Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 December 2021 Romans 5:5a.

02 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

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

Romans 5:5a.     And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); 

Oh friends, unfortunately, Thursday has not opened as nicely as Wednesday did; it’s wet and cloudy, but as always, the wonderful news and Spirit of Jesus lifts us up regardless of the quality of the physical day. And we’ve drawn breath today, so that makes it even more important! That’s why we confidently declare: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!’ 

Yes mih bredrin, life might not be a bed of roses, but since we have life, we have hope.. ‘And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God has been shed abroad (poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’ (Rom. 5:5) Oh my people, what we have in Christ Jesus through His Holy Spirit is more than hope, it’s a certainty of our eternal home and destination. 

But here’s how the bibleref.com website explains it nuh. They say: ‘Paul introduced a challenging idea in the previous verses (1-4): that Christians can see suffering as a cause for rejoicing. He did not mean by this that anyone should necessarily feel happy or enthusiastic about hard circumstances. Instead, those who are saved—who have expressed faith in Christ—can declare to ourselves that this suffering is worthwhile. It provides an opportunity to grow into the people that God is calling us to be. 

He began by showing that suffering produces endurance: a deeper, longer trust in God. This produces character, meaning we more consistently choose to do what honors God. This, in turn, produces hope, where we experience growing certainty that our ultimate destiny is an eternity of good in God’s presence. Now Paul concludes this chain by saying that our hope will never put us to shame. By that, Paul means our hope will be fully vindicated. We will never, in the end, be disappointed for hoping to receive God’s goodness forever.’ 

And of that we can be certain sure my fellow believers, because our wonderful God has already proven His awesome LOVE for us by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross for us while we were yet sinners. Yes, through His shed blood we’ve been justified, sanctified, redeemed, saved from God’s wrath, received salvation, been reconciled to the Father, atoned for and all the other wonderful things we gain by being true believers in Christ Jesus! 

Wow! Which other supposed God has anything better to offer eh? NONE! Because they are not real gods, just wannabe imitations of the One and Only True Living God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And that’s the indisputable truth! There is no other God but Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim, whatever name we choose to address Him by! 

That’s why Bruh Paul could also write in his second letter to the church at Corinth, these encouraging words. ‘For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yea, and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God; Who also hath sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.’ (2 Cor. 1:19-22) 

Oh friends, the promises of God in Christ Jesus are all yes, yes, yes! Now hear the scholars’ explanation of that passage of scripture. ‘1:20-22. Amen is equivalent to yea. Whether one is a Gentile (yea) or a Hebrew (amen), the promises of God are sure. But the force of Paul’s analogy is that his word is as good as the gospel, because he which establisheth us with you in Christ…is God. 

Sealed us: The sealing of the Holy Spirit has a threefold significance in the New Testament: (1) to indicate ownership (we belong to God, through Christ Jesus); (2) to indicate genuineness; (3) to preserve and keep safe (cf. Eph. 4:30; 2 Tim. 2:19; Rev. 7:2-3). This last idea is amplified with the earnest of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit Himself is the down payment, or pledge , of redemption. The indwelling Spirit is the surety and the “security” of all that is to follow in the final salvation of the believer (cf. Rom. 8:9-11, 23; 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:14).’ 

What more can we ask eh friends? Nothing really. God didn’t only send Christ to pay for our sins, but He also sent the Holy Spirit to seal us as His personal property. The Good Book tells it thus: ‘For ye are bought with a price: (the blood of Jesus): therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ (1 Cor. 6:20) Yes my people, we belong lock, stock and barrel to God! And He stakes His claim on us by sending His Holy Spirit to indwell us, as well as to give us security and surety of His promises. 

That means our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, consequently, we need to behave in a manner worthy and appropriate of such a high honour. Please, let’s try doing that nuh. We all know what it means and what it takes, but we need to put out a serious effort to make it happen, especially in these tough times. And our God is so good and wonderful that He even gives us the tools, numerous blessings, so we can do just that, and show the world what a magnificent God He is. And since those blessings don’t take effect until we declare them, let’s declare what we call our Thursday Blessings right now nuh. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! 

I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

Now, the onus is on us to go out and share those blessings just as generously with others, as God shared them with us. Much LOVE!

…and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God…whereby ye are sealed…unto the day of redemption… (Eph. 4:30) 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8          

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 January 2021 Philippians 1:6.

16 Jan 2021 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 1:6.     ​Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Well Saturday has finally come around. That’s good news for some of us, but not for others. However, I am bringing good and wonderful news to ALL of us this sunny, but cold Saturday morning! Wow! 

Hear these words from Bruh Paul to the church at Philippi: ‘Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.’ (Phil. 1:2-5) 

Oh my people, do we joyfully pray for each other as we remember our fellow saints? I do hope so, because it’s one of our bounden duties in Christ. Remember Bruh Paul’s words to the Ephesians, and to us, when he spoke about putting on the armour of God? 

‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery (hidden truth) of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds (chains): that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.’ (Eph. 6:18-20) 

Yes my brethren, we’re to always pray for our fellow saints in Christ, because spiritual combat is not only an individual matter, but also a corporate matter. And furthermore, as we are also ambassadors of Christ in this age, we also need the courage, perspicacity and discernment to boldly speak the truth of Christ’s gospel! 

So we do need to pray for each other, remember prayer is our greatest tool in God’s economy! And some of you might be wondering how come there are no quotes from our friend Anselm this Saturday morning? Well the simple answer is that I did not receive any from him all week. So I have nothing like that to offer. (smile) 

Don’t know what happened, maybe he’s on vacation, hiatus or something, even possibly sick, so let’s pray for him, that whatever’s become of him, he may be safe and comforted in God’s arms. And that’s exactly what today’s Bit is all about; keeping each other in our prayers. 

But I do have wonderful truths from Christ’s gospel. Overwhelming truths like this one. More Bruh Paul words to the Philippians: ‘Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6) 

Oh mih people, what a wonderful promise, what amazing assurance! Yes siree, just like Bruh Paul promised that the Lord would complete the work of salvation He had begun in the Philippians, likewise He will continue and complete the work done in each of us, right until the very day that Christ comes back! Glory be! 

Yes friends, we don’t need to worry about God giving up on us. According to the scholars: ‘This speaks of the Christian’s eternal security. For God had a purpose in view when He began His saving work in the Philippians, and that purpose will neither be abandoned or unrealized.’ 

Wow! What amazing security for all the saints of Christ! Our God never abandons us, or what He begins in us! Once we’re sealed by the Holy Ghost it’s all systems forward! Now if we would only realize and accept that as gospel truth, then our lives would not be as confused and miserable. 

And yuh know friends, it’s all quite simple. Living for Christ might be difficult, but the philosophy is oh so simple. Hear what Jesus said to a crowd while teaching in Capernaum. ‘Then said they (the crowd) unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.’ (John 6:28-29) 

That’s very simple friends, the work of God is merely to believe on Christ and everything else will fall into place. But the foolish people listening to Him then wanted a sign, which He refused to give them. The same goes for us today, we want to see signs and wonders but it’s really all about faith, faith in Almighty God and consequently His wonderful Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

As the author of Hebrews so plainly tells us: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) 

That’s all it’s about friends; faith, belief, and consequently trust. Just like we trust the big banks enough to put our life’s savings in them for safekeeping, just so we need to trust Christ to save us and bring us to eternal glory. 

And just like we use to spout, we’re in the best hands with All State, even more, we should be faithfully shouting: ‘We’re in good, no better, no the BEST hands with Christ Jesus!’ 

There are no bigger, safer, or more secure hands than those of the Deity that created the world and all therein, including us, and still controls it! And until we believe that sincerely in our very being and live accordingly, our lives will continue to be miserable and confused! Much LOVE!

…the amazing simplicity of Christ…ohhh…it’s just too much for the human brain to wrap around…

P.S. Short and sweet eh! So I like it! (smile) Much LOVE!