Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 December 2018 Psalm 91:12.

17 Dec 2018 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 91:12.   ​They shall bear thee up (lift you up) in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone.
 

Ah mih fellow believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, another Monday has dawned on us and many of us are, or were not ready to handle it. But as our Lord and Saviour said so often to His disciples in His earthly sojourn, ‘Fear NOT!’ Yes, we need not fear because He has given us the two most powerful weapons on this earth, that of words and of prayer! 

Remember He spoke this great universe into existence, and since we’re made in His wonderful image, and have been granted total control of the entire universe, our words therefore contain great power. So let’s be wise and invoke some of them nuh, beginning with enabling declarations, powerful acclamations, encompassing His most faithful promises to us.

 So please declare with me: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24) ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!’ (Phil.4:13) ‘God will supply ALL my needs through His riches in glory, through Christ our Lord and Saviour!’ (Phil.4:19) ‘If God be for us, who can be against us eh?’ (Rom.8:31) Not a single soul mih people! Not a single evil soul has power over us unless we allow them to! That alone should boost our spirits! 

And this last one that just confirms everything else: ‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ, after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.’ (1 Pet.5:10) Oh Glory to God my faithful brethren! The same omnipotent power that has allowed some ‘sufferation’ in our lives, is the same tower of grace, mercy and forgiveness who will eventually bring us out of it all and reward us with the glory of heaven, through His magnificent Son, Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of ALL things! Wowee, Wowee! (smile) 

Now let’s invoke that other eternal gift, the power of prayer, by declaring our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in strong voice with sincere hearts. ‘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!’ 

Oh friends, oh friends, our wonderful God will NEVER turn down such a heartfelt prayer request! And we know that’s true because we can now feel the adrenaline flowing through our bodies, as His Holy Spirit works His healing and enabling power in us! Give God the praise! 

And friends, the most logical place to continue is with these enlightening and most encouraging words of the psalmist from Psalm 91 – God is a refuge and a fortress. ‘Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up (lift you up) in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone.’ (Ps.91:9-12) 

And if you think our Bit isn’t important, just check out Matthew 4:6. Those are the very words Satan used to Jesus when he tried tempting Him to throw Himself off the temple roof. And don’t think that the prince of darkness doesn’t know the Good Book nuh; he knows it better than any of us! He knows how, why and when it was written because he plays a very pivotal role in it. And that’s why he has all those li’l tricks up his sleeve, why he can use the Word so deceptively to lead us astray. 

So our best defense is to also know the word, so that when he comes to us with his lies, innuendoes and deceptions, we can wave him off like Jesus did, and contemptuously declare: ‘It is written, Man should not live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God.’ (Matt.4:4) And friends, that wasn’t an original Jesus saying nuh, it was based on Moses’ words to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8:3. 

And the other two times Jesus rebuked Satan, His words were also based on the Old Testament (Deut. 6:16 and Deut.6:13, 10:20, Josh.24:14). So please don’t think that Jesus just came spouting new stuff. Remember He was a devout Jew and His purpose for coming to earth was to fulfill the words of the prophets written in the Old Testament.  As He said, the Old Testament was written about Him, He saw Himself all over it. (smile) 

So friends, as we run our earthly race, let’s remember how Jesus ran His nuh, and strive to be like Him. It’s the only way that makes sense. He didn’t have it easy either, but He placed ALL His hope and faith in His heavenly Father. And if the Son of God could do that, we mere mortals, born of dust, would be foolish to do otherwise. Much LOVE!

…a word to the wise is sufficient…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 April 2018 Luke 6:9.

03 Apr 2018 Leave a comment

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

Luke 6:9.    Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

‘And today I taught the world to fall in LOVE again. Yes, today I taught the world to fall in LOVE with Jesus again…’ 

Oh how I wish those words were true my believing brethren. I don’t know why, but since I got up this morning those words kept percolating in my brain, and I’ve been singing them as a li’l ditty to uplift my spirit. And as believers, we could have no greater honour or work than to bring LOVE, especially the LOVE of Jesus to this God-forsaken world. So let’s see if we can’t work on that nuh. 

And in the meanwhile, here is this acclamation which sits prominently on my desk, but which I don’t seem to see, or pay much attention to. However, I was drawn to it last night, and the Lord put it in my heart to share it today. Oh, I’m sure I’ve shared it before, but one more time won’t hurt. (smile) It’s an acclamation from Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen) titled ‘Today Is My Day!’ 

Please declare it with me in strong voice and full belief. ‘God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable! I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me. 

Today I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision. Today, God is taking me places that I’ve never even dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’ 

And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ Ah friends, if we’d only truly believe all of that eh! But the important thing is to keep saying stuff like that, because if we do, it will finally become rooted in our subconscious and we’ll eventually believe it and live it out in our daily lives. Such is the power of our words and our thoughts! 

Remember, ALL the battles are fought in our minds and therefore we need to win them there, so that our bodies and souls  will function in righteousness, as God desires of us. 

And as I opened the Good Book just now to search for an appropriate bit, it opened at the gospel of Luke and these immortal words of Jesus immediately caught my eye. ‘Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?’ 

Those were Jesus’ questions to a group of overly religious, hypocrite Pharisees, who stood by one Sabbath Day in the synagogue to see if Jesus would heal a man’s withered hand. ‘But he (Jesus) knew their thoughts, and said to the man which had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand forth in the midst. And he arose and stood forth.’ (Luke 6:8) 

Then Jesus posed the questions in our Bit to them. And I like how the Good Book continues, re Jesus’ attitude and next move. ‘And looking round about upon them all, he said unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he did so: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And they (the Pharisees) were filled with madness (rage); and communed one with another (discussed) what they might do to Jesus.’ (Luke 6:10-11) 

Oh friends, can you feel the drama in the synagogue that day as Jesus looks around at them daring them to stop Him? So too should we be in doing the work of Jesus, daring and not afraid. And that wasn’t the first time He had had words on what was lawful on the Sabbath with the religious leaders. On another Sabbath Day they had questioned him on the disciples going through a cornfield and plucking some to eat on the Sabbath Day. 

According to them that was unlawful. But Jesus pointed out to them how Bruh David and his men, hungry to death, had gone into the Lord’s house on the Sabbath and eaten the showbread that was only lawful for the priests to eat. (1 Sam.21:1-6) And according to the scholars: ‘6:2. The disciples’ action was not in itself illegal (Deut. 23:25), but the oral tradition held that they were breaking the Sabbath.’ 

Yuh see how we can let tradition and the irrational laws of men turn us away from God’s law. And that time, ‘Jesus said unto them (the Pharisees), That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.’ (Luke 6:5) Obviously inciting words to the religious leaders. 

And the scholars tell us re that verse. ‘6:5: Having already asserted His prerogative, like God Himself, to forgive sins (5:20), Jesus now assumes the right to interpret the Old Testament in a way far different from that of the religious leaders of His time.’ Obviously the Pharisees were not thrilled with any of Jesus’ interpretations. 

And re our Bit, the scholars explain: ‘6:9. Jesus illustrates the principle lying behind 6:5. If it was in one’s power to do good to someone in such dire need, it would be wrong not to do so, whatever the day of the week. The Sabbath was not designed to make man suffer. The Pharisees seem to have lost sight of this.’ 

Consequently friends, we must not let ANYTHING or ANYONE stop us from doing good, regardless of time or place. And having taken in all of that, (smile) let’s go home now joyfully declaring our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are. 

‘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!’  

So as true believers, let’s go out and do exactly that nuh! Much LOVE!

…doing good…at all times…is Jesus’ way…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 March 2013 1 John 4:2

21 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

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

1 John 4:2.     Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.
 
Ah Friends, morning has broken, just like the first day when the Creator, Jehovah God, Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last solemnly declared: ”Let there be light: and there was light.’ (Gen.1:3) And light has been coming on a regular twenty-four hour basis ever since. Wow! Now isn’t that both a wonderful and most powerful happening Friends? It sure is! Jehovah spoke 4 simple words, a total of 15 letters, and such a marvellous, majestic and miraculous event occurred, and has been occurring with pinpoint regularity since then. So how can they say that our God isn’t great eh, or the spoken word doesn’t carry enormous power? It’s utterly ridiculous! But it’s the same way that many deny that Jesus is God, or that He came to earth in human form, encased in human flesh, and was castigated and sacrificed by humans in barbaric human fashion. And ever since His coming, the heathen has been trying to deny Him, or make various other suppositions which lessen His truth and the reality of His earthly accomplishments. No wonder in the first verse of 1 John 4, the apostle sagely warns us: ‘Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try (test) the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.’ (1 John 4:1) Yes Friends, there’s such a wealth of false prophets and spiritual warfare happening in our world today, much more than back in John’s time, that we have to be very very careful to thoroughly sift and winnow the many spirits that try to invade and inhabit our souls. But how are Christians to ensure that they’re not being misled? By focussing on the Holy Spirit of Jesus, which gives us the necessary assurance. ‘And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.’ (1 John 3:24) So once we have the Spirit of Jesus truly abiding in us, we can be sure that we’re on the right track. Now here’s a comment of the scholars that I think can help us to better understand John’s predicament and belief. ‘The Greek grammar here may indicate that John is calling for a halt to a belief in spirits that was already in progress. This could have been a residual effect of those who had already left (2:19).’ And I think it’s useful to quote that verse. ‘They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not at all (none of them were) of us.’ (1 John 2:19) Oh Friends, I believe the same thing’s happening today; people are leaving who never really belonged. As the scholars explain: ‘Some in the church, but now departed, were never really part of it. Here is a clear distinction between those who merely appear to be Christians, based on outward affiliation, and those who really are, whom the Lord knows and claims as His own (1 Cor.8:3; Gal.4:9; 2 Tim.2:19)’ Please read those scriptures to get a better understanding of that last point. And what they’re saying on the basic topic is the absolute truth my brethren! For many amongst us are only outward Christians, and don’t have true faith and trust in Jesus. They move around us like the proverbial wolves in sheep’s clothing. That brings us to our Bit: ‘Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.’ Yes my people, how can we ensure that the Spirit which dwells in us is really the Spirit of God? The first and major test is that the Spirit must believe that Jesus came to earth as God in the flesh of humans. If the Spirit doesn’t declare that in spades my brethren, then it’s surely a fake, because then it denies all that Jesus did here on earth! For the only way He could have done all those things, especially being sacrificed, crucified on the cross is by being in human form. And the scholars say this about our Bit. ‘John’s opponents may have claimed to follow Christ, but without accepting that the Son who came in flesh was also one with the Father. This position was held by many Gnostics. John says that the Spirit will enlighten true believers to confess that Christ did come in the flesh. This is a particular doctrinal test for a particular time. Jesus himself speaks of those who call Him “Lord” but are false followers. (Matt.7:21-23; Luke 6:46)’ Oh my fellow believers, I believe that this particular time is also one for that particular doctrinal test! What with all the numerous lies, slants and falsehood out there in our evil world, we cannot be too careful, but by the same token, we don’t have to be spooked by every unusual thing we come up against. If it’s not of God, our true Spirit will tell us. And I think it’s only fitting to end with that first reference of the scholars, where Jesus warns about false followers and their eventual fate, so that we don’t get too comfortable and take things for granted, but are kept on our toes, always on the lookout for the false spirits. ‘Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils (demons)? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (miracles).’ (Matt.7:21-23) Yes Friends, as Jesus said before that passage, it’s by our fruit, both our actions and our doctrine, that we shall be known and acknowledged by Him. Therefore, please let’s get serious about our faith and start and/or continue doing those things which Jesus commanded and truly show that we are His. That’s the wisdom for today! Much LOVE!…and why call ye me…Lord, Lord…and do not the things which I say… (Luke 6:46)  P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but unfortunately the ole fella’s not as young as he used to be, where he could burn the candle at both ends for a long period of time. (smile) I did that a lot of that this week and it’s finally caught up to me. Much LOVE!