Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 June 2017 2 Corinthians 5:21.

10 Jun 2017 Leave a comment

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

2 Corinthians 5:21.   For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Aye mih breddren, Saturday has rolled around once again! What are your plans eh? I know I’m not planning to do much of anything productive. It will be mostly a day of rest and relaxation, especially if it’s another nice one like the last few. And it’s supposed to go up to around thirty degrees Celsius. 

Mama yo! Many will now complain that it’s too hot, and the a/c will be blasting cold air. But many others will also break out the sunscreen lotion and work on their tans. It’s a good thing that my tan is natural yes, I don’t have to work at it. (smile) Thank You Lord! 

Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm offered this week nuh, in his marvelous effort to inspire us to aspire to a better tomorrow. Hear this one: ‘Without action you aren’t going anywhere. An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.’ 

And is that ever so true and rather appropriate to our Christian faith my brethren, because we’re certainly doing more talking, more preaching, rather than putting the preaching into action, as is most necessary in this lost and evil world. 

Then he tells us: ‘Forgive and let it go. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.’ I guess you have to be strong to be able to forgive and let go of hurts inflicted by others. And the eye for an eye thing will certainly make the world blind. 

What did Jesus have to say about the blind leading the blind? ‘And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ (Matt.15:14) Gospel truth that! For Jesus doesn’t lie. 

This next quote is a bit touchy. ‘You are in control. Nobody can hurt you without your permission.’ Technically speaking it’s true, we allow others to hurt us. But when someone does dreadful things to us, it’s not that easy to say ‘I won’t let them hurt me,’ and just turn off the hurt. 

The penultimate quote advises: ‘You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.’ The only problem there is that our current ocean of humanity has much much more than just a few dirty drops in it. 

And I’ve left the best for last. ‘A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.’ More gospel truth friends! And there’s no better example of that than our own Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

Just look at all He did for us nuh, all the ‘sufferation’ He endured on our behalf, and from then to now, He’s never gotten the plaudits He so rightfully deserves. But he didn’t do what he did for praise and glory, but for LOVE! Can you imagine it? Hn! Most of our leaders today are simply out for their own glorification. 

However our Bit declares of Jesus: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’ 

The Father really put Him between a rock and a hard place, but He did what He had to do without a lot of complaining. No, it wasn’t easy, even for Him as the Son of God, but it’s what the Father desired, and He wanted to please the Father. Oh, how I wish that more of us supposed Christians could feel the same way; simply desirous of pleasing the Father and doing what He asks of us without a lot of hemming and hawing. That would be the day! 

Ah friends, it’s not easy living a true Christian life, but when we put our minds to it, with the help of God, it is certainly exciting and adventurous. And I’m not talking from hearsay there, but from personal experience. 

And all I want to do today is highlight a couple of scripture verses that enhance our Bit, from the magnificent prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 53, re the Suffering servant. ‘He is despised and rejected of (forsaken by) men: a man of sorrows (pains), and acquainted with grief (sickness): and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

Surely he hath borne our griefs (pains), and carried our sorrows (sicknesses): yet we did esteem (reckon) him stricken, smitten of (struck down by) God, and afflicted. But he was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, he was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities: the chastisement (discipline, self-control) of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Is.53:3-6) 

Yes friends, our leader showed us the way, by walking His talk with strength of purpose. He bore our sinful burdens selflessly and gave us His peace and righteousness. Now why can’t we just live up to the little He asks of us eh…to LOVE the Father, LOVE ourselves, not in a narcissist manner, and to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves? 

Is that so hard to do my Christian brethren? What a wonderful world we’d truly have! And there would be supreme joy both in heaven and on earth! Let’s try and make that a reality nuh my people. With God’s help it’s possible. But we have to sincerely want to do it and then put out the great effort necessary. Much LOVE!

…that tremendous gift of atonement…paid for with Jesus’ blood…should have us chomping at the bit…to do God’s bidding…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 June 2017 Psalm 118:14.

03 Jun 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 118:14.    The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.

Saturday, oh Saturday, what do you have in store for us today eh? Ah friends, many of us who are getting up early this morning are indeed wondering what the day holds for us, and even what we hold for the day. (smile) 

But the blessed ones are those who choose to sleep in late, not worrying about what the world has planned for them, but knowing that their plan for the world is to sleep in…and enjoy it too. They are not only blessed, but wise too, not overly concerned about the mess, the tragic circumstances existing all over our world. They will probably live longer and have a more enjoyable life than those of us who allow ourselves to be frustrated by the evil and ungodly activities that are currently tearing our world apart.  

We have to remember friends that our wise and wonderful God is still on His throne and is still in control of all circumstances, and nothing will happen unless He allows it to happen. He has His long range plans that we won’t ever understand. So let’s just relax nuh, take one day at a time, do our best to work God’s plan for our individual lives, and give Him all the thanks and praise we can. Sermon done! (smile) 

Now let’s check out a few of our friend Anselm’s quotes of this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. Here is the first one: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’ 

That’s indisputable truth my brethren! For it’s only when we face adversity that we truly see what kind of person we are. Are we strong, do we have belly and backbone, can we handle the stuff that’s coming at us without breaking down? 

And nowhere is it more noticeable and applicable than in our Christian faith! Why you ask? Because every day in our walk of faith stuff comes against us that tests us, and we can only grow and pass the tests by handling them in a strong and faithful manner. 

Hence, we come to this next quote: ‘Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.’ More indisputable truth friends! A true leader is one who can inspire another to improve himself. 

That leads to this quote: ‘Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.’ No lie! The leader sets the agenda, while the manager carries it out. So ‘In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.’ 

We certainly can’t my people, we need to be moving onwards and upwards, becoming more Christ-like every day! That’s the basic plan for all of God’s children, but since we’re all different, He uses different ways to get us there. But my faithful followers, whatever methods and pathways our God uses to make us become like His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we must all come to the conclusion declared in our Bit. ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation.’  

Yes friends, until we can sincerely believe and proclaim that foundational verse with heartfelt passion, like the psalmist did so long ago, our progress will be painfully slow. That’s because we can’t become like Christ if we don’t truly believe in God and surrender our very being to Him. We can only get strong in God when we let it all go and allow Him to guide our lives. All the great men of God had to do that, otherwise they would not have become great men of God. 

Listen to how Moses puts it in his song. ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise Him); my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ (Ex.15:2) 

Yeh mih people, we have to give up our will and let the Lord lead us in His. Yuh think Moses would have done all the wonders he did in God’s name if he had tried to hold on to his own will. No, never! But a lot of us nowadays try to sit on the fence, allowing God to do some things in our lives, but stubbornly withholding other stuff that we want to handle. It won’t work friends, for our God wants ALL of us, or nothing at all. He’s not a God of half measures. 

Now hear this other great man of God, Isaiah, as he talks about thanksgiving for God’s mercies. ‘And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, he also is become my salvation. 

Therefore with joy shall we draw water out of the wells of salvation.  And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings (mighty deeds) among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.’ (Is.12:1-6) 

Ah mih people, when we truly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour and get seriously walking with Him, we will feel those things deep down in our hearts and souls, and impulsively break out in song with the same praise and exaltation. It’s the wisdom of heaven! Much LOVE!

…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 May 2017 Matthew 25:35.

13 May 2017 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 25:35.    For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.

Ah mih people, our favourite lazy day, Saturday, is here at last! God bless Saturdays! And I see some big smiles and hear some sweet sighs as we just plan on lazing through Saturday, doing as little as possible. 

But don’t worry, that’s your entitlement. You are allowed at least one day each week to just commune with yourself and your Maker, while just rolling along with the tumbling tumbleweeds. (smile) 

So as we laze along this blessed Saturday morn, let’s check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. I like this week’s quotes because they are simple and practical. 

Hear this first one: ‘It’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.’ Now isn’t that the very truth? It surely is, because in these whatever you may call them times, nobody wants to do anything that’s difficult. Easy living is the name of the game! 

And that goes for our Christian faith too. As soon as a lot of believers’ come upon adversity, they are quick to think about giving up. They don’t realize that it’s the adversity that builds our faith. And that’s why our standards are continually falling.  

And the second quote says: ‘How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.’ Oh so true my people! It’s just another way of warning us that we’ll reap what we sow, and we need to treat others the way we want to be treated. 

This next one sounds like something Granny would say: ‘As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.’ Ah friends, where has that sense of purpose, that commitment to helping others gone eh? 

Nowadays it’s predominantly each man for himself, and let the other one get by as best he can. I remember the days when the world wasn’t as prosperous, but there also wasn’t as much hunger and poverty, for we shared whatever little we had with the unfortunates. But today, in a world filled with plenty, hunger and poverty are rampant, pandemic to say the least. 

Steups! The Lord must look down from His high heaven and sadly shake His head sometimes, asking Himself, just where did He go wrong. But it wasn’t Him that went wrong it was us, we had too much free will and evil had a stronger pull on us than good. 

But hopefully this last quote will help us. ‘Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.’ It’s as simple as that friends, we can’t do better until we know how to do better. So I guess our quest now is to learn how to do better. 

And I have to laugh here at the philosophical stuff than Anselm’s quotes bring out every week. But it does the soul a lot of good, gets us thinking a little more than we normally might. It also brings us to our Bit, Jesus immortal words on the topic. 

‘For I was an hungered (hungry), and ye gave me meat (food): I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.’ (Matt.25:35-36) 

Yeh friends, that’s the kind of stuff that Jesus is looking for from His followers. If we do those things, then when Jesus comes into His kingdom, we’ll be like the sheep, on His right hand, and not goats on His left. ‘Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ (Matt.25:34) 

Oh my brethren, we seem to forget that Jesus came to save the lost, the sick, the hungry, the poor; in other words, those who were having a hard time making it in life. If we go back to Isaiah, where he describes true religion, we’ll see where the Lord rags on Israel for their hypocritical fasting in the first 5 verses of chapter 58. 

Then He says: ‘Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal (share) thy bread to (with) the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out (wandering) to thy house? 

When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health (healing) shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee: the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward ( rearguard). 

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord will answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of these the yoke, the putting forth (pointing) of the finger, and speaking vanity (wickedness).’ (Is.58:6-9) 

Oh friends, that’s what true religion is supposed to be about, not the hypocritical rules and regulations that pass for it today. And you’ll see that it’s not only when Jesus came that caring for the poor and downtrodden became a part of our faith. 

So let’s get serious about what we’ve said here this morning nuh, and try to do what we know is right, so that at the coming of Jesus’ kingdom, we’ll end up on His right hand and be called blessed. Much LOVE!

…unless we sincerely try to help others…we can’t truly say…we have a heart for Jesus…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 April 2017 Psalm 103:2.

29 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 103:2.   Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

So friends, once more it is Saturday, when we have to make our own decisions as to what to do with our day; to just lay about and do basically nothing, or get up and get done the million and one things that need doing, especially in this emerging spring season. The choice is yours. (smile) 

But whatever you choose to do, right now, let’s contemplate some of our friend, Anselm’s quotes of this past week. You know he is always aspiring to inspire us for a better tomorrow.  

And this first one is a blast: ‘When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.’ Now who’s right or wrong there eh? 

This second quote is a little more serious. ‘Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.’ That’s gospel truth if you want to succeed in this life. Eschew the lite and the lazy, the egotist and the negative, for they will only pull you down.  

But remember this one, even when you’re down. ‘A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.’  And that goes for everything, in all walks of life, especially Christianity, for in Jesus’ vocabulary there is no such word as ‘quit’! So remember, NEVER QUIT! When you fall, get back up, dust yourself off and keep going, because success might just be around the corner. 

And if you check out a lot of the successful people in this world, you’ll find that many of them failed many times before they succeeded. People like Walt Disney, Edison, Henry Ford, didn’t succeed on their first try, but they never gave up, and now their names are household words. 

This last quote though is somewhat scary, as it says: ‘If you want to test the character of a person, give them power.’ Now it might be true, but I certainly don’t want to try it, for I’ve seen too many people go mad with a little power. What did the British Lord Acton say about power? “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority.’’  

Yes friends, power corrupts. And all of us have seen how a little power corrupts. And right now, we have several examples of big power going to people’s heads in Russia’s Putin, Syria’s Assad, Turkey’s Erdogan and Mr. Trump in the U.S, just to name a few of the more prominent ones. They all think that they are the king’s pajamas and know best how to run things. 

But one thing’s for certain sure, all these power hungry people, fall at some time or another, and usually great is their fall. And one of the reasons is that they don’t pay serious attention to the words of our Bit. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’ 

Yes friends, these cohorts of the evil one, Lucifer, pay no attention to the Lord God Almighty. Some might mention His name conveniently, but He is really nowhere in their hearts, otherwise they wouldn’t be behaving as wickedly and horrendously as they are doing. They don’t seem to realize that ALL there is on the earth and in heaven above belongs to Him. But thankfully we Christian believers know better and behave more sensibly, at least some of us. (smile) 

Now yesterday we enumerated some of the benefits (verses 3-5) and were looking at scriptures which corroborated the first part of verse 3; ‘Who forgiveth all thine iniquities…’ And I have one more piece of scripture to add to it, before we move on to the second half of that verse. 

Hear the psalmist: ‘Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps.130:7-8) 

Oh friends, is there hope in Lucifer, or mercy, or LOVING-kindness, or redemption from our iniquities? Absolutely not! All he seeks to do is to add to our iniquities and thus get us to accompany him to his rotten lair in hell. So why would I want to follow him eh? In fact, why are so many of us falling for his lies, his taunts, his wiles and deceptions eh? It just doesn’t make sense my people. 

Since Jesus defeated Lucifer at the Easter season two thousand years ago, he has no hold whatsoever over us, except what we allow him to have. But yet we fall for his story about earthly wealth and fleshly lusts and the shine of gold and other precious jewels, the supposed appeal of glamour and glitz, full well knowing that it’s all a façade, just a glittering front, like movie sets that look so wonderful on camera but have nothing behind the outer shell. 

Ah friends, our world is bursting with all sorts of things that are trying to turn us away from God, but we’re supposed to have His Holy Spirit dwelling within us, teaching us and showing us the way. So why are falling for all the nonsense that has no eternal value eh? 

I implore us, please, please, let’s be wiser than that nuh. Christ is the ONLY TRUE LIGHT, LIFE and WAY! Let’s remember that and act accordingly nuh! Much LOVE!

…ALL benefits in this life…come from Almighty God…and from no one else…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 April 2017 Psalm 97:10.

22 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 97:10.   Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.

So friends, what have you got planned for your Saturday eh; housework and errands, or just lazily floating through the day, doing much of nothing, trying to get your ying and yang back into some kind of sync, after a hard week at work? 

To be honest, I believe the last option is the preferable one, although the first might be the smarter and wiser of the two, since you’ll most likely have to do that housework and run those errands at some later date. But not to worry, rest and relaxation are absolutely necessary to renew your energy, so that you are able to do those household tasks and run the many errands without any problems. (smile) 

Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s see if we can’t provoke some thought in our lazy minds by turning to a few quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Listen to this beauty nuh: ‘Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don’t waste it with a false start or no start at all. You were not born to fail.’ 

Oh friends, I couldn’t give any better advice than that! And the sad part is that a lot of us know that advice quite well, but we simply don’t implement it. That leads to this quote: ‘Being positive or negative, are habits of thoughts that strongly affect your actions and your life.’ More indisputable truth my brethren! 

And that brings up this gem: ‘Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.’ 

That is the positive aspect of life speaking there again, which brings us to this last quote. ‘Positive and negative are directions that lead to different outcomes. Which direction do you choose?’ 

And that’s the all-important question we must ask ourselves this Saturday morning: will we spend our lives being positive or negative, looking ahead with hope and faith, or with fear and despair?  Unfortunately friends, no one can answer that question for us, we have to make a conscious decision for ourselves. 

And I’d just like to add my two cents worth here: choosing the positive aspect of life is much better, especially if you are a believer in, and a follower of Jesus because that’s what His whole ministry is based on; positivity! 

Not fearing, not looking back, trusting and surrendering, being obedient to one’s Creator, having faith in Jesus Himself, since He sacrificed His life on the cross so that you might have the option to be reconciled with the Father and receive the free gift of salvation and eternal life. Glory Be! And all you have to do is get positive and BELIEVE! 

Now let’s look at our Bit, although I’m not sure how much time and space we have to devote to it. But here goes: ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’ 

Now that’s positivity in spades my brethren! One can’t be more positive than surrendering one’s life to the Lord and putting all one’s trust in Him, based on those words of immortal truth! 

Yesterday we looked at some corroborating scripture for the first section; ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil:’ Now I have one more significant scripture to add to those, this from Bruh Paul as he talks to the Romans about the service of LOVE to all. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9) And that’s exactly how a true Christian ought to behave! 

Hear this explanation from the scholars. ‘12:9. Without dissimulation (lit. “without hypocrisy”). The Christian’s conduct in the local church toward fellow believers is to be a volitional caring for others (making a purposeful decision to do so), LOVING faithfully in spite of the response received. The LOVE is to be genuine and unfeigned.’ 

Hn! I wonder how much genuine and unfeigned LOVE there is in the church today eh?  Definitely not as much as there ought to be, otherwise there wouldn’t be so much disunity, resentment and bad blood amongst Christ’s supposed saints. 

And this statistic is going to floor you, it certainly did when I heard Sister Joyce, (Joyce Meyer) recently declare that she looked up the number of denominations in Christianity and found some 33 thousand. Yes friends, thirty three thousand, broken down in all forms and fashions, and with various doctrines too! And then we wonder why Lucifer and his evil buddies are ruling the world. 

Ah mih breddren, the long and short of the story is that until supposed believers learn to live together in harmony and unity, leaving all selfishness and ego behind, Christ’s church will not be as successful as it needs to be. 

So please, let’s ponder that situation this morning nuh, and let’s all make a serious and binding decision to improve it in whatever way we can. That is, if we truly desire our children’s children to have a half decent life here on earth. Much LOVE!

…no organization can grow successfully and last for any length of time…unless there is unity and harmony amongst its members…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 April 2017 Psalm 107:29.

08 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 107:29.     He maketh the storm to calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Well friends, it’s Saturday and there’s work to be done around the house, errands to run and shut in people to visit. Wow! For some of us it doesn’t seem like a day off at all, and we’re tempted to go to our place of employment, where we don’t work half as hard. (smile) 

But for some blessed individuals, it’s a much easier go; just sleeping in late, snoozing on the couch, idly flipping the channels on the remote,  watching golf and baseball, hockey and basketball, while sipping something cold and frothy and drowsily but sincerely saying, ‘Praise the Lord!’ 

Yes mih people, some do have it easier than others. But since it’s Saturday, we also have to check out some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week. And he does have some excellent ones this week. 

Listen to this first one. ‘Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity.’ And that’s gospel truth my brethren! Problems are in fact opportunities for us to grow. Note that it’s only when we face adversity that we mature, especially in our Christian walk. 

And this next quote follows on naturally. ‘We can’t escape pain; we can’t escape the essential nature of our lives. But we do have a choice. We can give in and relent, or we can fight, persevere, and create a life worth living, a noble life. Pain is a fact; our evaluation of it is a choice.’ There again friends, we can’t escape pain or problems, but we can choose how to handle them; either by cringing and complaining, or by standing strong and using the adversity to our benefit. 

And this one also segues nicely to the one before. ‘You cannot tailor-make the situations in life but you can tailor-make the attitudes to fit those situations.’ It’s all about attitudes my people; our attitudes to our problems can either make or break us. And this last quote just wraps it up nicely. ‘Being miserable is a habit; being happy is a habit; and the choice is yours.’

Oh is that ever so true my fellow believers! The choice is all ours. That means if we want to have a fairly happy and peaceful life we must choose attitudes that relate to happiness and peace. Remember with Jesus as our captain, we can remain calm in any storm. 

Now listen to the psalmist as he tells his story. ‘They that go down to the sea in ships; that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble. 

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm to calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then they are glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.’ (Ps.107:23-30) 

Ah friends that reminds me of a personal testimony to that situation. One day, some thirty something years ago, I ended up on a boat with some friends and coworkers who were headed for Rochester on the American side of Lake Ontario. To cut a long story short, going across the day was sunny and beautiful and we finally got to the American side, but up to now we haven’t reached Rochester. (smile) 

Through the obvious presence of the brown girl in the bottle and several strong imbibers, arguments broke out about continuing down the American coast to Rochester or returning to Toronto. The captain and owner of the boat eventually decided to come back to Toronto. This was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 

But lo and behold, on our way back a serious storm rose up against us and we could barely make any headway against it. And yuh better believe that prayer, for the first time in many a day, was forthcoming from several of the inebriated imbibers. It’s a good thing I wasn’t into the sauce that day, so I was able to help the skipper, while the others were rolling around, hanging on, giving drunken orders and praying. 

Now that day I learned a couple of lessons. The first one is that Lake Ontario can be very dangerous. I would be passing along the shore and see it kicking up and steups at it, saying it was nothing like the ocean I was accustomed to, and wondering how big ships like the Edmund Fitzgerald could sink and get lost in it.

But friends, that night I learned otherwise. For when the boat, I guess it was around fifteen feet long, mounted up the massive waves, I saw the good Lord in his heaven. (smile) And when it hit back down to the depths, between those waves, I felt the shivering of timbers! And that was the second lesson I learned; the actual feeling of shivering timbers. Before that night I had only read it from books. 

And believe me there was even mutiny amongst the group. For when we finally reached land on the Ontario side, somewhere around Cobourg, still many miles from our starting point, we had to stop for gas. At that point, some of the more inebriated ones wanted to use their money to take a taxi home, instead of chip in for the gas. 

But eventually cooler heads prevailed and we all came back together, arriving at our starting point around three o’clock in the morning, having left their around ten a.m. the previous day. And believe me, that was only a synopsis of the whole story. Like my family didn’t know where I was, hadn’t seen or heard from me for at least 20 hours, and the captain’s wife had the coast guard out looking for us. 

Can’t say I haven’t led an adventurous life – but with the grace of God always surrounding me! That’s why I can totally agree with the psalmist when he declares: ‘Oh that men would praise (give thanks to) the Lord for his goodness (LOVING-kindness), to the children of men!’ (Ps.107:31) Much LOVE my brethren!

…without God…where would men be eh…so let’s give Him lots of thanks and praise nuh…and faithfully adhere to His law…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 March 2017 Jeremiah 17:7.

04 Mar 2017 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 17:7.   Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Saturday, O Saturday: balm for some, bane of others! Yeh friends, for some of us Saturday means not doing a whole lot, possibly sleeping in late, then moving to the couch to watch the tube. Hn! 

While for others, Saturday means cleaning and grocery shopping and doing odd jobs around the house that you never had a chance to do during the week. Some of us work harder at home on Saturdays, than we do at work all week. But that’s the joy of prosperous living! (smile) We can either vegetate or work ourselves to the bone. 

Anyway on Saturdays too we also look at a few of our friend Anselm’s quotes, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first one is ever so true. ‘Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.’ 

Yes people, that’s why many of us don’t like change, even though it might improve our lives, for change doesn’t just roll in smoothly, it always causes hiccups, and sometimes some real bad ones too.

Now this second quote offers a wealth of good advice. ‘Align yourself with people that you can learn from, people who want more out of life, people who are stretching and searching and seeking some higher ground in life.’ 

That’s the only way we can truly grow friends! If we sincerely wish to grow, then we must surround ourselves with wise people who are striving to do the same. We ought not to be always the smartest, wisest or most accomplished person in our group, else whom are we going to learn from eh? 

And this last quote is also interesting and very true. ‘Most people fail in life not because they aim too high and miss, but because they aim too low and hit.’ Bingo! Setting goals is a very serious and thoughtful action friends. We can either set them too low and hit them, but not accomplish much. Or we can set them too high and not reach them, with the same result as setting them too low. 

That reminds me of the old people’s saying: Never hang your hat where you can’t reach it. But my breddren, goals should be set where they are just out of reach, where you need to extend yourself some, get a bit out of your comfort zone, otherwise they are not worth setting. 

That brings us to our Bit. ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ 

Oh my fellow believers, that’s wisdom of the highest order! That’s why I don’t understand why more of us, including supposed Christians don’t follow it. If the Lord is the Creator and Controller of the universe, El Numero Uno, as we claim, then why aren’t we putting our absolute trust in Him eh? I guess some of us don’t truly believe what we spout, and try to hedge our bets by not giving God all our trust.  

But please remember what we read yesterday from Psalm 146: ‘Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man (human beings), in whom there is no help (salvation). His breath goeth forth (spirit departs), he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.’ (Ps.146:3-4) 

That’s gospel truth friends! We die and return to the dust from which we were created, while God lives on forever, and also knows the beginning from the end. So whom is the best one to trust eh? Both logic and wisdom tell us the Lord God Almighty! 

So let’s look at some scripture that will help me convince you to put ALL your trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Listen to Cousin Sol from Proverbs. ‘He that handleth a matter wisely (wisely heeds the word) shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.’ (Prov.16:20) 

And if you don’t believe Cousin Sol, then hear Bruh David from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous. ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing… The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust him shall be desolate (condemned).’ (Ps.34:8-10; 22) I can’t dispute any of that nuh people, so I just have to believe it. 

And we’ll end with something from Isaiah, where he’s appealing to his people to turn to the Lord for help, the very same thing I’m trying to do in these tumultuous times. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice); blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is.30:18) 

And the scholars add this explanation. ‘30:18-33. Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’ 

What more can I say eh friends? Not a whole lot, for I am just the messenger aspiring to deliver the message that our world needs the Lord God Jehovah more than at any other time in our existence. I just hope that the message doesn’t fall on deaf ears, and that every Christian will endeavour to put into action in their own lives, then spread it far and wide, so that our children’s children will have the chance to live in a good and beautiful world. That’s my sincere prayer for us today! Much LOVE!

…if we can’t trust our God and Creator…whom then can we trust…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 January 2017 Psalm 73:28.

28 Jan 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 73:28.   But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.

Cloudy days are here again…but at least it’s dry. (smile) Yeh mih breddren, I don’t know where the sun has gone these last couple of weeks nuh, but we do have the SON, and that’s the most important one of them all. Glory to God! 

So it’s Saturday, what’s on the agenda eh? Cleaning and household chores, grocery shopping, resting, relaxation… Whatever it is, please make sure that the Lord is totally involved in it with you, otherwise it won’t work as well, or it might not even work. 

Remember our amazing and awesome God wants to get involved in every aspect of our lives, even down to the tiniest bit, and He feels sadly left out if we don’t include Him. 

Now here are some quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. First off, he tells us that: ‘History repeats itself until we learn the lessons that we need to change our path.’ And that’s no lie! We’ll keep on making the same mistakes until we wake up to the wrong we’re doing and change it. 

Now here is one that runs contrary to the modern day world. ‘We must take responsibility for what is in our life.’ Oh friends, our world has become such an irresponsible place that it’s not funny. 

No one wants to take responsibility for anything. The blame game has become one of our favourite pastimes. But until we become responsible for all that we do, life will remain rather miserable. 

And this one says: ‘When we change who and what we are within our hearts, our lives follow suit and change too.’ Now that’s the only way any change will ever last! 

And finally: ‘Whatever we put out in the Universe is what comes back to us.’ Oh people, life is like a boomerang; whatever you let fly, will eventually come right back to you. It’s God’s basic principle of ‘you reap what you sow.’ 

That brings us right back to where started, having God totally involved in our lives, as so well advised by our Bit. ‘But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ 

Now let’s back up a tad and hear how Asaph was haunted by the prosperity of the wicked. ‘For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:3) 

Ah friends, that’s still happening to too many of us today. The wicked are still prosperous and too many of us supposed Christians are wanting what they have and consequently selling our souls to the wrong people to get earthly wealth. 

But please remember the immortal words, the everlasting promise of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)  

Now if you’re not diligently working under that promise, then you’re unwise, and no true follower of and believer in Christ. 

But getting back to Asaph. He was falling under the spell of the wicked and earthly riches…’Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are utterly consumed with terrors.’ (Ps.73:17-19) 

Oh my fellow believers, Asaph didn’t understand the situation until he spent time in God’s sanctuary. Maybe some of us need to do that too, so we’ll understand that we don’t have to worry about the riches of the wicked, the Lord will do that in His own time. 

We need to get ourselves solidly under the umbrella of God’s LOVE, mercy and grace, and concentrate on building His body, His church here on earth. 

Now hear Asaph’s conclusion. ‘So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden (held) me by thy right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom I have in heaven but thee? 

And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee (who are unfaithful to thee). 

But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy works.’ (Ps.73:22-28) 

Ah friends, there’s nothing left for me to say, but to implore us to listen to Asaph, to take his wise advice and follow the Lord God Jehovah, for that is wisdom of heavenly proportions. Much LOVE!

…to faithfully and diligently follow Jesus…that is the uniting call of all Christians…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 August 2016 Philippians 4:11.

20 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 4:11.   Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Ah friends, it’s Saturday, which spells sleeping in and rest for some, while for the unlucky others, household chores will take up most of their day. But not to worry it’s all good. (smile) 

Yeh, tell that to the mothers who are up and busy while the fathers lay about in bed or slouch on the living room couch in front of the t.v watching some sporting event like the Olympics.  Hn! To each his own; the important thing is that you’re well-rested, bright and fresh to go back out on Monday morning and do the work thing all over again. 

In the meantime let’s check out some quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. Now this week it was kind of hard to pick just two, so I chose the easy way out and picked three. (smile) They are short anyway, so they won’t take up much space. 

The first one says: ‘Life is raw material. We are artisans. We can sculpt our existence into something beautiful, or debase it into ugliness. It’s in our hands.’ 

And that’s very true, for we basically hold the canvas of our lives in our own hands and to a great extent can make of it whatever we desire. We have the ability to paint a beautiful picture with our lives or just make it dark and ugly. Oh there will be problems and roadblocks, whatever path we choose, but technically speaking, our lives are ours to build as we see fit. 

And the second of Anselm’s quotes tells us: ‘One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.’ 

Now that’s definitely gospel truth my people! Life is not easy and there are many pitfalls, etc. that can get us down and discouraged, but that’s never the wise or smart way to go, especially if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. Now optimism doesn’t necessarily mean that everything will work out the way you want, but at least you’ll be able to handle the negative situations in a positive manner; staying encouraged, not giving up, leaning on and looking to Jesus for His faithful promise of help in rough times.  

And last but not least, Anselm declares: ‘If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet.’ That also rings out with truth my brethren because our words have power, awesome power, and whatever we keep saying, be it positive or negative, usually comes to pass. And somehow or other, the negatives in our speech seem to come to pass more than the positives. So it’s extremely important that we stick to positive speech. 

That brings us to our Bit, some positive speech from Bruh Paul the Philippians. ‘Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.’ Yes friends, that is a very necessary lesson for every Christian to learn. 

Then Bruh Paul goes on to make one of the immortal statements in the Bible. ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13) And that’s the basis on which he is able to be contented in whatever situation he finds himself. 

Hear the scholars: ‘4:13. The apostle’s ability of knowing how to live skillfully on little or in prosperity does not mean that he is a spiritual superman. The reason that he can live in such extremes is not owing to his own ability. Rather he can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth him, thus enabling him to adapt to his various, ever-changing circumstances. God orders Paul’s various situations, and God gives him the strength to be content in them all, trying and perplexing though they may be.’ 

And nobody went through as many harrowing and dangerous experiences as Bruh Paul. Oh my fellow believers, the same thing applies to all of us! God sets us where He wants us and then gives us the wherewithal to stand; to stand strong and steadfast regardless of the circumstances. That’s why we Christians are able to bear up under pressure that non-believers can’t handle: our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ enables us to handle it through the help of His Helper, the Holy Spirit. 

So though times might look dark and disturbing, you are exactly where the heavenly Father desires you to be, and if you stick to Him like glue, (smile) He will enable you to bear whatever adversity you are currently encountering. 

Now let’s check out some scriptures that jive with our Bit. Listen to Bruh Paul again, this time to Timothy in his warning against false teachers. ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content.’ (1 Tim.6:6-8) 

Hear the scholars. 8:8. This verse prevents the wrong understanding of verse 7, that material possessions have no place in the Christian’s life. By figure of speech food and raiment stand for all of life’s basic necessities. These are all the believer needs, and having these he can be content.’ 

Let’s turn to the words of Agur now in Proverbs as he talks to God ‘Two things have I required (requested of thee); deny me them not (deprive me not) before I die. Remove far from me vanity (falsehood) and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient (you prescribe) for me. Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take (profane) the name of the Lord in vain.’ (Prov.30:7-9)  

And we’ll end with these interesting words from the scholars. ’30:7-9. Agur’s prayer is for a convenient and lifelong integrity, accompanied by a rejection of lies and riches. His resting in God’s provision for him (v.8) anticipates the words of our Lord. (Matt.6:11).’ 

What more can I say eh friends, except that that is a worthwhile and godly way to live. So let’s emanate him if we can nuh. Much LOVE!

…give us this day our daily bread… (Matt.6:11)

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 July 2016 Ecclesiastes 6:1

16 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

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

Ecclesiastes 6:1.   There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.

Oh friends and fellow believers, today is a great day to be alive! And why is that you ask? Because today is not like any other day. It’s filled with wonderful promises and beautiful things to look forward to, like no work, since it’s Saturday… 

And I hear some of you ‘steupsing’ and grumbling in the background, for although there is no outside work to go to, there is a lot of stuff to be done around the house; stuff to clean up from the past week and more to get ready for next week. 

But that doesn’t mean we have to be sour and miserable. Just being alive is a great joy in itself, especially in our privileged circumstances. 

I wonder how we’d react if we didn’t have any money, a roof over our heads, food on our table, a job to go to and no decent clothes to wear? And believe me, there a great many people in our universe, and right in our own backyards too, who are undergoing such desperate and unfortunate circumstances. 

So please don’t bitch and complain because you have some cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping to do. Just stop for a moment and consider what your life would have been like if the good Lord in His mercy and LOVING-kindness had not smiled down on you with abundance and prosperity eh.   Selah. 

Now give Him some thanks and praise for your well-being and promise not to complain again – well at least not for today. (smile) 

And here are a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. They hit the nail on the head re the worldly lifestyle that’s so prevalent today.  The first quote is called ‘In The Mirror.’ And it tells us that: ‘Someone will always be prettier. Someone will always be smarter. Someone’s house will be bigger. Someone will drive a better car. Someone’s children will do better in school.’ 

And the sad part is that we know all of that, we know it’s gospel truth, but yet we still allow the flimsy, insubstantial and ungodly behaviour of the world to corrupt our hearts, souls, bodies and minds with its proud and lustful foolishness – the keeping up with Joneses nonsense!  

And hear the other hit the nail right on the head, rather appropriate quote from our friend Anselm. ‘Cherish…the virtues you possess. At the end of the day, there will always be trickery and dishonesty. But if you are standing on higher ground, and you believe in honesty and integrity, and all that is good, trying at all times to do your best and nothing less, you will surely reap the rewards of virtuous living.’ 

Oh my people that is Christianity 101! We ought to know that backwards and forwards! That’s why Jesus left His comfortable abode in heaven and came down here to earth and sacrificed His sinless life for us – so that we could be empowered to lead virtuous lives and reap its wonderful rewards – salvation and eternal life! 

But because of our inherent sinful nature, and the bright beckoning lights of the world, we continue to allow its worthless things and ways to hold too much sway over us. Please remember that all that glitters is not gold, especially in this fraudulent and deceptive world! 

That brings us to our Bit. ‘There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it is common among men.’ More truth friends on the vanity of riches, this time from Cousin Sol, in his capacity as the Preacher! 

And he continues in the next verse. ‘A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth (lacks) nothing for his soul (himself) of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity (futility),  and it is an evil disease (affliction).’ (Eccl.6:2) 

Yes friends, you can be rich as Cousin Sol himself and not be able to enjoy those riches. As the scholars declare: ‘6:1-2. Prosperity is not necessarily good. Accumulation of wealth does not always result in the use of it.’ 

And just look at how many wealthy people have departed this life without being able to enjoy their wealth nuh, while others, even strangers, who hadn’t laboured for it joyfully partake of it. Not only that, but the sad and sorrowful litigation that takes place when a wealthy person dies is so shameful, that it just sullies the name and reputation of the deceased. 

And look no further than the recent death of Prince in his wealthy prime, who left no will, and now so many people are coming out of the woodwork claiming to be entitled to some of the spoil. In the long run, perfect strangers, the lawyers might just end up getting the most of it. 

It’s a good thing that I don’t have anything for anybody to fight over – at least not yet, but it is possible, since my best days are still ahead of me. (smile) And as I’ve always told my children, the day I see them living like cat and dog, I’m going to come back and haunt them. 

Now listen to the Preacher again. ‘There is a sore (severe) evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail (misfortune): and he that begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 

As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore (severe) evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? 

All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely (fitting) for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun (in which he toils) all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion (heritage).’ (Eccl.5:13-18) 

And the scholars tell us this re those verses. ‘5:13-17. Wealth is easily lost and is therefore an unsure foundation for life.’ ‘5:18-20. Enjoyment is a gift of God, and man should be motivated by the brevity of his own life to experience it.’ 

Ah friends, Cousin Sol was the richest man in the world, and if he could declare that riches wasn’t the end all and be all, then who are we to say him nay eh? So please, let’s not run down riches, but if it does come, let’s enjoy it, though with a modicum of circumspection, for that’s wisdom at its heavenly best! Much LOVE!

…the only sure bet in this world is…JESUS CHRIST…

 

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