The Necessity for Christians to Understand the Power of God’s Encouragement, and to Sincerely Seek It! Part 2.

17 Jun 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   17 June 2026   John 16:33.

John 16:33.        ‘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.’

Ah mih people, it’s Wednesday, our second wind day, so let’s catch it if we want to continue to do good work for Jesus. And would you believe we’re on an early bus, even though I went to my church group this morning! Glory be! Let’s also give thanks for being alive to see another day, despite the high level of evil and ungodliness that’s currently permeating our world. And as we promised yesterday, if the breath still flowed through our body today, we’d continue to look at scriptures that give us encouragement in our everyday lives.

And I like how this overview breaks down the scriptures according to purpose. Beginning with this famous one for Strength and Courage, as the Lord continues speaking to Joshua, after making him the Israelite leader following the death of Moses. For the third time in four verses He admonishes Joshua: ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh. 1:9)Now you cannot get encouragement from a better source, but hearing it and putting it into action are two entirely different things, for when the enemy comes at you with all guns firing, sometimes you don’t even have time to think, much less be strong and courageous, but we’re expected to be thus, because we have all the parts and tools to do so.

Then, as per Peace and Anxiety, these verses from Philippians show us the way. ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7)

And what about a scripture for Overcoming Weariness? This one we all know and quote although we don’t action it as we ought to. Isaiah wisely informs us: ‘He giveth power to the faint (weak); and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40: 29-31) What a beautiful promise my brethren! But it doesn’t happen automatically, we have to hold our horses and wait upon the Lord.  

Then there’s this section about Comfort in Hard Times. Here Peter exhorts us: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6-7) Yes friends, Almighty God is our greatest source of comfort, as Bruh Paul explains in these verses from 2 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 any trouble (tribulation), by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.’ (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

Wow! What a blessed scripture! We comfort others by the comfort we receive from God Himself! Then as per Assurance in Trials, John enlightens us from his first epistle. ‘Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.’ (1 John 4:4) And that’s a known fact, Jesus in us is indeed greater than Satan that’s in the world. And Jesus confirms this when he reassures us: ‘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)

Oh my fellow believers, we certainly don’t lack for encouraging scriptures in the Lord’s Word, for that’s why it was written; to enlighten, guide, encourage, strengthen and comfort us. But it’s not always easy to do, and we first have to know the scriptures, then put them into action when the time comes. And here is one of the best examples in the Bible of putting scripture into action. It’s Bruh David’s reaction when the Philistines refused his help to fight with them against Israel, although he was then living in their territory, and he returned to his town of Ziklag and found it burned to the ground by the Amalekites, and all the women and children taken captive.

To make matters worse, although Bruh David had also lost his wives and children, his men were sorely grieved, and spoke about stoning him, blaming him for the disaster. (1 Sam. 30:1-6a) And how did Bruh David handle that frightening situation? The Bible tells us: ‘but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ (1 Sam. 30:6b) Yes friends, that’s what we need to do when things are really going badly; encourage ourself in the Lord our God, turn to Him in prayer with questions as to one’s direction, like Bruh David did. In that case, the Lord directed him to go after the Amalekites, (1 Sam. 30:7-8) 

And he followed the Lord’s advice, went after the Amalekites and defeated them in a great victory and recovered all that he had lost… and more. (1 Sam. 30:9-12) Ah mih people, at times the Lord might allow life to become difficult for us, but He’ll never leave us in the lurch, that is if we turn to Him for guidance and encouragement. So, in the long run, the way we live this earthly life depends quite a lot on us. We have all the tools to make it good, but what good are tools that aren’t being used eh? No good at all! So let’s wake up and wise up to the seriousness of the situation and do better, for our sakes, as well as for Christ’s.

Now let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if we endure to the end, then, an even more glorious future has been promised, one we cannot imagine or comprehend. So, let’s be wise and endure to the very end, so that we can enjoy that more than glorious future together! Much LOVE!

…we don’t lack for encouragement…it’s right there at our fingertips…just waiting to be taken…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 July 2021 John 16:32c.

23 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

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

John 16:32c.      and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.

And finally it’s Friday! I wonder if there’ll be Happy Hours, or Happy Fridays in the bars and restaurants after work today, now that we’ve gone into stage three of the pandemic opening? That’s an interesting question. Remember how, on a Friday evening, before the pandemic lockdown, the watering holes would be filled with workers trying to eradicate their sense of tiredness and lethargy now that the workweek was over. Are we going to revert to that type of senseless behaviour? I certainly hope not. 

Let’s pray that the pandemic has shaken us up enough to realize what is, and what is not truly important. And filling the bars on a Friday evening after work, then driving home intoxicated and depressed is not one of the sensible, important options. The bar owners might like it, because it brings in money, but think of the other side of the coin, where we’ve been having so many accidents on the roads because of impaired drivers and the huge cost in family and social life it causes. 

That recalls an interesting quote I recently saw on my ‘PS. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, that one of my daughters gave me a long time ago. And I’m chuckling here, because it sits right by my side, a little to my back, and like so many other things on my office walls and elsewhere, I pass it daily without even noticing it. Does that happen to anyone else but me? All around my office is encouraging and reassuring stuff that I set up so that I can see them when I pass by, but invariably, I don’t. Looking around at them now, I realize that it’s been years since I last looked at some of them, although they are in plain sight. 

But enough of me and my blurred vision (smile). The quote I mentioned earlier on says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’ And that’s true to a great extent. We don’t just wake up and find happiness overflowing on our doorsteps. We have to consciously seek out happiness, fill up our lives with joy and meaning. It’s a conscious decision we all need to make if our lives are going to be worthwhile. And the best way, I know to do that is by finding Jesus, surrendering our lives to Him, allowing Him to become our Lord and Saviour. 

And even then, total joy and happiness are not guaranteed without some effort on our part. When we come to Jesus, joy doesn’t just fall into our laps, we still must seek it out. The major difference is that with Jesus, we can find joy and meaning even in times of calamity and untold disappointment. Even though times are rough Jesus is always with us. Like He told the disciples shortly before His crucifixion. ‘Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own (place), and leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.’ (John 16:32) 

Oh my faithful brethren isn’t that wonderful? It certainly is! For just like Jesus had the Father with Him in His time of ‘sufferation’, so do we have Jesus, His Holy Spirit with us when we are going through our trials. And as He continued to the disciples: ‘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) And that’s the awesome truth friends! Jesus overcame the world and all its evil when He died, was buried, then magnificently rose from the dead on the third day like he had promised! 

Wow! He broke the bondage of sin, the crucial hold that sin held over us prior to His paying our sin death in full, so that we could have everlasting life. The scriptures tell us in the words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome. ‘For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.’ (Rom. 6:14). 

And in his words to Timothy, talking about Jesus’ death. ‘Who hath saved us, and called us to a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim. 1:9-10) 

That’s the thing about Jesus; He keeps ALL His promises. Neither does He make empty, trivial promises. And He can afford to make any kind of promise, because, being the Son of God, He has the awesome power to back them up! That’s why He is such a wonderful Being to surrender our lives, our troubles, our fears, difficulties and problems to. And in truth, the only other option available to us is Satan and the evils of this world. And for many of us that’s not even an option, because in the end it will mean death and damnation, eternal separation from God. 

And who really wants that eh? That’s why Jesus is the only wise and sensible choice for us. So, as He desires, let’s take our problems to Him right now nuh, through our Friday Chant. Altogether now:  ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. 

And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

But just remember friends, before we jump for joy, we also have to keep our promises, that means being the faithful believers we just talked about, otherwise our prayers will not be answered. Much LOVE!

..true joy comes…only when you sincerely embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour…                                                                                                

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