Today’s Scrip-Bit   15 May 2023 Matthew 17:20a.

15 May 2023 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 17:20a.          if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, 

Then it was Monday…yes, Monday, the nemesis of my working life! Oh, and come to think of it, Monday was also my nemesis, my adversary and foe during my school life, because for some reason or other, I could never awaken early on Mondays, so, on many of those days I arrived either late or just in time for school. The other four days of the week were fine, just Monday had my number. (smile) Now it’s not as bad in my working life because I can’t afford to be late for work too often or their will be no work, but I still have problems getting up on a Monday, regardless of how hard I try to do otherwise. 

That’s because you haven’t sincerely asked Jesus to help you, and if you think you have done it, but without any success, then maybe it’s because your faith is too weak. Remember Jesus’ words to the disciples after they asked why they were unable to cast out a demon from a young boy. ‘And Jesus said unto them because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.’ (Matt. 17:20-21) 

Ah my people, it’s all about faith, but mustard seeds are amongst the smallest of plant seeds, and if indeed faith that small can move a big mountain, then it’s not really the quantity of our faith that matters, but more importantly the quality that makes the big difference. One commentary reminds us of it with this explanation. ‘As small as a mustard seed’ was a common expression in Jesus’ day. It had become a proverbial saying used frequently by Rabbis to indicate the smallest amount. Jesus is telling his disciples they don’t need an abundance of faith, just a little bit of faith. Remember the emphasis is on the quality, not the quantity.’ 

Yes friends, very little faith is required to accomplish great things. And Jesus reiterated this philosophy later on after He cursed the fruitless fig tree and the disciples wondered how quickly the fig tree had withered after He cursed it. ‘Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.’ (Matt. 21:21:22) 

Now that’s a big scripture my brethren! Notice Jesus specified – ALL THINGS.  Not just some things. But the crux of the problem is that one has to pray and then have the faith to believe that you will receive whatever you’re praying for. Note though, that it doesn’t say when you’ll receive whatever you’re praying and believing for. (smile) You also need patience and perseverance to wait for God’s marvellous timing. And that’s what often dooms our ability to receive our prayers and heart’s desires. 

Now, it’s time for us to take a look at how faith, which can apparently move so many mountains, truly operates. The Bible says: ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) That simply means faith is hoping and believing for something that you don’t yet see. The opposite of that is why hope and believe for something that you already see or have? And that’s what our Christian faith is all about; believing in Jesus, whom we’ve never seen, but hoping that one day soon, we will see Him coming in the clouds in all His majesty and glory. 

As Jesus told Thomas when he doubted that He was the resurrected Christ. ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen (me), and yet have believed.’  (John 20:29) That’s us friends. Those who have faith to believe that Jesus exists and is who He says He is, and has done what He says He’s done. That’s true faith; believing without seeing! 

But listen as the scholars add some depth to our knowledge on faith. They say: ‘Two truths concerning its activity are stated here. First, faith provides substance or assurance. Second, faith provides evidence. It is evidence in the sense of proof that results in conviction. The difference between assurance and evidence would be minimal were it not for the phrase qualifying each: of things hoped for and of things not seen. 

The first involves future hope; the second involves present realities that are unseen. The first includes the hope of the resurrection, the return of Christ, and the glorification of the saints. The second involves unseen realities, such as forgiveness of sin through Christ’s sacrifice and the present intercession of Christ in heaven. Hope is faith relating to the future; conviction is faith relating to the present.’ 

Now that’s insightful and a tad deep, but it’s time for us believers to go deep into the Word of God if we expect to make any serious headway against the enemy. We can’t be drinking milk or eating desert all the time, but need some heavy food, meat and spuds to make a difference. So, if you don’t understand what the scholars say above there, then read it again, meditate on it, until you do get the gist of it. That’s the only way to know and understand scripture. 

Remember what the Lord said to Joshua on the subject? ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh. 1:8) Now if the Lord said that Joshua, whom am I to say otherwise eh? (smile) So let’s go to Him right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and ask for divine grace and mercy to help in these oh so troubled and dangerous times. 

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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 the only way to be assured of divine help is to have faith in God’s Word and change our evil ways. Much LOVE!

…the aim of the Christian…is to have plenty, strong faith in Christ Jesus… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   17 April 2023 John 14:16.

17 Apr 2023 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 Monday has come around quite unexpectedly! (smile) It’s also the start of the first full five day workweek for some of us, since we had Good Friday and Easter Monday off. Hope we still remember how to handle it. And if we don’t, then the Holy Spirit will be only too glad to give us a refresher course. You can always count on the Holy Spirit when you find yourself in a jam. Why? Because that’s His job: to lead and guide us in all our endeavours, keeping us in line with God’s will. And I guess that just naturally leads us in to a short refresher course on the Holy Spirt; who He is and how He operates. (smile) 

Now the first thing we need to know about Holy Spirit is that He is a person, one of the persons that make up our Christian Triumvirate Godhead, or as we call it, the Holy Trinity. And that’s one of the basic, or foundation stones of our Christian Faith, which you certainly need to understand and accept if you want to function successfully as a true believer. And our Godhead consists of three induvial beings, each having different jobs and responsibilities, but it’s still ONLY ONE GOD! 

We don’t have the pantheon of Gods that others have. We have God the Father, who, for argument sake, sets the agenda, then there’s Jesus, the Son, who overseers the agenda, and then there’s Holy Spirit, who I think of as the One that does all the hard work, getting down and dirty in the trenches. (smile) And we see a good example of this right at the beginning of recorded time, the Creation, when the Good Book tells us: ‘In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.’ (Gen. 1:1-2) 

That tells us that the Holy Spirit had a hand in the Creation, just like Jesus did. And how do we know that? John in his gospel spells it out very clearly. ‘In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God, and without him was not anything made that was made.(John 1:1-3) Yes friends, John’s telling us that the Father decreed the idea, and Jesus created whatever needed created for Him. That simply shows that all three persons of our Godhead were around at the Creation. 

Then Jesus came to earth to do His thing, to save man from His iniquity, pay for man’s sins, through His death and resurrection, as the Father desired and required for justice and righteousness to be done. Now, we’re at the season of Christ’s resurrection that we call Easter, and Christ is preparing to go back to heaven to the Father. And what is His masterful and amazing promise to the small band of followers He’s accumulated over the three years of His earthly ministry? 

‘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 forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know 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 14:15-18) That’s how kind and considerate our Jesus is! He knew he was going away so He promised to make provision for His followers to keep in touch with Him. 

And later on He reassures them. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, being 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 to you.’ (John 14:25-26) Oh friends, how can you ever beat our Jesus for thoughtfulness and compassion eh? You simply can’t! 

The basic problem there was that while Jesus was on earth, He could only physically be in one place at one time, but when He returned to heaven, He could send the Holy Spirit to earth to dwell with and in men to remind them of all that He’s said, and also lead and guide them in all righteousness as prophesied by the prophets Jeremiah under a New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34) and Ezekiel, under a New Heart and Spirit. 

Listen to Ezekiel speaking on God’s behalf. ‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you. and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them.’ (Ezek. 36:25-27) 

And as always, the Lord is faithful to keep His promises. That’s when we see Jesus promising to send this new spirit, this new Comforter, a Helper to walk alongside and in them, to lead and guide them in what He desires them to do. Now, that’s only and introduction to Holy Spirit 101, (smile) for time and space are against us. So, we will continue this refresher course tomorrow, God spare life obviously. Let’s go now to our heavenly Father in sincere prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, petitioning His divine assistance for the days ahead. 

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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power and wisdom to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 do as we know we ought to nuh, that’s turn from our evil ways and be faithful believers, so that the Lord can bless us and our land. Much LOVE!  

P.S. Please forgive the lateness of the Bit, but as happens with all of us at some time or other, life happened with me today. (smile) Much LOVE!

…if you’re not following the Holy Spirit’s leading…then you’re not following Jesus…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 March 2023   1 Peter 5:7.

13 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 5:7.Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.

Why does Monday have to come every week like clockwork eh, you ask? Because that’s the way God and man planned it.(smile) And why does snow seem to fall in our area on Friday evenings and Monday mornings, making it difficult to get home on Fridays, while spoiling all one’s plans for the weekend, then doing the same thing to the Monday morning commute, when Monday is already difficult in itself? (smile) Some snow fell in the Greater Toronto area overnight, but it wasn’t that much, and the roads should be mostly wet and a tad slippery this morning. 

And as per the questions above, sorry folks, I don’t have answers to any of those questions nuh, but I can share this very important information with you. There’s a person by the name of Jesus who knows the answers, and though He might not desire to share them with you, if you become associated, or intimately acquainted with Him and His organization, the church, He will enable you to handle all the problems those trials cause. Glory Be! 

Yes, we saw in yesterday’s Bit where Jesus offered His Great Invitation for all who are weary and heavy burdened to come to Him for rest. He is gentle and humble in heart, and His yoke is easy and His burden light. (Matt. 11:28-30) And that’s a wonderful invitation, but to many of us it’s merely theory, we want to know how to put it into practice, how to make a practical application of that theory. No problem my people. Listen to the master of practical applications, Bruh Paul. 

Here’s how he advises us to turn that theoretical situation into a practical one. In his letter to the church at Philippi, he writes: ‘Be careful for nothing (do not be anxious about anything); but in every thing (every situation) by prayer and supplication (petition) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known (present your requests) to God.’ (Phil. 4:6) Now that certainly seems like a practical solution to our problems. God is the Creator and Controller of the universe, and therefore has much more power, wisdom and knowledge than us mere mortals made from the dust of the earth, to which we will all eventually return. 

But you still don’t understand how taking our problems to Almighty God will solve them, so listen to Bruh Paul’s continuation in his message to the Philippians. He declares (yesss!!!): ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!’ (Phil. 4:7) Glory be my faithful brethren! Yes, the tranquility or divine peace of mind that comes from God is such a high level of peace that our finite and puny minds can’t fully understand it, but it will quell our fears and anxieties. 

Remember the Lord said in Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That sets the bar right there my brethren. Our understanding is far below that of our Creator, therefore we need to obediently accept His word and His way of doing things if we ever want to grow, to mature, to rise from glory to glory in His eternal kingdom. 

Now, here’s another scripture that encourages us to take all our problems to Almighty God. Peter says: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:’ (1 Pet. 5:6) And you then ask? How do I do that? Here’s Peter’s answer: ‘Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:7) And there’s absolutely no doubt of God’s great LOVE and compassion for us! You just have to look at how He sent His only Son Jesus to earth to die on our behalf. That says it all my friends! 

But according to Peter we also have a part to play, when He says; ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Pet. 5:8) Now that’s more gospel truth, because Satan is walking around, lurking in the background, ever ready to deceive those who are not paying attention, who are not standing strong in Jesus. So Peter then warns us to be very wary of the devil: ‘Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet. 5:9) 

Yes my fellow saints, all believers in Christ experience hardships, trials and tribulations. ‘But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm) strengthen, settle you.’  (1 Pet. 5:10) And that’s God’s promise, which He will keep, if we keep our promise to be obedient and faithful to Him through His Son Jesus Christ! That’s why Peter ends by declaring: (awright!!!) ‘To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet. 5:11) And that’s exactly how it will be, if we truly believe! 

Now, let’s take advantage of that awesome privilege that Bruh Paul and Peter spoke of; that’s going to God in prayer, casting our care upon Him, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Altogether then: ‘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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 keep our promises, so that the Lord will keep His. Much LOVE!

…all to God I carry…all to God my praises sing… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 February 2023 James 2:17.

27 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

James 2:17.       Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

One more time around the block my people. It’s another Monday morning to get ourselves in gear and navigate our working world. But it should be a cakewalk for believers if we went to church yesterday and got refreshed, renewed and filled with the confidence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because that’s one of the reasons for attending the Lord’s sanctuary on Sundays. 

However, just going to church doesn’t mean that you will automatically be refreshed and renewed and refilled with the Holy Spirit. No sir! You must come with a godly mindset and play an active part in the worship, be serious and sincere about gaining something from the fellowship with the other believers, and also giving something of yourself. Just moseying along without any effort and input on our part, while hoping for some of the godliness in the service to rub off won’t cut it at all my brethren. Participation is the name of the game! 

And that’s one of the reasons why our world is in such an unruly and ungodly mess; too many of us believers are too lethargic and lazy and fearful to make worthwhile contributions to the efforts of saving our world for Jesus, of spreading His gospel and making disciples of all nations like He commanded. (Matt. 28:19-20) 

Remember, all that He’s ever asked us to do is basically for our benefit, not His. Helping to save the world is not for Jesus’ sake, but for ours; that we would have a good, godly and prosperous world for ourselves and our families to dwell in, and also be the recipients of God’s grace through salvation and eternal life. But look at what we have for a world nowadays nuh; prosperity for a few, but not much good or godly for the many. And even the prosperous few are not happy either. They have all the amenities that the world can provide, but their spirituality is sadly lacking. 

Granted, our world will never be as equitable as we desire until Jesus returns and sets up His kingdom, but there’s absolutely no reason for the world to be as inequitable as it is right now! And unfortunately, a lot of the inequity comes from the lack of sincere faith, positive action and brimming over passion of Christians! 

Remember what James says: ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.’ (James 2:14-18) 

Ah friends, that is the gospel truth! We can’t have true faith without some good works to back it up. We can’t quote scripture and tell people about Jesus when they’re hungry, naked and destitute. We need to feed and clothe them first, because we cannot expect them to believe that Jesus came to save the poor and lowly, the sick and suffering and all the other good things that comes from His ministry and leave them without the basics of life. And sadly, that’s what’s happening too much around our world. A lot of us are preaching to unfortunates, but not giving them the basic life-giving stuff they need to survive. 

Jesus said after dining with the tax collector Zaccheus, who repented after their meeting. ‘For the Son of man is come to seek and save that which was lost.’ (Luke 19:10) And He philosophized on that through the parables of the Lost Coin, the Lost Sheep and the Lost Son. (Luke 15:1-32) And when He sent out the disciples to proselytize, He instructed them: ‘And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils (demonic spirits): freely ye have received, freely give.’ (Matt. 9:7-8) 

Yes friends, faith without works is indeed dead! And with our sloppy faith and paucity or insufficiency of works, we’re playing right into the devil’s hands. Which is not what Jesus expects of His followers, His ambassadors, His agents and stewards down here on earth. That means we badly need to raise the level of both our faith and works, if we are to make any worthwhile inroads into the wickedness and evil of our current world. And to help us do that, let’s take it all in prayer to the throne room, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

In strong and 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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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!’ 

Our next move now is to wake up to the reality of the sad situation in our world and do something about it! And as a group of serious and sincere believers, with the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling within us, we can do quite a lot, if we set our hearts and minds to it! Much LOVE!

…it’s time for believers to stop merely talking the talk…and walk the glorious walk instead… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 February 2023 Psalm 78:7.

13 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 78:7.       That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

‘Ugh!! Another Monday? But didn’t we just have one last week?’ Yes friends, we surely did, and unfortunately, whether we like it or not, we’re going to have one every week that the world stays afloat. By the way, that intro was from an old edition of the Mutts Comic Strip. And I know that’s the way many of us feel on a Monday morning, but like so many other things in this crazy world, we just have to grin and bear it, get out there with Jesus in our hearts and with His awesome help spurring us on, make a difference for Him. Remember, ‘we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.’ (Phil. 4:13) 

And once we have that written indelibly in our hearts, souls and minds, then things won’t be as difficult, or appear as hopeless as they often do. Now, facing Mondays should also get easier in the northern hemisphere because the sun seems to be rising a tad earlier, so you don’t have to go to work in the dark. And please note that I didn’t say winter would be soon over. (smile) We still have at least another two months to go before we can safely that. And even then it’s not a certainty, because I’ve seen snow in May and June, and with the crazy weather patterns we now have, anything is possible.

But we really can’t complain because it’s not been that cold so far, and we haven’t received as much snow as some other parts of the country, and of the U.S in particular. For some reason they seem to think that because we’re a little further north than some parts of their country that we’re living in the tundra. But the reality is that they are often colder than us, and this year for sure they’ve received much nastier weather than we have. 

And as I was just skimming through the Good Library, looking for a worthwhile scripture to address, I came upon this most important passage, especially for us in these ungodly times, from Psalm 78, a Maschill or Contemplation of Asaph, titled ‘Teach Children God’s Laws.’  So please read with me. ‘Give ear (listen), O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings (riddles) of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.’ (Ps. 78:1-4) 

Yuh see that friends, God has done wonderful works all down through the ages, which our fathers have told us about, which we in turn are supposed to tell the next generation about, so they would not lose the knowledge of God. But unfortunately we have not done as good a job as we ought to in that direction, that’s why this generation is as godless as it is. 

And listen closely as the psalmist Asaph continues: ‘For he (the Lord) established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.’ (Ps. 78:5-8) 

Now doesn’t that remind you a whole lot of our generation my fellow believers? It certaindoes! The Lord established a covenant with Jacob that fathers would teach their children about God, about His laws and of His great and mighty works on behalf of men. That way the word of God and His praise would be passed down from generation to generation, since they didn’t have as much of the written word as we now do. But even if you have the written word and you’re not directed to it, or taught about it from young, in your parents house, how are you to gravitate to it eh? 

For the main point of the psalm is verse 7: ‘That they (the children) might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.’ And that’s where our generation has seriously fallen down on the job. We’ve turned away from God like Israel did, thus our children know precious little about God, because we have not taught them about God at home, and since God is no longer taught in the schools, how will they know about Him eh? 

The society is becoming more godless every day because that’s what’s been taught in the Educational System. And since our children have no basic foundation in the laws and works of God, they have nothing on which to disprove the new education, even if they desired to. Remember the words of Cousin Sol: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and (even) when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov. 22:6) Now it’s obvious that we haven’t trained up enough of our children in the way they should go; that’s the way of God. So it’s one of the reasons why our society is so lawless and immoral; God is not in so many of our hearts. 

But it’s never too late to turn things around, for with Christ, while there is life there is hope. And as always, the first step in anything we do ought to be prayer. So let’s go to God right now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn for help to turn our godless society around, for He is the ONLY One who can enable us to do it. As one strong and 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. 

We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 it’s up to us to do what we know we need to do, so that God can bless us and our out of control world. Much LOVE!

…if God and His Word had not been passed down to us…how would we know of them eh…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 February 2023 Psalm 133:1.

06 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 133:1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Aw shucks friends, it’s Monday again! But you know what: ‘Today I will celebrate Monday. I will embrace the potentiality of the new week!’ Glory to God! By Jove, that’s how we ought to do it! And that bit of wisdom comes from a cutting of the comic strip ‘Between Friends’ that I recently found in my old Bible. No doubt I’ve shared it before, but it’s never too old for a rerun. But here’s the clincher, the last panel spoils it all by grumpily saying: ‘tinged by the aftershocks of the old week.’ 

And sadly that’s how many of us behave; desiring to be strong in the new week, but allowing the negatives of the past week to intrude on our good intentions. But please, let’s remember that good intentions are just that, they don’t pay the bills or cook the food. It’s only when we hook actions to those good intentions that things truly begin happening. Therefore, I’m asking us this week to secure positive actions to our good intentions, so that we can make it a great week for our Lord and Saviour Jesus, because that’s to whom all our efforts ought to be directed.  

And here’s why we must consider Jesus in all our endeavours and actions. Just before telling Peter about His upcoming denial, where Peter would deny Him thrice, before the cock crowed twice, Jesus informs His twelve main followers: ‘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) 

Yes friends, showing LOVE; that’s compassion, kindness, mercy and forgiveness to each other is a mighty good way for people to know that we are sincere followers of Christ Jesus. Too often though, the way we treat fellow believers doesn’t show that distinction at all. I don’t know what it will take for us to truly believe that regardless of our race, class, colour or creed, that once we hold up Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then we’re all in the same boat and we should not allow petty differences to cause us to give Christ a bad name, like the uncalled for strife and unwise disunity amongst us are currently doing. 

When you are in the same boat on a rough and tumultuous sea, any unwise behaviour will mean the ruin of all. And yuh better believe that our world right now is indeed a rough and tumultuous sea; a raging storm like we’ve probably never seen before. Consequently, if we want to ride out this raging storm and come out as the chief survivors, then unity of Jesus’ people is absolutely essential. Because we all know the enemy’s favourite tactic is to divide and conquer. 

But we have to conquer that divisive action with a strong and steadfast togetherness in Christ, despite our differences. It’s as Bruh David acknowledges in Psalm 133: ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ (Ps. 133:1) And that’s the glorious truth my people! It’s one of the greatest blessings we can ever have! There’s nothing as wonderful and precious in this world as unity; people dwelling together in good faith and being kind and forgiving to each other! 

Here’s how Bruh David describes it nuh. ‘It is like the precious ointment (oil) upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts (edge) of his garments; As the dew of Hermon (Mt. Zion), and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing; even life for ever more.’ (Ps. 133:2-3) That’ how it is when people dwell in unity; God blesses them!  Remember Abraham’s wise plea to his nephew Lot when disunity disrupted their lives. ‘And Abraham said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.’ (Gen. 13:8) 

Yes my fellow believers it couldn’t be said any simpler or clearer! And let’s not forget what Bruh Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians, re the body or church of Christ. ‘For as the body is one, and hath many members (parts) and all the members of that one body, being many are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond (slave) or free and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.’ (1 Cor. 12:12-14) 

And that’s the indisputable truth! We are indeed all a part of one body, that’s Christ church, but like our human body, the church has many members, and also like the human body, if it doesn’t work together in harmony, the whole body falls into disrepute and disrepair. That’s it in a nutshell. All aspects and parts of the church of Christ must work together in unity if it wants to stay alive and of good enough account to make a significant difference in our divided and upended world. 

Now, let’s take the bull by the horns and go to God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for His help to come together in unity and uplift Christ’s church. 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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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!’ 

It’s obvious now that our next move is to pray and turn from our evil ways, if we want to see positive help from heaven. Much LOVE!

… let brotherly LOVE continue…for Christ is LOVE…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 January 2023 John 14:6.

30 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

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

John 14:6.        I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.

Oh friends, is it ever great to wake up to some sparkling sunshine, though with a touch of cloud cover! (smile) And are we ever thankful that the weather forecasters were wrong, and so far, we have not gotten the big deluge of snow they had forecasted. Yes, there was a fair amount of wet snow making the place wet and slippery, but there wasn’t that much of the heavy, staying kind. So, this Monday morning’s commute, didn’t have the snow creating havoc as it tends to do. 

And seeing that we are now on the penultimate day of this first month of 2023, I believe it’s as good a time as any to review our new year resolutions and see how we’ve done so far with them…or rather it. And why simply it, you ask? Because remember we only had one resolution for this year, that’s to follow Jesus more closely, to truly try and live for Him, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world as He desires of us. To put His Great Commission into greater effect, spread His word, His holy gospel to all the world, make disciples of all nations, so that more people would come to know and LOVE Him like we do. 

That’s a big  part our earthly purpose my brethren. And all I want us to do today, is to take a few moments and review our lives this past month based on the terms we’ve laid out above. I think it’s best for us to check on our progress early on to ensure that we are truly moving in the right direction, rather than waiting till later and sadly finding that we haven’t been living up to our resolution. By checking our progress now, we give ourselves sufficient time to correct it, if necessary. 

Oh my fellow believers, please have no doubt that this year of 2023 will be a most important one in both the world and our individual lives. It will be a watershed year, a time to make many new and difficult decisions regarding many aspects of our lives. The buzzword right now is the ‘new normal.’ Our world is at a crossroads, it has changed a lot recently, and is still changing, and this year will see the culmination of many of those changes. And we have to be ready to make the right choices and decisions so that our lives will run smoothly. 

So, it’s obvious that if we don’t have Jesus, our Lord, Saviour, Guide and Leader, truly as the Number One Priority in our lives, we are very liable to make many wrong decisions as the situations in our lives change. That means we have to concentrate a whole lot on Jesus. First of all to sincerely accept that He is indeed as He says: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.’ (John 14:6) And not only that, but also as He so truthfully proclaimed: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) 

And my people, it’s absolutely essential that we live in the light of Jesus more than ever this defining year of 2023, when the shadow of darkness, the powers of the evil one are being built up and solidified with each passing day and doing their best to keep us dominated and chained up in the darkness of their sinful, ungodly way of life. Yes, as Peter so seriously and sincerely warns us: ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Pet. 5:8) 

And that’s the indisputable truth! Satan’s efforts to ensnare the brethren have been greatly increased, he has upped the ante for our spiritual capture. That’s why it’s also important to do as Peter says: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) Now that’s also the gospel truth. Our God does care deeply for us, else why did He send His sinless and only Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay for our sins eh? 

Bruh Paul explains it in his letter to the Roman church: ‘But God commendeth his LOVE (demonstrated his own LOVE) toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom. 5:8) Wow, my fellow believers! Why would our God do such a selfless and compassionate thing if He didn’t truly care for us, His most precious creation eh? And if those reasons above don’t give us sufficient reason to believe that we desperately need Jesus in our lives, then let’s add these other most relevant reasons. 

Firstly, that He is the Prince of Peace! The ONLY ONE who can cause us to have satisfying peace and calm in the midst of the storms of life. Just think what He can do for our souls, if He can calm the mighty seas and winds by simply saying: ‘Peace be still:’ (Mark 4:39) Then Jesus is also our High Priest and advocate in heaven, working tirelessly on our behalf, constantly lobbying the Father to turn things around for us.  Hebrews tells us: ‘Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made (he had to be made) like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.’ (Heb. 2:17)  

And John talks of Christ’s advocacy in his epistle. ‘My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not (may not sin). And if any man sin, we have an advocate (an intercessor) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation (redemption, atonement) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.’ (1 John 2:1-2) Glory be my people! Jesus is indeed our everything! And now that the basic facts are before us, hopefully they will motivate us to get up and do our best to live passionately for Jesus in this pivotal year of our lives. 

Now, for those of us who sincerely believe, let’s go to the throne of grace with prayer for divine help, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 as always, if we expect to receive positive results from heaven, we must also make positive changes here on earth. Much LOVE!

…JESUS…our Be All…and our End All…We need no one else…

P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but life happened to me, as it does to all of us! (smile) Much LOVE!

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 January 2023 Psalm 145:20.

23 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 145:20.       The Lord preseveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

Well, a fine Monday morning to all you my Scrip-Bit friends and family! I do hope that all is well with you on this the first day of the new work week, and you’re bright eyed and bushy tailed, excited to get out into the evil and ungodly world and do your thing for Christ; be full of salt and shine like a blazing fire, so much so that those who come into contact with you, simply cannot refuse your witness! 

Wow! Yes that’s the way we ought to be my fellow believers, especially in these rather disturbing and turbulent times, where Christ’s church and His LOVE Revolution are falling behind the eight ball. But we’re not here today to cast aspersions, or render judgement, rather to offer encouragement and enlightenment. 

And I had to chuckle a short while ago when I came to write the Bit and had no inkling what to write about. So in my mind I asked, ‘What should I write about today Lord?’ And in a few seconds the answer came: ‘Go back to Psalm 145!’ So, since He’s the Boss and I’m just an obedient servant, then we will go back to Psalm 145, Bruh David’s Psalm of Praise to God’s Unsearchable Greatness. And beginning in verse 14, where we had stopped the last time, we read with great encouragement. 

‘The Lord upholdeth  all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat  (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear (reverence) him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preseveth all them that LOVE him: but all the wicked will he destroy.’ (Ps. 145: 14-20) 

Yes my fellow saints that’s the greatness and everlasting faithfulness of our Lord God Jehovah! He NEVER turns away those who sincerely put their trust in Him in all sincerity and truth. And He’s great and loyal enough to stand up for all who cry out to Him, to come to their rescue! Now that’s the wonderful, merciful, gracious and LOVING God we serve! There’s no other like Him in all creation! 

And I like how the scholars spell out the specifics for us. They say: ‘After the characteristic call to praise (vs. 1-2), David offers four key reasons to praise the Lord in the section called the cause for praise vs: 3-20): the Lord is great (vs. 3), He is gracious and merciful (vs. 8-9), He sustains all who fall (vs. 14), and He is righteous in His ways and kind are His deeds (vs. 17)’  And what’s the welcome conclusion of all that? A renewal of the call to praise in (vs.21), which we haven’t look at as yet. 

So let’s do that right now nuh. In conclusion, Bruh David solemnly proclaims: ‘My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever. Amen!’ (Ps. 145: 21) Oh my people, if we could only do those two things – praise the Lord and bless His holy name – a li’l more often that we do, life would improve so much, that we wouldn’t even recognize it. (smile) 

And that’s a major problem we have amongst believers today. For whatever reason, too many of us refuse to praise the Lord and bless His holy name, refuse to pay Him the homage He so rightly deserves for all the wonderful things He’s done, is doing, and has promised to do for us. Please remember that second to last verse: ‘The Lord preserveth all them that LOVE Him; but all the wicked will He destroy.’ 

And believe me that’s no idle promise as so many of us believe today in this era of false gospel and false teachers. Our God never makes promises He doesn’t intend to keep, which you can discover by looking through the Old Testament. So please, let’s not get caught up in all the lovey-dovey and feel-good stuff that some are preaching and wake up and understand that if we don’t truly LOVE God and act accordingly, we will end up amongst the wicked and be sentenced to eternal separation from Him, the worst sentence we can ever get. End of Sermon! 

Now, let’s go to Him, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for divine guidance and protection. As one strong and confident 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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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!’ 

So, if we desire to see positive, God-given changes in our lives and our world, then we have to do our part; that’s turn from our evil ways and adopt His righteous ones. As simple as that my fellow saints. Much LOVE!

…sincere LOVE for God…ought to be our number One priority…that’s what Jesus said…and He doesn’t lie… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   9 January 2023 Psalm 139:17.

09 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 139:17.       How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

And finally, we come to the first full work week of this new year. Isn’t that just grand? Many of us won’t think so, because we’ve had a few consecutively short work weeks in the recent past. And before that, it was already tough for us to handle the five-day variety, I just wonder what’s going to happen to us now, that we’re going back to the same old, same old. (smile) But I have faith in us, for our awesome God made us to be resilient to the max! 

How did Bruh David describe our exotic creation in Psalm 139? ‘For thou hast possessed my reins (formed my inward parts): thou hast covered (weaved) me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well (very well). My substance (frame, bones) was not hid from thee when I was made in secret, and curiously (skillfully) wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed); and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them, (the plans for my life were written before I was even made). How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.’ (Ps. 139:13-18) 

Now friends, that’s how important we are to our heavenly Father and Creator! He took His time and perfectly planned out our entire course before He even began to make us! That means we are very precious, special and important to our God. Why would He send His sinless Son Jesus Christ to die for us eh, if we weren’t important to Him eh? Jesus said: ‘For God so LOVED the world…’ (John 3:16) That’s why! 

And Bruh David also addressed the matter of our importance to God in Psalm 40, when he writes: ‘Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order (counted) unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.’ (Ps. 40:5) It just goes to show that we were not simply an afterthought of God, but a greatly desired and well-planned creation. 

Thus, He’s so good, so merciful and gracious unto us. We’re made in His image, living through the breath of His life, and destined to be with Him till eternity! If that doesn’t shout importance, LOVE, and togetherness, then I don’t know what does! The problem though is that our minds are too puny and finite to understand God’s great LOVE for us. As Bruh Paul declares in his epistle to the church at Rome: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways are past finding out!’ (Rom. 11:33) 

That’s gospel truth my faithful brethren! And the prophet Isaiah said it long before Bruh Paul, when he wrote of our Creator: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is. 55:8-9) That’s putting it mildly my people!  

And the scholars explain: ‘God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e. purposes or intentions) and ways (directions) are higher than ours. While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purpose.’ Simply stated: we can never fully understand or know our Creator! But that’s why He gave us those things called hope and faith, trust and surrender. So that despite our inability to fully know and understand His purposes and intentions, we can rest assured that His intentions to us are always for good. 

Like Jeremiah puts it: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) Now seeing all the good that the Lord has done for us, in spite of our rebellion, disobedience and blasphemy against Him, why is it so difficult to believe that He truly cares for us and wants only our best eh? And why do we fight against this reassuring scripture eh? ‘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) 

Our problem is that we are so selfish, greedy and entitled that we don’t want to have any unfortunate circumstances happen to us, we’re just interested in living for today. We don’t care about it all ending up right, we want it right, right now! But that’s not the way the world or our God operates. And if we don’t hurry up and get smart and accept those facts, then crapaud smoke we pipe! We’re going to pay an awfully high price for not believing and trusting Almighty God. 

But for those of us who have already woken up from our slumber, let’s go to our Creator through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, offering thanks and praise, then asking for forgiveness and help. 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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. 

Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 the ball is in our court; time to keep our promises and turn from our evil ways. Much LOVE!

…humans are the most important of God’s creations…His awesome LOVING-kindness to us…though undeserved…shows that in spades… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 January 2023   1 Corinthians 15:57.

02 Jan 2023 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 15:57.       But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

           So it’s another holiday Monday for many working folks because the official New Year’s Day fell on the Sunday! What a way there’s been lots of time to celebrate this Christmas and New Year’s seasons. Let’s hope though that we don’t get too accustomed to these long weekends and completely forget the work ethic that we already don’t have much of. (smile) 

           Ah friends this new year of 2023 must be one of exceeding diligence if we truly want to make some headway against the evil enemy and his iniquity cohorts. Their army is vast and they are serious about taking over and ruling the world. And their methods of warfare are lowdown and inhumane…and that’s putting it nicely. 

           Therefore, if we hope to make any positive changes, we have to be serious, disciplined, work hard and requite evil with good, because the enemy won’t give us an easy break. We’ll have to fight for every bit of ground we conquer. But the good news is that we have Jesus in our corner, and if we use His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us then our victory will be assured, because ‘In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) 

            Please note though, that victory will only come through our following the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, for we cannot defeat the enemy in our own strength. As Bruh Paul wrote in his first missive to the church at Corinth: ‘The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:56-57) Yes friends, only when we are working with and through Jesus is victory possible. 

            So Bruh Paul continues with the practical application: ‘Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, 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. 15:58) And we can only do that if we follow Peter’s advice: ‘But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To hm be glory both now and for ever.’ (2 Pet. 3:18) 

           Oh my fellow believers, we can’t ever work properly and consistently with Jesus until we know what He’s truly about, which necessitates spending time in His Word, and in prayer, then putting those things we learn into practical use. And that’s one of Bruh Paul’s strengths; after giving you the theory, he usually gives you the practical application, like he did with the Ephesians, when he explained some of the practical aspects of living the new life in Christ. 

            Listen up as he exhorts them and us. ‘This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity (futility) of their mind.’ (Eph. 4:17) And the scholars explain that ‘since each Christian is divinely enabled with some spiritual gift, he must walk not as other Gentiles walk, lest his much-needed contribution to the church’s growth be sorely missed. Unbelieving Gentiles live in the vanity (futility) of their mind, without proper purpose, causing all their efforts to obtain happiness to end in failure.’ 

           And Bruh Paul delves further into the theory. (smile) ‘Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through (because of) the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness (hardening) of their heart.’ (Eph. 4:18) Now the scholars tell us that ‘The blindness of their heart refers to the hardness of their will. Gentiles’ obstinacy against the divine will has caused them to be separated from God’s life.’ 

            And all of us know this to be true! When your heart stubbornly refuses to do God’s will, then you become separated from Him. As Bruh Paul further explains: ‘Who being past feeling have given themselves over to lasciviousness (licentiousness), to work all uncleanness with greediness.’ (Eph.4:19) That means those unbelievers have become so calloused, have gone so deep in sin that they are insensitive to moral right and wrong. 

            And unfortunately, that can apply to many of us, though as Bruh Paul maintains: ‘But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.’ (Eph. 4:20-21) Yes my fellow saints, we have not learned Christ or Christian teaching like that. Our Christian doctrine has instructed us NOT to live like the unbelievers portrayed in verses 17-19 above.  And that’s the basic theory of living the new life in Christ. 

           Tomorrow, God willing, we’ll tackle the practical aspects of that theory. Trying to do that today with our short attention span will just get us all confused and also make the Bit too long. (smile) Now let’s go to our ever faithful and merciful God, in confidence, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn sincerely seeking His grace and mercy. 

           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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

            Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

           And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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 to receive a positive answer, the solution is obvious: humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek God’s face. Much LOVE!

           … it’s all about living for Christ…in a Christ-like manner…

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

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