The Importance of Christians Believing in the Amazing and Awesome Greatness of Their God!

Psalm 25:4.         Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

And it’s a cool, windy, cloudy Friday in my neck of the woods, but that doesn’t make a difference when it comes to shouting out ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Yes friends, the way our work system is set up, the couple of days off at the weekend is sanctified, (smile) and we avidly seek it, regardless of the weather or what’s happening around our strife-filled world. 

And today, we will look at an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, titled ‘Your Child, God.’ And once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, we all become the adopted children of God, joint heirs with Christ, with a right to our divine heritage, entitled to all our heavenly Father has. (Rom. 8:17) But, sadly, oftentimes we don’t behave like children of God, or even know what He is truly like. 

So please read with me: ‘O God With deep contrition I shamefully confess My small concept of You My puny faith My limited comprehension. Forgive me, O God And enlarge my narrow vision. Stimulate my trust As I concentrate on Your greatness. Give me even now A true perspective Of Your majestic power To totally transform the child On whom You have set Your LOVE – The child whose name is engraved On the palm of Your hand The child who claims You As her Maker and Master. Your child, God! Me!’ 

Oh my fellow believers, that poem is simple but it says a lot, and is very relevant to our uncertain and difficult times, for as the poem says, many of us don’t see or know the true greatness of the wonderful God we claim to serve. Many of us think that He’s either a doting grandfather, or a tough nut to crack, who’s somewhere out there in the wild blue yonder, with little power, not paying much attention to what’s happening down here on Planet Earth. But all of that is totally untrue. Our God is neither a doting grandfather, a hard man to please, or not paying attention to our problems. 

In fact He’s the exact opposite of all that! He’s the Creator and Controller of this universe, that means He must have a lot of power to do such an awesome job. And He does care for us, so much so that instead of letting us all go to hellfire and damnation with Satan for our persistent disobedience and rebellion, He sacrificed His only begotten Son to give us another option; that’s salvation and eternal life with Him. So tell me how could anyone who does all those things not be great and majestic, LOVING and compassionate? 

Our God is so great that He’s described as Omnipotent, that’s having lots of power; Omniscient, that’s all knowing, all seeing and wise; and Omnipresent, that’s all pervading, being everywhere, universal. And it’s oh so important for believers to know the true scope and greatness of our God, to enlarge our narrow vision, because if we don’t, we’re liable to seek small stuff from Him, offer up small prayers, not understanding the full reach of His awesome might and power. 

And in these hate filled and angry times, we desperately need His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, to help us fight the evil that’s controlling our world. It’s time for us to open our eyes and begin thinking of our God as the de facto, or in reality, the great and awesome God that He is! And we can only accomplish that feat by concentrating on God, on His Word and the leading of His Holy Spirit. 

Now the Bible Promise given for this poem comes from Psalm 25 titled ‘Trust in the Lord.’ The New Living Bible Translation puts it thus: ‘Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.’ (Ps. 25:4-5)  And to believe that, your God must be big and mighty, fearsome and fearless, LOVING, compassionate, kind and merciful! And that’s exactly what our God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is! So, thinking small doesn’t’ do our God any favours or give Him any accolades at all. 

And for our enlightenment, (smile) here’s how the good ole King James Version puts the verses from our Bible Promise. ‘Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps. 25:4-5) 

Yes my brethren, in these perilous times, we do need to turn to the God of our salvation and sincerely ask Him to show us His ways, teach us what He desires us to know, and lead us in His truth. And as we said earlier on, all of that begins with reading and meditating on God’s Word, then with the help of the Holy Spirit, putting it into action in our lives. As Psalm 119 wisely advises: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) 

Now, to help us get our act together, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking grace in desperate time of need. As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…  because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And divine aid is certainly in the offing, but not until we improve our poor witness for Christ, which has given the evil enemy undue hegemony or dominance over our world. Much LOVE!

…until Christians truly believe and act like our God is a great God…we will never overcome the enemy…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 January 2019 Psalm 25:4-5.

Psalm 25:4-5.   ​Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day.
 

And would you believe, that after all the snowing activity over the past few days that it rained yesterday through most of the afternoon and into the night? Steups! What crazy weather. And then I guess it froze up again last night, making the early morning commute extremely dangerous. Hope by the time I have to go out around lunch time that it will have settled down, because I’m in no mood to battle the elements today. (smile) 

But to combat all that the enemy wants to throw at us, here is this interesting li’l prayer from Sister Joyce’s (Joyce Meyer) old Devotional ‘Starting Your Day Right.’ Please pray with me: ‘Lord, I am so excited about this day! Oh God, I can hardly wait to see what You are going to do. I believe You are going to keep me, help me, bless me, and give me favour. I LOVE You, Father. I am waiting on You Lord, and I am listening to You.’ 

Yes friends, we need to be excited about every day that we open our eyes and draw breath in God’s great universe! What’s the purpose in having such a great, wonderful, merciful, bountiful and forgiving God if we’re not excited by the plans He has for our lives each and every day eh? 

Remember He promised that He has a good plan for us, not one to cause us calamity, but to give us a good future and plenty hope. (Jer.29:11) And if that’s true, then there should be some expectant excitement in our lives and attitudes to see what’s going to happen. 

So my people, let’s come to our wonderful God each and every day and ask for His guidance, His direction, His discernment and anything else that we need to get us safely and successfully through the day nuh. As Bruh David pleads in this scripture passage that’s our Bit for today: ‘Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day.’ 

Oh friends, there’s no better way to live this life than in constant communication with our heavenly Father, letting Him lead and guide us through His Holy Spirit to do His Will down here on earth! That way we get into fewer problems, and make fewer mistakes, though we’ll still suffer some ‘sufferation’ because that’s just the way life is. 

And the Lord has also promised to either make a way for us to escape those rough times, or He will walk through the flood and the fire with us and bring us out safely, in better shape, on the other side! So there’s no real need to fear the vicissitudes of this life. (smile) 

Now let’s look at some other scriptures that endorse Bruh David’s plea. Listen to Moses after the Lord volunteered him to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. ‘Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.’ (Ex.33:13) Yes friends, it is wise to come before the Lord and ask for His blessings and guidance before we embark on any project or journey, especially if we’re undertaking it in His name. 

And I like how the Lord answered Moses: ‘And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ (Ex.33:14) But Moses persisted: ‘And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence… And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found favour in my sight, and I know thee by name.’ (Ex.33:15, 17) 

And if you read the rest of that chapter vs.18-21, you’ll see that Moses kept on asking for more signs and acknowledgement, and the Lord graciously granted them because He knew that Moses was about to carry a very heavy load and He didn’t want him to have any doubts about His being with him. Likewise friends, our God will always make clear our paths if we sincerely ask Him to. 

And then we have this scripture from Psalm 119: ‘I have declared my ways, and thou heardest (answered) me: teach me thy statutes. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of (meditate on) thy wondrous works.’ (Ps.119:26-27)  Ah mih people, we can’t truly walk with God unless and until we know and understand His Ways and his Will. It’s just like everything else in life; to get good at it, we have to put in some brain work! 

A plea for learning was one of Bruh David’s mainstays in walking with God. Hear these last two scriptures: ‘When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (take care of me). Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain (smooth) path, because of mine enemies.’ (Ps.27:10-11) And this one, we all know: ‘Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’ (Ps.143:8) 

Yes my fellow believers, there’s nothing our God likes more than when we come to Him with our hearts sincerely bursting and thirsty for knowledge of Him and His Word. It’s wisdom of untold proportions! And since it’s Thursday, let’s confidently and believingly belt out the many blessings that our magnanimous God has so gracefully blessed us with. 

As one now: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’ 

And please remember that we now have to go out and share those wonderful blessings with others, for that’s a big part of the reason they were granted to us in the first place. Much LOVE!

…to truly know God and His Word…you obviously have to spend time with Him and His Word…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 June 2016 Matthew 5:16.‏‏‏

Matthew 5:16.   Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Oh my wonderful brethren in Christ, another blessed day has been granted to us to spread the good news, the marvellous gospel of Jesus! Glory Hallelujah! 

And by diligently doing so, we will therefore increase the power and presence of Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, the movement that’s currently taking both the known and unknown world by storm! 

Yes friends, just imagine our God’s thinking and imagination nuh, where He draws up this awesome plan to send His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ down to the earth to stir up, to foment revolution; a LOVE Revolution! 

You know my people, that was all Jesus came to do; to stir up LOVE amongst the world’s rather wicked, sinful and UNLOVING population. 

He enlisted agents, disciples and ambassadors to help Him do it, because as a man, in human form, He could not spread it all Himself. He could only be in one place at a time. But once He returned to heaven, He sent his Holy Spirit to dwell within those ambassadors, to enable them to do His holy will. 

And what a wonderful job they have done! But now, two thousand years later, that badge of honour has been passed down to us to carry on the spreading of the gospel, and then pass the baton down to the next generation, our children. 

Unfortunately though friends, I don’t think we’re doing such a good job nuh, otherwise our world would not be getting deeper and deeper in the mire of filth and wickedness that’s running rampant throughout it. 

But the good news is that I’m not here to chide or browbeat us, because that’s not Jesus’ way. I’m here to uplift and encourage us; to help open our eyes and allow us to come up higher in our earthly work for Christ. 

And to help us do that this first Thursday morning in June 2016, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings with much conviction and passion. 

Altogether now: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’ 

Yes my fellow believers, a blessing is not a blessing until it’s spoken over someone, so please, let’s remember to continually speak blessings over our friends, families and neighbours and thus keep them covered under the majestic, widespread umbrella of Christ. 

And all of that will only help us adhere better to the command of Jesus in our Bit. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ 

Now that is our basic job on this earth my friends, the general purpose for which we were made. And we can only accomplish it properly if we stay in constant touch with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because it is He who enables us, gives us the strength and direction to perform the tasks assigned to us. 

As Jesus so bluntly told His disciples: ‘If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you. 

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE. If ye keep my commandments; ye shall abide in my LOVE; even as I have kept my father’s commandments, and abide in his LOVE.’ (John 15:6-10) 

Yes friends, if we abide in Jesus and His words in us, we can ask whatever we will and it will be done for us. 

As the scholars explain: ‘In my name, means “as My agent.” The promise of answered prayer is based on the disciple acting as the agent of Jesus will (cf. 16:23-26). The promise is for unlimited resources to do the works of God.’ 

So you see friends, to do the work of God, we need to enlist the aid of God. And we’ll end here with an appropriate word from Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) on prayer, found at the beginning of the In Touch Devotional for June. 

He declares: ‘When we fail to make prayer a priority, we will begin to feel an emptiness in our heart, accompanied by a strange sense of unrest and uneasiness. In contrast, when our prayer life is active, the weight of these burdens will be lifted by the mighty hand of God.’ 

And that’s the gospel truth my people! Prayer is our method of communication with Almighty God, and if we don’t actively participate in it, we won’t reap all that we can from the wonderful association with our Creator. 

So today, please, let’s ponder our prayer lives, and see whether they are up to scratch, and if not, sincerely ask the Lord to help us, because without good communication with the Father, we’ll truly be like lost sheep in the wilderness. Much LOVE!

…oh what joy it is…for a believer…to be in constant touch with Jesus…