Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 March 2023 Revelation 21:7.

06 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 21:7.       He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

Awright friends, the work week is upon us again, and that opening day called Monday, is hanging like a dark cloud over many of us, trying to intimidate us, to raise up the dormant fear that lies deep inside our souls. But yuh know what, that apparent intimidation by Monday is only a façade, a front of the devil to keep us in darkness and fear, so we can’t rise up and conquer him and his evil cronies, like our Lord and Saviour Jesus expects. 

Let’s remember though that Jesus has already given us the victory through His conquering Satan, wresting the keys of hell death and the grave from Him, with a triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday, while the foolish devil wrongly thought that he had finally ensconced Him forever! 

But Satan of all people should have known better, having spent so much time with Jesus in heaven as the ark angel Lucifer. Obviously his loss in the battle to overthrow the God of heaven didn’t teach him anything about the power and glory of our magnificent Trinity! However, unfortunately, it’s the same with many of us; we don’t learn from our mistakes. 

One would have thought that Satan would have learned from His previous defeat that He could NEVER best the Creator and Controller of the universe, no matter the deceitful and evil means he uses. That’s why Jesus warned us of Satan’s propensity for evil and destruction. ‘The thief cometh not, but for to (except to) steal and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) 

Now tell me who’s presence would you rather be in, the one who steals and kills, or the one who gives life? The people with common sense and or wisdom would obviously choose the latter. Sadly though, there are many in our world who lack both those attributes and therefore choose the former. 

And I guess, for Satan to simply give up the fight, to suffer the terrible pangs of defeat and subjugate himself to Jesus would have meant a terrifying and humiliating end that he could not face. So, like an animal whose back is against the wall, with no apparent avenue of escape or victory in sight, its only resort is to brace itself and come out fighting, regardless of the possible consequences. And that’s how it is with Satan. 

There was obviously no way for him to accept an honourable defeat at the hands of Jesus, so his only face-saving response was to come back out fighting to the death, with whatever dirty and evil means he has at his behest. But we believers all know that it’s all over bar the shouting for the devil and his evil cronies, because they will eventually end up in the lake of fire when Jesus gets around to dealing with them. 

Yes friends, it’s only a matter of time, as the Bible, the Lord’s indisputable, unquestionable Word in Revelation 20 tells us that before Christ’s Millennial reign, the devil will be chained and locked up for those thousand years of peace and righteousness on earth in a bottomless pit, the abode of evil spirits (cf. 9:1-11; Luke 8:31). 

Then after the expiration of those thousand years, he’ll be released to make strife and war with Gog and Magog on the earth again. But then what happens? After losing that final battle, when ‘fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever.’ (Rev. 20: 9b-10) 

Now please note this other very important scripture about the end times, re the fountain of life. John writes: ‘And he (Jesus) said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful (cowardly), and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’ (Rev. 21:6-8)  

Oh my people, if you truly believe the Bible, the Word of Almighty God, then there’s no more to say! It’s clear as day that evildoers will pay a very steep price for their unbelief and wrongdoing. It’s only a matter of time. And though our God is long-suffering, He will run out of patience at some stage of the game and pull the plug if we continue with our ungodly and evil shenanigans. So it’s totally up to each individual to choose how they will spend eternity. Nuff said. 

But the wonderful thing about our God is that when we need help, we always have access to His throne room. So let’s go there right now nuh, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and ask for His divine guidance. As one sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. 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, if we’re serious about the sentiments and promises we made in the prayer, then we’ll need to go out and action them for divine help to come. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 December 2018 Zephaniah 2:3

10 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

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

Zephaniah 2:3.   Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility); it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.

And the revolving door revolves once more…and what does it open on …MONDAY! And the whole crowd goes wild, shouting: ‘Yay! It’s Monday once again! Time to go back out to work; to have a good time in this evil old world, witnessing for our Lord and Saviour, Leader and Field General, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, to whom all knees must bow and all tongues confess that He is indeed Lord of all, to the glory of our heavenly Father! 

Wow mih breddren! What an opening on this chilly Monday morning in this Christmas season of 2018! (smile) And I know that’s not how it is with most of us, but that’s how it ought to be if we sincerely have Jesus in our lives and live those lives based on His wise advice. But since we are so imperfect, stubborn and ‘own way’ (smile) we will forever have problems getting ourselves together to go out and labour after having the short two days off on the weekend. 

However, we have the solution and answer to that problem; it’s a li’l thing called prayer, in particular, one called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! And believe me, it works wonders on mornings like these, lifting our spirits and helping us get ourselves together so that we can do our bounden duty, that which we spoke about in the opening passage. 

Brother! What a way the ole fella waxing philosophical this morning. (smile) But enough of that philosophical stuff yes, it not getting us anywhere nuh. Instead, let’s delve into the reality of the situation, the meat and potatoes section and declare our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with how much ever enthusiasm we can muster. 

Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. 

We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. 

But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. 

Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ And again we say… ‘AMEN!’ Yeh friends, one more ‘So let it be,’ just for good measure. (smile)  

Oh, the power of prayer my people! It’s awesome! Yuh see how yuh demeanour just changed after sincerely invoking the name of Jesus, our heavenly Advocate, to the Father? A feeling of peace and contentment and joy just suddenly enveloped you as the Holy Spirit did its marvellous job on the advocacy of the Son, and the orders of the Father! 

And it all comes about through hope, through faith, and through belief in the One and Only True God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as personified by His most wonderful Son, Jesus Christ! And yuh know what friends? In these last days, these difficult, evil and troubling times, I believe we need to find that One True God and hold on to Him for dear life, because things are not getting better, but worse. 

And in a time like ours in Israel, the prophet Zephaniah had this dire warning for his deviant and defiant people, re the scope of divine justice. ‘Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgement (upheld his justice); seek righteousness, seek meekness (humility); it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.’ 

My people, those are words we should heed with as much alacrity as possible, because we know neither the day nor the hour when calamity shall befall us individually, as well as the overall world. And believe me,  it will because of the disgraceful, disgusting, ungodly manner in which we’re currently living. 

Yeh friends, the Lord is indeed long-suffering, but that doesn’t mean we can get away with wilful disobedience for ever. At some time His patience will run out, as it did on several occasions with Israel, and we will pay a hefty price, just like they did. 

The psalmist reminded Israel of the Lord’s good works on their behalf, and by extension on our behalf too. ‘Seek ye the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember the marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgements of his mouth. O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. He is the Lord our God: his judgements are in all the earth.’ (Ps.105:4-8) 

Yes my fellow believers, the Lord’s word and judgements are all over the earth, because the earth is His; He made it and still controls it, and nothing happens without His allowing it. So let’s wake up and smell the coffee nuh, be wise and write these words of Amos the prophet, spoken long ago on the Lord’s behalf, indelibly in our hearts, spirits and souls: ‘For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.’ (Amos 5:4) Nuff said! A word to the wise is sufficient! Much LOVE!

…before anything else…seek ye first the kingdom of God…and His righteousness…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 December 2014 Matthew 6:33

27 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

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

 Matthew 6:33.    But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 
 
And then it was Saturday! Another exciting day in the Christmas season Friends! (smile) Oh I know that many of us are tired from all the Christmas activity and just want to lie down and rest. Well what’s stopping you eh? Just do it.

If the body and soul are crying out for respite, then it’s your duty to give them respite. They can’t continue being stretched and stressed out without losing their power and elasticity. Like a rubber band, the more you stretch and pull them, the loser and less effective they become.
 
Anyhow, here’s an appropriate quote from my Friend Anselm, that’s meant to inspire you for a better tomorrow. And this one comes from Abraham Lincoln. It’s simple but full of wisdom. All it says is: ‘In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.’ And that’s oh so true my people!
 
Now here is Anselm’s take on the subject. ‘It doesn’t matter how long you live, but how much you lived during the time that you were here. So many of us get caught up with age and aging and forget that it’s not about turning back the clock or staying young forever, but trying to get the best feeling that you can out of each moment of your life.
 
Abraham Lincoln was known for being handy with words, so it’s no surprise that he was able to make a quote like this, especially since he was able to pack a lot of life in his 56 years.’
 
Now how much life are we willing to pack into our years eh? It all depends on us my people, for we choose the kind of life we want to live, be it positive or negative, filled with the Word and promises of Almighty God or with the ungodly and lustful things of the world.
 
And the smart money my brethren is always on the things of God, because they have more intrinsic value and last longer than the shallow, bright but flimsy and flaky things of the world.
 
That’s why Friends, I’m encouraging us on this last Saturday in 2014, to sit down and quietly and seriously ponder the direction of our lives. Let’s check on how we spent this past year. Did we do a good, bad or indifferent job? Did we make even some small difference in the world around us? Did we reach the goals we set?
 
And most importantly, did we make any headway in our New Year’s Resolution of following Christ more closely? Have we grown in maturity and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour? Remember, that is the ONLY real resolution you need to make, because once you concentrate on following Christ, everything else falls into place.
 
For as Jesus so rightly says in our Bit, which is taken from the Sermon on the Mount: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
 
Take therefore no thought for the morrow (therefore do not worry about tomorrow): for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.’ (Matt.6:33-34)
 
Yes my fellow believers, when we seek God FIRST, He makes everything else fall into place for us. Now that doesn’t mean we don’t have to work and pay attention to things, but that we don’t need to strive and worry and feel anxious about our lives and livelihood.
 
As Jesus reminded the disciples before our Bit. ‘Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for (do not worry about) your life, for what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not life more than meat (food), and the body than raiment (clothing)?
 
Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)?
 
And why take ye thought for (worry about) raiment (clothing)? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (clothed, dressed) like one of these.
 
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
 
Therefore take no thought (do not worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.’ (Matt.6:25-32)
 
Matter finished Friends! Jesus spells it our like it is. If our heavenly Father can look after the things of nature so well, why wouldn’t He look after us, His most important creation, just as well eh? Even Cousin Sol, in all his worldly finery, was no match for the simple lilies of the field.
 
So my people, the life affirming choice is now ours to make. Please, I implore us to use the great wisdom and common sense that’s at our disposal to make the correct one, for the colour and tenor of our earthly lives, as well as where we spend eternity depends on the choice(s) we make today. Nuff said. Much LOVE!
 
…a word of advice…one can never go wrong by choosing Jesus…