Titus 3:8: This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly; that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
And then it was Thursday! Yes Friends, another heaven-sent day loaded with new mercies and blessings for God’s people is in the offing! Wow! What a most magnanimous and merciful God we serve! There’s none other like Him in the entire universe!
And all God’s people declared a mighty: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name, for He is indeed worthy to be praised!’ Yes my brethren, our great God Jehovah is most definitely worthy of all the thanks and praise we can give Him!
Unfortunately though, I don’t believe we give Him enough glory. We keep wanting and requiring from Him, but our giving to Him is sadly lacking. Please let’s start turning that around now nuh. If you think we get plenty blessings now, you wouldn’t believe what’s in store, if we truly give Him the reverence and praise He deserves.
And since my hand is feeling fairly good, much better than I expected, I’ll give Him one big, ‘Thank You Lord for looking after me! I knew you wouldn’t do anything to stop me from spreading your Word, because that’s what you’ve anointed me to do. It’s not the greatest, but I can get the job done, that’s the important thing, with Your help of course. Amen.’
And now without further ado, let’s turn to our Bit. ‘This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly; that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.’
As promised my people, it’s the same as yesterday. But instead of putting forth our affirmations, as we did yesterday, today we’ll look at those Bruh Paul was referring to in his missive to Titus.
And in this chapter dealing with Christian citizenship, he strongly advises Titus to: ‘Put them in mind to be subject to principalities (rulers) and powers (authorities), to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers (not contentious), but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men.’ (Titus 3:1-2)
Yes my people, those are just some of the things we should do as true believers in Jesus Christ! We ought to obey authority, because it originates from God Himself. In fact we should always be ready to do whatever good work is requested of us. Neither should we be gossipmongers, or given to strife and contentiousness, but be kind and LOVING to all, just as Jesus, our leader was in His earthly sojourn.
It’s not easy to live like that in this fallen, sinful world, but as believers, it’s our duty to attain to that lifestyle. And as we all know, our gracious God won’t ask us to do something without giving us the necessary tools to accomplish it. So we just have to be steadfast and press ahead towards the mark, the calling of Christ.
Then Bruh Paul continues, giving us the basis of our Christian ethic. ‘For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.’ (Titus 3:3)
Wow Friends! Can you imagine living like that? But that’s exactly how we were living until the Lord had compassion on us. ‘But after that the kindness and LOVE of God our Saviour toward man appeared.’ (Titus 3:4)
And all God’s people gave a heartfelt shout of ‘Praise the Lord for His kindness to the undeserving children of men!’
Yes my brethren, the Lord God Jehovah really and truly deserves our eternal thanks and praise, as we said at the beginning. But for some unknown reason(s) we seem to be very reluctant to do so, or do it very grudgingly, as though we were entitled to God’s grace and mercy, or we’re doing something great for God by giving Him the little thanks we offer.
But make no mistake Friends, it’s we, you and I, who are receiving the goodness and LOVING-kindness that we’re not entitled to, and neither are we receiving our just deserts for our sinful behaviour. So please let’s get off our high horse and stop thinking that we’re doing God a favour by worshipping and serving Him. Let’s get the right perspective; it’s Him that’s doing us the favours we don’t deserve!
For as Bruh Paul so rightly continues to inform Titus: ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed (poured out) on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace (declared righteous), we should be made heirs according to the hope (the strong confidence) of eternal life.’ (Titus 3:5-7)
Ah mih breddren, yuh see what the kindness and LOVE of God did for us! Hn! Before Christ’s sacrifice of LOVE, we were hateful and sinful, but through the shedding of His blood and God’s awesome mercy, we were cleansed, made whole, redeemed, sanctified, made right with God, so much so that we became rightful heirs of God with Christ.
And Friends, to end, I want to drive home the point that it was not by any good works of ours, that we were and are saved, as Bruh Paul points out, but by the LOVE, the Mercy, the Kindness, the Compassion and the Forgiving Nature of a most magnanimous, magnificent and omnipotent God, who created us and did not want to see His most wonderful creation end up in death and damnation with the foolish, fallen angel, the prince of darkness, Lucifer.
Please let’s get that straight, for until we do, we’ll never give God the true honour and glory He deserves. Much LOVE!
…before we can truly LOVE Jesus…we must truly understand what He did for us…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 June 2013 Proverbs 3:1
16 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abuse, admonition, architect of the family, bounden duty, christianity, cock of the walk, competent manner, cruelty, don't provoke your children, emotional succour, father figures, Father's Day, fatherly duties, fatherly responsibilities, forget not my law, God's eyes, good father, good understanding, harmony, human-rights, injustice, keep my commandments, lasting effects, loss of temper, LOVE, mercy, negative cycle, no vision, peace, quality time, ridicule, rules and regulations, sexual prowess, spiritual education, spiritual leadership, the people perish, titular head, training of God, trust in the Lord
Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 June 2013 1 John 4:8
09 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a little bit of LOVE, allegiance, Alpha and Omega, anger, best thing, charity begins at home, Christ's Church, christianity, compassion, crux of the matter, decency, Emmanuel, entertaining angels, escalation of ongoing wars, evils of the world, exceeding abundantly, forgiveness, God is LOVE, greed, hatred, high priest, hypocrites, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, LOVE, LOVE in action, LOVE one another, LOVE Revolution, mercy, praise and thanksgiving, pride, prince of peace, propitiation for our sins, right heart, rumours of wars, sacrifical blood, sacrifice, salt of the earth, show Love, sppression, standards of excellence, strife, substantial change, suppression, the world's going to the dogs, thoughtfulness, treat strangers decently, true christianity, undeniable truth, walk the talk
1 John 4:8. He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!
Oh Friends, family, neighbours and enemies, this is Sunday, the day when many of us go to church to worship God! But that doesn’t seem to be helping us nuh, because our world is still going to the dogs, and very quickly too.
Obviously one day a week is just not sufficient for us to pour out praise and thanksgiving, for every day there’s more talk about the escalation of ongoing wars and rumours of new wars starting up. There’s plenty of strife, anger, hatred, greed, pride, persecution, suppression, oppression and all the other negative things – but NO LOVE!
And that’s just unacceptable my people. Our world needs a LOVE Revolution in the worst way! My brethren we need one bad, bad, bad – and right now too! And the sad part is that it won’t take much LOVE to straighten out most of the problems nuh. But unfortunately we can’t seem to find any true LOVE at all.
Remember what B.J. Thomas says in his song? ‘A little bit of LOVE is better than no LOVE at all.’ So all we’re looking for to start us out on the right foot Friends is just a l’il bit o’ LOVE. And we’d be surprised at the substantial change that just a l’il LOVE would make. But for some reason we can’t seem to get around to that, however we do seem to find the time and effort to revel in the inappropriate evils of the world.
Oh my people, yuh see what our Bit says: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God is LOVE!’ And that’s the undeniable truth!
So if, as we claim, we believe in God, then we ought to have LOVE for God and also for each other. And not only have LOVE, but more importantly SHOW it! My family will tell you that one thing I’ve always tried to drill into their heads is that you just can’t talk LOVE, you have to SHOW it, because just talking it does no good to the hearer, they need to feel it too, for true Christianity is simply LOVE in action.
That’s why unbelievers view us as a bunch of hypocrites, because we only talk the talk, but don’t walk it. Just look at how Jesus showed His LOVE for us nuh; by selflessly sacrificing His sinless life for our sinful ones.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘In this was manifested the LOVE of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is LOVE, not that we LOVED God, but that he LOVED us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ (1 John 4:9-10)
And if that’s not real true LOVE Friends, then I don’t know what is.
And hear this next verse nuh mih people. ‘Beloved, if God so LOVED us, we ought to LOVE one another.’ (1 John 4:11) And therein lies the crux of the matter my brethren. Too many of us out there in the world, in the body of Christ’s church claim to LOVE, but sadly, we don’t show it.
And here’s what the scripture says about that: ‘If a man say, I LOVE God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that LOVETH not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he LOVE God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who LOVETH God LOVE his brother also.’ (1 John 4:20-21)
And yuh know what my people, Jesus isn’t asking us to die for anybody, although that could be a very LOVING and Christian thing to do. All He’s asking of us is a l’il thoughtfulness, a l’il caring, a l’il decency, a l’il compassion, a l’il mercy and a l’il forgiveness, which, when all put together, equals a L’IL LOVE!
Oh my fellow believers, what’s so hard about that eh? And it doesn’t even have to be anybody outside, although it’s good to treat strangers decently, for unawares we might just be entertaining angels. (Heb.13:2) But we can begin right in our own family, for as the old people were won’t to say, ‘Charity begins at home.’
And that is the gospel truth! For if you can’t LOVE the people closest to you, how can you LOVE somebody you don’t know anything about, although it’s quite possible in true Christianity.
So my brethren, what do you all have to say about all that eh? Are we going to do this LOVE Revolution thing?
I vote very vociferously that we should, because it’s a perfect win-win situation. We have absolutely nothing to lose, and absolutely everything to gain. So come on nuh, please join with me, starting today, in fact RIGHT NOW, let’s pledge our LOVE and allegiance to the LOVE Revolution in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, and don’t forget our High Priest… Wow!
So let me put it to you this way then mih people; if a man with all those awesome and amazing titles – and I’m sure I’ve left out some – gives up His innocent life for your evil one, then plays all those rather important roles in your life, why wouldn’t you want to associate with Him eh? Especially if when you associate with Him from a right and decent heart and motive, He will lift you up, exalt you more that you can ever expect or imagine. The Bible terms it: ‘unto him that can do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.’ (Eph.3:20)
Oh Mama Mia! How could I not want to be a part of all that nuh! No way José! I want to get in on the ground floor of that LOVE Revolution, because it’s the BEST THING this world has to offer!
So let’s say this pledge together nuh Friends. ‘Oh Jesus, today I pledge my allegiance to You and Your LOVE Revolution! I promise to do my very best to work towards the high standards of excellence you seek for those who desire to join your movement. Please help us to fulfil all your desire. We pray this in Your Name and on Your sacrificial blood. Amen.’
So we’re all official members of the LOVE Rev. Club now people! (smile) Therefore, let’s go out into the world and let our light shine, be the salt of the earth, show them what real LOVE is all about, what Jesus is truly about, by helping and serving those in need. For that was Jesus’ purpose here on earth; to serve, not to be served. And we’d do Him proud by continuing in that same humble and righteous vein.
So let’s glorify Him by both walking and talking the Christian talk. And all God’s people cried a loud ‘Amen!’ Much, much LOVE mih breddren!
…if God is LOVE…and shows LOVE…then God’s children should be LOVE…and show LOVE too…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 June 2013 Proverbs 4:26
08 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Advocate, avoiding obstacles, be of good cheer, calmness, chastening, Christian witness, consider thy path, cords of sin, courage, definition of courage, easy row to hoe, entrap, eternal life, faithful Father God, faithful promise, fearlessness, feeble knees, firmness, folly, fruit of righteousness, god head, high priest, holy spirit, iniquities, Jesus, joyful people, look to Jesus, LOVE, mortal life, overcome the world, power, punish the wrongdoer, quality of mind and spirit, righteousness., salvation, saviour jesus christ, selfless Saviour, sexual temptation, sound mind, spirit of fear, spiritual strength, spirituality, straight and narrow path, the ways of man, undeniable truth, very essence of wisdom, words of wisdom
Proverbs 4:26: Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Oh Friends, another beautiful day is being heralded all around the world! And we Christians are the luckiest of the lucky!
Why? Because we have a just and faithful Father God to watch over and provide for us; a selfless Saviour who died to cleanse us of our sins, and is now our Advocate and High Priest; and last but certainly not least, we have the Holy Spirit which dwells in us and guides us in all righteousness. Wow!
And that’s not all, for when this mortal life on earth is done, we have the faithful promise of salvation and eternal life with the Trinity of our God-head. So what more can we ask eh my brethren? Nothing really.
But that also means that we’re supposed to be the most joyful people on the planet, which unfortunately we’re not. Too many of us are still fearful of the world and the evil things in it. But remember that our Saviour Jesus Christ says that He has overcome the world, so we should not fear, but be of good cheer. (John 16:33) And likewise Bruh Paul cautioned Timothy: ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7)
Oh Friends, it therefore behoves us to stand steadfast, strong and courageous in the faith, to do what we have been called to do, obviously with the able assistance of our triumvirate God-head. And to help us do that, here’s a definition of Courage, from Uncle Charles, Charles Stanley. Some of you might have heard it in a broadcast a few weeks back. He defines courage as: ‘The quality of mind and spirit enabling us to meet danger, opposition or the challenges of life with fearlessness, calmness and firmness.’
And that’s indeed courage in a nutshell my people! The ability to face anything, despite abnormal or unfavourable circumstances should be the motto and work of our Christian witness. And remember too that courage doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of fear, but doing it even though we’re afraid, because we have that awesome promise of our faithful God that He will work everything out for the good of those He’s called and who LOVE Him. (Rom.8:28)
But my fellow believers, having all that help is of no good unless we use it, unless we do our part. And a portion of our part is to do as our Bit advises. ‘Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.’ Yes Friends, we need to seriously consider the paths we choose in life, before walking them, because we can be cruelly led astray if we choose the wrong ones.
And Cousin Sol warns us of one such wrong path in the next chapter when he talks about adultery. ‘And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished (enraptured) with a strange (an immoral) woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger (seductress)?
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth (observes, weighs) all his goings. His own iniquities shall take (entrap) the wicked himself, and he shall be holden (caught) with the cords of his sins. He shall die without (for lack of) instruction: and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.’ (Prov.5:20-23)
Oh my brethren, more awesome words of wisdom and undeniable truth! The Lord sees all our comings and goings, and all the thoughts of our hearts and minds are constantly exposed to His righteous stare, therefore we cannot afford to err foolishly and succumb to wicked devices, for those same evil devices will cause our inevitable and unfortunate downfall.
And here’s some info from the scholars. ‘Another reason for rejecting sexual temptation is that the Lord sees all and will punish the wrongdoer. He shall die does not necessarily mean a physical death, but it refers to an absence of life. The adulterer will miss out on the full and joyous life that God intended.’
And all of that is corroborated by the author of Hebrews, when talking about God’s discipline and the running of our earthly race. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.
Wherefore lift up (strengthen) the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way (be dislocated); but let it rather be healed.’ (Heb.12:11-13)
Yeh mih people, none of us likes to be disciplined, but it’s often necessary to teach us righteousness. Therefore we have to be strong and courageous and walk the straight and narrow path, else we’ll most certainly go astray.
And we’ll end with some more useful info from the scholars. ‘Some of the runners in verse 1 have grown so weary that they have become stooped and need spiritual strength to be straightened up again. They must be given help, yet they themselves also must straighten their paths by avoiding obstacles that would spiritually trip them up.’
Oh Friends, it’s definitely not an easy row we have to hoe as believers, but as Bruh Paul so wisely informed the Philippians: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13) And so too can all of us my brethren.
So let’s put Christ first and foremost in our lives nuh, thus enabling us to stay on that straight and narrow path, without veering either to the right or to the left. For that’s the very essence of wisdom! Much LOVE!
…when our eyes, hearts and minds look to Jesus…then our feet automatically tread the straight and true way…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 June 2013 Hebrews 10:23
05 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Amen, awesome greatness, blessings, boring death, bounden duty, bountiful mercies, Christian faith, christianity, confidence, discouragement, don't waver, dr schuller, evil conscience, exciting life, failure, faithful God, fellowship, forgiveness, glorious morn, glory, God's promises, God's providence, good works, gospel truth, have hope, heart-moving prayer, high priest, hold fast to our faith, Holy Place of God, hope, inspiration, largesse, last trumpet, LOVE, loving kindness, mangnanimous God, mercy-filled lives, power, praise and thanksgiving, praise the Most High God Jehovah, reciprocal encouragement, shame, spendour, spiritual food, stir up LOVE, strength, success, thankful mood, the blood of Jesus, unbelievable opportunities, weakness, wonderful grace, worship and glorify God
Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
And then it was Wednesday, my beautiful Friends in Christ Jesus! Meaning that another new and glorious morn is in the offing, bringing with it exciting and unbelievable opportunities to enjoy the everlasting and bountiful mercies, goodness, blessings, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness of our magnificent and magnanimous God!
And the hearts of God’s people were so touched by those sentiments that they erupted in unison, in one loud voice: ‘Oh praise and sanctify the Most High God Jehovah! He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who dwells in the high heavens, but unstintingly pours out His wonderful grace on His adoring people, the children of men, here on earth!
Yes mih people, that’s the kind of adoration our Creator, our Provider and most generous, LOVING and faithful God deserves, each and every day of our blessed, mercy-filled lives!
In truth, there are really no words in the human language to truly describe the awesome greatness, splendour, largesse and LOVE of our God, but we do have to try and make do with what we have, because it’s our bounden duty to worship and glorify Him and spread His glorious kingdom to all the ends of the earth, so that when the last trumpet sounds, not a single soul of His creation will be lost to mammon.
And all God’s children declared a loud and glorious shout of ‘Amen! And again we say, Amen!’
Ah mih breddren, the ole fella just seems to have gotten up in a real praising and thankful mood this morning. (smile) But that’s really the way we ought to be each and every day. So let’s endeavour to pick up our praise and thanksgiving, starting today nuh. We’ll undoubtedly enjoy much better, much happier lives if we do that.
Now here’s a prayer from Dr. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional that will certainly help us to do that. It’s titled, ‘I Will Move.’
Pray with me: ‘Lord, I want your heart to be in my heart. For in you I come alive, moving ahead from boring death to exciting life! In your promises, I will move from discouragement to hope. In your pardon, I will move from shame to glory. In your power, I will move from weakness to strength. In your providence, I will move from failure to success! Thank you, Lord. Amen.’
Oh Friends, what a beautiful, heart-moving prayer! I sure hope that it gets all of us worked up for Christ this morning!
Now let’s look at how our Bit comes about; it stems from a plea to hold to the new faith. ‘Having therefore, brethren, boldness (confidence) to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say his flesh;
And having a high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
And let us consider one another to provoke (stir-up) unto LOVE and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.’ (Heb. 10:19-26)
Now what does all of that mean eh? Let’s get some insight from the scholars. First off: ‘Jesus Christ is the new and living way by which believers have direct access into the very Holy Place of God (cf. 4:14; 6:20; 7:25; John 14:6)’
Then: ‘The word translated provoke (Gr. paraoxysmos) usually has a negative sense, as is witnessed by its only other New Testament usage (Acts 15:39). The positive connotation which the word has in the present text means to stir up. It is easy to stir up hatred and godless deeds; it takes much more to stir up another to LOVE and good works.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my people! We can very easily stir up ourselves and each other to anger and other unfruitful stuff, but doing it for the positive things takes much more work and time.
And finally: ‘Not forsaking the assembling: This admonition involves far more than erratic attendance. It involves the entire worship of Christ and is an outward indication of an inner condition.
The assembling of God’s people provides opportunity for reciprocal encouragement, strengthening, and the stirring up that can be gained form one another. (cf. Col. 3:12-16). It consists of participation in worship and fellowship. The church is a body interacting (1 Cor. 12:14-27); it is not merely a dispensary of spiritual food and medicine.’
And to that Friends, I can only say ‘Amen!’ For it’s something I’ve been trying to instil in us all along; the necessity for fellowship and believer interaction at all levels, times and places in our lives, because it’s from that coming together, that physical and spiritual mixing, we’re supposed to draw strength, inspiration and faith to carry on.
So let’s come together nuh mih people, as Jesus would have us do, to exhort and inspire each other. That’s true wisdom and Christian faith at its everlasting best. Much LOVE!
…when Christians join together in true fellowship…all the hosts of heaven rejoice…
P.S. Oh my brethren, please remember to check out the scripture references given above, because they are for our benefit, further enlightening us as to the meaning(s) of the Word of God. And if you don’t read the scriptures for yourselves, you’ll NEVER truly understand them. And that’s gospel truth! Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 June 2013 Hebrews 10:23
04 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: can't find jobs, captains of industry, communion with Jesus, corrupt politicians, don't be afraid, double minded, eternal life, excellent qualifications, excuse, faith, global village, globalization, God's faithful, gospel truth, greed, grow in faith, hold fast, human-rights, hunger and thirst for righteousness, hungry hope, in God's good time, inept leaders, inhumane practices, keep life and limbs together, lackeys, lay offs, LOVE, maximize profits, peace, peace of mind, prosperous society, ruse, salvation, shortsightedness, sufferation, thankful for jobs, the confession of our faith, the wicked will eventually pay, union with Jesus, unity, waivering faith
Hebrews 10:23. Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
Oh Friends, it’s already Tuesday! Wow! That means Friday and Freedom soon come! (smile) Yeh mih people, I know that many of us are labouring under less than ideal conditions, in less than ideal jobs. But as we sang in our Battle Hymn yesterday, we’re still thankful for them because they at least keep life and limbs together.
Unfortunately though, there are so many many today, in this supposedly prosperous society, who don’t have jobs, in fact can’t find one, even though they have excellent qualifications, and sadly, many more are being laid off every day.
Ah Lord eh! What a mess of things these foolish, misguided, inept, corrupt politicians whom we call leaders, have made of this world!
That’s because they aren’t true leaders, but just the lackeys of the greedy, short-sighted, inhumane captains of industry, who are only concerned about the almighty bottom line and the abnormal profits they can make. They don’t give a damn about those they condemn to ‘sufferation’ through their inhumane practices!
And all this talk about globalization and a global village is just that, a ruse, an excuse for them to move their money, means of production and power anywhere around the world so that they can maximize their profits on the backs of the struggling poor of the new country, without an iota of concern for those unfortunates they’ve left high and dry behind in their last location.
But Friends, as the Good Book says so many times over, the wicked, the greedy and the proud will eventually pay for their evil deeds. Yes, my brethren, all will be made right in God’s good time. There’s absolutely no doubt about that, because we know that our God has promised it, and He’s eternally faithful, as the end of our Bit declares.
Therefore ‘Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’
Yes my people, since our great God promised us eventual peace, LOVE, salvation and eternal life, and since He never reneges on a promise, then it is absolutely essential, totally necessary for us to keep hold of the hope and expectation that’s to be found in our faith.
And I like how somebody termed it, a hungry hope. Yes my brethren, we must exhibit a hunger and thirst for righteousness as our faith demands. For without a palpable hunger gnawing at our souls, our faith is very liable to waiver, and then we’ll become insecure, double minded and very wobbly, with no peace of mind about the issues of our faith.
And that is definitely not a welcome trait in a believer, for as James so wisely points out: ‘A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:8) And that’s a proven fact Friends!
In any case, even if we have nothing else, a believer ought to have peace of mind, because that’s one of the reasons Christ sacrificed His sinless life for us on that ghastly cross.
Listen to His assuring words on the subject. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27)
So my fellow believers, having received that unsurpassable peace of Jesus, let’s look at some scripture that then assures us of God’s faithfulness, starting in 1 Corinthians.
Right from the very beginning, in his introduction and greeting, Bruh Paul confidently assures them that, ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.1:9)
Now hear this useful explanation from the scholars. ‘Unto the fellowship of his Son: The term ‘fellowship’ includes both union and communion. The Corinthian believers have been brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Accordingly, this great truth implies that they had been brought into communion with one another. Here in a nutshell is the theme of this epistle.’
And so have we also my brethren, been brought into union and communion with Christ and each other. Unfortunately though we don’t seem to regard those two things as highly as we should, otherwise our lives would not be as lacking as they are in true LOVE and unity, both with Christ and with each other.
But that’s a topic for another day. And anyway, if there’s real truth in our hearts, we all know that we’re not being as Christ-like and righteous as we ought to and can be.
Now let’s end with this scripture from 1 Thessalonians, where Bruh Paul exhorts them to stand strong in the faith, and do what is right, because ‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’ (1 Thess.5:24)
And that’s the gospel, gospel truth my Friends!
Once the Lord calls us to Him, or to do anything for Him, He will faithfully see us through it. Please have no doubts about that, cause I can testify to it from personal experience.
However, it is still very necessary that each and every believer should experience that faithfulness for themselves, because it’s only as each of us personally experiences God’s goodness, mercy, LOVE and faithfulness that we’ll individually grow in faith.
So please hang in there, even if times are rough, and do whatever God calls you to do. You’ll see that He won’t ever let you down, and your faith will grow as a consequence of it all. Much LOVE!
…if God had not planned on being faithful to us…He’d never have sent Jesus to die for us…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 June 2013 Psalm 61:3
01 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: arms of Almighty God, calming influence, Christ-like, christianity, compassion, Daily Bread Devotional, desires, eternal life, fears, foregivenss, fruits of the Spirit, goals, God exists, God of my rock, hypocrites, just my imagination, knowing God, lead me to the rock, LOVE, meditate on God's Word, mercy, my refuge, my Saviour, New Year's resolution, patience, perception, Pharisees, problems, psalm 61, shelter, Song of Deliverance, spirituality, strong tower, stronghold, talking to God, the righteous run to God, times of trouble, tribulations, trust in God, wisdom
Psalm 61:3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
Ah Friends, May has quietly segued into June. Wow! I don’t know if it’s just my perception, but to me the months of this year are going by rather quickly. Anyway, even if it’s just my imagination, it’s time once again to check up on our sole New Year’s Resolution; drawing closer to Jesus.
Have we advanced any, daily becoming more like Him, showing greater LOVE, patience, mercy, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion, and all the other fruits of the Spirit that we’re supposed to bear and share? I sure hope so.
But as I reason, if we’re truly serious about becoming more Christ-like, then it’s much easier to check our progress every month and make the necessary corrections, than doing so on a yearly basis. So please, let’s take some quiet time, today or tomorrow, and review our progress. We’ll be amazed at what we’ll find.
Now I know that some of you read the Daily Bread Devotional, but I wonder how many read the last page of the May offering? Not that dated May 31, but the page after that. Well whether you did or not, I’d like to share some awesome wisdom that’s printed there, some that we should all thoroughly consider, accept and believe.
They claim that knowing whether God exists is important, but that actually knowing God is even more important. And I wholeheartedly agree. They quote a rather interesting passage by the theologian, J.I Packer.
‘What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What in man gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.’
Yes Friends, all that we are, have and were meant to be, begins and ends with knowing God; the One who created us and provides for us, both here on earth and in heaven. And our Bit today highlights the great importance of truly knowing God.
Psalm 61, from which it’s taken is sub-titled, ‘Lead me to a rock that is higher than I.’ And that’s exactly what our God is, my brethren; a rock that is much higher, more secure and much more powerful than us!
And Bruh David appropriately begins it: ‘Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.’ (Ps.61:1-2)
Yes Friends, in his time of trouble Bruh David runs to that powerful, secure and calming influence; the ever open and waiting arms of Almighty God! And I can testify that there’s no better place to run when the enemy approaches. Now why is that?
Bruh David gives us the reason in our Bit: ‘For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.’
There’s method to Bruh David’s madness Friends, and also to mine. (smile) From earlier experiences he knows that God will protect him in times of tribulation. In other words, he knows God. Their relationship is such that he can call on Him at any time, in regards to any matter, and He will hear and answer Him.
Consequently, he can unhesitatingly proclaim: ‘I will abide in thy tabernacle (tent) for ever: I will trust in the covert (shelter) of thy wings. Selah. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.’ (Ps.61:4-5)
Oh my brethren, do we know God so well, that we can sincerely say those things? I surely hope so, because if we don’t, then crapaud smoke we pipe, things really bad with us. Remember, as we said earlier on, our whole existence is about knowing God. But that can only happen when we constantly seek Him, consistently read and meditate on His Word, and converse with Him in prayer.
And note, prayer is simply talking to God, opening our hearts to Him, telling Him our problems, our goals, desires and fears, and asking for His potent and wise help in becoming like His wonderful Son Jesus Christ. He doesn’t need all the ceremony; the bowing and scraping and prostrating ourselves, for outward show doesn’t matter to Him. What matters most to God is the state of our hearts, spirits and motives, whether we’re sincere or not.
So please let’s not behave like the hypocrite Pharisees and them, whom Jesus detested for their outward show and self-righteous acts. Our God wants us to come to Him humbly, but confidently, and lay all our cards on the table, not holding back anything, for it’s not a poker game, where we have to hide our true feelings.
And Cousin Sol backs that up admirably with this scripture from Proverbs 18. ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe (set on high).’ (Prov.18:10)
Yes Friends, as the scholars explain: ‘The righteous find protection in the Lord.’ And that’s the gospel truth!
Now let’s end with some more powerful words from Bruh David on the subject. This comes from his Song of Deliverance, when the Lord finally gave him rest from all his enemies, including Saul. The Song is found in 2 Samuel 22, Psalm 18 is the edited version.
Listen closely: ‘And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock: in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn (strength) of my salvation, my high tower (stronghold), and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence. I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (2 Sam.22:2-4)
Oh my people, such is the confidence that our God builds in us when we consistently walk with Him! And anyone who doesn’t want that confidence in a rock and refuge that’s higher than them, then something’s seriously wrong.
All I know is that I’m going to seek Him and His kingdom first and foremost, put all my eggs in His safe basket, because I am sure of His LOVE, STRENGTH, MERCY, FORGIVENESS AND PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE!
And I encourage you to do the same, because it is truly wisdom at its highest level. Much LOVE!
…as for me and mine…we’ll follow Jesus…even to the ends of the universe…no doubt about it…
