Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 July 2023 John 6:37.

16 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 July 2023   John 6:37.

John 6:37.       All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out.

It’s Sunday friends, the day we gather in the Lord’s Sanctuary to give Him all the glory that He so rightly deserves! There’s no better time to be had than when believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob get together to praise and worship our Triune God! The gathering just resounds with joy and fine fellowship as we thank God for abundant life and Jesus Christ. 

So, let’s get the festivities rolling with a song we haven’t sung for a while. I was lying in bed thinking what we should sing today when this beautiful song just floated into my mind, one that I LOVE everlasting. (smile) It was written and recorded by Fernando Ortega in 1999, as well as by several other artists, my favourite version being the live, soulful one by Christian vocalist Danny Gokey with an amazing choir in the background, the haunting piano and strings. Now, let’s give it up for Jesus, as we offer up our soulful, harmonious sacrifices of praise through the song, ‘Give Me Jesus!’  

Singing: ‘Ohhh ohhh, Give me Jesus… In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise Give me Jesus. (Chorus: Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.) When I am alone, Oh When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus. (Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. For He is all that I need. Just give me Jesus) When I come to die, Oh, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus. 

(Ohhhh Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Oh it’s all I need, all I need is Jesus. So Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, He’s all I need. Give me Jesus…in the morning when I rise…when I lay my head down… when I wake up, when I lay my head down, said I need him, said I need you… said I only want Jesus…when I wake up… Just give me Jesus. All I need is him. We worship you, we worship you Lord. You’re the answer to my prayers, you’re the calm in the storm, you’re my rest and my refuge…oh yeahhh… Just give me Jesus!’ 

And that’s the indisputable truth of the matter my people: Jesus is all we ever need in this life, for He is our Lord and Saviour, who provides for all our needs! He gave His sinless life so that our sins could be forgiven and now sits at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf. What more can one ask eh? Absolutely nothing! 

And this song is the epitome of the need for seeking Jesus? Why? Listen to this commentary: ‘Have you felt like you’re getting weak and losing hope? Are there situations in your life that you would like to give up? Then bear your ears for a moment, this song “Give Me Jesus” will strengthen your faith in God. A song that will change your beliefs and will help you have a greater relationship with God.’ 

And they give this testimonial to prove it. ‘Moreover, this is the song sang by the old soul Mo Pitney. “Give Me Jesus” actually strengthened his faith in God. It helped his marriage become stronger and made him a responsible father.’ Mo Pitney was a troubled country music star when he recorded this song and things turned around dramatically for him. And if it can do it for him, it can do it for any and all of us. 

And why should we seek God early each day? This other insightful commentary tells us: ‘Every morning, let’s be mindful that the day is a gift from God, and we are alive on this earth for a reason. At the start of every day, we should re-submit our will to His in order to fulfill our purpose.’ Mama oh Mama! That’s the gospel truth! Every day we ought to renew our relationship with God, giving Him thanks and praise for allowing us to see another glorious day on planet earth, and finding out His will for us that day. 

And furthermore, that’s what Jesus did. The gospel of Mark relates it thus: ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he (Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary (secluded) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35) Yes friends, Jesus rose early every morning to have time to talk to His Father, and if the first-born Son of God needed to talk to God every day, then his adopted sons ought to do likewise. 

And here’s another reason why calling for Jesus is important. “We sing “Give Me Jesus” because we want what He wants. He is the One who prayed that we would be with Him and see His glory (John 17:24).” And what does that verse say? ‘Father, I will (desire) that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou LOVEDST me before the foundation of the world.’ 

‘We sing “Give Me Jesus” because we trust we have been given to Him, and we believe His promise that we will never be cast out (John 6:37). And that says: ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise (certainly not) cast out.’ There you have it my fellow saints, Jesus’ faithful promise that whoever comes to Him will be with Him forever! You can’t get a more faithful promise than that. 

And if you’re worried about Jesus taking care of you, then please don’t, for Psalm 55 tells us quite plainly: ‘Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer (permit) the righteous to be moved (shaken).’ (Ps. 55:22) And you can bet your bottom dollar on that my fellow believers, because our great God is ever faithful! 

And we’ll cement that with two other translations of Psalm 55:22. The first is from the New Living Translation (NLT) that says: ‘Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.’ Then there’s this from the Message translation: “Pile your troubles on God’s shoulders – he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out. He’ll never let good people topple into ruin.” 

In other words: ‘God LOVES us with unconditional LOVE, He forgives our transgressions, and He takes care of us. By faith and with prayer, give up your worries, burdens, and fears to God. During trials and temptation, He sustains and strengthens the faithful. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.’ 

Now, if after hearing all that faithful stuff, you still have doubts about putting your trust in Jesus, then I really don’t know what to say, except to keep on trying. Much LOVE!

…Jesus is the answer…but you’ll never know it…until you put your trust in Him… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 October 2022 Matthew 18:20.

02 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 18:20.       For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.​​

Come on down friends, it’s time once again to gather, by whatever means possible, and sing songs of praise, give thanks for our many blessings, and offer up worshipful adoration to our great God Jehovah, on this His day, Sunday! Consequently, we adhere to His commands to ‘Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,’ as well as to restrain from toil for one day of the week, like He did when He created the world and all therein. (Ex. 20:8-11) And thankfully, that day is today. (smile) 

So let’s open with a short prayer. ‘Oh heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and all that You have prepared for us to enjoy in it. We thank You also  for enabling us to gather in worship, and ask that Your holy presence be amongst us as we do so in sincerity and truth, remembering the faithful promise of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour: ‘For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ Please be in our midst as we open our hearts and souls to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.’ And that promise of Jesus can be found in Matthew 18:20. 

Now, let’s raise our harmonious voices in sacrificial praise as we render a sweet, scintillating and oh so soulful version of this favourite song, written by Fernando Ortega, so aptly titled, ‘Give me Jesus!’ Wow friends, there’s no better gift we can ever receive than Jesus. So let’s make that plain as we sing it loud and clear, in all sincerity and truth, a la Danny Gokey’s version with the wonderful background voices of the diverse choir and the stirring music of the full orchestra. (smile) 

Singing: ‘Ohhh ohhh, Give me Jesus… In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise Give me Jesus. (Chorus: Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.) When I am alone, Oh When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus. (Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. For He is all that I need. Just give me Jesus) 

When I come to die, Oh, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus. (Ohhhh Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Oh, it’s all I need, all I need is Jesus. So Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, You can have all this world, You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, He’s all I need. He’s all I need. 

Give me Jesus…in the morning when I rise…when I lay my head down… when I wake up, when I lay my head down, said I need him, said I need you… said I only want Jesus…when I wake up… Just give me Jesus. All I need is him. We worship you, we worship you, say we worship you Lord. You’re the answer to my prayers, you’re the calm in the storm, you’re my rest and my refuge…oh yeahhh… Just give me Jesus…’  

Oh my fellow saints, that was ever so touching and heartfelt! And yes, the words are simple and somewhat repetitive, but the emotions of gratitude and appreciation they convey as they float over the rich music is certainly amazing, especially when they are sung sincerely from the heart, like we just did. And why is Jesus so important that we’d be willing to give up everything else in the world just for Him? 

Because He is our Lord and Saviour, our Leader, Guide and Good Shepherd! He left His privileged position in heaven, at the Father’s request and came to earth in man’s form to sacrifice His sinless life so that our abominable sins could be forgiven, have everlasting life and be once again made right with the Lord. Now if that isn’t the best example of selflessness, and therefore deserves our total surrender, thanks and gratitude, then I don’t know what is. 

And if you don’t believe me, then, please listen to how Bruh Paul explains Jesus to the Philippians. ‘Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made (coming) in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion  (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:6-11) 

Wow! That’s how special Jesus is my people! He left heaven as the Son of God and came to earth like a lowly servant, and learned obedience as a man, and gave His life to please the Father. And it’s not that Jesus so badly wanted to sacrifice His life nuh, but the Father desperately desired to save His ungrateful, disobedient, sinful creation called mankind, but found Himself between a rock and a hard place. Meaning, that to uphold His righteousness and justice, sin had to be paid for by death of a sinless soul, and since Jesus was the ONLY sinless soul available, He had to band His jaw and sacrifice His one Son. That was the ONLY way to carry out the LOVING feeling in His heart. 

And as we said earlier on, it wasn’t that Jesus badly wanted to take the sins of the whole world on His shoulder, for remember the night before His crucifixion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, three times He knelt and prayed to the Father: ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:39) 

Now, according to the scholars, that didn’t mean that Jesus obviously feared death, ‘but it is more likely the cup represents the wrath of God against sin, the divine wrath Christ would incur on the cross as man’s sin-bearer. In the awful anguish of that moment, the sin of the world was poured on Christ, and He became “sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21) Thus, the Righteous One dies a substitutionary death for guilty mankind.’

 Remember His heart-breaking cry on the cross: ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt: 27:46) Yes friends, it broke Jesus’ heart because that was the ONLY time the Father ever turned away from Him, because He was ugly and repugnant in the Father’s eyes, burdened with the sins of the world. But then, three days later, He rose victorious from the dead, having defeated Satan on his own turf and ascended back to the Father to take His rightful place at His right hand. 

And that’s why He’s all we ever want and need! He’s such a magnificent example to all of mankind, in terms of sacrifice, obedience, and every other thing you can think of, why He’s in such high demand, why He’s our empathetic High Priest and Advocate, as well as the Lord of Lord, and King of Kings! Much LOVE!

…there’s nothing…or no one to compare with JESUS…it’s as simple as that…  

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