Psalm 138:6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
Oh Friends, what a glorious morn is breaking out there this Tuesday in mid May! Are we so excited to greet this new day that we can’t bear the excitement? (smile) Though the cares of the world beset us before and behind, we should always have a decent amount of excitement and expectation going as each new day dawns. And now these last two and most important questions. Have we told Jehovah God that we LOVE Him, and thanked Him for bringing us safely through the dark night, then awakening us with strength to face the day, to do His will? And also, have we sincerely asked Him to guide us through the day, then believe that He will? Now if the answers to all those questions are in the affirmative, then we’re ready to begin the day on the right foot. But here’s what happens to us a lot of time in our communication with our heavenly Father. It’s stated in a poem taken from the Hour of Power Devotional by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. The title is ‘Let go and Let God.’ Awesome advice Friends! The poem says: ‘As children bring their toys with tears for us to mend, I brought my broken dreams to God, because He was my best Friend. But then, instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone, I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own. At last I snatched them back and cried; “How can you be so slow? “My child,” He said, “what could I do? You never did let go.’ What undeniable truth my brethren! And we don’t only do that with God, but with most of our earthly acquaintances too. We’re always so busy and in such a rush in this modern life that we need stuff done yesterday. We’re always looking over the shoulders of those doing stuff for us because we’re so impatient. Waiting, or rather patiently waiting is definitely not a trait of this society. The problem though, is that we never see ourselves as the problem. It’s always someone else’s fault, as we saw in the poem. But if we follow the busyness of the world and don’t wisely develop that wonderful trait termed patience, then we’ll just have to pay whatever price is demanded for our impatience. And many of us do just that. But please remember that too many cooks spoil the broth, and besides the Lord’s not there to simply run and jump at our beck and call. Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto (He regards) the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.’ Hopefully today will be the last day for this one. I never expected it to run for so long, but every day the Spirit guided me to include something else. So we’ll continue looking at some scripture that talks about God choosing the humble and lowly to do His great work. And one of the most significant of His choices is Mary, the Mother of His incarnate Son Jesus. Listen, as she gratefully acknowledges and faithfully proclaims the Lord’s goodness in her song of praise, the Magnificat. ‘My soul doth magnify (exalt) the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate (lowly state) of his handmaiden (maidservant): for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things: and holy is his name.’ (Luke 1:46-49) Right there Friends, you can see the contrariness of our God! Instead of having His only Son Jesus born in a wealthy, high-bred, blueblood family, like we would expect, seeing that He was God and all that, the Father chose a lowly carpenter and his fiancé from the backwater town of Nazareth. There again ‘confuffling’ the wisdom of man. And James weighs in with his two cents worth, when talking about worldliness and pride. ‘But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you…. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:6-7,10) Words of indelible truth my people! Peter then strengthens James’ argument, and tells us in no uncertain terms: ‘Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet.5:5-7) Oh Friends, there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already. I can only warn us again not to get too proud and high and mighty over our earthly status or achievements, and don’t despair if you’re poor, lost and lowly, because those are the people God has at the forefront of His to do list. God is very much interested in helping those who can’t help themselves. So please don’t give up, regardless of your circumstances. Remember your Creator LOVES you unconditionally, so in whatever state of disrepair you find yourself today, just call out to Him in sincerity and truth, and He will gladly help you. That’s His promise, so test Him today, right now, and prove His awesome faithfulness. You’ll never be the same. I can guarantee you that from personal experience. Much LOVE!…are you broken, sick, suffering, lost…then turn to God today… for He will never turn away those in need of…mending, healing, comfort, salvation…and LOVE… P.S. I apologize for the lateness of the Bit, but the computer problems I experienced earlier on, just put a spoke in my wheel. But that’s what we get from putting too much reliance on manmade machines and the software it takes to run them. Our brave new world! Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 May 2013 Psalm 138:6
14 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: awesome advice, best friend, blame someone else, broken, busyness of the world, cares of the world, cast your cares on God, christianity, comfort, computer problems, faithful proclamation, glorious morn, grace, grateful acknowledgement, humble, humility, impatience, jehovah god, let go and let God, LOVE, patiently waiting, psalm 138, resist the devil, salvation, sick, suffering, the Magnificat, theology, unconditional LOVE, undeniable truth
Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 May 2013 Psalm 138:6
11 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: benefits, burnt offerings, confound the mighty, confound the wise, eternal wisdom, faithfulness, fly in the ointment, freedoms, God's glory, God's mercies, goodness and mercy, Jesus, knowledge of God, lifts the needy, Master Planner, mercy, outcasts, Pharisees, Praise the Lord, princes, psalm 138, publicans, raises up the poor, sacrifice, sick, suffering, tax collectors, wisdom
Psalm 138:6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
And then it was Saturday Friends, where most people are delighted to sleep in late for at least one day a week. Many don’t have that luxury though, for they have young children and their own affairs to look after, stuff they can’t do during the workweek. But however the days play out, it is very reassuring to know that we have a God who looks out for us in each and every circumstance. And all God’s people raised a joyful shout to heaven of ‘Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy to us, His sinful, rebellious creation!’ And now I’m going to put a fly in the ointment by sharing a quote attributed to the American Humorist and Author, Mark Twain, (Samuel Langhome Clemens, 1835-1910). It says: ‘Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of eighty and gradually approach eighteen.’ Now that’s surely an interesting situation. Hopefully, because we’d be richly endowed with more wisdom at the outset of our life’s journey, we’d make fewer mistakes, thus live a more godly life, and gradually as we grow younger realize the wonderful benefits and freedoms we have at eighteen. There is a kind of logic to it, but unfortunately the Master Planner didn’t see it that way. He preferred us to be unwise and make mistakes in the early days of our lives, then grow into wisdom as we age. That leads us to our Bit: ‘Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto (He regards) the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.’ Now that’s a tendency of our God that’s in direct opposition or contrast to that of the world! In His eternal wisdom, one would expect Him to look more kindly on the bright and upwardly mobile of His creation. However, as Bruh David points out in Psalm 113 – God’s mercies are many: ‘The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill (ash heap); That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.’ (Ps.113:4-8) Yes my brethren, our God can be a rather contrary Being when He’s ready. He likes to stir it up by using the most unlikely to do His bidding. Just look at all the prophets and the disciples whom He used to deliver His messages. They were usually poor, downtrodden, disliked by many, and often offensive to their society. But the Lord used them, and He’s still using the most unlikely ones, the broken, and the cracked pots, like me, to let His light shine forth and spread His message. As Bruh Paul tells the Corinthians in his first letter. ‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base (insignificant) things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought (nothing) things that are. That no flesh should glory in his presence.’ (1 Cor.1:27-29) Here’s how the scholars describe those verses: ‘God hath chosen: The selection by God is designed to silence the wisdom of man. He chooses the foolish to shame the wise. He chooses weak things to shame things deemed by man to be mighty and things men do not even realize exist to counteract things which are, powers and institutions erected and relied upon by man.’ That’s why all the supposed wisdom and wise things of man are in such a state of confusion and turmoil today! And remember too that Jesus dealt mainly with the sick and suffering, the outcasts, the dregs of society. He didn’t have much time for the religious zealots and hypocrites who ruled the roost. Now here’s a very telling story after Jesus calls Matthew, the hated tax collector to follow Him. The Good Book describes it thus: ‘And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat (at the table) in the house, behold, many publicans (tax collectors) and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole (are well) need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ (Matt.9:10-13) Oh Friends,what a wonderful Being our Saviour is, with no stupid hang ups and pretences despite His godly state, while foolish mortal men give themselves all sorts of airs and graces, only to be confounded by the contrariness of God. In that last verse, Jesus was quoting from Hosea, re Israel’s reply to God’s admonishment. ‘For I desired mercy (faithfulness), and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.’ (Hos.6:6) And my people, that’s what the Lord still desires of us, so let’s seriously ponder it all. Please read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the lesson taught, for it directly reflects your level of wisdom and status in the Lord’s eyes. Much LOVE!…but many that are first…shall be last…and the last…shall be first… (Matt.19:30)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 February 2013 Ephesians 4:3
28 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: accept Christ as Saviour, action oriented, Bible Study, change, Christ's Church, conundrum, demoralization, destruction, dissensions, divisions, don't put off for tomorrow, faithfulness, February, growing in faith, growing in LOVE, homeless, humility, in deeper fellowship with Jesus, long-suffering, meekness, New Year's resolution, ONE Lord, passion, patience, peace, ponder our spiritual lives, poverty, power, prosperity, sick, spirituality, strength, suffering, unity, walking closer with Jesus, walking in LOVE
Ephesians 4:3. Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Oh Friends, today is the last day of February! Can you believe it? I also hope it’s the last day of the lousy snowstorm that messed up everything yesterday. I did get out to the Bible Study last night, though the place is still covered with the dirty white stuff, now that man has been through it. And astonishingly my people, two months of 2013 have already flown by. It’s like time is spinning away ever faster and faster, like the world in which we now live. That’s why it’s so important to be very aware of what’s happening in our lives. We can’t afford to put off for tomorrow, things that we can do today, because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, even if there’ll be a tomorrow. Consequently, we also decided to check at the end of every month, rather than at some longer time period, on that most important New Year’s Resolution we made, about walking closer, in deeper fellowship with Christ, growing in LOVE and appreciation, while carrying out His dictates and wishes in a fuller and more complete manner. So today, please, let’s all take a few moments to ponder if we’re truly keeping that resolution, if our spiritual lives are being enriched with God’s Word, if our faith is growing, and if we’re putting that faith into action so that others can see and experience it and be caused to accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour too. And if we discover that we’re not doing as well as we should, then let’s ask the Lord, who hears and answers all sincere prayers, to help us do better, since we can’t improve without His awesome help. Now let me share a li’l something I wrote recently, but lost sight of until just now. I guess now is its appointed time. (smile) It’s simply titled ‘UNITY’ and says: ‘Unity is…brings strength. Unity is…brings power. Unity is…brings prosperity. Unity is…brings peace. But above all…Unity is simply walking in LOVE! Walking in LOVE…like Jesus did. Unity is just being decent to each other.’ Yes Friends, without Unity, we’ll NEVER have peace, prosperity, power, strength or LOVE! That’s why our world, and in particular Christ’s church is so divided. We all want the good things in life, but either don’t know, or stubbornly refuse to recognize the fact that we can’t get them, in a lasting manner, unless and until we’re unified under the umbrella of Christ and His church. That brings us to our Bit, where Bruh Paul is speaking to the Ephesians re the Unity of the Spirit. ‘Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ Ah Friends, it’s one of those conundrums, where without unity, you can’t have peace, and without peace, you can’t have unity. Like we argue about which came first, the chicken or the egg? But to get one, you must have the other. Now hear what Bruh Paul has to say before our Bit. ‘I therefore, the prisoner of (in) the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation (calling) wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness (gentleness), with long-suffering, forbearing (bearing with) one another in LOVE.’ (Eph.4:1-2) Oh my brethren, yuh see what it takes to bring about unity and peace. It’s all about humbling ourselves before our God, living in a manner befitting His commandments and doing what He’s called us to do to the best of our ability. As Bruh Paul continues after our Bit. ‘There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’ (Eph.4:4-6) And the scholars comment on that scripture thus: ‘This passage elaborates on the “unity of the Spirit” (v.3). This oneness among Christians refers to having (1) one body – the body of Christ, the Christian church; (2) one Spirit – the same Holy Spirit who imparts the same spiritual life to all believers; (3) one hope – all Christians share the same future certainty and are headed toward the same heavenly destination; (4) one Lord – all submit to the same divine ruler, Jesus; (5) one faith – all believers have placed the same trust in Christ for salvation; (6) one baptism – Holy Spirit baptism at the time of salvation (1 Cor.12:13); and (7) one God and Father – all believers in Christ have the same God and heavenly Father.’ So friends, our unity is all about ONE! Not me, I, or you, but about One body of Christ, of faith, etc, until we get to the real ONE, who brings and keeps it all together, our Heavenly Father. So my brethren, let’s all sincerely try and come together as ONE nuh, as Jesus so desperately desires. For without unity, all we have to look forward to is more of the same strife, anger, divisions, dissensions, selfishness and ungodliness as is so disastrously personified by the state of our current world. Oh fellow believers, I’m sure that none of us likes the way our world is being ground down, demoralized and destroyed by the powers of evil that control it. But as I also keep reminding us, it’s only us true believers in Jesus, who want to see a better world, that can make any changes to it, and bring about the unity we so desperately need. And to do that, we have to consciously and seriously get up off of our inflated fannies and do whatever it takes to bring about those changes. It won’t come by only mouthing and spouting plenty scripture, but also by being action oriented; actually helping others, like the sick, the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the lost, those whom Jesus had a passion for and came to save. We have to stop beating our chests in foolish pride, like the hypocrite Pharisees and them, as though we’re doing such a great job in our faith, because we aren’t. If we were, there’d never be so much pain, poverty, misery and heartache in our world. So Friends, let’s stop all the talk and concentrate more on action nuh, because all the talk in the world won’t fill any empty bellies, clothe any naked bodies, put rooves over the heads of the homeless, cure the sick or find the lost. The only thing that will do those things is physical action, where as a supposed unified body, we have been tried, and found sadly lacking. Much LOVE!…the Word of God…is always more readily accepted…when it follows the faithful, physical actions of God’s people…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 August 2012 Psalm 37:8
19 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: anger, controversy, downtrodden, eternal life, evil, evildoers, greed, humble, humility, Jesus, joy, Lake Ontario, LOVE, meek, needy, party, peace, poor, pride, resentment, salvation, selfishness, sick, Toronto, worry, wrath
Psalm 37:8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
Oh Friends, yesterday was one of the many perfect summer days we’ve recently experienced in the Greater Toronto Area; bright sunshine, a cool breeze and a multiplicity of (plenty, plenty) LOVE and JOY floating all around! (smile) And speaking of LOVE and JOY, I also discovered an amazing truth: nobody can party like Christians when they truly let their hair down and decide to party. In actual fact, logic dictates that by reason of our overwhelming LOVE for each other and the abundant JOY that dwells in our souls, both so freely granted by Christ, the Master of LOVE and JOY, we ought to be the heartiest partiers around, since partying is a direct derivative of those two outstanding emotions. ‘Elementary, my dear Watson!’ as the renowned British sleuth, Sherlock Holmes would say to his sidekick. (smile) And I proved it yesterday, when my local church had a boat cruise out on Lake Ontario. Oh Friends, a day cruise on a lovely summer’s day around Toronto’s harbour is a joy to experience. To the waterfront side, you have the daily increasing concrete jungle cluster of high-rise buildings lining it as far back as you can see, with the C.N. Tower, towering majestically above it all. Meanwhile, out on the water, the many sailboats and different kinds of watercraft dance all around on the beautiful but deceitful and treacherous waters of Lake Ontario, weaving in and around the outlying islands which all have their own activity. I even saw one lone, brave sailor paddling his little canoe over the swells, way outside. Better him than me yes! The only thing that possibly beats that sight is a night time cruise, which shows up the sparkling lights of the buildings and the outlying islands. And believe me, yesterday between 12 and 4 p.m. the St. Francis congregation, our friends and families, we mash up the T.O. harbour on the Riverboat Gambler, an old paddle wheel cruiser! Chuh mih people! I didn’t see any of the many other boats out there, big or small, with a party as hearty as ours! Even the broken and lame, like myself, were hopping and rocking! Ditto for several people who were in wheelchairs! To tell you how good it was, I sat next to a grandmother soon to be ninety seven years old. Yes Friends, 97 large ones, and she was as aware and sprightly as a young doe! (smile) Well just a little exaggeration really. She reminded me of my ole mother Mols, who’s partying somewhere up in heaven now. Anyway mih brethren, the food was good, the beverages wet and refreshing, and the music was most excellent! It was strictly ‘big people music,’ as Dr. Jay, a local D.J. calls it. None of the chupidness that the young people nowadays call music. Call it ole school, or whatever, but when the rockers, the soca and the funk cascaded across the deep, dark green waters of Lake Ontario there wasn’t a foot not tapping or a finger not drumming to the scintillating riddims! I never knew that some of those people who look so serious and sedate in church could step that well. And the best part is that it was all led by our partying leader, our very own Pastor Jeff. He definitely set the tone for the afternoon’s proceedings right from the very start. And it’s amusing that as we were leaving the boat, one of my faithful readers told me that he was sure to read about it in Today’s Bit. At the time though I wasn’t even thinking about the Bit, but concentrating on my aching knees and what the later hours would bring. But it seems like you were right Scottie. And James, you missed an excellent gathering of God’s people, dancing, singing and giving praise to their Creator. So yuh see Friends, that’s why people ought to come to know Jesus. Not so much for. the partying, which is surely interesting, but for the abundant LOVE and JOY He instils in the hearts, minds, bodies and spirits of His followers. And that’s exactly why Bruh David so strenuously and sincerely warns us about the true state of the wicked in our Bit: ‘Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm).’ Now that’s undoubtedly gospel truth mih breddren! And here’s why: ‘For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider (look diligently for) his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ (Ps.37:9-11) Oh Friends what better life can you desire, and above all, also get on earth, than that which Jesus promises… no, not only promises, but also faithfully delivers to all those who wisely choose to put their belief, faith and trust in Him eh? NONE WHATSOEVER! So why are so many of us so reluctant to accept the abundance of LOVE, JOY and PEACE He offers here on earth, then SALVATION and ETERNAL LIFE with Him when we depart this evil and troubled earth? It surely boggles my mind. Many even become angry and violent, at the very mention of His Name. There must be something awfully powerful about Jesus yes, if He could bring out such contrasts in humans. No other name in history has ever caused, or will ever cause so much controversy. Oh Friends, just reading the gospel stories about Jesus, His humility, His LOVE for mankind, especially the poor, the downtrodden, sick and needy, His constant willingness to help, the way He bore His burdens, including the physical cross and the sacrifice of His sinless life on it without a whimper, how can you not feel close to Him, not LOVE him eh? Only if your heart, mind and spirit are wrapped up in evil, false pride, selfishness and greed could you fail to understand and comprehend His great gift and selflessness to mankind. And as we like to do whenever possible, we’ll end with some definitive words on the subject from Jesus. ‘The thief cometh not but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:10-11) Nuff said my people! More on this tomorrow if God favours us with the breath of life. Till then, please let’s seriously consider the true state of our lives nuh, ensuring that we embrace Jesus, so that it will be well with us. That is certainly wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…as for me and mine…we’ll most definitely follow Jesus…hope you and yours…come to the same wise conclusion too…
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