new mercies | SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 March 2013 Matthew 12:33

15 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: action, adultery, blasphemy, cast into the fire, corrupt fruit, corrupt tree, daily blessings, deeds, evil thoughts, faith, false prophets, false witness, fellowship, fornication, Friday chant, fun, glorification of God, glory hallelujah, God's glorious kingdom, good fruit, good tree, internal intent, murder, new mercies, relaxation, rest, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, theft, theology, weekend, what comes out defiles

Matthew 12:33. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

Oh Friends, Friday’s up…! And it’s not Robinson Crusoe’s man… (smile) It’s another new today named Friday, bringing all the new daily mercies and blessings of our wonderful God! And the effervescent cries, shouts, hoots and hollers of ‘TGIM! Thank God is Friday, and the labouring for another week soon finish!’ echo all around the globe. But sadly they echo in too many polluted areas, a fact that causes untold problems for the human breathing apparatus. But that’s the price of progress, they say… Hogwash! The price of cheap, greedy, ‘gravalicious’, doh-care-about the planet progress yes! Anyway mih people, it’s Friday and a lot of the world’s happy because they won’t have to labour for massa for two whole days. And all God’s children gave a mighty shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Yes my brethren, it’s certainly nice not having to hit the road and the unending traffic jams for two days, but by the same token, we need to use that time off wisely. So let’s chant our Friday Chant that helps us put the weekend into proper perspective. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And having reminded ourselves of how to use the weekend properly, let’s turn to our very interesting and important Bit. ‘Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt (bad), and his fruit corrupt (bad): for the tree is known by his fruit.’ And that’s gospel truth Friends! Now yesterday we saw where Jesus told the multitude that stuff we put into our mouths doesn’t defile, but what comes out of us does. (Mat.15:10-11) Later though, Peter came back and asked Jesus to explain the parable because the Pharisees had been angered by it. (Matt.15:15) And Jesus gets a little testy with Peter. ‘Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out (eliminated) into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt.15:16-20) Oh my people, that’s the living truth, as we all know, if we’re honest with ourselves. That’s because deep down inside of us, our souls, is really where all our good and evil thoughts and actions begin, take root, sprout, then are noised abroad. So again we have to be rather careful about what’s in our souls, for what’s there will eventually come forth from our mouths, and if they are evil intents, then evil words will emanate and unfortunately spoil our witness. Jesus felt that our internal intent was so important, that He also used the good and bad tree analogy when talking about false prophets. ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening (ravenous) wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil (bad) fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil (bad) fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:15-20) Please note Friends, the emphasis Jesus places on the fruit; the work, the action, the deeds of those involved in ministry. What we say is important, but lots of times, what we do is actually much more important. Our actions should at all times reflect our words. As James says, ‘faith without works is dead.’ (James 2:20) Meaning we can talk all we want, but if we don’t back up that talk with action, the talk is of no use, simply wasted breath. And we’ll end with another analogy of Jesus to trees and fruits, where He talks to the disciples about the vine and the branches. ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it will be done unto (for) you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples.’ (John 15:4-8) Oh Friends, Jesus could not have explained the philosophy of His ministry any simpler or clearer! Now it’s up to us to embrace it and comply with it as fully as we can. If we don’t, then we’ll be cut down like the useless, withered branches and cast into the fire, as well as have to account for all our words on the judgement day. So let’s be very careful of what we say and how we act, because inappropriate words and actions not only affect our witness here on earth, giving Jesus a bad name, but also where we spend eternity. Much LOVE!…Christians…by their very nature…with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them…ought to be always good trees…thus always bearing good fruit…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 March 2013 Matthew 12:33

14 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a tree is known by its fruit, abundance of the heart, astute observation, bad fruit, basic logic, bitter water, church unity, condemned, controversies, divided church, divisions, evil treasure, fresh water, good fruit, good treasure, idle words, justified, laws of nature, LOVE, new blessings, new mercies, new Pope, peace, religion, roman catholic church, salt water, spirituality, strife, sweet water, tension, theology, true brotherhood, unsavoury goings on, what defiles, wisdom

Matthew 12:33. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is know by his fruit.

Oh Friends, it’s another new today! Please, let’s use it wisely and fruitfully. And all God’s children joyfully declared: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ Yes my brethren, that’s why the Lord insists on giving us new mercies, manna and blessings every day, so that we can start each one afresh on a new foot, in praise, thanksgiving and rejoicing in His Holy Name. And I guess the most noteworthy news today is the announcement of a new Pope, a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, who took the papal name of Francis. It also brings up a couple of firsts; the first South American Pope, as well as the first Papal Leader of Argentinean descent. He seems to be an honourable and humble man, but please remember, that though we might be good regional or small town leaders, when we hit the big stage, step up to the world level of leadership, all our problems and constraints are multiplied a thousand fold. So it’s not going to be easy for him to bring unity to a mightily divided church. But let’s all pray nonetheless, that the Lord will enable him to bring some lessening of the strife, tension and divisions that’s currently engulfing His church, due to all the unsavoury goings on and controversies recently exposed, eventually bringing some peace, LOVE and true brotherhood to the legion of followers. That brings us to our Bit; a most interesting statement of Jesus: ‘Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt (bad), and his fruit corrupt (bad): for the tree is know by his fruit.’ Now that’s an astute observation, if there ever was one! (smile) Jesus was here commenting on the good and the evil that exists within men. And it’s just basic logic that a tree cannot produce both good and bad fruit at the same time. By the laws of nature, it simply has to be one or the other. But just like James asks: ‘Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.’ (James 3:11-12) That’s why believers should not be blessing and cursing from the same receptacle, our souls. And as Jesus told the multitude, re things that defile: ‘Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.’ (Matt.15:10-11) Yes Friends, what we put into ourselves doesn’t defile us, but what comes out certainly does. For as Jesus further enlightens us, and the scribes and Pharisees surrounding Him: ‘O generation (brood or offspring) of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:34-37) Oh my people, so much truth is contained in those words, it isn’t funny! In the first place, we usually speak what’s plentiful in our hearts, unless we’re being consciously hypocritical. So as Jesus says, if our hearts are filled with good stuff, then good stuff is what will emanate from our mouths. However, if evil reigns in our hearts, then only evil can come forth from our inner man. And above all Friends, please note that second to last verse, where Jesus warns that we’ll have to answer for every idle word we’ve ever spoken, come the judgement day. That should wake some of us up, who just curse and gossip and spread false stories, because, as He says, we will either be justified or condemned by our own words. Yes my fellow believers, we’ll either stand strong and live by the good words that we utter, or we’ll end up weak and fall by the evil words that proceed from our lips. The choice is ours, my Friends. Each individual has to make that most important choice as to whether he’ll be a propagator of good or evil. No one can do it for us. So please, I encourage and plead with us, today let’s take inventory of what’s truly in our hearts and try and replace any evil we might find there with good, by seriously asking the Lord’s help, so that come judgement time, we won’t have to answer for too many idle and evil words. More on this topic tomorrow, if the Lord so desires. Till then Friends, please, let’s pay close attention to what reigns in our hearts, and thus what titillates our tongues and eventually comes out of our mouths. That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…a single receptacle can only hold one kind of matter at a time…so it’s only wise to fill man’s heart…a single receptacle…with good stuff…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 February 2013 Psalm 5:9

24 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: bitterness, choke hold, christianity, cursing, destruction, faithfulness, fallen creation, forgiveness, generosity, God's faithfulness, heartaches, heavenly hosts, human condition, justice, loving, mercy, misery, mornng by morning, Most High God, new mercies, pain, praise and thanksgiving, religion, sadness, saviour jesus christ, sincerity, spirituality, tears, testimony, trust, truth, worship

Psalm 5:9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

And yet another glorious day in the life begins my Friends, so let’s start it with some thanks and praise nuh. Let’s sing a verse of the old hymn that could probably be called ‘Old Faithful’ because it’s been around for a long time and whenever we sing it, it also regenerates our faith in the faithfulness and trustworthiness of our Wonderful God. Sing with me: ‘Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. Morning by morning new mercies I see. All that I needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth my fellow believers! We can all attest to the faithfulness of God in our lives; in the past, the present, and if we continue clinging to Him, also in the future. He’s just that kind of LOVING, trusting, generous and merciful God to all those who serve and worship Him in truth and sincerity. And all God’s people loudly and joyously declared: ‘All praise and thanksgiving be unto the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who made the earth, heavens, and all therein, and who controls it with LOVE, mercy, justice and forgiveness! Oh Lord, we your humble servants truly LOVE You, and this Sunday morning we bless and praise Your Most Holy Name! Amen.’ Oh Friends, did you see the big smiles on the faces of our heavenly Father and our Saviour, Jesus Christ as those heartfelt prayers reached up to heaven? Even the heavenly hosts were smiling and adding their own ‘Praise the Lord! For He is good and merciful and forgiving!’ Ah mih bredden, if there could only be such smiles and happiness down here on earth, instead of the many frowns, heartaches, sadness, tears and pain that currently envelop our world, that have us in an ever tightening choke hold. But I guess that’s the price we have to pay for being a fallen creation. And sadly, we’re not helping the situation by consciously steering our lives to the sinful side of our nature, instead of the righteous and godly side. We all have that pocket in our souls permanently reserved for our Maker, which nothing or no one else can fill, but unless we consciously venture to fill it with Him, our lives will end up a total mess. And if you don’t believe me, just take a look around at our society with so many people hurting and searching for relief from their many sorrows. Unfortunately though, they are searching in the wrong places, heading in the wrong direction. They’re turning to manmade aids; drugs, booze, shrinks etc, which are not helping, but making them worse, increasing their pain and sorrows. Ah Friends, there’s only one antidote for the human state, one prescription to ease his pain and suffering: that’s Almighty God, his Maker and Controller! And until we realize that and turn back to Him in droves, just like we’ve turned away in droves, the human state will remain one of exceedingly vile, evil, ungodly conditions. Tragic loss, pain and ‘sufferation’ will continue to be his unenviable lot. That brings us to our very appropriate Bit: ‘For there is no faithfulness (uprightness) in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness (destruction); their throat is an open sepulchre (tomb); they flatter with their tongue.’ And isn’t that the undeniable truth about the state of our society my fellow believers? It sure is! Now let me share a testimony of our Lord’s delightful faithfulness. When I began writing today, I had no clue what I was going to write about. I had not even opened the Good Book to look for a Bit. I just had the verse of the ‘Old Faithful’ Hymn written on a piece of paper, and contrary to my usual method of writing, where I do a rough copy on paper first, I just began writing on the computer and the words and ideas just flowed, so I continued, until I got to the unenviable lot of humans. Then I began chuckling, asked the Lord to guide me to an appropriate Bit, and opened my Bible. And, lo and behold, according to His great faithfulness, I found one in less than five minutes. Just goes to show Friends, that if we genuinely seek our God, we’ll find Him, and He will answer our prayers, especially where it pertains to His Word. Now let’s turn to some thought provoking scripture to corroborate our contentions. This comes from Bruh Paul’s writing to the Romans. ‘There is none righteous, No, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre (grave); with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ (Rom.3″10-18) Oh Friends, doesn’t that describe our world to a T? It certainly does. Bruh Paul uses his vast knowledge of the scriptures, using various bits and pieces to highlight our insufficiency and sad, degenerate state. Listen to the scholars comment on that passage. ‘Paul quotes scripture to prove universal guilt. Scripture, not Paul, is the judge. See Psalm 5:9; 10:7; 14:1-3; 140:3; Isaiah 59:7-8’ Those are some of the scriptures Bruh Paul uses in that very revealing section of Romans. And rather appropriately, just as we began, we’ll end with a glowing testimony from Isaiah on the Lord’s faithfulness. ‘O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.’ (Is.25:1) And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! So let’s go out now and do as that great prophet just said; praise and exalt the name of the Most High God Jehovah, for it is right and meet so to do. Much LOVE!…only in the faithfulness of our heavenly Father…can man put absolute trust…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 January 2013 Proverbs 1:10

16 Jan 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: blessings, don't forget God, enticements, eternal life, evil web, expose sin, facade, glorify God, greed, heaven, mercies, new mercies, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, Praise the Lord, salvation, sinners, words of wisdom

Proverbs 1:10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

Aye mih Friends, have you seen or encountered any of the new mercies and blessings that our great and wonderful God has showered down on earth for this Wednesday? Well I have! And I want to tell you that they are terrific! Wow! I don’t know where our God finds those marvellous mercies and blessings to shower down on us everyday nuh, because everyday they just keep getting better and better. But I suppose that since He is God -omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent – then He can do anything. That means that the many earthlings who don’t believe in Him are not too bright, they don’t know what they’re missing. But fortunately, yes Friends, praise the Lord that we believers do! That’s why we sing and dance and praise and worship our Creator, the Lord God Jehovah, with such passion, such intensity. We know without a doubt, on which side our bread is buttered. That’s why Cousin Sol warns us in our Bit, right at the outset of his proverbial words of wisdom. ‘My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.’ Ah Friends, those words are few, but they pack a mighty wallop! They contain more wisdom than all the words and works of the evil world, for if we follow them, they will keep us from making very grave and serious mistakes, many of them irreparable and even life threatening. Hear how Cousin Sol continues and cements his argument for not walking knowingly with sinners. ‘If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for (to shed) blood, let us lurk privily (secretly) for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance (wealth), we shall fill our houses with spoil (plunder): Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain (keep) thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. Surely in vain (futility) the net is spread in the sight of any bird. And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily (secretly) for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.’ (Prov.1:11-19) Oh my brethren, truer words have never been spoken! For once we get involved with sinners and evildoers, we’ll eventually end up selling our souls to Beelzebub instead of Jesus. And believe me, the evil one has nothing really good or worthwhile to offer. His enticements may look bright and shiny in the sunlight, but in the dark of night their true cheapness and unworthiness comes out. It’s all a facade Friends, to catch us in his evil web, then confine us to eternal death with him. Now that’s certainly not a nice picture to imagine ourselves in. Jesus paints a much better and more realistic picture of heaven. And at least we’ve seen and heard what Jesus can do. Lucifer definitely can’t match His talents, so why walk with him eh? Anyway, hear how Bruh Paul puts it to the Ephesians, when talking about the ways of the believer. ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done in secret. But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.’ (Eph.5:11-13) The scholars explain it this way. ‘Reprove is better translated “expose.” The believer’s duty is expressed here in two ways. Negatively, he is not to have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, that is, not to indulge in the sins of the unsaved. Positively, he is to “expose” (reprove) these sins, that is, bring them to light and show them for what they really are, so that the unbeliever may see their hideous nature and their terrible consequences. For tells why the Christian must expose the sins of the lost. If it is shameful even to discuss their iniquities in decent company (cf. v 3) how much worse is the committing of these sins. Hence we need to bring them to light.’ Ah mih people, a good and simple measuring stick for all that is, if the thoughts and actions before us can’t stand the light of day, but must remain secret, we should not be involved in them. Now listen to the psalmist Asaph’s take on the subject from Psalm 50, God is the judge – and is He ever! ‘But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? See thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself: but I will reprove (rebuke) thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:16-23) Oh Friends, that says it all! If we kow-tow with the wicked, then, like them, we’ll be eventually destroyed. However, if we live to praise and glorify our heavenly Father, then we will see His wonderful salvation that culminates in eternal life with Him. Now I ask you, which of those two options will you choose? Please ponder it seriously today, because we don’t know when Jesus will return, could even be today, and your eternal destiny depends on your individual choice, BEFORE He returns. Now may the good Lord shower you with wisdom, so that you’ll make the right choice. Much LOVE!…choose you this day…whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord… (Josh.24:15)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 December 2012 Luke 1:28

20 Dec 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: blessed, Christmas, crying in the wilderness, faith, fruit of the womb, great honour, highly favoured, Holy Ghost, John the Baptist, joy and gladness, new blessings, new day, new forgiveness, new mercies, saviour jesus christ, the Birth of Christ, Zechariah

Luke 1:28. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

And then it was Thursday, Friends! Another bright and sparkling morning with brand new blessings, mercies and forgiveness for God’s people. And they all rose up with a mighty shout of joy, praising and thanking their heavenly Father for allowing them to see another soulful day on His wonderful creation called Earth. It’s also only 5 days till Christmas Day, when we celebrate the incarnate Birth of our gracious Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, which ushered in the most welcome, beneficial and amazing time in human history. And it’s the way that Birth came about that we’re still talking about today. Our Bit got the whole thing moving. ‘And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail (Rejoice), thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.’ And Mary was really blessed my people, to be chosen by Almighty God to be the earthly Mother to His Son. What greater honour could there be eh? None really. And in her behaviour and attitude she shows some of the reasons why she was chosen. Now please note that some months before the angel came to Mary to tell her about her remarkable blessing, he visited her relative by marriage, Zechariah, a priest in the temple, with his own good news. ‘And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.’ (Luke 1:11-12) Yuh see the difference Friends, in just the physical response to Mary’s breaking news. Zechariah, the older and supposedly wiser man, a big time priest in God’s house, was afraid, while the young, inexperienced girl Mary, was simply concerned about the machinations of the promise, it’s human impossibility. ‘But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zechariah: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. And many of the children (sons) of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people for the Lord.’ (Luke 1:13-17) Yes Friends, another miracle was being wrought, so that the forerunner, the messenger, ‘the one crying in the wilderness,’ re repentance and salvation, would be born. ‘And Zechariah said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken (advanced) in years. And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings (this good news). And behold, thou shalt be dumb (mute), and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season (own time).’ (Luke 1:18-20) And he was dumb until John the Baptist was born. Notice the difference in reactions: Zechariah couldn’t believe what was still humanly possible, while Mary believed without much hesitation or resistance what was humanly impossible. Now tell me whose faith was greater? Mary’s of course! And what does she do after the angel leaves? She goes and visits her cousin, the hitherto barren Elisabeth, now some six months pregnant with John the Baptist. And check out this intense scene, when Mary enters Elisabeth’s house and greets her. ‘And it came to pass, that when Elisabeth heard the salutation (greeting) of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence (why) is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that (who) believed: for there shall be a performance (fulfillment) of those things which were told her from the Lord.’ (Luke 1:41-45) Oh Friends, don’t you just LOVE how our God operates in such mysterious and interesting ways? Everything He does, ties in with a purpose. No loose strings are left to mar the process. And what I like about the story is that Elisabeth seems to have believed it without any qualms either, instead rejoicing in the wonderful blessing that was being poured down on her young cousin Mary. And I guess that’s why Jesus hung out with more women in his day, than was normal for a Jewish man; He recognized the greater power in them to accept supernatural things, which put another way, means greater faith. Note, He never had to badger them to believe, as He had to do with the disciples, even though they walked with Him every day and saw all the unbelievable stuff He did. Just look at the faith shown by Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters, when Jesus showed up several days after his death. ‘Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.’ (John 11:21-22) Mary’s reaction was the same; ‘Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.’ (John 11:32) Ah mih breddren, enough for us to contemplate today. But remember, whatever we do, or whatever happens to us as believers in Jesus Christ, it all comes down to faith; the level of our faith will either make us weak and fearful like Zechariah, or strong and confident like the women we’ve been talking about. That’s why Jesus talked about faith so much in His ministry. Re trusting one master: ‘O ye of little faith?’ (Matt.6:30) Re Cornelius, the Roman centurion: ‘Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.’ (Matt.8:10) Re 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.’ (Matt.17:20) So please my people, let’s consider all these words of faith we’ve heard today, and wisely use them to build up our own. That’s the way Jesus would have it. Much LOVE!…but without faith…it is impossible to please him…for he that cometh to God…must believe that he is…and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him… (Heb.11:6)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 January 2012 John 6:27‏

04 Jan 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: full of joy, god the father, joy of the lord, new mercies, peace and contentment

John 6:27. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Ah Friends, the bland, routine days of life are slowly returning after an exciting, enthusiastic Christmas season. And oh how we adore the excitement and such! But please realize that life for the most part revolves around the same old, same old. There are many more bland, boring and humdrum days than lively, exciting ones, therefore we need to learn to accept the former with peace and contentment, otherwise our lives will be filled with constant boredom and dissatisfaction. I know it’s not easy to get up every day and generally speaking, do the same thing. Unfortunately though, that’s what life is all about, and possibly why the Lord chose to bless us each and every day with new mercies and blessings. Now that’s something special to look forward to, isn’t it! So let’s try and develop a joy for every day that there’s breath in our bodies, because we know that living in full surrender to Christ will bring new, unpredictable stuff each new day, stuff that will work together for our good, because that’s what He’s promised. (Rom.8:28) And also remember that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh. 8:10) So when we’re joyful in the Lord we’re strong, able to move mountains. Conversely, anytime we lose that joy, we become weak and anaemic, unable to deal with the vagaries of life. And the easiest and best way to stay full of joy in the Lord is by living a life dedicated to the things of heaven, as Jesus wisely advises in our Bit. ‘Labour not for the meat (food) which perisheth, but for that meat (food) which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.’ And today we’ll continue looking at the last part of the Bit: ‘for him hath God the Father sealed,’ talking about the scriptures’ foretelling of Jesus’ coming and His overwhelming acceptance by the Father. Yesterday we looked at Isaiah’s prophecy, (Is.42:1-4); Jesus’ baptism, (Matt.3:16-17) and the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8). Let’s begin with some daring words of Jesus on the subject. He was talking at the time about the Son’s relationship with the Father, and re John’s witness of him. ‘But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light (lamp): and ye were willing for a season (time) to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape (form). And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. (You) Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And (but) ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men.’ (John 5:34-41) What a powerful testimony Friends! Hope it stirred us up, relit, reenergized that fire smouldering in our bellies! It’s that kind of uplifting, encouraging stuff we need to read everyday my people, so that we can stay focused on Christ and do the things He requires of us. Remember that’s what we promised ourselves to do this year of 2012; rededicate ourselves and our lives to Jesus, so that we can harness His omnipotence, as well as His humility, caring, kindness, mercy, forgiveness and unconditional LOVE, and thus live the optimum life possible as a believer and a true Christian. I’ll end here today Friends, because the other scriptures I want to share will make the Bit a tad long, and I know how you all can’t stand anything long pertaining to God. (smile) So until tomorrow, when we’ll have new mercies and blessings to enjoy, please walk safely with God. Much LOVE!…to LOVE your God…LIVE your Faith…and SPREAD His Word…that’s a believer’s motto…

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