Chuh! I don’t like this thing that developing here nuh; going to bed late and getting up early, especially when I’m supposed to be on holidays! But one can’t do a lot if the body decides that it has had enough sleep. Might as well get up and make hay while the sun shines, or be like the early bird that catches the juiciest worms! (smile)
But enough with the clichés, is Saturday morning so let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he sincerely aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And we have a full slate – and they long too. (smile)
Check out this first one: ‘LIFE – is a four-letter word that is complicated enough that no one will ever decode its true meaning. Whether you were born into a wealthy family or a poor one, your life will be full of ups and downs. The goal in life is to minimize the down’s and live a happy and inspiring existence.’
And that’s certainly true! Whether we born rich or poor, we all have to face the vicissitudes of this crazy life; ups and downs, of sickness, financial problems, relationship problems, etc. etc. We all face adversity in this life, and the only way to be able to truly handle it is by being in a good relationship with Jesus!
Remember what He said? ‘These things I have 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) Glory be my people! So though the world throws it’s best shot at us, we can always be peaceful because Jesus lives and reigns in us! Give Him much thanks and praise nuh!
Then there’s this one that fits in nicely with the first: ‘The only thing that you have control over is your mind and your body. Everything else is decided by a bunch of people and external conditions. If you are truly happy, no one else can snatch it from you.’
Again, there’s a lot of truth in that statement! We can only control what’s in our personal universe, namely our minds and bodies. But once we have serious control of them, nobody can take away our joy, especially if it’s based in Jesus, for the joy of the Lord is our strength! (Neh.8:10) Yes friends, when we are joyful in the Lord, nobody or nothing can take away that inner peace and contentment. More thanks to Christ again!
Now hear this: ‘When you were a baby, you had to cry to get what you want. If you didn’t, your parents probably thought you didn’t want it. The same applies when you grow up, the world doesn’t just hand you what you want unless you ask and fight for it.’ So true my faithful brethren! The world takes pleasure in beating us down, and if we allow it, it will beat us down to the death!
Yeh, the world is an advantageous entity, that knows no mercy! That’s why we have to stand up and fight, especially as true believers in Christ, because the world wants to beat down believers more than anybody else, since we go against its sinful and evil nature! No wonder Bruh Paul warned the Ephesians to ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil…and having done all, to stand.’ (Eph.611, 13b)
Yes my people, only when we are fully clothed with God’s armour, can we resist, rebuke and beat down the enemy, who’s greatest wish is to destroy us. So please try and stay fully armoured at all times! (smile)
So, considering all that we’ve already said, then this next quote makes a lot of sense. ‘You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. — Why live a long and unhappy life?’ Good question! Especially in light of Jesus’ immortal words: ‘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 abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
Yes friends, Jesus came to give us life, abundant life, both here on earth and throughout eternity with Him in heaven, so why spoil it eh, when we have such a good thing going eh? No reason whatsoever…unless we mental! (smile) And yes, I know some of us are mental enough to throw away, or not accept all that Jesus offers, but that’s not you or me! Glory to God!
And then we come to this last quote: ‘Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.’ Now that’s something we believers are not very good at. We expect to reap a harvest as soon as we done sow a seed…and a big harvest at that. But 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 gospel truth!
Moreover, the process of sowing and harvesting is a time thing; not now for now, like we want it to be! The seeds we sow, be they real or figurative seeds need time to germinate, to take root and grow. That process doesn’t happen overnight, and all of us know it from our association with the planting of seed in the soil and waiting for it to grow, so we can reap a harvest.
The same applies to any figurative seed we sow in people’s hearts; it takes time to grow, and we should not be too concerned about how much harvest those seeds will produce, but rather about how many seeds we plant in Jesus’ name! And also about if the seeds that we plant are good, and the type of soil that we plant them in, for all of that has a bearing on the kind of harvest we’ll eventually reap.
Remember Jesus’ words in the parable of the sower. (Matt.13:1-9) The sower sowed plenty seed, but they all fell on different kinds of soil and produced different amounts of harvest – even no harvest at all, because the soil they fell in wasn’t conducive to producing fruit. ‘But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’
Yes friends, it’s ever so important that we sow the seed of Jesus amongst the many lost of this world, but we also need to find the good soil and then water and nurture the seed so that it can grow good fruit. For as Jesus also said to His disciples: ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few.’ (Matt.9:37)
No doubt about it friends, there are many more unbelievers out there than believers, and it’s our bounden duty to harvest them before Jesus comes back, else they will be lost to hell fire and damnation for all eternity! And that’s not a very nice place to be. So let’s pull up our britches and go out and be more serious and concerned about planting seeds in good soil nuh, rather than the harvest those seeds are likely to bear. The Lord will reward us for the harvest later on. Much LOVE!
…I have planted…Apollos watered…but God gave the increase… (1 Cor.3:6)
SCRIP-BITS 
Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 May 2015 Philippians 4:20
17 May 2015 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a mere mortal, a strangle hold, abound to your account, according to his riches, actions, Amen, an acceptable sacrifice, aroma, be glory for ever and ever, behaviour, belief in Jesus, bring us together, Bruh Paul, busy lives, celebrate, Christians, church leaders, cliques, confident certainty, courage, deeds, denominations, desire fruit, differences, different functions, dignity, divide, divine destiny, divisions, dominon, ecstatic joy, evil minions, factions, faith, faithfully worship God, food for thought, fragrant scent, fulfill Jesus' mandate, generosity, giving thanks, glorifying God, God's sanctuary, God's word and will, grateful, Herculean task, holding my breath, hope, I do know, in cahoots with the world, inscribed me. in the palms of your hands, insular, investment, Jesus' church is one body, joy, Jude, keep keeping on, keep us apart, kindness, LOVE, lustful things, majesty, mercy, motives, Now unto God our Father, odour, our Saviour, petty, Philippians, pleasant fragrance, power, purpose, reaping, Ruth Harms Calkin, sad commentary, satisfaction, Scrip-Bit family, selfish, sheer delight, similaritites, sing and shout, soar, sob, sowing, spreading the gospel all over the world, strength, Sunlit morning, thankful, the church at Philippi, the God of the universe, the life of the Son, the Lord loves a generous giver, the love of the Father, the One Day Book of Bible Promises, the power of the Holy spirit, the prince of darkness, the things of the world, the work and treasures of heaven, thoughts, trust, ungodly world, united, uniting Christ's church, unlimited resources, uplifting, well pleasing to God, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wise God, words, work together
Philippians 4:20. Now unto God our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
A warm and welcome, gracious and LOVING Sunday morning to you my Scrip-Bit Family! (smile) I do hope that you are in the process, or will soon be in the process of getting ready to go to God’s sanctuary to celebrate and faithfully worship Him with other believers, as He desires of His followers.
For as I say every week, Jesus’ church is ONE body, made up of many believers, and in fellowship together we find strength, courage, hope and faith to keep keeping on in this ungodly world. And being ONE body, it means that all the parts, though graced with different functions, NEED to work TOGETHER if we’re to fulfill Jesus’ mandate of spreading the gospel to all and sundry, throughout the entire world. (Matt. 28:19-20)
Unfortunately though, there are too many divisions, cliques, religions, factions, denominations and what have you that divide us. That’s why the prince of darkness and his evil minions have such a strangle hold on the world.
Ah Friends, what a serious splash Christians would make in this world if we were truly joined together, united as ONE! Now I’m sincerely hoping for that, but I’m not holding my breath, because it doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen any time soon.
Why? Because we tend to let our differences – many of which are petty, insular and selfish – keep us apart, rather than let our similarities – like our basic faith, trust and belief in Jesus – bring us together. What a sad commentary on our actions and behavior as Christians, my brethren!
But I guess it doesn’t bother our church leaders sufficiently for them to seriously work at uniting Christ’s church. And even if they truly tried coming together, it would be still a Herculean task, because too many of Christ’s supposed flock are in cahoots with the world and the lustful things thereof. Anyway Friends, let that provide ample food for thought today as we go about our too busy lives.
Now here is something much more uplifting, that I couldn’t resist sharing from the One Day Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘The Beautiful Sunlit Morning.’
And these are the wonderful sentiments it declares. ‘Dear God On this beautiful sunlit Morning in May You’ve drenched me With ecstatic joy. I want to sing and shout I want to soar with sheer delight. At the same time I want to sob – So utterly overwhelmed I am With the magnitude of You. O God, I know I do know With serene satisfaction And confident certainty That I belong to the God of the universe – To the Creator of all that exists.
I do know That I, a mere mortal Am forever linked to divine destiny – That my life has purpose and dignity. I do know That You have chosen me As the object of Your lavish LOVE That Your thoughts toward me Are thoughts of kindness and mercy That You have inscribed me In the palms of Your hands.
I do know That all the LOVE of the Father And the Life of the Son And the Power of the Holy Spirit Are freely, inseparably mine – Now and through all eternity. O God On this beautiful sunlit Morning in May I do know.’
Oh what a beautiful declaration of faith that is my people! But how many of us, if we declare it, will then have God sadly shake His head when He looks at motives of our hearts eh? Too many, my people, too many. And that is why Christianity isn’t as strong as it used to be; too many people are not truly motivated by the Word of God, we allow the things of the world to have more sway over us than God’s Word and Will.
We’ll leave that alone for today though. (smile) Let’s concentrate on the promise that the beautiful poem was based on, and is our Bit for today. ‘Now unto God our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.’
Now that’s what we’re supposed to be about my brethren; giving thanks to and glorifying our heavenly Father with our words, deeds and actions!
The church at Philippi did that concerning Bruh Paul, because that was the only one that consistently sent him gifts, although he never asked them to. And though he was grateful and thankful for their interest in his well-being, as he told them: ‘Not because I desire (seek) a gift: but I desire (seek) fruit that may abound to your account.’ (Phil.4:17)
He didn’t want them to think that he was just after their money, but rather that their gift was, as the scholars explain: ‘a sure investment in the work and treasures of heaven, each one yielding rich dividends.’
Yes Friends, likewise, when we make sincere investments in the lives of others, those investments will bring forth good fruit on earth, and rich rewards for us in heaven. That’s the basic law of God, re sowing and reaping.
And Bruh Paul continues: ‘But I have all (have received all), and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell (a pleasant aroma), a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 4:18-19)
And the scholars explain those two verses thus. ‘4:18. I have all means that Paul has received their gifts. And abound signifies that he has plenty, since all needs are now met through their generosity. God looks on their gift to Paul as an odour of a sweet smell (a fragrant scent) and a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing.’
‘4:19. Because the Lord is aware of the sacrifice (v.18) the Philippians made in meeting Paul’s need, God will surely supply all their need. God will meet their “need” (1) according to his riches, that is in proportion to His unlimited resources; (2) in glory, that is He will meet their need “gloriously” or “in a splendid manner”, and (3) by Christ Jesus.’
Ah Friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And we’ll end with a benediction that resembles our Bit, but from Jude, Jesus’ half-brother.
‘Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling (stumbling), and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.’ (Jude 24-25)
Much LOVE, my brethren!
…if one wants to receive bountifully…then one must learn to give generously… for the Lord LOVES a generous giver…