Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 September 2021 John 8:12.

23 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 8:12.     I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Oh no friends, it did not clear up nicely in my area yesterday. In fact, it rained all day and during most of the night. But thankfully it seems to have stopped now and the sun is poking it’s bright and beautiful face out through the remaining dark clouds. And that’s how our God, our Jesus works in our lives; when the rain and dark clouds threaten to consume us, if we just keep our hope alive, we will soon see the power and light and LOVE of Jesus begin to shine through all the darkness that threatens to swallow us up without a prayer. 

But we always have a prayer, and when we use it, our Jesus will turn our darkness into light. Yes, He will turn it around with His majestic power and glory. And why do I think that eh? Because I’ve seen him do it numerous times in my life and the lives of others who sincerely believe in Him. And if you know His Word, you will know this major pronouncement He made many years ago while dwelling here on earth. He truthfully declared: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) 

And if you take the leap of faith and trust Him on that matter, then you will see much more light in your life than darkness. For He is faithful that promised! But if you want to see light, the light of Christ, flooding your soul, life and spirit, then you have to take Him up on His promise and lay your burdens at the foot of His cross. And it’s not a promise that was just made in Jesus’ time, but long, long ago, the Lord promised it through the prophet Isaiah, when he prophesied: ‘The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.’ (Is. 9:2) 

And that light was the promise of Jesus coming to save the world from the sin and darkness that contaminated it. The prophet Malachi also told us about the coming of Light when he declared on the Lord’s behalf: ‘But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall (grow fat like stall fed calves). And ye shall tread (trample) down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.’ (Mal. 4:2-3) 

And the Father kept His promise when He sent Jesus to earth to save our souls from death and eternal separation from Him, by paying the price of our sins on the cross of Calvary and defeating hell, death and the grave when He rose triumphantly from the bowels of hell on that glorious Easter morn some two thousand years ago! Now that momentous occasion birthed the presence of the Light of Jesus in our lives, where, if we accept Him as Lord and Saviour, His Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us, to help dispel the darkness of this world, and we will forever live in His glorious Light! 

As John so eloquently and truthfully says in the beginning of his gospel: ‘All things were made by him (Jesus); and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:3-5) Yes friends, the darkness of this world cannot comprehend, apprehend or take hold of the Light that’s Jesus Christ! And there are so many important scriptures that deal with light and Jesus being light, that I don’t know what to choose. (smile) So let’s choose a few random ones to refresh our memories. 

Hear Jesus to the Jewish rulers of His time. ‘I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.’ (John 12:46-47) Oh my people, Jesus didn’t come to judge, but to save, so please let’s remember that nuh. 

Now here is this most appropriate scripture, as Jesus says: ‘And this is the condemnation, that (the) light is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, less his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:19-21) That was true in Jesus’ time, and it’s still true in our time. Evil doers hate the light because they don’t want their evil deeds to be exposed. 

And unfortunately, right now, the evil deeds in our society seem to be outweighing the good and truthful ones, that’s why so many of us are hiding from the light in the darkness. But friends, please remember that the darkness doesn’t hamper the sight of our God, for as Bruh David says in Psalm 139: ‘Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee (is not dark to thee); but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.’ (Ps. 139:12) So friends, trying to hide in the darkness from God is useless, as trying to hide from Him period! 

Then listen to some more useful words on light from the psalms. Bruh David declares in Psalm 18: ‘For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high (haughty) looks. For thou wilt light my candle (lamp): the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through (can run against) a troop; and by my God have I leaped (can leap) over a wall.’ (Ps. 18:27-29) And if that didn’t do anything for you, then listen to this most mighty verse of scripture from Psalm 119: ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ (Ps. 119:105) 

Yes friends, the word of God indeed lights our way as we walk through this dark and sinful world. And if we are wise, we will take it to heart and practice it sincerely as these words of Jesus so wisely advised. ‘Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.’ (John 12:35-36) 

Now that’s the crux of the problem right there my fellow saints; we must be children of light. Jesus was the light of the world while He was here on earth, but after He went back to heaven, He declared that His followers, that’s us, are now the light of the world. (Matt. 5:14) And as Bruh Paul told the Ephesians: ‘For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light.’ (Eph. 5:8) Yes, my fellow believers, that’s exactly how we ought to walk in this dark and evil world, ‘as children of light,’ so that we can fulfill Jesus’ desire. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:16) 

And the wonderful thing about our Lord and Saviour is that He doesn’t just tell us what to do, but He also gives us the wherewithal to do it. Consequently, we have his Word, His Holy Spirit and numerous other tools that we call our Thursday Blessings that enable us to shine brightly in this dark world. So please, let’s declare those blessings now nuh, that we can invoke them in our spirits. 

As one voice: ‘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 every day! Amen!’ 

Now let’s go out and shine brightly for Jesus, by sharing those blessings just as generously with others as he shared them with us. Much LOVE!

…to shine brightly for Jesus…in this dark world…that’s the believer’s bounden duty…                                                                                                                         

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8   

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 September 2021 Mark 9:23.

18 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 September 2021   Mark 9:23.

​Mark 9:23.      If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 

So at last it’s Saturday – and a nice sunny day in God’s universe, at least in my area. (smile) So what plans have we for this new day, so beautifully clothed in God’s new mercies and compassions eh? I do hope it’s something that involves Him, and will eventually bring Him some glory, or at least have others leaning towards Him. Why is that you ask? Because our earthly purpose is twofold; to communicate with God personally, and to live a life that will have others want to come to Him! It’s as simple as that! In whatever we do, be it great or small, God must be involved in some form and fashion. That’s just the nature of things. 

But enough talk yes, let me get to what I have to do this Saturday morning, which is share and try to explain, in a Christian and biblical light, the quotes we got from our friend Anselm this past week. And I’m chuckling here because they are all interesting and I don’t know where to start. But Chuh! Let’s take the bull by the horns yes, and start at the first one. (smile) And that says: ‘Sometimes it’s better to take a leap of faith and just believe what you hear instead of trying to find the story behind it.’ 

Now that’s a tricky one, because taking a leap of faith is ofttimes good, but under what circumstances? And I definitely won’t endorse believing whatever you hear, especially in these times of false news, disinformation and outright lies flying around like crazy. I would strongly advise that you hear the story behind the situation first, before you even consider taking a leap of faith. Yes friends, with all the stuff out there right now, that has such beautiful outward covering, but in reality is only a façade, it’s downright easy to take a leap of faith right into the welcoming arms of the devil in hell! 

So please be very careful, for I don’t know if we’ve ever seen such a time like this one with so much fraudulent and deceitful stuff everywhere. Meanwhile, the next quote tells us: ‘We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea.’ So we come to that scary word again, ‘change.’ A lot of people are afraid of it, sometimes with good reason, since change can turn your life topsy turvy and leave you not knowing where to go, or what to do, even place you in some dreadful dilemma. 

That means change is another aspect of life that you must tread carefully on. But by the same token, you cannot afford to stay stationary, remain forever in the same womb-like state, for life desires change, is made up of change. But change that’s made with some amount of wisdom and common sense. We can’t stay in our comfortable cocoon all the time, or we will never see what God’s great universe has to offer. But we can’t venture on the big sea, without first having a good idea of how to handle the small pond. 

And we do need to make changes as life moves along, sometimes even big ones, but as we said earlier on, Jehovah God must be involved in all we do, if we are to make right decisions and fulfill the plans and purpose He has for our lives. But please, don’t go making changes just for the sake of making changes. Don’t follow the crowd, as so many of us are doing today. Don’t follow those they are now calling ‘influencers.’ Steups! Those making money off of foolish and ungodly lifestyles. And the sad part is that most of them can’t even run their own blooming lives. But they are influencing others with a whole lot of nonsense. That’s partly why our world in in such an ungodly mess! 

And it’s a sore point with me, so let’s move on to the next quote, which says: ‘Keep going. Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.’ And that’s the gospel truth my brethren! We grow more in times of adversity than in the good times. As they say, what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger. And if you are a child of God, you will undergo adversity. Jesus said it loud and clear. ‘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) 

So there’s no need to consider whether we will or will not have troubles, for they are inevitable in a sinful and evil world such as ours. But when you have Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of your life and His Holy Spirit leading and guiding you, you can handle any adversity that comes your way, because He has already overcome the world. Thus, these reassuring words from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. ‘We are troubled (hard pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.’ (2 Cor. 4:8-10) 

Yes my brethren, it’s the old adage: You live for Christ, suffer with Him, die with Him, and be resurrected to new life with Him! But then, that takes a whole lot of believing, and our last quote tells us that: ‘Believing involves thinking, talking and acting as though you have already received what you’ve asked for.’ Only if you are a believer in Jesus Christ though! And only if it is within the will of God! Listen to these words of Jesus to the father of the young man who was filled with a demonic spirit that His disciples could not cast out. ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.’ (Mark. 9:23-24) 

And the scholars explain that last verse thus: ‘9:24. He (the father) had a certain faith, but it was confession of his undeniable inner turmoil and doubt that marked his faltering faith as truly authentic, if imperfect trust. Before God honesty is a wise course.’ Yes friends, when we come to God it is always best to bare our souls and hearts before Him, as He will be much more open to helping us when we do so. 

And when the disciples asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demon from the boy, Jesus said to them. ‘Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove (move); and nothing shall be impossible to you.’ (Matt. 17:20) It’s all about belief and faith my people. In the world, seeing is believing, but in God’s economy, believing is seeing. You don’t see until you believe. 

That’s why the Good Book tells us that: ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ (Heb. 11:1) And also: ‘And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.’ (Heb. 11:6) 

And we going to leave with this last but oh so important scripture that applies to all of us. They are Jesus’ words to Thomas when he had to see Jesus before he believed in His resurrection. ‘Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

Please let that be food for thought this weekend my fellow saints. Much LOVE!

…we walk by faith…not by sight… (2 Cor. 5:7)                                                                                                                 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8