Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2017 Philippians 4:7.

08 Mar 2017 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 4:7.   And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

And then it was Wednesday; a bright and sunshiny day in my area, though not as warm as yesterday. But I’ll gladly take it! Anytime the weather is above freezing in the beginning of March, and I’m in the northern climes, then I’m happy. 

But that’s not the true source of my happiness, and I hope that something as ephemeral as the weather is not your source of happiness either. 

You know what? I don’t like the term happiness in this context, because it smacks of a circumstantial happening, something that doesn’t last long, and what I have is hopefully going to last a lifetime; that’s joy in my soul because of my close and intimate association with Jesus Christ! 

And all God’s people declared a loud, proud and grateful, ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah! Give Almighty God thanks and praise for the sacrificial work, the selfless LOVE of Jesus, the wonderful act of dying on our behalf, of taking our sins upon His conscience and setting us free from the most undesirable bondage of sin, and the shameful, ridiculous chains that the ole crook Lucifer held us captive in! Glory Hallelujah for the Lamb that was slain for us!’ 

Ah friends, it’s so sad that so much of our world doesn’t know the joy that comes from having a safe, sound, secure and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, the first-born Son of the Lord God Jehovah. For it’s only through such a relationship can they ever hope to have true peace and joy in their hearts, bodies, souls and minds. 

What did Jesus have to say about that? ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) 

And again He told the disciples: ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

Now in the natural, that might seem impossible. How can one have peace in a world full of trials and tribulations eh? But the kind of peace we’re talking about is the kind that Bruh Paul wrote to the Philippians about in our Bit: 

‘And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ 

Ah my fellow believers, that is the kind of peace we receive, the tranquility that frees us from fear and worry, when we associate with Jesus; the peace of God that passes all human understanding! Glory Be! 

Remember what Isaiah said to the Israelites on the Lord’s behalf? ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) 

It’s a divine peace bestowed on us by our Higher Power. And isn’t that beautiful friends? It surely is! Having an intimate Being who’s mentality and everything else is greater and better than our frail and fickle self lends us so much confidence, so much assurance that we can rely on Him to look after us in all situations. Wow! 

And that’s what brings us joy! Yeah mih people, JOY is the word I’ve been seeking all along! Why? Because that gives the impression of something other than just a circumstantial happening that’s bringing light and LOVE into my life. 

It’s a longer lasting expression of contentment and satisfaction. And besides, the Good Book tells us; ‘for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh.8:10) 

Yes friends, when we have the Lord living in and through us, we not only have joy, but a peace that passes all understanding, which in turn helps us to deal successfully with all the trials and tribulations that we encounter in this wild and wicked world. 

And that’s why Jesus could have told us to be of good cheer, for He has already conquered the world. 

Now, armed with all that wonderful stuff, all God’s glorious promises, most of them fulfilled by the coming of Jesus, why would I want to associate with anyone else but Him eh? No way Jose! 

That brings us to our Wednesday Wail, where we reemphasize our commitment to the Holy Triumvirate that directs our lives. So let’s belt it out with all sincerity and truth nuh, as is our wont. 

As one now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. 

My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And having said all that, and believing it too, let’s go out and put it into action by living the way Jesus desires of us nuh, for therein is eternal wisdom. Much LOVE!

…only in sure communion with Jesus…can we live with sure contentment here on earth…

P.S. Please excuse the lateness, but as usual my sleeping and waking hours don’t seem to fall within the norm, as a friend told me on the phone some fifteen minutes ago. (smile) But them’s the breaks! Much LOVE!

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 December 2016 Isaiah 9:6.

25 Dec 2016 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 9:6.   For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

A  MERRY  CHRISTMAS TO  ONE  AND  ALL!

Ah friends, at last it’s the big one – Christmas Day – when our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was born! Glory to God for that act of LOVING-kindness! 

Now it’s also Sunday, and we are in God’s spectacular sanctuary, or below a coconut tree, (smile) come to praise and worship Him, so let’s open with an appropriate song for the joyous occasion nuh, the old Christmas Carol, ‘Joy to the World,’ written by Isaac Watts a couple centuries ago. Let’s raise the roof of our sanctuary and that of heaven with a most passionate and heartfelt rendition, truly believing what we sing. 

In unison now: ‘Joy to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing. Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy. 

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found. He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love’ 

Ah mih people, that was beautiful – as it should be! There could be no doubt in the Lord’s mind now that we truly appreciate and are very grateful for the birth of His Son Jesus. And all around the world the same sentiments are being sent up, or have already been sent up to heaven! 

Wow! This is one of the Red Letter days of our earthly sojourn – the start of the greatest movement that ever hit the planet – Jesus’ LOVE Revolution!  

Now it’s scripture time, beginning with our Bit, God’s wonderful promise many centuries before to send us a Son, a redeemer. ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ 

And our great God, also being ever-faithful, fulfilled this awesome promise some two thousand years ago. Praise His Holy Name my people! And listen to the rest of the promise: ‘Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is.9:7) 

Oh my fellow believers what a magnificent Being, our Immanuel was promised to be! And was… and still is… and always will be! Now let’s turn to the actual birth of our Divine, Gift-child. We know that Joseph, Mary’s husband was of the lineage of Bruh David, so when the first emperor, Caesar Augustus declared that all his subjects were to be registered in their original birth places, Joseph and Mary had to journey to Bethlehem to do so, because that was his city. 

Now while they were there, Mary’s time drew nigh: ‘And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes (strips of cloth), and laid him in a manger (feed trough); because there was no room for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:7) What a shame to think that this great king was born in a smelly, noisy animal barn eh, and slept in a feed trough! But the Lord, as always, had His reasons. His Son was to be born lowly, for the lowly ones were whom He was coming to save. 

Now hear the most wonderful part of the night of Christ’s birth. ‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in their field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon (stood before) them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore (greatly) afraid. And the angel said unto them; Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’ (Luke 2:8-11) 

Can you imagine the topsy-turvy emotions the angel’s appearance and words must have caused the poor shepherds? Then the angel continued: ‘And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes (cloths), lying in a manger (feed trough). And suddenly was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward men.’ (Luke 2:12-14) 

Ah mih people, the sudden appearance of the heavenly host singing and praising God, laid even more drama on the shepherds. But shepherds are a hardy stock and the Good Book tells us: ‘And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered (marvelled) at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Not the first or the last time). And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.’ (Luke 2:15-20) 

Ah friends, can you imagine the magical mystery, the glorious effervescence in the air around lowly Bethlehem that momentous and most memorable night that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was born?  

Well we should be experiencing the same sort of overwhelming emotions today, as we celebrate Christ’s birth, for His selfless LOVE and sacrifice is the only thing that keeps, or is keeping us from the ravages of hell and Lucifer. So let’s give much thanks and praise today nuh my believing brethren, because He did it all for us. Much LOVE!

…births are joyful occasions…but none’s been as joyful as the night Christ was born…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2015 1 Thessalonians 5:17‏‏

09 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

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

1 Thessalonians 5:17.  PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!

Oh Friends, on this Thursday spring morning, which looks like it will be another rainy day in my area, let’s give our wonderful God some thanks and praises nuh, for allowing us to see another fruitful day on His glorious earth.

And though our physical surroundings might be raining and cold or extremely hot and miserable, our hearts and souls are always warm and affectionate, because of the bright LIGHT and LOVE of Jesus flowing through them.

And all of God’s children said a loud and proud: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise and glory be to the Lamb that was slain for us on Calvary’s hill!

And this morning I want to share a paragraph from the Hour of Power Devotional, where Gramps Schuller, (Robert H. Schuller) now sadly deceased, gives us a look at Jesus from his perspective.

‘Jesus Christ was the greatest mountain climber of all times. He climbed all the way to the top of the mountain of Calvary. And from that point He has been conquering the hearts of men and women for two thousand years. From His mountain peak, Jesus Christ won my heart.’

And isn’t that the glorious truth Friends? Jesus climbed to the top of Calvary and offered Himself as a sacrifice on our behalf, and for that selfless, ever-LOVING deed, He won our hearts hands down!

So why aren’t we showing more of that selfless LOVE to our brothers and sisters like he did eh? Who knows my people, who knows?

I guess there must be a myriad of reasons, but I suggest the strongest general one is that we are too enamoured of the world and its bright, lustful but worthless things, and not interested enough in Jesus and the things of heaven.

But remember that Jesus warned us to seek the kingdom of heaven first, that should be our number one priority, then our heavenly Father would add all those things that we need here on earth to us, for He knows our needs. (Matt.6:33)

He also warned us that no man can serve two masters; we can’t serve God and the prince of darkness at the same time. (Matt.6:24) That double vision and sitting on the fence attitude will get us nowhere with either personage, because they both desire total obedience.

That brings us to our Bit: PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.’

And let’s jump right away into Jesus’ teaching on prayer from the famous Sermon on the Mount. ‘And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites (pretenders) are: for they LOVE to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.

Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet (inner room), and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.’ (Matt.6:5-8) That’s the truth in spades my people!

And the scholars offer these explanations on those verses. ‘6:5-6. Praying, like giving, is to be done to the Lord, not to man. Jesus said that people LOVE to pray standing in the synagogues. Both a time and place for prayer were customary in the ancient Jewish synagogue (cf. Mark 11:25)

Therefore, Jesus is not condemning the practice of public prayer, but rather the misuse of it. Because of the statement enter into thy closet, some have suggested that all public prayer is wrong. This would be contrary to the rest of the New Testament statements about prayer, commandments and restrictions regarding prayer, and examples of prayer meetings (cf. Acts 12:12)

The principle here is that the believer should not make a show of his prayer nor the answers he receives to prayer in such a way as to call unnecessary attention to himself.’

‘6:7. Jesus warned that we use not vain repetitions (Gr. battalogeo denote babbling or speaking without thinking). Such prayer was characteristic of the heathen. A good example of this is found in the ecstatic babblings of the false prophets in the Old Testament and in the prophets of Baal who confronted Elijah on Mount Carmel (cf. 1 Kin.18:26-29).’

There we have it Friends! Prayer should be a humble, simple, often private, but sometimes public call to God, without a whole set of talking and repetition like we sometimes tend to do, figuring that the more we say, the more God will hear and answer. But that’s totally wrong my people. The Lord hears us the very first time.

After that, Jesus taught His disciples our foundation prayer, which is certainly worthy of hearing again. ‘After this manner therefore pray ye: Our father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:9-13)

And now my brethren, my fellow believers in Jesus, having said that prayer, let’s go forth to LOVE and serve our magnificent and magnanimous God nuh, with the awesome power of His Holy Spirit leading and guiding us this day and forever. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen! Much LOVE!

…prayer ought to be a heartfelt call…not a showboat act…