Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 August 2021 Matthew 9:37.

17 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 9:37.      Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: 

Oh my people, may the peace and LOVE of God be with us this cloudy and humid Tuesday morning! Life might be rough, but with the Spirit of God flowing through us we can most definitely handle it without too many problems! That’s one of the many benefits that accrue to us when we sincerely accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour of our lives! 

So why don’t more people accept Him eh? I really don’t know nuh! Possibly because He desires His followers to live on the straight and narrow road, while many of us desire to live on the broad and winding road that has no boundaries or serious responsibilities. Who knows? That’s why it is important we pay attention to this scripture that Jesus imparted to His disciples when talking about there being few labourers for the enormous task He had in mind. 

 But first, let’s get the context of the situation. The Good Book relates it thus: After removing a demon from a demon- possessed man, and the people marvelled, saying, ‘It was never so seen in Israel. But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils (demons) through the prince of the devils (demons -Satan). And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.’ (Matt. 9:32-35) 

Now that’s where we pick up the story. The Good Book tells us of His reaction to the situation He encountered in His travels around the country. ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt. 9:36-38) 

Oh friends, those were certainly true words back then, and with many more people in the world today than in Jesus’ time, there is an even greater need for labourers in His harvest. And the scholars give us this interesting explanation. ‘Fainted means they were distressed. The observation that they were as sheep having no shepherd is taken mainly from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, of Numbers 27:17. Verses 37 and 38 constitute one of the great missionary passages of the New Testament. Jesus pictures the world as a great spiritual harvest in need of labourers to gather it into the storehouse.’ 

And that’s no lie my brethren, for the amount of people who refuse to receive Christ in this modern day and age is truly amazing, despite knowing and seeing all the good and desirous things He has done, is doing, and has promised to do for mankind! And since I can’t help spoon feeding us, (smile) let’s look at that scripture in Numbers from which they say Jesus’ words were partly taken. It’s just before Moses dies, and the Lord calls him up on to mount Abarim, so that he could see the Promised Land, which he would not enter because of his earlier disobedience. 

‘For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify (hallow) me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.’ (Num. 27:14) That’s when Moses disobeyed the Lord’s command. Instead of speaking to the rock, as the Lord told him, in anger at the constantly complaining Israelites, he struck the rock with his rod to produce water. (Num. 20:1-13) And for that weighty disobedience, the Lord punished him by not allowing him to lead the people into the Promised Land. But in His magnanimity, the Lord did bring him up the mountain to show him the Promised Land in the distance. 

And Moses knowing and accepting his fate, ‘spake unto the Lord, saying, Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd.’ (Num. 27:15-17) 

Ah friends, yuh see the price we pay for sometimes what we consider small disobediences. After all the problems Moses endured while leading the Israelites out of Egypt, he was refused entry into the Promised Land because he smote the rock instead of speaking to it. It produced the same result, water for the people, but it’s ever so important for us to do exactly as the Lord tells us, because He always has a good reason. In this case, I guess He wanted the Israelites to see and experience the power of just His words, having already seen the power of His actions through Moses striking the rock with his rod. 

But whatever the reason, Moses blew it and paid a hefty price. And so too can we, if we don’t pay close attention to what the Lord tells us to do. As we said before, though we might think His instructions can be changed or disregarded, He always has a good reason for them, and we ignore them at our peril. However, after wandering all over, though gleaning good information, (smile) let’s back to our topic, of there being much to harvest, but few labourers to do the work. 

It’s obvious that we do need to pray that the Lord will send forth more of us to do His ever so important work of showing the many needful people in the world, the wisdom of accepting His Son, Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. That brings us to this interesting scripture of Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians, where he calls for prayer. ‘Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course (run free), and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil (the evil one).’ (2 Thess. 3:1-3) 

And that’s our prayer for all of us today; that we be kept safe and sound as we go forward into this evil world to do God’s bidding. And we know that He is indeed a faithful God who will give us all we need to do His will, and won’t allow us to suffer more than we can handle. So there’s no cause for worry. Now let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. 

Altogether now: ‘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!’ 

And having made that declaration, (steupsss!!!) it now behooves us to go out and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others who don’t know Him, but desperately need Him! Much LOVE!

…a shortage of labourers…causes a lot of the harvest to not be reaped…thus it spoils and dies…unsaved…                                                                                                                        

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 September 2014 Isaiah 40:11

01 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 40:11.   He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

 Oh my people, it’s Monday – Labour Day Monday!
 
That means many of us fortunately don’t have to go to work today. But it’s not simply a day to party and carry on either. It’s a day that calls for a certain amount of reflection, reverence and lots of appreciation and gratitude to our forefathers who paid a hefty price, even to the extent of their lifeblood, to fight for the rights and freedoms which we now have in the workplace.
 
Many a head was physically bashed in by the cruel Pinkerton private force as they were hired in the early days of the Labour Movement to put down strikes and other calls for a more humane, fair and equitable workplace. So please don’t go taking for granted those benefits and other freedoms we now enjoy at work. Neither should we abuse those hard fought for rights, as so many of us are doing today.
 
Doing any of those irresponsible things shows no respect whatsoever for the rough times and tribulations our forefathers so bravely faced, so that we could work a more respectable eight hour day, five days a week, for a decent wage, under decent conditions, instead of twelve and fourteen hour days, six and seven days a week, for a mere pittance and in disgusting conditions.
 
Remember the big uproar over the wages and conditions of employment created by the recent rash of fires in the garment industry in Bangladesh? Well less than a hundred years ago that was the situation that existed in the West. And don’t fool yuh fat; the heartless, oppressive, money machine will be only too glad to take us back to those bad, old days.
 
And if you look closely, you’ll see that they are underhandedly preparing the way, through all the recent outsourcing of production to the low wage countries, the drastic cuts in wages, in employees, benefits and working conditions. 
 
So for you young ones who think the workplace is simply an arena for fun and frivolity, I’d strongly suggest that you wake up from your fairy tale world, and read about the terrible conditions that workers faced before the advent of Unions and other Labour Organizations, and the harsh and inhumane treatment they suffered to bring us to where we are right now.
 
And with the actions above now in place, means we’re slowly regressing, which further means that we have to stand strong as a group of fellow workers, or else we will eventually find ourselves right back where our forefathers were, for the rich and powerful have no social consciences, and therefore no qualms about taking advantage of the ordinary working man.
 
So this Labour Day, please seriously consider your role and position in the workforce and how all we’ve said currently affects you. Now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to give a boost to the spirits of those who have to go out and labour under the now 24/7 greedy regime.
 
All together now, in harmony, unison and full voice: ‘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!’  
 
That was most excellent Friends, even heaven clapped and gave us a standing ‘O’!
 
But yuh know what, unless we now go out into the world and display those Christ-like attributes, it will all be wasted effort, all for nought!
 
And sadly we don’t have much time for our most encouraging and reassuring Bit which deals with acquiring comfort through trust in the Lord.
 
Listen to some of the verses preceding it. ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;
 
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord your God will come with strong hand (in strength), and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him.
 
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ (Is.40:8-11)
 
Oh my brethren, what encouraging and reassuring scripture! Wow! It’s almost too good to be true! However, with our great and wonderful God, unlike with man, whatever the situation, there’s always the possibility that it’s true, because with our God, all things are possible!
 
Now let’s go out today and make Jesus proud; let’s be true and obedient disciples and ambassadors, as He desires of His followers. Much LOVE!
 
…when one truly knows Jesus…one’s heart is filled with unspeakable joy and LOVE…LOVE for God, his neighbour and himself…