Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 May 2013 Psalm 37:16

10 May 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 37:16.     A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of the many wicked.
 
Oh Friends, before you even come around the corner, you can hear the sweet strumming of the quatros (small, guitar-like instruments), and the intoxicating riddim of the bottle and spoon man. And when you turn the corner, you bounce up with this small group of men and women jigging down the street, playing their instruments and chanting: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! Work done for another week. Time to celebrate the weekend!’ And yuh know what? You spontaneously join in the jigging and chanting (smile) until they pass you by and go around the corner from whence you just came. Hn, hn! Oh Friends, that’s how much we LOVE our Fridays. And it’s all well and good to welcome the weekend with song and dance, but remember the weekend is much more than just a time for recreation. It also has a higher purpose of fellowshipping with others before our wonderful God. So having chanted the world-view chant for the weekend, let’s now chant the God-view one, our Friday Chant. Altogether now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Now that has a better perspective and a more fruitful orientation. That brings us then to our Bit of the day. ‘A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of the many wicked.’ Oh what gospel truth my people! ‘For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs (splendour of the meadows): they shall consume (vanish): into smoke shall they consume away.’ (Ps.37:17:20) Oh Friends, that’s the lot of the wicked and those who follow after the riches of this evil, ungodly world! Cousin Sol says it thus: ‘Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.’ (Prov.15:16) In other words my brethren, spiritual riches are better than material wealth. And I know some of you don’t believe that, or try to and fail. But if you’re truly a practising believer, then you’ll remember Jesus’ awesome promise from the Sermon on the Mount, re the impossibility of serving two masters properly. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) And the wise amongst us genuinely try to do that, because we have proven it in real life. Oh Friends, being spiritual and seeking God’s kingdom doesn’t mean you can’t be rich in the things of the world, it’s just better when they come through following Jesus rather than the wicked ways of Lucifer. For when you sell your soul to Lucifer for earthly riches, all you get is death and eternal separation from Almighty God. But when those same riches come from first seeking God’s glorious kingdom, they last and you also get salvation, eternal life and further rewards in heaven. So please don’t be fooled into thinking that earthly wealth is impossible through Jesus, for there are plenty wealthy Christians. And even then, who’s still acclaimed as the richest man ever? Cousin Sol! Why? Because he sought God first, and the Lord heaped wisdom, understanding and earthly wealth on him. Lucifer can’t do that for you Friends. And remember too Bruh David’s statement later on in this same Psalm 37: ‘I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed (descendants) begging bread.’ (Ps.37:25) Yes my fellow believers, going after the riches of the world before seeking God, is indeed a fool’s game! Yuh see how many of us are being defrauded nowadays, because we’re falling for stuff obviously too good to be true, from those who are wicked and only interested in gaining earthly wealth. So please pay serious attention to where your focus is directed. For as Cousin Sol also says: ‘Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right (justice).’ (Prov.16:8) And now we’ll end with some formidable words from Bruh Paul to Timothy, words that most of us know, but simply refuse to pay close attention to. ‘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. But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction). For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds) of evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim.6:6-10) Oh Friends, never were more truthful words spoken! So please pay serious attention to them. Much LOVE!…wealth can be gotten in one of two ways…by selling one’s soul to Lucifer…or accepting Jesus as your Lord, Saviour and good Provider…the second choice indicates wisdom at its zenith…
 
       
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 April 2012 Matthew 7:24

14 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Matthew 7:24.    Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.

Ah Friends, the parched land in my area is desperately calling out for drink from the heavens! I believe the weather forecasters are forecasting rain sometime this weekend. Let’s hope they are right, unlike this past week when they forecasted it several times, but nary a drop of heavenly blessings fell from the few dark clouds that accumulated over the land. And sadly my brethren, a whole lot of people in our world are starved for nourishment, both physically and spiritually. The physically hungry are indeed plentiful, but I believe the spiritually malnourished are even more numerous. What does that say about our world eh? Not a very good recommendation is it? Sometimes we might not have the wherewithal to satisfy their bodily hunger for more than just a short period of time, but as true believers in Jesus, we ALWAYS have what it takes to fulfill their spiritual yearning. As they say, to give a person a fish when they’re hungry is all well and good, but what happens when their hunger reoccurs? However, if you teach them to fish, then they’ll have the ability to eventually feed themselves. The same goes for the Good News of Jesus my people! We can always throw out choice bits of scripture, to the spiritually hungry from our enormous storehouses; like scraps to the hungry, or pearls before swine, then beat our chests in personal pride because we believe we’ve done such a wonderful job. But Friends, how does that help them in times of true spiritual poverty eh? Not in any real sense, for they can’t find true spiritual satisfaction from a mere handful of scriptures thrown at them without any substantive reasoning. Fellow believers, we first have to teach the spiritually impoverished about Jesus; who He is, what He’s done, and how it affects us all, up to this very day and forever more. Unless they have a strong foundation to build on they will not last long in the Word. As we saw yesterday, that’s part of the reason Luke claims he wrote his gospel and Acts; so that Theophilus could have good groundings, a solid foundation on the stuff that he’d heard. So it’s our responsibility to first teach others about Jesus, then encourage them to also put those teachings into practice. Our Bit emphasizes this: ‘Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, (the Sermon on the Mount) and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a (the) rock.’ Jesus reminds us that the lives of anyone simply hearing His Word, won’t be changed. Not until they begin doing them, living them in their day to day lives will any serious change occur. Then, as always, using simple contrasts, Jesus unequivocally states: ‘And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a (the) rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, (the Sermon on the Mount) and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.’ (Matt.7:25-27)  And unfortunately my people, so it is with everything that does not have a solid foundation on which to sit. It will be easily destroyed. Thus our duty to teach the spiritually hungry properly; with the full teaching of Jesus, not a few choice morsels that only enhance our images in ourselves, and does nothing for the poor listeners. Note what happened after Jesus spoke those words: ‘And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine (teaching): For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.’ (Matt.7:28-29) Yes Friends, Jesus taught with authority because it was based on His own life, He was His own authority, while the scribes depended on tradition for theirs. We should also teach with authority Friends; the authority of Jesus. If we truly believe, then there should be conviction and confidence in our teaching to others. Here’s an interesting aside from the scholars: ‘The elements of the closing illustration are drawn from the simplicity of nature itself, the rock, the rain, and the winds. The man whose house collapsed was at fault, not because he failed to labour, but because he did not lay the proper foundation. The shifting sand represents human opinion and the doctrines of men as opposed to ‘these sayings’ (v.28)’ And that is the gospel truth my brethren! All you have to do is look around our society, our world, and see the things places, people and traditions that are crumbling, both literally and figuratively, because they have been built on weak foundations. Even our church is falling apart in some places and some respects, because the body, its members are not doing what Jesus said. Instead we’re more concerned with furious infighting over petty things that are consequently driving us apart. Oh Friends, that’s no way to keep Christ’s church going, and ultimately building it until it’s spread over the whole wide world, as He desires. Therefore, from today, from RIGHT NOW, let’s seriously promise ourselves to put aside all the petty grievances that are driving us apart, and not only be hearers of Jesus’ Word, but even more importantly doers, and also teach those to whom we minister, the great importance of that principle. It’s the only way Christ’s church will be stabilized and have a chance of lasting till eternity. Much LOVE!…the only true and strong foundations in this world…the Good Book…and Jesus…

 

Next Newer Entries