Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 February 2017 John 3:16.

24 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

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

John 3:16.   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.

Oh friends, welcome to another day of spring in the midst of February! This past week has been something else yes; spring like temps in a time when it’s the white stuff that’s usually falling. Hn! But I’ll take the rain that’s coming down out there now, any day over the white stuff. 

And it’s Friday to boot, so the workingman is happy, as he mouths his Friday song. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! That means the weekend is here too! Glory Hallelujah! No work for two whole big days! Take that massa! I can do whatever I want for the next two days and you can’t say a word! Bleh! (Longing out his tongue at the massa). 

So we going to eat and drink and party, and carry on like there’s no tomorrow…for who knows if there’ll be a tomorrow anyway! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’ 

Ah mih people, I know that’s a very tempting way to spend our weekends, but it’s not a very wise one, for instead of helping to solve our problems, that kind of bacchanalian behaviour will only compound them. 

Our Friday Chant is much more subdued but nonetheless still free and friendly enough to allow us to enjoy the comforts and blessings of life, while keeping our heads about us. So let’s chant it now in unison nuh, so that we can prep ourselves for the upcoming weekend. 

‘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 friends, that way we both enjoy the benefits of the time off, as well as rejuvenate ourselves for the upcoming week, which are the only things that make sense under the circumstances. 

Now let’s turn to our Bit, that awesome statement that changed the whole world, set it on its ear, some two thousand years ago. ‘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.’ 

Wow! What a momentous, world changing statement, out of the mouth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! The world has never been the same since then friends! 

And you know the most important words in that scripture are simply, ‘God so LOVED…’ Yes my fellow believers, it all began with God’s LOVE! If He hadn’t LOVED, then we’ll all be toast at the end of our lives. 

But because He LOVED, many of us will be living forever with Him in heavenly circumstances when our earthly bodies crumble back to the dust from which they were formed. So let’s have a look at this miraculous word called LOVE nuh. 

The scholars have this to say about it. ‘3:16. LOVE is both an attribute of God and a description of His being. He alone is the epitome of divine LOVE and the source of all true LOVE. His LOVE is unconditional and consistently demonstrates the highest good of the one who is LOVED. 

Illustration: God’s LOVE was clearly demonstrated at Calvary when Jesus died for all our sins (1 John 3:1). Application: Because God first LOVED us, we ought to LOVE others as well (1 John 4:11). (First Ref. Gen.2:16-17; Primary Ref. John 3:16; c.f. James 1:17).’ 

Ah mih people, LOVE is what gave us life in the first place, and what is also keeping us alive now, and giving us hope for the future. So how can we be so callous about it eh? 

Listen to Peter and the other apostles when they were brought before the Jewish Council for continuing to preach Christ crucified, after being told to stop. ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. 

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.’ (Acts 5:29-32) 

Oh my people, please let’s take the LOVE of God seriously nuh, instead of just taking it for granted. As I said yesterday, LOVE is the most lethal weapon in existence. Listen to Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount. 

‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you. 

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? 

And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt.5:43-48) 

Please note friends, that perfect here doesn’t mean sinless, but as the scholars say, ‘complete, that is, possessing a complete LOVE that, like God’s (v.45), embraces those who LOVE you as well as those who do not.’ 

So please my fellow believers, let’s just do what Jesus desires of us nuh, for that’s the ONLY way we’ll ever be successful. Much LOVE!

…without true LOVE…the world will eventually sink into the mire of hate and deceit that currently has it in grip…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 April 2014 Matthew 5:48

26 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:48.      Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
 
Oh Friends, today we have another two certain harbingers of spring. The first is the rise in gasoline prices, which are currently running around $ 1.40 per litre in the Greater Toronto Area (G.T.A). They say it’s about 15 cents more per litre than it was last year. Ah Lord eh!
 
And if you live in these parts, you’ll know that just around this time, termed the start of the driving season, gas prices are always on the rise. Hn! The ole crooks who control the commodity just laugh at talk of boycotts and other stuff, because they know that we have to buy it, since our modern lifestyle is centered around motor vehicles. We need vehicles, and thus fuel for them, to do almost everything; from grocery shopping, to work, to church, and even to play.
 
Strangely enough too, the prices always seem to be a few cents less outside of the G.T.A. Why is that I wonder? But what really amuses me – that’s strictly sarcasm – is that every time there’s an uproar over the exorbitant gas prices, and some politician(s) check into it, there’s never any case of gouging to be found.
 
But yet the oil companies are making billions of dollars in profit every year, while the poor people whom they expect to buy the gas are losing their jobs by the thousands, to cut costs and increase shareholder returns. Don’t these greedy, short-sighted, capitalist fools realize that it’s the same people they’re putting out of work that they expect to buy their products? Steups! 
 
But enough of that, because the blatant exploitation just makes me angry, and there’s nothing much I can do about it. Now the second harbinger of spring is road closures. Chuh! Roads are closed every day for any number of reasons, including road repairs, walking, bicycling and running marathons, parades and festivals, street fairs, etc. etc.
 
Some days it makes you long for winter, when none of these things are around to make driving so onerous. One lane to the T.O. airport has already been closed for a couple of weeks, and will remain that way for at least a couple of months. So can you imagine the traffic snarl that now creates on an already badly traffic snarled highway?
 
All I can do is praise the Lord that He has significantly reduced my driving these days, so I don’t spend as much money on gas, or time on the road. But the sad fact is that almost anywhere you go, the traffic jams will affect you.
 
Anyway, we can’t do much about the rise in gas prices or road closures, so let’s grin and bear them, and instead focus on something we can control, both individually and together as Christ’s Church; that’s our Bit. ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
 
But Friends, before getting into any other scriptures on the topic, let’s first hear some much needed explanations from the scholars. ‘5:48. This section of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized with the statement Be ye therefore perfect. Since the New Testament is clear that even the believer is capable of sin, the term perfect (Gr. teleios) is not to be taken as sinless perfection. Perfect here means “complete,” that is, possessing a complete LOVE that, like God’s (v.45), embraces those who LOVE you as well as those who do not.’
 
And as my corollary to that, (smile) although it comes before it in the Good Book, listen to Jesus on the subject. ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you;
 
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?’ (Matt.5:43-47) 
 
And now Friends, let’s get some good explanation on all that from the scholars. ‘5:43-44. The law of LOVE, sometimes called “law of Christ,” summarizes the ethical principles of the Sermon on the Mount. “LOVE thy neighbour” summarizes the entire second table of the law (cf. Lev.19:18-34). But the unscriptural addition “hate thine enemy” was a popular concept in Jesus’ day.
 
The admonition LOVE your enemies is one of the greatest statements Jesus ever made. The LOVE enjoined in this passage is LOVE that originates from God Himself. Man is not commanded to attempt to LOVE his enemy on the basis of mere human affection but rather on the basis of a LOVE that comes from God.
 
The quality of LOVE commanded here is expressed by giving. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute you. LOVING an enemy involves doing good toward that enemy in order to win him over to Christ.’
 
And now for some further explanation from the scholars. ‘5:45-47. In summarizing the importance of LOVE, Jesus reminded that LOVE was a necessary proof of salvation: that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven may be better rendered, “that ye may prove to be sons of your Father.”
 
An initial reading of this text out of its context might seem to imply that LOVING one’s neighbours automatically makes one a child of God. However, the New Testament is clear that LOVE is the evidence that one is already saved by the grace of God (cf. 1 John 3:14). Therefore Jesus reminds us that we are to LOVE our enemies as our brethren, for even the publicans LOVE those who LOVE them. Publicans were public officials of Jewish nationality who worked for the Roman government as tax collectors and were generally despised by the people.’
 
And there we have it Friends, today’s sermon, (smile) ably assisted by the scholars. I do hope that the information they provided will be helpful to us all, giving us a better understanding of what Jesus requires of us, for that’s what the Good Book is all about, and what we’re here to try to learn, mark and inwardly digest. Please ponder it all, asking God for help to understand it, because that’s truly wisdom from on high. Much LOVE!
 
…godly LOVE should be the basis for ALL Christian action and interaction…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 May 2013 Psalm 138:6

11 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 138:6.     Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
 
And then it was Saturday Friends, where most people are delighted to sleep in late for at least one day a week. Many don’t have that luxury though, for they have young children and their own affairs to look after, stuff they can’t do during the workweek. But however the days play out, it is very reassuring to know that we have a God who looks out for us in each and every circumstance. And all God’s people raised a joyful shout to heaven of ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy to us, His sinful, rebellious creation!’ And now I’m going to put a fly in the ointment by sharing a quote attributed to the American Humorist and Author, Mark Twain, (Samuel Langhome Clemens, 1835-1910). It says: ‘Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.’ Now that’s surely an interesting situation. Hopefully, because we’d be richly endowed with more wisdom at the outset of our life’s journey, we’d make fewer mistakes, thus live a more godly life, and gradually as we grow younger realize the wonderful benefits and freedoms we have at eighteen. There is a kind of logic to it, but unfortunately the Master Planner didn’t see it that way. He preferred us to be unwise and make mistakes in the early days of our lives, then grow into wisdom as we age.  That leads us to our Bit: ‘Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto (He regards) the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.’ Now that’s a tendency of our God that’s in direct opposition or contrast to that of the world! In His eternal wisdom, one would expect Him to look more kindly on the bright and upwardly mobile of His creation. However, as Bruh David points out in Psalm 113 – God’s mercies are many: ‘The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill (ash heap); That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.’ (Ps.113:4-8) Yes my brethren, our God can be a rather contrary Being when He’s ready. He likes to stir it up by using the most unlikely to do His bidding. Just look at all the prophets and the disciples whom He used to deliver His messages. They were usually poor, downtrodden, disliked by many, and often offensive to their society. But the Lord used them, and He’s still using the most unlikely ones, the broken, and the cracked pots, like me, to let His light shine forth and spread His message. As Bruh Paul tells the Corinthians in his first letter. ‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base (insignificant) things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought (nothing) things that are. That no flesh should glory in his presence.’ (1 Cor.1:27-29) Here’s how the scholars describe those verses: ‘God hath chosen: The selection by God is designed to silence the wisdom of man. He chooses the foolish to shame the wise. He chooses weak things to shame things deemed by man to be mighty and things men do not even realize exist to counteract things which are, powers and institutions erected and relied upon by man.’ That’s why all the supposed wisdom and wise things of man are in such a state of confusion and turmoil today! And remember too that Jesus dealt mainly with the sick and suffering, the outcasts, the dregs of society. He didn’t have much time for the religious zealots and hypocrites who ruled the roost. Now here’s a very telling story after Jesus calls Matthew, the hated tax collector to follow Him. The Good Book describes it thus: ‘And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat (at the table) in the house, behold, many publicans (tax collectors) and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole (are well) need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ (Matt.9:10-13) Oh Friends,what a wonderful Being our Saviour is, with no stupid hang ups and pretences despite His godly state, while foolish mortal men give themselves all sorts of airs and graces, only to be confounded by the contrariness of God. In that last verse, Jesus was quoting from Hosea, re Israel’s reply to God’s admonishment. ‘For I desired mercy (faithfulness), and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.’ (Hos.6:6) And my people, that’s what the Lord still desires of us, so let’s seriously ponder it all. Please read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the lesson taught, for it directly reflects your level of wisdom and status in the Lord’s eyes. Much LOVE!…but many that are first…shall be last…and the last…shall be first…  (Matt.19:30)