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Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 February 2018 Isaiah 1:18.

01 Feb 2018 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a beautiful place, a brand new day, a compassionate heart, a dime a dozen, a low ebb, advances in technology, amenities, an ugly place, as white as snow, Ash Wednesday, Auld Lang Syne, bask in the sunshine, be as scarlet, began from scratch, blessings, blood guiltiness, bounden duty, building, called according to His purpose, Carnival, children, close harmony, come now, communicate with Him, crying out, curse, destroying, destruction, devoured by the sword, dissension, disunity, everlasting goodness, evil world, evildoers, faith, favour, forgive, future generations, gives the world hope, God's invitation, goodies, hate, health, heavenly Father, hope, in good faith, Isaiah, left overs, let us reason together, LOVE, Love the Lord, made specially for today, magnificent and magnanimous God, negative word, new mercies, New Year's resolution, one thing, personal relations, positive outlook, prosper, ready to cleanse, reasoning together, rebel, red like crimson, refuse, repentance, repenting, see a better world, shall be as wool, share our blessings, sins, standard of life, strife, strong conviction, succeed, talking to each other, the future, the good of the land, the mouth of the Lord, those who love him, Thursday's Blessings, turning to god, turns the world, Valentine's day, walking closer with Christ, war, willy-nilly, wisdom, worm

Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Welcome, welcome, one and all to a brand new day in God’s great universe! And it’s not only a new day, but also one filled with new mercies and blessings from our heavenly Father, stuff he made specially for today.

He threw out all the left overs from yesterday and began from scratch this morning, so those who LOVE Him and are called according to His purpose can bask in the sunshine of His everlasting goodness.

Wow! What a magnificent and magnanimous Deity we serve and worship my brethren! But remember YOU have to communicate with HIM, to get those goodies! He doesn’t just hand them out willy-nilly. (smile)

And would you also believe that today is the 1^st of February? Brother! We were just singing Auld Lang Syne a few days ago, welcoming the New Year, now we’re already hot into the bacchanalian bash called Carnival, with Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day falling the same time in two weeks. Is the year flying by or what?

Let’s hope that we all are keeping our New Year’s resolution, that of walking ever closer with Christ this year, strong and in good order, because that’s the only way we will be successful in this crazy, troubled, war-like, evil world.

And you know friends, the ‘One thing that turns the world from an ugly place to a beautiful place is LOVE. LOVE gives the world hope!’ And is that ever so true my people. Without LOVE permeating our hearts and souls, we simply have no hope, since hate is all about destroying, but LOVE is about building; building together in close harmony.

But sadly, if we look around our world right now, there is very little, if any building, everywhere is simply destruction, both manmade and natural. How does that augur for the future of our planet eh? It’s not very encouraging. If we keep on destroying everything in our path, the future generations will be left with nothing.

Is that what we want for our children, and our children’s children? Even the evildoers will answer no to that question, but none of us are doing anything substantial to stop if from coming to pass. That’s why we’re crying out now, in our Bit, like the prophet Isaiah did on the Lord’s behalf, many centuries ago to the Israelites.

‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’

Yeh friends, it’s all about mankind sitting down and reasoning together if we want to see a better world. And the two verses after our Bit clearly spell out the consequences of not doing so. ‘If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:19-20)

Oh my people, we don’t have to wait for the Lord to tell us that. It’s written ever so plainly in our behaviour, where there’s so much dissension and disunity, even amongst family, much less between countries. Consequently, strife is all-pervasive, and wars are a dime a dozen. It’s easier to pick out where there is no strife than where there is strife, because there are so much fewer of the former. That’s to tell you how bad it is.

But turning back to our Bit. Let’s get some explanations from the scholars. ‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their blood guiltiness before God.

The term ‘crimson’ also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’

Oh mih breddren, from way back then, our wonderful God was prepared to forgive sins to those who turned in repentance to Him, and today He is still in the forgiving business. All we have to do is turn to Him in true repentance. Are we willing to do that so our world and our children can enjoy a better standard of life in the future?

I do hope so, because with all the amenities and advances in technology we now have, the most important aspect of our society, personal relations between humans is at a low ebb, and until we fix that, nothing else will make life any better.

Now, for those of us who choose to LOVE the Lord and obey Him, let’s go home declaring our Thursday Blessings. In full voice and strong conviction: ‘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 everyday! Amen!’

Now let’s go out and do our bounden duty; share those blessings with others, as Jesus desires. Much LOVE!

…only by talking to each other…in good faith…will our world ever improve…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 November 2017 Ephesians 3:20-21.

02 Nov 2017 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a child of God, a compassionate heart, a heart full of Jesus, a physical death, able, above all that we ask, according to the power, attitudes, awesome God, awesome power, backbone, be glory in the church, blessed day of life, blessings, christ jesus, Christians, Comforter, compulsion, Controller, Creator, crux of the matter, curse, do god's work, doxology, earthly work, eternal life, ever-faithful, ever-Loving, everlasting God, exceeding abundantly, excellent work, faith, generous nature, get paid, God's assignments, God's great earth, guides, gumption, happenstance, holy partnership, holy spirit, in Christ's name, Jesus Christ, keep promises, kept secret, leads, made known, made manifest, Maker, motives, negative word, not to question why, our Lord and Saviour, plans, pledge, ponder, prosper, provider, ready, relationship with god, revelation of the mystery, rewards, salvation, self-control, self-discipline, serve, share our blessings, sincerity, state of our hearts, succeed, the best of our ability, the church at Rome, the fire, the flood, the prophets, the Scriptures, think, throughout all ages, Thursday Blessings, truth, unto him that is able, willing, with pleasure, works in us, world without end, worship

Ephesians 3:20-21. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Another day friends, another day! Wow! We’ve been granted another blessed day of life on God’s great earth! Isn’t that just wonderful? It surely is! That means God has great plans in store for us; plans to do His earthly work through the help of His Holy Spirit! Otherwise, why keep us alive eh? (smile)

But are we ready, willing and able to do our part in that holy partnership? That’s the million dollar question. We might be ready, and even able, but the crux of the matter is, are we willing? Yeh mih people, do we really WANT to do God’s work?

That is what God is interested in; the state of our hearts, our motives, our true attitudes. That’s because, like we all know, when you want to do something, you usually do it better than if you are merely doing it through compulsion or happenstance.

We see that everyday in the way people do their jobs; some do it with pleasure, some because they just want to get paid, and some don’t do it at all. So what’s out attitude towards God’s will and work eh? Let’s take a brief moment to ponder that question nuh…. Selah.

Oh I know that some of us will complain that God’s work is not easy or attractive, or whatever excuse you have. But friends, let’s remember that ours is not to question why, but simply, as a child of God, a follower of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to accept God’s assignments and hopefully not to die, while carrying them out to the best of our ability.

And even if perchance we do die a physical death while doing His will, remember the great rewards He has promised, both here on earth and in heaven, for those who serve Him faithfully. There is nothing more rewarding than salvation and eternal life with the Holy Trinity!

And our God is faithful; one of His many names is EVER-FAITHFUL! So there is no need to worry if He will keep His promises like never to leave or forsake us, or to help us bear our burdens, or to walk with us through the flood and the fire. And even more importantly, unlike other supposed gods, He IS ABLE, has the power and might to keep those promises!

Just listen to Bruh Paul expatiate on His awesome power in our Bit. ‘Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.’

Yeh friends, the Lord God Almighty is our Maker, our Creator, our Controller and Provider! Consequently He can direct our lives in any which way that suits His plans, but in His ever-LOVING and generous nature, He desires us to WANT to work with Him, and not just be like a fearful and/or obedient slave.

It’s no different than how we desire others to work for us. And in these tremulous and troublesome times, it becomes even more important that we Christians acquire more gumption, more desire, more backbone, more faith and strength to fight the battles that our world requires us to fight.

And we can only acquire those things by working faithfully and sincerely with the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, that leads and guides us, that shows us the true path to glory in Jesus Christ.

So let’s sincerely pledge today to improve our relationship with our great God nuh, through listening to and following the dictates of our Comforter and Guide, His Holy Spirit. That’s the only way life will ever improve here on earth.

Now listen to Bruh Paul as he concludes with this doxology (praise to God), to the church at Rome, very reminiscent of our Bit. ‘Now to him that is of power (able) to stablish (establish) you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began,

But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.’ (Rom.16:25-27)

Oh friends, what powerful scripture. Please lets take it all to heart, and let it enable us to do excellent work in Christ’s name. And as we do every Thursday, let’s go home declaring our wonderful blessings from our most wonderful God.

All together now, in sincerity and truth: ‘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!

Mama Mia! What an awesome God we serve and worship! The next step is to now go out and generously share those blessings with the less fortunate, as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!

…the best way to serve Jesus…is to have a heart truly full of Jesus…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 August 2017 Luke 14:27.

10 Aug 2017 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a cross bearing affair, a senior, a spring chicken, a young pup, abundance, actions speak louder than words, agenda, alive in God's kingdom, almighty god, ambassadors, an old fowl, ashamed, ashamed of Jesus, bear his cross, Calvary, cannot be my disciple, celebrating, christianity, Christians, come after me, comfortable life, compassionate heart, compromise, contrariness, courage, creativity, curse, destroyed, disciple, dreams, dreams come true, enjoying to the fullest, eternal life, example of life, faith, favour, focus, for my sake, gain the whole world, hypocrisy, know thyself, lifestyle, loses his life, lost, LOVE Revolution, negative word, one more day, onerous task, pleas for help, prosper, redemption, sacrifice, salvation, save his life, self-control, self-discipline, share our blessings, shortcomings, souring people, spreading the gospel, success, support Jesus in public, talent, tarnishes the image of jesus, the good news of Jesus, the Son of man, the terms of discipleship, the way of life, the wooden cross, the work of Jesus, Thursday Blessings, triumph, turning away from God, undying LOVE, walking our talk, wasting Jesus' sacrifice, wisdom, witness, work while they dream

Luke 14:27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

One more day, just one more day… Yeh friends, one more day to be alive in God’s great kingdom! It’s such a pleasure to be alive again! (smile)

But have you noticed how those one more days quickly add up to many more years? One day you’re a young pup, a spring chicken, then one day you’re suddenly a senior, an old fowl! Hn, hn! But that’s the way of life.

And let’s hope you are enjoying each of those days to the fullest, because that’s what our Lord and Saviour desires for us and why He sacrificed His life on that wooden cross at Calvary. So if we’re not celebrating that triumph, then we’re wasting His sacrifice. And what an awful thing that would be.

But here are a couple of good questions for us. Where is our focus concentrated today eh? And what’s on our agenda?

Hopefully, as true believers, our focus is directly on Almighty God, and the priority on our agenda is doing the work of Jesus; spreading His awesome gospel of undying LOVE, redemption, salvation and eternal life.

And that doesn’t always mean talking, but more so in the example of life that we live. Our lives should realistically reflect the good news of Jesus. And if they aren’t reflecting it, then we’re not doing a good job for our wonderful Leader and Saviour, we’re not being good disciples, good ambassadors for His kingdom.

Consequently, we’re not the true Christians we ought to be. And that’s the major reason why more people are turning away from God today, than turning to Him.

My friends, we are falling down in our Christian witness when we talk one thing, then people see us living contrary to our talk. We’re obviously not walking our talk. And it’s time to do better, if we truly want Christ’s LOVE Revolution to be successful.

And please remember that actions speak much louder than words. So what we do, will usually have a greater impact on others than what we say. Thus the hypocrisy, the compromise and contrariness in our faith walk is souring people on the Christian lifestyle, and consequently on Christ.

And a quote from my ‘I LOVE YOU’ Poster reminds us that ‘Dreams come true for those who work while they dream.’ The present day Christian problem seems to be that too many of us are dreaming without working, that’s why we’re not accomplishing as much as we ought to.

Obviously we’re not complying with the words of Jesus in our Bit. ‘And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.’

Yes friends, we each have a cross to bear in our kingdom work; a task we have to perform. Now it doesn’t mean that task is necessarily onerous or body-breaking like Jesus’ cross was, but it always entails some sacrifice.

Earlier on in Luke Jesus outlined the terms of discipleship. ‘And he said to them all, If any man will come after me (desires to follow me), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whosoever will (desires to) save his life, shall lose it; but whosoever will lose (loses) his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged (benefited), if he gain the whole world, and lose himself (is destroyed), or be cast away (is lost)?

For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.’ (Luke 9:23-26)

There you have it my fellow believers, the terms of discipleships as detailed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now are we living up to those terms? Most of us aren’t. Too many of us have settled for the soft, easy comfortable life our society affords.

And surprisingly, too many of us are ashamed of Jesus! We’re afraid to talk about Him to others. We listen to others put Him down and don’t utter a word in rebuke or support, because we don’t want them to know that we are Christians and think badly of us.

Steups! Ah friends, if we can’t support Jesus in public, that means we hold the opinions of man more important than that of God. And that definitely does not lead to true discipleship, but rather tarnishes the image of our Saviour and His movement.

So today is as good as any to sit down and consider the saying ‘know thyself.’ Let’s sit down and seriously inspect our own lives and see if we’re being true disciples of Jesus. Then ask the Lord to help us in our shortcomings. He won’t ever turn down our sincere pleas for help.

Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring our Thursday Blessings. In unison: ‘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!

And since blessings are meant to be shared, let’s go out and bless others now my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!

…just like Jesus had His cross to bear…all Christians have their crosses too …Christianity is a cross bearing affair…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 February 2018 Isaiah 1:18.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 November 2017 Ephesians 3:20-21.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 August 2017 Luke 14:27.

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