Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 April 2016 Luke 9:23

12 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

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

Luke 9:23.   And he said to them all, If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

And then it was a dry, warmer, sunshiny Tuesday! Glory to God! Yeh friends, Tuesday has dawned much better than Monday did, and let’s hope the remaining days of the week will do likewise. 

Oh, they are even forecasting temps up in the high teens for the latter part of the week. Let’s hope that the weather people are right, because we do need a break from this rather unseasonable weather. And all God’s people in the beleaguered northern climes shouted a loud ‘For sure!’ (smile) 

But my people, though the weather might be important to a certain extent, we cannot allow it to be a major focus in our lives. It’s not that important. Our focus must be concentrated on Jesus and doing His will here on earth. 

And to help us do that this Tuesday, spring-like morning, (smile) let’s declare, let’s confess our Tuesday Mantra with a whole lot of enthusiasm and conviction. 

As one now: ‘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 isn’t that the glorious truth my fellow believers? Indeed it is! We are not defined by whom this evil and adulterated world says we are. No! We are defined as God’s beloved children and all the wonderful things that entails! 

All praise and glory be to our heavenly Father for His mercy and LOVING-kindness, sending Jesus to die for us, then to become our friend and most trusted confidante! Oh what an honour that is! 

Consequently, we are duty bound to share the good news of His gospel and His unconditional LOVE with all we meet, wherever we might go, for we are today’s disciples, entrusted with the sacred duty and directive, aptly named ‘The Great Commission’: 

‘Go therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20) 

Oh friends and neighbours, are we fulfilling that mandate to the best of our ability? I don’t think so nuh, else the church of Jesus; His earthly body of followers would be much larger, more cohesive and Christ-like than it is today. The divisions and dissensions, the envy and jealousy and resentment would surely not be as great as they currently are. 

Now here is some interesting info from the scholars, termed the ‘Purpose of the Church.’ ’28:19. The controlling purpose of the local church is to make disciples of all kinds of people. Those who are evangelized and converted should then be baptized, attesting to their identification with Christ and the local body of believers. 

The final phase of the Great Commission is to train disciples in Christian knowledge and for effective service. A church cannot choose one aspect of its responsibility and neglect the others. The Great Commission is a simple command with three steps – evangelism, baptism, and education. 

Illustration: The Great Commission is the strategy by which the church at Jerusalem saturated its community with the gospel. Application: Every Christian should determine that his ministry for Christ in the church upholds God’s objective for that institution. (First Ref. Matt.16:18; Primary ref. Matt.28:19; cf. Phil.1:27).’ 

Oh my fellow believers in Christ, are we upholding all the aspects of the Great Commission in our local churches, are we saturating our local communities with the gospel? I don’t think so nuh. At least not to the extent that we should. 

Are we evangelizing and training disciples in the knowledge of Christ? Not as we ought to. The church of Christ ought to be more forceful and proactive, not fearful and reactive and divisive as it is. Unless we’re all on the same page, nothing truly constructive will be done to further God’s glorious kingdom. 

And it all begins with us at the individual and local level my people; right down at the grass roots. The church needs a solid foundation at the bottom, just as any successful organization needs to have, if it is to grow strong and prosper for an enduring length of time, and in Christ’s case, forever. 

That finally brings us to our Bit, where Jesus laid down the terms of discipleship in His organization. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will (desires to) come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ 

Yes my precious people, to be true disciples of Jesus, we have to take up our cross, and follow Jesus. And please note that He emphasizes a ‘daily’ taking up of our cross, not sometimes, or when we feel like, but each and every day of our lives. 

Now listen to how Matthew characterizes it in his gospel. ‘He that LOVETH father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that LOVETH son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.’ (Matt.10:37-39) 

Yeh friends, Jesus is supposed to be our NUMBER ONE LOVE! No ifs ands and buts about that! And if we LOVE anybody else or anything more than Him, then unfortunately we are not worthy of Him. 

So please, today, let’s take some time to truly ponder what position Jesus holds on the depth chart of our LOVE, and do whatever it takes nuh, with God’s help obviously, to make Him Number One, El Numero Uno! For that is true wisdom. Much LOVE!

…who is the Greatest…Jesus…who is Number One…Jesus…who is our Lord and Saviour…Jesus…who is our Advocate in heaven…Jesus…it’s ALL about Jesus… 

P.S. Please excuse the lateness, but the ole fella’s life been sort of topsy turvy these last few days. Got to bring it into balance. (smile) Much LOVE!

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 March 2016 Judges 5:3

19 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

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

Judges 5:3.   Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

One more day in the life friends, one more day in the life! And what a blessed day it always is when you are being led by the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, as we Christians are supposed to be! 

Our Divine Creator and Provider always has His eyes on us; on each and every one of those who sincerely worship and revere Him. Not one single hair from our head falls out without His knowledge. That’s how closely He monitors our well-being. 

And the joyful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who sincerely cares for us and faithfully fills all of our needs!’ echoes across the land from the mouths of God’s people. 

Oh friends, how wonderful that sentiment would be if it came from the mouths of many of the current unbelievers. And that’s our job; to show the unbeliever how wonderful it is to work and live for Jesus; not only by our words, but even more importantly by our actions. Remember actions speak louder than words. 

Unfortunately though, the actions of too many supposed Christians don’t jive with their words, or the lifestyle espoused by Jesus in His earthly sojourn, and expected of His disciples down through the ages. 

Where is the unconditional LOVE, the compassion, the caring for those less fortunate, for the homeless and hungry, the widows and orphans, the strangers, the downtrodden, the sick and suffering, the lost that Jesus came to save. As He said: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ (Matt.18:11) 

So my people, why are so many of our brothers and sisters suffering such want and deprivation when there is such abundance eh? It obviously means that we, first as individual believers, and the church, as the earthly body or organization of Christ are not fulfilling our Christian mandate. That doesn’t speak very highly of us my fellow believers. 

Oh my brethren, it’s in these times of full-scale greed, selfishness, corruption, ungodliness, widespread poverty and suffering that Christ’s church and the people involved need to stand up and be counted. Jesus is depending on us to successfully carry out His LOVE Revolution, and we obviously can’t do that from the comfort and ease of our living rooms. 

Friends, we need to get up and get going; place Jesus sincerely in the depths of our hearts and souls, so that we go can out and proselytize, evangelize, and do whatever it takes to bring Christ to those who don’t know Him. 

Remember His last instructions to the disciples. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20) 

Friends, those disciples did their thing and brought a whole lot of believers to Jesus. It’s now our turn, but we’re not doing so well because we’re afraid of what the world will say, and also too taken up with the things of the world. Remember friends, following Jesus is not all wine and roses, in fact it entails plenty hard work and a fair amount of suffering, but it is all worth it in the end. 

As Bruh Paul says: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to His purpose.’ (Rom.8:28) Yes my people, there’s nothing to fear, the Lord will work everything out for our good eventually. And remember too that Jesus said He would always be with us, right to the very end, so we’ll never be alone. Jesus will always be alongside us. 

And then we have this wonderful scripture: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken, befallen) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that yea are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13) 

So my people, we have all the tools and the protection to go out and do the work that Jesus has called us to do. Let’s develop some belly and backbone and go and do it nuh; stop being fearful, stop making excuses and stop allowing the lusts of the flesh to hold us back from performing our bounden duty; the Great Commission. And that’s my spiel for the day. (smile) 

Now let’s turn to our Bit about giving our great God the praise and glory He so rightfully deserves. ‘Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ Yes my people, that is what we were created to do! 

But sadly in this modern age and supposedly progressive times, we have forgotten about God and are foolishly putting our trust in man and the destructible things of the world. And we’ll continue looking at some scriptures of praise, hoping they will make a serious impact on us. 

Let’s begin with the confession of the priests and Levites after Ezra read the law to the Israelites and they repented and fasted. ‘Stand up and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.’ (Neh.9:5b) That’s the awesome truth friends! Now listen to Bruh David from Psalm 9 –Praise for God’s justice. ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (tell of) all thy marvellous works. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou Most High.’ (Ps.9:1-2) 

Yes my brethren, that how we’re supposed to operate as true believers. And even when times are rough, we can say: ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance (my salvation) and my God.’ (Ps.42:11) 

And we’ll close with these well-known verses from Hebrews. ‘By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ (Heb.13:15-16) 

Ah friends, I can only encourage us to do better and pray that the Holy Spirit will work in all our hearts, minds, souls and bodies to the bettering of Christ’s kingdom here on earth. Much LOVE!

…when thanks and praise flow from our hearts…God opens the windows of heaven and pours down His wonderful blessings on us…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 April 2015 Psalm 40:9

12 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 40:9.     I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

Well hello there you beautiful believers in Jesus Christ! How goes it this Sunday morning in mid-April eh? I hope that it meets you all safe and sound, and also up and about, preparing to go to church and praise and worship our wonderful God with other believers. For you know that’s the number one priority of a Christian on a Sunday morning.

Our God both desires and expects it of us, because He is always there ready to shower down blessings, mercy and forgiveness on us, whenever we gather to worship Him in sincerity and truth. That means that though you may have a personal relationship with Christ, that is not sufficient, you still need to meet with other believers in fellowship, to strengthen your bonds in Christ and to encourage, comfort and edify each other.

That’s why Jesus and Bruh Paul talk about His body, the church. It resembles the human body because it is made up of different parts, but all come together to form one body. No one part can’t do it all by itself. Just like no man is an island, likewise, no Christian is capable of doing it all himself.

And if by chance you’re physically unable to get to a sanctuary, then turn on your radio or your TV, find a church program and let the powerful and ever-faithful Word of God filter into your heart through your ears. That’s why He gave us two ears and only one mouth; so that we can listen more than we talk. (smile)

Remember too the fateful words of Bruh Paul to the Romans:  ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom.10:17) 

And the scholars offer this important explanation. ’10:17. The word of God: Better, “the word of Christ.”  The reference here is to the oral communication of the gospel. Note that it is not faith in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard. This is what Paul meant in 1:16 when he said the gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.”  

Saving faith is not man doing his part in response to God’s having done His part (synergism). Saving faith can come about only through the gospel. Salvation is God’s work alone (monergism). This also shows that there is no other way to be saved but by the explicit gospel of Christ.’

Yes Friends, faith is born, and then grows in us when we hear the word communicated orally. And I guess I’ll have to spoon feed you all here because very few, if any of you will condescend to check out Romans 1:16, so you can better understand the scripture. So here it is. ‘For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.’ (Rom.1:16)

Please remember my people that the Word of God is the most powerful force in the universe! For as the scholars tell us: ‘1:16. The power of God: The English words dynamite and dynamo are derived from the word “power.” If Paul were writing today he would probably speak of atomic power. The gospel is so powerful that it takes people all the way into heaven.

Every one that believeth: The basis of salvation is God’s gracious provision. (Rom.3:23-26) But the only means by which the sinner can appropriate this gift is faith (10:9-17) The gospel is the essential content of that faith. This is why Paul is so burdened to preach Christ to the world.’

Ah mih people, the power of the gospel of Christ is truly marvellous and miraculous! Without it, our faith would not exist; neither would we enjoy salvation, reconciliation and eternal life! Please keep that front and centre in our lives, as we make our pilgrim’s journey here on earth.

That bring us to our Bit, where Bruh David declares: ‘I have preached righteousness (proclaimed the good news of righteousness) in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained (restrained) my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.’

Yes my brethren, the same way Bruh Paul was enthused to preach the gospel of Christ, that’s exactly how Bruh David felt about God’s Word, and proclaimed it loudly to all and sundry! That job has now fallen to us Friends, but are we expressing it with the great awe, zeal and enthusiasm like we ought to? I doubt it very much. A lot of us are ashamed of Christ, are afraid to talk about Him openly, even to our friends and neighbours, but yet consider ourselves Christians, His followers.  

But that’s not good enough my people. Hear how Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy LOVING-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.’ (Ps.40:10)

Now that is what all believers ought to be able to say, and until we each can say that truthfully, then we’re not doing God’s will as we ought! Many of us instead of broadcasting the gospel and salvation boldly and diligently, we selfishly hide it in our hearts.  But Friends, that good news was not meant to be kept a secret; it was meant to be broadcast to all the world.

Remember Jesus Great Commission to the disciples:  ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always(s), even to the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20).

Yes my brethren, that is what all faithful believers in Christ ought to be doing; telling others about His sacrificial death on the cross at Calvary; which paid for our sins from now until eternity, plus the free gift of salvation offered to us through God’s grace, and the wonderful promise of eternal life!

Wow!  Oh my people, if you believe that you have all of that, how can you keep it to yourselves eh? It’s a travesty of justice! So please, starting today, right now, let’s up the ante nuh, let’s get more interested and zealous about the cause of Christ, and go out and gladly broadcast it to all the world, for that’s our bounden duty, as well as the zenith of wisdom! Much LOVE!

…the good news of Jesus’ gospel …should not be hidden under a bushel…but brightly exposed for all to see and hear…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 September 2014 Romans 10:13

17 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

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

Romans 10:13.   For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

 Halfway home Friends, yes we halfway home this Wednesday morning! So please, just hang in there by standing strong in faith and steadfastly focusing on our Lord and Saviour, the Prince of Peace, our Emmanuel, our Advocate, our High Priest and Great Redeemer! 
 
And we all know that to be Jesus Christ – the ONE and ONLY SUPERSTAR in this great universe; the ONE who looks after all our needs!
 
So let’s take courage and continue to sincerely LOVE our God; faithfully LIVE our lives as He desires, and SPREAD His true and holy Word, so that others can hear it and also come to salvation and eternal life.
 
And my brethren, just in case you’ve forgotten, or are simply taking it for granted, please remember that Jesus is the magnificent embodiment of the Word, the Way, the Truth and the Life! NOBODY comes to the Father but THROUGH HIM!
 
Now having set the stage, let’s get on with the drama, (smile) our Bit: ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
 
Ah Friends, what a very poignant, powerful and encouraging scripture!
 
There, Bruh Paul is quoting the prophet Joel, just as Peter does in his most moving sermon on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 2:21) when the Holy Spirit came to earth to indwell ALL believers from that time henceforth.
 
Joel says it thus: ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered (saved): for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance (salvation), as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. (Joel 2:32)
 
Now here’s a note the scholars’ have posted, re our Bit. ’10:13. Whosoever: As chapter 9 stressed divine sovereignty in salvation, this passage stresses the human responsibility. Scripture does not view these two principles as paradoxical or contradictory, but as mutually compatible truths.’
 
And why should they be incompatible eh, since salvation is of, or comes from the Lord, while accessing it is a human responsibility?
 
Anyway my fellow believers, though it’s all well and good to have people call upon God’s name and be saved, there are also a few equally important questions, as Bruh Paul so rightly points out: ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?
 
And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!’ (Rom.10:14-15)
 
My sentiments exactly! (smile) Yes Friends, people can only call on the name of the Lord to save them after they have heard the good news of Jesus’ gospel preached. And that entails a preacher explaining it to them, which therefore means that we need preachers to go out to those who have not heard the Word and deliver it to them.
 
For remember, that is the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples, and consequently us, before He left this earth and ascended back to heaven.
 
‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20)
 
So my brethren, it’s our bounden duty to teach those around us the Word, and send out others to all nations to broadcast the good news of Jesus, because that’s the only way they will ever hear it, and thus have the most wonderful option of salvation and eternal life.
 
Fortunately for us, in this technological age, it doesn’t depend entirely on sending out preachers, but we can transmit the Word all over the world by means of radio, television, and all the new-fangled do-dads of wireless communication. The world has never been ripe like it is right now for us to get the Word out my people.
 
And we’ll close with some important info from the scholars re verses 14-15 above. ‘10:14-15. In presenting the universal proclamation of the gospel, Paul presents the reasons why a universal proclamation is necessary: First, because the call must be preceded by faith; second, because faith must be preceded by hearing.
 
This shows that knowledge is essential to belief. Faith must have a valid content; third, because hearing requires a preacher; fourth because preaching requires being sent. The One who sends is God. Salvation is completely from God.’
 
Words of indisputable truth my people! So today let’s contemplate what part each of us has to play in the furthering of the gospel, whether it be close to home or far away, whether it be through personal appearances or by technological means.
 
But remember, we are all supposed to be, and even more importantly, act as disciples of Christ, which means being involved in spreading the good news of Jesus, wherever, and to whomever we have the opportunity.
 
So let’s get with it nuh, for Jesus is depending on us to spread His Word, so that not even ONE soul will be lost, and that ALL will come to salvation and eternal life. Much LOVE!
 
…in this fallen world…there’s no greater…or more important news that needs to be universally proclaimed…than the gospel of Jesus Christ…

 

 

 

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