Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 February 2018 Matthew 5:20.

10 Feb 2018 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:20.   For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Oh friends, out there is like a true winter wonderland! Everything is as white as ever, for as far as you can see. And the white stuff has begun coming down again, at least in my area. Chuh! 

But that’s the Lord’s will. There isn’t anything we can really do about it. It’s winter, and that’s what happens in winter. We’ve just been lucky over the last few years not to see so much snow, so early in the season. 

But remember, anything God brings us to, He will bring us through. So if you have to go out today, please be careful, because that white stuff, though it may look beautiful on the ground, like the enemy it can be very deceiving and dangerous. 

And since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Listen to this first one. ‘When writing the story of your life, don’t let anyone else hold the pen.’ And why would you want to do that eh? It’s your life. You have to control it. 

Now check this out. ‘All the days that you wake up, you got one job, and that’s to get better every single day.’ And that’s oh so true, especially for a Christian. We need to aspire to grow in maturity and Christ-likeness every day that we draw breath. 

That leads us to: ‘Clear your mind of can’t!’ Wonderful advice! For as a believer in Jesus Christ, ‘can’t’ is not supposed to be in our vocabulary, since ALL things are possible with God, and we are God’s chosen people! 

And here’s an interesting one. ‘If you wanna fly, you got to give up the useless stuff that weighs you down.’ Is that ever so true friends! You can’t fly, or prosper, or take off, or rise up if you are being weighed down by useless and unnecessary stuff. 

Note how they carefully pack airplanes and ships for balance, and consider how much stuff is placed in them, otherwise they won’t be able to lift off the ground or sail. The same goes for people, improperly placed and unnecessary baggage will hold us back. 

And this last quote says: ‘If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it. If you do not ask, the answer will always be NO. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.’ 

And that is certainly true, but for believers a serious proviso has to be added to it: All we do, must be done under the will of God, His leading, and in His awesome timing! If not, our seeking will be to no avail; we’ll never truly fly, or write a good life story. And I do hope those quotes give us something to ponder this snowy Saturday morning, as we laze around the house. (smile) 

And we have a very interesting Bit today; memorable words of Jesus, as He talks about the law. ‘For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case (by no means) enter into the kingdom of heaven.’ 

Wow mih people! Imagine that nuh! And those people were supposed to be the most religious in their day, but Jesus lambasted them right, left and centre for their hypocritical behaviour. 

Hear how the scholars explain it. ‘5:20. Because of the necessity of righteousness as a requirement to enter heaven, Jesus then declares that except their righteousness should exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees they could not enter heaven. 

The significance of this is seen in the fact that the Jews of Jesus’ day considered those people to be the most religious in all Israel. However, their religion was largely an outward show of self-righteousness. 

In communicating the depth of His message, Jesus used a series of contrasts between the outward behaviour demanded by the law and the inner attitude of the heart desired by God. Here we discover the practical application of genuine Christian character to true spiritual living. Here we see the gospel in action.                                  

              Law                                           Spirit                         

             No Murder                               No anger

              No adultery                            No lust

              No divorce                               Commitment

              No oath-taking                      Speak the truth

              No retaliation                        Forgiveness

              Hatred for your enemy       LOVE for your enemy                  

             (tradition allowed it)                  (commanded)

Ah mih people, yuh see the basic difference between the laws of man and those of God. Our God expects us to come up to a higher standard than that of the basic law. Just living by the law is not good enough. And the scribes and Pharisees didn’t even truly live by the law that they propagated. 

Unfortunately, so do a lot of us supposed Christians in these end times. Some of us put on a great outward show, talk a good talk, but behind closed doors it’s an entirely different story.

But please remember Jesus’ words; unless we are more righteous than the religious leaders of His day, we won’t enter heaven. Now, that’s something of immeasurable value and importance for us to ponder this Saturday morning. Much LOVE!

…unless you walk the walk…in God’s eyes…where it really matters…talking the talk is useless…

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 January 2018 Revelation 1:3.

13 Jan 2018 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 1:3.   Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

What a fine bit of weather we’re having in my area these days! Glory be! I hope you can detect the note of sarcasm there. (smile) And it’s not only annoying but also dangerous. 

Yesterday afternoon I had a nap, and I could hear the rain falling against the window panes, then by the time I got up, about an hour later, the land was clothed in white. A snow blizzard had developed. And the wind howled all evening long. You can imagine the treacherous roads and many accidents on a Friday drive home that this kind of weather caused. 

But what to do eh friends? Not much. If you don’t have to go out, then don’t go out. And if you have to go out then be very careful, because you don’t know what lies beneath the sprinkling of snow on the ground. Enough about the weather though. It’s Saturday, so let’s check out some quotes from our friend Anselm, who aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Here is the first one: ‘Don’t be distracted by criticism. Remember the only taste of success some people get is to take a bite out of you.’ Oh friends, that’s ever so important in our daily lives. Whenever we step out to do something, there will always be the naysayers, but you can’t let them distract you from pursuing your dream. Criticism can be useful, but that’s all some people know, so please don’t let them deter you. 

And then there is this: ‘Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.’ More truth my brethren! The Lord has made us to be who we are, not someone else. So though you might admire other people and desire to be like them in some respects, it’s important that you follow the blueprint for your life and nobody else’s, because that’s where you will come up the highest. 

And the last quote says: ‘There is never a right time, you have to create the right time.’ Now I don’t necessarily agree with that, because, especially in God’s economy, there is a right and wrong time for some things. I’m sure that many of us have tried to do stuff, believing that the time was right, but it just never worked out. 

What I will say though, is that timing is of the utmost importance. But then again, if you’re a believer, you will be expected to wait on God’s timing in all that you do. And I can tell you from hard experience that His timing is very different to ours. (smile) So the long and short of the story is to learn to ignore useless criticism, be your best self, not try to be somebody else, and wait on God’s timing! 

Chuh! What is it eh? So far, every time I’ve written ‘timing’ I’ve spelt it wrong; except this time. Glory be! And talking about time and timing, let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ Yes friends, the Revelation is all about Christ, and it was shown to John so that he could reveal God’s programme to us. 

And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘1:1-3. Bare record: John was a witness of what he wrote. He saw the revelation and wrote what he saw. The blessing of verse 3 has a three fold condition: (1) read the book, (2) hear (understand) it, (3) keep (obey) it. 

The essential nature of prophecy was the communication of new truth (divine revelation). God has given it to be obeyed, not simply to be discussed and debated. The time is at hand in the sense that nothing else now has to occur before the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation Period.’ 

Oh my people, what a good God we serve, who tells us what to expect in the future. But He doesn’t just tell us for tell sake, He expects us to read, understand and obey what He says. And as Jesus told the woman who declared: ‘Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked (breasts which nursed thee). But he said, Yea, rather (more than that), blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.’ (Luke 11:27-28)    

Now are we doing that? Are we preparing for the time when things will change drastically? As James warns: ‘Be ye also patient; stablish (establish) your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (draws near).’ (James 5:8) And I know some of you will say that was said so long ago. But it only verifies the fact that with each passing day the Second Coming of Christ draws nearer and nearer. 

And Bruh Paul also warns in Thessalonians: ‘For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.’ (1 Thess: 5:2) So fellow believers, it’s ever so important that we read, understand and obey the word of God, NOW, because Christ is coming back sometime, anytime. 

Listen to His words. ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but the Father only.’ (Matt.24:35-36) Let’s consider ourselves dutifully warned friends! Much LOVE!

…to be forewarned…is to be forearmed…and thus prepared…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 September 2017 Luke 8:50.

16 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

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

Luke 8:50.   But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Well friends, it’s Saturday, we’re alive and kicking and into the weekend in full swing now! For that we should be grateful and give our great God some thanks for His grace and mercy, because that’s the only reason why we’re still alive today. Many people have not been so fortunate or blessed. 

But then again friends, is there ever a day when some sort of disaster isn’t taking place in our world? I understand that tropical storm Jose has now strengthened back to hurricane status and is heading for the East coast of North America, including the Eastern Canadian Provinces. 

And on another sorrowful note, the island of Barbuda, which was flattened by hurricane Irma now has no one living there, for the first time in some three hundred years. 

It was so badly devastated that they had to move all the residents to the sister island of Antigua. It’s a good thing that Antigua did not feel the full force of Irma, otherwise it would have been truly catastrophic. 

But what to do eh? We just have to have hope and carry on, for we know that once there is life, there is hope, and once there is hope, anything’s possible. And normally on a Saturday, we’d turn to those priceless quotes from our friend Anselm, in his heroic endeavour to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

However, because of hurricane Irma, I have only received one missive him from him this week, and that was yesterday. He lives some where in Florida and was most likely without power until then. He is apparently one of the fortunate ones, because there are millions down there who are still without power. 

And yesterday’s quote aptly said: ‘Believe in yourself.’ And that’s something we all need to do friends, if we hope to have any success in any and every aspect of our lives. However, I would like to add one proviso to that statement…but first, believe in God! 

Now that’s the kick-starter for ALL things; belief in Almighty God! For without that assurance and trust in our Creator and heavenly Father, nothing will go right in our lives. 

That brings us to our Bit, where, Jesus, on his way to a synagogue ruler’s house to heal his daughter, got waylaid into some other healing, and then a messenger came and told the ruler: ‘Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master (Teacher). But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.’ 

Yeh friends, everything in our lives first has to start with belief of some kind, and the best kind of belief is that which is based on Almighty God! It’s only logical my brethren. If He is the creator of everything, then there is none better to put our belief, our faith and our trust in! 

How did Jesus put it? ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.’ (John 14:1) And so should we, seeing that Jesus IS the Son of God, as well as our Lord and Saviour, who sacrificed His sinless life so that we could be cleansed and set free from our sins. 

Oh my people, our Christian experience is based strictly on belief, on faith, on sincere trust in the Holy Trinity, consisting of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If we don’t believe in their ascendancy, then our Christian faith is valueless. 

Jesus made the connection very often. Look at when the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years, believing she could be healed if she could only touch the hem of His robe, pushed through the crowd and did exactly that. She was healed immediately. 

And what did Jesus say to her afterwards? ‘Daughter, be of good comfort (cheer): thy faith hath made thee whole (well); go in peace.’ (Luke 8:48) 

And it works both ways friends. Hear how Jesus admonishes the crowd that followed Him only to be relieved from their physical hunger and not their spiritual lack. ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye have seen me, and believe not.’ (John 6:35-36) 

And like wise He chastises Phillip, when he asks Him to show them the Father. ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father? 

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself (on my own authority): but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works‘ sake.’ (John 14:9-11) 

And we’ll end with this admonishment to Thomas who refused to believe that Jesus was indeed risen from the dead until he saw His scars. ‘Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ (John 20:29) 

Yes faithful followers, that pertains directly to us, who have believed in Jesus and all that He has said and done, without actually seeing Him in the flesh, like the disciples did. We are indeed blessed for that act of faith! Please don’t doubt, or ever lose that belief. Much LOVE!

…again we say…belief in Jehovah God…is the true beginning…and the sure foundation of…EVERYTHING…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 May 2017 Psalm 133:1.

20 May 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 133:1.   Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

And then it was Saturday; beautiful spring time in the northern climes! Wow! We just can’t wait for summer to come, after experiencing those two days of summer weather this past week. 

Everybody was out in their shorts and shirtsleeves, walking, riding, the tops of the convertible cars down, with their hair blowing in the wind. I don’t think we’ll see as much of that today though, because it won’t be so warm. Today is shaping up to be a somewhat lazy, hazy day, at least hopefully for me, although I need to go and get some undecipherable noise on my chariot fixed. 

But however it turns out, since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of our friend Anselm’s recent quotes, which are always aimed at inspiring us for a better tomorrow. And this week they were short and pithy – to the point – forceful, clever – like: ‘Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.’ 

And there’s great truth in that simple statement, for success comes in many different forms, and not all of them add value to us or our society. So you can be a successful person, in the eyes of the world, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you are valuable, especially in the eyes of Jesus. All the successful but evil people in this evil world aren’t valuable to Jesus or most of us, for in His realm, true value breeds success, not the other way around. 

And I like this quote. ‘Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.’ Oh friends, if more of us supposed Christians would only stop running down the money and the non-lasting wealth of the world, we’d not only be happier, but much more useful in service to Jesus. We run down the world’s riches, but we don’t have time to enjoy them. What we need more in these tough times is sincere passion; a desire to do good and not evil, to work diligently for Jesus rather than for Beelzebub! 

And this last quote is awesome. ‘If you are willing to do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will be paid to do more than you do.’ Words of biblical content my people! Jesus always inspired us to go the extra mile, to put our best foot forward, give more than we are asked, because in due time whatever we sow, we will reap in greater abundance. 

Unfortunately though, that idea of doing more than we’re paid to do has fallen on deaf ears. The treat today, is to do ever less than we’re paid to do, then smirk and think we’ve outsmarted our employer. Oh, we just might do that, but constantly robbing our employer of our paid time will certainly put our jobs in jeopardy. And remember, God is watching our every move, and if we Christians succumb to such fraudulent behaviour, we’ll definitely hear about it later from Him. 

So friends, it’s all to our betterment, if we live a useful, valuable and passionate Christian life. Not foolishly running down the things of the world, which don’t last anyway, and only cause us all kinds of worry and illness from the stress and strain of trying to acquire them. 

And all of that just leads to our wonderful Bit. ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ And that’s the living truth my people! 

I don’t know, but something must be wrong with me yes, because I see others living in disunity and resentment and so much negative vibes around them and they seem to enjoy it, to flourish in it. Steups! I could never live so nuh. And as I’ve told my children many a time, if they ever live in such a sad state, I will come back and haunt them! (smile) That’s because there’s NO good reason for brethren, especially blood siblings, to live in continual disunity. 

Now let’s look at an instance in the Good Book pertaining to brethren not living in unity. And it has to do with Lot and Abraham, when their cattle herders were not getting along, because there was not enough land for all the cattle to feed equitably.

‘And Abraham said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.’ (Gen.13:8-9) 

Now doesn’t that make sense friends? It surely does! Why fight amongst each other, when there is ALWAYS some way to mitigate the negativity. We just have to want to badly enough. 

Now hear these words from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring one another (giving preference to another)… Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (do not set your mind on) high things, but condescend to men (associate with men) of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation)… If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.’ (Rom.12:10, 16, 18) Such words of wisdom my brethren!

And we’ll close with these famous words from the author of Hebrews. ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb.13:1-2)  

Yes friends, it’s all about living in unity…What else can it be about eh? Much LOVE!

…only in unity can our world ever hope to find peace…

 

 

 

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