Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 June 2022 Jeremiah 1:19.

27 Jun 2022 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 1:19.      And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

It’s another Monday in the life friends, and we’ve got to face up to it with a solid Christian front, as well as individual belly and backbone. (smile) Remember, yesterday we declared that we were good soldiers in Christ’s army and were marching onward to victory? Well, the first hurdle we’ve got to jump, the first battle we must fight is Monday, that first day of every new workweek that looms up pretty large to so many of us, especially those who have not rested enough, or have not sought the renewal and regeneration of our souls, bodies and spirits through fellowship and worship on Sundays with other believers. 

You know that’s one of the purposes why Christians gather every Sunday; not only to give our Father thanks and praise on His day, but also to receive His blessing and rejuvenation so that we can go out and battle whatever Monday and the new workweek brings against us. It’s like a renewing of our spiritual armour. Taking it off, cleaning it up and then putting it back on nice, shiny, and fresh! (smile) I don’t know when we will learn that we can’t handle the new workweek properly unless we are well rested and renewed in the Lord God Jehovah. 

And I recently encountered a rather interesting bit of scripture in the book of Jeremiah, when the Lord called him to be his spokesperson and Jeremiah made all sorts of excuses, but the Lord was adamant in the call, just like He is whenever He calls us to do His bidding. (smile) And I want us to listen carefully to how that first chapter ends. The Lord reassures Jeremiah: ‘And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.’ (Jer. 1:19) 

Oh my people, our God is there to protect us. That’s what He’s all about, especially if we are sincerely following His word and the desires placed in our hearts by His Holy Spirit. He won’t ever ask us to fight battles in His name and not provide us with the necessary tools, protection and back up to accomplish the task successfully. But we must buy into what He’s selling, otherwise it won’t work. 

It’s the same basic promise that Jesus made to the disciples when He gave them the Great Commission. ‘All power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:18-20) 

Yes friends, Jesus promised to be with the disciples right down to the end of time, and they believed Him, that’s why they went out and proselytized their world as much as possible. Now that promise was also made to us, future generations of believers. The problem however, is do we believe Jesus like the disciples did? Obviously, many of us don’t, because we don’t tell anybody about our wonderful Lord and Saviour and the dire need to know Him in a personal and intimate relationship if they want to save their souls. 

Many of us know Him, but refuse to share Him. We selfishly try to keep Him to ourselves. But that’s not what Jesus desires. He desires that we share the good news of his gospel and salvation to all with whom we come into contact. It’s the ONLY way that the gospel will ever reach to all ends of the earth. 

As Bruh Paul said so eloquently to the Roman church. ‘How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?’ (Rom. 10:14-16) 

And that’s exactly what’s happening today, too many of us are neither sharing the good news of Christ, nor enabling it to reach others. That means we are doing Him a terrible disservice. Just look at all the sacrifices He made for us to have the options of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life nuh. How hard can it be then to tell someone else about Him, or enable someone to go elsewhere and talk about Him eh? 

Granted, the name of Jesus creates the most disagreement and dissension in the entire world, (smile) but if someone doesn’t want to hear about Him, then you don’t tell them. One of the problems many of us encounter is that despite a person not wanting to hear about Jesus, we still insist on telling them about Him. And that will obviously cause some hard feelings and harsh words. You’ll notice that throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, if people didn’t want to listen to Him, He never tried to force the situation. 

Oh my fellow saints, we badly need to spread the good news of Jesus, especially in these tough and terrible times, because He is the ONLY hope for living the abundant life here on earth, and eternal life with Him in heaven. Now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s take our problems to God in prayer, like we are supposed to. 

As one sincere voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. 

That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And the only way to get a positive response from heaven is by doing our part, keeping our promises and showing the Lord that our heart motives are right. Much LOVE!

… if you can’t tell others about Jesus…it simply defeats the whole purpose of LOVING Him…

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   28 February 2022 Proverbs 25:11.

28 Feb 2022 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 25:11.     A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.

Oh friends, how good and how pleasant it is to awaken on a Monday morning to bright sunshine and dry ground, despite the cold temperatures. (smile) It’s hard enough to get oneself together to go back out to labour on a Monday morning after an energetic weekend. You don’t need to be fighting the elements as well as the traffic jams, in your desire to make a dollar, so you can keep a roof over your head and food on your table.  

And since it’s physically bright and shiny and we also have Jesus with us providing His spiritual light, we ought to be in good humour and be excited to spread the good news of our Lord and Saviour to all we meet today. There’s no reason whatsoever for us to be afraid, embarrassed or ashamed of telling others about the wonderful life we now enjoy with Christ as our King, His indwelling Spirit as our Guide and Leader, all to the glory of God the Father! Praise His holy name my people! 

And no, we don’t have to go ranting and raving about Jesus, but we must be careful how we introduce Him to others, since His name is very controversial in all the earth. And sometimes we even need to let our actions speak louder than our words. Somebody once said something to the effect that we should only use words when it’s absolutely necessary. And that’s true, if we can only bring ourselves to do it, since ‘actions work more forcibly on the mind than precepts.’ (smile) 

That brings us to these apt words of wisdom from Cousin Sol in Proverbs, where he declares (chuh!!) ‘A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.’ (Prov. 25:11) And is that ever the gospel truth my brethren! Timely words can be ever so important, encouraging and uplifting to one’s soul and spirit. The scholars put it thus: ‘A timely and fitting word is precious and pleasing.’ 

And that’s no lie! For we have all been receivers of timely and fitting words at some time in our lives, and have found them to be indeed precious and pleasing. Unfortunately though, this current age in which we are living, especially with the advent of and ferocious spread of social media, timely and fitting words are becoming ever fewer and further between, because we now can talk and share our unwanted and unnecessary opinions with much greater ease than ever before. 

We no longer pick and choose our words, but just spout or tweet, or write whatever we feel with no compunction whatsoever to hold back or even think carefully about what we’re saying. So, our society has just become a cacophony of talk, a continuously loud, discordant noise, with everybody talking at the same time, but very few listening, or paying much attention. That’s just the way she goes today my people! We will certainly go down in history as the very first of the ever so talkative generations who talked a lot, but said nothing of much use. 

And Cousin Sol felt the need for timely talk so much, that he said the same thing earlier on, though in a slightly different way. ‘A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season (at the right time), how good is it!’ (Prov. 15:23) It is very good my friends, no ifs, ands or buts about that! If only a handful of us would shut up for a moment, just stop talking about the things we know nothing about, our world would become a much quieter and more peaceful place. 

Yes, it’s a lot of the foolish talk that’s currently going around which is stirring up the negative behaviour and thinking that’s ever so prevalent in our world right now. Oh, and don’t forget, we also need more talk and action about Jesus too! Less foolish and negative talk, and the increased spread of more information concerning Jesus! Wow! What a wonderful world we would then have! (smile) It’s true though my fellow saints. We all know that. If we sincerely live the way Jesus desires of us, we will have a modicum of peace, joy and LOVE in our world. 

But since Satan’s currently running the show, evil and wrongdoing are on the upswing. However, we faithful believers need to try and tamp down Satan’s overwhelming presence by lifting up the name of Jesus. That’s our bounden duty! So please, let’s get serious about doing our duty nuh, as good soldiers and ambassadors of Christ, and if we want to provide a better world for our children and our descendants. 

And the first step in any interaction with Christ is prayer. So, let’s go to the throne of grace with confidence, but humility, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and place our desires before Jehovah God, the Creator and Controller of the universe. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And now friends, it behooves us to be wise, to consider all that we’ve just promised, and put it all into positive action, so that our heavenly father can look down on us with pleasure and provide that divine grace and mercy we so badly need. Much LOVE!

…talk is cheap…but actions are expensive…and it’s time for Christians to increase their spending… on expensive actions…rather than cheap talk… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   6 December 2021 Hebrews 4:16.

06 Dec 2021 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 4:16.      Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

The wheel of life has been spun friends, and it has stopped on the number 1. That means it’s the first day of the workweek, that marvellous day we call Monday! And instead of a loud cheer, a great sigh rises up to heaven, because Monday means laying aside our weekend endeavours, or lack thereof, and getting up and getting a move on so we can make a living and enjoy the benefits of our hard labour. (smile) 

Ah my people, it has been that way for a long while, but because we are now such a flaky, entertainment-oriented society, we cannot get used to it. And a further word of warning, it will continue thus for some time yet, so we might as well come to terms with the situation and stop making our lives miserable every Monday morning. 

The simple fact of the matter is that we know it’s coming, so why not prepare for it, by renewing our spiritual selves with other believers, either at a physical church or through technology, then toning down the Sunday evening activities and getting a good night’s sleep, so we won’t wake up tired and grumpy to begin the new workweek. 

It’s said that the first day of the week sets the tone for the remainder of it. And if that’s true, when we begin Monday on a less than stalwart note, then the rest of the week will probably follow suit. So, it’s to our advantage, as Brother James Brown would say, to step out on Monday on the good foot. (smile) And if we have Jesus in our lives, that should not be a problem, since getting us prepared to face each day is one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit. But we have to listen and pay attention to its guidance and direction if we want to benefit from its power. 

Unfortunately though, too many of us fail to rely on the Spirit of God dwelling within us, thus our lives are not as joyful and contented as they can be. Remember Jesus words of comfort to the disciples: ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide in you for ever. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (as orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:16-18) 

And the scholars explain ‘Comforter’ thus: ‘The Greek word ‘parakletos’ literally means “one called alongside to help,” hence the idea of a comforter. The Holy Spirit is called another comforter because this is also one of Christ’s titles (1 John 2:1, translated “advocate”). Illustration: The Father is also known as the God of All Comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). Though those in the early church often endured persecutions, they found their comfort in the Holy Spirit (Act 9:31). Application: Today, Christians can find comfort in the Holy Spirit when trials come. (First Ref. John 7:37-39; Primary Ref. John 14:16-18) 

Yes friends, the Holy Spirit is there to help and guide us through every aspect of our lives. And I’m wondering here if we don’t use the power of the Holy Spirit because we aren’t persecuted today like the early believers were. Remember, the scholars said above that in times of persecution the early church found comfort in the Holy Spirit. Maybe that’s why we’re so lackadaisical and reticent in using the third arm of the Holy Trinity that dwells within us; life is just too good, so we feel we don’t need Him. 

But that’s a fallacy perpetrated by the enemy, my brethren. Once we are in this evil and ungodly world, we need the power of the Holy Spirit, every minute of every day, because that’s the only way we can consistently stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternity with Jesus. We definitely can’t do it on our own, so please don’t let the enemy lead us astray thinking that’s possible. If Jesus needed the help of the Father when He was here on earth, so too do we need heavenly help to solve our earthly problems. We can’t fight Satan on our own. He’s too deceptive and cunning for our small and finite human minds to overcome. Only in concert with Jesus can we do it. 

Please, let’s remember that nuh, and don’t try to live life on our own, because the enemy will just blow us away without us even knowing it. That’s why we must never be too proud to ask for help, especially the divine kind. And with the numerous serious problems we are now experiencing, I think this is as good a time as any to do as the Good Book directs us: ‘Let us therefore come boldly (confidently) unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Heb. 4:16) 

So, as one humble, but confident voice let’s offer up our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And now, if we truly want our land to be healed and our problems solved, then we need to pray, repent and turn from our evil ways. Much LOVE!

…it’s not wise to refuse divine help…when it’s readily accessible…when it dwells within us… 

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   15 November 2021 Psalm 84:12.

15 Nov 2021 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 84:12.     O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Now, since each day unerringly follows the other, like the moon automatically follows the sun, today had to be Monday because yesterday was Sunday, when we gathered in worship and the Lord refreshed and strengthened us to begin the new workweek with a strong fighting spirit, seeking nothing but victory for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His righteous kingdom! 

And yes, I know that’s a long, convoluted sentence, but sometimes those sentences are good, because they get us to stop and think about what they really mean, especially in this age of the short attention span, where we don’t have to use our brains to figure out anything, since it’s laid out right on a silver platter, short and sweet for us. But please remember that old saying, ‘if you don’t use it, you will lose it.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people. If we don’t use our God-given gifts, they will atrophy and eventually become useless. 

And sadly, that’s where our world is headed right now, what with things like robots, artificial intelligence and self-driven vehicles becoming more a part of our everyday life. Soon we won’t have to do anything for ourselves and consequently we’ll lose the use of most of our faculties. In fact, a lot of us have already begun losing the use of many of our faculties with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic where we were isolated for a long period of time. That only lead to a higher than normal amount of fear, anxiety, depression, mental illness and domestic abuse. 

But since the pandemic doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon, we desperately need to have a strategy in place to help us cope with all the negative stuff that’s currently circulating in our world. Now my brethren, the only avenue I see open and able to deal with our situation is living for Jesus! That’s the long and short of the story! Jesus is the ONLY One who can help us to successfully handle all the negativity that’s coming against us at this present time. 

And what grounds do I have for saying so. Listen to these encouraging and uplifting words of the psalmist. He positively proclaims: ‘For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.’ (Ps. 84:11-12) 

Wow friends! What a marvellous declaration! That’s why we believe, or rather we know that those who worship the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be able to withstand anything that comes against them. The Lord God Himself has promised it. As Jeremiah declared: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity) to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) And we all know that Jehovah God keeps ALL of His promises! He’s not reneged on a single one down through the ages. 

However, to command His marvellous benefits, we need to walk uprightly and obediently before Him. And with the free will He’s given us, it’s our choice, our decision to make. Please note though, these most important words of Moses to the Israelites. ‘I call heaven and earth to record (witness) this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.’ (Deut. 30:19) And that charge still stands today my people! 

We still have the free will, the opportunity to choose life or death, blessing or cursing. Unfortunately though, many of us seem to be choosing death and cursing over life and blessing by refusing to follow the Lord, to walk uprightly and obediently before Him. That’s a totally unwise decision friends, one that we will pay for in the long run when we are eternally separated from God, and cast into the lake of fire with Satan, the prince of darkness and disobedience. 

Remember, what Bruh Paul said about disobedience: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is sternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom. 6:23) And just like the Lord keeps the good promises, He also keeps the tough ones. So, there will be no getting away in the end if you don’t walk uprightly and follow His Son Jesus. 

And that’s the very reason He sent Jesus to die on the cross. Hear Jesus tell it nuh. ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ (John 3:16-17) And that’s it in a nutshell. If you don’t believe in Christ, you will perish, as simple as that. 

And friends, from personal experience, I can tell you that though living for Jesus might seem difficult in this evil and ungodly world, the reality is that He gives you the wherewithal to handle whatever comes against you. He won’t always make life easy, but He will enable you to handle life. No other supposed deity can sincerely and successfully promise that. So I plead with you, please rethink your options, and if you haven’t already chosen Jesus, please do so asap, in fact right now, because tomorrow, or even later, could be too late. 

So, let’s go to the Lord in prayer, through what we call our Monday Morning Battle Hymn and sincerely open up our hearts and souls to Him, pleading for His help. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, if we want the Lord to keep His promises, it behooves us to keep ours. Much LOVE!

…free will is good…but only if used wisely…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   18 October 2021 Philippians 4:11.

18 Oct 2021 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 4:11.     Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

And since the universe unfurls exactly as its Creator programmed it to do, today is Monday! That’s what the printout says, and there is nothing we can do to change it, so we might as well just accept it and say, ‘the Lord be praised!’ (smile) Yes friends, we don’t have much, if any say in how the world turns, which means we had better learn to accept and be contented in whatever state we are in, allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus to lead and guide us, knowing that in the end we will be well looked after by our heavenly Father, who has promised to work all things out for our good. 

And as Tim Sullivan says in the opening remarks of his sermon of how to abound and how to be abased, on the workerstogetherwithhim.org website. ‘To everything there is a season. Some seasons are of ease and others are of struggle. Life certainly has its ups and downs. But God desires that we know true contentment in all seasons, regardless of the circumstances that surround us.’ 

Now all of that is gospel truth, as Cousin Sol articulates as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes: ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.’ (Eccl. 3:1) And the Lord expects believers to handle whatever comes against them in any and every season with zeal and panache, with style and flair. (smile) And it’s great if we can handle the ups and downs of life with equanimity, that’s a calm and composed manner, especially in the difficult times. It’s not an easy thing to do though. 

That brings us to the encouraging words of Bruh Paul in his epistle to the church at Philippi, when talking about his appreciation of their gift. ‘Not that I speak in respect of want (in regard of need): for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.’ (Phil. 4:11) And therein lies the Christian’s problem: being content does not come as naturally to us, as complaining does. (smile) We have to learn how to be content. And that takes a lot of learning in a lot of difficult situations. 

Hear the scholars’ explanation on that verse. ‘4:11. Not that I speak in respect (because) of want: Paul’s ability to be content despite the circumstances assures the readers that his joy of verse 10 is not solely over his “need” being met at their expense. He implies that he could have done without their financial aid. For justifies this implication. I have learned …to be content: The Greek here suggests that contentment is a lesson learned neither in a classroom nor overnight, but through many practical experiences in life.’ 

Yuh better believe that friends, you can’t learn contentment in any classroom or in a short period of time. It’s only learned by going through the many hard knocks of life. As Bruh Paul continues: ‘I know both how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.’ (Phil. 4:12) 

And the scholars tell us: ‘4:12. By listing some specific examples, this verse elaborates upon the very general and broad “in whatsoever state I am” of verse 11. Be abased means literally to discipline oneself, that is tighten the belt in lean times. To abound means to live in prosperity. Every where and in all things I am instructed (or “in all circumstances I have learned the secret of how”) to be full, that is “well-fed.” Paul has acquired the skill for successfully living with little and with much, the latter probably being harder.’ 

And to back up that statement, they quote the British Philosopher Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) ‘For one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.’ And surprisingly that is very true. There are many who will withstand adversity better than prosperity. But here is the kicker, the engine power that makes the whole situation work. Bruh Paul’s proclamation: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil 4:13) All power and glory be to God, my fellow saints! 

Yes friends, that’s how we can abound and be abased and not lose hope and faith and trust in Almighty God! Now listen to the scholars: 4:13. The apostle’s ability of knowing how to live skillfully on little or in prosperity does not mean that he is a spiritual superman. The reason he can live in such extremes is not owing to his own ability. Rather he can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth him, thus enabling him to adapt to his various, ever-changing circumstances. God orders Paul’s various circumstances, and God gives him the strength to be content in them all, trying and perplexing though they may be.’ 

And that’s exactly what He does for every one of His children! God orders our steps, and He also gives us the wherewithal to handle them. That’s the kind of God He is, a fair, just, righteous and LOVING God! And the sooner we understand and appreciate that fact, the sooner we will make inroads into living the contented life. Now, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s seek His omnipotent help with the many problems we are currently experiencing. 

As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now let’s go out and keep those promises we just made, so that the Lord can bless us and our land. Much LOVE!

…you can’t strong in ALL circumstances…unless the power of Christ is within you…                                                                                                             

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