Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 April 2024 Amos 5:4.

27 Apr 2024 Leave a comment

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

Amos 5:4.        For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.

Rainy days and lazy-day Saturdays always make me glad… especially if I don’t have to go out in them. (smile) And though the early morning rain has stopped now, it’s still wet and cloudy out there, so don’t go out unless you really have to, stay inside and enjoy the relaxing laziness of the day. And to help us do that, let’s offer up our Lazy-Day Saturday Prayer. 

In sincere and heartfelt voice: ‘Lord, I want to be with You now. Please slow my thoughts and quiet my soul. Let my muscles relax, my breath deepen. You are here with me – Your peace and LOVE are present. I marvel to think You can’t be contained, that Your LOVE both surrounds and fills me. Thank You for this tenderness, Lord. I praise You for Your unceasing nearness. Increase my awareness of You today, that I may know You all the more. Amen!’ 

And as always, if our words were truly sincere, then we know that the Lord is currently answering our prayer for calmness and peace, and filling our souls and spirits with His undying, unconditional LOVE, for He never allows those kinds of prayers that truly seek Him, to go unanswered.  

Now, the Good Library just opened at an interesting passage from the Book of Amos, regarding ‘A Lamentation for Israel.’ Israel has gone astray once again and the Lord in His wrath is not coming with salvation for Israel, but with complete judgement. Here, the prophet Amos is informing them of the Lord’s words. ‘For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought (nothing). 

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. Ye who turn judgement (justice) to wormwood, and leave off (abandon) righteousness in the earth. Seek him that maketh the seven stars (the Pleiades) and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with (as) night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:’ (Amos 5:4-8) 

Oh friends, what an interesting passage of scripture, one that ought to remind us of our current plight, for we have also turned away from the God of our forefathers and taken up with the evildoers of Satan, and from day one, it has been said and shown that the evildoers will not survive the wrath of God’s judgement, but will be summarily destroyed in God’s time. But though we have seen it happen in the history books and the Bible, we still refuse to bow to the Lord God Almighty, our Creator and Controller in favour of the passing pleasures of sin. 

But please note the words of Amos from the Lord. I believe He is telling us the very same thing today; turn from our evil ways, ‘Seek ye me, and ye shall live.’ As the scholars explain: ‘Three times the invitation, ‘Seek ye me, and ye shall live, is given (vs. 4, 6,14). Though God’s judgement is imminent, it can be avoided, or at least postponed, by seeking the Lord. The only hope is to seek the Lord in true repentance and thus avoid the judgement of God.’ 

 And yuh know what my people, many of us are claiming that we’re living in the end times, and if that is true, then doesn’t it make all the more sense, is it not divine wisdom for us to turn away from our evil and ungodly ways and seek the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, bodies and minds so that we can escape His awesome wrath come the judgement day? It surely is! For as the scholars just reminded us the ONLY HOPE of avoiding severe retribution is to seek the Lord as quickly and sincerely as possible. But unfortunately many of us still insist on clinging to the evil, sinful tailcoat of Beelzebub and refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. 

The evil and ungodly pleasures of this world hold more delights for us than acknowledging the Lord God Jehovah. However, please note these further words of the Lord through Amos’ lamentation to Israel. ‘For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty (many) sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right (from their right of  justice) Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and LOVE the good, and establish judgement (justice) in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.’ (Amos 5:12-15) 

Oh my fellow believers, it seems as though Amos is living amongst us today, for what he’s saying is exactly what’s happening in our world today. The injustice, the crooked deals, the evil deeds that are currently taking place as though they are natural and right outcomes is all disgusting and against the Lord’s Word. And He’s seeing it all, and because of His great LOVE for us is still warning us to turn away from evil, to seek Him, that we may live. How many times in the bible are we told to seek good and not evil eh? 

Amos says it here, and the psalmist says it thus in Psalm 97: ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’ (Ps. 97:10) Meanwhile, Bruh Paul in his letter to the church at Rome tells them in no uncertain terms. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good….Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:9, 21) 

How many more warnings do we need before we wake up from our foolish, sinful slumber and heed them eh mih bredrin? I guess Cousin Sol could not have said it any better in his opening statements in Proverbs. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ (Prov. 1:7) And right now friends, we are behaving like those proverbial fools. Let’s hope that we wake up soon and thus avoid the justice that will befall those who don’t listen. Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear… (Matt. 11:15)

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 April 2014 Leviticus 19:1-2

30 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

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

Leviticus 19:1-2.   And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.

Oh Friends and fellow believers, how does it grab you eh – rainy days and Wednesdays? (smile) I certainly hope it doesn’t have us feeling like the old Gordon Lightfoot song, which says: ‘Rainy days and Mondays always get me down.’

 

Why you ask? Well because as Christ’s representatives, His ambassadors here on earth, we’re called on to have a pleasant, positive disposition most of the time. Anything less will simply not venerate Jesus and make others want to come to Him for the wonderful comfort and succour He has to offer.

 

And that’s basically our major purpose – LOVING our God, sincerely LIVING our Faith, and SPREADING His Word!

 

Now yesterday was a mostly rainy day in my neck of the woods, and so it seems today will also be. But my people, the good news is that though we might not be able to see the sun, we can be positively assured that it’s up there, shining brightly, somewhere above those dark, dreary clouds, because like the Son, Jesus, its Creator, the Sun ALWAYS RISES!

 

That means, once we have Jesus in our hearts, it is ALWAYS possible for our emotions and spirits to rise above whatever is coming against us and trying to keep us down, down in the negative depths of sin and despair.

 

So please my brethren, regardless of it’s raining cats and dogs in your area, like it is in mine, or the evil villain Lucifer is trying to drag you down to his below ground level, please don’t fear; don’t be afraid or anxious for anything, just look to Jesus, tell Him your problems, and sincerely ask for His help, and He will faithfully render it, because that’s what he promised to do.

 

And if it’s one thing ALL believers know, or ought to know, is that our great Triune God is ever faithful, ALWAYS keeps His promises!

 

So, please, let’s be like the birds, which never stop singing God’s praises, be it rain or shine, regardless of their personal situations, be their problems small or large. And the perfect example of that is I heard them outside my window earlier on, lifting their sweet voices to heaven in high praise, though their feathers and bodies were soaked with rain.

 

And all God’s children gave a grateful shout of ‘Glory Hallelujah!’

 

So now that we’ve finished rambling through the preamble, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit: ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.’

 

And the first question is did you do your homework? Did you check out the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, to see if what the Jewish scholars say is true; that Chapter 19 of Leviticus embraces, or recapitulates all of the Ten Commandments amongst its diverse verses?

 

Ah mih people, you don’t have to answer that question because I know the answer for a majority of you is a big, fat NO! Just for the records though, I did, and found it be very true.

 

Anyway, in this last message on the holiness of God, and therefore our own holiness, let’s look at a couple of scriptures that declare its necessity. First off is the Lord’s admonition to the children of Israel earlier on in Leviticus, re clean and unclean animals.

 

‘Ye shall not make yourselves (your souls) abominable (impure) with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.

 

For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.’ (Lev.11:43-45)

 

Ah mih breddren, as usual our God is plain and straightforward! There’s nothing there hard to understand, and He tells us the same thing several times during those three verses, so at some point it ought to sink into our stubborn, hard-headed consciousness.

 

Now listen to Peter on the call to Christian dedication. ‘Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind  (prepare your mind for action), be sober, and hope to the end for the grace (rest your hope fully upon the grace) that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

 

As obedient children, not fashioning (conforming) yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation (conduct); Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.’ (1 Pet.1:13-16)

 

Yes Friends, all of that still applies to us today, though sadly we are not living it out in the world, otherwise the world would not be so evil and ungodly!

 

Now here is some info from the scholars on verse 13, which I hope will empower and embolden us to start or keep on being holy, holy as we ought to.

 

‘1:13. The exhortation to set one’s hope involves an inward resolution. Gird up the loins of your mind: The imagery is that of personal discipline and outward conduct. Be sober (Gr. nephontes): Be free of every sort of mental and spiritual intoxication. The revelation of Jesus Christ is the Second Advent when Jesus returns to earth to set up His kingdom.’

 

Ah mih people, I know that to live a holy life for Christ takes a lot of discipline and self-control, in other words, great discipleship. However those are things that are not very easy to come by in this undisciplined and anything goes modern world.

 

But if we truly want to live our lives for Jesus, and in the way that He desires, then we have to put our best foot forward and make the sacrifice(s) that are necessary to fulfill our calling.

 

And please remember two things here: The Lord will never give us more than we can bear, and if we sincerely cry out to Him for help, He will gladly help us. That means there’s no reason for us to fall down on the job, unless we choose to do so.

 

Now let’s end, as I LOVE to do whenever possible, with a word from Jesus. ‘Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’ (Luke 6:36)

 

Oh Friends, just one more wonderful aspect of our heavenly Father which we need to adopt! So without further ado, let’s get to it nuh. Much LOVE!

 

…to walk how Jesus walked…takes much back and belly…but He will give them to us…if we ask in faith…