Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 April 2012 Proverbs 23:7‏

03 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , ,

Proverbs 23:7.   Let not thine heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
 

Oh Friends, it’s Tuesday; day two of Holy Week! Remember yesterday we promised to put ourselves in Jesus’ position this week? Well there are three more days to go before your crucifixion. How did you feel when you woke up this morning? Were you anxious and apprehensive? Of course! More so than yesterday? But nuh must! Because the day of serious affliction is growing nearer, our fear and apprehension level is definitely growing. So please consider how Jesus must have felt. With His human emotions and physical feelings of pain, He surely was in some turmoil. But with His heavenly Father’s help, He was able to keep things under control and still go about His daily duty. Likewise, whatever fears or anxieties we have eating away at us today, with the Father’s help, we can dim them down, so that they don’t affect our daily walk with Him too much. And one of the things we badly need to do in this lustful, ungodly world that will enable us to be in concert with God, is to follow the eternal wisdom of our Bit: ‘Let not thine heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.’ Oh Friends, unfortunately at this particular juncture in time, our world is just running amok, slavishly enamoured of the things of Lucifer. Meanwhile, the things of God have been either hidden on the back burner or blatantly thrown out. How sad and foolish! That means the emphasis is therefore on each believer ‘to test his own personal relationship with God. That alone provides the ultimate satisfaction available to the believer who witnesses the affluence of the wicked.’ (Scholar’s note on Psalm 73) Yes Friends, it’s our individual responsibility, with God’s help of course, to avoid the trappings of the world ‘confuffling’ our minds and making us jealous and envious of those who have plenty of it. Now yesterday we saw where the psalmist, Asaph, (Ps.73) stumbled and almost fell when he saw how the wicked were prospering. And not much has changed since then, for the wicked are still prospering today. But thankfully when he entered the God’s house, he received a divine outlook on the situation and was able to pull himself together. He finally realized that the wicked had sold their souls to Beelzebub for filthy lucre and earthly possessions. That obviously does not sit well with our God, thus a terrible judgement has been set up for them. Sadly though, just like throughout all history, many of us seeing the prosperity of the wicked have rushed headlong into Lucifer’s fold to get those worldly possessions that rust, decay and be eaten by moths. That’s a huge mistake Friends, for that ungodly, disobedient behaviour only puts us in God’s bad books, amongst the wicked, to be judged severely in the Lord’s time. Now I’m sure none of us really want to feel the Lord’s judgement, which can be very terrifying. So what do we do? The Lord would much rather His children follow the advice of Bruh David in Psalm 37, titled, the true state of the wicked. There, Bruh David proclaims with sure, unshakeable faith: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily shalt thou be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (it only causes harm). For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps.37:1-9) Oh my brethren, that says it all! We should not worry about the wicked prospering, just mind our own business in God’s domain; trust Him, delight in Him, commit our lives to Him, and He will give us peace, Love, understanding and the desires of our hearts. The wicked though will be eradicated from the earth and the annals of God. And my people, there’s no better time to stop envying the wicked and their prosperity than RIGHT NOW! So let’s get to it seriously nuh, so we can reverently serve the Lord God Jehovah in truth, word, spirit and action, all day long, and thus receive His faithful promise to inherit the earth. Much LOVE!…it’s all a matter of hearing the right word…then sowing the right seed…so you can reap the right harvest…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 March 2012 Romans 15:5‏

19 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , ,

Romans 15:5.   Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.

Rise and shine my beautiful Friends in Christ! It’s Monday! No moans and groans please. (smile) It’s time to once again join the workweek fray! The enemy is already up and about…and so is Jesus. That means we can’t be lollygagging while battles need to be fought. And as always, before joining the fray, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, with much enthusiasm and heartfelt sincerity. Altogether 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!’ And with the adrenalin of the Holy Spirit now percolating in our bodies and souls, let’s follow our Field Marshall, Jesus Christ, standing high in the stirrups, at the head of His troops, white charger anxiously snorting and eagerly prancing under Him, His raised sword casting brilliant reflections in the bright sunshine, as He gives the order: ‘Christian soldiers, onward into battle march!’ The sword comes down in an outstretched, forward motion, the white charger with reins finally released, tosses its head, snorts gladly and bounds ahead with mane flying… and all true believers, just as eagerly, march forward with battle cries ringing out in the morning air! Ah mih people, I only wish this was as true and easy as writing it was. But unfortunately it isn’t, for Christians are certainly not unified. That’s why Bruh Paul emphasized unity in Christ in our Bit. ‘Now the God of patience and consolation (comfort) grant you to be like minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.’ Unity of purpose is of the ultimate importance in any walk of life Friends, even more so in our walk with Christ. For as Bruh Paul continues: ‘That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom.15:6) Sadly though people, down through the ages Christ’s Church has become so divided and splintered, oftimes over petty, selfish stuff, that now the divisions are too numerous to count and too separated and diversified to mount a centralized fight. And if there’s no unity amongst Christ’s soldiers, then we’ll never defeat the enemy, who are quite unified in their evil, ungodly works. Jesus was very aware of this principle, for when the Jewish leaders accused Him of casting out demons in the name of Satan, He candidly replied: ‘How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against it self, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.’ (Mark 3:23-26) Eternal words of wisdom from the Master, my people! That principle also applies to the Church of Christ. No wonder the enemy is currently winning the war, for they have successfully introduced the battle option of divide and conquer. And now that the Church is splintered in many small groups, it’s much easier to either secretly infiltrate them and stir up more dissension, or simply run them over with superior numbers and better prepared forces. Oh fellow believers, we’re existing in sad, troubled and confused times, where the only wise option is Jesus. But our LOVE Revolution will not work if all the followers of Christ don’t unite and make it a large and powerful force, comparable to the enemy’s. Consequently, I’m imploring us today, above all else, to seek unity among the body of Christ. And I’ll let Bruh Paul take us home with his challenge to the Corinthians, who were having similar problems with divisions in their church. ‘Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing (have a uniform testimony), and that there be no divisions (dissensions, schisms) among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgement.’ (1 Cor.1:10) I can’t say it any better than that Friends. It’s now up to each one of us to do whatever we can to bring about unity in Christ’s followers. More on this tomorrow, if the breath of life still blows in us. Till then, let’s sincerely LOVE our God, conscientiously LIVE our Faith, and faithfully SPREAD His Word. Much LOVE!…unity… the power that makes the whole greater than the mere sum of the parts…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 March 2012 Titus 1:16‏

18 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , ,

Titus 1:16:       They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Ah Friends, the wonderful weekend weather continues, though all the frivolity of St. Paddy’s Day is over. Time to get back to the Lenten austerity. ‘Bah humbug!’ I hear some of you unwisely declare. Anyway, I sure hope that many believers in the northern climes, who used the cold temps as an excuse for not going to church, will go now, since that excuse no longer holds water. (smile) But knowing this generation, many of us will find some other excuse for not going. Friends, please remember the adages; ‘one hand washes the other, and it takes two to tango,’ meaning that we can’t live this life successfully by ourselves, and if we reject God for spurious reasons, He will not respond favourably to us in our time of need. And don’t forget also, that though God LOVES us a whole heap, He doesn’t really need us, being omnipotent and all that He is, but we definitely and desperately need Him, for without Him, we are nothing. That means WE have to go to Him, because OUR future depends on Him, not vice versa. Consequently, we have to be very careful with whom we associate and listen to, since there are so many false prophets and teachers in this evil, ungodly world just waiting to lead us astray from the truth of God’s Word.  Our Bit says it nicely: ‘They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate (disqualified).’ Yes Friends, con artists abound out there, seeking to trick us out of everything we have. And though they might get our earthly possessions, we certainly can’t allow them to trick us out of salvation and everlasting life; eternal separation from Jesus! No sir! For that is indeed true death!  And the only way to avoid such a calamity is by being able to pick out the wolves in disguise from the flock of sheep wandering around. Now yesterday we looked at some scripture dealing with the first part of our Bit, ‘They profess that they know God.’ Today, let’s move on to the next part; ‘but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.’ And these awesome verses from Bruh Paul to Timothy admirably capture the essence and spirit of the false teacher. ‘For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (reckless), high-minded (haughty), lovers of pleasures, more than (rather than) LOVERS of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (mere religion without a true spiritual life): from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive (prey upon) silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts (especially susceptible to false teachers), ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (seeking some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word). Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, (the two magicians in Pharaoh’s court, who tried to duplicate Moses’ miracles – Ex.7:11, 9:11), so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disapproved) concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs (the magicians) also was.’ (2 Tim.3:2-9) Oh Friends, yuh sure Bruh Paul didn’t write that recently, instead of almost two thousand years ago, for it’s the perfect description of our modern world! Every evil and ungodly trait he mentions there is now glorified in our world, and it’s become increasingly difficult to pick out the wolves from the sheep for their disguises are so authentic. That’s why each believer has to delve into the Word themselves; read, study, meditate on it and ask questions of trustworthy followers, then plant the truth of God in their hearts, minds and souls, so that when the false teachers and prophets come with their lies and slants, you’ll be able to distinguish them as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Oh my brethren, of all the generations of mankind, this one most desperately needs to know the truth of God’s Word, and unfortunately are not getting taught it. We as parents and leaders of the church have sadly fallen down on our responsibility to teach the generation that comes after us, and now they are solidly under Beelzebub’s thumb, heading for death and damnation in Hades! However, as we all know, while there is life there is hope, but we don’t know how much life is left, so please, let’s begin IMMEDIATELY, RIGHT NOW, to try and teach them the Word before it’s too late. We talk plenty about spreading the Word all over the world, but remember Charity, LOVE, begins at home, so let’s make sure we teach the Word at home first nuh. Only then will be ready to go unto the outside world. Much LOVE!…for the children’s sake…please teach them to pray…from an early age…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2012 Psalm 78:32‏

08 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , ,

Psalm 78:32.   For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works

Oh Friends, yesterday was indeed a beautiful spring day in my neck of the woods, except for a somewhat blustery wind! And it’s expected to get up to about 12 Celsius again today. What a joy! But I’m still concerned and perturbed by this unseasonable weather, and all the other abnormal weather patterns that we’ve been experiencing around the world for the last few years. I guess abnormal weather is now the order of the day. But thankfully my brethren, we have the ONE and ONLY Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour to rely on, so that whatever comes against us, we can stand up sure and strong in His Holy Name and either defeat it or ride it out! And the true believers offered a sincere prayer of gratitude. ‘Oh thank you Lord, for your LOVING-kindness to the children of undeserving men!’ Oh, if those children of Israel had only been as thankful and true, then the whole course of History would have been changed. Unfortunately though, as our Bit says: ‘For all this they sinned still, and believed not the for his wondrous works.’ Ah Friends, I hope that yesterday we pondered on how those words related to our personal situations, as I asked, and that we made amends with our forgiving and merciful God for any shortcomings thereof. Now let’s continue looking at the Israelites journey. Yesterday we left them enjoying the easy life in the oasis of Elim, without any complaints. But then they entered the wilderness of Sin, a rather appropriate name, for they immediately began to complain against Moses and Aaron, saying: ‘Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots (pots of meat), and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ (Ex.16:3) Ah Friends, how we like to always have it easy and our way eh! But despite His disappointment at His chosen people’s lack of faith, after all that He had done for them, our God, being such a wonderful Deity, declared unto Moses: ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate (amount) every day, that I may prove (test) them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.’ (Ex.16:4) So the Lord tested them with manna, and they failed, because instead of gathering on the sixth day, enough also for the seventh, some went out to gather it on the Sabbath Day. But they found none, because, as per the Lord’s decree, it was only provided for six days. Obviously this displeased the Lord, and He asked Moses: ‘How long refuse ye (do you refuse) to keep my commandments and my laws?’ (Ex.16:28) Oh Friends, that’s exactly the same question the Lord is asking of us today? When will we stop being so ungodly and return to His fold eh? That’s part of the reason why our world is in such a confused and troubled state. And until we return to a state of godliness and obedience to His commandments, we will continue to live in a confused and troubled state. Thankfully the Israelites eventually learned about the manna. ‘So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.’ (Ex.16:30-31) One more miracle for those unbelieving, ungrateful people. And that doesn’t sound like a bad tasting food either; ‘wafers made with honey.’ But I guess if you have it morning, noon and night, seven days a week, it can get somewhat tiresome. Will we eventually wake up though from our sinful, ungodly, lustful life before it’s too late? I certainly hope so. Now here’s what the scholars have to say about manna: ‘The manna literally means ‘What is it?’ Not only was it remarkable for its size, shape, colour, taste, and variety of uses (Ex.16:14, 23, 31; Num.11:7-8), but especially for its daily appearance at dawn, its tremendous abundance, its strange capacity for breeding worms at the end of each day except the sixth, and its sudden and permanent disappearance as soon as the Israelites entered Canaan (Josh.5:12). It taught the people to look Godward for their daily bread, and it pointed toward the One who claimed to be the true bread from heaven, even ‘the bread of life.’ (John 6:32,35) Oh my people, do we look to our God EVERYDAY for our daily bread, like the Israelites were taught to do, and like Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ (Matt.6:11) I sure hope so, because that’s what the Lord expects from us, and also why He sends us new mercies and blessings every day. It’s all a part of His overall plan to have us trust Him anew each day, so that He can show His genuine and unconditional LOVE for us. Please, let’s accept His LOVING-kindness with joy and thankfulness and do our best to walk in His godly ways, so that He can continue to bless and keep us safe. That’s the only healing medicine for what ails us today my people, so let’s be wise and accept it with gracious thanks nuh. Much LOVE!…it is better to trust in the Lord…than to put confidence in man… (Ps.118:8) 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 March 2012 Matthew 18:11‏

02 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , ,

Matthew 18:11.    For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
 
Oh my fellow believers in Christ, it’s Friday! Yes, the weekend’s here at last. But uncharacteristically the shouts of ‘TGIG! Thank God is Friday! aren’t as loud and lusty as usual because we seem to be adding a little more decorum to our Lenten behaviour. (smile) It reminds me of the days when you couldn’t hear a calypso on the radio in T&T – the land of carnival and calypso – during the entire Lenten season, except on St. Patrick’s Day, because they were thought to be too immoral and sinful, inappropriate music for that particular period. Granted some might have been, but the whole genre suffered because of a few. And isn’t that the way life seems to move; where because of a few miscreants, a whole body is negatively labelled and punished? Anyway, we’ve got Jesus – our be all and end all – so there’s no need to worry. With that security in mind, let’s then chant our Friday Chant to get us set for the weekend. In one loud, persuasive voice 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 mih people, what a joy it is to believe in a God who LOVED us so much that He sent His only Son to save us worthless beings! Our Bit states it plainly and simply: ‘For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.’ Now it wasn’t Jesus alone who declared this saving grace of His, for Isaiah prophesied it way back when: ‘Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (God with us).’ (Is.7:14) The angel of the Lord also appeared in a dream to Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, while he was wrestling with the problem of a pregnant fiancée, telling him: ‘And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus (Saviour): for he shall save his people from their sins.’ (Matt.1:21) This was done so that Isaiah’s prophecy above could be fulfilled. Now Jesus wasn’t bashful about saying it either for it was the truth and He wanted to make sure that people really understood why He had left His comfortable home in heaven to come to hell on earth. Listen to Him expound on the subject: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) And all God’s people raised their heads, eyes, hearts and hands to heaven and uttered a grateful, ‘Thank you Father God for sending your Son Jesus to redeem us from our sins! We LOVE you, and bless and praise your Holy Name!’ What would we have done without Jesus eh Friends? As the ancients would say, ‘crapaud would surely smoke we pipe,’ our eternal lives would certainly be in great jeopardy, having to spend eternity in Hades with Lucifer. Oh what a horrible thought! But thank the Lord there’s Jesus, ever on the lookout for the lost, hurting, sick and oppressed. And He shows this so plainly in Luke 15 where He tells the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, where the shepherd, the coin’s owner and the father of the lost son diligently seek for what they’d lost. And when they’d found it, they rejoiced with their friends and neighbours. It’s only fitting to end with Jesus’ words after each parable: ‘I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons, which need no repentance… Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth…It was meet (right) that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.’ (Luke 15:7,10,32) Oh Friends, are we on the lookout for the poor, hungry, sick and suffering too? If not, then we’re not following in Jesus’ footsteps. So let’s get a right perspective and change it all, so that we can truly deserve to be called Christians – followers of Christ. Much LOVE!…you’re not a true follower…unless you truly follow your leader…


Next Newer Entries