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Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 March 2014 Isaiah 55:1

25 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: adventuresome, afflictions, alive and kicking, anger, apathy, assured, awesome wisdom, bad, bless God's Holy Name, blessed, buy and eat, call upon the Lord, christ's character, come to the waters, covenant, delight in abundance, diligent, dr robert h schuller, dread, engourage, everlasting, exhilarating, faith, faithful promises, faithfulness, false dead pretenders, fear, filled, forgiveness, free gift of salvation, free offer, frutiful and faithful plans of god, Gentiles, good, goodness, gospel truth, hearsay, Hour of Power, humbly praise, immortal words, into forever, invitation, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah 29:11, Jesus Christ, joy, leading and guiding, life with Jehovah god, light of Jesus Christ, long-winded, LOVE, magnanimous, mercy, negative emotions, negative things, no money, omnipotent god, one and only true God, our benefit, our Lord and Saviour, pain, paths of righteousness, personal experience, planet earth, promises, reaction to circumstances, reaction to problems, reflection, refresh your minds and souls, refreshing, refreshing attitude, righteousness., Romans 8:28, salvation, scriptures, seek the Lord, self-pity, semblance of peace, Sermon on the Mount, soul, spend money, spiritually hungry and thirsty, stand strong, steadfast, strife, take them in stride, tests, thirsty, to all and sundry, unfortunate situations, universal offer, unsatisfactory labour, ups and downs, walking with God, wisdom, wisdom from heaven, wise advice, with God's help, without money, without price, wonderful adventure

Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Oh Friends, through the great and tender mercy of our wonderful and omnipotent God, we’ve been blessed to see another beautiful day upon His exotic creation, Planet Earth!

And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Thank You Lord for bringing us through another dark, dreary and scary night into the bright, awesome and most refreshing and secure light of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! We humbly praise You and bless Your Holy Name! Amen.’

Yes mih people, when you’re walking with God, or at least faithfully trying to do so, your life becomes a wonderful adventure, filled with ups and downs, goodness and mercy, LOVE and forgiveness, good and bad, tests and afflictions!

But please know that it all works out to our benefit in the end, according to God’s fruitful and faithful plans for our lives, as entrenched in the promises of Jeremiah 29:11, and Romans 8:28. Please read those scriptures and refresh your minds and souls, so that you can stand strong and steadfast on them.

And to further encourage us, here is some very wise advice from Gramps Schuller – Dr. Robert H. Schuller – from his Hour of Power Devotional. ‘Learn to live by this refreshing attitude: “It’s not what happens to me that matters most; it’s how I react to what happens to me.”

And that my Friends, is the gospel, gospel truth! What happens to us is indeed important, especially when it involves stuff like pain, anger, strife and other negative things. But even more important is how we react to those circumstances.

We can take them in our stride, obviously with God’s help, and maintain some semblance of peace and/or joy in our spirits. Or we can just give in to self-pity, apathy, dread, fear, and all the other negative emotions that tend to bombard us when unfortunate situations occur.

And today we have a rather appropriate Bit that addresses that problem. ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’

Oh mih breddren, what a magnanimous and universal offer from our most marvellous God! That’s a free offer of mercy to ALL and SUNDRY!

There’s NO other supposed deity who has ever, or can ever offer such a wonderful gift to their believers, because they are not true deities, but false, dead pretenders, while the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, IS ALIVE AND KICKING! And kicking mightily too… right into forever!

Now here are some interesting comments from the scholars on our Bit and subsequent verses: ’55:1-7. God’s free gift of salvation is offered to all who will receive it. Those who are spiritually hungry and thirsty may come and eat and drink without money (or freely).

He promises an everlasting covenant to the Gentiles like the one He established with Israel. His invitation to all men is clearly stated by the appeal, Seek ye the Lord, and call ye upon him.’

Oh Friends, it’s so sad when people deliberately choose not to follow Jehovah God, for they know not what they are missing! Doing life with Jehovah God is a most exhilarating, refreshing and adventuresome experience… and this not hearsay, but personal experience!

That’s because you never know what He’ll be up to next, but you do know, you’re completely assured that whatever happens, He’s walking with you, leading and guiding you along paths of righteousness, working you into a reflection of Christ’s character, all for His Name’s Sake. Wow!

And though the road may be rocky and rough, there’s faith in your heart, based on His faithful promises, that eventually things will be fine.

And I like how Isaiah continues after our Bit: ‘Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance).’ (Is.55:2)

Ah mih people, what a wonderful invitation! And there’s a lot more to say, but since I’m endeavouring to keep the Bit short and sweet we’ll end shortly with some immortal words from Jesus.

And please don’t ever think that I don’t try to keep it short, but sometimes that’s how the Spirit leads me, or there just isn’t enough to spread over two days, plus the fact that I’m just naturally long-winded. (smile)

Anyway, here are Jesus’ immortal words on the subject, which come from the Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt.5:6)

Oh my fellow believers, another faithful promise for us to stand on! So please let’s stand on it, today and everyday, and thus be filled with righteousness, every day of our lives!

That’s awesome wisdom – wisdom that can only come from heaven! Much LOVE!

…to seek…to seek… and yet to find God…in His everlasting mercy and forgiveness…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 March 2014 Psalm 31:1

24 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: ailments, ashamed, aura of love, Babylon, Beelzebub, blessings, bow down, Bruh David, character, cheer in our hearts, Christ died for the ungodly, confidence, cry of anguish, cry out to God, deny, enemies, enthusiasm, experience, faith, faithfully, faithfulness, fear, fellow believers, fellowship, forgiveness, forsaking, glory, harmoniously, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, invincible, Israel, Jesus Christ, justification, living truth, LOVE of God, loving kindness, moaning and groaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Oh Lord God Almighty, omnipotent god, patience, perseverance, promise, Psalm 22, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, righteous man, righteousness., sincere faith, sinners, slave for Massa, song of praise, spiritual armour, spring, steadfast faith, surrender our all, take refuge, take the bull by the horns, tribulations, trust, ungodly world, weary souls, worthwhile inroads

Psalm 31:1. In thee O Lord, do I put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

Oh Friends, at long last spring has finally sprung in the northern climes! But sadly, that’s only on the calendar, not in reality. Last Thursday, March 20, was the first official day of spring and there were a couple of half-decent days where the weather was above freezing – but just barely though. Now it’s gone back to minus figures.

But what to do eh? Nothing but grin and bear it, especially on this Monday morning… Oh yes mih people, it is Monday! Sorry, I forgot to inform you of that most important situation. (smile) But I’m only human and cannot remember everything.

And you know if it’s Monday, then you have to get up and go out to slave for massa in this new Babylon, so you can earn a few pennies to keep life and limbs together. So let’s stop all the moaning and groaning and just get with the programme, since there’s nothing much we can do about it.

And as always, we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to give us strength, to raise our faith and get the adrenalin flowing. So let’s put a smile on our faces, some cheer in our hearts and sing loudly, proudly and harmoniously.

All together 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!’

Now that wasn’t so hard was it? So let’s do our do, then get out into the evil world that surrounds us and give those followers of Beelzebub, heck; kill them with LOVING-kindness, as Jesus desires of us. (smile)

Oh Friends, on a serious note though, the days are indeed getting harder and rougher, and many of us are losing hope. But that is not a real option, for we have an omnipotent and most magnanimous God in whom we can put our utmost trust.

As Bruh David so faithfully declared in our Bit long ago, when he cried out in anguish to the God of our fathers: ‘In thee O Lord, do I put my trust (take refuge); let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.’

And we saw yesterday, as we went through the psalm, how God faithfully delivered him from his enemies, his physical and emotional ailments. Now why wouldn’t He do the same for us if we call out to Him in sincere faith eh? No reason whatsoever? So please don’t be afraid to cry out to God at any time at all, just remember to do it in sincere faith.

And today, we’ll look at a few scriptures that enhance and corroborate our Bit, beginning with some more words from Bruh David from Psalm 22; a cry of anguish and song of praise. He wondered why the Lord was forsaking him, since he was crying out, both day and night without any answers, (vs.1-2)

Then he remembered and changed His speech: ‘But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel/ Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded (ashamed). (Ps.22:3-5)

Oh my fellow believers, that’s the living truth! Followers of God are never ashamed once they truly trust and believe in Him!

Now hear Isaiah as he promised that Israel would be restored to Zion. ‘And kings shall be thy nursing fathers (foster fathers), and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.’ (Is.49:23)

What a monumental promise my brethren! And the good news is that our great and wonderful God CAN, and DOES, keep ALL His promises!

And since I promised myself to keep this Bit as short as possible, (smile) we’ll end with one more scripture, one from Bruh Paul, one we all know, where he talks about the results of justification.

‘And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience (produces perseverance); And patience, experience (character); and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (has been poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given for us.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time (at the right time) Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure (perhaps) for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (demonstrates his own) LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.’ (Rom.5:3-8)

And that says it all my brethren! And it’s surely significant that that scripture was one of the readings at church yesterday morning! So let’s take the bull by the horns this Monday morning, BE NOT ASHAMED, and get out there and do faithful and strong battle in Jesus’ name, knowing that He has our back! Much LOVE!

…but whosoever shall deny me before men…him will I also deny…before my Father which is heaven… (Matt.10:33)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 March 2014 Psalm 78:38

20 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a limited mindset, act positively, affirmation, affliction, anger, asaph, barrier breaker, beautifully, belief, believe it to see it, blasphemed, bountifully, break free, capacity for forgiveness, compassion, Controller, Creator of the universe, destiny, destroyed them not, disobedience, do battle in Jesus' name, don't be foolish, ear to hear, enlarge my vision, evil society, experience god's favour, extreme weather patterns, forgiveness, furnace of affliction, give the Lord a shout of praise, God is deserving of praise, God's fulfilling his purpose, God's glory, good to be alive, goodness, gospel truth, grateful, heed the warning, I am also the last, I am the first, idols, in every area of my life, iniquity, Isaiah, Israel, jehovah god, Joel Osteen, John Hagee, learning the lesson, LOVE, loving kindness, man-made gods, marvels, mercy, miracles, negativity, Nth degree, omnipotent god, pay a substanial price, potential, praise, prayer, prayer of affirmation, profaned, Psalm 78, raise the level of belief in Jesus Christ, rebellion, reminder of god's goodness to Israel, righteousness., seeds of greatness, sinful, sinfulness, sing God's praises, talent, tested, Today is my day, uncontainable, ungodly, untold strife, vice-like grip, walking in God's holy will, warning, wicked, wicked world, wisdom, worship, wrath

Psalm 78:38. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

Oh Friends, neighbours, fellow believers and unbelievers, it sure is good to be alive! Especially when you wake up feeling bright and fresh and ready to do battle in Jesus’ name!

Wow! As Uncle John, John Hagee would say: ‘Give the Lord a shout of praise in the house of the Lord!’

And our God sure is deserving of much praise my people, for all the goodness and mercy He has bestowed, is currently bestowing and has faithfully promised to bestow in the future on those who sincerely LOVE and worship Him.

And I don’t know about anybody else nuh Friends, but I can only sing His praises and give Him much thanks for working so bountifully and beautifully in my life!

Today though, I want to share a prayer of affirmation I recently got from Bubba Joel, Joel Osteen. Those of you who deal with him, would probably have gotten it too, but it’s surely worthwhile sharing.

So please say, sincerely affirm with me that: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me.

Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision. Today, God is taking me places that I’ve never dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’

And all that is gospel truth my people! We just need to believe it, and then act positively on that belief!

Please note my brethren that almost everything in this life is about BELIEF! As they say, if you don’t believe it, you most likely won’t see it.

So mih breddren, let’s all raise the level of our belief in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ this Thursday morning nuh, so that we can see Him work His wonderful marvels and miracles in our lives.

And in keeping with the marvellous wonder and LOVING-kindness of our omnipotent God, let’s turn to our Bit, which shows His exceedingly great capacity for forgiveness.

‘But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.’

Oh my people, we had better be exceedingly grateful that the Lord has so far withheld the magnitude of His anger on this sinful, ungodly, wicked and evil society in which we now dwell.

But, unfortunately, we haven’t been learning the lesson, and we’re now seeing flashes of that anger in things like the extreme and inconsistent weather patterns that have been recently plaguing us, as well as the untold strife and negativity that has our world in its powerful, vice-like grip.

And please, please don’t be foolish and think that God doesn’t have a hand in it all, because HE IS the Creator and the ultimate Controller of EVERYTHING in the universe!

And just like Psalm 78, from the pen of Asaph, is a reminder of God’s goodness to Israel, please let this Bit be a reminder to us of God’s unfailing goodness and mercy when we were diligently and sincerely walking in His holy will.

Oh my brethren, do we truly want to feel the full wrath of our God? Definitely not! But we will eventually, if we continue in our wilful disobedience and rebellion, just like Israel did on several occasions when they turned away from worshipping Jehovah God and instead bowed down to man-made gods and idols.

And we’ll close with a serious warning from the Lord our God, given to Israel when He rebuked them through the testimony of Isaiah. ‘For my name’s sake will I defer (delay) mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain (restrain) for thee, that I cut thee not off (destroy thee not).

Behold, I have refined thee, but not with (as) silver; I have chosen (tested) thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted (profaned)? and I will not give my glory to another. Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.’ (Is.48:9-12)

Oh Friends, I desperately plead with us to heed that warning, because it also applies to us in our sinfulness today! Yes, our God will refrain from destroying us – but only for a time – NOT FOREVER! He couldn’t do that and still be true to His holy and just self.

Please note too, that He’s chosen the fire of affliction to test us through, and He has made it very clear that HE WILL NOT allow His holy name to be profaned, sullied, polluted and/or blasphemed. And above all, HE WILL NOT GIVE HIS GLORY to any other supposed god!

Please, let’s keep these things at the forefront of our minds today, and everyday, as we go out into the wicked world that surrounds us, and diligently endeavour to decrease that wickedness and increase righteousness, so that we will not have to endure God’s wrath.

That my people, is wisdom to the Nth degree! Much LOVE!

…he who who has an ear to hear…let him be wise and hear…else he will pay a substantial price for his disobedience…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 February 2014 Isaiah 9:16

10 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: all day long, anxious, apathetic, aura of love, babe in swaddling bands, be prepared, being destroyed, bounden duty, bow down, buffeted and bombarded, cause people to err, Christendom, church at Laodicea, cold winds, concentrate solely on Jesus, concerned about the opinions of others, confidante, confidence, conquerors, cool sea breezes, crooked, dark and threatening, deprive, desolation, destroyed, destruction, earthly choir, enthusiasm, eventually prevail, evil, evil and corrupt schemes, evil earth, evil minions, evil ungodly world, excitement, exude confidence, faith, fatherless, fearful, flee for help, further your glorious kingdom, get ready right now, gratitude, harmony, his anger is not turned away, his hand is streteched out still in justice, holy, holy spirit, humble servants, humbly ask, interest, invincible, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, justice from on high, keep that fire burning brightly in our souls, keeping lives and families together, lead and guide, Leaders, leads to heaven, leave your glory, level of excitement, lies, listless, living with and working for Jesus, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Lucifer, lukewarm, maority of the planet, meet the enemy in battle, memory, misfortune, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, mortal man, mounds of snow, omnipotent god, physical circumstances, power and majesty of Jesus, prey, prisoners, promised, punishment, refereshing, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, Second Coming of Christ, Second Coming of Jesus, selfish schemers, selflessly sacrificed, sin debt, sincere feeling, sinless life, spiritual armour, spunk, steadfast faith, straight and narrow path, suffering, surrender, tepid, the enemy's wicked taunts, the Lord's stand, the needy of justice, the slain, travesty of injustice, true friend of Jesus, unjust world, unrighteous decrees, visitation, warrior king, weary souls, widows, wiles, wisdom, Wonderful, workweek, worthwhile inroads

Isaiah 9:16. For the leaders of this people cause them to err: and they that are led of them are destroyed.

And now Friends, it’s another Monday morning, but one quite different to what I experienced and enjoyed last week. There is no open balcony, no more lush greenery overlooking a neatly coffered golf course, with cool sea breezes washing over me. Instead, it’s a closed basement, surrounded by mounds of snow, and cold winds blowing the down the avenue and the chimney.

Ah Lord eh! What a bam, bam! And though my physical circumstances have changed for the worse, my spirit has to pick up the slack and keep me moving on, keep me excited about living with and working for Jesus. Yes my brethren, that’s a big problem in Christendom, for its members are not as excited as they should be to have Jesus in their lives. Most of us are tepid, lukewarm, like Jesus said of the church at Laodicea. (Rev.3:15-16)

But after all the wonderful things He’s done, and is still doing for us, we can certainly show a little more enthusiasm than we’re currently doing. We’re too listless and apathetic, fearful and anxious, and more concerned about what others will say and do if we show too much excitement and interest in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the one who selflessly sacrificed His holy, sinless life to pay our large and abominable sin debt.

But Friends, when Jesus comes into our lives, excited is exactly how we ought to live, so that others can see, feel, and then greatly desire to catch the excitement we generate through Him. That’s the only way they will be convinced of His great importance in their lives. So this Monday morning, as the work week looms dark and threatening, let’s forget about that and concentrate solely on Jesus.

Let’s ratchet up the gratitude in our souls, and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with a whole lot of spunk, harmony and sincere feeling. As one big, tuneful, earthly choir, let’s sing: ‘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!’

Bravo, mih breddren, Bravo! That was great! And it ought to raise our level of excitement for Jesus. So let’s endeavour to keep that fire burning brightly in our souls all day long nuh, so that we can exude confidence and also show others how refreshing and wonderful it feels to be a true friend and confidante of Jesus, for truly, there’s nothing else in the world like it.

It’s completely different to what our Bit so sadly offers. ‘For the leaders of this people cause them to err: and they that are led of them are destroyed.’

Oh my brethren, Jesus doesn’t lead people astray and cause them to be destroyed. But right now that statement is very, very true about our leaders, and it’s our bounden duty to help it become much less so. Our current leaders seem to be just a bunch of crooked, selfish schemers, and under their evil and corrupt schemes the majority of the planet is suffering and slowly being destroyed. That includes both human beings and nature.

But my fellow believers, hear the Lord’s stand on the situation, as He makes it known through Isaiah. ‘Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness (misfortune) which they have prescribed. To turn aside (deprive) the needy from judgement (justice), and to take away the right (what is right) from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!’ (Is.10:1-2)

Oh Friends, we all see the great travesty of injustice and oppression being played out every day in our evil, unjust world! But rest assured it will not continue for ever, for the Lord has promised its destruction.

‘And what will ye do in the day of visitation (punishment), and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under (among) the prisoners, and they shall fall under (among) the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still (in judgement).’ (Is.10:3-4)

Ah mih people, have no fear, for justice from on high will eventually prevail. Our omnipotent God is not going to let Lucifer and his evil minions run roughshod over His beautiful creation for very long. So please be prepared. Get ready today, right now, for we know not when that justice will be delivered. But delivered it will be, through the Second Coming of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

And this time it won’t be as a babe in swaddling bands, but as a full grown, fierce and powerful warrior king, coming to claim what is rightfully His. But until He returns, we His followers need to keep His faith and memory strong by living the way He desires, and causing others to want to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour too.

So let’s get to it this Monday morning nuh! Let’s show the world the power and majesty of Jesus, by allowing His Holy Spirit that dwells within us, to lead and guide us along the straight and narrow path that leads directly to heaven. That’s wisdom for the ages! Much LOVE!

…to truly live for Jesus…is the most exciting thing a mortal man can do on this evil earth…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 January 2014 Isaiah 2:8

03 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 2014, acquire, ads, advertising people, ailment, alive and kicking, blockade, bow down, Bruh Paul, Canada, carefree style, celebratory mood, chains, cheap stuff, Christmas, Christmas bills, Christmas Season, closer to Jesus, common task, concentrate on, Counselor, curtain, daily grind, dead trees, fellow believers, fellowship, fighting, financial debt, flee, frame of mind, Friday chant, friends, frigid day, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, gnashing of teeth, gold and silver images, goldsmith, gospel truth, graven image, greatness, heavens, hit the ground running, Holy One, idolatry, idols, immortal, Isaiah, jesus name, kill ourselves, lord god, LOVE, majesty of the Lord, materialistic, merchants, moaning, more intimate with Jesus, nations are nothing, New Year, offering, omnipotent god, overwork, perishable, poor workers, practice what you preach, pray, race of life, relaxation, rest, sales, serious manner, sickness, silversmith, Spirit of the Lord, stress, strong in power, stupidity, tent to dwell in, TGIF!, Thank God it's Friday, things of God, things of the world, time to spend with God, touted, vanity, walk of faith, weekend, weeping, work of their own hands, work week, worship, worthless

Isaiah 2:8. Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.

Oh Friends, it’s Friday… And the cheering section cuts in: ‘Whoopee Dee! It’s Friday! Another short work week! Shout TGIF, brothers and sisters! Thank the Lord it’s Friday! For He’s looking down on us poor workers today!’

Ah mih people, the Lord is definitely looking down on us today, and everyday. And we have indeed been lucky to get two short work weeks in a row, because both Christmas and New Year’s Days fell in the middle of the week.

But please note that all across the goodly country of Canada, this Friday will be a frigid one, with whipping winds making it feel even colder. In my area the high is slated to be minus 12 Celsius. Imagine that nuh! Please dress very warm then, if you have to go out.

And all that good fortune of short work weeks, is over now. From henceforth we’ll have to work the full week for a while, before it’s bisected by a holiday. Hopefully, you haven’t become too accustomed to that holiday frame of mind, because this weekend is the last of the celebration period, then it’s back to the daily grind and common task.

So let’s wind down the celebratory mood by taking the weekend seriously, by getting back to basics, like chanting our Friday Chant in a serious and functional manner, rather than the carefree style that the Christmas season put in us. Therefore my fellow believers, in all seriousness, let’s chant.

‘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.’

Oh Friends, I do hope that brought us back down to earth. (smile) Because right from the start of this new year of 2014, we need to hit the ground running, running that serious race of life Bruh Paul talked about. (1 Cor.9:24-27) That means we have to get closer to and more intimate with Jesus, if we sincerely and seriously want to improve our walk of faith.

However my people, a significant blockade to that action exists in many of our lives, and it’s well put by our Bit. ‘Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.’

And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Because we do seem to be more interested in the perishable things of the world, than the imperishable ones of God. Look at all the stuff we kill ourselves, through stress, overwork and financial debt to acquire, especially in this just past Christmas season. Hn!

We fall for all the ads, the sales, the cheap stuff, even to the point of running over and fighting with our fellow humans over unimportant materialistic stuff. Yes my brethren, our world has definitely become too materialistic, and unfortunately a lot of believers get caught up in it.

Then they claim they don’t have the time to spend with God. Chuh! Just consider the great amount of weeping, moaning and gnashing of teeth that will occur at the end of the month when the Christmas bills come due. It’s like a sickness my people, we know it, but yet still we do it every year.

And I’m here to tell us that the ONLY WAY to recover from, to wipe out that dreaded ailment of wanting everything that’s touted by the merchants and the advertising people, things we certainly don’t need, and in many cases can’t afford, is by spending more time concentrating on the things of God, rather than those of man.

Remember too, the definition of an idol; ANYTHING that keeps us away from Almighty God. And the things of the world that we’re killing ourselves over, are definitely doing that!

Now here’s an interesting question. If each of us was asked what we’d prefer, the perishable things of man, or the immortal things of God, the majority of us would consider the question a no-brainer and choose the latter. However my people, our actual actions don’t correlate to that answer. So we’re obviously not practicing what we preach.

Anyway, let’s end by looking at some supportive scripture from Isaiah, as he talks of the majesty of the Lord. ‘Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor hath taught him?… All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity (worthless).

To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth (moulds) a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and (the silversmith) casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation (no such offering) chooseth a tree that will rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning (skilful) workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved (totter).

Have ye not known? have not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon (above) the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in….

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth (is missing).’ (Is. 40:13, 17-22, 25-26)

Yes my people, our omnipotent God created the entire universe without any help, and there is none that can match Him, in anything at all. Not the gold and silver images, the dead trees, all the material stuff we hunger and thirst after, for they are merely things, dead things to boot, created by a human hand.

How can you bow down to something that you’ve made eh? That’s stupidity in the height!

And the sooner we learn and understand that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the ONLY REAL DEITY in this world, ONE WHO IS ALIVE AND KICKING, the better off we’ll all be! Much LOVE!

…wherefore my dearly beloved…flee from idolatry… (1 Cor.10:14)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 December 2013 Ecclesiastes 12:14

19 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a part of the world, actions, almighty god, Amen, ask for, behold the sun, best interest, blessings, calamitous days, cautionary note, comparison, condemned, consciousness, constancy in prayer, constancy of weather, corrupt, cursed, day of judgement, days of darkness, deceitful world, decision, desired reults, divine guidance, doing godly stuff, embracing ungodly activities, encouraged, enemy, engulfed, enjoyment of life, enlist, enthused, evening, every work, evil, evil stuff, evil world, eyes, faithful, feeding connection, friends, futile life, futility, give account, gladness, good, good fruit, heavenly Father, hold out our hands, hopeful, Hour of Power, idle word, immortal words, insights, Jesus Christ, Jesus' desires, joy of the lord, joyful fellowship, joys, judged, judgement, judgement day, justified, lead us away, lifeblood, light, light is sweet, live for Jesus, living truth, LOVE, machinations, mistakes, moment of prayer, morning, mysterious ways, new day, new week, omnipotent god, pleasant thing, possibilities, prayer, prosper, puzzling, receive, rejoice, righteous, robert h schuller, sap our strength, secret thing, share, sink deeply, solve problems, sow seed, sown, stand the test, strong sensation, succeed, sunlight, sure of success, testing flames, the help of God, things of God, thwart, treasure of the heart, true believers, trust God, umbilical cord, upright in heart, vanity, wicked designs, wisdom, word of warning, workings, wrested

Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Oh Friends, wonder of wonders! It’s supposed to go up to 4 degrees above freezing with sunshine in my area today! Bubba! From minus temps during the last few days to plus temps today, then back to minus tonight. That’s going to cause much icing up, then freezing rain and possibly snow on the weekend.

What a mish mash of weather conditions! There’s just no constancy to it these days. But my people, there is constancy in prayer; the lifeblood of the faithful, of the true believers in Jesus Christ!

And here is a prayer I’ve been trying to include since the day we spoke of prayer being the umbilical cord, our feeding connection to Almighty God. It comes from Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, and says.

‘Father, I have a strong sensation that you brought me to this moment of prayer because you plan to share with me insights to solve my problems. So I will go out and face the sunlight of a new day and a new week crammed with undiscovered possibilities. I am encouraged! I am enthused! I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time! Amen.’

Yes Friends, I do hope that encouraged us some this morning, because in this cursed and evil world, we desperately need to build hope, encouragement and enthusiasm, if we’re going to live sincerely for Jesus. The world tries to sap our strength, energy and enthusiasm and lead us away from the things of God.

But we need to enlist the help of our God through prayer to thwart the evil stuff that comes against us. And right now, too many of us are still being a part of the world, involved in, and embracing its ungodly activities, instead of just being in it, doing godly stuff, as Jesus desires. And that is definitely not in our best interest. Why?

Because as our Bit so plainly states: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’

Yes my brethren, all our work will be judged by the Almighty at some stage, and it won’t go down well with the judge if our works were evil, were too tied up with the ungodly machinations of this ungodly world. So what are we to do then?

The Preacher wisely declares: ‘In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper (which will succeed), either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.’ (Eccl.11:6-7)

Yes Friends, since we don’t understand the mysterious ways and workings of our omnipotent God, and are never totally sure of success, we need to get involved in the good and godly things that life has to offer, and trust God to produce the desired results.

However, the preacher includes a word of warning here. ‘But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity (futility).’ (Eccl.11:8)

And isn’t that the living truth! Now here some notes from the scholars. ‘The comparison with light (v.7) speaks of the enjoyment of life (cf. Ps. 97:11).’

Ah mih people, I’m going to spoil us here by quoting that referenced scripture, since I know that very few of us will take the time to look it up. (smile) “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” (Ps.97:11)

Now getting back to the scholars’ notes. ‘Verse 8 adds a cautionary note to enjoyment that may be summarized in two ideas: (1) There will be many days of darkness, calamitous days. (2) All that cometh is vanity: That is, joys will not come easily, they must be wrested from a puzzling and futile life.’

And don’t we all know that my fellow believers! Real joy in this unstable and deceitful world is hard to come by, unless we are tied by that umbilical cord of prayer to our heavenly Father, and ask for and receive His divine guidance and blessings.

That’s why the Good Book so staunchly advises us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) For only when we have a joyful fellowship with the Creator and Controller of the universe, can we really be strong and thus resist the wicked designs of the enemy.

Oh Friends, I wish I could impart the true importance of all that we do on this pilgrimage down here on earth, because it’s going to make a substantial difference in our after-lives. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus, as He talks about good and corrupt fruit.

‘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.12:35-37)

Now those aren’t my words Friends, but the Master’s, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, so it is certainly reasonable to expect that He knows what He’s speaking about.

Oh my people, we can’t do much about what’s already passed, but we surely can do something about the days to come. Therefore my fellow believers, from today, RIGHT NOW, let’s try to get those immortal words of Jesus to sink deeply into our consciousness nuh, so that we can more closely watch our words and actions, thereby cutting down the mistakes we make, and consequently the judgement we’ll face, come that judgement day.

That’s wisdom at it’s highest and very best my brethren! Much LOVE!

…on that fateful day…our words and actions…will either stand the test…or they will be engulfed by the testing flames…the decision is ours to make…NOW…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 December 2013 1 John 1:9

03 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 2 Samuel, a believer's life, Absalom, abundance, adversity, Bathsheba, be wise, better example, blessed, Bruh David, chagrin, children of Ammon, Christians, civil war, cleanse, confess, consequences, despised, destroyed, disagreement, disobedience, disrepute, divine truth, dressed down, earthly and heavenly lives, essence of wisdom, ever-Loving, evil, evil leader, faith, faithful, faults, forgive, forgiveness, forgiving, good and proper, gospel truth, gracious, gross misconduct, hand of Saul, harsh judgements, house of Israel and Judah, hypocrites, in the sight of the sun, individual circumstances, integral parts, judgements, justice, light of jesus, Lord god of Israel, LOVE, loving kindness, Lucifer, lusting, merciful, mercy, nansi story, omnipotent god, perfect example, pilgrims, pity, plod on in faith, plotting, preach, promises, prophet Nathan, rebellion, rightousness, scriptural standards, secretly, sinful darkness, sinfulness, sins, strife, the Lord's commandment, the Word of Almighty God, trust, unfathomable, unrighteousness, unwanted, Uriah the Hittite, usually comes to light, what's done in darkness, wisdom, wise living

1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Aye mih bredden, I never expected these wonderful promises of our ever-LOVING, merciful, forgiving, gracious, omnipotent God to take up so many days nuh! And we’re only on the second one, with quite a few more to go through.

But that’s a-okay, because they are all very integral parts of our faith, of both our earthly and heavenly lives. And without them… Hn! I refuse to even think about that option, for in our serious sinfulness, we would have been destroyed long ago.

So please, let’s be wise and plod on in faith and trust as true pilgrims, as those promises teach us about the divine truth and wisdom contained in the Word of Almighty God. And today we’ll see the perfect example of our Bit, lived out in a believer’s life. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’

Yeh Friends, that perfect example of the real life working of our Bit is to be found in none other than Bruh David. 2 Samuel 11, tells us about his seeing the beautiful Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, lusting after her, lying with her, then plotting to have her husband killed in battle.

Most of the populace were none the wiser, but Almighty God saw his abominable sin and sought justice as is His wont. Remember that saying that what is done in darkness, is often brought to light. So in 2 Samuel 12, the Lord sends the prophet Nathan to Bruh David with some nansi story about a rich man having a visitor, and instead of killing one of his many sheep to serve his visitor, took the pet lamb of his neighbour.

Oh Friends, yuh see how our Lord can be even more devious than us when it’s called for. Now when Bruh David hears Nathan’s story, he’s furious at the rich man.

‘And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely (deserves to) die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ (2 Sam.12:5-6)

But can you imagine Bruh David’s chagrin when Nathan says to him: ‘Thou art that man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things (much more).

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.’ (2 Sam.12:7-9)

Yeh mih people, Nathan dressed down Bruh David real good and proper in the Lord’s name!

And as the scholars’ so rightly note: ’12:5-7. How easy it is to see the sins of others without applying the scriptural standards to ourselves (cf. Matt.7:3-5)! David called for the full weight of the law to be applied (cf. Ex.22:1)’

That last reference deals with the stealing of animals and the repayment. But the scholars’ statement is gospel truth! We’re always quick to pass harsh judgements on others, but never apply the same standards to ourselves, as Jesus points out in the first reference (Matt.7:3-5), quick to take the splinter from someone else’s eye, without removing the big beam from ours.

But sadly, the Lord wasn’t done with Bruh David, for Nathan continued with his rebuke. ‘Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil (adversity) against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ (2 Sam.12:10-12)

What a fiery dart to Bruh David’s heart mih breddren! And yuh better believe that the Lord was very serious.

For as the scholars’ tell us: ’12:10-11. These judgements came to pass literally in the sins of his own household (ch.13), the rebellion by his own son Absalom (ch.15), and the civil war that followed (chs.16-20). David was never to fully know rest again.’

Oh Friends, you can read those referenced chapters for yourselves and realize the truth of the scholars’ words. But thereafter, because of his gross misconduct, Bruh David was always embroiled in some sort of strife or disagreement, a lot of it within his own family.

It just goes to show my fellow believers that the Lord is very serious about His Word, re promises, and disobedience. Bruh David was king, and should have known better, especially since the Lord had blessed him so much, showered him with such worldly abundance and LOVING-kindness. A better example was expected from him.

Likewise, the Lord expects better examples from us, His adopted children. We can’t afford to preach one thing, then go out and do something entirely different, thus bringing disrepute upon the Lord and His righteousness.

Unfortunately though, we do it all the time, and that is why so many hold Christians up as the biggest hypocrites on the planet. And oftimes they are quite right.

So Friends, to day let’s sit down and consider our individual circumstances and see if there be any serious faults in us nuh. And if there be any, let’s immediately confess them to the Father, and sincerely ask for His mercy and forgiveness, for that is the very essence of wisdom and wise living.

So until we meet again tomorrow, the Lord in favour, let’s try our best to walk in the revealed light of Jesus, and not wallow in the sinful darkness associated with the world and Lucifer, its evil leader. Much LOVE!

…please remember that…disobedience ALWAYS brings…unwanted, unfathomable consequences…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 November 2013 Genesis 22:18

21 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Abraham, altar, aspect of scripture, be blessed, Bible, Bless His Holy Name, breath of God's Spirit, burnt offering, come again to you, command of God, descendants, diligently seek god, dreadful circumstance, earthly paradise, easy life, enlightening, ever-faithful God, exuberance, faith, faithful, fear God, fire and wood, flying colours, forefather Abraham, forgiveness, glory, go yonder, grace, help, hot and bothered, inanimate bodies, increase our faith, Isaac, Jehovah-Jireh, lamb, lay not thine hand, living, LOVE, loving beings, loving kindness, mercy, mirror image, Moriah, nations of the earth, obeyed my voice, omnipotent god, ponder, praise, promises of God, rewarder, seed, slay, Son, stretched forth his hand, supreme faithfulness, survival, sustaining faith, telling moment of faith, test, the breath of life, the Good Book, the Lord in favour, the Lord will provide, troubled and ungodly times, trust, underestimated, uplifting, wilderness, wonderful god, worship

Genesis 22:18. And in thy seed (descendants) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s another beautiful day in God’s earthly paradise! Wow! What a wonderful God we serve and worship, my people!

And all God’s children gratefully and joyously declared: ‘Yes! Our God is indeed great! He’s full of grace, mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness! There’s no other like Him! Let’s praise and bless His Holy Name! Amen.’

And so we should my fellow believers, for our God is indeed worthy of our praise and glory!

Anyhow, without further ado, let’s get right into our Bit, because there’s lots of scripture to be had on this last message, re the promises of God to our forefather Abraham. ‘And in thy seed (descendants) shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.’

So why did the Lord reinforce this promise to Abraham again eh? We’ll let the Good Book tell the story.

‘And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt (test) Abraham and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou LOVEST, and get thee into the land of Moriah: and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass (donkey), and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave (split) the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass: and I and the lad (Isaac) will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb (goat) for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.’ (Gen.22:1-8)

Oh Friends, can you imagine what must have been happening with Abraham’s spirit? The Lord had told him on several occasions that Isaac would be the forerunner of his plentiful descendants, but here now, the Lord had commanded him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. I guess the worldly part of him was all hot and bothered, while the faithful part trusted that God would make a way to avoid that dreadful circumstance.

And there are two things which point to that fact. First, when he told his servants that Isaac and him would go afar off and worship, ‘and come again unto you.’ He obviously figured that they both would return. And secondly that’s exactly what Abraham told Isaac in the last verse there, when the lad enquired about the animal for the sacrifice; ‘the Lord will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.’

Truthfully, I don’t know if many of us today could have handled that command of God nuh, since we have such an easy life compared to Abraham and his people. In the wilderness of those times, faith was a much more important aspect for one’s mere survival, than it is today. But from whatever aspect we view it, Abraham’s actions were indeed a very telling moment of faith.

And the Good Book continues: ‘And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide): as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen (provided).’ (Gen.22:9-14)

Yes mih people, yes! Our omnipotent and ever-faithful God came through again with flying colours on Abraham’s behalf! And again I need to note what a mighty and faithful God we serve my brethren! And yuh know what too, it’s the same way our God has been coming through with flying colours for everyone who sincerely believes in and worships Him since then, right up to this very day.

Mama Mia! And many of us have indeed experienced His supreme faithfulness in our lives. In fact we do so everyday, by just waking up to a great new day. For without His grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness we won’t be able to do even that. Remember also that He is the very ONE who first breathed the breath of life, the breath of His Spirit into our inanimate bodies, so that we could become living, LOVING, beings, a mirror image of Him.

Anyway Friends, unfortunately we’ll have to stop there for today, since the rest of what I have to say will make the Bit way too long, even for me. (smile) Obviously, in my exuberance, I underestimated the space and time capabilities I had available to me. But don’t worry, the Lord in favour, tomorrow we’ll continue this most uplifting and enlightening aspect of scripture.

Till then, please let’s ponder what we’ve read and heard, and see how our current faith matches up to that of our forefather Abraham, and prayerfully ask the Lord to help us increase our faith in Him, because we all can definitely use some more sustaining faith in these very troubled and ungodly times. 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 14 November 2013 Genesis 12:2.

14 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: aberration, Abram, Abram's behaviour, altar, be a blessing, bless thee, calamity, Canada, colour the situation, curse, dust of the earth, eat one's words, evil, expected end, fellow believers, forgiveness, fortitude, future, God's pronouncements, God's reserved space, God's Spirit, great faith, great nation, Haran, Hebron, heir, hem and haw, hope, jesus name, job frustration, lacked for nothing, leading and guiding, lift up your eyes, Lot, make tracks, Mamre, mercy, negatives, nomadic journey, obedience, obey God's dictates, omnipotent god, politics, positives, praise Your Holy Name, promises, pull up stakes, reality, renege on a promise, Sodom & Gomorrah, T&T, Thank You Lord, thoughts of peace, unknown God, words of wisdom, work ethic

Genesis 12:2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.

Ah mih people, once again the Lord has seen it fit to bless us with another glorious day of life on Planet Earth! Isn’t that wonderful? It sure is! And for that let’s give Him a loud shout of ‘Thank You Lord, for being so good to us! We praise You and Bless Your Holy Name. Amen.’

And I won’t get into any long preamble today, (smile) because in this promise there’s a lot of scripture I want to share. Remember we’re currently dealing with the promises of God to man. And today’s promise is one of the greatest promises ever given by our omnipotent God to one of His creations. It’s His call to Abram.

Hear how it starts: ‘Now the Lord had said unto Abram (High Father), Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ (Gen.12:1-3)

Oh Friends, what a great promise for a move of obedience. The Lord called Abram to leave his father’s house in Haran to go out, only the Lord knew where.

However my fellow believers, it’s very important that we study, pay great attention to Abram’s behaviour, his great faith and fortitude, for as believers, the Lord’s constantly leading and guiding us to do things and go places that seem to have no basis in the reality of our situations. But like Abram, once we’re convinced the guidance and direction is of our God, then we need to make tracks and do it.

Now Abram had no way of knowing where the Lord was planning to take him, or what sort of life he was going to have. For heaven’s sake, he was already seventy-five years old, wealthy and quite settled in his ways. The only thing he lacked was a child, an heir from his own loins.

So why would he pull up stakes at that late stage of his life and head out with his whole family and his possessions on some nomadic journey that some unknown God told him to take eh?

On the face of it, the many negatives definitely outweighed the positives. In fact, judging from the outward aspects of the situation, there were no positives whatsoever. But despite all the negatives that seemed to colour the situation, something in Abram made him do it.

I guess the Lord filled that little reserved space in Abram’s soul with His Spirit. The same space that is reserved for God alone in all His human creations.

The promises were indeed enormous, but I don’t know if at seventy-five, with wealth and comfort to last my lifetime, I’d want to journey into the great unknown, just to father a great nation, or to make my name great.

Oh, I’d better shut up here yes, because knowing the Lord’s penchant for making one eat one’s words and for drama, at seventy five, He’ll just find some new mountain for me to climb. (smile)

‘So I’m sorry Lord. I take that back. That was just a slight aberration on my part. Please forgive me. I’ll go anywhere you send me, at any age. Thank You Lord for your mercy and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name I pray.’

Doh laugh nuh Friends, I’ve made that kind of mistake before, and paid dearly for it.

Anyway people, God also made other promises to Abram. When Abram and his nephew Lot separated – remember Lot went with him on the nomadic journey – because the land was too small for all their herds and people to live comfortably.

While Lot went toward the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord said to Abram: ‘Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed (descendants) for ever.

And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.’ (Gen13:14-18)

The only problem though Friends, is that Abram was possibly eighty by then, and his wife Sarai around seventy, so where were these descendants like the dust of the earth going to come from eh? But that didn’t seem to bother Abram, he kept on believing in the Lord, having faith in His pronouncements.

Another key point here is how would we have reacted? Right now we know more about God and His strengths, purpose and plans than Abram ever dreamed about, but yet we still hem and haw when God directs us to do simple tasks in His Name.

Can you imagine if forty years ago, He’d told to me to pull up stakes in T&T and go to cold, rough, foreign Canada where I’d make a big name for myself, what would my reaction had been? I doubt I would have just done it. Though, for all you know, He might have purposely engineered the job frustration I felt in T&T, which eventually made me leave.

Like Abram, I was doing well, lacked for nothing in the Government’s job, except job satisfaction, with all the foolish politics being played in higher places hampering the work I was hired to do. And since my mother was already in Canada, I figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to get here.

But it hasn’t been easy, and the job satisfaction hasn’t really been any better. At least in T&T we don’t pretend to have this great work ethic, as they do in Canada. In T&T I would certainly have had a much easier and possibly more successful life.

So Friends, please be careful of what you wish for, of the frustration you find in what you have or do, because in many cases, what you rush off to, is much worse than what you left behind.

Anyway my brethren, with those words of wisdom, we’ll close for today. I have to chuckle because I never planned to get into my situation, but the Spirit just brought it to mind, and it just seemed to fit naturally. In any case I couldn’t have got in all the scriptures I wanted today, so God willing, tomorrow we’ll continue looking at Abram and all the promises God made him.

Till then, please let’s listen closely to whatever God is saying to us, and obey His dictates, because He knows the plans He has for us, ‘thoughts of peace, and not evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). (Jer.29:11) That’s a divine promise, so please let’s be wise and heed it. Much LOVE!

…our omnipotent God…has NEVER…and WILL NEVER renege on a promise…since He can do whatever He promises…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 October 2013 Isaiah 42:5

20 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: believers getting together, Belshazzar, breath of life, breath of the Almighty, Darius the Mede, deliverance of Jerusalem, devotions, every living thing, exalted, foundation of the earth, fowls of the air, friends, glorify God, glory, God of Abraham, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, God's Spirit, gods of silver and gold, hallucinating, heavenly wisdom, humble heart, ignorantly worship, Isaiah, Israel, Israel's Redeemer, loving kindness, Mars Hill, men's hands, mercy, Nebuchadnezzar, omnipotent god, oracle, poignant scriptures, Praise the Lord, pride, prophecy, prophet Zechariah, singing songs of praise, songs of thanksgiving, speak to the earth, Spirit of God, Sunday, temples, the breath of all mankind, the dew of heaven, the hand of the Lord, the Lord of heaven and earth, the only true God, the spirit of man, the unknown God, time flies when you're having fun, time waits for no one, uprightness of heart, utter knowledge, worshipping

Isaiah 42:5. Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein.

Oh Friends, I must be hallucinating yes, because it couldn’t be Sunday already. (smile) It was just Sunday a few days ago. True. But I guess that’s what they mean by time flies when you’re having fun, and also time waits for no one.

However, regardless of what day it is, we’re grateful to be alive and kicking due to the mercy and LOVING-kindness of our omnipotent God! And under any circumstances whatsoever, that calls for a mighty shout of ‘Praise the Lord!’

And what better way to praise Him than by getting together with other believers and worshipping Him; singing songs of praise and thanksgiving this Sunday morning to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD in this entire universe, who created it and all therein.

And if you don’t believe me, then listen to our Bit: ‘Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein.’

Yes Friends, our wonderful and mighty God is responsible for creating the heavens and the earth; for giving life and spirit to all who walk thereon. Now let’s look at some scripture that heartily agrees with our Bit. Listen first to the prophet Zechariah, as he prophetically ruminates (smile) on the future deliverance of Jerusalem.

‘The burden (oracle or prophecy) of the word of the Lord for (against) Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.’ (Zech.12:1)

Now hear Isaiah as he talks about the Redeemer of Israel. ‘Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth (out) the heavens (all) alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.’ (Is.44:24)

Please note people, how the Lord makes sure and specifies that He does all that stuff ‘alone, by myself.’ He does it all in His own omnipotence! He needs no help whatsoever to run His universe. So anyone who tries to lay claim to any part of His work is a total liar.

And as per the Lord’s claim to the breath of life and spirit given to mankind, hear these most beautiful and poignant scriptures.

Job in acknowledging God’s omnipotence, wisely declares: ‘But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul (life) of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind (flesh of man).’ (Job 12:7-10)

Yes Friends, everything that has life, owes that life to the Most High God Jehovah, our Creator, Controller and Provider!

Meanwhile, later on, when Elihu, Job’s friend, reasons with him, he too proclaims: ‘My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly (purely). The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.’ (Job 33:3-4)

There’s nothing to dispute there my people, since it’s the ultimate in truth! Then ever-faithful Daniel, in interpreting a dream for the Babylonian king Belshazzar, first tells him about his forefather, Nebuchadnezzar’s problems.

‘But when his heart was lifted up (made proud), and his mind (spirit) hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses (donkeys): they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew (recognized) that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointed over it whomsoever he will.

And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up (exalted) thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought thee the vessels of his house (the temple) before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass (bronze), iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified.’ (Dan.5:20-23)

Yes my brethren, all that we are and have depend entirely on the Lord God Almighty, and when we don’t acknowledge Him, we pay a serious price. Yuh see what happened to Nebuchadnezzar; he ended up crazy and living like a wild animal until he recognised Almighty God. And then Belshazzar, the same night that Daniel scolded him and interpreted his dream, he was killed and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. (Dan.5:30-31)

And last, but by no means least, hear Bruh Paul as he stood on Mars Hill and declared to the people of Athens: ‘For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions (objects of worship) I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship (worship without knowing), him declare I unto you.

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is the Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.’ (Acts.17:23-25)

Ah Friends, yuh see even if we don’t actually know God, like the Athenians, there’s a part of us that subconsciously knows of Him, and has us naturally gravitating towards Him. Therefore Friends, please let’s all join together and worship the ONLY TRUE GOD in existence nuh. It’s the only thing that makes sense, that smacks of true heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!

…every fibre of our being has been made by…and is controlled by God…so why are we all foolishly acting like…trying to be God eh…

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