Today’s Scrip-Bit   28 September 2022 Revelation 21:4a.

28 Sep 2022 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 21:4a.       And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;​

It’s today friends! Yes, another one of the many todays we’ve lived, are living and hopefully will live! Wow! Aren’t you grateful for having seen yet another today on God’s great earth? I surely am, and I’m trying to get us all excited about each new day that we’re alive, that we truly appreciate it and value it for what it’s worth! 

Yuh know how many people wanted to open their eyes this morning and didn’t get the chance…many! That means you are amongst the blessed and chosen ones, also signifying that there’s more godly stuff for you to do down here, the Lord isn’t quite finished with your earthly plans. And for that we ought to be oh so thankful, just exuding thanks and gratitude, regardless of how difficult our lives might be at this time, but knowing that our most wonderful God will eventually work everything out for our good like He’s faithfully promised! Glory be! 

Please give Him lots of thanks and praise for being the wonderful Father, God and Good Shepherd He is to us, His unworthy and disobedient children! And it doesn’t matter whether we’re six, or sixty-six, whether we’re good or bad, He still LOVES us with that burning LOVE that caused Him to send His only Son Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary, so that He could justly and righteously forgive our sins! 

Mama oh Mama! What a marvellous God we serve and worship my brethren! There’s none other like Him…and there could never be another One like Him either, for when they made Him, they threw away the mould they used to form His most majestic Spirit! (smile) 

And now that my excitement has died down some, let’s see what good news the Lord has planned for us today. And the good news comes from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This poem is most appropriately titled ‘Only Goodness.’

So please read and inwardly digest with me. ‘What glorious words of wonder Come from the Apostle Peter. He wrote, “But we are looking forward To God’s promise of new heavens And a new earth afterwards Where there will be only goodness.” O dear God “Where there will be only goodness.” 

After centuries of war, greed, and lust After indulgences shamelessly practiced After hatred, hostility Jealousy and abuse Murder and martyrdom Crime and cruelty Curses and rebellion. After whimpering cries from starving children After tragedy and catastrophe Loneliness and despair At last…at long last “There will only be goodness.” O dear Lord Your promise is Your guarantee But please hurry a little!’ 

And in the current disastrous and evil state of our world most of us do hope that He will hurry and bring that time of ‘Only Goodness’ to pass. Oh, we know that all those ugly things have happened in our world down through the ages, but I don’t believe they have ever been so rampant and widespread all at once, especially in this the most enlightened and supposedly informed age of mankind’s history. All those dreadful things are still happening when there’s absolutely no reason for them to happen on the scale of which they are happening. 

Millions of children, as well as adults are starving when there is so much food around the globe and some societies throw away so much good food every day. And don’t talk of the hate and hostility that’s currently engulfing our world! Chuh! The strife and anger fomenting on God’s earth right now has never been seen before, not even in the World Wars of the last century. Why is that eh? What’s happening to our supposed sense of reason and responsibility? Have we all just gone mad and lost the hold we had on reality? 

It would certainly seem so, because we all seem to be so angry, resentful, unhappy and greatly disturbed by so many things, and the recent pandemic only showed up our differences even more, when instead of sharing the possible solutions, we all hogged them for ourselves. No wonder so many of us are entreating the Good Lord to hurry up with His promise of that time of “only goodness.”  

Now here’s why some of us are so anxious to see those days of “only goodness.” In the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John describers his vision of the new heaven and earth that will be in the end times. And this is the promise our poem was based on. John writes: ‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. and he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.’ (Rev. 21:3-5) 

Now isn’t that a marvellous time to look forward to? It certainly is! And we know that it will eventually happen because God’s promises are true, He never reneges on them, but we will have to wait on His timing, because His timing doesn’t often coincide with ours. (smile) Until then, we just have to put up with what’s happening, put our total trust in God, and do our best, in our small way to make what we can right and eschew evil for good, as the Bible teaches. 

And here are some explanations from the scholars. ‘21:3-5. Tabernacle of God: The presence of God will be with His people, and He will forever dwell with them. A primary purpose of redemption will be accomplished: the complete fellowship of God with His redeemed people. In the eternal state, there will be no tears, death, sorrow, crying, or pain. Everything will become new. God’s promises are true, and He is always faithful to His Word (cf. 19:11)’ 

Ah friends, this earthly life certainly isn’t easy, but as we keep reminding, with Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, Guide and Good Shepherd it is indeed possible to enjoy it, even in the tough times, because He enables us to have faith and provides little miracles in our lives every day that help us to keep on keeping on. So please, although times are rough, let’s not give up, because as you can see from His Word, we have a lot of good times to look forward to. 

And for those of us who are attempting to do just that, let’s go home now declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our most excellent position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And just a li’l more encouragement to seal the deal. (smile) If we endure with Jesus right to the end, then that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask for imagine! Wow! I LOVE that! So, see you then! Much LOVE!

…want to see the times of only goodness…then hold on tight to Jesus…till the very end… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 October 2018 Zephaniah 3:17.

20 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

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

Zephaniah 3:17. ​The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest (quiet you) in his LOVE, he will joy over thee with singing.

 

And Saturday dawned bright and sparkling…but there had to be a fly in the ointment. Chuh! At eight o’clock in the morning I went out on the balcony to do some quiet reading, but lo and behold a man was out there mowing the lawn next to my building, making a terrible racket. Didn’t he realize that people liked to sleep in on Saturdays, and 8 o’clock was just too early to be making so much noise around the buildings? 

Obviously not! I took it for a little while then had to come back inside to the A.C. Like lawn mowers are the bane of my existence wherever I go! (smile) However, like all things do, it eventually came to an end, and we were able to open the balcony door again and allow some of the cool sea air to filter into the room. 

And since today is that blessed day of relaxation – Saturday -, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one: ‘The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.’ 

Now the first part I can live with, because it is important to enjoy your life and be happy, since that’s why Jesus gave up His, and as He says, came so that we might have life more abundantly. (John 10:10) But the part that says being happy is all that matters is totally wrong, for what really matters is living a godly, righteous and obedient life before God: LOVING God and LOVING our neighbours and brothers! 

As we saw over the last two days, those are the two most important life principles, and if we follow them, everything else, including, especially happiness and enjoyment will flow from it. Then hear this: ‘I enjoy life when things are happening. I don’t care if it’s good things or bad things. That means you’re alive.’ 

So is it only when things are happening you can feel alive? I don’t think so, since life is never always moving, there are a lot of calm times and doldrums when it feels like nothing is happening. But be apprised that our great God is ALWAYS working behind the scenes, so when you think that nothing is going on, a lot is happening in the background. But it’s also essential to have a good attitude towards life, whether it’s rough or running smoothly. 

And this next quote tells us that: ‘Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.’ And there is a fair amount of truth to it. You can’t stand stationary in life and expect to improve, especially if you’re a serious follower of Jesus, because He expects continual growth from His people. He expects us to become more and more mature every day, as the Good Book says; moving from glory to glory, climbing higher and higher, li’l by li’l, as we mature in our faith and become more Christ-like. 

And the last quote solemnly declares: ‘The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.’ And that’s a fact my brethren. The more you praise your God and celebrate your life the more there will be to celebrate and praise! I can personally testify to that. It doesn’t mean that trials and tribulations, adversity and calamity won’t befall you, but even under those negative circumstances you will find reason to praise God and celebrate life. 

Listen to the advocacy of our Bit, when the prophet Zephaniah declared the ultimate supremacy of Israel so long ago. ‘The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest (quiet you) in his LOVE, he will joy over thee with singing.’ 

Wow mih breddren! Can there be a greater promise than that? Only that pertaining to salvation and eternal life! And since it’s God’s promise, then you know it will be kept, because NONE of His words ever come back to Him void, they ALWAYS perform the purpose they are sent forward to perform. And we can’t refute that the Lord is mighty in our midst, for so He is in the universe He created, and there is NONE as mighty as Him! 

As per ‘he will save…’ Glory Glory mih people, the Lord has indeed saved us by offering His Son, our Lord and Saviour as a sinless sacrifice in atonement for our abominable sins! Praise His holy name! And he is rejoicing over us with unbelievable joy; those who choose to come to Him humbly and reverently through His Son Jesus Christ! 

And if you believe in Christ, then you are put to rest, quieted in His awesome and unconditional LOVE! And the Lord our God is indeed joying over us with singing and glad tidings because we are His, have been sealed by the Holy Spirit as His people until the day of redemption. Mama Mia! What joy comes from believing in Jesus Christ! Nothing else can compare to it. 

And if you don’t believe Zephaniah…or me (smile) then listen to Isaiah talking about the restoration of Zion. ‘For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.’ (Is.62:5) 

And once more from Isaiah, re new heavens and a new earth: ‘And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.’ (Is.65:19) Ah friends, what a momentous and monumental day that will be, when all grief and crying, sorrow and pain will have been banished from our lives! Give the Lord thanks and praise for that promise which we all know will be kept in His time! Much LOVE!

…you have to believe it…through faith…before you see it…that’s the Lord’s way