I please! And the wicked and greedy slave master and them be damned! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend! Let’s go and party now!’ 

And believe me friends, in this modern day and age, sadly, there are still work places that will cause that kind of cry to be echoed by the employees. But that still doesn’t give us the right to just dissipate and waste the weekend in riotous, ungodly living. 

We need balance in our lives if we are to live them successfully. And that’s what our Friday Chant seeks to help us do. So let’s chant it with sincerity and truth now nuh.

All together: ‘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.’ 

Ah mih people, that is a much better perspective, because if we keep on abusing the weekends, then have to go to work tired and grumpy, we’ll soon burn out and get sick and won’t be able to enjoy the weekends again. We’ll end up cutting off our nose to spite our face. 

That’s what happens when we overdo anything. Anyway, all I can do is give advice, we all have to make our own decisions as to how we live our lives, and remember we each have to bear the consequences too. 

And our Bit gives us some of the best advice possible in this fallen world. ‘I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me.’  

Cousin Sol is here talking about seeking wisdom, and we’ve seen in the past couple days the earthly benefits of seeking her, and also how God used her from the very beginning to create the universe. 

And we all know the scripture where James declares: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). 

For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8) 

Yes my fellow believers, it’s important that when we come to God we’re not doubting, or sitting on the fence, ‘for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6b) 

Now here’s an interesting note from the scholars on verse 5 above, James’ declaration about going to God for wisdom. ‘1.5: This verse is not a blanket promise of wisdom for any situation. In the context of life’s trials, it probably speaks of a believer being granted (1) wisdom as to the reason for his trials and (2) wisdom to endure them.’ 

So I guess we can’t use this verse as the basis for general but rather particular wisdom. However, there’s also another side to wisdom; the wisdom of seeking Almighty God! 

When Jesus promised His disciples the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, He told them in no uncertain words. ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments… He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that LOVETH me: and he that LOVETH me shall be LOVED of my Father, and I will LOVE him, and will manifest, (reveal, show) myself to him.’ (John 14:15,21) 

Yeh friends, it’s all about LOVE! And LOVE means being obedient and steadfast. Hear how John puts it in his first epistle. 

‘And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the LOVE of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.’(1 John 2:3-6)  John spells it out loud and clear my people! 

And the scholars offer these comments. ‘2:3. John writes so that his readers may not sin (v.1). Now he sets forth a characteristic of genuine knowledge of God: obedience to His commandments. This is a major teaching of Jesus.’ 

‘2:5. Perfected is in the perfect tense. John refers to the decisive and enduring effect of the indwelling LOVE of God. But the test of knowing God’s LOVE is keeping His Word.’ 

Therefore friends, it all comes down to one word ‘OBEDIENCE!’ We can talk all we want about LOVING God, etc. etc, but it means absolutely nothing, unless we are walking in obedience to His commandments. 

So let’s seriously ponder all we’ve said today nuh, let’s search our hearts and see if we are truly walking in obedience to God’s Word. Obviously we won’t be perfect, but we can know if we’re on the right track. And if we’re not, then we certainly can ask the Lord for the strength and wisdom to get on the right track. Much LOVE!

…to be Christ-like…obedient as He was…should be each believer’s sincere goal…

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 September 2014 James 1:5

11 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

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

James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.

Aye Friends, I don’t know if this early going to bed thing is going to work nuh. Chuh! I tried going to bed even earlier last night, but all to no avail. I just tossed and turned, kept waking up every hour or so, and still got up late …tired too, because it’s only in the late hours of the morning that I fell into a half decent sleep pattern.
 
So don’t say I didn’t try. (smile) At least when I go to bed late, I get a solid few hours of sleep, and not the tossing and turning kind I got last night.
 
And my people you’ll be proud of the ole fella and happy to know that yesterday, at long last, I paid my mother Molly her yearly visit at her last resting place here on earth. The duchess and I braved the cloudy skies and travelled to the northeastern part of the Greater Toronto Area to where she’s buried.
 
It was also a good excuse to get out of the house since they were doing some belated maintenance work on the water mains in my area, and thus there was no water between 9 a.m and 5 p.m.
 
We had a good, though short visit, about half an hour, because of the overcast skies. She obviously forgave her wonderful son for not coming to visit her before. But what else did you expect eh? (smile) In death she was just as generous and forgiving as in life.
 
Luckily the weather held until we got back home. But around 5 o’clock the rain began, then the wind started huffing and puffing too. And they both carried on all night long. The rain seems to have eased off now, but the wind is still out there harassing the poor trees.
 
Consequently, in my late night commune on my porch, it definitely wasn’t a calm and peaceful Mother Nature. You couldn’t even hear the insects singing their praise, if they were even singing, and not taking shelter from the stormy weather. But we communed anyway. (smile)
 
In light of all that, I decided that we needed to remember and recite the Serenity Prayer. So please pray with me. ‘Oh gracious God, please grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.’
 
Yes Friends, in these very trying, confusing and evil times, it is of the utmost importance to have the wisdom to know good from bad, as well as what you can change and what you cannot change, because a lot of us waste precious time trying to change stuff and people that we simply cannot change.
 
That wisdom will certainly enhance our choices and improve our lifestyle. But the only place that kind of wisdom is available is from Almighty God. For as James so wisely says in our Bit: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him.’
 
Yes my people, true wisdom is only obtained through communication with our heavenly Father!
 
The scholars though point out: ‘1:5. This verse is not a blanket promise of wisdom for any situation. In the context of life’s trials, it probably speaks of a believer being granted (1) wisdom as to the reason for his trials and (2) wisdom to endure them.’
 
In any case, whenever, and for whatever reason we need true wisdom, it can ONLY be obtained from Almighty God!
 
However, there are some stipulations for obtaining it, as James continues: ‘But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:6-8)
 
Now that is where our faith truly comes in my brethren! We need to have a strong, secure and constant faith and trust in God, not a wish-washy, sometimes on, sometimes off kind of faith, like so many of us have today. One minute we’re driven by lust for the things of the world, then we turn to God, then we turn back to the things of the world, and keep on vacillating without any real or strong anchor.
 
That is not the kind of faith that God answers my Friends! But that, unfortunately, is the state of our world today! We don’t stick with anything for long. As soon as some new fad or toy comes along, we jump on the bandwagon, quickly forgetting what and who had brought us to the party.
 
And sadly my brethren, that’s a big part of the reason why Christianity is so weak and colourless today; we’ve lost our focus and stick-to-itiveness qualities. Nothing is sacred anymore, not even Jehovah God. But my fellow believers, we cannot operate successfully in an already fallen world without proper standards and values, those gleaned from the Word of God.
 
Now let’s look at our Bit. The first part says: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God…’
 
And we have the perfect example of that in Cousin Sol’s response to God’s offer of what he desired. ‘Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?’ (1 Kin.3:9)
 
Yes Friends, Cousin Sol realized that he needed lots of wisdom to rule such a populous and stubborn, stiff-necked people as Israel. And God was so pleased with his request, that He gave him the wisdom that he’d asked for, as well as wealth and power and majesty like no man before or after him!
 
Wow! That’s the magnanimous kind of God we serve and worship my people! When we come to him in humble confidence, He will grant our wishes, in His own time and manner, provided that they fall into line with His overall plan for our lives. For remember that it is His WILL that must be done, both in heaven and on earth! 
 
And we’ll close today with that very important thought uppermost in our minds, for the rest of stuff I wanted to say will definitely make the Bit too long. (smile)
 
So my people, let’s go forth today with the blessings of God surrounding us, His wisdom and peace permeating our hearts, minds, souls and bodies, and His wonderful, never-ending LOVE shining through us like a beacon on a hill, lighting up our dark and dreary world, as He so eagerly desires. Much LOVE!
 
…let’s truly LOVE our God…sincerely LIVE our Faith…and diligently SPREAD His Word…   
 
P.S. Oh Friends, in our prayers today, let’s remember those who were sacrificed for us in the horrible attack on the World Trade Centre on this day, thirteen years ago. Unfortunately, indiscriminate and senseless killing has now become the modus operandi of the evil powers on the earth. Oh, when will it all end eh? Much LOVE!