Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 November 2016 Isaiah 41:10.

03 Nov 2016 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 41:10.   Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

‘Oh rain, rain, go away, come again some other day!’ Aye mih people, how many of you remember that li’l ditty we sang so long ago, when the rain seemed to never stop falling? 

Well I think I’m singing it this morning yes, because the rain’s been falling through most of yesterday evening right into this morning. 

Obviously it’s dark and dreary out there, but believe me, the light of the Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is brilliantly shining like the noonday sun! Glory Be! 

Let’s remember that even though we may not see it, God’s light is always brilliantly shining in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. 

Now listen to this devotion titled ‘When the Road Ahead is Short,’ from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. I’ve shared it before, but I think we need to hear it again. 

Please pray with me. ‘O God, from the vantage point of today the road ahead looks very short. I sense that I am about to reach the end. Remind me that every time of ending is always a time of new beginning. Every time one door closes, another door opens. 

Every sunset is a move closer to a new sunrise. Death is always the prelude to resurrection. Help me to forgive myself for my imperfections and faults. I dishonour you when I disgrace myself by nursing regrets over my human shortcomings. 

Help me to honour you by recalling great accomplishments you’ve made possible through my life. So let me come to the end of the road with pride behind me, LOVE around me, and hope ahead of me – only to discover that what I thought was the end of the road is a bend in the road leading me into an exciting new world of opportunity or eternity. Amen.’ 

Yes friends, oftimes what we consider the end is merely a bend, and new opportunities flower and blossom before us, through new doors opened by our magnificent and magnanimous God. So we’re always to have hope, even, or rather, especially in the difficult times, for we never know what wonderful things our God is up to. 

And that prayer blends in quite nicely with our Bit for today; Isaiah’s prophecy on the final restoration of Israel. Listen, as our great God faithfully proclaims: ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ 

Oh my fellow believers, our God doesn’t change, which means that promise is still valid even today! And brother, do we ever need the assurance and confirmation of God’s renewing and strengthening presence in our lives in these end times. 

Our world is swirling out of control with all sorts of war and strife, so we have to have something to keep us buoyed and strong enough to keep keeping on, though times look dark. And there’s nothing like the Word of God to do that. 

Listen to Isaiah again as he promises that our enemies will be vanquished. ‘For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.41:13-14) 

Ah mih people, how many times do we encounter those two blessed words ‘Fear not,’ in the Good Book eh? Numerous times! 

Our Redeemer keeps telling us not to be afraid, but we keep on being fearful, because our faith is lacking, and in the face of the world’s problems, we just can’t seem to settle down and take them in stride. 

But friends, if the One whom we worship and adore tells us not to be afraid, then why should we be eh? He is the Creator and Controller of the universe; the omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present Being, who sees and knows everything and is everywhere. 

As I said before, if we are still fearful with such a powerful, caring and compassionate Deity in our corner, then our faith is weak indeed. And remember the words of Hebrews: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6)

Oh precious people, I know it’s not easy in these trying times, but we do have the best of the best on our side; Almighty God. So there is no reason to fear or be anxious for anything, because with Him leading and guiding us through His Holy Spirit, which indwells us, we are certainly in the best of hands! 

Now let’s go home, full of assurance and confidence, boldly declaring our Thursday Blessings, for remember a blessing is not a blessing until it’s been spoken over someone. 

As one now: ‘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 put them all into action, as we sincerely and diligently work for Jesus. Much LOVE!

…faith can certainly move mountains…but it must be strong faith…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 February 2013 Psalm 8:9

04 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 8:9.     O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Oh Friends, it’s Monday…! And my pronouncement brings a sudden burst of joyous shouts of ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Time to get out there and work for Jesus!’ Wow! Wonders never cease, but daily they increase! Ah mih people, I’m not idly day-dreaming, for if we live long enough, sooner or later we’re going to get that energetic and enthusiastic response on a Monday Morning. Right now the response is not as good as it could or should be, but it’s getting better with each passing week, and when the LOVE Revolution gets into full stride, that’s the genuine response Christ’s people will have. They’ll be ever so eager to get out into the wicked world and join the battle with Beelzebub and his evil cohorts. But until then, we still need to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to put us in the mood, to kick start our motors. So let’s raise our voices in song to heaven with much enthusiasm. Fake it if you have to. (smile) But do raise your voices loud and clear. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once your powerful, protective aura hovers over us. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that your Holy Spirit lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Now that wasn’t too bad, but definitely not as good as it has been. There were too many obvious fakers. Anyway, the most important results were obtained; it got our adrenalin bubbling, and our minds focused on Jesus. Now let’s turn to a most appropriate Bit for today. ‘O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!’ And all God’s people declared: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Our God is indeed great! He is the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, and most worthy to be praised!’ And that’s the gospel truth Friends! Our Bit comes from Psalm 8, where Bruh David talks about God’s glory and man’s honour. But my people, are we truly upholding those two principles? When you look at the evil, ungodly way our society behaves, you tend to doubt it very much. But it’s what we ought to do, how we ought to behave. It’s our bounden duty as believers to exalt and glorify our God, and to live honourably with each other. But sadly in these evil, disastrous times, those are two other things that have become the exceptions rather than the rule. When we should all be running to God for succour and solace, foolishly, we are running away from Him. My brethren, please listen to what our actions should rightly be, coming from Psalm 113 – God’s mercies are many. ‘Praise ye the Lord (Sing Hallelujah). Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praise. 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!’ (Ps.113:1-6) Yes Friends, that’s what our words and behaviour ought to proclaim! Now let’s reinforce that with more truthful words from Psalm 148 – All creation to praise the Lord. The psalmist first calls out individually to each of God’s creations to praise Him, then ends: ‘Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent (exalted); his glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalteth the horn (strength, dominion) of his people, the praise of al his saints; even of the children of Israel, a people near unto him. Praise ye the Lord (sing Hallelujah).’ (Ps.148:13-14) Oh my people, why aren’t God’s creations praising Him the way we should eh? And don’t say because we’re too busy living our daily lives, for that’s hogwash, since our God desperately wants to get involved in all that we do, morning, noon and night. If anybody should be involved in all aspects of our lives, it’s Him! The truth I believe, is that we’re too taken up with false glitz and glamour of the world, and are constantly pursuing and acquiring its wealth and material possessions. That obviously leaves little or no time for God. Plus we feel that if we are true to God, then we’ll have to give up the things of the world. Now that’s true to a certain extent, especially when we begin to worship them, to see them as the be all and end all of our lives. But true believers, as I keep saying, have nice worldly things, not in spite of, but because they are blessed by God for their faith and sincere fellowship with Him. Remember Jesus also told us in no uncertain terms that if we set the kingdom of God as our first priority, that all of our needs would be met. (Matt.6:33) Obviously we all won’t live in wealth and splendour, but we won’t lack for anything in our day to day existence. But that doesn’t seem good enough for too many of us, so therefore we keep running down the things of the world. And don’t forget what the preacher told us in yesterday’s Bit; that it’s useless, futile, and vain to spend our lives amassing worldly possessions, since we can’t take any of them with us, when we return naked to the dust from whence we came naked. (Eccl.5:15) And we’ll end with some more truthful words from Psalm 113 – The greatness of the Lord and the vanity of idols. ‘Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the Lord; praise him, O ye servants of the Lord. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praise unto his name; for it is pleasant…. For I know that the Lord is great, and that out Lord is above all gods.’ (Ps.135:1-3, 5) That says it all Friends! So today, let’s seriously ponder our reactions to the things of the world and to the things of God, and begin having them lean towards the latter nuh. That’s the ultimate in wisdom. Much LOVE!…a fool and his earthly possessions…are soon parted…but a wise man in tune with Jesus…lives richly forever…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 May 2012 Galatians 5:22-23

02 May 2012 Leave a comment

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

Galatians 5:22-23.     But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Oh Friends, tomorrow has become today, and wonder of wonders, we’re still alive! Wow! Through the tender mercies of our God we’ve been allowed to witness another brilliant sunrise on this beautiful planet Earth! And all God’s people declared a grateful and enthusiastic: ‘Thank you Lord!’ And what are we going to do with that wonderful blessing eh Friends? How are we going to show the Lord that we’re truly thankful for His undying generosity? By first talking about our Bit in some detail, then going out and faithfully living it. That’s the only thing that will truly please the Father. Here goes: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ Everlasting words of truth and wisdom, my people! Now let’s get some groundings from the scholars: ‘The word fruit is significant for three reasons. (1) It means the result, product, outcome, or effect produced by the Spirit in the believer’s life. (2) Unlike “the gifts of the Spirit” (plural), only some of which are given to a Christian, each believer is to have all nine virtues composing “the fruit of the Spirit” (singular). (3) As fruit on a tree takes time to grow and mature, so the Spirit does not cultivate these virtues in the believer’s life overnight.’ There are two things to realize here Friends, the difference between ‘the gifts of the Spirit’ which are given to us individually by the Lord according to His plan for our lives, like prophecy, ministry, exhortation, philanthropy, etc. (Rom.12:4-8) Then there’s the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ which is a singular thing, with nine different fruits or virtues, that must be produced by us, must come from within us, through our Christ-like efforts.  And we need all nine items growing well within us to truthfully bear the ‘fruit of the Spirit.’ And the second important aspect is, as the scholars point out, this fruit of the Spirit doesn’t mature overnight. It’s often a long, arduous process, and unless we understand that, we’re liable to rush off in our enthusiasm trying to produce spiritual fruit as quickly as possible, only to find it doesn’t work that way. Then we’ll probably get discouraged and lose faith. So please realize Friends, that we’ll be learning, maturing, improving every day, right up until we go to be with Jesus. It’s a process, like the aging of fine wine, and it also takes a lot of fortitude and faith to accomplish without dropping out of the race. Hear how Jesus describes the process: ‘I Am the true (genuine) vine, and my Father is the husbandman (vinedresser). Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth (prunes) it, that it may bring forth more fruit….I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:1-2, 5) So my people, you can see it’s not a short or easy process. Just like the grape vine, we need pruning and purging every so often, that we can be renewed, rejuvenated and produce more and better quality fruit. And here we’ll turn to the scholars once again to get some info on the individual fruit of the Spirit. ‘LOVE is the willing, sacrificial giving of oneself for the benefit of another without thought of return. Joy is gladness of heart. Peace is tranquility of mind, freeing one from worry and fear. Long-suffering is patience with others, the opposite of a short temper, a disposition quietly bearing injury. Gentleness is kindness. Goodness is generosity. Faith here is dependability. Meekness is gentleness, that is, courtesy and consideration in one’s relations with others. Temperance is self-control, that is, the ability to harness and control one’s passions and lusts.’ Yuh think it easy Friends? Not at all! Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is an involved, complicated, lifetime battle. But the good news is that with the Holy Spirit living and working in us we can, will and shall produce all nine aspects in our lives, because we’re true believers living each day in, with and for Jesus. We don’t want to let Him down or disappoint Him, so we’ve got to up the ante in our Christian walk, so that all those Christ-like features will shine out from us and make others want to know Jesus too. That’s the whole idea behind it my brethren, for people will only come to Jesus when they see some useful and beautiful stuff coming out of His followers. Otherwise, why bother? Remember, we’re Jesus’ representatives, ambassadors here on earth, and as we go, so will His kingdom. It’s just like any earthly ambassador; you have a certain reputation and standard to uphold, so that your country doesn’t get a bad reputation. And we surely don’t want to give Jesus a bad name now, do we? And all Jesus’ people gave a mighty shout: ‘Of course not! Well then Friends, let’s take what ever ‘gift of the Spirit’ with which we’ve been endowed, and go out into the evil, unfriendly world and show them that Jesus’ people are strong and steadfast and can bear the ‘fruit of the Spirit,’ as expected of them, in fact have it flourish, become exceedingly abundant. Let’s put that plan into action today please my people! Especially since it’s not against the law, as Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners…’ (1Tim.1:8-9) So let’s also seek to be righteous, as we ought, my fellow brethren in Christ. Much LOVE!…when given gifts…believers must use them to bear good fruit…to further Christ’s kingdom…that’s our bounden duty…