Psalm 21:13. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength, so will we sing and praise thy power.
Oh Friends, I thought rest and sleep were supposed to be so good for the body and soul, to be refreshing and renewing. So how come I went to bed early last night, but got up this morning sneezing and sniffling, with my back aching, as though I’d done some back-breaking labour to bring on those woes? Ah Lord eh! Who knows the way their days and nights will go? Sadly, none of us. Only the great God who created us, and whom we serve and worship, who controls our going out and coming in. But the good thing about that Friends, is that once we surrender our lives to Him, we don’t need to worry about anything, just take everything to Him in prayer. And that’s exactly what I did this morning. I didn’t bother asking why, because I knew that most likely I wouldn’t get an answer. So I just asked for help and relief, then put on my back brace and took a tablet for the allergies. (smile) And now I’m ready to rumble! Who says our God isn’t a good God eh! Consequently, He led me to this most appropriate Bit: ‘Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength, so will we sing and praise thy power.’ Yes my brethren, our Lord is so mighty in power, strength and LOVING-kindness, that it’s only appropriate for us to sing and praise His awesome majesty! Bruh David apparently wrote this psalm after a victory over his enemies, as it’s subtitled – Praise for victory. And I like how he begins it: ‘The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden (withheld) the request of his lips. Selah.’ (Ps.21:1-2) Oh my people, that first verse, or something like it, should be on our lips every day – rejoicing in the strength, power and faithfulness of our omnipotent God, and the LOVING-kindness and mercy of His blessed salvation! And all God’s servants gave a joyful shout of, ‘Praise the Lord! Thank You Father for Your strength and glory in Jesus! Amen!’ And in Psalm 59 – A Prayer for deliverance – when Saul sent his henchmen to watch Bruh David’s house for an opportunity to kill him, he fervently declares: ‘Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah. And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Let them wander up and down for meat (food), and grudge (howl) if they be not satisfied. But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy.’ (Ps.59:13-17) Oh my people, do we have that solid faith and trust in the promises and faithfulness of our God? I surely hope so, because it’s only with that kind of unshakeable faith will we be able to handle the evil powers and people of this evil world. And that’s why Bruh David, despite all his problems and wrongdoings found such favour with God. He always looked to Him for support and guidance, revelled in His strength and LOVING-kindness. Listen to him as he continues in glorious adoration. ‘For thou preventest (meeteth) him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad (joyful with gladness) with thy countenance (presence). For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved (shaken).’ (Ps.21:3-7) Ah Friends, there’s no feeling in this world that compares to praising our most wonderful and adorable God! Now listen to how the psalmist Asaph follows in like manner, as he opens in Psalm 81 – God’s goodness and Israel’s waywardness. ‘Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise (shout) unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm (raise a song), and bring hither (strike) the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery (lute or lyre). Blow up the trumpet in (at the time of) the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.’ (Ps.81:1-4) Now, though according to the scholars, ‘The background of the psalm appears to be the Feast of the Tabernacles (Lev.23:34-44) which reminded the people of God’s law and also constituted the feast of ingathering (Ex.23:16)’ that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t sing and praise our most worthy God in full voice with instruments, each and every day, or whenever we feel like it. So my fellow believers, on this Wednesday morning, in the penultimate week of April, in the year 2013, I’m asking, or rather imploring us all to get ourselves together and shower the world with praise and glory, exaltation and joyfulness in the power and LOVE, mercy and forgiveness of our most amazing God! Please allow our joy to sing out over the land, let the heathen hear it, and see the wonders that He works in our lives, so that they too may come to learn about Him, then believe, LOVE, honour and glorify Him the way we do. That is my sincere prayer for all believers this chilly spring morning. In Jesus name. Amen. Much LOVE!…how can the unbeliever learn about God…unless the believer sings, shouts and lives a life…filled with His goodness, grace and mercy…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 April 2013 Psalm 21:13
24 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: back-breaking labour, christianity, exalt the Lord, exaltation, glory, God's favour, grace, heart's desire, honour, in prayer, joy in the Lord's strength, joyful noise, joyfulness, LOVE, loving kindness, majesty, omnipotent god, power, praise, Praise the Lord, psalmist asaph, raise a song, refreshing, renewing, request of his lips, rest and sleep, salvation, Selah, shower the world, sing of His mercy, sing of the Lord's power, sing praises, surrender, unshakeable faith, victory
Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 April 2013 1 Corinthians 1:22
18 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: action, appreciation, blind leading the blind, conviction, disbelievers, doubters, eternal life, forgiveness, foul weather, God is the greatest, grateful heart, Greeks, holy spirit, hypocrites, incredible relationship, Jesus' Second Coming, Jews, judgement, LOVE, mercy, Pharisees, relationship to God, reverence, Sadducees, salvation, selfless sacrifice, signs, spirituality, straight and narrow path, submit, surrender, tenderness, the BIBLE, the Good Book, tribulation, wisdom, worthless sinner
1 Corinthians 1:22. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek wisdom.
Oh Friends, every time I rise and shine to greet a new day, the Holy Spirit convicts me with more conviction (smile) that our God, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, is indeed the greatest! And in true fact, there’s NO other like Him! When I consider His undying, unconditional LOVE, His tenderness, mercy, forgiveness, and grace, not to mention the selfless sacrifice of His only Son Jesus to save a worthless sinner like me, all I can say, with a heart brimming over with LOVE and appreciation, is a grateful, sincere, ‘Thank You Lord!’ The fact that He made us to fellowship with Him, and simply refuses to let us be separated from Him by our sins, only endears Him more to me. Oh Friends, please search your souls today, this wet, rainy spring morning and truthfully ask, judge, measure your relationship and reaction to Almighty God. And if your entire being isn’t flooded with joy, sincere reverence and LOVE for Him, then something’s definitely and drastically wrong somewhere, and I’d advise you to quickly seek Him and fix it asap. For without Him your life will be unfulfilled, aimless and meaningless. If He’s not solidly secreted in that compartment of your soul meant ONLY for Him, then you’re missing out on an incredible, as well as an incredulous relationship. And all God’s people declared a loud, heartfelt, ‘Amen!’ Now here’s our Bit: ‘For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek wisdom.’ It’s the same as the last two days, because I want to touch on a couple more instances involving Jesus, where signs were spoken of. And this first one comes from Matthew 16, just before Jesus warns His disciples to beware of the leaven (yeast) of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matt.16:6) Anyway, the Good Book describes the scene thus: ‘The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting (testing) desired (asked) him that he should show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, when it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring (threatening). O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and departed.’ (Matt.16:1-4) Oh Friends, I have to laugh whenever I read how Jesus put those hypocrite Jewish leaders in their place, anytime they tried to catch Him off guard. And please note that His answer was the same as when they’d earlier asked for a sign, as we discussed yesterday, (Matt.12:38-42) only that of Jonah, which melded well with His own upcoming tribulation on the cross and in the grave, from which He’d triumphantly rise on Easter Sunday morning. But as usual, they didn’t, or refused to understand His message of salvation and eternal life, and unfortunately millions of doubters and disbelievers are still doing the same thing today. How sad, my people. As the saying goes, there’s none so blind as he who refuses to see. And as Jesus so cleverly says of the Pharisees: ‘Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.’ (Matt.15:14) Gospel truth my Friends! And it’s still happening today; only with more blind leaders, leading many more blind followers, which makes the situation very scary. But it’s our job, my fellow believers, to try and open the eyes of those blind leaders and followers. We need to confront them and show them the error of their ways, through the Word and our generous, LOVING lifestyle in bristling, bustling action, so that they too can believe and successfully come to Jesus. And I just saw some scholarly info on the above scripture that I think is important to share. ‘The unbelieving leaders came seeking a sign from heaven, that is, an outward miraculous manifestation. Notice that miracles alone never save anyone. They serve only to authenticate and call attention to the message, which must be believed in order for salvation to be experienced in the soul. Instead of another miracle, Jesus points them to the signs of the times, eschatologically related (doctrine of death, judgement, heaven, hell) to the sky and His second coming. The sign of the prophet Jonah relates to His resurrection (see 12:38-40; John 2:18-22) This sign gives hope to the believer but is an indication of judgement for the unbeliever, who will be judged by the risen Christ at His second coming.’ Oh my people, that same blindness of the early Jewish leaders still applies to too many of us today. We can’t read the signs of the times, that they are drawing ever closer to Jesus’ second coming; the wars and rumours of wars and all the other signs Jesus gave to the disciples as the beginning of sorrows, until the gospel is preached to all the world. (Matt.24:6-14) Oh my people, that’s enough for us to ponder on today. We’ll continue this topic tomorrow, God in favour. Till then, please let’s get our act together as good and faithful Christians by seriously communicating with our God and Maker, genuinely submitting and surrendering our lives to Him, so that He can lead and guide us aright, down that straight and narrow path that leads to Him. That’s wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!…the Bible is our guide for earthly living…unless we read and pay close attention to it…we’ll surely go astray…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 March 2013 Isaiah 51:12
25 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: aura of love, battle hymn, christianity, comfort, confession, enthusiasm, fear, glorious kingdom, god of all comfort, good tidings, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, hope, human anguish, human imagination, humble servants, invincible, jobs, Lent, lies, loving kindness, mercy, Monday Morning, purpose of living, rejuvenation of spirit, religion, renewed vitality, resurrection of christ, salvation, spiritual armour, spirituality, sure conquerors, surrender, tribulation, undeniable fact, ungodly world, useful purpose, weary souls, well rewarded, wicked taunts
Isaiah 51:12. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…! And there’s a half-hearted cheer reeking with sarcasm for that unwelcome information. (smile) This is also the last Monday in Lent, where many of us gave up stuff to spiritually make a connection with Jesus fasting forty days in the wilderness before His death. But come next Monday, after the amazing resurrection of Christ on Sunday, I guarantee that there will be a much louder cheer when I announce it’s time for work. That’s because our souls will be a tad more joyous having regained the pleasures we gave up for Lent. And let me apologize here for not mentioning that yesterday was Palm Sunday. I don’t know what came over me, but I totally forgot about it, until I went to church and saw the palms there. I really don’t know how I could have forgotten such an important day in the annals of Christianity; the only day during Jesus’ earthly sojourn that He was actually recognized and publicly acknowledged as the worthy King, the Son of God, the Messiah He truly is. Anyway Friends, please forgive the ole fella, his mind obviously isn’t what it used to be. And I promise it won’t happen again, though I may forget something else. (smile) Now let’s move on to more immediate matters, like singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get us in the right frame of mind to go out and labour. Altogether now, with as much heartfelt enthusiasm as we can muster. ‘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 we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the 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!’ Oh mih people, that was only so so. We didn’t get a standing ‘O’ in heaven today, just some sporadic applause. But I’m sure by the time we hit the road, the enthusiasm, the flame of passion that burns deep in our hearts and souls for Jesus will have been reignited and we’ll be just rearing to get to the front lines of the battle and engage the evil enemy. (smile) And I’m not being overly optimistic here. One must have hope, loads of it. For if there’s no hope, what’s the purpose of living then? That brings us to our Bit: ‘I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a (mortal) man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass.’ It’s the same one as yesterday, and we’ll attempt to do what I’d planned to do back then, which is dissect it, before I was guided to talk about LOVE instead. There are three parts to it; basically comfort, fear and longevity. Let’s look at the first part; comfort. Our God says in no uncertain terms: ‘I, even I, am he that comforteth you.’ And that’s an undeniable fact my brethren! Our God is the greatest comforter in existence! He prides Himself in comforting His people. Now let’s check out a few of the many scriptures on the amazing comfort our God provides. And we’ll start with Isaiah, who offers comfort to Israel in several readings. First off is: ‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.’ (Is.40:1) That has to do with a day of salvation after Judah’s captivity in Babylon. Then in chapter 49, he exultantly declares: ‘Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.’ (Is.49:13) That’s regarding the Servant coming out of Israel, Jesus, the Messiah. He says basically the same thing in 52:9, re the Lord delivering His people from captivity. Meanwhile in chapter 61, proclaiming tidings of salvation to Zion, he boldly announces: ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek (poor); he hath sent me to bind up (heal) the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.’ (Is.61:1-2) And we all know Bruh Paul’s famous words to the Corinthians: ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor.1:3-4) Oh Friends, how could we ever doubt the healing and comforting nature of our wonderful God eh? Just like in all the other blessings He showers down on us, His comforting us is meant to be shared with others, not kept solely and selfishly for ourselves. That’s one of the reasons why our world is in such sad shape today; too many people not willing to share their abundance with the less fortunate. And we’ll end, as I like to when possible, with the words of Jesus. Listen to this pronouncement from the Sermon on the Mount, from the Beatitudes, which mirrors the end of Isaiah’s in 61:2. ‘Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.’ (Matt.5:4) What a promise my brethren! And we know it’s gospel truth if spoken by Jesus! And the scholars elaborate on that passage thus: ‘Those that mourn…shall be comforted. The depth of the promise of these statements is almost inexhaustible. Those who mourn for sin shall be comforted in confession. Those who mourn for the human anguish of the lost shall be comforted by the compassion of God.’ So Friends, in this crazy, confused, turbulent, evil, ungodly world, where we are constantly beset before and behind by problems and anxieties, let’s not lose hope, and consequently faith in our most awesome Holy Trinity, because we know of, and have personally experienced their comfort and LOVING-kindness. There’s NONE OTHER like them in existence. Hang tight with them and you’ll be well taken care of, rewarded far above and beyond your human imagination. Now isn’t that true wisdom? It sure is, my brethren! Much LOVE!…thy rod and thy staff…they comfort me… (Ps.23:4)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 February 2013 Psalm 21:6
27 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: absolute hope, actions, Bible Study, blessed, Christian beliefs, christianity, confidence, darkest hour, deceitful, earthly pilgrimage, evildoers, exceedingly glad, faith, footstools, God's Word, hearts, heavy load, joy, maturity, mercy, minds, pain, powers of darkness, praise, psalm 21, religion, roadblocks, saviour jesus christ, sliding, slipping, souls, spirituality, surrender, thankfulness, treacherous, true believers, true wisdom, trust, unfortunate experience, uptempo dance, victory, virgin snow, weather forecasters
Psalm 21:6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 November 2012 Jeremiah 20:13
26 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: complete trust, faith, hurricane flora, LOVE, LOVING presence of God, old school chums, praise, rain, righteousness., Sing praises to the Lord, surrender, truth
Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 October 2012 Psalm 139:17
03 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: anger, believer in Christ, darkness, destroy, fear God, God's attributes, hate, interesting adventures, Jesus leads, light, LOVE, precious thoughts, surrender, wisdom
Psalm 139:17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
Ah mih people, another day is upon us, possibly filled with the same old, same old, but the good thing about being a believer in, and a follower of Christ is that our lives are never the same every day. That’s because Jesus leads us on so many different and interesting adventures, that we never know what to expect from one day to the next. Walking with Jesus is full of ups and downs, but it’s certainly never dull, but always interesting and adventurous. And if you’re following Jesus and your life is not interesting and adventurous, then something is definitely wrong. You’re not following Jesus as closely as you ought to, for when you’re walking closely with the Saviour, wherever you are, there’s always an opportunity to do something good in His Name. Therefore Friends, let’s all take a closer look at whatever is happening around us, so that we can spot those easy to miss opportunities to serve Christ. Now here’s an interesting story, I read in the Toronto Star newspaper, I believe it was back in August. It deals with then President Richard Nixon’s farewell emotional speech on August 9 1974 in the White House, surrounded by his staff, family and friends We all know he left in disgrace, because of the Watergate fiasco. Apparently, as he was about to end, he raised his arm as if to point out the importance of his next words. Then he said: “Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.’ Wow Friends! What words of wisdom! The article ends with the thought that Nixon had learned that lesson a little too late, for he had already destroyed himself, through the hatred that he’d perpetrated and inspired. The sad part though my brethren is that too many of us still live our private lives in a world of hate, bitterness, anger and resentment. Those negative emotions are already too prevalent and pervasive in our society, we don’t need them in our private lives too, or else we’ll just end up destroying ourselves like Nixon, but then it will be too late. Consequently, let’s try and learn from his mistake and that of so many others nuh, and put hatred and enmity aside, and instead live in LOVE, the wonderful, uplifting LOVE of Christ! It’s the only answer to the problems that surround us. And we have such a wonderful example of that caring attitude of our God in our Bit today. ‘How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them!’ Oh Friends, yuh think Beelzebub really cares about like that? No Way! But our heavenly Father surely does, because every day He blesses us with new mercies and whatever else we need to make a successful pilgrimage down here on earth. And though our earthly journey might be difficult, it is still filled with an inner joy because of His unconditional LOVE and faithfulness. Meanwhile all that ‘thiefing’ joker, Beelzebub wants to do is just steal our joy and drag us down to his abysmal level, living a constantly depressed and miserable live, encompassed by anger, hatred and resentment. Now yesterday we looked at some scriptures that showed us the awesome thoughts and plans the Lord has in store for us. Today we’ll look at a couple more, starting with words of Bruh David from Psalm 40, Praise for answered Prayer. There he joyfully proclaims: ‘Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward; they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.’ (Ps.40:5) And isn’t that the living truth Friends? Our God has done so much through the ages, is still doing a lot, and has lots of great plans for our future. So why should we jeopardize all that beneficence by associating with Lucifer and his evil morons eh? No reason whatsoever my people! The purveyors of evil and darkness can NEVER do for us what the God of LIGHT and LOVE can. Remember whenever LIGHT shows up, it always overtakes, overpowers darkness, which only proves that LIGHT is more powerful than darkness. The crowning glory of all that my Friends is highlighted by these words of our God, spoken through Isaiah. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) And that’s how it ought to be my people! A God’s ways and powers must be higher and stronger than those of His subjects, otherwise He’s no god at all, and we don’t need him. And to prove that point, we’ll end with some interesting thoughts from the scholars, re the comparative attributes of God. ‘Psalm 139. The comparative attributes of God contrast human abilities with the divine nature. Everyone has some knowledge, but only God has all knowledge (omniscience). Everyone has presence, but only God has presence at all times everywhere (omnipresence). Every person has some degree of power, but only God has unlimited power (omnipotence). Illustration: Psalm 139 lays a foundation for understanding the comparative attributes. The omniscience of God is seen in verses 1-6. The omnipresence of God is seen in verses 7-11. The omnipotence of God is seen in verses 12-16. Application: A Christian’s response to the comparative attributes of God, should be to surrender to His leadership because He is wise, He is able to protect us, and He knows the true way to life with Himself. (Gen.3:8, Ps.139:1, Eph.1:8) What more can I say eh Friends, than that’s gospel truth, and we should do as it says. Please read the scriptures at the end too, for they are very informative. Much LOVE!…be not wise in thine own eyes…fear the Lord…and depart from evil…It shall be health to thy navel (body)…and marrow (strength) to thy bones… (Prov.3:7-8)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 September 2012 Habakkuk 1:2
04 Sep 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: anguish, blasphemy, confidence, cry out to God, destruction, evil, forgiveness, Glory Halleujah, god, God is good, hear, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, prayer, prophecy, punishment, save, surrender, violence, wisdom
Habakkuk 1:2. O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!
Oh Friends, oh Friends, our God just proved to me once again what a wonderful and faithful God He is! Just now, when I came to write the Bit, my confidence seemed to be at a rather low ebb. I can’t say what really caused it, because when I came downstairs earlier on it was fine, but somewhere in between it faltered. And all I did was read a few e-mails, most of them to do with God too, including yesterday’s Bit, then played a set of games that purport to enhance my mental prowess (smile). And even though I didn’t do as well in some of the individual games as I usually do, my overall score was higher than yesterday. So I really can’t say what triggered this lack of confidence. But somehow or the other Lucifer got into my mind – yes that’s where it all begins, in the mind – and knocked me for an unhealthy six. (smile) But what he obviously didn’t consider Friends, is that I would cry out to my God in anguish and sincere surrender, and that being the True, Faithful and LOVING Father that He is, He would renew that confidence, through the gentle touch of His Holy Spirit, and my looking up some scriptures on confidence in His Word, in particular Proverbs 3:25-26; Proverbs 14:26; and 1 John 5:13-15. And now my brethren, I can truly say a very big and bold ‘THANK YOU FATHER FOR RENEWING MY CONFIDENCE!’ Wow Friends, what a great and mighty God, endowed with much mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness we serve and worship! And all God’s people let forth a mighty shout of joy, boldly declaring: ‘Glory Hallelujah to the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE! Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here now as I consider God’s mysterious movement in my life this morning. Apparently He felt that I needed a testimony; I’ve been doing enough talking, and needed to walk some of that talk. So Friends, I can boldly testify now, that if your spirit is somewhat downcast and on the low side, you can successfully cry out to God, get in His Word and feel His Sprit work in you, to bring you back up to a decent level. And on another good note of God’s faithfulness, I read where an Imam was arrested in the last couple days for framing the young Christian girl being held in a Pakistani jail on blasphemy charges. Somebody apparently squealed on him. But what’s even more surprising and important is that they actually arrested him and took him away in chains and a white blindfold. That decree must have come from some real powerful person, cause when have you ever heard of an Imam’s word being doubted in a fanatical Muslim society, especially when it comes to the burning of a holy work by a Christian believer? God truly is good my people! Now let’s see if we can get some action on our Bit. (smile) ‘O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!’ Ah mih breddren, Habakkuk’s words on the state of his country Judah so long ago, so closely mirrors the state of our own society now that it’s not funny! Rather, it’s heartbreaking and unsettling. For it seems that severe punishment is also going to be meted out to us for our proud and obnoxious disobedience and rebellion towards Almighty God, Creator and Everlasting Ruler of our Universe. Habakkuk’s cry of unanswered prayer sounds like Jeremiah’s in his Lamentations for Judah’s fall. ‘He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. He hath hedged me about (walled me in), that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry out and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.’ (Lam.3:6-8) But what else did Jeremiah expect eh, when he himself had prophesied to Judah about their coming destruction, and they refused to listen to him? Oh my people, we are always declaring that our God doesn’t change; He’s the same yesterday, today and forever. So in light of that, let me ask a seemingly foolish question here. If God severely punished Israel so often, plus all those others who were supposed to believe in and worship Him faithfully, what do you think is going to happen to us, especially since we LOVE to claim that our society was founded on Christian principles? Oh my fellow believers, it doesn’t take the brains of a rocket scientist to understand God’s rules because they are quite simple: obey, or you pay! It’s the same thing our earthly parents taught us from a tender age, and we obeyed them lots of the time because of fear, fear of the punishment that would be meted out to us mostly in a physical manner. But Friends, our God doesn’t want us to obey Him because we’re afraid of His eventual punishment, but because we LOVE Him the way He LOVES us, and thus want to do His will. But we’ve gotten so big for out ‘britches’ these days that we only do what we think is right. Anyway mih people, the long and short of the story is that our world is in a despicable state, partly because of our wilful, blatant and stubborn disobedience to ALL the commandments of our Creator. And we’re already paying dearly for that disobedience. So let’s end with some wise words from the prophet Micah, re the terrible end of the oppressors of the poor. ‘Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work (plan) evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take (seize) them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage (inheritance). Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil (I am devising disaster), from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.’ (Mic.2:1-3) And this time is surely evil my people, so please let’s wake up and hear what God is saying to us nuh: repent, and come back to my fold, else it won’t be well with you. Friends and fellow believers, I implore us to listen and heed God’s advice. That’s wisdom at its zenith. Much LOVE!…there’s none so deaf…as he who refuses to hear…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 August 2012 Jeremiah 17:7
04 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: beautiful scriptures, beginnings of pan, Bible, Caribana Saturday, confession, faith, hope, Hope in Jesus, music, repentance, stubborn, submission, surrender, trust, wisdom
Jeremiah 17:7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Aye Friends, it’s Caribana Saturday morning in T.O. the Good! Wow! It’s supposed to be hot, low thirties, and sunny. Just imagine nuh, that in a few hours, for the forty something time, rich, scintillating, pulsating West Indian riddims will be blasting out on the streets of this vibrant, cosmopolitan city! Unfortunately though, it seems that this will be the third or fourth Caribana Parade the ole fella’s going to miss in the forty years, he’s been here. I guess, as they say, all good things must end someday. But after the Pan Alive Competition last night, I believe the Lord’s saying; ‘Keep you peace, mih son! It’s not worth the pain that might ensue.’ However, with the natural stubbornness of man, (smile) I’m still not a hundred percent sure that I’m not going. We’ll see how the ole bod feels as the morning progresses. Anyway, for once the judges and the crowd seemed to agree on the winner of the Pan competition; Pan Fantasy. From the opening notes of their music, you heard something, a sort of brilliance that none of the other bands matched. But don’t fool yuh fat, as in every Pan competition in the world, there were cries of; ‘They robbed us!’ And you could find good arguments for disputing some of the lower placings. But last night Pan Fantasy definitely reigned supreme! All the bands played well though, especially some of the younger ones. And it warms the cockles of my heart every time I check out this competition to see the great amount of young people, of all colours, creeds and races who are beating pan now. Hn! If they only knew about the beginnings of pan and how it was totally frowned upon in it’s earliest years, they’d certainly be surprised to find themselves playing those instruments now. My Auntie Anne and Uncle John didn’t make it there till late, thus missed the first six bands, but a good time was eventually had by all though. Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ That’s undoubtedly gospel truth mih Friends! You can see that although our Bit is new, our theme is still that nebulous, constantly ebbing and rising, but oh, ever so important emotion of HOPE! As we’ve been saying, it’s what every human being, and specifically Christians need in great amounts to be able to carry out any and all projects successfully. Yes Friends, if we’re not clothed in much hope, particularly in the hope of God Almighty, His enduring ability to run our lives, then we’re like a naked man out in the winter’s cold, unable to survive for any length of time. It’s the starting point of all our endeavours. And it follows logically that since the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is our Creator and the most powerful Being in the universe, then it’s only wise, the root of our wisdom, to place all our hope, trust and faith in Him. If no one can defeat Him, then why put any trust in the many pretenders currently floating around in our world eh? And if we check the Good Book, we’ll find a whole lot of beautiful scriptures that attest to that fact. Let’s look at some of them now, beginning obviously with words of Psalm 2, attributed to Bruh David (smile) and superscripted, Why the heathen rages. ‘Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.’ (Ps.2:12) Ah mih people, kissing the Son is an act of homage and submission, which all believers ought to do, for it’s wisdom at it’s highest, since the Good Book uncompromisingly declares: ‘For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ (Rom.14:11) There Bruh Paul’s confirming words first spoken by Isaiah in Chapter 45:23. So my brethren, if Jesus Christ is the ultimate ruler, then those who don’t believe in, trust and worship Him, need to have their heads and hearts thoroughly examined for the presence of that condition nicely termed foolish, stupid, or downright unwise. Hear how Cousin Sol puts it: ‘He that handleth a matter wisely (wisely heeds the Word) shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.’ (Prov.16:20) More gospel truth mih people, as no doubt many of us can testify to. And we’ll close with this edifying scripture from Psalm 125, God surrounds His people. And isn’t that the living truth Friends? ‘They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed (moved), but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about (surround) Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.’ (Ps.125:1-2) That my people, is the eternal truth, and as good as it gets! It certainly couldn’t get any better than that! So let’s take time today to ponder the state of our lives before Almighty God, then trust in His Word and renew the hope, the trust, the faith and final surrender and submission to His Holiness, as when we first believed. It’s the only sensible and wise stance to take in this evil, ungodly, troubled and fearful world. Much LOVE!…Hope is the seed…from which all good things grow… P.S. Sorry the Bit’s a bit late, but the ole fella didn’t get to bed until the wee hours of the morning, so he couldn’t get up any earlier. (smile) Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 March 2012 Romans 12:2
26 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: blessed, God's duties, jobs, lies, mind renewal, rejuvenation, surrender, taunts, wiles, will of God
Romans 12:2. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.
Oh Friends, our heavenly Father has once again blessed us this Monday morning with a strong breath of life, so let’s be up and about His business nuh; no mewling and whimpering. Remember Jesus’ answer when confronted by His parents, after He remained in Jerusalem reasoning with the elders in the temple: ‘How is it that ye sought me? Wist (knew) ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?’ (Luke 2:49) Well Friends, unfortunately we also have important duties to perform for our God. I know it’s Monday and difficult to get moving, but it’s what we signed up for when we accepted Jesus. So let’s get energized by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in full voice. As one 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 we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the 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!’ That ought to get our adrenalin flowing. And to further propel us, let’s consider the wise advice of our Bit: ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ Now the whole purpose of becoming a Christian is to become like Christ, as much as is humanly possible. However, that doesn’t come naturally, for our basic human nature fights against it, thus we have to consciously remake, retool ourselves in Christ’s image. And to do that we need to take three ground floor actions; don’t conform to the world’s sinful, ungodly nature, but transform ourselves, by first renewing our mind, changing the way we think, and therefore act, which will then be the way God wants us to act. John describes this quite nicely in his first Epistle: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17) Wow! Friends! That’s true, true gospel! If we follow the world and its unholy lusts, we’ll definitely end up in Hades with Lucifer and all his evil cohorts, separated from the living God for all eternity. And believe me, that’s the worst thing that can ever happen to a spiritual being, such as we are! So if we truly want to ‘prove what is (the) good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,’then we have to take Bruh Paul’s advice to the Ephesians: ‘And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.’ (Eph.4:23-24) That means refraining from things like; lying; letting anger seethe in our souls, thus allowing Lucifer a foothold for evil; stealing, but instead working honestly; gossiping, but rather talking encouraging and uplifting stuff. (Eph.4:25-29) Bruh Paul then sums it up with this poignant verse: ‘And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph.4:30) Yes Friends, the Spirit of God is truly grieved and disappointed when we claim to be His children, but do things that obviously fall outside His will. Therefore, if we really want to be excellent soldiers in Christ’s army, we have to continually, read, study and meditate on His Word, then take those actions He desires us to take, not our own, or the world’s. It’s the only way to be a true believer. Much LOVE!…the transformation from sinner to saint…is a rigorous…but oh so rewarding process…
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