Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 April 2024 Matthew 6:12.

02 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:12.        And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Then it was Easter Tuesday, time to get back to working for a living, therefore, most of the Easter hoopla has now been toned down. But not the celebrated Easter Tuesday Goat Races in that picturesque, seaside village of Buccoo in sweet Tobago. Ah friends, that’s gotten so big and popular now that in recent years they built a stadium to house those goat races. I remember the days when it used to be just an open field in the village betwixt some houses, with parties galore happening all around, and people standing along the side lines, shouting for their favourite goat or crab. 

Obviously the event was much more raucous and spontaneous. But apparently, as things grow bigger, they need to be better handled and managed, thus the building of the stadium. However, to a certain extent that quells the natural spontaneity of the event, making it less colourful. But in some quarters, that’s called progress, (smile) and as it’s still a colourful event, we’ll see you later down in Buccoo at the Goat Races. Party Time! 

Now let’s get serious about the real ramifications of this Easter weekend. On Good Friday, Christ sacrificed His sinless life on the cross of Calvary so that our sin debt could be paid in full. That was the exorbitant price required by the Father for that situation to be solved. And Christ paid it without any hard feelings, despite the gross ‘sufferation’ He was forced to endure. As Isaiah so rightly says: ‘All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Is. 53:6) 

Yes my fellow believers, the Lord laid ALL of our abominable sins on the shoulders of Christ that Good Friday day two thousand years ago. Meaning He was totally weighed down with, and made responsible for our ungodly transgressions. That means we now have forgiveness of our sins. However, that doesn’t come automatically or naturally. No! As Jesus said to the Jewish Leader, Nicodemus: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, (or from above), he cannot see the kingdom of God. … Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ (John 3:3, 5) 

Now, that means to be forgiven of our sins and thus be able to enter in God’s kingdom we also have to do something. And what’s that, you ask? Listen to Jesus tell it. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God.’ (John 3:16-18) 

There you have it friends; what we need to do so that we can be saved. It’s simple and straightforward: Believe in Christ Jesus! Believe that He is the Son of God; the promised Messiah; be born again of the Holy Spirit and be baptized in water, as an outward show of our inner sincerity! That makes us saved and eligible to enter heaven. But within that new born again life there are a couple of things that are necessary to live the Christian life; the life Christ died for us to have. As He says: ‘The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10) 

So, if we believe in Jesus and live the way He desires of us, we will have an abundant life beginning right down here on earth. But before we move on to heavenly matters, (smile) there is one earthly thing we must remember and get absolutely right, and it deals with the forgiveness of sins. Christ died so that that could be achieved, that we could renew a right relationship with the Father, but there’s one codicil to it, that regarding the sins of the individual. Jesus specifies it quite plainly in His Sermon on the Mount, when teaching His disciples to pray. It’s this simple but ever so important line of what we call the Lords’ Prayer. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt. 6:12) 

Oh my people, that is the most important thing we need to remember and do after we believe in Jesus. Otherwise, He continues: ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt. 6:14-15) It could not get any clearer than that my brethren. Forgiveness of other’s sins against us must be meted out, if we want forgiveness from our heavenly Father. But sadly, in this strife-filled, angry and hateful world, unforgiveness is one of the major drawbacks in turning things around. 

Our human selfishness is showing up ever so greatly with our refusal to forgive others the way we want the Lord to forgive us. And that’s what causing so much of the negativity in our embattled and turbulent world. Now we all know that a lot of harsh and hurting things are done each and every day to numerous people, and it’s very difficult to forgive some of those trespasses, but the fact is that we must try, through prayer and heavenly help, if we want our own sins to be forgiven and our world to therefore become a better place. 

And it’s so sad to realize that much of the strife and hatred now in place began centuries ago, and some of those now involved in the negativity don’t even know what they’re really fighting and hating for. That’s how bad our inhumanity and unforgiveness has become. What more can I say eh friends, when these days, finding a country where there’s no strife or very little, is like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. And unfortunately, things will not get better until we begin forgetting and forgiving the sins and trespasses of our individual neighbors and those worldwide. 

And if God spares life, tomorrow we’ll continue with the heavenly mattes we spoke about earlier on. (smile) But for those of us who are trying to live the abundant life in these tough circumstances, let’s go home now declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock and barrel. As one strong and sincere 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 my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’ 

And having said that, it now becomes our bounden duty to go out and share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…to be forgiven…one needs to forgive…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 September 2020 John 14:27.

04 Sep 2020 Leave a comment

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

John 14:27.     ​Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday, Fridayyyy! The people’s day! The day that evokes wonderful images of a no-work weekend and parties galore! Yes friends, in these modern times, the weekend is all about partying, getting out and about, church is merely an insignificant irritant, especially if you’re young and energetic. And it’s so ingrained in us that we still doing it although it’s somewhat like a death sentence hanging over our heads in this Covid-19 pandemic time. I guess we taking our godly mandate and constitutional rights of free choice and free speech rather seriously, although it could mean our sure demise. 

But that’s the human animal for you; likes to go out on a limb, the farthest reaches thereof, to test his human ability against that of nature and other men. So what will be, will be. Yeh: ‘Que sera, sera!’ The only problem there though, is when we so adamant about doing our own thing and the negative consequences boomerang back on us, we quick to complain and blame other people, quite conveniently forgetting our adamant decision to pursue the  unwise actions that brought them on. 

But tis Friday, so let’s check out what the ordinary workingman has to say in these early September days. And he proclaims: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and weekend’s here! It’s oh so good to get away from the slave master work for a couple days. And yuh know he still behaving rather ornery, despite the pandemic business. It didn’t mellow him down at all. I guess he vex about the money he lost for the couple months that the factory was shut down. 

Ah Lord eh! For some people life not more important than money nuh. As for me, although I didn’t have much money and no work to bring in some, I was happy to be alive and not gone in the blink of an eye like some people I knew. When we going to ever realize that life, as frail and fickle as it already is, is the best thing we have in this world eh? 

Steups! But we still running behind all the material things of the world, although we don’t have time to enjoy them, because we have to kill we self to pay for them. Is a good thing I learn from young, through hard experience, that everything that glitters is not gold, and the more yuh have is the more responsibility yuh have and too much responsibility not good for the body nor the soul. That’s why I’m content to take life easy, take it as it comes, one day at a time, and don’t get too upset over anything, thanking God for work and weekends. Is the only way to live yes!’ 

Well friends, who says that the ordinary working man can’t philosophize with the best of them eh? He certainly can! As I keep saying, he might not have a whole lot of book education, but he certainly has plenty common sense and life experience, and those two will beat book learning any day! And all over the world people are rebelling against the safety procedures put in place for the pandemic, the only thing that so far has been able to control its flow. And all over the world people are still contracting the virus and dying because of their resistance to the safety procedures. 

The new thing from some supposed leaders is what’s called ‘the herd immunity.’ Let as many people as possible catch the virus which will make us immune to it. Pure heifer dust! Nobody knows if that will even work in theory, much less in practice. And that’s the thing that annoys me most about these troubled times; there are no positive answers, and too many different opinions – from one end of the spectrum to the other – are proliferating around the place, so people can’t get a good handle on the situation, which only leads to uncertainty, fear and panic. 

Oh my people, the ONLY PLACE you can find true peace and be free from the worry and anxiety found in this life, especially in these calamitous times is at the foot of Jesus’ cross, where His sacrificial blood flowed down to bring us forgiveness of sins and a new way of life. Remember His immortal name: ‘The PRINCE OF PEACE!’ (Is. 9:6) That’s no lie, no joke! Hear Him offer His peace nuh. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) 

Please note friends, Jesus didn’t give us peace like the world gives; the flimsy, uncertain facade, the here today, gone tomorrow stuff that the world calls peace. But His peace is special; one that allows the heart and soul to be quiet and not fearful or anxious despite disastrous circumstances. Now that’s TRUE PEACE! And if you seriously desire it, then you will have to seriously turn to Jesus to get it. No other way! So let’s turn to Him now nuh, as we seek peace, wisdom and understanding through our Friday Chant for help to handle the troubles of our world. 

All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. Yuh know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife causing. We not accustomed to that kind of life Lord, and it really telling on us. And we know we can’t handle it on our own, that we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, it’s time for those faithful believers to go out and put those words into action; handle the situation with the LOVE and compassion of Jesus! Much LOVE!

…talk is cheap…but action requires sacrifice…let’s stop talking…and start sacrificing nuh… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 June 2019 Philippians 2:15.

28 Jun 2019 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 2:15.    ​That ye may be blameless and harmless (innocent), the sons (children) of God, without rebuke (fault), in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
 

Summer days are here again…Glory Hallelujah! Yes my people, it surely seems as though the summer time is fully upon us now, what with all these beautiful days all in a row with warm temps and what not! (smile) And it’s a long weekend to boot; Canada Day weekend where we celebrate our Independence from our Colonial masters. 

Yes friends, we’re a hundred and fifty two years old now; young compared to many other nations, but we’re growing in strength, faith, godliness and LOVE daily! Give God the thanks my Canadian brethren! 

And before we go any further, let me remind us of those wise, immortal words of Granny that are so applicable to this weekend of mucho celebration. ‘Sonny boy; drunk or sober please mind yuh business!’ Please take serious note my people and be very careful this long weekend. And is the workingman ever bursting to sing his weekend song, so let’s hear him nuh. 

‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui…and the weekend here at last! And was this ever a rough week because the slave master had plenty work to get out before the long weekend. And wow! Is Canada Day long weekend, which means party, party, party! And the weather supposed to be nice everlasting too, right up there in the high 20’s! Mama Yo! Are we ever going to mash up this weekend. 

Yuh can’t rightly celebrate Canada independence without a big bash! Lots ah eating and drinking, imbibing some good brew…and even some of the hard stuff too! I can imagine what cottage country going to look like this weekend. All the big shots and them going to be having a blast and the lakes and them going to be full ah boats riding up and down with parties galore on them. 

But is okay. I don’t jealous them their high life. I’m going to enjoy my low life right down here in the city. Me and my pardies, we going to have just as good a time…and possibly even better. So leh we just thank God for weekends and this wonderful country of Canada nuh!’ 

Ah friends, yuh see why Granny’s words are so important when coming to these big celebrations. In all the excitement and joy, we just liable to go overboard like the workingman’s planning to do. But as believers in Christ Jesus we can’t afford to go that far into the bacchanalian situation because the enemy will jump right into that opening and mess up our souls and spoil our witness for Christ. 

That’s why our Friday Chant is somewhat more reserved, thoughtful and even-tempered than the workingman’s weekend song. So let’s chant it now nuh, in loud voice, with a strong sense of purpose. ‘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!’ 

Yes mih breddren, ours is a more sedate and responsible life. Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t party and have fun too, but we just have to be a li’l more careful when we let our hair down and don’t give the enemy a chance to invade our souls and cause us to do wrong, because that is his sole purpose in life…get a Christian to fall flat on his face, both literally and figuratively, then laugh in Jesus face and gleefully declare: 

‘Look, look at yuh boy down there in the gutter nuh…drunk like a skunk! And he is the one yuh was praising up so much, about how he so good and godly. But yuh see how he really soft. Can’t even stand li’l bit a temptation! Hn, Hn, Hn! And it have plenty more like him out there too yes. Going to show yuh them every time ah conquer them!’ 

Oh my fellow believers, we definitely can’t have Satan taunting and laughing up in Jesus face like that nuh! That means we have to seriously mind our p’s and q’s, else we liable to fall in the gutter too. And the church, Jesus’ body, already has enough black eyes on it, it doesn’t need anymore. That’s why friends, this Canada Day weekend, we need to consider seriously these words of Bruh Paul to the Philippians. 

‘Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of (according to) his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings (grumbling) and disputings: 

That ye may be blameless and harmless (innocent), the sons (children) of God, without rebuke (fault), in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation (generation), among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth (fast to) the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.’ (Phil.2:12-16) 

And all that basically means friends, is now that we’ve been saved by the free gift of grace from God, not by anything we did, we have to stay attached to Christ and work at keeping our lives going in a godly direction. Being godly and righteous doesn’t just happen automatically once we’re saved, we have to work at it, run our race like Bruh Paul did. 

And if we are sincere about running that godly race, then the Lord will help us do so through the leading, guiding and comforting of His Holy Spirit. But that means we can’t grumble and complain when things don’t go our way, neither can we live in anger and resentment with our fellow man. We need to be bright and shining lights for and of Jesus in this most perverse generation ever of mankind. 

Remember, God has a plan for each and every one of our lives, and though He’ll gladly show us what it is, and help us accomplish it, He won’t do it all for us, we need to do our part of the covenant and put in some elbow grease too. So this Canada day weekend, let’s keep all of that in mind as we party hearty, and enjoy ourselves, for that is one of the reasons Christ died in our place; that we can rejoice and be happy in living and working for Him. Much LOVE!

…I am come…that they might have life…and have it more abundantly… (John 10:10b)

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 December 2018 1 Peter 5:8.

28 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 5:8.   ​Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
 
Aye mih beauties, welcome to spring time in December! It’s raining outside, and they say it might go up to as much as ten degrees Celsius today! Brother! Imagine that scene at the end of December nuh! I feel sorry for the purists who did not get their white Christmas and might not even get to ski as they ring in the New Year. But what yuh going to do eh? Everything’s changing, and changing fast too! I remember the days when you could be assured of snow, and plenty too, for Christmas! 

The duchess and I might even have wasted money paying for snow removal, since we can’t do it ourselves any longer, and there hasn’t been any to remove so far. But like my friend Scotty, I’m the eternal optimist! (smile) We will get snow, it’s only a matter of time…and then we’ll get so much, that we’ll all hold our heads and bawl! Matter fix! 

Now let’s hear what the workingman is singing this spring-like Friday morning nuh: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! And another long weekend…in cool weather to boot, as New Year’s rolls on in! Wonder what 2019 going to hold for we eh? Most likely the same old slaving for the slave driver…but we going to cross that path when we come to it yes! Right now is celebration time, ringing out the Christmas season and ringing in the New Year! 

And brother, what a Christmas we had; food and drinks and parties galore, though not as much presents under the tree as usual! But everybody was happy and had a good time. So we can say that Christmas 2018 was wonderful, as we thank the Lord for Fridays, weekends and Christmas time!’ 

Ah mih people, I do hope that we all had a good Christmas, and that unlike the workingman, we included Christ in it, because in spite of everything the unbelievers say and do, He is the reason for all this celebration, every year, in the month of December.

Let’s also hope that we didn’t overdo any aspect of the celebrations, kept Granny’s warning in mind: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ And consequently, did not give the always lurking enemy a chance to get even a toehold in our souls, for we all know that’s his avowed purpose. 

Now let’s sing our weekend song, our Friday Chant. It’s not as colourful as the workingman’s but it serves our purposes admirably. All together now: ‘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!’ 

Yeh friends, our song elicits a modicum of circumspection that’s absent from the workingman’s; we tend to keep narrower borders, so that the enemy isn’t given an open invitation to infiltrate our souls. That’s why Peter steadfastly warns us: ‘Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ 

And that’s gospel truth friends! Satan is only interested in stealing our peace and joy found in Christ Jesus! When he has us low down and miserable and doubting then he laughs and believes he’s won. But the truth is he can NEVER WIN unless we allow him to, for Jesus has already won the battle for death, hell and the grave, He has the keys to eternity, and the prince of darkness is a defeated foe! He’s only trying to fool us into thinking that he has some sort of authority and power. But he’s actually a toothless tiger! (smile) 

Nonetheless, we still need to follow Peter’s advice: ‘Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in (experienced by) your brethren that are in the world.’ (1 Pet.5:9) Yeh mih people, all of us experience some kind of affliction in this earthly life, because it’s a fallen world. Jesus said it clearly: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b) 

Oh friends, I know that’s easier said than done, but Peter also has some advice for how we can best resist the adversary. Listen up: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet.5:6-7) Oh faithful believers, truer words were never spoken! Our heavenly Father cares for us more than we can ever imagine! 

And He is the ONLY ONE who can help us to steadfastly resist the enemy! But we do need to acknowledge His supremacy, and humbly come to Him asking for His help. And please note, He will NEVER turn away anyone who comes to him sincerely and humbly asking for assistance. That’s his ever-faithful promise! So let’s not be proud and foolish nuh, thinking we can do it on our own, because we can’t. 

But if we seek the Lord diligently, Peter promises: ‘But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish (confirm), strengthen and settle you.’ (1 Pet.5:10) Wow mih brethren, what a wonderful promise! We can’t expect life to be all wine, roses and song, there must be some tough times so that we can grow spiritually, become more Christ-like! 

However, when we’ve valiantly withstood those times, with Christ’s help of course, then our wonderful God will indeed establish and strengthen us in His might and power. That’s why Peter ends thus: ‘To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen!’ (1 Pet.5:11) Oh what a great God we serve and worship my people! Let’s not forget that He is our Alpha and Omega, our First and Last, our Everything! Much LOVE!

…living for Jesus…is the ONLY sensible way…to live this earthly life…