Today’s Scrip-Bit   29 April 2022 Philippians 4:13.

29 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 4:13.      I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.​

Oh what a beautiful day! And for a Friday to boot, the start of the weekend! And the temperature might even come up a little higher than it’s been doing the last few days. Wow! As the man says in his song: ‘It’s too much of a beautiful day not to have a good day. So hope everything is blessed my neighbour. Have a beautiful day! Doh care what nobody say, just have a beautiful day!’ 

And if the Holy Spirit of Jesus dwells within us that should be automatic, with only peace and LOVE pouring forth from us, no hatred whatsoever. So, with the sunshine shining all around us physically, and the awesome light and LOVE of Jesus shining through us…Oh Mama! There’s no reason not to have a good and blessed day, regardless of whatever comes against us! 

And I know that some of us will complain and say, you don’t know my circumstances, and that’s true, but I’ve had rough circumstances too, and the Lord brought me through them because I trusted in Him to do so. And He will do the same for you, if you put your total trust in Him, because it’s all a matter of faith and trust! And yes, He’s promised to bring you through it all eventually, safe and sound, but also a tad more mature. 

However, you’ve got to learn to accept and believe the Lord’s promises, some three thousand in the Good Book, despite the turbulent circumstances. And that only happens by constant association with Him, that’s prayer, and serious meditation on His word, and remembering all the other times that He’s brought you through the storm unharmed…and doing it all with a good attitude too. (smile) 

No, it’s not easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight. But listen to these encouraging words of Bruh Pal written to the church at Philippi when they began helping him again financially, after some lean times in their church. ‘But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last your care of (concern for) me hath flourished again (been revived); wherein ye were also careful (though you surely did care), but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.’ (Phil. 4:10-11) 

Yes friends, Bruh Paul was in a disgusting Roman jail when he wrote this, but he did not come upon that sentiment overnight, but through much hardship and suffering, aided and abetted by the Holy Spirit and the supreme trust in God’s promises that He would bring him through it all. 

And the scholars tell us that ‘Paul’s ability to be content despite the circumstances assures the readers that his joy of verse 10 is not solely over his “need” being met at their expense. He implies that he could have done without their financial aid. For justifies this implication. I have learned …to be content: The Greek here suggests that contentment is a lesson learned neither in a classroom nor overnight, but through many practical experiences in life.’ 

Consequently, he could say quite sincerely: ‘I know both how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.’ (Phil. 4:12) And all of that simply means he’s disciplined himself to ‘to tighten his belt in lean times,’ and to live good in the prosperous times. In other words, he’s learned the secret of how to be satisfied in all circumstances. 

And I like how the scholars say: ‘Paul has acquired the skill for successfully living with little and with much, the latter probably being harder.’ Then they quote Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish writer, in support of that last assertion. ‘For one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.’ And we just have to look around us in our confused and crazy society and see that it’s true. But then Bruh Paul throws out his real mainstay, the real reason he can accomplish all those tough things. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13) 

Oh mih people, that’s it right there! Only with the strength of Christ working in us can we do those tough things, especially in tough times! But please note that that strength which emanates from Christ is not to do anything that we please, like lustful or greedy pleasures, but to do what’s in His will for us. That’s something we should all be very clear on. Christ’s strength imbues us to do His will, not our sinful desires. 

And though we might be able to manipulate some situations, please remember there will always be negative consequences for going against God’s will. That’s why Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) keeps drilling it in our heads that the best way to live this life is to ‘Obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him!’ And you cannot find a better all-around philosophy than that! 

So, hopefully having made our point that Christ is the greatest thing since sliced bread, (smile) let’s end today’s session by going to the throne of grace in prayer, through our Friday Chant, seeking help in these serious times of need. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, the only way to ensure that the Lord will look down on us with a positive answer is to keep whatever promises we’ve just made. Let Him see them truthfully written in our hearts and manifested in our outward behaviour. Much LOVE!

…only with Christ working in and through us…can we live a truly successful life… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   25 April 2022 Ecclesiastes 3:1.

25 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 3:1.      To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.

And on this last Monday of April 2022, the second one after Christ’s triumphant resurrection at Easter, although the sun is shining under a slight cloud cover, we are not in any doubt of our past, present or future. And why is that you ask? Well, obviously because we are alive and kicking through the awesome mercies and compassions of our great God, which are new every day! And all God’s children gave out a loud, proud and grateful ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Praise His Holy Name!’ 

And yes, we ought to be everlastingly grateful that He’s not consumed us in our iniquity, but even more so that He gives us a brand new start every day! Wow! Yes mih bredrin, our great God doesn’t believe in stale, left over stuff, so He gives us a new burst of His spiritual energy every single day of our lives, just enough to get us successfully through that particular day. And some of us might be greedy and want more than a day’s worth, but He knows just how much is sufficient for us. 

Remember Jesus’ words in the prayer He taught the disciples? ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ Yes, all we need is one day of God’s provision at a time, like He did with the manna He gave to the Hebrews in the wilderness. If they picked up more than a day’s worth, it was spoiled by the next day. (Ex. 16) And we must learn to be satisfied with what God gives us every day, don’t try to go running ahead of Him, because then we only screw up all His well laid plans for us. And sadly, our impatience, and our ability to wait on God and His impeccable timing is exactly why so many of us are getting nowhere fast. 

One commentator puts it simply and succinctly: ‘For us, God’s timing often feels like a long, desperate delay. God’s perfect timing does two things: It grows our faith as we are forced to wait and trust in God and it makes certain that He, and He alone, gets the glory and praise for pulling us through.’ That’s gospel truth my people! And Bruh David said it in Psalm 31: “My times are in Your hands …” (Ps. 31:15) More gospel truth! 

And there are so many scriptures in the Good Book that teach us about waiting on God’s perfect timing. So, this Monday morning, let’s remind ourselves of a few of them nuh. It can’t possibly do us any harm, and it will certainly do us much good. (smile) And we begin with this marvellous and true statement from Cousin Sol writing as the preacher in Ecclesiastes, where He wisely declares: ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.’ (Eccl. 3:1) And that’s no lie, for God has planned His universe with perfect perfection (smile) and nothing happens outside of His plan. 

And we ought to remember that, for as Cousin Sol writes in Proverbs 16: ‘A man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.’ (Prov. 16:9) And the Lord is indeed sovereign over man’s planning and scheming, as so many of us have found out to our detriment. 

But these marvellous words from the prophet Jeremiah on God’s behalf, ought to boost our faith and trust in God, although they don’t seem to do so, otherwise we wouldn’t be as impatient and disobedient as we are. ‘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, if God gives such a great promise, why would He do anything contrary to it eh? No reason whatsoever! 

And if He does allow us to go through hardship it’s only to test our faith and to grow us. And for that, He’s given us this magnificent and everlasting promise. ‘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) So as children of God, we ought to know and believe that He will indeed work out everything for our good eventually and wait patiently for His awesome timing. But our current behaviour doesn’t reflect that promise enough. 

And these words of Peter remind us that our God works on an entirely different timeline than us. ‘But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ (2 Pet. 3:8) Now that should make us put on our thinking caps. (smile) And furthermore, as Peter continues: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (2 Pet. 3:9) 

That explains why we’re not consumed but receive new mercies and compassions every day. If the Lord wasn’t long-suffering, that’s patient, we would have been destroyed long ago. So please let’s give much thanks that patience is one of His many virtues. And I think that these words from Jeremiah in his Lamentations is a wonderful scripture to close on. ‘The Lord is my portion, saith my soul: therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:24-26) 

Now friends, there’s absolutely no way we can doubt those scriptures because they are the indisputable truth of God’s word. So please, let’s get ourselves together nuh, for our sakes and those of our children, and begin truly believing in what we read and waiting patiently on God’s timing, because He always has what’s best for us. There’s absolutely no doubt about that! And in keeping with all that we’ve said today, let’s go to our wonderful God in prayer, right now nuh, letting Him know our wants and desires through our Monday Morning battle Hymn. 

As one strong and confident but humble 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 time to show our sincerity by living the way we promised…provided we want to receive a positive answer from God. Much LOVE!

…living this earthly life is very simple…simply obey God…and leave all the consequences to him… (Uncle Charles – Dr. Charles Stanley)                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

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

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