rejuvenation of spirit | SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 July 2016 Psalm 145:15

11 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a fool's wisdom, aura of love, beast of the field, bright and bubbly, bright and early, chirpy, complaining, confidence, conquerors, Creator of the universe, disobedient, do unto Jesus, earthly life, endureth through all generations, enthusiasm. joy, everlasting kingdom, evil, faith, fellowship, fools, friends, give drink, glorious kingdom, goodness, groaning, holy spirit, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, kudos, lethargic, lies, LOVE, love that day, loving kindness, make his face shine, makes glad, meat in due season, meet the enemy, method to my madness, miserable complaining, moaning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, oil, open thine hand, peace, prosperity, quench their thirst, reap corn, rebellious, reconciliation, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, repentance, rest, salvation, satisfies the desires, sour, sow peas, springs, steadfast faith, surrender, tailspin, taunts, TGIM! Thank God it's Monday!, the eyes of all, the heart of man, the Promised Land, tired, truth, ungodly world, ungrateful, valleys, victory, wait upon thee, wake up and smell the coffee, weary souls, week of work, weekend, wiles, wine and roses, wisdom

Psalm 145:15. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season.

‘Monday, Monday! Oh how I just LOVE that day! Monday, Monday! Don’t you ever go away! TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday!’

Yes friends, there is method to my madness. (smile) I’m figuring that if we hear that often enough, Monday’s might just grow on us like Friday did. So in future, when Mondays roll around, as indeed they will, we won’t’ be so sour and miserable and complaining, but greet it with great enthusiasm and a sincere joy to get out there and do whatever we have to do unto Jesus, and not unto man!

Ah mih people, the ole fella has to keep on trying to get us out bright and early and chirpy and chippy, so we can truly enjoy this earthly life, while diligently working on Jesus’ behalf.

Now I know some of you are tired and lethargic, moaning and groaning and complaining about my li’l chat because you did not do as you should have over the weekend. But not to worry, we have something that will brighten your spirit and raise your adrenalin level so that you can go out bright and bubbly, expecting victory. It’s called our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s sing it as thought we truly mean it nuh.

As one harmonious choir now: ‘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!’

Good going friends, good going! Our choirmaster Jesus was pleased! Yuh see what happens when you put your all into something! So now with our motors up and running, let’s go out into the crazy, wicked world and do whatever Jesus has called us to do nuh.

That brings us to our Bit which verily supports all of our contentions above. (smile) But before we get to it, let’s check out the two verses before it.

‘Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee (look expectantly to you); and thou givest them their meat (food) in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing.’ (Psalm 145:13-16)

Yes my brethren, Bruh David said it, so there must be a whole lot of truth to it! He extols the Lord’s graciousness in this most excellent psalm of praise! And if you don’t believe that, then listen to this from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature.

The psalmist unequivocally declares: ‘He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses (donkeys) quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which sing among the branches.

He watereth the hills from his (upper) chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works, He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb (vegetation) for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart. ‘ (Ps.104: 10-15)

Oh my brethren, with all of that – and there’s much more if you want to read all of Psalm 104 – how can we ever doubt the goodness, the LOVING-kindness, the wisdom of our wonderful God eh? Only a fool would dare to do that!

Unfortunately though, currently there are way too many fools in the Lord’s great universe. We’re trying our very best to take him out of our society, which is a fool’s wisdom, and then when our world goes into a serious tailspin, with disasters, wars and all kinds of negative happenings across the globe, we sit back and foolishly wonder why.

Steups! Oh friends, if we insist on removing the Creator of the universe and all therein from His universe, which is really impossible, what do we expect eh? Do we expect to get wine and roses and song and heartwarming kudos for removing Him from our society?

Not on your life! We’ll get what we justly deserve, what He’s promised from day one to those who are disobedient to His Word and Will; negative happenings! Yuh see what He did to the rebellious, ungrateful Jews in the wilderness; earthquakes, snakebites and wandering around for forty years, till all of those who had come out of Egypt had died.

Not even Moses made it over to the Promised Land because he angered the Lord. So friends how can we expect anything else but negative consequences for our foolish rebellion eh? We might get away with it for a while, but eventually it’s all going to catch up to us. Remember our God is patient and longsuffering, but He’s not a patsy, a walkover.

Please, let’s wake up and smell the coffee nuh, and realize the error of our ways and wisely return to His fold through repentance and reconciliation based on Jesus’ work at the cross. For that is indeed wisdom of the highest order! Much LOVE!

…you can’t sow peas…and expect to reap corn…likewise you can’t be blatantly disobedient…and expect to receive prosperity…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 July 2016 Psalm 12:2

04 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 4th July, at noon, aura of love, be about Christ's business, be prepared, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus Christ, calls us home, Canada Day, Chicago, Christ's Church, Christians, come up higher, complaining, confidence, cry aloud, dangerous, deceitful, dissension, divisions, does anybody care, Does anybody know what time it is, double heart, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, enemy, enthusiasm, eternal life, evening, ever-faithful God, evil, evil minions, faith, falsely, fellowship, fervent followers, flattering lips, friends, get our houses in order, God's flock, good neighbourly relations, Granny's advice, honesty, hope, humble servants, in splendour and power, inconsistent mind, inner sanctum, invincible, Jesus Christ, Jesus returns, joy, joyful band of Christians, last bastion, lies, lollygagging, LOVE, Lucifer, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, morning, neighbour, peace, planet earth, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resting on their laurels, salvation, sense of right and wrong, spiritual armour, stand up strong, steadfast faith, stick together, strife filled, the clock's ticking, the end times, the last days, the Lord shall save me, tragic, Trojan horse, trust, truth, unfair, ungodly world, unkind place, vanity, victory, wary, weary souls, wiles, wisdom

Psalm 12:2. They speak vanity (idly, falsely) every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with double heart (an inconsistent mind) do they speak.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY U. S. OF A!

Ah friends, as I was getting ready to write the Bit, the old Chicago tune popped into my head: ‘Does anybody really know what time it is…? Does anybody really care…?’

And it struck me that the majority of the world doesn’t seem know what time it is – THE LAST DAYS – and nobody really seems to care either, otherwise it wouldn’t be such a tragic, strife-filled, evil and unkind place.

But thankfully, fortunately, we, this joyful band of Christians, fervent followers of and believers in Jesus Christ do know that we are in the end times and that we desperately need to get our houses in order if we want to be prepared when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ returns to earth in splendor and power, or calls us home first.

Yes my people, we are the last bastion of faith, hope, LOVE and peace on the planet! That means we desperately need to come up much higher, ASAP, if we hope to save as many people, and as much of our world as we can. The clock’s a ticking, and Lucifer and his evil minions are working like mad to conquer as much as possible. Therefore the battle won’t be easy, but if we stick together and stand up strong with Jesus, then victory is assuredly ours.

Consequently, on this Monday morning, the first in July 2016, we need to be up and about Christ’s business; no lollygagging and complaining about we tired etc. Yuh think Beelzebub’s people are resting on their laurels? Definitely not! They are already up and about the evil one’s business! So what are we waiting for eh? Let’s get a move on!

And to help us rally round Jesus, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with a soulful explosion of power, harmony and sincerity. All together now! ‘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.

Now that wasn’t too bad, but you can hear the loudest voices being those of our U.S. friends, because it’s their Independence Day celebration! They don’t have to work today, so they are obviously more exuberant than we Canadians who are now wrapping up our Canada Day celebrations.

Anyway, Happy 4^th of July my friends to the South! Enjoy it, but don’t overdo it. Remember Granny’s advice: ‘Mih son, please, ah beg yuh, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’

And Granny knew what she was talking about, because when we get too celebratory, we tend to lose our sense of right and wrong, and that opens up a toehold for the enemy to get into our souls and create havoc. And that we definitely can’t allow.

And that brings us to our Bit; truth of the indisputable kind! ‘They speak vanity (idly, falsely) every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with double heart (an inconsistent mind) do they speak.’

Yes friends, things like, truth, honesty and good neighbourly relations have gone the way of the dodo bird, have become extinct! Nowadays, it’s like every man for himself, the first person pronoun; ‘me, mine, myself and I,’ seem to be prevailing sentiment, as evil and evildoers run rampant across the earth.

But it’s our job to stop them my fellow believers…and we can, if we’d only get serious about our bounden duty, and stop allowing them to cause dissension and divisions amongst God’s flock. For they are the past masters of the art of divide and conquer, and we are allowing them to do just that with Christ’s church.

As Bruh David says in Psalm 41 – Abuse and assurance: ‘Mine enemies speak evil of me, when shall he die, and his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity (empty words): his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.’ (Ps.41:5-6)

But you know my brethren, times are so bad and deceitful now, that you need to be more wary of your friends because they now behave like enemies too.

And we’ll end with this cry of Bruh David in Psalm 55, against deceitful friends. ‘For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide (companion), and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company (the throng)’ (Ps.55:12-14)

Then he calls down a quick death upon them and their wickedness, and declares thus: ‘As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.’ (Ps.55:16-17)

Oh my people, I can’t give you any better advice than that! So please, let’s keep calling on our great and ever-faithful God nuh, let’s keep looking to Him for salvation, for He is indeed the ONLY ONE able to grant it! Much LOVE!

…be very careful of whom you allow into your inner sanctum…for they might just turn out to be a Trojan horse…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 June 2016 Psalm 40:4

27 Jun 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: adrenalin, affection, as for me and my house, aura of love, banished, blessed is the man, blessings, choose, Christians, compass, complaining state, condemned, confidence, conquerors, conviction, desolate, encouragement, enthusiasm, envy, eternal life, evil, excellent, falsehood, favour, found guilty, friends, fruit, glorious kingdom, good cheer, gospel truth, grouse, harmoniously, hearsay, holy spirit, human beings, humble, humble servants, in season, invincible, Jesus Christ, joy, lies, LOVE, maketh the Lord his trust, mama yo, miserable, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, on the cross, overcome, peace, personal experience, promise, prosper, quagmire, redeems, rejoice, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, resistance, respects not the proud, rest, righteousness., rise and shine, rivers of water, sacrificial death, salvation, sins, slay the wicked, sour, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, surround, the enemy, the right foot, the soul of his servants, trust, truth, truthful, turns aside to lies, ungodly world, we will serve the Lord, whining, whom you will serve, wisdom, wise decision, wither

Psalm 40:4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

Well friends, it’s a brand new day called Monday! Mama yo! (smile)

And we all know what means; time to rise and shine and get to work. Now we can either do that in a sour, miserable, complaining state, or we can do it filled with the peace and LOVE and good cheer of Jesus. It’s your choice. But believe me the latter way is the best way.

One way or the other you have to go to work, so who are you hurting if you go there whining and complaining eh? Most likely yourself.

What I don’t understand about human beings is that we have to go to work, that’s a given, so why constantly grouse and complain when the work day rolls around, especially when, as Christians we have God’s peace and LOVE and otherwise that will enable us to overcome our natural resistance?

Anyway, that’s for each of us to figure out individually. Right now let’s try to help the situation by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much enthusiasm and positive conviction. All together now, harmoniously and in strong voice.

‘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.

Oh friends, that was excellent! Or as Nuculer, a long ago friend would say ‘most excellent man, most excellent!’ And Jesus, our choir director thought so too, going by the big smile on His face and His energetic working of the director’s baton.

That means mih people, that we’re getting off on the right foot, with plenty enthusiasm and adrenalin coursing through our bodies, so let’s get out there in the ungodly world and show them what’s what nuh!

Show them the true LOVE and affection of Jesus, so that they can envy us and want to come to Him too to receive the salvation and eternal life that we possess through His sacrificial death on the cross, which banished our sins forever!

Ah mih breddren, I’m chuckling here as the Spirit moves me, and the brain is thinking faster than the pen can write. (smile) But enough fooling around, let’s get to our Bit, the same one as yesterday: ‘Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.’

Oh friends impeccable truth and wisdom for all of us to live by! If we would only truly trust in God and live a decent, humble, truthful life, this world would be such a wonderful place, instead of the deep, dark and evil quagmire that it now is!

The sad part about it all is that only we Christians can do anything positive with it. That’s why we have to do things like go out to work on Monday mornings with a joyful and peaceful attitude, and thus set a good example. That’s the only way the heathen will come to heel and seek Jesus.

Let’s move on now to some scriptures that corroborate our Bit. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned, found guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned, found guilty).’ (Ps.34:21-22)

What wonderful words of promise and encouragement my brethren! And as we always note, Bruh David isn’t speaking from hearsay nuh, but from personal experience. That means we can trust his words without fear of falsehood. And listen to Bruh David once again, this time from Psalm 5 – A prayer for protection.

‘But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that LOVE thy name be joyful in thee. For thou Lord wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass (surround) him as with a shield.’ (Ps. 5:11-12) Friends, Bruh David certainly knew what he was talking about.

And we’ll end at the beginning; (smile) Psalm 1- Blessed are the righteous – which clearly spells out the kind of life the righteous can expect. ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3)

Oh friends, oh friends, what more encouragement do we need to live a righteous and godly life eh? I certainly don’t need anymore, for me to at least try and live right. So I’ll leave us to ponder those thoughts today, to decide whether you want to live a godly or ungodly life. It’s all up to you. Please make the wise decision. Much LOVE!

…choose you this day…whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord. (Josh.24:15)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 June 2016 1 Corinthians 12:14

20 Jun 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a waste of time, all for one, aura of love, Beelzebub, Christ's Church, commandment, confidence, courage, enthusiasm, evil, faith, Father's Day, friends, fun, godly manner, Guide, harmony, holy spirit, honour thy father and mother, hope, hullabaloo, humble servants, in the land God gives thee, invincible, ism, Jesus Christ, joy, laughed him to scorn, lead, lies, lip service, LOVE, members, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, one for all, Oneness, peace, promise, reality of work, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, righteous, sally forth, schism, sincerity, spiritual armour, standing 'O', steadfast faith, taunts, the body is not one member, the body is one, the business of the day, the enemy, the rear end, thy days may be long, trust, truth, ungodly world, unity, warning, wiles, wisdom

1 Corinthians 12:14. For the body is not one member, but many.

Aye friends, the hullabaloo of Father’s Day is over now, time to get back to the reality of work! (smile) However, before we embark on that subject, I want to extend one reminder, and not to the fathers, but to the children.

Please children, please don’t ignore your fathers, in fact your parents, during the remainder of the year. I know we get all gushy and lovey-dovey come Mother’s and Father’s Day, and even then, plenty of us only pay lip service to the occasion, but what happens during the rest of the year eh?

Too many children basically ignore their parents during the rest of the year. And my warning is all for your benefit. Remember the only commandment that has a promise tied to it. ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex.20:12) So for your sakes, I’d suggest you children do a better job of honouring your parents than you’re currently doing. Nuff said!

Now let’s get down to the business of the day and sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn as though we genuinely mean it, with plenty enthusiasm and sincerity.

All together now: ‘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.

It wasn’t bad friends, but not one of those renditions that creates a standing ‘O’ in heaven. And Jesus, our choir director wasn’t really displeased, so we doing okay. (smile)

But mih people, is time now to get down to brass tacks and go out and face the music with strength, courage, faith and trust that the Holy Spirit that indwells us will truly lead and guide us in a godly and righteous manner and enable us to do God’s will and fulfill His plan for our lives.

If we don’t seriously and sincerely try our best to do that, then our entire faith will be a waste of time, and we won’t be encouraging any others to come to Jesus for safety and succour, but rather turning them away, into the greedy, evil, waiting hands of Beelzebub. And friends, we don’t want to do that EVER! Jesus sacrificed too much for us to let Him down like that.

That’s why we have to stand strong, in unity and harmony, displaying the oneness that Jesus desires in His earthly organization; His body, the church. And that sense of harmony and oneness of purpose is indicated in our Bit. ‘For the body is not one member, but many.’ And that’s why it’s so difficult to get true harmony and unity amongst the members of Christ’s church.

And Bruh Paul likens the church of Christ to the human body. ‘For as the (human) body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one (human) body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.’ (1 Cor.12:12)

But we all know the different parts of the body have different functions, and none are really supposed to be more important than the other, but they all still jockey for importance. (smile)

As Bruh Paul puts it: ‘If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body (where would the body be)? But now are they many members, yet but one body.’ (1 Cor.12:15-20)

Ah friends, it’s the same with Christ’s church; we consist of many members with different roles, but with our sinful and lustful human nature taking precedence, we foolishly fight amongst and against each other to see who is more important. But my people that is so counterproductive.

And as Bruh Paul so wisely points out later on: ‘but God hath tempered (composed) the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism (division) in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether (if) one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.’ (1 Cor.12:24-26)

But obviously it isn’t working that way in Christ’s body these days, for there is lots of ism and schism disfiguring it, making it the joke of the town. That reminds me of the story where all the parts of the body wanted to be the boss, including the rear end, and all the other parts laughed him to scorn. But when he decided to shut his doors, the rest of the body became sick.

Hn! Just goes to show that even the lowest member is important in God’s set-up. So let’s try to live in harmony and unity nuh my people, so that we can do Jesus’ will productively. Let the heathen fight amongst themselves, but let the Christian church stand strong as ONE! Much LOVE!

…Christians unite…one for all…and all for one…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 June 2016 Matthew 24:4

06 Jun 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: adrenaline, atoning death, aura of love, band our jaw, blessings, Christ-like, christianity, chutzpah, Colossians, complaining, confident, conquerors, cult, deceivers, deceptive teachers, denomination, DNA, dreams, enthusiasm, evil, faith, false teaching, frailties, friends, fun, generous help, glory hallelujah, harmony, heretics, holy spirit, hope, human, humble servants, imagination, invincible, Job, jobs, joy. bless the day, lies, LOVE, Messiah, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, peace, Pharisees, population explosion, proud, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, rest, righteousness., salvation, scribes, spiritual armour, spunk, steadfastness, surrender, take heed that no man deceive you, take the bad with the good, taunts, the Mount of Olives, the sign of thy coming, trust, truth, ungodly world, warning, wiles, wisdom

Matthew 24:4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

And then it was Monday – the first day of the new work week. And all the workers joyfully declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Thank God for Mondays! We can’t wait to get back out to work. What a joy to be going back out to work today! Bless the day of Monday!’

Awright friends, I know I might never see or rather hear that joyful appreciation of Mondays, but that’s why the Lord built imagination and dreams into our basic DNA. If we couldn’t dream and imagine, then life would be boring and pointless. What I do know is that we should not be as reticent and complaining about going back to work on a Monday as we are.

Oh I know that there is a lot of pressure and unfortunate stuff involved in going out to work, but then if we don’t work, how will we survive eh, how will we provide for our families? Like Job says, we have to learn to take the bad with the good. (Job 2:10) We need to just band our jaw and get to it.

And don’t forget that Jesus is waiting out there at the front line for us to lead us into battle. So if we have the Messiah, the most powerful Field Marshall in the universe as our Leader, then we should be going out confident and proud. But since we are only human with lots of frailties, to aid us in our early week endeavours, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much spunk, plenty chutzpah and heavenly harmony. (smile)

As one now: ‘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.

Now that was a good rendition my brethren. Not the best, but it brought a smile to Jesus’ face, and that’s sufficient. Now let’s try and keep that adrenaline running as we go out into the ungodly world and influence people and win souls for Christ, through our Christ like talk and godly behaviour.

And that brings us to our Bit, a wise word of warning to the disciples from our Lord and Saviour. ‘And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.’

Oh friends, unfortunately that warning still holds true today, possibly even more so than in Jesus’ time, since there are more deceivers running wild today than in Jesus’ time.

And before we go further, let’s look at when and where Jesus warned them. He had been in the temple talking to His disciples as well as the Scribes and Pharisees re the ill treatment meted out to the prophets at the hands of their forefathers, about His death and resurrection, the destruction of the temple and His Second Coming. (Matt.23:1-39)

Then He left them and went out to the Mount of Olives so He could look down at the temple courtyard. ‘And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?’ (Matt.24:3)

Then Jesus began with the warning in our Bit, and then continued: ‘For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.’(Matt.24:5) And isn’t that the gospel truth my people.

As the scholars explain: ‘Many shall come refers to the parade of false messiahs who have now spanned the centuries of church history and have led many astray into false religious cults.’

And sadly, if only because of the world population explosion in recent times, it’s happening in even greater numbers today. Almost every minute of every day, a new religion, a new cult, a new denomination is born, further fracturing the already fractured movement of Christianity.

Bruh Paul also issued that warning about false teaching to the Colossians. ‘And this I say, lest any man should beguile (deceive) you with enticing (persuasive) words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your (good) order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.’ (Col.2:4-7)

Ah friends, what wise and wonderful advice from Bruh Paul. Advice that we badly need in these last days too. Now let’s check out some scholarly explanations.

‘2:6. The verse may be paraphrased thus: “Therefore just as you accepted the teaching that presents Jesus as both Messiah and Lord, so continue to maintain this relationship with Him.” The recipients had been taught that Jesus is (1) Messiah (the One divinely anointed to secure man’s salvation), and (2) Lord (the divine person to whom man submits in obedience).

The heretics denied Jesus’ atoning death and lordship. So the Colossians are urged to keep Him just as they were initially taught – as Messiah and Lord. They are to continue to look to Him for salvation and continue in submission to His authority.’

Well my people, we have been taught the same things as the Colossian’s, so it’s only logical that we also need to keep our relationship with Jesus as Lord and Messiah as strong as possible and don’t bow to any false and deceptive teachers, if we truly desire to see His salvation. Much LOVE!

…the only way to heaven…through Jesus…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 May 2016 Matthew 5:16.

30 May 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abckbreaking labour, abuse, aura of love, celebrations, Christ is Lord indeed, condemned, confidence, conquerors, conscience, degradation, distress, diverse culture, doctrine, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, ever-Loving, every foe is vanquished, evildoers, faith, fire water, friends, glorify your father in heaven, good conduct, good works, Granny's warning, gusto, holy spirit, humble servants, incorruptibility, Indentured workers, Indian Arrival Day, inroads, integrity, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, let your light so shine, lies, LOVE, LOVE Revolution, made alive, Memorial Day, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, progeny, put to death, quickened, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, reverence, rewarding, sincerity, sinful nature, slavery, sound speech, spiritual armour, stand up for Jesus, steadfast faith, suffer, taunts, the good fight, the trumpet call obey, the will of God, trust, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, well doing, wiles, wisdom

Matthew 5:16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

And then it was Monday… But fortunately, for many people it’s not a work day. In the U.S. it’s the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, where the brave men and women who died while serving their country in the military forces are remembered and honoured.

Meanwhile in T& T (Trinidad and Tobago) it’s a holiday celebrating Indian Arrival Day. That was the memorable day of May 30^th 1845 when the Fath Al Razak docked in the harbor of Port of Spain with two hundred and something adult Indians; the first set of Indentured (contract) Workers from India.

Slavery had been abolished and it was difficult to find labourers to work in the sugar cane fields, so the Colonial masters turned to a new form of human abuse and degradation. I don’t know if it was any better than the slavery the African people suffered, because it was still back breaking labour and the Massa still held the upper hand.

If my history memory serves me right, I believe they were contracted for something like seven years and then were free to do their own thing on a plot of land so generously given to them by the plantation owners. Anyway, that’s how the diverse culture of T&T began, and continued down through the years with all sorts of other races coming to settle there.

That’s why T&T women are also some of the most beautiful in the world – and that’s no lie – (smile) with the progeny of all the different races mixed together.

Anyway, last weekend we in Canada were showing off with our Victoria Day holiday, now it’s our turn to face the music this Monday morning and go out to labour. And as always, to help us get up to speed, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty gusto and sincerity.

As one heavenly choir now: ‘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.

Ah mih people, that wasn’t so hot nuh. Chuh! You could tell that the U.S. and T&T people with their hoarse, raspy voices were already into their cups. Hn! Our choirmaster, Jesus, just shook His head and sighed a knowing sigh.

And I guess I’ll have to take a little of the blame for that since I forgot to offer Granny’s warning per these long holiday weekends. ‘Sonny Boy, please, ah beg yuh; drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’

And as true believers, we definitely have to remember that, because when we get into the celebrations, especially the fire breathing ‘waters’, we lose all sense of responsibility and give the ever lurking enemy a chance to get into our soul and disrupt it.

And with a disrupted soul we obviously can’t do what Jesus asks of us in our Bit. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’

When our brain is all muddled and befuddled our lights definitely are not shining, neither are we doing good works. And we’re definitely not glorifying our heavenly Father, but rather letting Him down, sullying His holy name.

So all you friends in the U.S and T&T, please be careful, let’s not spoil the good thing we have going, with our wonderful, ever-faithful, ever-LOVING God.

Now let’s check out what Bruh Paul had to say to his apostolic delegate Titus on the subject. ‘But speak thou the things which become (are proper for) sound doctrine… In all things showing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine showing uncorruptness (integrity), gravity (reverence), sincerity (incorruptibility), Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part (an opponent) may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.‘ (Titus 2:1,7-8)

Yes friends, it’s important that the enemy doesn’t have anything bad to say about us, as Peter talks about per suffering and reward. ‘Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation (conduct) in Christ.

For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit.’ (1 Pet.3:16-18)

Ah mih people, a Christian’s life can be indeed be difficult and somewhat unfair at times, but overall, believe me, it is very rewarding. And we’ll close with some explanations from the scholars. ‘3:16. A good conscience refers to a clear conscience, that is, one void of offense.’

‘3:17. In the will of God we are sometimes called on to suffer for well-doing as a testimony to others.’ ‘3:18. That he might bring us to God means in order that Christ might bring us to, or give us access to God.’

Oh my brethren, none of us like pain and suffering, but it is the lot of our sinful nature, and if we sincerely turn to God in our times of distress, He will give us the wherewithal to bear it. Please remember that. Now let’s go out and continue the good fight so that Jesus’ LOVE Revolution can be successful! Much LOVE!

…stand up, stand up for Jesus…the trumpet call obey…till every foe is vanquished…and Christ is Lord indeed…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 May 2016 Ecclesiastes 3:1

27 May 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a time to every purpose under heaven, anger, apply our hearts, balance, boating, born, Christians, death, deliver his soul, demise, die, don't put off for tomorrow, drinking, eating, Ecclesiastes, fellowship, fishing, focus, fourscore, Friday chant, fun, further God's glorious kingdom, futility, generous help, God's promises, idleness, in vain, intimacy, labour, laugh, laziness, Lord chesterfield, LOVE, mourn, number our days, perspective, procrastination, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, rest, Selah, shame, Solomon, soon cut off, sorrow, summertime, swimming, the brown girl in the bottle, the days of his youth, the days of our years, the evil one, the hand of the grave, the thief of time, the things of God, three score and ten, time, time waits on no one, to every thing there is a season, to gather stones, truth, value of time, waste time, week of work, weekend, weep, wisdom, wrath

Ecclesiastes 3:1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Summertime, Summertime, Summertime, Summertime! Thank God it’s Friday in the summertime! Mama yo! We leaving work early to beat the traffic, heading for the cottage to spend a marvellous weekend; eating, drinking, boating, swimming and fishing! Wow! The barbecues will be on fire, and the beer will be ice cold… Oh Lord, thank you for Fridays in the summertime!’

Yes friends, that’s the mantra of a lot of people on a Friday in the summertime, as they head for cottage country and their lakeside getaways. Consequently, many of them miss church and the wonderful fellowship and rejuvenation of spirit that comes with it.

And then the boating accidents proliferate, because now they are drinking and driving on the water, just as they do on land. Every summer you hear of several mishaps on the water because of the brown girl in the bottle. Ah Lord eh!

But for us few, who know how to spend a proper weekend, let’s chant our Friday Chant, so that we can get the right perspective. As one now: ‘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 my brethren, that’s more like the focus we should have for the weekend; a nice balance of rest, recreation and fellowship. And today I want to share an interesting and important quote attributed to Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope (1694-1773), 4^th Earl of Chesterfield. I believe I’ve shared it before, but as they say, when it’s nice, you’ve got to play it at least twice. (smile)

Lord Chesterfield is reputed to have said: ‘Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness, no laziness, no procrastination, never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.’

And that my brethren is the god-awesome truth! We can’t afford to fool with, or waste time, because time waits on no one, it just goes along its own rollicking way, whether you decide to use it wisely or not.

Remember the saying too that procrastination is the thief of time. More awesome truth! The more we put off, the less we get done and the less time we have left in our bank. Unfortunately we don’t know how much total time is in our account.

So please, let’s learn to pay better and closer attention to our time because Almighty God has given us just enough to do whatever He desires, and if we waste it, we obviously won’t complete all that He has planned for us. End of sermon. (smile)

That brings us to our Bit, the well-known verse of wisdom from Cousin Sol, writing as the preacher in Ecclesiastes. ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.’ More indisputable truth my people, because as Christians, truth is all we ought to ever deal in.

And after our Bit, Cousin Sol goes on to list a whole set of positive and negative things to which time have been apportioned. Like ‘a time to be born, a time to die… A time to weep, and a time to laugh…A time to LOVE, and a time to hate…’ Just read Ecclesiastes 3 and you’ll see how he has it all nicely laid out.

Now here is some info from the scholars on that scripture. ‘3:1-8. As Solomon reflects on all of life, he expresses a beautiful poem of 14 pairs of opposite events that God has a sovereign design behind all events (cf. Rom.8:28). To gather stones (v.5) refers to the process of clearing land for planting or building. To hate (v.8) means to withdraw from intimacy and should not always be taken in an absolute sense (cf. Mal.1:2-3).’

Yes friends, there’s no real time ever for the true sense of the word hating. It’s not supposed to exist in a Christian’s vocabulary.

Now let’s look at a couple of other scriptures which deal with time in the life of man, starting with the words of Ethan the Ezrahite from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David. ‘The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

How long, Lord? Wilt thou hide thyself for ever? Shall thy wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain (for what futility hast thou made all men)? What man is he that liveth and shall not see (experience) death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand (power) of the grave?’ (Ps.89:44-48)

Now listen to Moses from Psalm 90 – From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. ‘The days of our years are threescore years and ten (the span of our lives is seventy years); and if by reason of strength they be fourscore (80) years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow (their boast only labour); for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Who knoweth the power of thine anger? Even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (gain a heart of wisdom).’ (Ps.90:10-12)

Yes my fellow believers, we know not how long our time on earth will be, so please let’s use whatever we have wisely nuh, meaning in the pursuit of the things of God and heaven, not those of the world and the evil one. Much LOVE!

…no one knows the time nor the hour…of their earthly demise…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 May 2016 Ephesians 6:11

23 May 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: adrenalin, armour, aura of love, barbecues, be strong in the Lord, buffeted and bombarded, ceasefire, Christians, circumspection, confidence, conquerors, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, enthusiasm, faith, fireworks, footholds, friends, glorious kingdom, having done all, holy spirit, humanness, humble servants, infiltration, invincible, jealousy, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, let out hair down, lies, LOVE, moans and groans, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, party trappings, put on the whole armour of God, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, schemes., spiritual armour, spiritual battle, stand, stand against the wiles of the devil, steadfast faith, summer season, tactics, the rulers of darkness, the whole armour of God, truce, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, Victoria Day, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, weary souls, wisdom

Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil.

Awright friends, this notable long weekend in the best big country in the world is winding down. Yes, the Victoria Day holiday, named for the previous longest reigning monarch (63 years) in the British Empire, celebrated on the first Monday before May 25, is noted for the opening of the summer season.

It finds the privileged set flocking to their cottages in the country, while those who stay in town begin planting their gardens. And the weather this weekend has been rather appropriate for it all; warm and sunshiny, though with the occasional cloud cover. Hopefully today will continue to be the same.

And wonder of wonders, the traffic on the roads this weekend has been negligible in comparison to others of the recent past. What’s going to kill that though is the start of road repairs. Chuh! Sometimes the inconvenience caused by those road repairs makes you long for winter. But anyway, the barbecues and the fireworks and all the other attendant party trappings will be out in full force today.

That means I have to remind us of Granny’s warning: ‘Sonny boy, please, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’ It’s great advice friends, because it’s at times like these, when we let our hair down, that the enemy, who is always lurking in the background, finds footholds in our souls. And we definitely cannot afford to let that happen.

Now unfortunately, not everybody is celebrating Queen Victoria’s birthday with a public holiday. That means many of us still have to go out and labour this Monday morning… and I do detect the jealousy in some of the moans and groans I hear coming forth from the unlucky ones.

However, as usual, we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to help us overcome those jealous moments (smile), so let’s belt it out loud and sweet nuh.

As one harmonious choir now. ‘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.

Ah mih people, it was loud but inharmonious and somewhat scratchy. And you could tell by the hoarse and cracking voices the ones who were off today. They were obviously the most boisterous. Our choirmaster, Jesus, just sighed and shook His head, understanding the humanness of the situation.

But nonetheless, those of us who have to go out and labour, please let’s keep the adrenalin running and the Word of God constantly feeding our souls and minds, as we get out into the godless world and begin to do battle with Lucifer and his evil minions. Remember, once we have Jesus with us, the victory is assured! Glory to God!

And seeing that we’ve been talking about armour and battles and the enemy etc. I thought that today would be a good time to review Bruh Paul’s directives on the subject.

He tells the Ephesians: ‘Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world (age), against spiritual (hosts) of wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you (take up) the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.6:10-13)

Oh my fellow believers, those are very critical and important verses of scripture, which we need to write indelibly in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies, so that we can indeed withstand the evil of this world.

Now let’s get some explanations from the scholars. ‘6:10. Finally may be rendered “from now on” or “from henceforth.” The spiritual battle Christians are engaged in exists “from now on” until the Lord’s return: there is no quarter given, no ceasefire, no temporary truce, no cessation of hostilities. “From now on “till the end there is all out war.

The remainder of the verse may be paraphrased, “Let yourselves constantly be strengthened by the Lord, more precisely by His mighty power.’

Ah friends, this shows that we are engaged in serious warfare. It’s no gimmick, but a spiritual battle unto the death, a battle for our very souls, and we have to be very serious about it if we expect to be good soldiers of Christ!

And some more explanations from the scholars. ‘6:11. Put on denotes a sense of urgency, demanding immediate action. To stand has military overtones. This verb was used in classical Greek meaning to resist the enemy and hold a critical position in battle. The wiles of the devil (or, “the Devil’s strategy”). Satan carefully devises schemes and tactics against believers.’

Yes my people, the enemy does set us up to fall, but with ALL of God’s armour on, we can defeat Him. And we’ll end here, because I know that many of you don’t want to have too much to understand and ponder on this holiday Monday. (smile)

So, God willing, we’ll continue it tomorrow. Till then, please go wisely and safely with God! Much LOVE!

…to party is nice…but it must be done with reasonable circumspection…to avoid the enemy’s untimely infiltration…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 May 2016 Joel 2:28.

16 May 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: And it shall come to pass, aura of love, cataclysm, complaining, confidence, conquerors, Day of Pentecost, drem dreams, earning a paycheque, enthusiasm, evil, faith, fellowship, friends, glorious kingdom, God's will, good works, guides us, holy spirit, I will pour out my spirit, inconvenience, invincible, Jerusalem, jobs, kindness, lies, LOVE, makes our day, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, obedience, old men, peace, prophesy, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, short attention spans, Simon Peter, socialize, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, supporting our families, teaches us, the last days, ungodly world, wiles, wisdom, wishy-washy, working, young men see visions, your sons and daughters

Joel 2:28. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

Monday, oh Monday! What a wonderful day thou art! No friends, the ole fella isn’t losing his marbles – at least not just yet.

Monday is a great day. It gets us back into the normal running of our lives and reintroduces us to the outside world, refreshed and renewed. It allows us to socialize with a wide group of people, meet and greet all our friends and fellow workers – those we like and those we’re not so thrilled about. (smile) And above all, it means that we’re working, earning a pay cheque, and supporting our families.

Now doesn’t that make Monday a great day? I think so. But too many of us look at Monday as a day of inconvenience; meaning we have to get up and go out to work, with all that that entails. But whatever day you have to begin work after a period of rest will pose the same problems.

If Tuesday was the first day of the work week, we’d still be miserable and complaining. Just look at how we behave when we’re gifted with a long weekend. So, I’d suggest the sooner we begin to like Mondays, or at least not despise them as much, the sooner our lives will improve. End of sermon! (smile)

Now to tie all of that up and give us the wherewithal we need to get up and get going, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty gusto and lots of enthusiasm. Hn, hn!

As one majestic choir now: ‘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.

Now that sounded real good friends! So good that our choirmaster, Jesus, gave us a big smile and a clenched right fist salute in acknowledgement. Glory Be!

Now all that’s left for us to do is to get ourselves involved in the ongoing battle and give the enemy heck! Kill them with LOVE and kindness! Oh, I know that is very difficult to do with some folks, but that’s what our Leader desires of us. And what our Leader wants, our Leader gets!

And having only celebrated the day of Pentecost yesterday, when the Holy Spirit was universally introduced, it is indeed important that today we be filled with it and let it control and guide our lives as our Lord and Saviour expects. That means we can’t be wishy washy today my people.

We have to stand up and be counted in true Christian fashion, like ole Simon Peter stood up on that first day of Pentecost and preached a marvellous sermon, based on our Bit. ‘And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.’

Now let’s hear some of what Peter said. ‘But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose , seeing as it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that day which was spoken by the prophet Joel…’ (Acts 2:14-16) And then he went on to quote Joel 2:28-32, which includes our Bit. (Acts 2:17-21)

And the scholars offer this important warning re Peter’s sermon. ‘2:16-21. Peter does not say that Pentecost is the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy concerning the last days (Rev.6:12). Peter does not see a celestial cataclysm (vv.19-20). Yet it is that of which Joel speaks, because it is the beginning of that fulfillment.

Peter did not see the Spirit coming upon all people, but he did see Him coming upon 120 (those in the room with him). It was the beginning, but surely not the complete fulfillment. Peter understood, as we should, that the last days had already begun, even with the birth of Christ (Heb.1:2; 1 Pet.1:20).’

Yes friends, we are indeed in the last days, but the last days as God sees them; meaning that they are stretched out over a long period of time in our reckoning, but in His it’s not that long. And we’ll end there for today, because the rest of stuff I have to share will make it much too long. And I always have our short attention spans in mind. (smile)

So my brethren, until tomorrow, God willing, may He bless and keep us all, grant us His peace that passes all understanding, and help us to stand strong in faith and do good works in obedience to His will. Much LOVE!

…who is the one that teaches us what to say…the Holy Spirit…who is the one that guides our way…the Holy Spirit…He is the one that makes our day…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 May 2016 Psalm 112:1

09 May 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: almighty god, as for me and mine, as fruitful as a vine, aura of love, blessed, Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, children, common sense, compassion, confidence, countenance, Creator of the universe, darkness, delights in His commandments, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, faithful, faithfulness, friends, fruit of thy labour, glorious kingdom, gospel truth, grace, Hallelujah, happy, holy spirit, humble servants, impregnable fortress, invincible, iron sharpens iron, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, lies, light, LOVE, mighty upon the earth, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, New Testament, obedient, Old Testament, olive plants, our Lord and Saviour, pass the test, peace, Praise ye the Lord, priority, proud, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, rest my case, rewards, righteousness., salvation, seek ye first the kingdom of God, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, test our faith, test our mettle, the church of jesus, treasure trove, true believers, trust, ungodly world, useful purpose, we will follow the Lord, wiles, wisdom

Psalm 112:1. Praise ye the Lord (Hallelujah). Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Ah mih people, once again the big day called Monday has come around … It’s come once more to test our mettle, our faith, to see if we have what it takes to successfully make it through this earthly pilgrimage!

But yuh know what friends? As true believers in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we do have the necessary parts, and we WILL pass that test of faith with flying colours! For our mettle is strong an impregnable as a fortress manned by God!

As the Good Book declares, in the wise words of Cousin Sol: ‘Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.’ (Prov.27:17) Yes my brethren, that’s how the body, the church of Jesus Christ operates!

And the scholars offer this explanation. ’27:17. As the proper tool shapes and sharpens iron for its desired use, so a man sharpens his friend morally and intellectually by their personal friendship.’

Now I do hope we are all doing that, today and every day, and you’re not making me a liar when I proclaim it. (smile) But nonetheless, it’s Monday, meaning it’s time to rise and shine and make our way to our places of labour, wherever it may be.

And I know we’re only human, so we’re not always up to scratch on this the first day of the new work week, that’s why we have our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to wake us up, to raise our adrenalin levels and get us going to face the world with faith and courage. So let’s put down a good rendition today, make our choirmaster, Jesus, and all the hosts of heaven proud of us.

Glory be, mih breddren, that was magnificent! As Jesus enthusiastically twirled His baton, He looked back at the Father with a big smile on His handsome face and winked. As if to say: ‘That’s my people, and I’m oh so proud of them!’

Now friends, let’s go out into the evil and ungodly world that surrounds us and make Jesus really proud of us by being obedient to His will, being living examples of His gospel, salt and light to the world, so that others will see our joy and prosperity and come to Him for salvation and eternal life!

And today we have a wonderful Bit that holds awesome promises from our awesome God. ‘Praise ye the Lord (Hallelujah). Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.’

And those words are ever so true my fellow believers! The righteous person; the one who holds our God in great awe and reverence and delights in His commandments will be truly blessed! Glory to God!

And the psalmist continues: ‘His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth (stands, lasts) for ever. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.’ (Ps.112:2-4)

Oh my precious people, you see what is in store for the righteous person and for his descendants? Wealth and power, as well as the godly attributes of grace and compassion. Brother, what a treasure trove a man can reap by being obedient and faithful to our ever-faithful God!

And if you think that that isn’t true because it comes from the Old Testament, then listen to Jesus declare the very same thing in the New Testament. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) Yes people, when we make God and His kingdom our first priority in this life, then we’ll want for nothing!

Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that life will be all wine and roses, but it will be certainly better, with true peace and joy in our hearts and souls than if we were to follow the foolish fallen angel Beelzebub!

Now listen to a couple of other scriptures which declare the same thing, starting with the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. ‘Blessed are the undefiled in the way (the blameless), who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways.’ (Ps.119:1-3) More gospel truth friends!

And we’ll end with these awesome words from Psalm 128 – The rewards of faithfulness. ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides (in the heart) of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps.128:1-4)

I rest my case people! Much LOVE!

…but as for me and mine…hn!…we will definitely follow the Lord…for that’s not only common sense…but wisdom from on high…

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