Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 May 2021 Matthew 19:26.

04 May 2021 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.’ 

Come on down Tuesday and let’s get going for Jesus! No time to waste or linger, for time is in short supply! All roads this morning are leading to the cross of Jesus, those two pieces of old wood upon which He fashioned the greatest miracle and gift of all time; salvation for sinners like you and I! 

So let’s give Him much thanks and praise for that indomitable feat, that selfless act of great courage, His awesome LOVE and outstanding obedience! If we only had one iota… sorry, that should be, if we had only shown one iota of the courage, LOVE and obedience that Jesus showed, our world would definitely not be in the mess that it currently is in. 

Yes friends, it’s not that we believers don’t have the parts to change the world, but rather, we have not used them sufficiently for that purpose. Consequently, the evil enemy has stepped into the breach that we left wide open, took advantage of our lackadaisical attitude and set up his dominion, and now has a stranglehold on our society. That means we must work even harder than ought to be necessary, to remake our world into a Christian stronghold. 

And, based on the authoritative words of Jesus, that’s not an impossible feat my fellow believers. Remember what He told the disciples after mentioning that it was easier for a camel to go a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God? (Matt. 19:24) ‘With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:26) That needs to be in the forefront of our thinking friends: ALL things are possible with God! When we sincerely believe that, then we can truly go on to move mountains in His omnipotent name! 

So, it’s up to us, the die-hard followers of Christ, to get a move on and begin changing the terribly negative situation in our world. Jesus is depending on us to do it. It won’t be easy, but if we put our best foot forward, we will make a sizeable impact, because right now, with all the strife and sickness that’s in our world, people are desperately seeking solace and sustenance like never before. That means, now is our time to shine, our time to roll out all the wonderful things that Jesus has bestowed on us to help our fellow human beings. 

And before we give up and claim that the task is too great, let’s hearken back to these encouraging words of the prophet Isaiah. ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.’ (Is. 40:28) Yes friends our mighty God doesn’t faint or get weary, and neither can we understand how He moves, because as He says later on in Isaiah, that His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. (Is. 55:8-9) 

So please stop using our finite minds to judge what the Creator of the universe can or cannot do. Instead, let’s believe that nothing is impossible to Him, and live our lives on that solid premise of faith! Remember these momentous words of Isaiah. ‘He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:29-31) 

Oh my people, what encouraging words in this time of pandemic and strife; words that we so desperately need to hear, understand and believe, if we are going to make a serious difference in the current world! Yes friends, now, in this time of much fainting and weariness, it therefore behooves us to not fall into those categories, but instead to turn to our great God and let Him renew our strength, so that we can rise up with wings like eagles, and walk and run as necessary, but certainly not faint! 

That’s the only way we will ever take back what the enemy has stolen from us and remake the world into what Jesus desires it to be! Oh yeah, I know that we won’t fully accomplish our task until Jesus comes back, but in the meantime, we have to do our best, do what we can, so that souls are not lost to the enemy, but won for Christ. That’s our job as His ambassadors, as His earthly representatives; to show the world what wonderful opportunities He provides for those who believe in and follow Him. The end results being salvation and eternal life! 

Consequently, my fellow believers, this is not a time to give up, but to rise up, for we were made for such a time as this, when we can stand strong and show the world what Jesus is really all about, and the immense, the eternal value that He offers to fallen human beings! 

Now, let’s go home declaring (ah Lord eh!) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the whole world who and whose we are, to whom we so safely and strongly belong! 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 the world. Amen!’  

And the obvious consequence to that declaration, (yeah!!!) is for us to now go out and generously share the awesome LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so they too can receive the amazing benefits He bestows on His followers. Much LOVE!

…when times get tough…the tough…that’s Christians…rise up and show their mettle… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 May 2015 Psalm 55:22‏‏

04 May 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 55:22.  Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).

Awright Friends, most fortunately, Monday has rolled around once again! (smile) And hopefully, we have also rolled out of bed at a decent hour, so we don’t have to rush to get ready. And most importantly, we have also rolled out of bed with a prayer to Almighty God on our lips and in our hearts; a fervent prayer of thanksgiving for seeing another day, and one for wisdom, guidance and protection as we go out to work in a hostile world.

And yuh know mih people, since we don’t have much choice, we might as well enjoy it for what it is; an opportunity to make a living that will benefit us. So please put aside all the miserableness, the complaining and whining – which you shouldn’t be doing anyway, if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ – and just get on with the programme.

We do offer some help though, (smile) in the form of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, so let’s blast it out with mucho passion. As one harmonious choir under the leadership of our awesome choirmaster Jesus, let’s sing:

‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’

Oh mih breddren that was wonderful! Jesus was proud of us. Yuh see what can happen when we put our hearts and minds sincerely into something! Now let’s go out and show this ungodly world the power, the humility, the grace and LOVE that runs through our souls as sincere followers of Jesus.

And we’ll certainly be able to do so if we follow the wise advice of our Bit. ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’

What soul-lifting words of gospel truth my people! Our God has promised to be always with us, to never leave us, and we can definitely rely on His promises, for the Good Book says: ‘for he is faithful that promised.’ (Heb.10:23b)

Now let’s hear what a couple of great men of faith have to say about casting our burdens on the Lord. Listen to Bruh David declare his faith and trust in the God of his fathers in Psalm 3 – A prayer of confidence in God. ‘I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill (mountain). I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have set themselves against me round about.’ (Ps.5:4-6)

What a bold proclamation of faith my Friends! Now how many of us can make such an unwavering statement of trust in the Most High God Jehovah eh? Not as many as should. But my brethren, until we get to that stage, we’ll be missing out on a lot of the Lord’s LOVING-kindness, for the greater our trust and faith, the more benefits and blessings we see.

And we’ll end with these powerful words from Isaiah; words that we know, but don’t allow to truly reverberate in our lives. Listen up: ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:28-31)

Oh mih people, mih people, what beautiful words of hope and encouragement! But unfortunately most of Jesus’ supposed followers don’t seem to truly believe and appreciate them, else there wouldn’t be so much doubt, fear, distrust and anxiety amongst card carrying Christians.  

And I’ll reiterate here, that until we put that faith and trust we claim to have into serious action; by truly surrendering our all to Christ, casting our every care on Him, and waiting patiently and expectantly for Him to lead and guide us, we’ll only be shortchanging ourselves, doing ourselves a great injustice. And that my Friends, is no kind of wisdom at all!

So this Monday morning in early May, please, let’s cast aside the foolish worldly lusts that seem to be driving us away from God, and instead drop all our burdens and cares and anxieties in His lap, for that is what He desires of us. Much LOVE!

…come unto me…all ye that labour…and are heavy laden…and I will give you rest…for my yoke is easy…and my burden is light…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2013 Psalm 5:12

09 Apr 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 5:12.     For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
 
Oh Friends, this is one of those mornings when the ole fella found it hard to rise and shine. That’s because I did some running around yesterday and didn’t get proper rest, so the ole body rebelled on me this morning. Hn, hn!  That sort of reminds me of how we rebel against our wonderful Creator. I guess that ought to give me some inclination of how He feels when I’m disobedient. Don’t know when I’ll realize that I’m no longer a spring chicken nuh, that I’m not young, resilient and sprightly as I used to be, and can’t burn the proverbial candle at both ends, without eventually paying a price. (smile) Anyway, we’re up now, and with God’s help, ready to blast off for places unknown. And we’ll begin the lift-off with this quote from the famous American poet and educator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). ‘Believe me, every man has his secret sorrow, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold when he is only sad.’ And that’s truth in spades, my people! We use outward behaviour to quickly judge others, and in many cases our judgements are completely wrong. The quandary though, is that most times the outward behaviour is all we have to go on. We either can’t, or don’t want to get to know the other person on a deeper level. The solution to that problem then is not to judge as much or as harshly as we like to do. Let’s give the other person the benefit of the doubt, just like we’d want them to do with us. As the basic principle of our faith decrees; do unto others as we’d like done unto us. Let’s try and follow that principle as closely as possible today nuh Friends, it’ll make life so much easier and much more pleasant for all concerned. And to help us do that, let’s also take this advice from Bruh David’s prayer for protection. It’s the verse before our Bit. ‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest (protect) them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee.’ (Ps.5:11) Why should we do that, you ask? Our Bit gives us the answer. ‘For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ And that my people, is one of the most awesome truths in this world! So much so, that all God’s children rose up with one accord and with a mighty shout, gratefully declared: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, for He is indeed mighty, and will look down with abundant favour on those who put their sincere trust and faith in Him!’ That’s for certain sure my brethren! And please remember that those words of our Bit didn’t come from any hearsay nuh, but from the personal experience of Bruh David, who was so tight with God, that he was called a man after God’s own heart. (1 Sam.13:14)  Oh fellow followers of Christ, to me that is the greatest commendation a human can receive. And I think it’s what all believers should endeavour to be called. It’s not an easy task, but as with every other good thing, with the Lord’s help and our own diligence, we can certainly reach that level of excellence. Now let’s look at some scriptures that support our Bit. In Psalm 29, the voice of the Lord in the storm, Bruh David solemnly ends with this great statement of faith. ‘The Lord sitteth (sits enthroned) upon the flood; yea, the Lord sitteth (sits) for ever. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.’ (Ps.29:10-11) More awesome truth Friends! And in Psalm 68, Bruh David again ends with another declaration of utmost faith. ‘O God, thou art terrible (awesome) out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.’ (Ps.68:35) Oh my fellow believers, it’s all these scriptures of divine assurance, faith and trust that we need to write deeply and indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, so that we too can stand steadfast, strong and true in this evil world, empowered by them, through God’s Holy Spirit, to do His Holy Will! And we’ll end with one of the most famous passages of scripture, one that we all know, but as usual, don’t put enough trust and faith in, otherwise we wouldn’t be as anxious and fearful as so many of us are. That great man of God, the prophet Isaiah, assures us of the protection and strength of our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God. ‘Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is.40:28-31) And all God’s children sent up a mighty shout to heaven. ‘Thank You Lord! You are most worthy to be praised! We truly LOVE You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen!’ Yes Friends, let’s go about the Lord’s business today with those powerful words of truth and assurance reverberating in our souls, so that we can stand strong and diligently pursue His Will in a most excellent manner. That’s certainly wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…though God’s promises are tried and true…believers should never take them for granted…but always maintain a sense of awe…at the majesty and generosity of our great God…