Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 October 2023 Genesis 45:26b.

02 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 45:26b.       And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

Oh my people, I don’t know what’s happening nuh, but it’s forecasted to be warm and sunny all week, with temps in the low to mid-twenties! Wow! And this in the first week of October to booth! I must say I like this climate change business yes! (smile) But the trees have not been fooled, they’re still cautiously changing the colours of their leaves and preparing for the frosty season, because they know that when it comes, as come it must, it will come without any warning. Anyway, let’s say thanks to our God and enjoy the good weather while it lasts. 

Now, let’s see what’s happening in that enlightening and oh so teachable story of Bruh Joseph. When last we saw him, he’d revealed his identity to his brothers, and all of Pharaoh’s house knew that his brothers had come to him. And strangely enough, this pleased Pharoah and his household so much that Pharaoh commanded Bruh Joseph to give his brothers wagons and food to bring down their father and families to Egypt. ‘…for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ Yes my brethren, when the Lord is working on your behalf, you don’t get favour and goodness in small amounts, but He causes even your enemies to like you and bestow their abundance on you! 

Thus, the Bible reports: ‘And the children of Israel (Jacob) did so: and Joseph gave them wagons (carts), according to the commandment of Pharoah, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment (clothing); but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses (donkeys) laden (loaded) with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses (donkeys) laden with corn (grain) and bread and meat (food) for his father by (for) the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out (meet with calamity) by (along) the way.’ (Gen. 45:21-24) 

Ah friends, that is the way families should treat each other. In fact, that is the way all Christians, all believers in Christ Jesus should treat each other; be generous with whatever we have to those in need. Unfortunately though, these are greedy and selfish times, and even supposed believers are not being as generous as they can, or ought to be towards the large amount of people who are suffering from dire want. The body of Christ, the church itself is not as involved as it should be with the poor and needy. But that’s one of Jesus’ intentions behind its formation; a certain help to society in times of need. And we certainly need to improve our efforts in that area if we are to fulfill Christ’s demands. 

Anyway, getting back to the story of Bruh Joseph, the Good Library tells us: ‘And they (Bruh Joseph’s brothers) went up out of Egypt, and into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.’ (Gen. 45:25-26) They were lucky he didn’t just drop dead on them with the surprise of such news. His favourite son, missing and thought dead for twenty years, is still alive and governor of the most prosperous and powerful land on the planet! Brother! That was more than enough to jolt the heart of an old man. 

But that was not in God’s script. (smile) So Jacob simply felt faint with the amazing news. ‘And (in his disbelief), they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he (Jacob) saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel (Jacob) said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.’ (Gen. 45:27-28) 

And all yuh still thing our God isn’t a great dramatist? No sir! He is the best! For His Word, from Genesis to Revelation, the sixty-six books are filled with all sorts of drama: good, bad and indifferent! So why don’t we pay more attention to God’s Word then eh? Nothing that man has ever written on his own can even come close to the drama filled words of the Bible, which is the infallible and inerrant Word of God written for man’s benefit through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. 

For as Bruh Paul writes to Timothy, describing the unique character of Scripture: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (what to believe), for reproof (what is wrong), for correction (how to correct wrong), for instruction in righteousness (how to live): That the man of God may be perfect (proficient, capable), thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works (having all he needs to do what God wants).’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17) 

Yes my fellow saints, the Bible is our Instruction Manual for life down here on Mother Earth! And if we don’t follow its directions, we will pay the price, the consequences for disobedience, sooner or later. For as Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) used to say: ‘we reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.’ And that’s the gospel truth! In one form or another, our misdeeds do not go unpunished. And a good example of that is how the evil deeds of Bruh Joseph’s brothers came back to haunt them long after the fact. 

So please, I plead with us, especially in these very evil and ungodly times, let’s read and study that heavenly written Information Manual and put it into sincere and serious actions in our lives nuh, so that we don’t have to pay serious consequences later on. And the first step in that direction is going to the throne of grace in sincere and humble prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and asking for divine help in time of earthly need. 

As one voice: ‘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 before the Lord will keep His promise, we have to keep ours; turn from our evil ways and sincerely seek His face! That’s the ONLY WAY to enlist divine help! Much LOVE!

…our God is good and forgiving…but like a good parent…He doesn’t put with continual disobedience from His people…when we don’t hear…we feel…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   19 February 2022 James 4:17.

19 Feb 2022 Leave a comment

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

James 4:17.      Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

Oh brother, I’m certainly getting tired of all this whiteness around me yes! I know that white implies clean, but the whiteness I’m talking about isn’t cleanliness but snowiness! (smile) Yes, just when it got warm and some of the snow melted, the temperature dropped and more snow fell. Steups! Not as much as the previous time, but snow fall is snow fall! (smile) But then again, it’s winter in Canada, so what do we expect but snow and cold temperatures? 

However, regardless of how long you live in the snowy climes you never get accustomed or acclimatized to it, or like it, unless you are one of those who participate in winter sports. And I guess that’s because it disrupts your everyday life, by having to clean it up, dress warm and snugly to ward it off and then the serious problems it can cause walking and driving through it. Oh, it certainly looks clean and beautiful when it first falls, no denying that, but its aftermath can be rather frustrating and dangerous. 

But enough of my griping about the snow, let’s do what we do on Saturdays, that’s check out the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week. Unfortunately, I’ve only gotten three quotes, and one of them, he’s already sent us. So let’s begin with that one nuh. It says: ‘Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.’  Now we all know that’s true, and it doesn’t hurt, but rather helps to hear it again, so we can write it indelibly in our hearts and souls, since it’s an attitude, a virtue that is so sadly lacking in our society today. 

A lot of people don’t even know the word, much less what it means. How sad eh? But unfortunately, that’s the way of our current world. Wish we could teach that in our schools and universities, but we won’t, because the leaders know that it would just devastate, or ruin their evil and sinful hold over the ungodly society that they have forged. However friends, it’s the job of true believers in Christ, to live a life of integrity and thus teach it to those with whom we come into contact. That’s the only way to mitigate the lack of integrity in our world today. 

Sadly though, a lot of us supposed true believers don’t actually live lives of integrity, but foolishly go along with the greed, lusts and deceits that the world has made more important than godliness and righteousness. But don’t worry, it will all turn around and bite us at some stage of our lives, come back like a boomerang to haunt us, for remember, in God’s economy, we reap what we sow, and according to Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) ‘more than we sow, and later than we sow.’ 

So please, those of us who know that we’re not living lives of integrity, let’s wake up and change our course nuh. Remember it’s doing the right thing. And what does James say about doing the right thing when one knows it. ‘Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:17) That says it all my people! And leads us right into the next quote, more about integrity, since it seems Anselm is on an integrity kick these days. (smile) Nothing’s wrong with that though. In fact it’s a good thing, since it might just cause some of us to change our less than stellar ways. 

And the quote says: ‘The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.’ Now I don’t think we can find any fault in that quote, because it’s absolutely true! I guess that’s why Jesus told His disciples: ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Matt. 19:24) That’s because many rich people don’t have any integrity, and are more concerned about themselves and their wealth than in helping their fellow man. 

But let’s remember that it’s the humble and spiritually impoverished that Jesus came to save, not the haughty and wealthy. And the good thing about this life is that we don’t have to be wealthy to have integrity and treat others in a good and positive manner. Whatever our station in life, it behooves us to treat our fellow man decently. For remember the warning in the Good Book. ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be nor forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb. 13:1-2) 

Yeh friends, integrity is simply showing brotherly LOVE and kindness to those around us. And since we never know with whom we’ll interact during our everyday journey, it’s always better to show brotherly LOVE and kindness, than resentment and disdain. 

That brings us to this last quote…a long one too. (smile) And it says: ‘One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You’re the one who’ll decide what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self-image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you.’ 

Now, let’s see if we can break that down. As per the first part, theoretically, you have the right to decide what you want to be, but in reality, everyone believes they can tell you…and even force you to be something that you don’t want to be. And that includes our parents, the government, the church, our friends and family, even total strangers. Now sometimes we listen to what others say, and sometimes we don’t. However, if we aren’t kosher with whatever we choose to do, we will not put the necessary energy and passion into it to make it successful. 

That, I believe, is the main thing; doing something that will light up your energy and passion! And in doing what you are passionate about, it’s essential that you keep your self-respect and integrity, as well as not be disrespectful of others around you. For without that positive sense of self, you won’t get anywhere far or worthwhile in God’s eyes, though possibly in the eyes of the world. But who’s opinion is more important to you eh? That’s the crux of the whole matter! 

According to who’s opinion you value the most, that’s the way you will live your life. Let’s hope and pray that we will all value the opinion of our heavenly father so much more than that of the world, for therein lies true wisdom. Much LOVE!

…living right…it’s so much easier and more productive…than living wrong… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8