Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 September 2017 Isaiah 40:31.

02 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 40:31.   But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Well friends, it looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous Labour Day Saturday! Wow! Both the Sun and the Son are overwhelmingly brilliant, but it is a tad chilly in my area though, a mere 10 Celsius, which means the people up north in the cottage country might even have had the fire and warm clothing going on overnight. 

And, like the old Prince Buster song, I’m claiming, ‘I feel so mash up today…It was a hard night…a rough night…’ However, it’s not for the reasons that Prince Buster stated, although that might have made it somewhat easier to bear. (smile) Only the ole Jamaican fogies would know that song, and we can’t discuss it in a family paper. (smile) 

But the ole arthritic pains acted up last night. What a bam bam eh! But we’ll just grin and bear them and continue keeping on with the help of our great ever-LOVING and merciful God. 

And since today is Saturday, let’s have a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. First up is one that all Christians should be following. ‘I’d rather be disliked for who I am than be liked for who I’m not.’ 

Yes friends, we should always show our true faces, the true Christian one, and who doesn’t like it ‘chuh pool.’ (smile) I’m not sure if that is the correct spelling of the term, but we all know what I mean. 

We should NEVER put on a false attitude just for people to like us. Our Leader, Jesus Christ NEVER did that, though a lot of people tended to dislike Him for His revolutionary ways. 

This next quote also applies very much to us Christians. ‘You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.’ And because many of us don’t plan and prepare and expect to win, we end up losing. It’s the very basis of our faith my brethren…believe it and you’ll see it! 

The next quote obviously follows from the last. ‘You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.’ Figuratively, it takes a certain style of dress to climb that much vaunted ladder of success. 

And we’re not talking about the world’s ladder, but Christ’s ladder of success. If you’re not dressed for it, filled with faith, LOVE, trust, surrender, forgiveness and the other fruit of the Spirit then you won’t ever climb it. 

And we’ve saved the best for last. ‘Follow The Three R’s: The three R’s are: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for your actions’ Even more thought provoking Christian actions my brethren, although they should apply to even the non-believers. 

Unfortunately though, those three ‘R’s’ have been lost in the craziness of today’s mad scramble for wealth and power. And the ONLY way you can truly accomplish those three ‘R’s’ is through the help of our heavenly Father. 

That’s why our Bit is so important in our daily life. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ 

Yeh friends, when we wait upon our magnificent God, then we do all of the above, because HE gives us the wherewithal to do it. We can’t get it ALL from NO other place or person! And that’s an indisputable fact! 

Hear how the psalmist puts it in Psalm 130 –My soul waiteth for the Lord. ‘If thou Lord shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe). I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. 

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:3-8) 

What more is there to say eh friends? Nothing really. So please, let’s be smart and wait patiently, reverently, faithfully and perseveringly on our omnipotent God nuh, for that is the wisdom above all wisdom. Much LOVE!

…wait on the Lord: be of good courage…and he shall strengthen thine heart…wait…I say…on the Lord… (Ps.27:14)

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 November 2016 Daniel 9:9.

27 Nov 2016 Leave a comment

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

Daniel 9:9.  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.  

Ah friends, it’s that great day, Sunday – the Day of the Lord – where we gather in His sanctuary to sing and praise and worship and fellowship and receive wisdom and strength to face the strife-filled world for another week. And to get us started, let’s sing this gospel song written in 1937 by Thomas A Dorsey for Mahalia Jackson. We all know it as ‘Peace in the Valley.’ 

In loud voice, with sincerity, harmony and passion: ‘Oh well, I’m tired and so weary But I must go alone Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes Well the morning’s so bright And the lamp is alight And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes There will be peace in the valley for me, some day There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray 

There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow No trouble, trouble I see There will be peace in the valley for me, for me Well the bear will be gentle And the wolves will be tame And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes And the beasts from the wild Shall be led by a child And I’ll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes 

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow No trouble, trouble I see There will be peace in the valley for me, for me.’ 

And that’s the awesome truth as promised by our God! In the sweet bye and bye, life will be filled with peace: ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev.21:4)  

Yes my people, what a blessed day that will be! All our earthly pangs will disappear, as our wonderful God dwells with us, and we with Him, in everlasting peace and joy! It won’t get any better than that!  

Now here is a Trini Quote of De Day from my Trini friend. It says: ‘Doh mess in de road, because yuh go pass back an mash it.’ Generally said to someone as advice not to treat people badly or make enemies, for you may have to pass back along that same road.’

I guess it could also be construed as don’t burn your bridges behind you, because one day you just might have to turn around and go back the way you came, and there’ll be lots of people waiting to give you what for. (smile) 

And my Trini friend concludes: ‘Have a GREAT day, every DAY!!!! Watch your thoughts: They become words Watch your words: They become actions Watch your actions: They become habits Watch your habits: They become character.’ That’s all gospel truth my brethren! So please, let’s pay serious attention to our words nuh, for they also contain the power of life and death. 

Now let’s turn to our Bit, the same one as yesterday. ‘To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.’ More truth of awesome proportions precious children of God! 

In spite of our very sinful and rebellious behaviour, our God is always ready, willing and obviously able to be merciful and forgiving if we come to Him in sincere repentance. It doesn’t mean though that there will be no consequences for our sinful behaviour.  For the Lord just can’t let sin go by without some kind of retribution, otherwise sin would be even more rampant than it currently is. 

Anyhow, today I want us to take a look at some scriptures which complement our Bit. And the first one comes from Isaiah, as he talks about free mercy to all. He solemnly declares on the Lord’s behalf: ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.’ (Is.55:7) 

Yes friends, our God is a bastion of mercy! (smile) Now listen to the psalmist from Psalm 130 – My soul waiteth for the Lord. ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe). 

I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope… Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:3-5, 7-8) 

Meanwhile, Nehemiah, after hearing of the sad plight of Jerusalem, prayed and fasted before the Lord, ‘And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible (awesome) God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that LOVE him (you) and observe (keep) his (your) commandments. 

Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants , and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned.’ (Neh.1:5-6) 

Yeh friends, our God is a magnanimous and merciful God, but also a just and righteous God, He therefore cannot allow sin to go unpunished, especially when we, His supposed people, are so blatantly sinful and ungodly. Remember Nehemiah’s prayer for Jerusalem came about because of Israel’s unconcerned sinfulness, which caused the Lord to let them be taken captive to Babylon and the city destroyed. 

The same thing could happen to us my people, or rather something disastrous WILL happen, if we continue in the very sinful vein that’s currently holding our society captive. Let’s pray, like Nehemiah did, for our sinful society, sincerely asking for mercy, as we try to get our sinfulness under control. And don’t forget, it’s only with God’s help, we can do that. Much LOVE!

…for the wages of sin is death…but the gift of God is eternal life…through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord… (Rom.6:23)

P.S. Please, remember to keep on praying for our friend and Scrip-Bit family member Scotty, who is still in the hospital. Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 August 2016 Psalm 66:16.

13 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 66:16.    Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.

Well friends, it’s Saturday…and at last we received a decent shower of rain, which the dry and thirsty land lapped up like there was no tomorrow. And who knows if there will a tomorrow, the way the world is currently going? 

But one thing is sure and certain…or rather two things are certain; God is on His throne in heaven letting His awesome plan for the world play out until Jesus is ready to come back again. And return He will because He promised it! 

So with the Father running things, Jesus waiting in the wings to ride the clouds in heavenly splendour when the trump blows, and the Holy Spirit indwelling each and every believer, there’s nothing really for Christians to fear in these rather tempestuous times. So please, let us stand strong in our faith and do our duty as prescribed by Christ. 

In the meanwhile, listen to this quote from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us with his wise words. And it declares: ‘If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience.’ 

More words of wisdom and truth friends; based on the psychological premise that generally speaking, you become whom or what you think about. That means our thoughts play an extremely important function in our lives; if we think negatively we’ll be overtaken by a lot of negative stuff. However, a positive, faith filled mind can work wonders in our everyday lives. 

And you couldn’t have a more positive thinker than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Now please don’t confuse His words, His teachings, which are very positive, with His unfortunate, negative demise. He came to earth to be our holy, sinless sacrifice, so the negativity that He encountered was not a result of negative thinking, but of the Father’s awesome plan to redeem us from sin. 

Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.’ And believe me friends, our wonderful God has done lots of things for our souls; some we appreciate, some we take for granted, but the Lord in His faithfulness is still doing stuff for us. 

And today we’ll look at the story, the testimony of how God took care of the soul of a man who truly reverenced Jehovah God. We’re talking about Bruh Joseph. We know how his father Jacob favoured him over his older brothers, gave him a coat of many colours, and how the brothers disliked him, especially after he told them his dream about them bowing down before him. (Gen.37.5-11) 

We also know how they hatched a plot of get rid of him, selling him into slavery, then telling their father Jacob that his favourite son had been killed by a wild animal. But little did they know the ultimate plan of God, how their deceit and lies would play a big part later on in their lives. Now when Bruh Joseph was brought to Egypt, he was sold to one Potiphar, an officer in Pharaoh’s guards. 

And the Good Book tells us: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous (successful) man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand (to be successful). And Joseph found grace (favour) in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand (care). 

And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand (care); and he knew not aught (anything) he had, save (except) the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person (handsome in form and appearance) and well-favoured’ (Gen.39:2-6) 

But sadly, that same handsomeness was his downfall. The master’s wife took a liking to Him, and when he refused her advances she cried rape. Poor Potiphar had no recourse but to throw him in prison. But there again ‘the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mercy (LOVING-kindness), and gave him and gave him favour (caused him to be viewed with favour) in the sight of the keeper of the prisoner.’ (Gen.39:21) 

Soon thereafter Bruh Joseph was running the prison and the prison keeper had no worries because the Lord caused everything that Bruh Joseph touched to prosper.  And in the Lord’s mysterious working, Pharaoh threw his baker and butler in to Bruh Joseph’s prison, and while there he interpreted dreams for them. The baker was beheaded and the butler returned to his former position. 

But as often happens the butler forgot the promise he made to Bruh Joseph to help get him out of jail, until two years later when Pharaoh dreamed a dream that none of his magicians could decipher. Then the butler remembered Bruh Joseph and Pharaoh sent for him. And the rest is history. He interpreted Pharaoh’s dream and was made Prime Minister of the country, second in power only to Pharaoh himself. 

And the purpose of all Bruh Joseph’s troubles? To strengthen him and prepare him for that role, and to place him in a position to help the same family of brothers who had sold him into slavery, in a time of terrible famine. Please note friends, that all during Bruh Joseph’s trials and tribulations he never behaved disreputably and stayed totally in faith. 

Obviously it would not have been easy for a teenager in a foreign land as a slave, but because of his faithfulness the Lord caused others to show him favour. It took him something like thirteen years to reach the pinnacle that Lord had made for him. 

And I want to end with these immortal words he spoke when he finally accosted his family. ‘But as for you, ye thought (intended) evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people.’ (Gen.50:20) 

Yes my people, many times we find ourselves in undeserved situations and can’t figure out why. But the secret to success in those situations is to simply stay in faith, for we know not what the Lord’s plans are. It might not be easy to do so, but it would surely be the wisest course of action. Much LOVE!

…when troubles come…faith must be strengthened to overcome them…