Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 May 2024   2 Thessalonians 3:13.

06 May 2024 Leave a comment

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

2 Thessalonians 3:13.       But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

One more Monday, one more day of work, that’s the way the cookie crumbles! Yes friends, that’s how modern-day life works; no work, no pay, and no money, no food, clothing or shelter. And I do know that the Lord has promised that if we keep Him Number One in our lives, He will provide all of our material needs, but that doesn’t mean just sitting down and doing nothing. We are expected to work down here on earth, as well as in heaven above. 

Don’t let all the glorious and marvellous aspects of heaven fool you into thinking that you’ll be doing nothing for eternity. No sir! And though I don’t know exactly what we will be doing in heaven, I do know that we will be doing something constructive, not just lazing around and enjoying the high life, like so many of us want to do down here. 

And it always intrigues me when I think of Bruh Paul’s writings to the Thessalonians on the subject of working and eating. ‘For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk disorderly among you, working not at all, but are busybodies. 

Now them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not an enemy.’ (2 Thess. 3:10-15) 

Now in these modern times there are many busybodies, gadabouts and lazy people who don’t want to work, but prefer to live like parasites off of others who toil and labour for their daily bread. And I wonder how Bruh Paul’s system would work in today’s crazy and oh so convoluted world. He doesn’t mean to have the lazy person excommunicated, just shamed into working. 

Hn! I don’t believe that would work very well in our society, because there are so many layabouts who have absolutely no shame. In fact, our current society is one in general that doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Some of the things we do, the atrocities we commit nowadays, would never have been committed just a few generations ago, because they would just be too shameful and definitely not appreciated. But in today’s free for all society, any and everything goes, and words like shame, disgrace, disrepute and embarrassment, no longer carry a strong deterrent value. 

But what we really want to talk about today is the li’l gem hidden in Bruh Paul’s words above: ‘But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.’ That friends, is one of the most important aspects of our Christian faith. Jesus alluded to it in Matthew 25:31-46, when He spoke of the separation of the sheep and the goats, where doing good to the poor and needy also meant doing good to him. ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ (Matt. 25:40) 

And Bruh Paul exhorts us in several scriptures to do the same thing. Listen to him in the letter to the Galatians. ‘And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.’ (Gal. 6:9-10) 

Then in his first letter to the Corinthians, in speaking of victory over death, he says: ‘But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain (futile) in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 15:57-58) 

And last but not least, to the church at Rome, Bruh Paul writes: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned (be affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference to) one another…Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation (persevering in tough times); continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer; Distributing to the necessity (needs) of the saints; given to hospitality. 

Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not…Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide (have regard for) things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:9-10, 11-14, 17-21) 

Now, having read and inwardly digested those scriptures, (smile) let’s go to the throne of grace in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for divine aid to put it all into action. 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!’ Please, let’s not forget that God promised to prosper us… if we turn from our evil ways, so let’s be wise and begin there nuh. Much LOVE!

…if ye LOVE me…keep my commandments… (John 14:15)

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   15 April 2024 John 14:16.

15 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

John 14:16.       And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide with you for ever;

And as always, after Sunday comes Monday – the day we rather unfairly dislike. And why do we dislike Monday? Because it disturbs our weekend reverie, sending us back out into never ending rat race of the workday world, with endless traffic jams, that breed bitter road rage, and on top of all that, unsavoury work mates. (smile) But if we want to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table, then we have to bite the bullet, get out there and labour for the pittance our selfish and greedy masters believe we’re worth. 

And it’s best we do it with a good attitude, for anything less will only lead to further degeneration of our wellbeing. We cannot be overwhelmed by the stressful factors of this busy world and yet lead productive, God-centred lives. Thus, we need the calming power of Jesus at the forefront of all that we do, through the leading and guidance of His Holy Spirit that dwells within us to accomplish that very task. Remember Jesus’ promise to the disciples, when He informed them of His return to heaven in the near future? ‘If ye LOVE me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (Helper), that he may abide with you for ever;’ (John 14:15-16) 

Please note that last phrase, the Comforter is to be with them and us forever! So, from the day we believe in Christ, and that Comforter comes to dwell within us, He never leaves until our dying day. Now, that ought to give us a wellspring of confidence, but unfortunately not enough of us supposed believers enjoy it, because we don’t follow the Comforter’s gentle leading. We talk the talk, but in reality don’t walk the walk. And what’s this Comforter all about eh? As per Jesus: ‘Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:17-18) 

And there Jesus promises that He will always be with us through the Spirit of truth, which the world doesn’t and cannot know, but that we know and will eventually have dwelling in us. Then later on He expands on the Spirit of truth and what it would do. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter (Helper), which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 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 14:25-27) 

Ah friends, what comforting words from our Lord and Saviour! Yes, the Comforter or Helper, would be the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Holy Trinity, our Triune God! And according to Jesus, He would enable the apostles to remember all His words and works as they endeavoured to do His bidding and put quill to parchment to ensure that His earthly legacy endured down through the ages. And that’s exactly what the Holy Spirit did back then when He filled the believers on that fateful Pentecost Sunday in Jerusalem and the church of Christ was born, and what He’s still doing to this day for us who have believed because of what the disciples have written; that’s the New Testament. 

And if there’s one thing to be said for Jesus, He was always encouraging His followers. As we saw above there, He blessed them with His particular kind of peace, unlike any the world could provide, and that they should not be worried because He had things under control. And in the next chapter, He reiterates His earlier encouragement. ‘But when the Comforter (Helper) is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which preceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye shall also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.’ (John 15:26-27) 

Then Jesus expands on that when He tells them: ‘I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself (on his own authority); but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine (what is mine), and shall shew (declare) it unto you.’ (John 1612-14) Now that’s certainly an interesting scripture and as the scholars point out: ‘Just as Jesus came to do the will of His Father, so the Holy Spirit is sent to speak not of Himself, but of Christ.’ 

So what’s the long and short of the story? That if we have Jesus, His peace, LOVE, grace, mercy etc. as well as the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us and remind us of Jesus, then we ought not to be afraid of this evil and ungodly world, and should get out there on Mondays, in full spiritual armour, just rearing to go and to do serious battle in the holy name of Jesus! And to help us keep everything in perspective, let’s go to the throne of grace right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine help. 

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 if we do as we prayed; turn from our evil ways, by humbling ourselves, praying and sincerely seeking God’s face, then divine help will surely be forthcoming! Much LOVE!

…there is method to God’s supposed madness…as first He operated through Jesus…and now operates through the Holy Spirit…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   1 April 2024 Psalm 90:12.

01 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 90:12.        So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).

Well, it’s Monday; Easter Monday to boot, a holiday in many places, consequently the Easter celebrations roll on, as we relive the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour on that Easter Sunday, some two thousand years ago. This Monday is also the first day of April, making it ‘All Fool’s, or April Fool’s Day’ where we play practical jokes and hoaxes on each other. But please be careful when playing April Fool’s Day jokes, for many have been known to cause unexpected sadness and sorrow. 

So this Monday is a big Monday, especially with no work and the celebration of one of the most important days in our Christian faith. But please, as Jeeves would recommend, please use a modicum of circumspection in the celebrations; balance your partying with your upcoming responsibilities. (smile) Remember, there’s work tomorrow and the boss won’t take it kindly if you book off sick or show up tired and droopy after such a celebrated long weekend. Not at all! 

And my people in these crazy times, a balanced life is ever so important for your personal health and well-being. In a fast-paced, modern world, sustaining a balanced diet, alongside personal fitness, can help improve and stabilize overall health and wellbeing, which can help us live a fuller and longer life. As Cousin Sol so rightly says as The preacher in Ecclesiastes: ‘There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour (his soul should enjoy the good of his labour).This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.’ (Eccl.2:24). 

The problem with that though, is finding the right balance. It’s very easy to work too much or party and laze around too much. The wise man will find a comfortable balance and enjoy the fruits of his labour. And we have a good example of that wisdom, when Jesus, before He feeds the five thousand, tells the disciples, ‘Come ye yourselves apart (aside) into a desert (deserted) place and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.’ (Mark 6:31) 

Sadly, many of us do the same thing, work our fingers to the bone and don’t get enough rest. And though the negative effects might not show up right away, I can guarantee that they will show up eventually, and in ways you certainly won’t expect. So there’s wisdom in taking one day at a time, as Moses says in Psalm 90: ‘So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).’ 

That’s the life and work balance, but then there’s also a spiritual balance. This commentary explains it thus: ‘When we are in balance, we feel complete in ourselves. There isn’t a vacuum of anything. We feel free to be who we want to be and live the life we want. We can express our needs and focus on what we want without feeling less than or anxiety or fear. We feel happy and joyful.’ I guess we can call that the state when our ying and yang are in perfect symmetry. (smile) 

Furthermore, as this quote from an article on the Spiritual Meaning of Balance,’ by Vinita Hampton Wright found on the ignatianspirituality.com website explains. ‘In Christian spirituality, balance has more to do with temperance, which means that we allow our deepest principles to hold our passions in check. As Paula Huston explains in her book ‘By Way of Grace’ temperance has been misconstrued in popular language to mean an unhealthy denial of life’s pleasures. But from earliest times Christians have valued spiritual balance. St. Ignatius spoke of people having “disordered affections”—being ruled by desires rather than free to make wise choices. 

When we don’t practice temperance, eventually our affections will become disordered. A temperate person honors her desires and passions as gifts from God, but she does not constantly rearrange her life according to the ongoing flux of those desires and passions … One of the best gifts of temperance is that it frees us to enjoy our loves. When I write, I can throw myself into it completely. And when temperance tells me it’s time to stop writing and do something else, I can put down my work and enter the next thing wholeheartedly. Identify situations in which you feel pushed, or hurried, or desperate. Can you describe what’s going on, and how you might apply some temperance?’ 

And all of that makes complete sense, but here is the wisdom in which it’s all encapsulated, the words of Jesus: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) That covers it all friends. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine help to make the changes we so desperately need to make, so that our world can become a better place for us, our children, and our children’s children. 

Altogether now: ‘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!’ 

Now, let’s remember that the most important aspects of our prayer are, coming to God with sincere repentance in our hearts, as well as turning from our evil ways. If those two situations aren’t rectified, sooner than later, then divine help will not be forthcoming! It’s as simple as that! Much LOVE!

…keep God number ONE…and everything else will fall into place…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   26 February 2024 Philippians 4:19.

26 Feb 2024 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 4:19.        But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.

Monday it is my people…and the bells toll once more, but this time not for worship, but for work! Yes friends, it’s time to get a move on, to get up and earn a living so we can feed, house and clothe our families. And, unfortunately, in these trying economic and ungodly times, that’s not always an easy task to accomplish, as negative circumstances keep coming against us. But if Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, then you have a fighting chance, in fact a winning chance to repel all the negativity that’s wanting to disrupt your life. That’s because Jesus is the Master of the positive circumstance, and has faithfully promised to look after all who sincerely trust in Him. 

Listen to this promise from Bruh Paul to the church at Philippi. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil. 4:13) Now that’s the first thing we need to remember when the bad times hit; we have the power through Christ to handle any situation that comes against us! Then there’s this promise from the prophet Isaiah: ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me, saith the Lord.’ (Is, 54:17) What reassurance that the devil cannot harm us! 

And to go along with those faithful promises is this awesome one from Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) Now that’s a scripture we all know and constantly quote in the good times, but the problem is that we don’t take it very seriously when the tough times happen. For one reason or another, those trying circumstances flush that promise right out of our minds, and we begin claiming woe is me, instead of claiming the faithfulness of God’s promise, and declaring (chuh!!!) it over our negative circumstances. 

And Bruh David puts it ever so nicely in his famous Psalm 37, titled ‘Trust in the Lord,’ when he says: ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread. He is ever (always) merciful, and lendeth; and his seed (descendants) is blessed.’ (Psalm 37:25-26) Now there’s a very important scripture for the righteous to hold on dearly to! And what does all of that mean eh? I believe these two commentaries explain them best. 

The first says: ‘But as he (Bruh David) looked back on it all, he concluded that in his experience, the righteous had not been forsaken and their children had not needed to beg for bread. David knew that God has the power to take care of those who are striving to do right and their families. He trusted in God and His promises.’ And that’s what we, in these uncertain and unconventional times need to do in a big way, for if we don’t trust sincerely and staunchly in the Lord, then we’ll find ourselves on the outside looking in. And that’s never a good place to be. 

Now, the other commentary to which we referred re ‘his seed begging bread,’ says: ‘Again, it may be observed, that the psalmist is speaking in the context of righteous men that are liberal, and give to the poor freely and largely; and it is seldom if ever known that they or their children come to want and poverty.’  So, in other words, the general principle involved here, is what you sow is what you reap. Therefore the righteous need to live by a plentiful sowing of good seed, and thus the eventual reaping of a plentiful harvest; of giving generously and later receiving in abundance. That relates to either the righteous or their descendants, for the Lord’s goodness extends from generation to generation. 

And last, but not least, is this marvellous promise of Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 4:19) Yes my fellow saints, when we are faithful to Almighty God and live righteously for His Son Jesus Christ, He will supply all our needs. But as Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, our first priority is to ‘Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) 

And yuh know what friends, there’s not one scripture we’ve quoted that we can say is alien or unknown to us. We know them all, and quote them to others in trouble, but when our troubles come, we’re helpless to put them into useful action. So let’s remember that the faithful promises of our God are what we need to live the good and righteous life and don’t hesitate to call them up, when the enemy comes against us, as he very well will. Now, let’s go humbly but confidently to God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, seeking mercy and grace in our sure time of need. 

‘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 if our prayer was truly heartfelt, then we’d realize that the answer problems is found right there in it: ‘humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek your face.’ That’s the place we need to start, if we expect to receive divine help! Much LOVE!

…the Lord’s many promises were not made for fun…but for us to seriously live by…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   5 February 2024 John 3:16.

05 Feb 2024 Leave a comment

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

John 3:16.       For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Welcome to Monday friends… and sadly, we don’t have the beautiful sunshine like we had yesterday to open this new work week, but there’s a shadow of sunshine under the cloudiness. (smile)  And just for your information, all the groundhog prognosticators, I believe it’s four of them, three in Canada and one in the U.S. came out of their lairs this past week to check on the status of our upcoming weather forecast. Now, the good news is that none of them saw their shadows, so the consensus is an early spring, and not another six weeks of winter, if they had seen their shadows. 

What beautiful weather forecasting. Can you imagine it? In these ultra scientific times, such simple-minded folklore is still such a big deal. But I guess it’s okay to get back to some of our old ways, remember the simpler times when nature played a much bigger part in our lives, before the world was overwhelmed with scientific knowledge and logic. But yuh know what friends, there is some natural, or rather supernatural knowledge that the scientific community cannot disprove with their supercomputers and whatever instruments they use to measure their data. 

That is that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour! That He came into the world from heaven above to sacrifice His sinless life, taking the sins of sinful man on His worthy shoulders, so that sinful man could be reconciled back to God, be saved through God’s grace and have the option of spending eternity with Him! Now let me see the scientists disprove that nuh! And the smart ones know that it is quite okay and wise to be a scientist and a Christian, for one does not negate the other. 

Yes, it’s been proven that a man named Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem in Judea some two thousand years ago, was crucified on a Roman cross to save us from Satan and his evil lies and wiles. And He proclaimed to all and sundry, these marvellous words of encouragement and life. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) Now that’s possibly the most important words ever spoken on this planet earth! Words for all mankind to live by! 

But foolishly, a majority of us are not living by them, but by the deceits, the treacherous plans that Satan has rolled out in this evil world. Remember what James, Jesus’ brother said in his epistle. ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be (wants to be) a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4) That says it all friends: you cannot be a friend of God and a friend of Satan. Or as Jesus so wisely said: ‘Ye cannot serve God and mammon (material wealth.)’ (Matt. 6:24) 

And we all know that we cannot sincerely and loyally serve two masters at the same time, so I don’t know why so many of us are trying to serve God and Satan too, trying to straddle the fence, having one foot in hell and one in heaven, hoping to enjoy the benefits of both camps at the same time. But that’s not going to work my fellow believers. You are either wholly in one camp or the other. This jumping back and forth is useless and will only get you more confused and in more trouble than you’re in already. 

The wise money is on Jesus all the way! For He will win…in fact He’s already won, by rising from the dead and thus defeating hell, death and the grave, (1 Cor. 15:55) and all authority has been given to Him both in heaven and earth, which makes Him the Number One power in the universe, (Matt. 28:18) to whom all knees must bow, and all tongues confess that He is Christ the Lord indeed. (Phil. 2:9-11) So why be foolish and put your money on a dead horse like Satan eh? 

Now listen to Jesus make His case, then tell me if Satan can do better. ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:17) And we’ve already seen how that will be accomplished, through belief. But let’s clarify it, just in case you did not get it the first time. (smile) Jesus warns: ‘He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.’ (John 3:18) 

It’s simple friends; you just have to believe in Jesus, that He’s the Son of God and that He died to save you from your sins. What’s so hard about that eh? Nothing, unless you fall into the category Jesus further talks about. ‘And this is the condemnation, that light (the light – Jesus) has come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:19-20) 

There it is friends, sweet and simple, not rocket science. If your deeds are evil, then you’ll certainly shy away from Jesus, because you don’t want your evil deeds exposed to the light. However, if they are wrapped in truth, goodness and LOVE, then you will gladly come to the cross of Christ and receive redemption! And since in some form and fashion, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God, and our world is in such a woeful state, let’s go to His throne of grace right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, confidently, but humbly asking for divine help to handle our many problems. 

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!’ 

The next move friends is to turn from our evil ways…if we expect to receive divine help. Much LOVE!

…ONLY BELIEVE…that’s all Christ is asking…ONLY BELIEVE…

                                        

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 October 2023 Colossians 3:17.

30 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Colossians 3:17.       Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Is it Monday already? Yes! But how can it be, when the weekend just began, and I haven’t recovered from last week’s work as yet! (smile) Oh, I know that’s a question that floats around the world every Monday morning. The insinuation is that the two days off over the weekend are not sufficient to recuperate from the five days of consecutive work. And in some places and professions this has been accepted and a four-day work week has been implemented. 

But I can assure you that come Monday morning after the three-day weekend, the result is exactly the same as after the two-day weekend. The time off was not enough! But I believe what happens in that instance is that there’s too much time off between work periods. We get so accustomed to being at home, relaxing for three days, that it then becomes difficult to resuscitate ourselves, to get ourselves back into the work ethic frame of mind. And it will be even worse when we go to the three-day work week, as some are advocating for. 

And how do we solve this problem eh? I really don’t know, and can only suggest that we become true and serious disciples of Jesus Christ and sincerely embrace His work ethic, one of constant diligence and excellence and complete obedience to will of the Father. And as the Bible teaches us, ‘Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col. 3:17) That’s the only way my finite mind can think of to get rid of the Monday morning blahs, and all the foolish excuses we dredge up not to go to work. (smile) 

And the scholars agree with me, when they explain that verse thus: ‘The beneficial influence produced by the indwelling word of Christ is not only to affect public and private worship (vs. 16), but it is also to control ALL areas of Christian life.’ Yuh see that friends, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is responsible for all we believers do, to keep us on the straight and narrow path. And I know telling you to look up verse 16 for yourself  is a waste of time, (smile) so let’s look at it together. It wisely advises: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.’ (Col. 3:16) 

And as the scholars explain: ‘When believers are forbearing, forgiving (vs. 13), and LOVING (vs. 14), toward one another, when peace reigns among God’s people (vs. 15), then the church is fertile soil for the blessings produced by the word of Christ.’  And that is what we’re supposed to be striving for; making the church of Christ’s soil fertile for His rich blessings by living in peace, harmony and LOVE with each other, regardless of our colour, creed or race. 

Remember, yesterday we noted where Jesus said that He had two flocks, Jews and Gentiles, which He would eventually combine into ONE, with only ONE Shepherd. (John 10:16) That means if the two flocks don’t behave the way Jesus wants, then the whole show will crumble. And sadly, that’s exactly what’s happening today; there are too many divisions and denominations in the church, with too many petty differences driving and keeping them apart. That’s why Jesus said to the disciples: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) 

Now, are we keeping that commandment my fellow believers? Not on your life! There’s more infighting and petty resentments in the church than in Satan’s kingdom! That ought to tell us something! That we’re not true disciples of Christ. If we were, there wouldn’t be so many divisions and as much infighting in Christ’s church. We’d be standing proud in unity and working diligently to defeat the enemy by spreading Christ’s gospel all around the world like He asked us to do. But no, we’re so busy fighting each other that in the meanwhile the enemy is taking over the world, and the evildoers are being triumphant. 

What saddens me the most, is that the enemy doesn’t even have to use the usual tactic of divide and conquer, because we are dividing ourselves and allowing him to thus get the better of us. And to make matters even worse, too many of us supposed believers have gotten so comfortable in this evil world, surrounded by all its’ amenities, that we’re much more interested in sitting on our fannies and enjoying our creature comforts than getting out into the evil world and teaching others about the wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Christ Jesus. 

That’s why they say the worst kind of Christian is a comfortable Christian. And it’s the truth in spades! When we get too comfortable we don’t want to make any sacrifices for Christ. And I’m sure Jesus is not happy with the poor performance of His church in spreading the good news of His kingdom, and the longer we continue to fight each other, and not do what Jesus demands of us, the worse things are going to become. So what’s the answer eh? The first thing for a believer to always do is pray. So let’s take that step right now by going to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine help to solve our many earthly problems. 

Altogether now: ‘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 if we listen closely to our prayer, we’ll realize that to get divine help, we first have to turn from our evil ways and sincerely seek God’s face. And until we do that, nothing’s going to change in our favour! Much LOVE!

…whether therefore ye eat or drink…whatsoever ye do…do all to the glory of God… (1 Cor. 10:31) 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit    25 September 2023 Genesis 43:28b.

25 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 43:28b.       And they bowed down their heads and made obeisance (prostrated themselves).

Oh my my, it’s Monday! So what? It’s just another day, except that most of us have to get up and go back out to work after a relaxing and/or a party-hearty weekend. (smile) But that’s nothing new, it’s been happening ever since the devil was a li’l boy, so I don’t see why we get anxious about it every week. With Jesus and His Holy Spirit as our Guide and Leaders, plus the fires of confidence built up in our bellies from Sunday worship, it’s a sure thing that we can handle any and every Monday like the champions we were made to be. So, let’s get out there and do just that nuh! End of Sermon! 

Now let’s reconnect with the exciting and intriguing story of Bruh Joseph. We last saw him when his brothers came down the second time with his younger brother Benjamin. And when Bruh Joseph saw Benjamin, he told his steward to take them to his house, for they would have lunch with him that day. Now the Good Library describes the situation thus: ‘And the men (Joseph’s brothers) were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time we are brought in: that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us as bondmen (slaves), and our asses (donkeys).’ (Gen. 43:18) 

And there’s definitely nothing wrong with that reasoning under the prevailing circumstances. But being Jacob’s sons, they were not quite innocent in the games of life. The Good Library continues: ‘And they came near to the steward of Joseph’s house, and they communed with him at the door of the house, And said, O sir, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food: and it came to pass when we came to the inn, that we opened our sacks, and behold, every man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our hand. 

And other money have we brought down in our hands to buy food: we cannot tell who put our money in our sacks. And he (the steward) said, Peace be to you, fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon (the brother that was in jail) out unto them. And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet, and he gave their asses (donkeys) provender (feed). And they made ready the present against Joseph came (for Joseph’s coming) at noon: for they heard that they should eat bread there.’ (Gen. 43:19-25)

 Oh friends the suspense as well as the fear must have been very palatable around them, for although they now knew how the money got in their sacks, they still couldn’t fathom the reason behind it, nor why they had been invited to lunch, at Bruh Joseph’s house, and all they could probably see were further problems down the line. But they had no choice but do like Portia and face up to life. That’s a reference to an old radio soap that ran many moons ago in T&T called: ‘Portia faces Life’ (smile) 

‘And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.’ (Gen. 43:26) Yes friends the great dramatist, Jehovah God, reminds us one more time of the truth of Bruh Joseph’s dream, with his brothers again prostrating themselves before him. Bruh Joseph must have had a small inner chuckle at that, because it was the same dream that got him sold into slavery in Egypt some twenty years previously. And I believe that’s just the Lord’s way of telling us to never refute someone’s dream out of hand. 

‘And he (Joseph) asked them of their welfare (well-being), and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive? And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads and made obeisance (prostrated themselves).’ (Gen. 43:27-28) There we have that bowing down again. The Lord just won’t let us forget it. (smile) 

‘And he (Joseph) lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste for his bowels did yearn upon his brother (his heart did yearn for his brother); and he sought where to weep; and he entered his chamber, and wept there.’ (Gen. 43:29-30) And it’s quite understandable that Joseph’s heart yearned for his brother, his mother’s other son, for when he left home at around seventeen, Benjamin was a young pup, but now he was a big, strapping man in his twenties. 

Ah mih people, life hands us so many unexpected twists and turns that it’s only with the help of the Good Lord that we can ever expect to navigate them successfully. That’s why it’s necessary for us to go to the throne of grace right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to seek God’s divine help with our many earthly problems. So as one sincere 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!’ 

Oh, my fellow saints, we just said it ourselves; if we want to receive divine help, then we’ve got to turn from our evil ways and sincerely seek God’s face. That’s the only way! Much LOVE!

…when the storms of life surround us…turn them over to Jesus…for He is the only true Storm Calmer…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   4 September 2023 Ephesians 4:26.

04 Sep 2023 Leave a comment

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

Ephesians 4:26.       Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Oh yes mih people, Labour Day Monday has dawned bright and beautiful! There’s even a Heat Warning in effect because the temps will eventually reach into the thirties, so please be careful with your hydration and the effects of the blazing sun.  Anyway, I know that many of us only have one thing on our minds this holiday Monday: party and more party. 

But please don’t consider it just another day to party and frolic at the end of the summer, because it was not always a holiday, for down through the years, numerous people fought, suffered and even died to get some recognition for the efforts of the working class; the ones who bore the brunt of the work, but only received measly rewards for their sweat and labour. 

And though the working class has come a long way from the union-breaking days of the Pinkertons and other groups like them, they still do not receive a fair share of the rewards for their back-breaking efforts, and still line the pockets of the owners of industry. But it’s especially ridiculous and heartbreaking that during the pandemic when things were in short supply and the owners’ raised prices on a whim and fancy, and made monumental profits on the backs of the workers who toiled under very difficult and dangerous circumstances, that now they refuse to upgrade the workers rewards for their staunch support in a time of great need. 

And isn’t it a shame and a disgrace that because of the high increase in prices and inflation, those same workers can’t even afford to purchase the goods they are employed to sell. And the sad part is that these owners of industry are so blooming boldfaced that they blatantly boast about the great profits they made, and are busy distributing dividends etc. to their shareholders, but nothing to those who worked feverishly and under tough circumstances to put the profits in their pockets. 

Now that’s why there are revolts, revolutions and so much strife in our world today, for when people have been so oppressed, and their backs are against the proverbial wall, they then have only one option, to come out fighting. And, unfortunately, the rich are intent on getting richer, as they drain every last penny from the already impoverished state of the have-nots. But let’s remember that the Lord God Almighty is a champion of the poor and downtrodden and as it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine: I will repay saith the Lord.’ (Rom. 12:19b) 

Yes friends, though it might be tough to not seek our own vengeance as believers in Christ, we have to let Him do that job. And remember too that He has also promised that the wicked will eventually be destroyed. Bruh David said it quite plainly in Psalm 37, about the downfall of the wicked, where he solemnly writes. 

‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place (look diligently for him), and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ (Ps. 37:8-11), Now those are words we should take to heart, because we know that our God is faithful in all His promises. 

And in Bruh Paul’s famous words on the new man in his epistle to the Ephesians, he exhorts them thus: ‘Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (an opportunity) to the devil.’ (Eph. 4:26-27) And that’s certainly wise advice; we ought not to go to bed angry because the anger will just curdle in our spirits overnight. Then, we must make sure when we’re angry, we don’t do foolish or evil stuff that will give the enemy a chance at a foothold in our souls. For remember he’s always out there lurking for any opportunity that presents itself. 

The scholars explain it thus: ‘Sinful anger is to be replaced by (briefly held) righteous indignation, that the Devil may not be given opportunity.’  And though it sounds good on paper, it’s not easy to do in real life. For with all the noise, the numerous distractions, reams of false information and enormous amount of evildoing currently existing in our world, it’s hard to stay calm and serene or be righteously indignant, (smile) when our circumstances are troubled. 

And these wise words of James should always be indelibly written in our hearts for those kinds of times. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you, Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts ye double minded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8,10) 

Now those are excellent words with which to segue into our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, as we go to the throne of grace seeking divine help here on earth. Altogether now: ‘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!’ 

Now let’s remember that if we truly want divine help, then our earthly behaviour needs to be up to scratch. Much LOVE!

… our lives may be filled with trials and tribulations…but because Jesus has already overcome the world…we have His peace to handle them… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   24 July 2023 Proverbs 14:34.

24 Jul 2023 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 14:34.        Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach (shame) to any people.

Prologue: Yes, it is late and long, but it’s certainly worthwhile reading and putting into immediate action. (smile) 

Aye Monday, come on down, we’re ready for you. We believers in Christ Jesus are no longer afraid of you and your evil patron, Satan, who try to frighten us into having bad Mondays and not witness properly for our Lord and Saviour. But all of that is over now, because we’re getting rid of our fear of Mondays, and instead ramping up our faith, so that we will not be ashamed of the fearful and ungodly way we behave on Mondays. We’re totally embracing the scripture that says: ‘The Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of LOVE and a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) 

We’ve talked it for a long time, but now we’re finally putting it into action, beginning with our fear and resentment of Mondays! So, you and your evil buddy, Beelzebub, can try all you want to intimidate us, but it won’t work any longer, because we’ve finally seen the light, the awesome light that is our Leader, Jesus Christ of Nazareth! And all God’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ 

Now friends, please don’t make me a liar, or a laughingstock after I’ve put myself on the line. Let’s go out this Monday with plenty vim and vigour, confident that we can make a positive difference in this disaster-filled world. And is it ever filled with natural disasters; droughts, famine, earthquakes, forest fires, floods, pestilences, severe heat waves, like many of us have never seen before, volcano eruptions, you name it, our world is filled with it. 

And we now blame climate change for almost everything that happens to us, and some of it is indeed attributable to changing weather patterns, because we have over the years screwed up the fine balance of the Lord’s system, but what about our own sinful and ungodly behaviour eh? Don’t we think that the rampant, runaway sin that’s currently permeating our world possibly has something to do with the disastrous situations that we’re facing on all corners of the globe. 

We have obviously forgotten these wise words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs: ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach (shame) to any people.’ (Prov. 14:34) And he’s not referring to individual righteousness there, but to a nation that adheres to God’s righteous standards as found in His moral law. And this commentary explains: ‘That means that we can declare if we are doing what Jesus told us to do, if we’re acting like Him, LOVING like Him, forgiving like Him, and boldly declaring God’s Word, then we are righteous. If all believers across the world just simply acted like Jesus, then the nation that they live in will be changed.’ 

And, unfortunately, I don’t know of any nation to which that designation can now be applied, for man’s inhumanity to man has skyrocketed way out of all reasonable proportions. Everywhere you turn is either wars or rumours of war, hate and anger abound, with strife from the highest echelons of the society to the lowest. Dire poverty and economic deprivation are widespread in a world of plenty, sickness is endemic in a world that has taken enormous strides in medicine and technological advancements. 

But the power elite still control most of the earth’s wealth and power, and the rich are getting richer while the poor are indeed getting poorer. And you can classify it as a cliché, and it might be trite or somewhat overused, but it’s still true. Meanwhile racism and religious intolerance and nationalism are on the uptake, bringing with it much despotic and dictatorial rule. What a foolish lot we are to be continually falling for the glib promises, or rather lies, of our politicians, who are only interested in their own aggrandizement. Where will it end eh? 

Remember friends, sin, the original sin of our forefathers Adam and Eve, is what began us down the deadly path on which we’re currently trodding. And what the Lord said through the prophet Ezekiel still stands: ‘The soul that sinneth. It shall die….But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live and not die.’ (Ezek. 18:20a, 21) 

And despite the Lord in His grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness  providing a way out of it for us. That’s through believing in His Son Jesus Christ who came to earth and sacrificed His sinless life so our sins could be paid for, we are still mired very deeply in sin. Bruh Paul writes to the church at Corinth: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’ (2 Cor. 1:21). 

That certainly hasn’t done us much good, for there are few places in our world right now where serious strife isn’t taking place or being fomented. We all seem to be unhappy about something, and instead of trying to work it out peacefully with our neighbours, like the Bible wisely advises, the trend is to escalate the situation. Chuh! What a foolish animal is mankind! He can’t see the forest for the trees, and every move he makes, just seems to make matters worse, because selfishness and greed are so prevalent. It’s all about me, myself and I, for those who still use those pronouns. 

These are the words we ought to live by: ‘Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest (have regard for good things) in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peacefully with all men… Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17-18, 21) 

And I know to some of us, that might sound rather simplistic, but friends, the truth is usually simple, it’s we who tend to make it complex, because we wrongly belief that simplicity is not powerful enough for us to live on. But it surely is. Just look at how Leader, Jesus Christ lived down here on earth nuh; it was a quiet, simple but powerful and difference-making life, an example that we His sincere believers ought to follow, instead of the noise, the clamour. strife and complexity that the enemy is gladly feeding into our lives, and we are foolishly sucking up. 

Oh my fellow saints, remember we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that means we ought to be setting the example for the world, so that they can see Jesus mirrored in our words and actions. So please, please, I plead with us that from today, from this time henceforth we WILL fully embrace the example of Jesus and let our salt and light shine forth and reinvigorate our badly damaged world, so we can begin to heal it. That’s all Jesus is asking of us. Now, let’s lift our heads, hands, hearts and eyes heavenward, and through our Monday Morning battle Hymn, invoke the divine help of our heavenly Father. 

As one sincere 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 having made all those requests, it now behooves us to change our evil ways, and live a godly and righteous life, if we truly desire to see heavenly help. Much LOVE!

…sin is what drives us away from God…but when it overwhelms us…it’s also what points us back…to the everlasting arms of God… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   26 June 2023 Romans 10:17.

26 Jun 2023 Leave a comment

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

Romans 10:17.       So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Come on friends, let’s do like the early bird that catches the worm, and get out into the turbulent and evil world and begin working for Christ right away. The sooner we get out there, the sooner we can start working for Him, and the better our results will be. Remember how Jesus felt as He went around the cities and villages teaching and healing and preaching the gospel of the kingdom? 

The Good Library tells us: ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt. 9:36-38) And that’s also true of today’s harvest my fellow believers. 

Jesus reminds us to pray for labourers, His disciples to go into the world and help the many sick, lost, downtrodden and unfortunate out there to come to Him for refuge and salvation. Like back then, there are not enough people going out to do that, and consequently our world is going to hell in a handbasket. 

The scholars point us to the similarity in Numbers 27, where Moses was taken by the Lord into a mountain and showed the Promised Land, which he was not going to enter because of his earlier disobedience to God’s Word. ‘And Moses spake unto the Lord saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.’ (Num. 27:15-17) That’s when Joshua was anointed to take Moses’ place. 

And sadly friends, just like then, our world today is teeming with sheep that have no shepherd, and there are comparatively few workers to go out and reap the big harvest that’s there for reaping. And I like how the scholars explain it. They say: ‘Verses 37 and 38 constitute one of the great missionary passages of the New Testament. Jesus pictures the world as a great spiritual harvest in need of labourers to gather it into the storehouse.’ 

And that’s how it truly is! Millions of people are suffering; living in sin and darkness, with little or no opportunity to see the light of Jesus. And that’s why some of Jesus last words or directions to the disciples was the Great Commission. He informed them: ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20) And it’s a message that still resonates today!  

That brings up another instance when Jesus refers to the harvesting of souls and the lack thereof of harvesters. He was at the well of Jacob, outside the city of Sychar, talking to the Samaritan woman, and the disciples came from the village and offered Him food. ‘Jesus saith unto them, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest. 

And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap whereon you bestowed no labour (have not laboured): other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.’ (John 4:34-38) The scholars point out that Jesus might have been referring to the multitudes who came out of Sychar to see Him because of the Samaritan woman’s testimony. And a lot of people there needed saving too. 

That brings us to this last scripture passage, one of my favourites. Bruh Paul in writing to the Romans about Israel’s rejection of Christ states: ‘For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! …So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ (Rom. 10:12-15, 17) And the scholars tell us that our Bit means, ‘it is not faith in what is heard, but faith that comes about by what is heard.’ 

I also like how Bruh Paul lays it out so logically; you can’t believe unless you hear the word, and you can’t hear the word unless someone comes and tells you about it, and that someone has to be sent. And it’s surely a wonderful thing when we preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! So let’s try and contrate on doing that today nuh my fellow saints. It’s our job to reap the harvest, but sadly, it’s drying up in the field, spoiling for want of harvesters. 

Now let’s approach the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and ask for help to fix our broken world. Altogether now: ‘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!’ 

Now friends, let’s do our bounden duty, so God can do His nuh! Much LOVE!

…no harvest can be satisfactorily gathered…unless there are enough labourers to do the job… 

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