Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Ah friends, those are the basic words of the hit song ‘Monday, Monday,’ written in 1966 by John Phillips of the Mamas & Papas and recorded by the group. And I just happened to remember the song while searching for an interesting, but somewhat eccentric opening. (smile) Most of you young folks won’t know the song, but it was indeed a big hit in the day when folk groups were popular, and I wonder how many of us experience such an intense and uncomfortable feeling on Mondays?
‘Monday, Monday, oh so good to me, Monday morning, it was all I hoped it would be, Oh, Monday morning, Monday morning could not guarantee, that Monday evening, You’d still be here with me…. Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day, Monday, Monday, sometimes it just turns out that way Oh, Monday mornin’ you gave me no warning’ of what was to be Oh, Monday, Monday, how could you leave and not take me? Every other day (Every other day), every other day Every other day of the week is fine, yeah But whenever Monday comes (But whenever Monday comes), but whenever Monday comes You can find me cryin’ all of the time… Oh Monday, Monday…’
And to be on the safe side, I won’t even offer an answer to that touchy question, (smile) but simply allow the day to play out as it will and thus provide the true answers. But let’s be sure of one thing; however the day plays out, and whatever answer we get to the question, be it good or bad, we must remember that our God is still in the high heavens, still in control of the universe, and still LOVES us with an extraordinary passion, one that mankind can never replicate, but can surely appreciate and be grateful for, especially in these crazy and uncertain times in which we currently live!
Yes my people, it’s only with true faith in Almighty God, unlimited trust and total surrender to His will, can we ever navigate the stormy waters and howling winds that are now raging around us. It’s like the psalmist declares: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) And it surely is, for it’s the Word of the Lord that opens the path of life and light to us and guides our feet as we walk along it, under His awesome presence and protection.
Now, listen to how Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs when he warns against adultery. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart (mind), and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:’ (Prov. 6:20-23). You cannot get wiser advice than that my brethren! And from the wisest man ever too! (smile)
And what are ‘reproofs of instruction’ you ask? This commentary gives a brief overview: It says, ‘In the Bible, “reproof” means to correct, rebuke, or express disapproval, with the goal of leading a person to repentance and improvement. It involves showing someone their faults and exposing error, and is considered an act of LOVE and a necessary part of spiritual growth. God’s Word provides reproof by revealing sin and guiding believers towards righteousness.’
And that’s exactly why it was written and passed down through the ages. As Bruh Paul says to Tmothy: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect (blameless), thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17) What more can we say to encourage and enlighten us as to the great value of God’s Word to the believer eh?
Possibly these words from Peter, as he discusses his eyewitness account of Jesus’ transfiguration, when He was revealed to Peter, James and John in all His glory. (2 Pet. 1:16-18) He then writes: ‘We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the prophetic word made surer); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy or scripture is of any private interpretation (origin). For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of (any) man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ (2 Pet. 1:19-21)
More confirmation that the Bible is God’s Word as directed by the Holy Ghost for holy men to write so that we can have a worthwhile guidebook for living this earthly life. But being mere mortals, we have not followed its guidelines properly, and thus have made all sorts of mistakes, however through the amazing goodness of God, we can go the throne of grace and ask for help in dire times like these. So, let’s do that right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
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 is it ever interesting to note, that right in our prayer, we find the answers to our problems: humbling ourselves, praying, sincerely seeking God, and turning from our evil ways. So, if we truly desire divine aid, let’s get to correcting those faults nuh, for remember they are all for our benefit, not God’s! Much LOVE!
…if God did not truly care for us…He would not have given us a guidebook…the Bible…or a Saviour…Jesus Christ…
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SCRIP-BITS 
Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 May 2021 Philippians 4:7.
15 May 2021 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a sure and trusty garrison, a true sense of purpose, a verbal paradox, anxious forethought, Christ is our peace, drop all the baggage, Ellicott's Commentary, emotional roller coaster, following our destiny, grace be with you, guarding our whole spiritual action, in me ye might have peace, in the sphere of Christ's influence, in the world ye shall have tribulation, in truth and love, inner peace, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, keeps our faith strong, learn to let go, Love the Lord thy God, Love thy neighbour as thyself, loving yourself is the greatest revolution, mercy and peace from God the Father, navigate the storms, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, our friend Anselm, passeth all understanding, straight from the horse's mouth, the life of God, the peace of God, the righteousness of God, the rough roads of this life, the sense of unity, the straight and narrow path, to guard is a warrior's duty, you don't need to be perfect to be good
Philippians 4:7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Oh my people, Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and LOVE!’ (2 John 3) What a most magnificent greeting this Saturday morning in these pandemic times! That’s why the Word of the Lord is so important to believers; it lifts us up, encourages us and keeps our faith strong, so that we can keep on keeping on despite the troubles and problems that surround us.
So, knowing that the Lord is with us, all the time, if we only believe, and is constantly showering His grace, mercy, peace and LOVE upon us, let’s go forward today without fear, but with courage, wisdom and compassion, as He leads us on the straight and narrow path, right home to Him. Glory be, mih bredrin!
Now let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘Learn to let go and be clear of where you really want to head for.’ Now that’s certainly an interesting thought, for we can’t go anywhere successfully unless we know where we want to go and drop all the other baggage that’s preventing us from following our destiny. And I want to say here that associating with Jesus, committing your life to Him, is the best way to know where your destiny lies and to find it with a true sense of purpose! That’s because He cares and will always be there to help us navigate the storms and the rough roads of this earthly life.
Then we come to this quote: ‘LOVING yourself is the greatest revolution!’ Well, I don’t know if it’s really the greatest revolution, but I do know that it’s a very important one in all of our lives, for until we learn to LOVE God and LOVE ourselves, we’re not fit for anything. And the best way I know to express those sentiments is by quoting these marvellous and wise words of Jesus, as to the great commandment. ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 22:37-40)
Yes friends, that’s where it all begins and ends – with LOVE! And that’s why this next quote is also important for our well-being: ‘To LOVE yourself is to understand you don’t need to be perfect to be good.’ And that’s quite true. The fact is that no human is perfect, for the Lord God made us intentionally as imperfect beings. The only perfect Being in this universe is our Godhead! And since our Creator knows we’re not perfect, He doesn’t expect perfection from us. He just expects our best and most sincere effort.
Unfortunately though, too many of us try to be perfect, when it’s impossible, and then get down on ourselves when we mess up. But friends, our great God sees and knows everything, that’s why we refer to Him as omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present. That means He looks at our hearts, and if they are right, then He will forgive, forget and comfort any and all imperfection. But we need to first understand that being perfect is not His expectation, but He does want us to be diligent and excellent in our efforts.
That brings us to our last quote: ‘Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.’ Now, on a basic and fundamental level that seems to be true, but it’s definitely not the whole story! Granted, it’s good not to let people and events control our emotions too much, however, it’s a natural consequence of being human. And try as we want, it’s not possible to completely shut out other people or events from our emotional roller coaster. (smile)
And even if, by some fluke, we manage to shut out other things and people, the peace we receive is still not true or lasting, because it’s a peace the world gives, and that can never be worthwhile because it comes from a world that’s plagued by an abundance of sin and evil, and those two things can never bring true or lasting peace. The only place one can find really true and lasting peace in in Christ Jesus! And if you don’t believe me, let’s hear it straight from the horse’s mouth, that’s directly from Jesus, as He so generously bestows what He alone has to offer. ‘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)
Oh my fellow saints, that’s one of the most important and encouraging scripture verses ever! It’s something for us to hold on to tightly if we want to make it successfully through this confused and evil world. But we can’t get it until we sincerely commit our lives to Jesus. And if that wasn’t sufficient to convince you to seek the peace that only Jesus can give, listen to more of his awesome words, as He talks about overcoming the world. ‘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) Glory be my people! More good news and encouragement!
And let’s also remember Bruh Paul’s awesome words on the subject to the Philippians: ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:7) Just imagine that nuh; a peace that we can’t even imagine or understand. And I just couldn’t leave out these explanations from the biblehub.com website. This from Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers.
‘(7) The peace of God–i.e. (like the “righteousness of God,” “the life of God”), the peace which God gives to every soul which rests on Him in prayer. It is peace–the sense of unity in the largest sense–the “peace on earth” proclaimed at our Lord’s birth, left as His last legacy to His disciples, and pronounced at His first coming back to them from the grave (Luke 2:14; John 14:27). Hence it includes peace with God, peace with men, peace with self. It keeps–that is, watches over with the watchfulness that “neither slumbers nor sleeps”–both “the hearts and minds” (or, more properly, the souls and the thoughts formed in them), guarding our whole spiritual action, both in its source and its developments.
It is “through Christ Jesus,” for “He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), as “making all one,” and “reconciling all to God.” The comprehensiveness and beauty of the passage has naturally made it (with the characteristic change from the “shall” of promise to the “may” of benediction) the closing blessing of our most solemn church service of “Holy Communion” with God and man.’
Now that should open up some interesting comments and contemplations! (smile) And I’m also contemplating adding some more…but it’s already kinda long…Oh shoot! Tough yes! Who doesn’t want to get deeper into God’s word, that’s their business! But for those of us who so desire, here is the Pulpit Commentary on the verse.
‘Verse 7. – And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. The peace which God gives, which flows from the sense of his most gracious presence, and consists in childlike confidence and trustful love. This peace passeth all understanding; its calm blessedness transcends the reach of human thought; it can be known only by the inner experience of the believer. The similar passage, in Ephesians 3:20, “Unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,” seems decisive for the ordinary interpretation.
Bishop Light-foot, Meyer, and others take another view of the passage: “Surpassing every device or counsel of man. i.e. which is far better, which produces a higher satisfaction, than all punctilious self-assertion, all anxious forethought.” Shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus; rather, as R.V. (English Revised Version), shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Peace shall guard – “a verbal paradox, for to guard is a warrior’s duty” (Bishop Lightfoot).
The peace of God abiding in the heart is a sure and trusty garrison, guarding it so that the evil spirit, once cast out, cannot return. The thoughts issue from the heart; for the heart, as commonly in the Hebrew Scriptures, is regarded as the seat of the intellect, not of feeling only. In Christ Jesus; in the sphere of his influence, his presence. True believers, abiding in Christ, realize his promise, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”
Yes my fellow saints, it’s long, but interesting, (smile) and we couldn’t have a better ending. Much LOVE!
…the world is longing for true peace…but foolishly refuse to turn to Jesus…the only place that it exists…
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