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Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 October 2021 Psalm 23:1.

21 Oct 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a still small voice, abundance, according to his riches in glory, all the days of my life, be ever ready to repel his assaults, be not afraid, be strong and of a good courage, clear direction for my life, curse, divine protection, he leadeth me beside still waters, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he restoreth my soul, holy spirit, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, I shall not want, I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, in the presence of mine enemies, keeps coming relentlessly against us, LOVE, make evil inroads into our lives, my cup runneth over, my God shall supply all my needs, negative word, neither be thou discouraged, our part to play, prosper, reading and studying god's word, stand strong and steadfast, succeed, supernatural wisdom, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, talent, the awesome light of Jesus, the enemy though toothless and powerless, The Lord is my shepherd, the Lord thy God is with thee, the world and all its evil minions, thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, this is the way walk ye in it, thou anointest my head with oil, thou mayest prosper, thou preparest a table before me, Thursday Blessings, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me, whithersoever thou goest, wise guidance for everyday living

Psalm 23:1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Well, it’s definitely not a bright, sunshiny day in my area today. Unfortunately, it’s wet and cloudy. But as we keep reminding ourselves, the physical state, the colour of the day doesn’t really matter, once we have the awesome light of Jesus shining within us, through the amazing Holy Spirit. That means, every day is a bright and shining day for believers. Glory to God!

But it all doesn’t come automatically, we have our part to play in the relationship. The enemy, that’s the world and all its evil minions, though toothless and powerless, still keeps coming relentlessly against us, and if we falter, for even just one moment, he will make evil inroads into our lives. Therefore, we have to be ever ready to repel his assaults, and we can only do that successfully by consistently reading and studying God’s Word, then obeying it.

That recalls the serious words the Lord spoke to Joshua when He made him leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death. ‘Only be strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper (have success, act wisely) whithersoever thou goest.

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth (shall constantly be in thy mouth); but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou discouraged: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:7-9)

Wow mih bredrin! What marvellous promises! But it’s only our holding to God’s word and the truth of His promises that will make us successful. And after Jesus came, we also got the Holy Spirit to help us. Listening to Him is a real Godsend, for He gives us good and wise guidance for everyday living. It’s like Isaiah said to the Israelites long ago, re turning to the Lord for help: ‘And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.’ (Is. 30:21)

That’s the way the Holy Spirit usually guides us; through a still small voice in our souls and spirits. But as we specified yesterday, it is of the utmost importance to learn to listen to Him, and then follow His wise guidance. And no, living a good and righteous life in this evil and ungodly world is not easy to accomplish, but there again, Jesus doesn’t ever ask us to do something without giving us the wherewithal, the strength and wisdom to do it. That’s why we can confidently say: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!’ (Phil. 4:13) But we must sincerely believe it, and then put it into action in our lives, otherwise it doesn’t work.

Oh friends, there are some promises of God that are unconditional, and some that are conditional, that means we have to do something to reap that promise, and standing strong and courageous in Christ Jesus is one of them. And when we do that, then promises like this one Bruh Paul made to the Philippians and also to us, will be fulfilled. ‘But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19) Yes my fellow believers, when we stand strong for Christ, sacrifice for Him, the Lord will gloriously meet our needs in proportion to His unlimited resources, for everything in the world belongs to Him.

As Bruh Paul said to the church at Corinth in his second letter. ‘And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.’ (2 Cor. 9:8) Our spiritual and financial needs will be met if we listen and obey. Furthermore, as Bruh David so confidently stated in our favourite Psalm: ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.’ (Ps. 23:1)

And we see it in his life. Though he made many mistakes, and paid a hefty price for them, he never forsook the Lord, always kept Him first place in his life, and the Lord greatly rewarded him. And He will do the same for each of us my brethren, if we stand strong and steadfast for Him. And I believe this is a most opportune time for us to uplift our faith by repeating those marvellous words of Bruh David.

‘The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.’ Amen…and Amen! (Ps. 23:1-6)

Yes friends, if those magnificent words of faith didn’t raise your spirits this wet and cloudy morning, I don’t know what will nuh. But for those of us who take it seriously, let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work.

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 every day! Amen!’

And the only way those blessings will benefit us is if we now go out and share them with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us! Much LOVE!

…if we believe God…and do what He says…He won’t let us down…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 April 2016 Job 19:25‏

28 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a compassionate heart, a positive outlook on life, a strong will, Abraham Isaac and Jacob, abundance, asaph, be acceptable in thy sight, clear direction for my life, come to know Jesus, courage, creativity, curse, devastating circumstances, disobedience, divine protection, everlasting love, family, favour, friends, fulfillment, gladness, glory to God, God was their rock, God's supernatural wisdom, gospel truth, he shall stand at the last day, health, honour, I am blessed, I know that my Redeemer lives, in the name of Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lucifer, negative word, our Lord and Saviour, our part to play, prince of darkness, promotion, prosper, punishment, return void, self-control, self-discipline, succeed, success, supernatural strength, talent, the God of his fathers, the high god their redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the meditation of my heart, the mighty One of Jacob, the Old Testament, the words of my mouth, Thursday Blessings, Top o' the morn, truth

Job 19:25. For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.

Well hello there you beautiful believers! Top o the morn! Don’t worry that it’s somewhat cloudy, our God will drive away the clouds from our lives and allow the bright sunlight of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to enter therein and calm all of our fears and sorrows.

Oh give Him many thanks and much praises my people for His wonderful ways to the children of men!

Can you imagine what our situation would be like if He was a harsh and judgmental God, like some of the many false gods that abound today, instead of the caring and compassionate Deity that He is? Crapaud would surely smoke we pipe!

Anyway, thankfully He is a most LOVING and kind God and showers us with blessings each and every day. And since it’s Thursday, and a blessing is not a blessing until it is spoken, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings over ourselves with plenty vim, vigour and sincerity.

All together 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 friends, sometime soon now blessings will just follow us and overtake us… Glory to God!

But as always, remember that we have our part to play in this relationship with Almighty God, so let’s get out there and do it this Thursday morning nuh; give others a chance to come to know Jesus and His everlasting LOVE.

And why are assured that we can do whatever is necessary to accomplish that task? Because as Job so boldly proclaimed in our Bit: ‘For I know that my Redeemer (lit. Kinsman) liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter (last) day upon the earth.’

Yes friends, Job didn’t know Jesus, the actual Redeemer, but he certainly knew the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who made him and cared for him, despite his then current devastating circumstances.

And yuh better believe he exuded a lot of faith with those words he solemnly and truthfully declared. I don’t know how many of us would be able to do and say the same things under similar circumstances.

Now all I want to do today is highlight some scriptures from the Old Testament that deal with the Redeemer, beginning with these memorable words of Bruh David from Psalm 19 – The creation and covenants of God. ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’ (Ps.19:14)

Oh my people, we all know those words and say them fairly often, but is the sincerity there when we mouth them? For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so, otherwise our prayer is meaningless.

Now listen to the psalmist Asaph, as he recounts Israel’s punishment for their disobedience, and their eventual turning back to God from Psalm 78 – A reminder of God’s goodness to Israel.

‘When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early (diligently sought) after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer.’ (Ps.78:34-35)

Oh my brethren, are we behaving like the Israelites of old, only turning to God when He slays us? I think we’re behaving worse than them, for they at least learned their lesson, even though their hearts still wasn’t right with Him.

Unfortunately though, in today’s world, even though the Lord slays us, not necessarily literally, but certainly figuratively, we are still so stubborn and hard headed that we refuse to turn to Him and keep on following the foolish ways of Lucifer, the prince of darkness.

That’s definitely not very wise my friends, since Lucifer is a fallen angel. But each individual is responsible for their actions and will pay whatever price He determines is necessary.

And Isaiah, while talking about the judgement of Babylon, declares thus: ‘As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.47:4.)

And that’s gospel truth friends, as we all found out when Jesus Christ redeemed us by sacrificing His holy and sinless life on the cross on our behalf.

And we’ll close with another scripture passage from Isaiah, this one, when he talks about Israel being restored to Zion. ‘And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.’ (Is.49:26)

Now, with those words of indisputable truth, speaking to our hearts precious people, lets go out today and do the Lord’s will with honour and gladness nuh, so that His Word does not return void. Much LOVE!

…without the timely redemption of our Redeemer…Jesus Christ…our mortal lives would have been of little significance…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 September Galatians 6:1

03 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: . the fountain of wisdom, be friendly, broken bones, children of the Most High God, Christian, considering thyself, crisis, divine invitation, dream, everything flows from One, forbearing one another, gentleness, glory hallelujah, God is faithful, God's children, gossip, heavenly blessings, hitching your wagon to a star, Hour of Power Devotional, if a man be overtaken in a fault, in the spirit of meekness, laugh, lest thou be tempted, long-suffering, LOVE, lowliness, meekness, mending, moral condition, moral ineptitude, one baptism, One Body, one church, one faith, one Father, one God, one hope, ONE Lord, one spirit, Oneness, our brother's keeper, our part to play, overstepping of divine boundaries, play, Praise the Lord, prisoner of the Lord, read, restore such a one, restore the erring brother, salvation, spirit of meekness, the bond of peace, the fruit of the spirit, the highest joy of life, the last days of summer, the music of the soul, the price of success, the road to happiness, the secret of youth, the source of power, the unfurling of the universe, think, unity of the Spirit, walk by the Spirit, walk worthy of your calling, wilful sin, work, ye which are spiritual, you can lead a horse to water, you can't make it drink

Galatians 6:1. Brethren, if a man be overtaken (caught) in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Well a beautiful Thursday morning to you my Friends and neighbours in these last days of summer 2105! And this past week has indeed been true summer days; hot and hazy. So much so that the parched ground is crying out for drink, for rain, for heavenly blessings to keep everything from drying up and being scorched to a dull and dead brown.

Ah mih breddren, it surely seems that these days when it’s not one thing, it’s another. Life doesn’t seem to flow along smoothly anymore, and our world just seems to lurch from one crisis to another.

Blessedly though, as children of the Most High God, we don’t have to be overly concerned about anything, because He has promised to look after us in whatever situation we may find ourselves. And we know that our God is a most faithful Deity.

However, we do have our part to play in the unfurling of the universe, and here are some worthwhile ideas from an anonymous Irishman from the Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe I might have shared long ago, but which today are definitely worth sharing again.

Listen closely. ‘Take time for work, it is the price of success. Take time to think, it is the source of power. Take time to play, it is the secret of youth. Take time to read, it is the fountain of wisdom. Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness. Take time to dream, it’s hitching your wagon to a star. Take time to LOVE, it is the highest joy of life. Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul’

Oh Friends, what wonderful advice! And if we would only take it and adapt it to our own lives, we would be so much happier and useful in these trying times. The sad fact though, is that most of us know all those things, but we just don’t put them into action and practice them, therefore our lives are not as worthwhile as they ought to be.

But as they say, ‘you can only lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink.’ So despite all the wise and wonderful advice we might get, if we don’t accept it and use it, then technically speaking it’s useless.

That brings us to today’s Bit; an eloquent, though quite important aspect of our Christian beliefs. ‘Brethren, if a man be overtaken (caught) in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.’

Ah mih people, that is indeed a big responsibility, but one we need to seriously address nonetheless. And the scholars give us some interesting explanations.

‘6:1. In a fault (or, “by some transgression”). The sin in view is a deliberate overstepping of divine boundaries. Ye which are spiritual refers to those who walk by the Spirit (5:16), in whose life the fruit of the Spirit is found (5:22-23). The man who is overtaken by willful sin is also a Christian, but he has not been walking by the Spirit. The spiritual brethren are to restore the erring brother.

This word is used of mending fishing nets (Matt.4:21) and of people mending their ways (2 Cor.13:11). Restore means therefore to bring back a person to his former moral condition. The word was also used in secular Greek for setting broken bones, which has to be done gently. So the church is to restore the lapsed in the spirit of meekness (i.e. gentleness).

The grievous and sensitive wounds caused by sin must be handled delicately. Considering thyself: Those restoring the fallen must individually keep constant watch over their own lives. The spiritual man can be morally dragged down as he deals with the sin of his carnal counterpart.’

Yes Friends, to a certain extent we are our Christian brother’s keeper. We all ought to walk in the Spirit, but when we do fall, we must be assisted back to faith by our Christian brethren. But note though, in gentleness, not the harsh and brutal way that we tend to do it; severely criticizing the fallen brother or sister and spreading all sorts of gossip about them.

Most importantly though my people, when we are trying to help another, we must pay very careful attention to our own circumstances lest we get dragged down by the same moral ineptitude of those we are trying to help. And I know that many of us will claim that that can’t happen to us. But you would be surprised at how easily it can happen.

And we’ll end with some more pertinent words from Bruh Paul, this time to the Ephesians, re the unity of the Spirit. ‘I therefore, the prisoner of (in) the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation (calling) wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness (gentleness), with long-suffering, forbearing (bearing with) one another in LOVE;

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’ (Eph.4:1-6).

Yes Friends, there is only ONE of several things, and though we are individuals, we are all a part of that ONE, and we need to keep that ONE as tight knit, faithful and fruitful as we can. This therefore behooves us to walk in a manner fitting the divine invitation, (calling) which brought us to salvation.

And all of God’s children said, ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah!’

So please, let’s go out today and do whatever it takes to keep that ONENESS in Almighty God. Much LOVE!

…everything flows from ONE…ONE God…ONE Saviour…ONE Holy Spirit…and ONE Body…the Church…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 October 2021 Psalm 23:1.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 April 2016 Job 19:25‏

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 September Galatians 6:1

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