Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 January 2016 John 3:16

24 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

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

John 3:16.    For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Oh Friends, just as day follows night, so does Sunday follow Saturday, and yesterday was Saturday, which means that today is Sunday. Oh what excellent reasoning my brethren, worthy of our favourite fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes! (smile) 

And since it’s Sunday, the Lord’s Day, then we should be preparing to go to church and worship, give thanks and praise with other believers to our wonderful Creator because that is His desire. 

So let’s not dilly-dally in performing our duty nuh, raising up all kinds of feeble excuses, which we full well know don’t hold water, but merely reflects our laziness and lack of godliness. 

Now friends, going to church is not merely our duty, it is also a means of upliftment for us, of encouragement, of strengthening our faith and keeping us steadfast and true and on the right track, the straight and narrow one. 

And let me remind us that whatever God desires of us, it’s not for His benefit, but for ours. He doesn’t really need anything that we have, but we do need a lot of what He possesses. 

Consequently, I shouldn’t have to badger us to go to church. And I’ll stop it right now. (smile) But if you don’t go, you’ll never know the beautiful soulful experience that comes from worshipping God as a body of believers.  End of sermon. 

Instead, here is some wisdom from our friend Anselm who always tries to inspire us for a better tomorrow. This quote wisely declares that ‘Someone who is worthy of your LOVE will never put you in a situation where you feel you must sacrifice your dignity, your integrity, or your self-worth to be with them.’ 

And that’s oh so true my people. Anyone who wants, or expects you to compromise your truthful and godly character is definitely not worthy of your LOVE! They definitely are not friends or LOVED ones, just users, only interested in their own selves and/or desires. So anytime that kind comes around you, just ignore them and move on. 

And if they put up a fuss, just let them know that you already have truer and more important personages who sincerely care about you, as so passionately and powerfully declared in our Bit. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ 

Yes my fellow believers, once you have the Holy Triumvirate in your corner, you don’t need anyone else, especially selfish, uncaring human beings. Please remember that in whatever situation you might find yourself, you and the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit always constitutes a majority, and that there is NO circumstance that you all can’t successfully handle together! 

Now let’s continue looking at some scripture that confirms and upholds our Bit.  And we’ll begin with Bruh Paul’s second message to the Thessalonians. ‘Wherefore he (God) called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or by our epistle. 

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath LOVED us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish (establish) you in every good word and work.’ (2 Thess.2:14-17) 

Oh friends, what uplifting and edifying words! Words for us to hold on to, to write indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls! 

And here are a couple of scholarly explanations. ‘2:14. By our gospel (see Rom.10:17): “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ He is here referring to the oral communication of the gospel; what we hear brings about faith. ‘2:15. Traditions…taught refers to more than customs. In view here is the totality of the apostolic doctrine as it was given to them.’ 

Now I’d be rather amiss and falling down in my duty if I didn’t share this most interesting explanation of ‘Tradition’ by the scholars. 2:15. The word tradition literally means “a giving over by word of mouth or writing.” It refers to teachings handed down from one person to another. Tradition is not in and of itself wrong; it is only wrong when opposed to the Word of God. 

In the early church, good tradition was the principal means of Christian instruction (Luke 1:2). Paul used this word to describe his teachings, especially at Corinth and Thessalonica (v.15; 3:6). False tradition ends up as heresy or apostasy (renunciation of a religious faith). 

Illustration: The religious leaders of Jesus’ day erred in placing the traditions of men above the Word of God (Matt.15:1-9).  In contrast, Luke sifted through existing records and apparently interviewed witnesses in writing an inspired record to instruct Theophilus  in the faith (Luke 1:1-4). 

Application: Christians need to sit under the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, but when the content conflicts with the Scriptures, the teaching of men should be disregarded for the certain truth of the Bible. (First Ref. Matt.15:2; Primary Ref. 2 Thess. 2:15; cf. 2 Tim. 2:15).’  

Oh friends, we on a roll! (smile) And I do hope that you appreciate the lengths the ole fella is going to, to give us all a better understanding of God’s Word, for if we don’t understand it, then how can we obey it eh? And for your benefit, I suggest that you look up the references mentioned, to make sure they make sense. (smile) I did before I wrote them down. 

And now, may the Lord God bless and safely keep us all, grant us His unmatchable wisdom and unsurpassable peace, as we go about today to do His bidding! Much LOVE!

…when circumstances go against God’s Word…we ought to obey God…rather than men…and be ready to suffer the consequences… (Acts 5:29)

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 July 2012 Acts 5:29

30 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Acts 5:29.    Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God, rather than men.
 
Oh my people, my people, it’s a beautiful Monday morning! So let’s rise and greet it with joy nuh; the joy of our great God, from whence comes our strength! And I have to chuckle at the amount of moans, groans, excuses and inappropriate language I receive in response. But Friends, Monday is a day like any other, it just happens to be the day we return to work after a couple days off and we tend to feel lethargic and lazy to get back into the crazy, slave-like workweek routine. That makes it an unalterable fact, so we might as well just learn to like it, or at least try and live it productively, instead of casting that negative net over it, as we’ve been conditioned to do. And the first step we’re going to take to bring it into a positive and productive pattern is to sing a wonderful, loud and lively rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. So altogether now, let’s banish those Monday blues with joyful praise to our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God. ‘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!’ Yes Friends, if we don’t get right into God and His Word as soon as we get up, especially on a Monday morning, the enemy will likely creep in and set the wrong tempo and thus spoil our day, which we obviously don’t want to happen. And now we’ll turn our attention to our Bit: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God, rather than men.’ Oh my brethren, that’s where the believer’s earthly walk has to all start from; obeying our Supreme Maker and not the creation of His hands. For if we keep on obeying men, our world is just going to sink deeper in the mire of greed, selfishness and evil that’s now got it by the throat in a deadly stranglehold. We believers are very guilty of standing idly by while the wicked have their way with God’s world and His people. It’s time we stop doing that and stand up to them Friends, else Christ’s Church runs a real risk of slowly fading into oblivion. And that’s something we definitely can’t afford to let happen. What a great disappointment it would be to Jesus, after giving up so much for us. No Friends, we need to be strong and stand up to the wicked man, who is trying to remove God from our society. We can take an example from the apostles who had much more to lose than we do in those days of unrest and serious persecution of Christ’s Church. The whole thing started after Peter and John healed a lame man by the temple. When the Jewish elders found that out, they took the apostles to task, asking: ‘By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them…Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole… Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:7-8, 10, 12) We all know that’s gospel truth Friends, but how many of us have the parts to proclaim it unashamedly like the apostles eh? Too many believers today suffer from a combination of shame, fear and lethargy when it comes to proclaiming the Word of God, that’s why Christ’s Church is in such sad shape. The early believers both literally and figuratively laid their lives on the line to proclaim the gospel, but we who have much less to fear, are afraid to do so. Just imagine the guts it took for Peter and John to talk back to the Jewish council when they told them to stop preaching Christ crucified. ‘Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’ (Acts 4:19-20) Yes Friends, that took plenty B. B and B for lowly, uneducated folk to talk to the powerful council in such a disrespectful manner. But all the council could do was threaten them again, then release them, ‘finding nothing how (for which) they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.’ (Acts 4:21)  Oh mih fellow believers, that’s what happens when we go out and diligently and sincerely do God’s work: the people see and believe and glorify the Father! And that’s our main purpose here on earth. But unfortunately we’re not doing a very good job at it at all. We either preach one thing then do something completely different, which leads the people to believe we’re hypocrites like the Jewish elders in Jesus’ time, or we just do nothing at all and allow the wicked to take over. Both approaches are totally unacceptable my Friends, which means we have to change our habits if we want to successfully bring others to Jesus. And we’ll end with some wise advice from Peter: ‘And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy (blessed) are ye: and be not afraid of their terror (threats), neither be troubled. But sanctify (set apart) the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer (a defence) to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (reverential awe).’ (1 Pet.3:13-15) Oh Friends, please let’s follow that wise and wholesome advice nuh, so that we can truly do our bounden duty, seriously affect the lives of others and bring them to belief in Jesus. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Much LOVE!…if we obey God to the best of our ability…then man won’t have any hold or sway over us…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 July 2012 Acts 5:29

29 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Acts 5:29.     Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Oh Friends, another glorious morn is preparing to come up over the distant horizon. Soon the Sun will be blazing forth in all its glory and majesty, just like the SON will do when He returns. In the meanwhile though, His true followers must reflect His light in a world so badly affected by the darkness that is evil. Jesus said: ‘Ye are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:14,16) Therefore, in this evil world, Christians are to shine like a bright beacon on a hill in a dark, stormy night, so that weary travellers will be safely guided in their long, dangerous, earthly journey and finally end up at a place of rest, comfort, caring and peace. A place called the everlasting, ever-LOVING arms of Jesus. Yes Friends, we believers ought to be perceived by the unbelievers as guiding lights in a dark, destructive and wicked world! And here’s a quote by the famous Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) that wisely and rightly endorses Jesus’ contention. ‘Life is not a “brief candle.” It is a splendid torch that I want to make burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.’ Gospel truth Friends, gospel truth! I guess we can compare it to the passing of the torch in the Olympic Games, the current edition of which is now taking place in England. Many of you must have seen the lavish opening ceremonies two days ago. I never planned to watch it, but the Lord in His mysterious ways had me do so. I had taped a football game and when I went to watch it, lo and behold the opening ceremony of the games jumped out at me. Obviously I was a bit perturbed, figuring that the football game had been bypassed for the ceremony, so I watched it. Now it was indeed a good show, but after writing the Bit that day about all the hunger, poverty, pain and the many other negatives in our world crying out for money, I was somewhat angered by it all. But we’ll leave that alone, for all the big, expensive, waste of time festivals that only enrich the already rich, don’t sit well with me. Anyway, the billion dollar question (a million is too small now) is how do we begin to shine that light of Jesus, so that we can pass that bright torch to future generations? Well, we’ve got to start with the principle laid out in our Bit: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ Yes mih people, all our good intentions are of no use until we actually begin obeying God’s sound principles and not the selfish, greedy, evil ones of man. We saw how the apostles put the Jewish council in their place when they told them to stop preaching Christ. Another excellent example of that is Daniel and his friends. When the Jewish teens were brought to Babylon and enrolled in a training programme to convert them to the Chaldean image, the young men refused to eat food offered up to idols or pray to the heathen gods. The Good Book tells us: ‘But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat (delicacies), nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.’ (Dan.1:8) Oh my people, how many of us today have the parts to stand up to the world’s evil and refuse to bow to their wickedness and idolatrous ways? Not sufficient of us I believe, otherwise our world wouldn’t be in such a sad state. But here’s what happens when we do. ‘Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender LOVE (sympathy) with the prince of the eunuchs.’ (Dan.1:9) Yes Friends, when we’re prepared to stand up faithful and strong for God, He will help us in whatever we’re going through. Remember that promise to never leave or forsake us. (Heb.13:5) Daniel and his friends chose to eat vegetables and drink water rather than the idol offered food of the king, and they ended up looking better than all the others in the programme. The Good Book also declares: ‘As for these four children (young men), God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning (literature) and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.’ (Dan.1:17) Praise the Lord Friends! He blessed the young men so that they were the fairest and brightest amongst the lot, and could therefore go forth into the heathen world and proclaim His glory. We know how three of the four were thrown into the fire and came out untouched, not even smelling of smoke. They had previously told king Nebuchadnezzar about their God saving them from the fire. ‘But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.’ (Dan.3:18) Oh mih bredden, it certainly took plenty B, B, and B, (balls, belly and backbone) for those young men to talk like that to an absolute monarch, one who could do whatever he desired with them. Likewise Daniel, when the jealous leaders plotted to have him thrown into the lion’s den for continuing to pray to his God despite the king’s decree. Daniel just kept right on believing in, following and praying to the God of his fathers. (Dan.6:10) And when he was finally thrown into the lion’s den, the Lord shut the lions mouth and he came out completely unharmed. (Dan.6:14-23) Oh Friends, such is the power of our omnipotent God! Remember that nothing is impossible for Him, and if we faithfully worship and obey Him, He will work wonders in our lives. Note how He used Daniel over some sixty years to bring three heathen kings to their knees and acknowledge His supremacy. ‘Then king Darius wrote unto all the people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men (must) tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He deilvereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power (paw) of the lions.’ (Dan.6:25-27) And all God’s people raised a mighty shout of ‘Amen!’ to heaven. Much LOVE my people!…when we stand up for Jesus…He will also stand up for us…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 July 2012 Acts 5:29

27 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Acts 5:29.    Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! And all God’s people released a tired but grateful sigh as they mouthed: ‘Thank God is Friday yes!’ They have been looking forward to this day and the weekend of no labour, from since Monday morning as they left home to go to work. And unfortunately the constant mental, emotional and physical pressure of going to work for those five days has taken a toll on them. But Friends, I’m here to buoy and calm our spirits so that we don’t get too lethargic or too effervescent over the next couple of days. And we’ll start doing that by chanting our Friday Chant with as much gusto as we can muster. All together now, in one loud, prayerful voice: ‘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.’ Yes Friends, I know that some of you have it fairly rough, having young children to look after before work, then fight the traffic to work and deal with all sorts of emotional and physical situations there, then fight the traffic back home and look after your families again. Some of you work even harder at home on the weekends, cleaning up and preparing for the following week, than you do at the job that hopefully pays you a living wage. But don’t worry my people, the Lord sees all your efforts and eventually you will be well rewarded, if you don’t give up. Just remember that living for Jesus is not an easy lifestyle, but it certainly is interesting and oftimes adventurous, cause we never know what’s the next situation He’s going to throw up before us. Remember too, that whatever He brings us to, He will also bring us through it, if we allow Him to lead and guide us. This brings us to our Bit: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ And that my friends is gospel, gospel truth! Believers ought to obey the dictates of God if they seriously conflict with the dictates of men. And why is that? Simply because the law of God is higher than that of men. God is our Creator, Controller and Provider, while man is merely flesh and bones and cannot create or control most of the stuff around him. Our Bit gives us a perfect example of upholding God’s law over man’s. The apostles had been preaching Christ crucified and risen in the temple at Jerusalem, with great crowds gathering to listen and many being saved. This obviously did not sit well with the Jewish leaders, so they dragged the apostles off to jail, warning them to stop preaching Christ. But please remember my brethren that our God is the greatest Being in the universe, and when you’re doing His work nothing is impossible. Consequently, as the Good Book notes: ‘But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning and taught.’ (Acts 5:19-21a) Yes mih people, our God does move in mysterious ways, His sovereignty to show and glorify! So later on, when the elders, gathered together in the council chambers, sent for the apostles, they couldn’t be found in the prison, though all the gates and other security measures, including the keepers were perfectly all right and in place. And isn’t it strange that the elders who were supposed to be such godly and righteous beings doubted the situation. It just shows how little they really knew about or trusted God. But in the midst of their disbelief, someone came into the chamber and told them: ‘Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.’ (Acts 5:25) Now can you imagine the anger, rage and disbelief that must have gone through that hypocritical bunch of council members? But good for them, they were smart enough to tread softly: ‘Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them (the apostles) without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.’ (Acts 5:26) It makes me chuckle Friends, because in the final analysis, in spite of all their big talk, the council was afraid of the people, so they made sure that the apostles were taken without any fuss. And when they’re finally brought before the council, the high priest pompously declares: ‘Did we not straitly (strictly) command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.’ (Acts 5:28) That’s when the apostles put them in their place, told them where to get off. In the words of our Bit, they solemnly declared: ‘We ought to obey God rather than man.’  Oh Friends, that’s how we believers ought to act when we’re threatened or challenged by a secular power, or even a wrong, hypocritical religious one, re speaking the Word of God! And we’ll end with a brief explanation of our Bit by the scholars. ‘Peter is not sanctioning civil disobedience, as he makes clear in his first epistle (1 Pet.2:13-17; cf. Rom:13:1-7). We are to obey the civil government; but when it goes contrary to the explicit commands of God, we must obey God and be ready to suffer the consequences.’  Yes my people, if we’re to truly follow Jesus, then there will inevitably be consequences to pay, some light, but also harsh and difficult ones. However, we must always have that faith, that depth of feeling, that whatever the consequences, we will gladly pay them. In Jesus’ name. Amen. More on this tomorrow Friends, if God’s willing. Till then, please walk safely under His protective umbrella, proclaiming His holy name wherever we go, and willingly accepting whatever consequences come our way. Much LOVE!…whatever beliefs we hold…there will always be consequences to pay for holding them…