Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 September 2021 Colossians 3:2.

04 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Colossians 3:2.     Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.

Saturday, oh blessed lazy Saturday! Are we ever so glad to see you on this Labour Day long weekend. Hope you don’t have too many serious plans for me; except those that include lazing around and frolicking. Yes, I do know that the Covid 19 virus and its dangerous family are still lurking somewhere in the weeds, just waiting to catch and kill gullible, unsuspecting, unprepared folks, but I pray I won’t be one of those, because of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ that’s leading and guiding me. 

And all God’s children gave a grateful shout of ‘Thank You Jesus!’ Yes, friends, there’s an awful lot we have to be thankful to Him for. However, He doesn’t just want word of mouth thanks, but a beautiful showing of it in our behaviour, in our everyday living, as we be the salt of the earth and the light of the world in His glorious name! 

So let’s try and concentrate on living the way He wants us to nuh. Let’s make it our top priority this Labour Day Saturday morning, even when we just lazing around or frolicking, because there is a time for each of those activities. As Cousin Sol so wisely says, as the Preacher. ‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.’ (Eccl. 3:1) 

And seeing that it’s Saturday, our purpose today is to check out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week. (smile) Listen to this first one: ‘I have discovered in life that there are ways of getting almost anywhere you want to go, if you really want to go.’ And that’s true. We can go almost wherever we want to go, if we want it badly enough. But the problem here, is where do we want to go so badly that we will do anything to get there? 

The truth of the matter is that too many of us want things that don’t really do any good for us, like worldly pleasures and accoutrements, and we just die, ofttimes sell our souls to get them. And that’s not wise my brethren, for as Jesus says: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) And as Bruh Paul further reminds us: ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.’ (Col. 3:1-2) 

In other words friends, we are not to focus on anything, be it good or bad, that will lead us away, and not towards our heavenly Father. And sometimes when we do go astray, this next quote can be helpful. ‘When people care for you and cry for you, they can straighten out your soul.’ Ah mih bredrin, that’s the beauty of having people in your life that care enough to cry and pray for you in those times when you seem to have lost your way. 

Oh, we don’t need a truckload of people praying and crying for us, just a serious and righteous few who will get through to God with their prayers, and to us with their tears! A praying and caring group of people around us is one of the most important assets we can ever have in this sinful and evil world. 

That leads us to these next two quotes which are basically the same. ‘Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.’ ‘That is the definition of faith – acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove.’ And indeed, so it is my fellow saints in Christ! As the Good Book tells us: ‘Now faith is the substance (realization) of things hoped for, the evidence (conviction) of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) Faith is having hope in our hearts, believing for things that we do not yet see in reality. And as the quote says above ‘the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.’ 

Wow! How wonderful is that eh? And that’s the way God’s economy works my people! You believe, then you see! Not like the world acclaims: that seeing is believing, and touching is the naked truth! And that’s the unwavering kind of faith we need to believe in Christ Jesus and all the many promises He’s made us. Listen to how God’s Word puts it nuh. ‘Through faith we understand that the worlds (ages) were framed (prepared) by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (are visible).’ (Heb. 11:3) 

That’s the first basis, the very foundation of our faith friends; to believe that God spoke the world into existence, made something from nothing! And if you can’t believe that, then faith in Jehovah God is not possible. For His Word also 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) And all God’s children said a loud ‘Amen!’ Yes, my faithful brethren, we do need to say, ‘So let it be!’ Why? Because that’s how it is, how God desires it, and we can’t change it. 

That brings us to this last quote, another interesting one. ‘I believe every one of us is born with a purpose. No matter who you are, what you do, or how far you think you have to go, you have been tapped by a force greater than yourself to step into your God-given calling.’ And if that isn’t the indisputable truth, I don’t know what is nuh! That’s because from the day God created man, He appointed him to a purpose. Adam and Eve were to look after the Garden of Eden, be fruitful and multiply, live in LOVE with each other and have a close relationship with God. 

And though they spoiled the good thing they had, God’s desires and purposes for His most wonderful creation did not change. Hear what He said through the prophet Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) And God kept that promise in spades, gave us the option for a future and a hope, when He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die in our place, so that we could be reconciled to Him and have eternal life! 

How much more can He do eh? He’s also a God of justice, which means He has to fulfil the law, and the law said, the wages of sin is death, so He couldn’t just pardon us willy nilly, otherwise He wouldn’t be fulfilling His righteous purpose as a judge. If we were to be forgiven and live in everlasting righteousness with Him, some sinless somebody had to pay for all the sins in the world, and Jesus was the only sinless somebody available. That way God satisfied His promises to give us a future and a hope, and also satisfied His eminent position of a righteous judge; that is justice must not only be done, but also seem to be done. 

So, God has done everything He can to bring us back into sincere fellowship with Him, because that was one of His original purposes for creating us. The rest is now up to us; whether we receive Christ as Lord and Saviour, or follow the foolish ex-archangel Lucifer to the eternal damnation. The choice is yours my friends! But as for me and my house…we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh. 24:15) Much LOVE!

…oh faith…please help me to believe what I don’t see…                                                                                                    

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 July 2021 Proverbs 29:18.

19 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 29:18.     ​ ‘Where there is no (prophetic) vision, the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’

And before you know it, the weekend is done, and the weekly cycle of work has begun again! Yeh friends, the weekend seems to pass so quickly, while the workweek seems to take forever. But you know, that’s only a matter of our perception, for all the days are the same in length and are controlled by the same mechanism. And we just think that what we like passes quickly, and what we don’t like lasts an interminably long time. 

But never fear, for there is method to the Lord’s madness. He is the Supreme Being and knows what He’s doing. He set up His universe the way He thought best, so who are we, a mere creation, to doubt, or find fault with His decision making eh, just because it’s somewhat tough on our mortal bodies? (smile) 

And there is only one way to overcome that, by asking the Lord for understanding, as set out in Psalm 119. ‘Teach me O Lord, the way of thy statutes (unchangeable regulations); and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law (Word); yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.’ (Ps. 119:33-34) Yeh friends, when we have pliable or teachable hearts and go to the Lord sincerely seeking understanding, He will gladly give it to us. 

But we have to get the ball rolling by going to Him, we can’t wait for Him to come to us. His will must be our heart’s desire, so that we can truthfully declare: ‘Make me to go in the path of thy commandments (directives, charge); for therein I do delight.’ (Ps. 119:35) And that’s no joking matter my brethren, because the Lord takes His commandments very seriously, so you can’t tell Him that unless you truly mean it, just to try and appease Him. He will not fall for it, because He checks the motives of our hearts for every word we say to Him. 

So, unless you are serious about all this stuff, please don’t go asking for it. But if you are, the Lord will be overjoyed for you to say to Him: ‘Incline my heart unto (cause me to long for) thy testimonies (what You have said about Yourself and Your will), and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity (looking at worthless things); and quicken (revive) thou me in thy way. Stablish (establish) thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear (fearing thee). Turn away my reproach which I fear: for thy judgements (decisions) are good. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts (instructions): quicken (revive) me in thy righteousness.’ (Ps. 119:37-40) 

Oh my people, we can never go wrong by seeking God and all that He has to offer. Remember Jesus’ fateful words of warning from the Sermon on the Mount, re serving one master and running down earthly stuff: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) Yes my fellow believers, our number one priority ought to be seeking God and His righteousness, and then all the other stuff we need will be given to us by Him. 

And on that subject, please remember Bruh Paul’s directive to Timothy. ‘But refuse (reject) profane and old wives’ fables (because they promote ungodliness) and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.’ (1 Tim. 4:7-8) And the scholars paraphrase that last verse thus: ‘For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness, the result of spiritual exercise, has unlimited value, since it brings blessings for both now and eternity.’ 

Matter fixed friends! We need more spiritual exercise than we do physical, but unfortunately, the gyms, with their tough workout routines are enticing many more people than the churches in these godless times. Meaning that spiritual exercise seems to be taking a back seat to the physical aspect. Consequently, that doesn’t bode well for our society, for a society that rejects God will always suffer serious consequences. Like Cousin Sol says: ‘Where there is no (prophetic) vision, the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov. 29:18) 

That means when you don’t have God’s direction, divine revelation in a society, there are no restraints, and people do whatever they want, like in our current world. The scholars tell us that ‘Morality is based on adherence to God’s revealed will.’ And it obviously hasn’t been revealed to us because we are a very immoral society. 

But it’s not too late to get some divine revelation friends, however, as we said above, the onus is on us to get the ball rolling by going to God for direction. So let’s do that right now nuh, go to Him in prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, laying out all our problems, fears and doubts before Him, asking for divine wisdom and guidance. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, remember that humility and sincerity are essential for positive answers to prayer. So, let’s hope that we were sincere and humble. Much LOVE!

…only through seeking God’s kingdom…and its righteousness…will mankind see heaven…and not hell…                                                                                              

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 June 2021 Matthew 6:33.

11 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 6:33.      But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Well, a good Friday morning to all you blessed saints of Christ in the Scrip-Bit Family! May the Lord bless and guide us this fine day that He’s seen fit to grant us. And may we also enjoy it and do His bidding in earnest as we walk in peace and LOVE, and be excellent examples of His awesome grace and mercy, today, and every day that we draw breath! It’s so wonderful to know that as we live this earthly life that Jesus, our Lord and Saviour is looking out for us, every second, every minute, of every day! 

Oh my people, there’s not another caretaker in this world as wonderful as our Jesus! Wow! No wonder Bruh David could confidently say: ‘The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.’ Yes friends, with Jesus running our lives, there is no want for anything that’s necessary. But we need to give Him a reason to be so gracious to us, and we can best do that by surrendering our souls, our hearts, bodies and minds to Him, for He cannot do anything properly for us unless He has control. 

So it’s rather important that we remember His wise advice: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:33) Yes my fellow saints, to get ALL that God has in store for us we must give Him total control of our lives, and then seek His will before anything else! That simply means He must have priority in our lives, be El Numero UNO! Number One! Nobody or nothing else must take precedence before or over Him, His will and word! 

Yes, it seems like a lot to ask of us, but in fact it’s very little, when compared with the many awesome and amazing benefits He provides to those who sincerely live for Him. Just think about what He’s already done for us nuh. He’s given us life for today, and for eternity if we accept His Son Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Now that alone is more than sufficient to earn our obedience! Unless you prefer to spend your next life in the burning fires of hell with that foolish demon Satan, who believed that he could overthrow the creator of the universe. 

And where did he end up eh? From being a powerful angel in heaven, he was kicked to the nether regions of the earth, to suffer a hellish existence. Is that the kind of life you desire? I certainly hope not. But just remember there are only two options on this subject, Jesus Christ and eternal life in heaven, or Satan and the damnation of hellfire! And if you don’t choose Jesus before your earthly body returns to the dirt from which it was made, then you will automatically be considered to have chosen the stoker of hell fires. 

That means you must make a conscious, definite decision to choose Jesus! Otherwise you are hell-bound! But enough of this hell stuff. (smile) I just want to give you one example of how our great God works, His wonders to perform. Remember Cousin Sol, when he ascended to his Father Bruh David’s throne, the Lord asked him what he desired, and instead of asking for health, wealth, long life and victory over his enemies, he beseeched God for wisdom and understanding to rule his people Israel. 

And that so warmed the cockles of God’s heart that He said to Cousin Sol. ‘Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and understanding heart; so there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honour: so that there shall not be any (anyone) among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen (prolong) thy days.’ (1 Kin. 3:12-14) 

Yuh see friends, that’s the kind of deity we worship; abounding in grace, mercy, generosity and LOVE, especially if we truly seek Him and His will. The problem in today’s world is that too many of us expect to receive good without giving anything good. But friends, nothing in this world is free, somebody has to pay for whatever we receive at some stage of the game. We were set free from the bondage of sin, if we accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and consequently made righteous in the eyes of God, but that’s only because Jesus paid for that privilege with the sacrifice of His sinless life on the cross at Calvary. 

We’ve become such an evil, godless society, a world so entangled in the foolish belief of entitlement, that we can’t see the forest for the trees, can’t see what’s real from what’s false. Please, let’s lose that false sense of entitlement nuh, and realize that we only receive what we work for, what we sow. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) likes to say: ‘You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.’ And that’s the gospel truth friends. That principle extends to both God’s kingdom as well as Satan’s. 

So, if you want to get ahead in any of them, you need to sow plenty seeds, be they good or bad. End of story! Now, here we intend to sow good seeds, so we’ll go to the Leader who specializes in sowing good seeds, Almighty God, and we’ll lay our problems before Him and ask for His divine, supernatural help. That means it’s time for our Friday Chant. 

As one strong and sincere voice, fulling believing that our requests will be granted: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife is causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’  

And now friends, the only thing standing between us and a positive answer from God, is that example of faithful believers we just promised to set. Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…                                                                    

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

Next Newer Entries