Today’s Scrip-Bit   22 March 2024 Proverbs 27:1.

22 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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Proverbs 27:1.       Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Well, it’s that day, when all the voices around the world can’t help but sing ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Let’s hope that those who went to work on clear, dry ground this morning won’t be too unhappy when they have to make the evening drive home in snowy weather conditions. Yes, the snow has begun coming down in my area, and granted, right now it’s merely trickling down, but as my Jamaican people would say, ‘one one cocoa full basket.’ And that’s the truth, a little of anything builds up over time, so if the snow continues to fall, even as slowly as it’s now doing, by this afternoon a fair amount would have fallen and made driving and walking conditions difficult. 

So, a word of warning, unless you must go out, don’t go! (smile) And today we’ll talk about a very popular but unwise thing that we all do from time to time. It comes from the wise words of Cousin Sol in Proverbs, under the general heading of ‘The Wrath of a Fool. It says: ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ (Prov. 27:1) And doesn’t that sound familiar. It certainly does! For as James, Jesus’ brother, so wisely wrote to the Jewish diaspora. 

‘Go to now (come now), ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boastings (arrogance): all such rejoicing (boasting) is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17) 

Oh my people, what wonderful words of wisdom and good advice are to be found in that passage of scripture! First, we make all sorts of pronouncements about our future without including God, without even asking for His opinion and/or direction. That’s not wise, for who knows what another day may bring, since our lives are as vapour, that’s here one minute and gone the next. A lot of people went to bed last night expecting to get up this morning and continue life as usual, only to be disappointed, because they were either too ill to get up or the Lord had called them home during the night. That just shows how little control we have over our lives. 

Again, many people who have left home this morning hale and hearty to go to work, won’t return home this evening because they either got sick at work and ended up in the hospital, or they met in a car accident and unexpectedly departed this life. So that should teach us two things; firstly, to always involve God in all of our decisions, to seek out His eternal wisdom on whatever we’re planning to do. And secondly, to always be good to the ones we LOVE, show them true appreciation, and tell them we LOVE them at every opportunity, for we don’t know if or when we will be unexpectedly separated. 

Now, all of that reminds us of the parable of the rich fool that Jesus told, when asked about dividing an inheritance between two brothers. First off, He warned: ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:15) Yes friends, the tentacles of the green eyed monster; envy, jealousy, selfishness and covetousness are rampant in our world today. We must remember though that our earthly possessions are not the most important things in our lives, for as we said earlier on, our lives are like a wisp of vapour; one minute here, then gone the next. So why spoil our already short lives by coveting and fighting for earthly things that we will just leave behind for others to fight over eh? It’s the height of foolish pride! 

Then Jesus told this most appropriate parable. ‘The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits (store my crops)? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:16- 21) 

As usual, my fellow saints, Jesus did not mince words. He spoke it loudly and plainly. Those who don’t have God in their lives, as their guiding light, will eventually stumble and fall into the darkness of the evil one. Please, let us learn the necessary lessons from all that we’ve said this morning, so we don’t fall into Satan’s evil net. Now, it’s time to go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for help in these our desperate times of need. 

As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And I’d just like to remind us that no divine help will be forthcoming until we show the ‘trusting faith’ and be the good ‘examples of faithful believers,’ we spoke of in our prayer. Much LOVE!

…boasting…in and of ourselves…is the devil’s playground…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 February 2020 Proverbs 27:1.

18 Feb 2020 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 27:1.    ​Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring.

 

And yuh see how life could turn back and bite yuh! Yes, for all of you in the G.T.A, who were crowing yesterday morning because you didn’t have to go to work, yuh see the dangerous and messy conditions you have to go out in today…the white enemy all over, after a heavy snowfall last night! Serve yuh right for lording it over those who had to go and labour yesterday! (smile) 

Ah friends, it’s just another winter’s day in the northern climes, and as you valiantly forge through it, you must have a good attitude, laugh and chuckle, hope for and think of the sunshine and good weather that soon come, otherwise it’s just going to drive you crazy, as you slip and slide through it. You might not like the snow, but the wise thing to do is to mentally embrace it, with Jesus’ help of course, so you’re not always flustered and bothered when you encounter it. 

Yes, that can be easier said than done, but like everything else in this world, we have been endowed with the parts to live a pleasant and abundant life, we just have to put our best foot forward in Jesus’ name. And all of that brings us to this ever so important principle of scripture and life in general. Hear these immortal, truthful and wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring.’ 

And Jesus described it ever so well in the parable of the rich fool, who had so much wealth and not enough space to store it, that he decided to tear down all and build bigger and better… ‘and there will I bestow (store) all my fruits (crops) and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’ (Luke 12:18-19) Yes my brethren, that’s how too many of us behave, believers included. We live too much for the world’s wealth and pretty but worthless possessions. 

And Jesus continued His parable with these words of everlasting wisdom. ‘But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?’ Yeh friends, for the lawyers and other professionals involved in the tremendous and foolish litigation that will follow his death! We see that played out everyday in the lives of the rich and famous: somebody is never satisfied with their portion of the estate, or unhappy that they didn’t get any. 

And the warning is also in the Old Testament. In 1 Kings 20, when Ben-hadad, king of Syria, threatened Ahab, king of Israel to destroy Samaria unless he gave up his wealth and power voluntarily, Ahab answered: ‘Tell him, let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.’ (1 Kin. 20:11) Yes my people, we never know what’s going to happen in between time. And Ben-hadad in his righteous anger was defeated by Israel, obviously with God’s help, when he finally came against them. 

But getting back to Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. Here is how He ended it. ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21) And the scholars explain: ‘12:21. Here Jesus brings out the meaning of verses 16-20. Notice that what Jesus calls for follows quite logically out of His own example (2 Cor.8:9), as well as out of God’s graciousness toward all who seek Him (Rom.10:12). Jesus is thus not speaking of a pay-as-you-go faith, but of participation in a relationship in which God already provides what He wishes His people to give back to Him.’ 

Oh my people, remember all that we have belongs to God, and we’re just stewards of His belongings, so it’s rather boldfaced of us to think that we’re giving Him our things. (smile) Anyway, we have space to highlight those two scriptures the scholars quote above. ‘For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.’ (2 Cor. 8:9) Yes, when coming to sacrificial LOVE, Jesus is the poster child for that, the mightiest example to be ever found! 

And the next verse declares (yeah!): ‘For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.’ (Rom.10:11-12) I put in verse 11 so that the context could be better understood, that our God is rich in mercy, grace, forgiveness, what ever have you, towards all and any that call on Him, in sincerity of heart, be they Jew or Gentile! So it doesn’t make sense for us to become so attached to the things of the world, as so many of us are. 

Now hear James theorize on the subject: ‘Go to (come) now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain (make a profit): Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that. But now ye rejoice (boast) in your boastings (arrogance): all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.’ (James 4:13-17) 

And the scholars offer a couple of explanations. ‘4:15. This, or that: This verse teaches that God does have something for Christians to do and that they should plan accordingly. James condemns only elaborate planning that omits God (cf. Prov. 16:9).’ ‘4:17. To do good here requires including God in one’s plans. Omitting God is not merely bad planning; it is sin.’ Now if all of that doesn’t grab our attention and teach us not leave God out of any of our business, then I don’t know what will. (smile) 

Now let’s go home declaring (yeah!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know who and whose we are! In strong voice with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And the end goal is to now go out and share that wonderful friendship and amazing LOVE with those who don’t know Him! Much LOVE!

…a man’s heart deviseth (plans) his way…but the Lord directeth his steps… (Prov.16:9)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 May 2018 Proverbs 10:2.

11 May 2018 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 10:2.    Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

Welcome to another glorious day on God’s great earth friends! Wow! They are happening so fast and furious that I don’t know what to do with them, especially in my recovery state. I certainly can’t go out and about as I’d like to, so I just have to enjoy them in and around my li’l area. And by the way, yesterday did turn out to be bright and sunshiny too, just a bit of a strong breeze in the afternoon. 

And this beautiful spring weather is just falling right into the lap of the workingman this Friday morning, as he sings his song: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! The weekend is here at last mih people! And can you imagine the gorgeous weather, what that will do for our party scene? Brother! I can’t wait to get into the food and drinks and whatever else there is to get into!  (smile) This will surely be one helluva weekend! Thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’ 

And believe you me, not only the workingman is glad to see this glorious weather, we believers are equally as glad to see it, we just don’t plan on going to the extremes that he does – at least I hope so. (smile) And as we know, the major difference in our positions is one of extremes. We have tighter guidelines per Jesus’ standards than the workingman. And our Friday Chant certainly reflects it. So let’s chant up a storm now nuh: 

‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Yeh friends, as believers and followers of Christ, we’re not allowed to get into the licentious behaviour that the workingman values. We have to keep our wits about us and prepare to go back out next week to work diligently for Christ again. 

Now that doesn’t mean we can’t or don’t have enjoyment. It just means that we don’t go overboard with it and allow the enemy even a toehold in our souls, for then he’ll take a foothold and before you know it he’s developed a stronghold in our lives. As the old people would say, ‘you give him an inch, he’ll take a nail.’ And that’s the gospel truth! Haven’t heard that one in along while (smile) 

That brings us to an interesting Bit. The wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.’ More indisputable truth friends! 

Stuff acquired through wickedness doesn’t give us any real benefit. We might be able to enjoy some of it down here, but in the long run, we’ll surely be left out of the kingdom of heaven. And as I keep saying, there’s no situation worse for a human being than to be left on the outside looking in when Jesus comes again. 

However, when we aspire to be righteous, we’re assured of eternal life with Christ, the most blessed situation there is in all the world. Glory to God my people! 

And we have a couple of examples to share. Listen to Jesus, as He tells the parable of the rich fool. This fellow had so much earthly possessions that he didn’t have space to store them. And his solution to the problem: ‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.’ (Luke 12:19) 

Oh friends, that’s how too many of us behave! We consider the treasures of the world more important than they really are, and run behind them too much. But look what happens to this rich fool. ‘But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?’ (Luke 12:20) 

Ah mih people, that happens all the time. We store up much earthly treasure, then we die and leave those behind to fight over them, and the shark-like lawyers end up getting most of it. Does that make sense? Certainly not! And what is Jesus’ solution to that problem? ‘So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21) Yeh friends, believers cannot be covetous and greedy, for our lives aren’t only about possessions. 

Now here is an example from the other side of the coin. Remember when King Nebuchadnezzar had this dream and Daniel eventually interpreted it for him? Hear Daniel’s advice: ‘Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness (being righteous), and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening (prolonging) of thy tranquility).’ (Dan.4:27) 

But yuh think king Neb listened to Daniel? No way! Twelve months later while walking in the palace and admiring all that he had done, patting himself grandly on the back, the edict from heaven came down, and immediately,  ‘he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like the birds’ claws.’ (Dan.4:33) 

Yeh mih breddren, for seven years king Neb was a mad man! But our God is so great and merciful, that He eventually restored Neb to sanity. And finally Neb got it, as he declared: ‘Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgement (justice): and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (humble).’ (Dan.4:37) 

Friends, please, let’s not forget who and whose we are, and take no great credit for our doings, because if we do, we will eventually suffer the ultimate in humiliation. Much LOVE!

…living right is the only sensible way to live…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 March 2018 Luke 12:15.

10 Mar 2018 Leave a comment

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

Luke 12:15.   And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 

Come on friends, it’s a beautiful morning, so let’s go outside for a ride nuh! Oh, I forgot that it’s still somewhat chilly in my neighbourhood. (smile) But when the Sun and the SON are both shining forth so brilliantly it detracts from the freezing cold and you don’t even notice it. 

Hn! And I hear some of you mutter in the background: ‘Good for you! You might not notice the cold, but I certainly will.’ Ah mih people, life is short, so why not enjoy as much of it as possible eh? A li’l cold never kill anybody yet! ‘That’s what you say,’ comes the reply. 

Anyhow, we won’t argue over such trivial things on such a beautiful day. (smile) Let’s simply agree that it’s a beautiful Saturday morning, and therefore time to check out what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, in his attempt to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Hear this first one: ‘You are never strong enough that you don’t need help.’ And that’s gospel truth my friends and fellow believers! Regardless of how strong we become, we’ll ALWAYS need the help of others, simply because we can’t do it all on our own. So please, don’t ever get so proud that you refuse to ask for help, because that’s what family, friendship and fellowship are for. 

And the second quote says: ‘There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance the next time.’ More gospel truth my brethren! For in the seed of every failure lies a part of the answer to our improvement. As they say; we must learn from our mistakes. And it only makes sense. If we do something one way, and it fails, why do it the same way again eh? 

And as Christians, we know that we only learn, mature and grow under the umbrella of adversity. When times are good we don’t grow or mature as much because everything is fine and there’s nothing much to tax our mental, spiritual and physical well-being. But when times are rough, we need to hunker down and figure out how to make them smooth again. 

Now here comes the last quote: ‘Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.’ More gospel truth people! But unfortunately, in our current society; too many of us are not thankful for what we have. We keep on wanting and seeking for more worldly stuff, without ever considering being thankful for what we already have. 

And don’t be surprised, it’s not only the ungodly who do that, many Christian brethren do it too. We simply hunger after things, then quickly forget them once we possess them. That’s a sad state of affairs. The problem might just be that we simply have too much. I’m sure if we had half as much as we do, and it was incredibly difficult to get any more, like how it is for the greater portion of our world, we’d certainly be thankful for the little that we had. 

But prosperity and plenty in today’s world, just doesn’t seem to lead to thankfulness, as it should. Thus Jesus’ warning in our Bit, from His parable of the rich fool. ‘And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ 

Ah friends, that’s oh so true, but too many of us don’t seem to realize it, as we continue to run down the world’s wealth, despite the inherent problems contained therein. As Jesus described the rich fool who had so much and only thought of himself, wallowing in his worldly wealth and contemplating how to increase it. 

‘And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:19-21) 

Now the scholars offer an interesting explanation of all that. ‘12:21. Here Jesus brings out the meaning of verses 16-20. Notice that what Jesus calls for follows quite logically out of his own example (2 Cor.8:9), as well as out of God’s graciousness toward all who seek Him (Rom.10:12). Jesus is not speaking of a pay-as-you-go faith, but of participation in a relationship in which God already provides what He wishes His people to give back to Him.’ 

Meanwhile, to clarify that explanation, I’ll quote those verses listed above. The first one talks about Jesus’ example. ‘For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.’ (2. Cor.8:9) 

And the next one refers to God’s graciousness to all men. ‘For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.’ (Rom. 10:12) Yes friends, God is rich and generous to all who come to Him in sincerity and truth, and we don’t need to run down the world’s fallible wealth, because God will provide sufficient to meet all our needs when we honour and obey Him. 

And you know what happens when we die and leave great wealth? Some of the worst fights erupt over their dispossession. That’s when the real nasty nature, the evil and greed of mankind truly comes out, and the lawyers end up getting most of what we left behind. So please let’s be wise and seek God’s kingdom first, and lay up treasure in heaven rather than down here on earth nuh. Much LOVE!

…be thankful…and covet not …