Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 December 2021 John 14:18.

30 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 14:18.     I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.

And it’s another one of those SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) inducing days, with a ballooning Omicron virus adding the finishing touches, as if we need any more problems in this already problem filled world! That’s why we need Jesus so badly in these turbulent times! Yes friends, the Only Begotten Son is the ONLY One who can promise us sustenance and succour in these ungodly times, and faithfully keep that promise. 

And we need to use His Word, His promises to boost our self-confidence and help us retain our sanity. Words like: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it! My God will supply all of my needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus! If God be for us who can be against us eh? NOBODY! Yes mih bredrin, if the One and Only True Living God is for us, not a single soul can be against us! Consequently, we can then declare: ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!’ 

But we need to believe it all, to feel it in every fibre of our being! Especially this all-encompassing verse: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ (Rom. 8:28) Oh, it does sound like a tough verse to believe, but it’s the basis of everything in our faith, knowing that despite the trials and tribulation we will endure in this evil world, that eventually the Lord will work it all out for our good! 

Wow! What other deity can make that faithful promise eh? NONE! None whatsoever! Only the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! I know that some of us unwittingly come to Christianity as an easy go, as a Sunday evening walk in the park, but that’s the furthest thing from the truth my people. Did Jesus have an easy walk in the park when He came to earth to save us from our sins and reconcile us to the Father? 

Absolutely not! They gave Him a terrible time, ranging from disbelief, to slander, to physical punishment, and finally crucifixion, and anyone, who decides to take up their cross and follow Him will inevitably find struggles and possibly persecution, just like He did. Please remember these fateful words of Jesus, for they are the foundational authority to discipleship. 

‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.’ (Matt. 16:24-27) 

Yes my fellow believers, that’s what we have to look forward to if we sincerely follow Jesus. And it’s a promise that seems will be soon fulfilled the way our world is showing many of the signs Jesus gave for His second coming. But soon with us and soon with God, are too entirely different things. Peter tells us that ‘one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ (2 Pet. 3:8) Now the early church thought that Jesus would soon return, but in our view, two thousand years have passed and He’s still not come back. However, that could simply be because to the Lord that’s only two days. (smile) 

But please don’t be fooled, Christ’s return could happen at any time, that’s why He warned: ‘But of that day an hour knoweth  no man, no not the angels of heaven, But my Father only… Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come…Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24:36, 42, 44) 

Oh my brethren, regardless of what signs we see or think we see, only the Father knows when the Son is going to return, that means we must be prepared, be ready for His Second Coming at any moment. That’s what those verses above are saying: ‘Be prepared!’ Are we prepared? Now that’s the big question. How many of us have set our house in order and are ready for if Jesus comes back today? 

Remember they also say He can come as a thief in the night, (1 Thess. 5:2) that’s unexpectedly, at any time, day or night, today tomorrow or even another two thousand years from now. But the important thing is for believers to be in a constant state of readiness for whenever that marvellous occasion happens, because we know, are very sure, that it will happen eventually, just not exactly when. 

And the wonderful thing about Jesus is that just like He promised before He went back to heaven, He has faithfully done: ‘And I shall pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever… I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:16,18) And at that first Pentecost after His ascension, (Acts 2:1-4) He did indeed send the Holy Ghost to indwell all believers, to keep us safe, to lead and guide us in the direction He desires, that is, provided we are willing to listen and abide by the guiding of the Holy Spirit. 

Thus my fellow saints, the ball is now in our court! And our Jesus is ever so wonderful that He’s bestowed all kinds of blessing on those who believe that they can do His earthly work. And what a potent and plentiful set of blessings they are! We call them our Thursday Blessings, and since a blessing is not a blessing until it is declared out loud, let’s declare them right now nuh. 

Altogether, in strong and sincere voice. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! 

I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

MamaYo! What a magnificent set of blessings my faithful brethren! It now behooves us to put them to work in our lives and share them with others just as generously as Jesus shared them with us! Much LOVE!

…and, lo…I am with you always…even unto the end of the world… (Matt. 28:20b) 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   20 December 2021 Psalm 60:11.

20 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 60:11.     Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 

Come on friends, time to roll out and get on with the Monday morning show! The real winter season seems to be finally here, with temps now consistently in the minus category, that means we need to give ourselves some extra time to warm up the cars and ourselves. We can’t be late for work…Jesus was never late for anything, (smile) and as His ambassadors we need to aim for the same heights of diligence and excellence. And I’m only partially joking, because Jesus does want His people to be upstanding and excellent representatives of His kingdom. 

On the other hand though, the traffic might not be as bad as it normally is, since a lot of people might be returning to work from home situations, or have no work at all, because of the new Covid-19 regulations handed down this past week, in an effort to stem the crazy spread of the Omicron variant, which they say might not be as dangerous as its forerunners, but spreads more quickly than them. Whatever our situation though my brethren, we must all be diligent and aware and take the necessary precautions to keep us safe, because this virus doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon, what with all the confusion and disagreement over what it is and how to stem its tide. 

But on an interesting note, a little while ago I was looking through the psalms for something to talk about today and hit upon what I believe is a rather appropriate comparison to our current situation. It’s a situation found in Psalm 60 – A prayer for help against the foe. It seems while Bruh David was doing battle in the north, other enemies attacked in the south, so he had to split up his army and send his mighty warrior Joab to deal with the situation down there. And these were some of the words Bruh David voiced. ‘O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered (broken) us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again (restore us again). (Ps. 60:1) 

And there is ample reason to believe that God is very displeased with us right now and has left us to fight our battles on our own as we so adamantly desired. What with all the sinfulness, ungodliness, irreverence and blasphemy raging all over the world, why should that surprise us. And Bruh David continues: ‘Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.’ (Ps. 60:2) 

Now there is absolutely no doubt that the Lord has made the earth to tremble in the last few years. Please note the unusual amount of earth trembling and shattering things like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and tornadoes during that time, and also the unusual intensity of them all. And only through God’s mighty hand can the resulting breaches be healed. 

But I like the next verse, as Bruh David shows his prowess also with words. He says: ‘Thou hast showed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment (staggering).’ (Ps. 60:3) Oh friends, has the Lord ever showed us hard things and made us to drink the wine of astonishment! So many tough situations have come upon us recently, not to mention the ongoing Covid virus pandemic, the numerous strife-filled areas of our world, with more coming on board every day. 

Don’t talk about the famines and droughts, the economic disasters, the worldwide poverty in the face of untold wealth and all the inhumanity we are showing to each other. I don’t know if there’s ever been a time when the saying, ‘man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn,’ has ever been truer. 

And I know that many of us don’t think that the Lord has anything to do with the terrible state our world is currently experiencing, but I think that’s a fool’s wisdom. He might not be causing some of the disasters, but He’s surely not putting forth His hand to help us the way we expect Him to. And what else can we expect when we don’t reverence Him and obey His commandments eh, but are instead desperately trying to rid our society of His name and memory? 

But yuh know what, Bruh David despite all his problems and his laments over them, knew exactly on which side his bread was buttered, on the Lord’s side. That’s why he ended the psalm thus. ‘Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.’ (Ps. 60:11-12) And that’s the indisputable truth my fellow saints! Only God can right our world, and only if we acknowledge that He is our Creator and Controller, our God and heavenly Father, the One and Only True and Living God! 

What will it take for us to discover and acknowledge that our bread is buttered on His side eh? Look at the mess man has made and is still making of the world. Are we going to continue to put our trust in man’s evil ways, his greed and perfidy? That’s his deceptive ways, his duplicity and inability to keep promises. I certainly hope not. So, since there’s no time like the present to begin the turnaround, let’s go to fountain of life, that’s God, for help through prayer nuh, sincerely voicing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

Altogether now: ‘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 are serious and want positive answers to our prayers, then we must keep our promises, else the Lord will just ignore us. Much LOVE!

…to God be the glory…for His goodness to the children of men…who don’t seem to want or appreciate it…                                                                                                                                                           

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