mental illness | SCRIP-BITS

The Importance of Occasionally Taking A Break from Our Stressful and Overly Busy Lives!

07 Oct 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a leisurely day, anger, at the forefront of our minds, away from have to things, be of good cheer, behooves us, burn out, coddling a pent-up rebellion, come to know and love him like we do, didn't want to go to church, do what we feel like, doing a brisk business, faith, fear, followers of Christ Jesus, foolishness, for His name's sake, get away from the alarm clocks, get away from work family friends, God is a refuge for us, greed, handle our problems properly, hate, he leads me beside the still waters, he leads me in the paths of righteousness, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul, holy spirit, hurry, i have overcome the world, I shall not want, I will fear no evil, In God is my salvation and my glory, in god's eyes, in me ye might have peace, in the world ye shall have tribulation, insecurity, Jesus Christ, learned a profound lesson, let not your heart be troubled, life is good, lock stock and barrel, lose our focus, lose the capacity for personal enjoyment, LOVE, mental illness, mercy, my hope is from him, my peace I give unto you, my refuge is in God, my soul wait thou only upon God, neither let it be afraid, not as the world gives, of whom shall I be afraid, Once in a while we can, once in a while we can do what we want to, once in awhile we need to walk think meditate, One Year Book of Bible promises, only God can satisfy our deepest longings, our competitive society, Peace i leave with you, personal enjoyment, pour out your hearts before him, pressing commitments, propaganda, rely upon God, reminiscent of our current society, retain our sanity in this crazy world, salvation, Selah, sense of purpose, share His love with my neighbours, share our private secrets with God, share the amazing love and friendship of Christ, the beloved of God, the Lord is my light and my salvation, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord is the strength of my life, the mind doctors, the negatives running rampant in our society, the rock of my strength, the shattering pressures, these things I have spoken unto you, thou art with me, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, to whom we belong, trust in him at all times, trust my friend Jesus, truth, trying to keep up with the world system, unfair systems of the world, whom shall I fear, wisdom, without hurting someone, worry

Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

And finally the bright sunshiny days have come to an end! Yes, rain is in the offing for today. We’ve already had a small drizzle, but with all the cloudiness around, we’ll probably have some bigger showers later in the day. And we really can’t complain because we’ve had such beautiful unseasonable weather recently, and though rain might fall, the temperature is still almost summer-like. (smile) So let’s give thanks, for life is good; we’re alive, and the weather is fine!

Now, here’s a very interesting and rather appropriate writing from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. And though I’m sure I’ve shared this one before, it’s worthwhile hearing again, because it’s highly reminiscent of our current society. It’s aptly titled, ‘Once in a While We Can.’

So please read with me: ‘One bright Sunday when I was twelve, I didn’t want to go to church. I wasn’t coddling a pent-up rebellion. I simply pictured a leisurely day away from “have to” things. How to explain and be understood! Finally I just blurted it out as Mother prepared breakfast. She listened attentively. “Honey,” she said calmly, we can’t always do what we feel like doing without hurting someone.” That settled it, I thought. I was sorry I had asked. Suddenly I heard, “But once in a while we can do what we want to – just because we want to. You may stay home this Sunday.”

The memory of that day is still vivid. Not because I stayed home from church, but because I learned a profound lesson: Once in a while we can! Once in a while we can get away from the alarm clocks, peanut butter jars, milk cartons…away from the shattering pressures of our competitive society. Once in a while we need to get away from work, family, friends, and pressing commitments. Often we lose the capacity for personal enjoyment. Once in a while we need to walk, think, and meditate. Only God can satisfy our deepest longings. He longs for us to share our private secrets with Him. Once in a while we can.’

And that my friends is ever so true! In fact, it’s not only we need to do it, but we must do it, if we’re to retain our sanity in this crazy world in which we now live! Everything is fast and quick, busy and now for now, that if every so often we don’t get away from it all, we’ll simply burn out, lose our focus and sense of purpose. And that’s not a very nice picture to contemplate, much less experience.

And all around us, we see the danger in living at the crazy pace our society dictates with the high amount of mental illness and burn out that now exists. Pharmaceuticals for tiredness and mental illness have reached a sky high level, and the mind doctors are doing a brisk business because of the amount of fear, insecurity, greed, anger, hate, and all the other negatives that currently are running rampant throughout our world. And please note that this downward trend is not filled with only unbelievers, but also many believers, who are trying to keep up with the world system, but unfortunately are not doing so well at it.

Why? Because we have forgotten where our hope, health and strength come from. And just to remind us where it comes from, please listen as Bruh David passionately declares: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?’ (Ps. 27:1) Yes my fellow believers, as a follower of Christ Jesus, that’s where our health, hope and strength are supposed to come from! Not from the insecure, unfair and uncompromising systems of the world, that so many of us are trying to get them from.

That’s why Bruh David also penned these words in Psalm 62: ‘My soul, (silently) wait thou only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your hearts before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps. 62:5-8) Now that’s something we ought never to forget, especially when the trials and tribulations of the world come upon us.

And we also need to vividly remember these two poignant and very reassuring verses from Jesus. The first says: ‘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) And the second verse strengthens the first. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Now, if those two verses from our Lord and Saviour don’t resonate strongly within us, then I don’t know what will.

But hopefully, may be these verses will. (smile) They are the ones listed as the Bible Promise for our reading today. So, please read with me: ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.’ (Ps. 23:1-4)

And if we keep those scriptures at the forefront of our minds, then we won’t allow the world to drive us crazy with all the foolishness and the propaganda that it purports to be progress and wisdom. Now, let’s go home declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting all the world know to whom we belong lock, stock and barrel.

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’

And having said all of that, it now behooves us to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…only as we rely upon God…will we be able to handle our problems properly…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Amazing Power of Christians to Overcome the World

10 Mar 2025 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a free will, a great voice out of heaven, accept all the promises in God's word, alleviate our problems, and he said unto me write, answer our prayers, anxious for people to love, be their God, behaving like, believe in Jesus Christ, conflagrations, daily grind and common task, dismay, disobeyed your word, divine aid, egotistic leaders, enjoy what at the end, even our faith, faith, God himself shall be with them, greedy, he that believes Jesus is the Son of God, he that sat upon the throne, hold your head and bawl, holy spirit, humble ourselves, humble servants, hungry, I make all things new, in all these things, inane populations, individual frustrations, inflammatory rhetoric, invest the time and energy, it's all madness, Jehovah Rapha, Jesus Christ, keep us going forward, keep your promise to prosper us, like a bride adorned for her husband, live the way Christ desires, LOVE, mass confusion, mental illness, mercy, more than conquerors, negative situations, neither sorrow, New Jerusalem, no more death, no more pain, nor crying, nothing shall separate us from the love of God, popular in our court system, power hungry, progressive times, put it into practice, salvation, seek your face, sensible term for it, shake your head, sheep being led to the slaughter, stranglehold, strong faith in Christ, thank you for life, the eventual outcome, the faithfulness of God, the former things are passed away, the God who heals, the power to solve our problems, the pristine state, the rigmarole, the rigours of this world, the tabernacle of god is with men, these words are faithful and true, they shall be his people, this evil world, this is the victory that overcometh the world, to learn God's word, traffic jams, truth, turn from our evil ways, upheavals, we have all sinned, whatsoever overcometh the world is born of God, who is he that overcomes the world, wipe away all tears, wisdom, wise guidance

1 John 5:5. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.

One more Monday friends, one more week of work! One more week of the daily grind and common tasks, handling our individual frustrations, like taking children to school or the babysitter, then facing the horrific traffic jams morning and evening, getting to work tired, then getting home in even worse shape, only to have chores to do there before you can finally rest for the day, only to get up a few hours later and begin the whole trying rigmarole all over again. (smile)

Yes my people, life can be rather hectic in these modern, progressive times, and when we add the many conflagrations, upheavals and inflammatory rhetoric that currently has our world in a stranglehold, you can only shake your head in dismay, or even hold it and bawl, as you cry out to Almighty God for help. Who would have thought that our world could get any worse a few months ago eh? But it seems that it’s getting worse everyday with all the power hungry, greedy and egotistic leaders and inane populations behaving like sheep being led to the slaughter.

And the answer to it all is very simple; like one calypsonian so wisely said sometime ago, it’s all madness. Yes, it’s all madness friends. And truthfully, that can be the only sensible term to encompass it, because everyone’s gone so crazy these days, doing whatever they want, with no respect to the rights and privileges of others, putting mental illness high on our list of illnesses, as well as being very popular now in our court system, where no one is guilty of anything because they are suffering from mental illness.

Ah Lord eh! And I’m sure sometimes when the Lord sits on His throne and looks down at the awful mess we’ve made of His beautiful universe, He too must shake His head and sadly ask Himself, why He created mankind, and with a free will to boot? And it’s not like He didn’t know what was going to be the eventual outcome, but He was apparently hungry or anxious for people to LOVE, and to LOVE Him back. That’s why from the very beginning, He made plans to clean it all up in the end, and return His universe to its original pristine state, with LOVING and compassionate citizens living under His rule.

Thus, the hope of this scripture from Revelation, where John sees the new Jerusalem coming out of heaven, to earth, prepared like a bride for her husband: ‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are faithful and true.’ (Rev. 21:2-5)

Now, that’s the kind of life we have to look forward to my faithful brethren, when this old heaven and earth are passed away. And I know it doesn’t do us a whole lot of good right now, when earthly life looks so gloomy and hopeless, but it’s the very faithfulness of God that must keep us going forward despite the many negative situations we will face. We have to wholeheartedly and faithfully accept all the promises found in the Lord’s Word as truth and use them to help us overcome.

Remember how Bruh Paul describes us in Romans 8? ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us… and NOTHING shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom. 8:37, 39b) And if that doesn’t get your spirit rising and filled with faith, then try these similar words of John in his first epistle, where he proudly and truthfully proclaims: ‘For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.’ (1 John 5:4-5)

It could not be any more explicit than that my brethren. If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you have the power to overcome the world and all its evil and ungodly people and practices. But it doesn’t happen automatically. No! You have to invest the time and energy to learn and meditate on God’s Word, then put it into practice in your life. That’s the ONLY WAY you will ever overcome the world!

However, because we’re only human, we still need God’s help to handle worldly stuff that comes against us. So, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s go to the throne of grace and ask for divine aid in these turbulent times. Altogether: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.

Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’

And according to our prayer, we must do certain things, like humble ourselves before God, pray, sincerely seek His face etc. etc. Then and only then, will we receive the divine aid we desire! Much LOVE!

…if you want to survive the rigours of this world…and enjoy what’s at the end…then you must sincerely believe in Jesus Christ…and live the way He desires…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 November 2023 John 1:10.

03 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: accustomed to an easy amenity filled life, and dwelt among us, and the world knew him not, as many as receive him, be of good cheer, divine help, faith, Friday chant, Glory and Honour to the Lamb that was slain, he was in the world, His Name is Christ Jesys, holy spirit, i have overcome the world, Jesus Christ, keeps you in bondage, King of Kings, let not your heart be troubled, Lord of Lords, LOVE, mental illness, mercy, neither let it be afraid, not as the world giveth, obedience to God's will, our sins could be washed white as snow, Peace i leave with you, quack doctor, salvation, saving grace, sincerely seek His face, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the light of the world, the storms of life, the throne of grace, the word was made flesh, the world was made b him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, truth, wisdom

John 1:10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Wow! It’s that miracle day called Friday! And it’s sunny and twelve degrees in my area! Good reason to shout, ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the weekend is here at last!’ What a way we look forward to Friday and our weekend off work. To some of us that’s such a saving grace, because we find it rather difficult to handle the five consecutive days of work, travelling back and forth through never-ending traffic jams and crowded public transportation. Yes, the daily rat race is stressful and debilitating, but unfortunately that’s the way it is in this Western Hemisphere, and there’s not much we can do about it, so we just have to make up our minds, get strong and go about our work week the best way we can, if we don’t want to fall apart, to break down with mental illness, which is currently wreaking havoc in our society.

And why is that? Because we don’t have the belly and the backbone that our forefathers had. We’re accustomed to an easy, amenity filled life, so when adversity strikes, we don’t know how to handle it, and simply fall to pieces, while running to some quack doctor who can’t do anything for you, and only keeps you in bondage to him, having you visit him for ages, while paying exorbitant fees you cannot afford. I’m here to tell you friends, that there is a better way! Yes, one where you don’t pay any money and are surer of healing than with the shrinks.

His name is Christ Jesus! The Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the One who created the world and all therein, then came to earth in the form of a man and sacrificed Himself on the cross of Calvary so that our sins could be washed, white as snow! And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of: ‘Glory and honour be to the Lamb that was slain for our benefit! Praise His holy name, now and forever!’ Yes my brethren, that’s whom we need to turn to whenever we can’t handle this earthly life. And that, at least in my case, is oh so often, because the storms of life just keep coming; as soon as you deal with one, another one shows up.

For as Jesus so wisely and rightly told us long ago: ‘ 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) Please notice that Jesus’ peace is very different to the peace of the world. His peace stays with us, regardless of our circumstances, but the world’s peace fluctuates according to our circumstances. And then, later on Jesus again talks of His particular kind of the peace, when He says to the disciples: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)

And if you know anything about Jesus, you’d know that He overcame Satan in the battle for hell and the grave, then rose triumphantly on Easter morning, giving us the amazing victory that those who sincerely believe in Him, now possess! And that’s exactly why we need to turn to Jesus instead of the worldly shrinks? Because Jesus is our Creator and Controller! He made us and still reigns on His throne in heaven controlling things down here on earth. And since He made us, He knows us better than anyone else and thus can fix our problems if we will just turn from our evil ways, seek His face and live obediently to His will. Now that’s what is called everlasting wisdom!

But the problem is that too many of us are not practicing it, we’re too taken up with the perishable things of the world and not with the imperishable things of God. Therefore, we don’t posses the necessary parts to live this life in the abundant manner that Christ died for us to have. In other words, we’re shortchanging ourselves. Remember, Jesus Christ was the Light of the World! He came to take us out of the darkness, out of the sinful bondage in which Satan had us enveloped. Now, please pay serious attention to these words of John the gospel writer as He further writes of Jesus. ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own (His own domain, or universe), and his own received him not.’ (John 1:10-11)

Ah mih people, what a sad state of affairs. Jesus comes to the world that He created, in the form of the man that He’d created, but, in general, the world didn’t pay Him any mind, neither did the Jewish people, in whose apparel and culture He came. Both the world in general and the world of the Jews, His people rejected Jesus. Nevertheless, as John continues writing: ‘But as many as received him, to them gave he power (the right) to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.’ (John 1:12-13)

And all God’s people shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Blessed is the name of Christ Jesus, who defeated the armies of Satan, so that we could be set free from his evil bondage! Consequently, Christ gave all those who believe in Him, were born again, not of blood, but of the spiritually of God, the amazing blessing and benefit to be called the children of God! Wow! How wonderful is our Lord and Saviour Jesus! And you’d notice that although He was rejected by so many people that He still remained obedient to the Father’s will, and His everlasting LOVE for us!

And this last scripture for today is ever so powerful and wise! John writes: ‘And the Word was made flesh (became flesh), and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:14) Yes my fellow saints, Christ came to earth clothed in the flesh of man, and showed us the true character of Almighty God, the One who revels in grace and truth! And Jesus’ marvellous example of earthly living is what He expects His followers to emanate. Now, though we’re not doing such a great job, Jesus still has faith in us, and if we truly believe, then we still have hope that a complete turnaround is possible.

So, let’s confidently but humbly, go to the throne of grace, asking for divine help in this time of great need. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly.

And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’

And if we know anything about our great God, it’s that obedience to His will and sincerely seeking His face are the two characteristics that will make Him offer divine help. So, there we have our answer! Much LOVE!

…only two options exist for mankind…hell and eternal damnation with Satan…or salvation and eternal life with Christ Jesus…which one will you choose…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 September 2014 Daniel 4:30

10 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a fool's wisdom, a royal dwelling, Abednego, almighty god, Babylon, baying at the moon, beautiful, by the might of my power, communing with God, compromising, conscience, Daniel, deviate, egotism, egotistical ways, emptying your soul, fall and winter mode, fate was sealed in heaven, fiery furnace, foolishly basking, for the honour of my majesty, God abases those that walk in pride, God does as He wills, God's dominion is from generation to generation, God's kingdom is everlasting, God's mighty and marvellous works, God's ways are justice, God's works are truth, harmonic sounds of nature, heathen, heathen king, history of Israel, How great are God's signs, I blessed the most High, interpretation of dreams, intriguing, jehovah god, king nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes to heaven, LOVE, majesty, mental illness, Meshach, Mother Nature, Nebuchadnezzar, none can restrain God's hand, normal lifestyle, Old Testament, pay close attention to god's reasoning, pay enough attention, peace be multiplied unto you, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, priased and honoured him that lives for ever, pride, quiet time, reason returned unto me, receptive God, relaxation, ruler of heaven and earth, selfish, sense of peace, shadrach, signs and wonders, singing God's praises, slinky cat, steals the Lord's thunder, sumptuous palace, super full moon, testimony, the army of heaven, the High God, the most High rules in the kingdom of men, warning, wisdom

Daniel 4:30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for for the house of the kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

Aye Friends, did you see the big, super full moon last night? It was just so big and beautiful! Like two normal full moons, placed one on top of the other, with the bottom one ensconced about a third of the way into the one on top. It’s the second consecutive month I’ve seen it, but I have no idea of its significance, if any. It surely looks beautiful and intriguing though! (smile)

And talking about intriguing, last night I made sure that I went to bed at an earlier than usual hour, so that I could also get up earlier. Why? Because though I claim to be on a summer hiatus and am not killing myself, or compromising my normal lifestyle to get the Bit our early, my conscience bothers me when it’s late.

Just imagine that eh! Oh, I’m so sweet and conscientious! (smile) But it’s just true. I like it to be available when my readers get up, though realistically, that’s not always possible. Not to worry though, because I still got in all my required activities last night, I just began earlier than usual. (smile)

That included my quiet time out on my porch, quietly communing with Mother Nature and our Creator in the peaceful hours of the night, where it’s just the insects singing their praises to Almighty God, with a slight breeze gently rustling the leaves of the tree, which unfortunately in my area are beginning to go into their fall and winter mode.

Oh I also saw my nocturnal friend last night; a long, slim and slinky black, brown and white cat. He usually slinks silently by along the walkway at the bottom of the porch steps without paying me any notice sitting at the top.

And it’s always amusing to see it take the same route all the time; around to the right side of a big tree in the yard, across the sidewalk to the right side of the stop sign, then diagonally over to the far side of the junction where the two streets meet. And it comes back exactly the same way, doesn’t deviate at all.

Last night though, possibly because I was standing up baying at the big, beautiful full moon when it finally broke through the cloud cover, it didn’t come by the walkway, just stood up in the road and looked curiously at me for a few moments, before quietly heading off down the other side of the street.

And yuh telling me that quiet time out on my porch with Mother Nature and our wonderful Creator isn’t beneficial!

Oh Friends, you all must try it sometime, especially those of you who have constant warm weather all year round. It just brings a quiet sense of peace and relaxation as you sit and listen to the harmonic sounds of nature, while emptying your soul of any problems that are currently bothering you to a closely listening and very receptive God.

It doesn’t get any better than that Friends! And having testified more than I intended to, (smile) let’s see what space and time we can find for our Bit: ‘The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?’

Now yesterday, we saw that though Daniel warned king Nebuchadnezzar about the sickness he’d face if he continued in his prideful and egotistic way, Neb still carried on in the same vein. And a year later, while walking through his sumptuous palace, before those words could even come out of his mouth, his fate was sealed in heaven.

Now my people, what I want us to pay close attention to is God’s reasoning behind Neb’s fate. It’s quoted several times: ‘until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.’ (Dan.4:32b)

Oh my brethren, that is something that mankind today, foolishly basking in their selfish and egotistical ways also need to learn. Jehovah God is, was, and will always be the ruler of heaven and earth, and He gives whatever He desires, to whom ever He desires! He gives, and He takes away!

And if you read the Old Testament, you’ll see that God had Nebuchadnezzar, a heathen king, playing a major role in the history of Israel. And the sad part is that Neb had oodles of opportunity to see God’s mighty and marvellous works through Daniel’s correct interpretation of his dreams and also the faith of his three buddies, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace incident.

But like so many of us today, he just didn’t pay enough attention to God’s movement in his life. However, like many of us, at the end of the day, he was singing God’s praise. Let’s hear some of his testimony.

Before telling the story of his vision of the tree, he proudly proclaims: ‘Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.

How great are his signs! And how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.’ (Dan.4:1-3)

What a moving testimony from a heathen king Friends! But it gets better. After his mental illness he staunchly declares: ‘And at the end of the days (time) I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes to heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed (considered) as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay (restrain) his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness (splendour) returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in (restored to) my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgement (justice); and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan.4:34-37)

Ah Friends, if a heathen king could declare such a moving testimony, it behooves us to pay close attention to the pride and egotism in our own behaviour, because it’s a fool’s wisdom to think that we can do much without God’s help!

And if it’s one thing the Lord won’t stand for, as we saw in the passage from Isaiah yesterday (Is.42:8), is us, or anybody else stealing His glory. And if we foolishly try to do it, then we will pay a hefty price like Nebuchadnezzar did.

So let’s take king Neb’s words to heart and behave in a suitable manner nuh, so that the Lord can raise us up, instead of abasing and humbling us. That’s wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!

…who shall steal the Lord’s thunder and get away with it eh…NOBODY…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 September 2014 Daniel 4:30

09 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a halfway moment, a haughty spirit before a fall, Babylon, blessings, boantrophy, break off thy sins, breath of life, by the might of my power, change our minds, Creator, Daniel, decision making, decree of the most High, dream interpretation, dreams, drive thee from men, earthly days, eat grass as oxen, evil pride, exile, for the honour of my majesty, god moves in mysterious ways, graven images, hair was grown like eagles' feathers, hands of Almighty God, humiliating experience, I am the Lord, iniquities, Israelites, king nebuchadnezzar, Lord God Jehovah, LOVE, master of the magicians, mental illness, mistakes, mortal man, my glory will I not give to another, nails like birds' claws, Nebuchadnezzar, neither my praise to graven images, omnipotent god, Pearl S. Buck, possible outcomes, power of God, praise, pride, pride goes before destruction, provider, ramifications, righteousness., rough and tumble world, showing mercy to the poor, Spirit of the Holy God, split second moment, stump of the tree, the kingdom has been taken from thee, the most High rules in the kingdom of men, thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, tranquility, visions, warnings, wet thee with the dew of heaven, wisdom, zoantrophy

Daniel 4:30. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for for the house of the kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

Oh Friends, it doesn’t seem as though my late night endeavours are blending well with my early morning rising to write the Bit nuh. What a momentous discovery! (smile) But it’s all good. Sometimes some things just have to be done late at night. Let’s just hope that they are the exception rather than the rule.

I’m still enjoying my semi-summer weather though, which usually ends up with an early morning spell on my front porch, communing with the peaceful moments of nature and my wonderful Creator. So it’s not all fun and frolic. (smile)

Now here’s an interesting quote from Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973) American writer and novelist. ‘Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.’

And that’s quite true. Decision making is often a process, rather than just a split second moment, and just before pulling the trigger there’s usually a point where we can change our minds. The problem though is that once we make up our minds on something, it’s often difficult to change them, despite warnings of the dangers ahead.

That means we need to take our time, try and not rush the decision making process without properly considering the ramifications of all the possible outcomes. That brings us to our Bit, a perfect example of what we’re talking about.

‘The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of my kingdom (a royal dwelling) by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?’

And we all know the story of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who besieged Israel and carried the Israelites into exile in Babylon. This particular episode deals with his dream about a huge, powerful, stately and useful tree. (Dan.4:10-16) His astrologers, magicians and soothsayers though couldn’t interpret the dream, so he called in Daniel to do it.

And it’s interesting to see how king Neb perceives Daniel, from prior experience with his dream interpretation. (Dan.2) ‘But at last Daniel came before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods (Spirit of the Holy God):

And before him I told the dream saying, O Belteshazzar, master (chief) of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods (Spirit of the Holy God) is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell (explain to) me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.’ (Dan.4:8-9)

However, after being told the dream, Daniel was troubled by the interpretation he received from God. The king saw this and said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, (if only) the dream be to (concerned) them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to (concerned) thine enemies.’ (Dan.4:19)

Then Daniel goes on to tell the king that the dream heralded his sickness, mental illness. (Dan. 4:20-23) The essence of the vision was thus: ‘This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times (years) shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure (assured) unto thee, after that thou shalt have known (come to know) that the heavens (heaven, God) do rule.’ (Dan.4:24-26)

Now to most of us, hopefully such an interpretation would have made us think twice about our current lifestyle. And Daniel even warns king Neb about it. ‘Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness (by being righteous), and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening (prolonging) of thy tranquility.’ (Dan.4:27)

But Neb fails to take Daniel’s advice, and a year later, while walking in his sumptuous palace, he foolishly declares the words of our Bit.

And the Good Book tells us: ‘While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed (has been taken) from thee.

And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times (years) shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.” (Dan.4:31-33)

Ah mih people, yuh see how our omnipotent God does move in mysterious ways, His power and glory to protect!

Neb unwisely felt that his glory was all his doing. But the Lord God Jehovah showed him differently. The same thing happens to us daily Friends; we mistake the power and blessings of Almighty God for our power. But as Cousin Sol so wisely informs us: ‘Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (stumbling). (Prov.16:18)

So please, let’s pay careful attention to the lustful and evil pride that tends to rise up in us when we are on top of the world and wisely realize that it’s not our power and might that got us there, but that of our Creator and Provider. For remember what He so vividly states in Isaiah 42: ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is.42:8) Nuff said!

And we’ll close with some significant information from the scholars re Neb’s illness.’4:33. Two important questions arise form this incident: (1) Could it happen to a man? and (2) Could it have happened to Nebuchadnezzar? The answer to both questions is Yes. There is a mental illness known as zoantrophy in which a man thinks and acts like an animal. It is also called boantrophy, more specifically when a man thinks of himself as an ox.

In answer to the second question, this illness is not mentioned in Nebuchadnezzar’s annals, but one would not expect such a humiliating experience to be chronicled. On the other hand, his long reign of 43 years (605-562 B.C.) is more than long enough to include the lengthy sickness.’

So my brethren, let’s take all of this to heart as we make our journey through this rough and tumble world, always remembering where the real power of the universe lies…in the hands of Almighty God! Now that is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!

…wherefore does mortal man think he’s so powerful…when he does not even have power over the breath of his life or length of his earthly days…

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