Today’s Scrip-Bit   26 January 2022 Matthew 19:26.

26 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 19:26.      With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

One more time around the block with the freezing temps! This Wednesday morning in late January it’s only about minus 12 Celsius. Not bad for a winter’s day, I’d say! (smile) Then there’s the mitigating factor of bright sunshine, so we’re not totally without hope. And when we have Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, then we’re filled with even more hope, not a worry on the horizon, because He washes away all our sins, our tears, our fears and foibles! Give Him some thanks and praise my brethren for the awesome help and hope He brings to those who truly believe in Him, and faithfully try to do His will!  

But yuh know, I personally prefer the cold, dry, bright weather, to the dark, damp, dreary cloudy type that just seeps into your very soul, dampens your spirit, and has you calling out even more urgently than usual to Jesus for help in handling it. (smile) And today is as good a day as any to remind ourselves of what Gramps Schuller (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) called ‘The Possibility Thinker’s Creed.’ Please pray with me: ‘When faced with a mountain, I will not quit. I will keep on striving until I climb over, find a pass through, tunnel underneath, or simply stay and turn the mountain into a gold mine – with God’s help!’ 

Yes friends, that’s how Possibility thinkers behave! That’s how those who believe in the biggest Possibility Thinker ever, Jesus Christ, live their lives; with a total sense of purpose, that has Him leading and guiding them, with no give up in their vocabulary, because give up doesn’t exist in Christ’s vocabulary! With Him, EVERYTHING, and ANYTHING is possible! Remember when He talked to the disciples about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, and they were so amazed, wondering who then who could be saved? (Matt. 19:23-25) 

Then He spoke these memorable words: ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26) Now my fellow believers, that’s something we should write indelibly in our hearts, souls and spirits; something we need to hold on to tightly, because that’s what gives us hope in the dark and troubled times. Certain things we want to happen might not happen, but once we believe that ALL things are possible with God, then we won’t give up or lose hope, because at any moment the Lord could reach out and touch us positively in our less than desired circumstances or situations. 

But if you don’t believe that God can do the impossible, then your hope will die as soon as all the man-made solutions are exhausted without a positive result. And long before Jesus ever came, the prophet Jeremiah begun praying thus for the safety and security of his people Israel: ‘Ah Lord God behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (difficult) for thee.’ (Jer. 32:17) 

That’s the gospel truth my faithful brethren! And we’ve lived to see it in so many instances, especially the most electrifying one, where the Lord God Almighty raised His crucified Son, Christ Jesus from the dead, with the awesome promise that those who believe in Him, will also see a marvellous day of resurrection in a wonderful time to come. It just takes believing, enduring, persevering, not giving up, and trying our best to do His will – and let’s not forget that He’s always there to help us! 

And we can go even further back to when the Lord promised that Sarah, Abraham’s wife would bear him, a son, an heir to his vast fortune, and Sarah laughed, though she later denied it, because she had been barren for so long, and was then in the downward spiral of her life, when that seemed impossible. And yuh better believe that raised the Lord’s ire, and He admonished Abraham, saying: ‘Is there anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ (Gen. 18:14) 

Yes my fellow saints, the Lord doesn’t take kindly to us doubting His promises. And to prove His awesome power, it wasn’t until some twenty-five years later, when Sarah was ninety, and Abraham one hundred, He fulfilled that promise, and Isaac was born to the supposed old folks! So please, let’s not ever doubt the power and might of our great God, we do so to our own detriment. And I like how, after Jeremiah’s prayer, the Good Book tells us: ‘Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh, is there any thing too hard for me?’ (Jer. 32:27) 

Oh my people, the Lord is LOVING and kind and all those wonderful things, but He certainly doesn’t take kindly to us doubting, or trying to take away His amazing power and glory. And I think He sent the definitive message on that through the prophet Isaiah, where He proclaims with the utmost certainty: ‘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) And all down through the ages, in His own way and time, He’s proven that, and will continue to do so until He finally destroys the wicked and creates the promised eternal home with Him as our light and God. (Rev. 21:3) 

Now it’s time for those of us who sincerely believe and sincerely try to do His will, to go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus!  Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Remember now, we are called on to endure, to persevere, and if we do, that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! So, let’s show Jesus’ awesome power to a disbelieving world by hanging in there steadfastly to the end nuh mih bredrin! Much LOVE!

…the One who created the universe and all therein…still is…and will always be in control of it… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 March 2018 Isaiah 30:18.

28 Mar 2018 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 30:18.   And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.

Well friends, I slept in my own bed last night, and it wasn’t half bad! At least the ole back isn’t aching nearly as much as that unforgettable night I spent in the hospital, and it was much easier to get up from too. Glory to God! So this morning we’re back to the daily task and common grind and I just have to wait and see what the Lord has in mind now. 

Over the past year I’ve been trying my best to get some closure on my major illnesses, but all to no avail. And for a moment there, I thought the Lord had finally decided it was time to do what seemed necessary, but obviously I was wrong. 

And as He is so famous for doing, He even led me to this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin simply titled ‘I Will Wait.’ Yuh get the message? (smile) 

Please pray with me: ‘O Lord Today I must face it honestly with You By pursuing the persistent questions within me. God, is there any gain at all by my doubting? Do doubts make me stronger? Do they purify my heart? Fortify my will? Are my emotions firmly established by my doubts? Are my family and friends encouraged? 

On the other hand, God Even though I see no possible way out Of the catastrophe I now face Is there anything more pleasing to You Than my personal choice to trust You? I know it is true, Lord I must rely on Your promises in the end. Would You be glorified, dear God If I trusted You now at the early beginning? 

O God, forgive me For so limiting You. Surely you know exactly what you will do. You are God, so You will not alter Your Word. Your power is instantly operative In all the strange twisting of my life. You are God, so You are good. I will hope I will trust I will wait On the living God!’ 

Yeh mih people, that is a lesson we must all learn if we are to be faithful believers. And I’ve learned it a tad in a hard manner over the last couple days. What seems to be our truth, isn’t always God’s. And what seems to be our time, isn’t always His either. We just have to learn to wait expectantly and with a good attitude until He finally decides to allow whatever He thinks is necessary to happen. 

And that’s not always easy, especially when it’s to do with sickness. But from my experiences in this past year, I can definitely say that God is good! I’ve had plenty of ups and downs, but there was always some mitigating factor to ease the downs. He never just left me alone to go through my problems by myself. I could always see His hand working in the background, possibly not as much or how I would have liked, but I could always sense His presence. 

And even when He was not alleviating my sickness, I could still feel His hand of LOVE moving as He gave me some of my heart’s desires. They certainly made up for some of the disappointment with the illness. That’s why today, I can testify that we serve such a wonderful God! He doesn’t always do what we want or when we want it, but He ALWAYS comes through in the end! 

And though I’ve had this setback with the heart problem, I know that eventually, when He is good and ready, He will make all things right. Give Him thanks and praise, my people, exalt His holy name for He is certainly good to us, sinful and undeserving children of men! 

And I have to chuckle here, because I never really intended to testify, but the Lord seems to have drawn it out of me unconsciously. And not only that, but the Lord has just shown me our doubting Thomas’ way, because from the very beginning I’ve been praying for a miracle, where I’d have to go through no invasive surgery, but now that it might have happened, I can’t truly believe or accept it. 

And that’s how we are friends; we pray for big things but when they do happen, we find it difficult to accept them. But just remember that our God is a Big God and He can do ANYTHING. So if we pray big prayers, let’s not be surprised when they happen. 

And the scripture promise for our poem today is also our Bit; wise and wonderful words of the prophet Isaiah as he appeals to his people to turn to the Lord for help. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore he will be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ 

Yes friends, if God can wait for us, so can we wait for Him. And remember it’s all for our benefit, not for His. The scholars offer this wise explanation. ’30:18-33. Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’ And so it is my brethren. 

Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail in strong voice and sincere sense of purpose, letting the world know that we are truly and seriously involved with our God and Friend, Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! 

I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And it will indeed be a glorious future, more mind boggling than we can ever think or imagine! Much LOVE!

…Wait (in faith)…on the Lord…and he shall strengthen thine heart…wait (in faith)…I say…on the Lord. (Ps.27:14)