out of it are the issues of life

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 August 2021 Hebrews 4:12a.

03 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, a mirage, acknowledge and honour God in our celebrations, activities of the mind, All thanks and praise to the Lamb of god, all things are naked and opened, breathed into his nostrils, celebrations are not bad things, dividing asunder of soul and spirit, don't have to hurry, don't have to worry, give an account of our earthly behaviour, I am the beloved of god, imperfect beings, in god's eyes, Jesus Christ, just our imagination playing tricks on us, keep thy heart with all diligence, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, man became a living soul, mano a mano, no creature not manifest in his sight, no one can take that from me, not what I do, not what I have, not what people say about me, of the joints and marrow, opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do, out of it are the issues of life, pagan style rituals, part of the human's bone structure, prince of peace, reaches into the inner secrets of man's mind, ruling the roost, set our minds to it, share His love with the world, sharper than any twoedged sword, spies an oasis, the Battlefield of the mind, the breath of life, the Immaterial Part of Man, the seat of the intellect, the soul lives on forever, the Word of God is quick and powerful, to know Jesus is to love Him, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus christ, whatever captures our minds captures our hearts, who gives us the victory, whole spirit and body be preserved blameless, Wise counsellor

Hebrews 4:12a. For the word of God is quick (that’s alive, living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,

So what’s up this Tuesday morning eh friends, after a riotous Civic Holiday long weekend? Hope your work doesn’t, or didn’t interfere too much with your celebration. (smile) On a more serious note though, the Lord does expect us to enjoy our days down here on earth. So, celebrations are not bad things. Have you ever noticed the amount of feast days He mandated for the Jewish people back in the old days? Several…some even a week long! But the important thing is that we acknowledge and honour Him in ALL of our celebrations. They ought not to be just pagan style rituals, celebrations for celebrations sake, but in some manner glorify and honour our great God.

Unfortunately, in these current times, we are seeing less and less celebrations with God’s name and honour glorified, and more of them based on Satan’s desires and lifestyles. It certainly seems like our society has thrown Jehovah God to the back of the bus. We no longer consider Him, Number One, El Numero Uno. The evil enemy now seems to be ruling the roost. But friends, that’s just our imagination playing tricks on us; like a thirsty man in the desert who spies an oasis in every step he crawls…but it’s never real, always a mirage…existing just in his mind.

And that’s the same way the enemy believes that he’s winning the war. Oh, he might win a battle here and there, but the victor of the overall war is a foregone conclusion, Jehovah God, through His majestic warrior Son, Jesus Christ, possessor of the mighty two-edged sword, the Word of God! And all God’s children shouted a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise to the Lamb of God, who gives us the victory!’

Yes my brethren, Jesus is our mighty warrior King, our Lord, Saviour, Prince of Peace, Wise Counsellor, and ALL that we can ever hope or long for! Please, please, let us continually remember the Word of God, and let it lead and guide us in these most trying and troubled times, for it is only by, and through it, that we can ever hope to have victory in our individual lives.

And I just LOVE how the scriptures describe it. ‘For the word of God is quick (that’s alive, living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in (hidden from) his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (to give account).’ (Heb. 4:12-13)

Wow! What powerful, enlightening and remindful scriptures! So let’s see what all of it means. Listen to the scholars. ‘4:12-13.For the word of God: The reason given for one’s careful scrutiny of his life involves the reality that God is intently scrutinizing it. His word is quick (living). This word is first in the Greek and is the emphasis. God’s Word is not old or archaic; it is alive. It is not inept or inactive; it is powerful (active). It reaches into the inner secrets of man’s mind to discern even his thoughts and intents. Likewise, God’s eye sees man as though he were naked, unable to hide behind excuse or pretense.’

Now friends, that reality alone, that God can see right down into our very souls and discern our thoughts and intentions, see us as though we were naked, ought to give us serious pause and make us truly consider the way we live our lives. And don’t forget, that at the judgement day, we have to stand before Him and give account of our lives. So we cannot come with any excuses or lies, because He will know every single thought, intention and action we’ve ever done.

And then, based on verse 12, re the ‘Immaterial Part of Man,’ the scholars further offer: ‘The writer here draws an interesting parallel between the joints and the marrow, which have different functions, yet both are part of a human’s bone structure. Thoughts and intents are also two distinct activities, yet both are activities of the mind. And while the soul and spirit are distinct in function, both have an immaterial character (nothing you can actually touch or see).

When considering the nature of humanity, we must realize a person is a two-part being, that is, with body and soul. But in activity or function the body, soul, and spirit of a person each has a different function. Paul desired that his converts’ “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thess. 5:23). (First Ref. Gen. 2:7; Primary Ref. 1Thess. 5:23; cf. Prov. 4:23).’

So what does it all mean eh? That since we will stand and give an account of our earthly behaviour, that we ought to try and make that earthly behaviour as good and blameless as possible. The Lord knows we will never be perfect, because He made us as imperfect beings, but He does expect us to try our best as we have daily communion with Him.

And since I like to spoon feed us so much, (smile) I am going to quote the two verses of scripture that the scholars mentioned above there. The first one says: ‘And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.’ (Gen. 2:7) That’s how man came alive – both in body and soul; by receiving the breath of the living God! The material or mortal body dies, but the soul is immaterial, immortal and lives on forever.

And next up, in the words of Cousin Sol: ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.’ (Prov. 4:23) And per the scholars: ‘4:23. Heart could often be translated “mind” in the book. Since the Hebrews had no separate word for “mind,” the word “heart” often served to represent the seat of the intellect. The key to the whole man is his mind. Whatever captures the mind captures the man.’

And that’s the indisputable, gospel truth my people! Whatever our minds focus on, that’s where our lives will lead. Hence the truthful saying, ‘The battlefield of the mind.’ And that’s why the enemy strives to gain control of our minds above all else. But let’s remember that God’s word is stronger than anything in this world, and that through prayer and thanksgiving we can fight the enemy mano-a-mano and defeat Him. We just have to set our minds to it.

And for those of us who have made that marvellous decision, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, proudly and sincerely telling the whole wide world who and whose we are. As one strong voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’

That means we now have to go out and put our big talk into action; sharing Jesus’ amazing LOVE and friendship with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do. Much LOVE!

…to sincerely know Jesus…is to LOVE Him…LOVE Him like nothing…or no one else in this whole wide world…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 February 2021 Proverbs 4:12.

24 Feb 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a discernerof the thoughts and intents of the heart, all things are naked, be preserved blameless, devise not evil against they neighbour, envy thou not the oppressor, food for thought, halfway home, hands are on the plough, I can deliver as well as forgive, Immaterial Part of man, in everything give thanks, in the house of the wicked, in the power of thine hand, keep thy heart with all diligence, keeping up the Joneses, LOVE, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, not manifest in his sight, not turning back, of joints and marrow, opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do, out of it are the issues of life, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, put that in your pipe and smoke it, shame shall be the legacy of fools, sharper than any twoedged sword, strive not with a man without cause, the breath of life, the curse of the Lord, the Good Book, the last word, the nature of humanity, the whole spirit and soul and body, the wise shall inherit glory, the Word of God is quick and powerful, to a glorious future with Jesus, until the coming of our Lord Jesus christ, Wednesday Wail, withhold not good from whom it is due, your sins are forgiven

Proverbs 4:12. For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.

So how shall we begin this bleak and cloudy Wednesday morning eh? (smile) And since the Good Book opened this morning on the words of Cousin Sol from Proverbs, I think it’s a good idea to start with some of his wise advice on the treatment of neighbours, advice we can certainly use in these selfish and greedy times. So hear ye, hear ye: ‘Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do so. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by (in safety with) thee.

Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Envy thou not the oppressor, and chose none of his ways. For the froward (perverse person) is abomination to the Lord: but his secret (secret council) is with the righteous. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation (dwelling) of the just. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly (humble). The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion (legacy) of fools.’ (Prov. 3:27-35)

Oh my people, what wisdom! Wisdom for the ages! But wisdom we have not taken, thus the sorry state of our neighbourly behaviour. And here’s how the scholars summarize those verses. ‘3:27-35. The needy neighbour is to be helped (vs. 27-28); the innocent neighbour is to be respected and left alone (vs. 29-30); and the wicked neighbour is not to be envied (vs. 31-35).’

But sadly, so often we do the opposite of that advice, especially in times like these when selfishness, greed and personal advancement are all the rage. We do not help the needy neighbour, neither respect the innocent one, but are quick to engender strife and ill-will towards them. And oh, how we do envy and covet the things of our prosperous but wicked neighbour…what do we call it? ‘Keeping up with the Jones’…ofttimes to our own detriment and financial ruin.

And I saw an interesting poem in our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that I think might be rather appropriate for us today. It’s titled the ‘Last Word.’ I wonder who shall have that eh? (smile) Please pray with me. ‘I read, “In everything give thanks.” I said, “Lord, I’m in deep trouble…You know I can’t thank you for this.” You said, “My word is a command And not a suggestion, dear child.” I read, “Your sins are forgiven you.” I said, Thank you for forgiving me…I repeat the same sin so often.” You said, I can deliver, as well as forgive.” I read, “Trust in the Lord at all times.” I said, “You know how earnestly I try.” You said, “My Word says Trust.” Lord, it seems to me You always have The last word.’

Of course! He’s the Boss, so whom do you expect to have it eh? You, or I! No way Jose! Both the first and last words belong to Almighty God, our Creator and Controller! And until we understand that deep down in our souls, we will always have problems with His Word. But we are certainly foolish to dispute or denigrate or disobey it? Why, you ask? I don’t think you really want to know nuh. (smile)

Here’s how the Good Book describes the Lord’s Word. It’s our Bit as well as the Bible Promise for our poem above. ‘For the word of God is quick (living), and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of (able to judge) the thoughts and intents (intentions) of the heart.’ (Heb. 4:12)

Yes friends, that’s the mighty power that God’s Word has! It’s alive and sharp and discerns the thoughts and intents of mortal man! ‘Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in (hidden from) his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do (must give account).’ (Heb. 4:13)

Now hear the scholars.‘4:12-13. For the word of God:The reason given for one’s careful scrutiny of his life involves the reality that God is intently scrutinizing it. His word isquick(living). This word is first in the Greek and is the emphasis. God’s Word is not old or archaic; it is alive. It is not inept or inactive; it ispowerful(active). It reaches into the inner secrets of man’s mind to discern even histhoughts and intents.Likewise, God’s eyes sees man as though he were naked, unable to hide behind excuse or pretense.’

And I sincerely hope that last sentence opens our foolish minds and hearts and lets us know that we can’t hide from God, as so many of us try to do. Oh friends, we claim that our great God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. That means He sees all and knows all, and NOTHING can be hidden from Him. So let’s stop trying to do that nuh, for it’s a complete waste of time. Let me tell us another li’l secret here; (smile) the Lord knows our thoughts and intentions before we are even aware of them! Hn! Put that in yuh pipe and smoke it!

Now here is some more interesting info from the scholars as to how the author skillfully uses the human terminology to describe how God’s Word operates .‘Immaterial Part of Man. 4:12.The writer here draws an interesting parallel between the joints and the marrow, which have different functions, yet both are part of a human’s bone structure. Thoughts and intents are also two distinct activities, yet both are activities of the mind. And while the soul and spirit are distinct in function, both have an immaterial character.

When considering the nature of humanity, we must realize a person is a two-part being, that is, with body and soul. But in activity or function the body, soul, and spirit of a person each has a different function. Paul desired that his converts “whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:2). (First Ref. Gen 2:7; Primary Ref. 1 Thess. 5:23; cf. Prov. 4:23).’

And since we have a whole lot of food for thought there, (smile) let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, telling all and sundry of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’

And what a truly glorious future it will be, if we endure unto the end! Much LOVE!

…keep thy heart with all diligence…for out of it are the issues of life… (Prov. 4:23)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 February 2020 Proverbs 4:23.

15 Feb 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a grand old time, a modicum of circumspection, as a man thinks so is he, brunch, correct mankind's path, defile a man, don't walk the walk, express our gratitude, Family Day weekend, God or His word never change, Hitler, honest, keep thy heart, learn from our mistakes, live by our words, mental capacity, Mona campus, Napoleon, noble, nothing permanent except change, old tunes, out of it are the issues of life, out of the heart, party-goers, pay the price, praise worthy, proceed evil thoughts, shake the world gently, sinful mould, talk the talk, the higest appreciation, the key to man is his mind, think on them, true, University of the West Indies, Valentine's day, winter of your days, with all diligence, young and in love

Proverbs 4:23. Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are (flow) the issues of life.

Well friends, here’s hoping you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and you did the LOVE thing with excellence! The duchess and I had a grand old time, making some more memories to add to the box-load we’ve already made. Oh, it wasn’t anything special, but simple and fun-filled. We went out for brunch, then drove around the city running some errands and while doing that we happened to put in a random CD into the juke box. And oh, did it ever have some glorious old tunes that also brought back memories of when we were young and in LOVE and ardent party-goers.

Brother! You should have seen the duchess when some tunes came on and her memory flooded back to those youthful days in the Student’s Union back on the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. At one stage I had to tell her; ‘Hold down duchess, hold down! The way yuh carrying on somebody might see you and think I have a mad woman driving out in mih car. As Jeeves would say; just a modicum of circumspection nuh.’ (smile) And that’s our memory for this Valentine’s Day!

But look at how life changes eh? Now we don’t even know what party is! But that is why I keep saying you have to make the memories when you’re young, because you don’t know what will happen when you get into the autumn and winter of your days. Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s turn to the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.

And the first says: ‘In a gentle way, you can shake the world.’ I’m not sure I understand what he means nuh. Is it that it is best to only shake the world gently, or that we only have the power to shake it gently? If it’s the latter, then that’s definitely not true because there have been so many people down through the ages who have violently shaken the world; like all those famous army commanders including Alexander the Great who conquered the world at a young age, and Napoleon who rose to such great military heights and power from a humble beginning.

There are also the many dictators down the through the ages, like Hitler and the Russian boys. And even today we have our own group of dictators making stormy waves in the world. And nobody has shaken up the world more than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! So I guess he’s saying that we ought to shake it up gently, not as violently and conspicuously as we’ve done down through the years because it doesn’t do much good anyway. A gentle shake is all we need to get it properly realigned. (smile) I wouldn’t count on that nuh! A little nudge has never done anything to correct mankind’s path!

Anyway, the next quote sort of complements the first one. ‘There is nothing permanent except change.’ And I guess we can say that’s true because everything and everyone seems to go through changes at some time or other, no one or nothing stays stagnant forever…with one great exception, our magnificent God and His Word. Yes friends, neither our God or His Word ever change, they are steadfast and steady from beginning to the end, whenever that might be, that’s why we can put our total faith and trust in them both and expect to gain victory in this life and the one to come! And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord!’

Meanwhile the next quote declares (steups!): ‘Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.’ And that’s gospel truth my people! We learn from the hard knocks of life. The more hard knocks we encounter, the greater bank of information we have from which to learn from. That’s why it’s ever so important to learn from our mistakes, so that we don’t keep making the same ones over and over. But unfortunately we’re all human, made from a frail and fickle, sinful mould, so we often don’t do the wise things and learn from our mistakes, so we end up having to pay the price for not learning. I can personally testify to that! (smile)

Then there’s this: ‘As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.’ And at no other time in the history of man do we need to be reminded of that as much as today, my people! Oh yes, today we talk a whole lot, but we don’t walk much of that talk. In fact it’s just aimless talk. We seem to talk because we can talk, and we talk much about things of which we know very little, or even nothing! And the Good Book has a whole lot to say about it, but we don’t have the time nor space to get into it today. Read it for yourself. (smile)

And the last quote says: ‘Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.’ I don’t know if I would use the qualification, very little, but basically, happiness is definitely within our grasp. And it all begins with how we see and approach it, our attitude and desire for it. And it all does begin with our thinking, because that’s where all of our thoughts, attitudes and behaviour begin. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) calls it, ‘The Battlefield of the Mind.’ And that’s where the enemy centres His attacks, because he knows that if he can disrupt our minds, our thinking, he can have us do his evil, dirty deeds.

No wonder Cousin Sol in his awesome wisdom declares (yes!): ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are (flow) the issues of life.’ And the scholars explain: ‘4:23. Heart could often be translated “mind” in the book. Since the Hebrews had no separate word for “mind,” the word “heart” often served to represent the seat of the intellect. The key to the whole man is his mind. Whatever captures the mind captures the man.’ I couldn’t put it any better than that nuh friends: your very life depends on your mind; the greatest piece of machinery the Lord’s ever made! That’s why mankind can still not find out precisely how it works, because he doesn’t have the mental capacity.

And Jesus, in explaining a parable to the disciples said: ‘For out of the heart (mind) proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.’ (Matt.15:19-20)

Consequently, Bruh Paul later on emphasized to the Philippians: ‘’Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest (noble), whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise (anything praiseworthy), think (meditate) on these things.’ (Phil.4:8)

And that’s our homework for this long weekend in Ontario, where we celebrate Family Day on Monday. Let’s get together with our families and think on the good and noble things of life as Jesus desires of us! Much LOVE!

…as a man thinks…so is he…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 February 2021 Proverbs 4:12.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 February 2020 Proverbs 4:23.

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