Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 December 2014 Proverbs 9:5‏

10 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 9:5.   Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (mixed). 

And then it was Wednesday – the halfway point home my people! So please keep on keeping on, because the sun, the light of Jesus Christ will soon appear over the horizon. It’s also the tenth of December, which means we’re two weeks away from that fateful day, Christmas, the day when our wonderful Lord and Saviour was born incarnate of the Virgin Mary.

And all God’s people sent up a loud and jubilant cry of ‘Thank You Father! Thank You for giving us Jesus! Giving us Jesus as a baby! Thinking of Him as a baby, we can lavish all the LOVE on Him that we normally lavish on babies. He is so wonderful, so warm and cuddly. We embrace Him with all our hearts, souls, minds and bodies! Thank You again for Jesus heavenly Father!’

Ah Friends, the Father must be chuckling at that prayer, as I was while I was writing it. But there’s nothing wrong with it. It might just seem a little different from normal prayers, but it’s well within the borders of overall prayer. The same way we pray for our babies, the same way we can be thankful for Jesus as a baby to cuddle and snuggle Him.

Now here’s an interesting quote from the prominent American Rabbi, Harold Kushner (1935-) which I believe I have shared with you before, but it is one of those which needs repeating as often as possibly in this confused world. And it simply states: ‘To see the goal of life as “winning” forces us to see other people as competitors, threats to our happiness. For us to “win,” they have to “lose.”

And that my people is the bane of the current world we’re living in; everything is based on competition, on someone winning and some one losing. But that’s not a sensible or godly way to live. We need to understand that life is not a contest, it’s a process. One by which we establish our individual goals and work towards them. If we keep putting ourselves up against others, for whatever reason, we will bring too much despair into our lives when we lose one of those competitions, and our lives will constantly be topsy-turvy, up and down, up and down.

We need to have smooth, fairly even paths in our lives, and that certainly doesn’t come from judging life as a competition. Each individual has a personal race to run. As Bruh Paul says: ‘let us run the race that is set before us.’ (Heb.12:1) That’s just our race Friends, God’s plan for our lives, not a competition between us.

And all of that brings us to our Bit; Wisdom’s Invitation to: Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled (mixed).’

Yes my brethren, that’s God’s age-old invitation to His human creation! But unfortunately, down through the ages, not too many of them have accepted it, preferring the lustful pleasures of the world. But I can assure us that those worldly pleasures will not get us far, merely to the end of this earthly life.

But what happens after that eh Friends? What happens to the spirit that dwells with us? If we only hold on to the earthly stuff, then we’ll suffer the earthly consequences; death and eternal separation from Almighty God! However, if we accept wisdom’s invitation, which you’ll note in passing, is completely free, then after the return of our earthly bodies to the dust from whence it came, our spirits will soar in the heavenly realm with the Holy Trinity for ever and ever, throughout all eternity. Now I put it to you Friends, that is a much better option than the earthly one.

And we have so many instances where that invitation has been offered, and yet we refuse to even consider it, much less accept it. Let’s look at a few of those instances. Jesus, when talking to the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, painstakingly informed her: ‘Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (fountain) of water springing up into everlasting life.’ (John 4:13-14)  Oh Friends, what a powerful invitation! And that Samaritan woman was smart enough to accept it.

Meanwhile, ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast (feast of Tabernacles), Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) (John 7:37-39) There again my people, that great, free invitation to come and have a wonderful life with Jesus.

And the scholars explain that all, re the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. ‘7:39. One of God’s purposes since the beginning has been to dwell with humanity and enjoy fellowship with us. He does it in this dispensation through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1) occurs automatically when a person is saved; (2) is not an “experience,” but produces spiritual experiences; (3) remains permanently; (4) is the basis of all other ministries of the Holy Spirit; and (5) is the source of new life in the believer.

Illustration: When Paul met 12 disciples of John who did not know of the Holy Spirit, he knew they needed to be saved. So he preached the gospel to them (Acts 19:1-5). Application: The Holy Spirit’s indwelling should motivate the believer to be careful not to harm his body nor indulge his body in sin (1 Cor. 6:19-20). (First Reference, Ex.35:31; Primary reference, John 7:37-39; cf. 1 cor.12:13.)’

Ah Friends, please check out those references, for they will help us to better understand the scriptures. And remember,  it makes a whole lot of sense to come to Jesus, to accept wisdom’s invitation, rather than the foolishness of the world. Much LOVE!

…And he said unto me…it is done…I am Alpha and Omega…the beginning and the end…I will give unto him that is athirst (who thirsts)…of the fountain of the water of life freely…

  

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 June 2014 Acts 14:22

02 Jun 2014 Leave a comment

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

Acts 14:22.    Confirming (strengthening) the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Well hello there you wonderful Friends and faithful believers and followers of Jesus Christ! It’s a new day; a beautiful one, filled with new blessings and mercies, and it’s called Monday…
 
And I immediately hear the moans and groans and deleted expletives and comments like: ‘Chuh! Yuh really mean is Monday already! Steups! I really have to get up and go to this stupid job!’
 
Yes Friends, provided you want to earn a living, keep a roof over your family’s head, and bread on the table for your LOVED ones. And I am somewhat disappointed in us my brethren, because it was just last week we woke up with a better perspective, LOVING Mondays and all that it entailed.
 
Oh, so that’s what it was eh; just a dream, as someone in the penny section cried out. (smile) However Friends, the reality is that it’s Monday, and if you’re a true follower of Jesus, you have to get up and go and labour, whether you want to or not. End of story!
 
And remember, as Jesus promised, He will always help us to do whatever He desires of us. And His first helping tool today is that we sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in full, sweet voice. So let’s raise our heads, hearts, eyes and hands heavenward and sing as though there’s no tomorrow.
 
‘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!’ 
 
Not bad mih people, not bad, though I did hear some hoarse, cackling voices. (smile) Now let’s get ourselves together and hit the ground running for Christ; living up to the words of our Bit! ‘Confirming (strengthening) the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.’
 
Yes Friends, that’s what all believers are called to do; strengthen the faith of others, encouraging them through faithful words and good examples, because walking in the big footsteps of Jesus is not an easy job, definitely not for the faint of heart or timid of mind.
 
The unfortunate fate of the believer is to pass through many trials and tribulations, like Jesus did, before we enter God’s heavenly kingdom. But as I keep saying, the rewards for enduring are fantastic, and totally worth it.
 
Look at what happened to Jesus eh, after He endured His heart-rending tribulation, the Father anointed and exalted Him; ‘and given Him a name to which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil.2:9-11)
 
So if the Father did it for Jesus, why wouldn’t He do it for us eh? No reason whatsoever!
 
Our Bit comes from the section of Acts where Bruh Paul and Barnabas were on a missionary journey, including Lystra, where Bruh Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city and left for dead. (Acts 14:19)
 
But as the Good Book so famously declares: ‘Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many (made many disciples), they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and to Antioch.’ (Acts 14:20-21)
 
Fortunately though my people, most of us won’t have to endure such tribulation. But just being a believer WILL bring us trials. As Jesus said, simply ‘For my name’s sake.’ (Luk2 21:12) But please remember Friends, that true faith, trust in and surrender to Jesus brings us an inner strength that nothing or no one can match or take away.
 
Just look at our still severely persecuted brethren all over the world. Despite disastrous persecution, they are still standing strong, not giving up. So why can’t we in this fairly free Western society do the same eh? I guess life’s just too easy for us, we take freedom of worship for granted and thus abuse it.
 
Enough batting of my gums though (smile), time to share this most appropriate scripture from Bruh Paul to Timothy, re being a good soldier in Christ.
 
‘Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:  Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds (chains); but the word of God is not bound (chained).
 
Therefore I endure all things for the elect’s (chosen ones) sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim.2:7-13)  
 
Oh Friends, please let those words encourage us, let them sink deeply into our consciousness, so that we can develop into good and faithful soldiers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Why? Because that’s the ultimate wisdom of life! Much LOVE!
 
…in the world ye shall have tribulation…but be of good cheer…I have overcome the world….’
 
P.S. Yes Friends, it’s long, but it’s good. (smile) Much LOVE!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 June 2013 Philippians 1:12

22 Jun 2013 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 1:12.    But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.
 
Oh Friends, oh Friends, as the old people would say; when is not one thing, is something else yes! And unfortunately, the current something else in my life goes like this. A few days ago, we discovered that our kitchen sink was backing up; not too badly, but bad enough to cause problems. I tried plunging it several times without any luck.
 
Then I called a semi-retired handyman from my church to come and have a look at it. He came on Thursday morning, tried snaking it with his small snake, but to no avail either. So he suggested I call this professional outfit that had all the tools and experience.
 
I did that, and they eventually came on Friday morning, after promising to come on Thursday evening. But I guess that was the Lord moving in one of His mysterious ways, since what we went through in the daytime would have been even more agonizing in the evening hours.
 
To make a long story short, they snaked the pipe about three times, with a bigger and longer snake, but still to no avail. The water still came back up after running for a couple of minutes. We then moved to the basement where the pipe from the kitchen sink met the main drain. To get to that, we had to cut out a portion of my finished studio, which obviously I would have preferred not to do, only to find that the blockage was in the main drain itself.
 
Mama Mia! We couldn’t even open the trap because when we tried water began backing up. I must say that neither the plumber nor I was happy. He, because he was looking at a rather big and difficult job, and I because I was looking at possible water and other damage to my basement, as well as a huge repair bill.
 
It seems that a big glob of grease and other stuff is blocking the pipe. An accumulation of many years, which entails getting a water flushing machine or some such thing at a cost of $650.00, and labour on top of that for two plumbers at $180.00 per hour, and all of that has a tax of 13% on it.
 
So you can imagine that I’m not a happy camper this morning. Hopefully, I will be a tad happier, though plenty poorer by the time they finish the job, this afternoon.
 
Anyway Friends, the moral of the story is NOT TO, NEVER flush oil or grease down your sinks, because it doesn’t always go right down into the main sewer system but stays in your pipe system and clogs it up after a while, causing problems like mine. Get a bottle, a bucket or some other kind of container and pour your grease and oil in that, and then dispose of that in some other fashion, but definitely not down your drains.
 
I guess I have to be thankful though that the blockage didn’t get into the heart of the main system, where it would have caused all the pipes in the house to back up, but apparently stayed in the drain leading to it. And for that I say, Thank You Lord!’
 
So that’s what I have to look forward to today. But enough of my griping (smile). A lot of people would gladly have that problem rather than the ones they do have.
 
Now let’s turn to our Bit, which seems rather appropriate under he circumstances. ‘But I would ye should understand (I want you to know), brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen (turned) out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.’
 
And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Why? Because all Bruh Paul’s hardships, imprisonments, floggings, shipwrecks etc, eventually turned out for good, helped to further the Word because others recognized his zeal and passion for Christ.
 
As the scholars explain: ‘Things … have fallen out means “have occurred.” Paul tells his readers that his imprisonment has occurred for the purpose of furthering or spreading the gospel. The word rather suggests that the Philippians were anticipating the reception of bad news as a result of Paul’s captivity. He informs them rather to the contrary.
 
In His wisdom and sovereignty God has deliberately designed His servant’s present circumstances, as undesirable as they may be, for the gospel’s benefit. Two positive results of Paul’s imprisonment are given in verse 13, 14. (1) Caesar’s palace learned the gospel from him (v13); and (2) many Roman Christians were stirred to preach the gospel during his bondage.’
 
Ah Friends, our God does certainly move in mysterious ways! We’d think that all Bruh Paul’s trials and tribulations would cause people to turn away from Christ, but it had the exact opposite effect.  
 
As he so eloquently says: ‘So that my bonds (chains) in Christ are manifest (well known) in all the palace (by the praetorian palace guards), and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing (becoming) confident by my bonds (chains), are much more bold to speak the word without fear.’ (Phil.1:13-14)
 
Yes Friends, our God oftimes uses our hardships and difficulties to draw others closer to Him. When they see our faith and strength in Him, they begin to believe. A good current example is what’s happening to me. I don’t like it, not by a long shot, but I have to grin and bear it. Now someone with a lesser problem might look at that and say, well if he could bear up under that, then I can bear up under my lesser problem.
 
And the Lord does that in all our lives; using our trials as encouragement for others. So though Bruh Paul was in jail in chains, he witnessed to all the guards that came by, and when they realized that he was no criminal, just zealous in the preaching of Christ and the gospel, many believed and witnessed to others.
 
Likewise the Roman believers were inspired by Bruh Paul’s stance for Christ and they too began spreading the gospel with much fervour. The scholars put it very nicely. ‘The whole church, thus stirred, did more in spreading the Good News than Paul could have done by himself had he not been in jail.’
 
So my fellow believers, let us not shirk or run and hide from whatever befalls us, even though they be negative circumstances, because you never know what the Lord’s reasons are for causing them.
 
Let’s just hold on tightly to His promise of working out everything for the good of those He’s called and who sincerely try to follow Him. (Rom.8:28) That’s true faith and wisdom in a nutshell my brethren! Much LOVE!
 
…when we endure trials and tribulations with steadfast faith and strength…God uses us to further the gospel by our example…