28 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a purpose and a plan, a resurgence of passion, another day of life, be not conformed to this world, be ye transformed, Beelzebub, Daily Bread Devotional, draw near to God, evil desire, get fired up again for Jesus, glory to God, gospel truth, halfway home, hands on the plough, if any man love the world, image of Christ, intelligence, love not the world, LOVE Revolution, loving god, lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, mind-boggling, minds are refreshed, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle your fire in our souls, Scrip-Bit family, sin, spreading the gospel, St. Therese of Lisieux, strength is renewed, technology, thanks and praise, the breath of life, the good news of Jesus, the heights of sin, the love of the Father, the pride of life, the renewing of your mind, the things of God, the things of the world, the will of God, the world passes away, ultimate in truth, Wednesday Wail
1 John 2:15. 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.
Well a good morning to all you wonderful Scrip-Bit family members! We’ve been blessed with another day of life on planet earth! Glory to God!
Oh, I know that life often isn’t the greatest, but I’m sure most of us aren’t ready to give it up just yet. (smile) So let’s give our heavenly Father some thanks and praise and find out why He’s left us down here still, because He does have a purpose and a plan for each of our lives.
Now listen to these two quotes which ought to be very useful to us all. The first one comes from a Daily Bread Devotional and says: ‘When we draw near to God our minds are refreshed and our strength is renewed.’
Gospel truth that my brethren! Because our heavenly Father is the only one who can really accomplish that feat in our souls.
And the next quote is actually a prayer from one of the St.Therese of Lisieux Devotionals, and that calls us to plead with Almighty God to ‘Reignite your image in our hearts; rekindle your fire in our souls.’
Yes friends, in these trying times where true passion for Christ is sadly lacking in too many supposed believers, we desperately need a recharging of our hearts with the image of Christ and a rekindling of the fire that burned in our souls when we first believed.
Unless there is a resurgence of that passion and LOVE for Christ, Christianity is doomed to be mediocre and second-class. And we definitely don’t want that now, do we? Obviously not!
So please let’s get fired up again for Jesus nuh mih people! Let’s get His LOVE Revolution in full swing nuh, so that the hordes of people who don’t know Him will get to meet and know Him and come to LOVE Him just like we do.
We can’t be selfish with Christ and try to keep Him all to ourselves. He was made to be shared with ALL THE WORLD, and it’s our appointed and anointed job to do that. So please let’s do it nuh!
And why aren’t we doing our appointed job, of spreading the gospel, the good news of Jesus to all the world? Because as our Bit says, we are still too enamoured with the things of the world and not as much as we should be with the things of God!
‘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.’
That’s the ultimate in truth my believing brethren! We can’t LOVE God and Beelzebub too! It’s either one or the other. And true wisdom dictates that LOVING God is the correct answer to the problem!
And John continues his argument after our Bit. ‘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 2:16-17)
Yeh friends, all the supposed wonderful things in this world will pass away at some time or the other, and the world itself will pass away eventually. So what will we have left if we embrace the world and its finite things eh? Absolutely nothing! For only the things of God will last forever!
And here is an inkling into John’s thinking from the scholars. ‘2:16. World for John signifies the evil desire and sin so much a part of human existence.’
And believe you me friends, sin and evil desire is so rampant in our present world, that it’s mind-boggling. Just like we’ve reached the heights of technology and intelligence, likewise we’ve reached the heights of sin.
Ah Lord eh! John and Bruh Paul and them talked about sin back in their day, but they would be absolutely floored by the heights that sin and evil desire have reached today.
Listen to this wise advice from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘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.’ (Rom.12:2)
Oh my people, that advice is ever so necessary for us in these modern times because of the rampant nature of sin in the world!
And the scholars explain: ’12:2. Be not conformed (lit. “stop conforming yourselves”): They are to resist being poured into the mold of the present thinking, value systems and conduct of this world. This term is used only here and in 1 Peter 1:14.’
We desperately need to take that same advice in these end times, my people! Why? Because things are not going to get any better unless we do. So let’s go home now with all of that good info inspiring us, flowing through our hearts and souls with a resurgence of passion for Christ, as we sincerely declare our Wednesday Wail.
With feeling now: ‘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!’
That’s the only wise and sensible approach to this life friends! Much LOVE!
…one’s body and soul can only be refreshed and renewed…when one sincerely turns to Almighty God for help…
21 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a belt of truth, able to stand, accepted Christ, against the wiles of the devil, armour, bull's eye, christianity, Christians, depressing winter, discombobulate us, earthly race, endurance, evil cohorts, evil schemes, fall by the wayside, fame, fiery darts, giving no ground, glorious future with Jesus, glory to God, gospel of peace, grow in faith, halfway home, health, helmet of salvation, holy character, hot, humid days, internal parts, knowledge of the word of God, loins girded with truth, Lucifer, mano a mano, moral conduct, our Lord and Saviour, patience, peace, perseverance, praying, protective armour of God, run the race, saints, shield of faith, short attention spans, sitting ducks, spiritual warfare, stand, struggle, suffering, summer, supplication, sword of the Spirit, take up the whole armour of God, the breastplate of righteousness, the breath of life, the strength of the Lord, the Word of god, truth, wealth, Wednesday, Wednesday Wail
Ephesians 6:11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.
Lo and behold friends, it’s already Wednesday, the middle of the workweek! These days sure are passing by quickly, and in another couple, summer should officially be upon us.
That ought to make us happy up here in the colder climes. What a way we look forward to the hot and humid days of summer eh, after months of cold, depressing winter. But then we also complain that the summer’s too hot and humid! (smile) How to please us eh?
Apparently we can’t be truly pleased. We are like our nowadays children, who, despite their abundance of toys, nonetheless get bored with them very quickly, and keep wanting something new to hold their short attention spans.
That’s why some of us supposed Christians never grow in faith. We look upon Christianity as a toy, or something that will automatically bring us health, wealth and fame. But nothing is further from the truth friends.
Of course you can become, healthy, wealthy and famous as a Christian, but that is not the reason for it all. And Christianity desires lots of perseverance, endurance, patience and oftimes much suffering and struggle.
It’s not an easy row to hoe, especially when confronted by the many wiles and evil schemes of the devious enemy, who have set out to purposely discombobulate us.
Consequently, many Christians fall by the wayside, because they don’t have the internal parts to run the hard race that’s set before them. But my people, if we are to be successful in the running of this earthly race, then we have to make certain preparations and hold on tightly to certain things.
Now over the last couple of days we’ve been talking about the spiritual warfare in which we automatically enter in when we become followers of Jesus Christ. The enemy targets us, puts a big bull’s eye on our backs, once we’ve accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
And yesterday, as we saw from our Bit, one of the necessities for fighting this war is having on the protective armour of God at all times. ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (evil schemes) of the devil.’
Yes my fellow believers, without God’s armour in our possession, we’re like sitting ducks for Lucifer and his evil cohorts. But with it on, and the strength of the Lord flowing through us…oh my people, we can battle like you won’t believe. Glory to God!
And since some of you might be wondering what this glorious armour consists of, let’s listen to Bruh Paul as he explains it to the Ephesians after our Bit. ‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about (girded your loins) with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (one). And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ (Eph.6:14-18)
Yes friends, those are the things we call the armour of God, with which we can fight the devil mano-a-mano, giving no ground whatsoever!
Now let’s get a brief synopsis of all that. Having our loins girded with truth is basically having on a belt of truth, which is knowledge of the word of God.
The scholars tell us: ‘The ancient soldier’s loins (“waist”) were girt about with a leather belt which held most of the other pieces of his armour in place. Similarly, the other pieces of the Christian’s armour depend on, and are held in place by his spiritual “belt” or his knowledge of the truth of Scripture.’
There we have it precious people of God! The first and most important piece of armour is knowing the truth of God’s word! We can’t put up any resistance until we have God’s truth firmly entrenched in our souls, since that is the basic reason for our war; the truth of God, versus the lies of the enemy.
Then we need to put on ‘The breastplate of righteousness,’ which the scholars say ‘may be read “the breastplate which is righteousness.” It represents a holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” known produces a godly life (“righteousness”).’
Now there is much more stuff to talk about re God’s armour, but unfortunately we’ve run out of time and space. But tune in tomorrow and we’ll continue it. In the meanwhile, please ponder on what we’ve already talked about; the first priority of knowing the truth of God’s word, and then putting it into action with a godly, moral lifestyle.
Now let’s go home declaring the truth that’s in our hearts via our Wednesday Wail. Wailing all: ‘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!’
Ah mih people, what bliss it is to be in league with Jesus! Now let’s go out and share that joy with those who unfortunately don’t know Him. Much LOVE!
…a soldier of Christ…desperately needs God’s armour…to successfully fight his Christian war…
14 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a piece of the pie, abundant life, action, aggressive, asaph, be thou envious, Beelzebub, Christians, come with the territory, doused with gasoline, earthly wealth, engulfed in flames, envious of the wicked, evildoers, fear, fellow believers, followers of Christ, foolish, Fret not thyself over evildoers, God is good to Israel, God is in control, good old days, gospel truth, grin and bear them, halfway home, heavenly Father, help, life, looking forward, mishaps, my hands are on the plough, my help comes from the Lord, my steps had slipped, Niagara Falls, of a clean hesrt, poison our lives, progress, protect us from harm, Ralph Waldo Emerson, righteousness, Saskatchewan, seek ye first the kingdom of God, sell our souls, spiritual realm, store up treasures, the breath of life, the end times, the fires of hell, the prosperity of the wicked, the workers of iniquity, toxic chemicals, upward, violence, violent, Wednesday Wail, worry
Psalm 37:1. Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Ah friends, what a world we’re living in today eh, when you can wake up and hear that a tanker truck with toxic contents overturned on a major highway in southern Ontario yesterday afternoon in St. Catherines, close by to Niagara Falls.
Also to hear that two children under 12 were doused with gasoline and set on fire by another under 12 year old boy in the Western Province of Saskatchewan. And then to see live, an apartment building in West London, England, its 24 floors being engulfed in huge flames, and the firefighters helpless to rescue many of them.
Ah Lord eh! Sometimes it makes you long for the supposed good, old days, when we didn’t have toxic chemicals being ferried along our highways like ordinary stuff, and apartment buildings weren’t so tall, and young children weren’t as aggressive and violent.
But we’ve opted for supposed progress and those things come with the territory. So now we just have to grin and bear them.
But here’s the good news; we Christians don’t have to be worried over the stuff that can, and oftimes will happen, because we know that our God, our powerful heavenly Father is in control of ALL things and He will guide and protect us from harm.
And here is an interesting quote to help us in our daily lives, courtesy of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882), the famous American lecturer, essayist and poet. Ralph is reputed to have said: ‘Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but faith looks up.’
Oh my fellow believers, what great advice for these trying times. We can’t afford to be looking back or around, but upwards, because that is where our help comes from.
As the psalmist so rightfully declared: ‘My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth, He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (to slip): He that keepeth thee will not slumber,’ (Ps.121:2-3) Gospel truth friends!
And the sad fact is that too many Christians are too worried about the sad state of our world. Now we must be concerned about it, but the truth is that most of us can do nothing to prevent the mishaps and the violence, so why worry eh?
We need to be more concerned about the things we have control over, and make sure that they go right, and simply leave the rest to God. Our worrying will in no way change some of the awful stuff that’s happening, so we don’t need to poison our own lives with fear and worry.
And that brings us to the wonderful advice of our Bit; immortal words of Bruh David. ‘Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.’
Yes, my precious people of God, it doesn’t pay to be envious of the wicked, because their time will be short, for the Lord will mow them down like grass under a mower, and burn them in the fires of hell.
And we have a very good example of worrying about the evildoers in the words of the psalmist Asaph. He writes in Psalm 73 – The mystery of prosperous wickedness. ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean (pure) heart.
But as for me, my feet were almost gone (my feet had almost stumbled); my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.’ (Ps.73:1-3)
Oh my fellow believers, I know that the wicked and evil are seemingly prospering in these end times, and we all want a piece of that pie, but are we going to sell our eternal souls to Beelzebub for a little earthly wealth and prosperity, none of which we can take into the eternal spiritual realm?
That would be incredibly foolish, though many of us are doing it. And the simple solution is that if we sincerely follow Jesus’ admonitions, we can also become prosperous and wealthy in earthly terms, as well as store up treasures in heaven.
Listen to these faithful words of our Lord and Saviour. ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33)
Plain and straightforward friends: seek God first, and He will give you all you need to live an abundant life here on earth. For as Jesus later said: ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:10)
And having been reminded of all that my faithful followers of Christ, and having inwardly digested it, let’s go home joyfully declaring our Wednesday Wail.
In strong voice as one body, let’s wail! ‘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!’
Now let’s go out and put it all into action, because that’s the only way to make it worthwhile in the sight of Jesus. Much LOVE!
…the eyes of ALL Christians…should be looking forward and upward…
07 Jun 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a glorious world, a new creature, all things are new, dampens our spirits, died on the cross, eternal life, faithful brethren, glad to be alive, glory to God, gospel truth, grace, Hades, halfway home, hell, hostility, if any man be in Christ, imputing trespasses, inconsistent weather, Jesus redemptive work, joy, justice, life just gives us time and space, LOVE, Lucifer, made him to be sin for us, maturing fellowship, meaning, mired in unhappiness, No one is guaranteed happiness, old things are passed away, P.S. I Love You, possessions, reconciled us to himself, reconciliation, redemption, righteousness, shining brightly, sin, sinless, soul-winning, spiritual vocabulary, sternity, the basis of christ's death, the breath of life, the cross, the LOVE of Jesus christ, the ministry of reconciliation, the righteousness of God, the Sun and the Son, the things of the world, took our sin, wealth, Wednesday Wail, who knew no sin, wisdom
2 Corinthians 5:21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And then it was a bright, sunshiny Wednesday morning… Glory to God! And though it is still a bit cool, the temperature is expected to rise to at least twenty by mid afternoon. That we can handle.
Unlike yesterday where it was rainy and sunny, rainy and sunny all day long. Chuh! That kind of inconsistent weather only dampens our spirits. But when both the Sun and the Son are shining, it’s a glorious world. (smile)
Now here is a li’l something from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which informs us that:’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 gospel truth! Unfortunately though some of us don’t realize it and expect life to guarantee us happiness. But nothing could be further from the truth friends. If life had its way, we’d all be mired in unhappiness. So it’s left to us to fill our lives with pleasant and joyful stuff.
And where can we best find that joy and happiness? Not in the things of the world; it’s false wealth and possessions. But in the strength and LOVE of Jesus Christ; the One who selflessly died on the cross for our redemption; took our sins upon His broad and able shoulders and gave us His righteousness instead.
Hence our Bit: ‘For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.’
Oh friends, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! No other supposed deity has ever, or can ever do that for us. Take our sins and put them on another, so that they can be forgiven.
Listen to these powerful, exciting and heart-warming verses before our Bit nuh. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
To wit (that is), that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.’ (2 Cor.5:17-19)
Oh my brethren, we have to acknowledge it again: what a magnificent and magnanimous God we serve and worship! He has reconciled us to Himself! Glory to the Most High God Jehovah!
And if you don’t understand what reconciliation is all about, listen to the scholars’ explanation. ‘5:19. Reconciliation is the act whereby God on the basis of Christ’s death, has eliminated the cause of hostility between Himself and humanity, making possible a complete and maturing fellowship. (The hostility was caused by sin, and was eliminated by the Cross).
Illustration: When David prepared to fight for the Philistines, they feared he might betray them in battle in order to become reconciled with Saul. They answered that such an act would greatly please King Saul and be sufficient to restore a decayed relationship between Saul and David.
Application: Those who have become reconciled to God have also been given the ministry of reconciliation, which is fulfilled when they engage in soul-winning (v.19). (First Ref. Lev.6:30; Primary ref, 2 cor.5:19; cf. Rom.3:29).’
Ah mih people, yuh see how important that word ‘reconciliation’ is in our spiritual vocabulary. Out of God’s everlasting grace and LOVE, He decided to become reconciled to us, and in the process forgive us, not impute our sins to us.
But just forgiving us out of hand would stain His sense of justice and righteousness, so someone or something had to eventually pay for our sins. The crux of the matter though was that the sacrifice had to be sinless.
Hn! And lo, and behold ONLY His ONLY Son Jesus Christ fit the bill. I’m sure the Lord agonized over it some, but eventually His immense LOVE for us won the day, and He decided to sacrifice His Son, despite the great heartache it would cost Him.
And here we are now friends, with so many of us ignoring and not appreciating the miraculous work that the Lord did on our behalf. How foolish and ungrateful eh!
Without Jesus work on the cross we’d be left high and dry, to spend eternity in Hades with the evil one Lucifer. But with Jesus redemptive work, we have the option to believe in Him, surrender our all to Him and spend eternity with Him in heaven.
Now which option makes more sense eh; Hades with Lucifer, or Heaven with Christ? My people, I humbly submit that the latter choice is the wiser one. So I’m advising us to please, please choose Christ as your Lord and Saviour, otherwise your eternal life will certainly be hell.
Now for those of us who vote for Jesus, let’s go home declaring our Wednesday Wail, which let’s the whole world know in which camp we permanently stand.
All together now: ‘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!’
Now that is what’s called wisdom of exceedingly great proportions! (smile) Much, much LOVE, my faithful brethren in Christ!
…as for me and mine…without a doubt…we will follow Jesus…
P.S. Please excuse the lateness of the Bit. It was just one of those nights, and consequently one of those mornings. (smile) Much LOVE!
31 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a covenant, a glorious future with Jesus, a man has faith but no works, a partnership, Abraham, adulation, can faith save him, carelessly ignored me, Christians, circumcision, darkness and dread, deeds of love, faith, false prophets, favour, fear, forget the Lord, frenzy, fruit of the Spirit, glory, glory to God, God's will, hold my head and bawl, I will never leave nor forsake you, I'm not turning back, Isaac, Jesus, justified, leaking water, leave it in God's hands, length of days, Lord help me, LOVE, my hands are on the plough, New Testament, Old Testament, One Year Book of Bible promises, our benefit, Rehab, righteous, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrifice, sanctified, screaming question, serve and worship God, solve my problem, the breath of life, the needy ones, things were going well, topsy-turvy, Two Questions, wandering child, Wednesday Wail, what does it profit, where are you, work everything out for good, works
James 2:14. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Well friends, it’s Wednesday! What’s on tap for today eh? I’m supposed to have my eaves troughs replaced today, so hopefully that will solve my problem of water leaking down into my basement when the rain falls.
Let’s hope and pray that it actually does stop it yes, else I’ll just hold my head and bawl! Yes, I will, because I’ve been trying to fix the problem for a while now and nothing else has worked. And for the kind of money I’m expected to pay, it ought to… it better had work! (smile)
But all I can truly do is leave it in God’s hands, for regardless of what I think or do, it’s His will that will eventually prevail, and I know that He will in His own time work everything out for my good. Glory to the great God we serve and worship my faithful brethren!
Now here is a li’l something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It so reminded me of our foolish behaviour that I just had to share it. It’s titled ‘Two Questions.’
And it simply says: ‘O God In my fear and frenzy In my darkness and dread My screaming question is “Where are You?” And in reply, the Lord simply answers: ‘Wandering child When things were going well And you carelessly ignored Me Where were you?’
Now that’s a very question friends, to which we have no good answer. That’s because too often, too many of us conveniently forget the Lord when things are going well. But as soon as our lives begin to get topsy-turvy we’re quick to run to Him and plead, ‘Oh Lord help me!’ And we expect Him to jump right on the problem. Hn!
But life doesn’t work like that friends. Our God is not there to simply fix our problems when we decide to ask Him. We have the whole concept wrong: We’ve been created to serve and worship Him, to be available at His behest, not He at ours.
But He’s so wonderful that He’s arranged a covenant, a partnership with us, that if we serve and worship Him faithfully, He will indeed answer us when we call. He has even gone so far as to promise: ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb.13:5)
But friends, that all depends on us keeping our part of the bargain, faithfully serving and worshipping Him. So please let’s stop the nonsense nuh. It’s high time we stop ignoring our God and our Creator when times are good, and instead constantly seek Him, whatever the state of our lives.
And it’s all for our own benefit yes mih people. Our God doesn’t need anything from us since He owns everything and everyone in the universe. We are the needy ones. So let’s start knowing our place and begin giving Almighty God the adulation and glory He so rightfully deserves…that is if we want to see favour and length of days.
And one of the surest ways to obtain God’s favour is by understanding our Bit and living according to it. ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?’
As we said yesterday friends, one must have faith to be saved, but one must also show that faith by doing good works in Jesus’ name, for He expects it of His followers.
Remember what He said about false prophets? ‘By their fruits ye shall know them.’ (Matt.7:20) The same goes for us my brethren; true believers shall be known by their faithful works. It’s very easy to profess faith, but to manifest it is another story.
That’s why Bruh Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22). And when we walk in it; in LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control), then we will obviously bring forth good fruit, good works, to back up our faith.
Now after our Bit, James goes on to argue about Abraham and his willingness to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice as an example of the faithful being recognized for good works. And then he talks of the harlot Rehab, as a non-believer being considered faithful for her good works by her saving the Jewish spies. (James 2:21-26).
However friends, the scholars have a long explanation which I can’t go through for lack of time and space, but what they essentially say is that James and Bruh Paul are using the word for ‘faith’ with different meanings and ‘justified’ in different senses.
Bruh Paul using his New Testament theological idea of ‘God’s act of declaring all believers righteous on the basis of Christ’s redemptive work. But a common Old Testament and gospel usage involves demonstrating or showing something to be righteous (cf.Ps.51:4; Luke 7:35; Rom.3:4); it is this usage that James follows.
They are discussing totally different subjects, since they are confronted by different problems. Paul opposing the Judaizers seeks to prove that the Gentiles can be saved and sanctified apart from circumcision or any other work of the law. James opposing merely nominal, professing Christians, seeks to show that true faith confirms itself by deeds of LOVE.’
So let’s understand that they are not fighting each other, but together, against different foes on different subjects. And now that that has all been cleared up, (smile) let’s go home sincerely declaring our Wednesday Wail, which addresses our faith, and consequently, our good works.
‘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!’
Have a blessed day my faithful brethren, manifested by good works! Much LOVE!…
both faith and works are important parts of Jesus’ awesome LOVE…
24 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a true believer, assurance, belief, calm, Christ, confidence, courage, Creator of the universe, daily work, delivered my soul, dr robert h schuller, emotion, eternal life, faith, faithful brethren, favour, fear, fears, foolish to reject, forgiveness, give thanks and praise, glad to be alive, going going gone, guiding light, hell, Hour of Power Devotional, indisputable truth, invigorating, jehovah god, LOVE, marvellous blessing, mercy, miracle of courage, newfound power, of whom shall I be afraid, overpowering, overwhelming, passion, peace, quiet, reverential awe, salvation, sincerity, singleness of heart, special favour, spirit of courage, spiritual battle, the breath of life, the core of my soul, the Good Book, the heat of battle, the Lord God of Abraham Isaac and jacob, the Lord is my light and salvation, the Lord is the strength of my life, the presence of God, the shield of courage, there is only one God, treading this earth, true relationship, trust, uplifting words, vistory, wake up alive, what a relief, whom shall I fear, working peace, works
Psalm 27:1. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Oh people, oh people, we’re alive on this blessed Wednesday morning! Wow! Give thanks and praise to our wonderful God for that marvellous blessing!
And if you’re wondering why, just think about the many people who went to bed alive last night but did not wake up alive this morning!
Oh glory to God my faithful brethren! The Lord looked down on us with special favour because He has great plans for our lives today and everyday He keeps us treading this bountiful earth, therefore much praise and thanks ought to be going up to high heaven from us, His blessed people!
And in keeping with our theme of courage from yesterday, we’ll continue with the second part of Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) ‘Courage Is a Decision,’ talk from his Hour of Power Devotional.
And he emphatically declares in the second half: ‘I have it! My fears are going, going, gone! I feel a mysterious calm, quiet, tranquil assurance rising deep within my being. This remarkable spirit of courage is overpowering me.
It is the very presence of God working peace at the core of my invisible soul. Thank You Lord. All my fears are gone. What a relief! Amen.’
Glory Hallelujah my people! For that’s exactly how we feel when Almighty God works His miracle of courage and peace in our souls! It’s invigorating, overwhelming, surprising, but oh so real! And we rise up with a newfound power, anxious to do His daily work.
And remember, ONLY belief, trust, surrender and faith in the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob can bring that kind of feeling and emotion to our beings! So we’d be rather foolish to reject His awesome LOVE and thus deny ourselves the wonderful opportunity to enjoy His heavenly favour.
And ONLY if you are a true believer, can you proclaim with genuine passion and sincerity, the uplifting words of our Bit, like Bruh David so long ago. ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’
Yes friends, ONLY when Jehovah God is our guiding light, can we utter such confident words. And we see this overwhelming confidence in God throughout the Good Book. Hear Bruh David expound from Psalm 86 – Teach me thy way, O Lord.
‘Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.’ (Ps.86:8-10)
Oh friends, what a marvellous declaration; one of indisputable truth, as the last four words remind us! ‘Thou art God alone!’ That is the basic foundation of our faith! There’s ONLY ONE God; the One we serve and worship!
And until we get that straight and clear in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, we’ll never be able to truly enjoy the peace, LOVE, forgiveness, mercy, salvation and eternal life that proceeds from His magnificent and magnanimous Being.
Bruh David was so assured of this, that he continues in Psalm 86: ‘Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart (give me singleness of heart) to fear (have reverential awe for) thy name.
I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest (depths of) hell.’ (Ps.86:11-13)
Mama Mia! Oh friends, that’s the kind of confidence we develop when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour! We know His awesome power and relinquish our all to it. Fear and all its negative associates cannot pierce the shield of courage and faith that we derive from a true relationship with the Creator of the universe and all therein.
Now listen to Moses as he counselled the Israelites on the law concerning war. ‘And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them,
Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ (Deut.30:2-4)
Yuh see friends, even in the heat of battle, our God is working on our behalf. Yes, He certainly is in the spiritual warfare that we’re currently fighting, so please don’t lose heart, don’t fear or be terrified, because the victory is ours, it has been guaranteed by our great God.
Consequently, we can afford to go home in peace, with courage, declaring these truths from our Wednesday Wail. All together now: ‘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!’
Have a most blessed day my fellow believers in Christ! Much LOVE!
…ONLY when we know Christ…can we be strong and courageous in this evil world…
17 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, all-pervasive God, assurance, be as wool, bright sunshine, calamity, Christ's Church, Christian doings, cleanse me, clenched fist, colourful abundance, condemnation, contradiction, courteous words, disaster, disobedience, escape, forgiving, generous approaches, get rid of God, glad to be alive, God's gracious invitation, God's Searchlight, grace shattered, guilt, hypocrisy, I'm not turning back, individual decision, let us reason together, light of revelation, LOVE, loving, masked motive, my hands are on the plough, obedient, One Year Book of Bible promises, out in full force, penetrating gaze, penitent heart, purify me, race of life, rebel, rebellion, red like crimson, refuse, remorse, repent, run and hide, Ruth Harms Calkin, selfish act, spring blossoms, strife, the beauty of nature, the breath of life, the Holy Spirit, the wonders of Jesus, war, Wednesday Wail, white as snow, wicked ways, willing, wisdom, your sins be as scarlet
Isaiah 1:18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Well a fine Wednesday morning to you and yours my Scrip-Bit friends and family! Today has begun in brilliant fashion; bright sunshine, birds singing sweetly as they go about God’s work, and the new spring blossoms are also out in colourful abundance!
Wow! What a day it is when both the Sun and the SON are out in full force! There’s nothing to beat it! So please, let’s grab a hold of the beauty of nature and the wonders of Jesus and run with them nuh, run this glorious race of life in which we’re entered!
Now I’m going to spoil the mood some, (smile) by sharing this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. When I read it recently, I couldn’t help but think how appropriate it is to so many of us believers. It’s titled ‘God ‘s Searchlight.’
Please pray with me. ‘O God If suddenly You were to reveal To my family, my friends, my neighbours Every real thought behind my courteous words If you were to point to my clenched fist While my other hand is openly extended
If you were to bring to light Every masked motive, every selfish act I would cringe with remorse And beg You to remove Your light of revelation. Yet, Lord, when the searchlight of the Holy Spirit Begins to reveal me to myself I so often close my eyes and turn my back In a frantic but impossible effort To escape Your penetrating gaze.
What a staggering contradiction, Lord What appalling hypocrisy. Apart from Your grace I am utterly shattered. I ask You to sweep through me Purify me, cleanse me completely. From the depth of my penitent heart I thank You for Your continual assurance
As I turn toward Your splintered cross: Because of Your LOVE I became Your child Because of Your grace I remain Your child.’
Ah friends, how genuinely that reflects so many of us a lot of the time! Our smiles and generous approaches aren’t always what they seem to be, neither are our outward motives.
And when the Lord deals with us on the matter, we try to run and hide. But remember, we can run, but we can NEVER hide from our all-pervasive God.
Yeh mih people, there is way too much hypocrisy in our Christian doings today. That’s one of the reasons why Christ’s church is having so many problems reaching and retaining members.
But our God is so wonderful, forgiving and LOVING, that this is what He says in answer to our cry. ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’
Yes friends, that’s the Bible Promise for our ‘God’s Searchlight’ poem, as well as our Bit for today. How reassuring it is eh. It doesn’t condemn us, but offers us a chance to repent and change from our wicked ways.
And listen to how the Lord continues through Isaiah. ‘If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.1:19-20)
Simple and straight forward words of our God! You repent and become obedient, you prosper; you refuse and rebel, you suffer calamity.
And the sad part is that these are times of much rebellion and refusal to accept and be obedient to Almighty God! Instead of drawing closer to Him, we’re trying our very best to get rid of Him from our society.
Hn! No wonder there is so much calamity and disaster, so much war and strife in our world! Everybody seems to be up in arms against his or her fellow man. Now could that be because of our disobedience and rebellion?
You can bet your bottom dollar some of it is! God is trying to get our attention, but we’re too busy doing our own thing and going our own way to notice. However, listen to this explanation from the scholars re the verses above.
‘1:18-20. The prophet’s appeal to come and reason together reveals God’s gracious invitation to all men. It literally means to be “reasonable” by repenting and turning to God. Their sin is described as scarlet and red like crimson, referring to their bloodguiltiness before God.
The term ‘crimson’ also means “worm,” referring to the colourfast red dye of the scarlet worm. The eradication of this stain turns it snowy white and is symbolic of the life-changing grace of God, which delivers men from guilt and condemnation of sin. Thus the prophet reminds his readers that God stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will turn to Him.’
Oh friends, I am also trying to remind us of God’s grace and mercy to all who will come to Him in repentance and obedience! But all I can do is put it before us, everyone has to make the decision individually whether to accept or reject it. I implore us though, to please accept it, because that is eternal wisdom.
Now for all of us who have accepted Jesus, let’s go home declaring with joy and contentment our Wednesday Wail. In unison now: ‘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!’
Oh doesn’t that just work wonders in our souls, my believing brethren! It certainly ought to. Much LOVE!
…only as one is surrounded by and ensconced in God’s LOVE…can one feel safe and secure…
10 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a forgiving heart, a generous hand, a glorious future with Jesus, a life of godliness, a life of lasting significance, a steadfast desire, a thing of beauty, an ornament of grace, blessed, blessing, chains about thy neck, charity begins at home, Christian, Creator, deceit, depart from evil, do good, Dr. Charles Stanley, every new day, folly, forgiveness, fundamentals of Christianity, godless times, grace, gratitude, halfway home, hear ye children, I'm not looking back, impactful, in the home, interactions with others, Jesus Christ, keep thy tongue from evil, know understanding, listen to, loving-kindness, meaningful, mercy, mirror images of God, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my hands are on the plough, obey the Lord, our Lord and Saviour, personal influence, Praise the Lord, provider, rejoice, reverence for God's work, seek peace, sincere faith, sincere love, teaching others, thanks and praise, the breath of life, The eyes of the Lord, the face of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, the instruction of a father, the Lord hears the righteous, the remebrance, the righteous, the splendour of nature, thy lips from speaking guile, to follow jesus, transmission of wisdom, undeserving children of men, Wednesday Wail, wisdom, without works faith is dead, write deep in our hearts
Proverbs 4:1. Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
Oh my Scrip-Bit friends and family, another glorious day on God’s great earth is opening up before us! Let’s give the Lord some thanks and praise for that nuh. It’s not everyone who went to bed last night that got up to see the rising sun this Wednesday morning, so we ought to count ourselves very blessed indeed.
Oh, one of these mornings we won’t wake up either, (smile) but until then, let’s rejoice in the blessing of every new day that we see, and give many thanks to our Creator and Provider for each opportunity to behold the splendour of nature here on earth!
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord for His LOVING-kindness to the undeserving children of men!’
And without a doubt, our God does shower us with LOVING-kindness; things like grace, mercy, and forgiveness that we do not deserve! But that’s the kind of magnanimous God He is! So please let’s never forget it, and suitably show our gratitude.
Now here is some wonderful advice on living ‘A Life of Lasting Significance,’ I discovered on a card on my desk this morning. It comes from Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley).
And he says to live a life of lasting significance we must: ‘Ensure that your interactions with others are truly meaningful and eternally impactful by: Modelling a steadfast desire to follow Jesus and a sincere faith in His will and ways.
Demonstrating reverence for God’s work. Teaching others how to listen to and obey the Lord. Expressing a sincere LOVE, a forgiving heart, and a generous hand in every situation.’
Now that’s some wonderful advice every Christian ought to write deep in their hearts and do their best to put into practice, for remember, without works faith is dead, and they will know us by our works.
And I guess one of the best ways to achieve that goal above is by paying serious and sincere attention to our Bit. ‘Hear ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.’
And before I go any further, let me share some info from the scholars that I wanted to share yesterday, but didn’t. ‘4:3-4. Three generations are linked together in the transmission of wisdom. Note that it is transmitted by personal influence, especially in the home.’
Yes friends, those words refer to verses 3 and 4 of chapter 4 that we read yesterday. You can read them for yourselves, but what I want to point out is the fact that the wisdom of God is transferred most often by personal influence, by the way we demonstrate it in our personal lives to those around us, especially in our homes.
As the old adage so rightly says; Charity begins at home! And that’s exactly where it ought to begin! We parents and elders have to show the young people the LOVE and wisdom of God first in our homes.
We can’t wait and expect them to find or learn them when they go to school or to church, especially in these godless times, when those things are no longer taught in schools, and churches are teaching, God alone knows what!
Remember my brethren, the teaching of, and the reflections, the mirror images of God have to begin at home!
Now let’s check out some other scriptures that agree with out Bit. Listen as Bruh David calls to us from Psalm 34 – The Lord hears the righteous.
‘Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and LOVETH many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile (deceit).
Depart from evil, and do good, seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut of (destroy) the remembrance of them from the earth.’ (Ps.34:11-16)
Oh precious people of God, that’s the simple, practical way to live a life of godliness! It couldn’t get any simpler than that: speak truth, do good, seek peace! Those are all the basic elements of our Christian faith.
Now hear this last scripture from Cousin Sol. ‘My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother. For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.’ (Prov.1:8-9)
And the scholars tell us. ‘1:8. My son begins the first of 10 similar discourses in which the father appeals to the son to listen to his counsel and choose wisdom over folly. The mention of the mother shows that the original setting of the book was the home, not the court or school.’
‘1:9. Chains about thy neck, that is, an adornment or thing of beauty in one’s life.’
Ah mih people, again we see the critical importance of teaching our faith at home, if we want to continue propagating it. So please, I implore us, if we want to see our children live wholesome, godly lives, then we desperately need to get back to teaching and living the fundamentals of Christianity in our homes.
Now let’s end by sincerely and truthfully declaring our Wednesday Wail. As one strong 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 as always, let’s go out and put all that we’ve talked about into action nuh, so that we can glorify our great God and Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!
…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
03 May 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: abundance, as he purposes in his heart, Corinthians, give and it shall be given to you, give as you are able to, give more of yourself, glory to God, God LOVES a cheerful giver, good measure, greed, grudgingly, hem and haw, I'm halfway home, I'm looking straight ahead, indiscriminate giving, LOVE, my hands are on the plough, of necessity, one's investment., one's return, poor widow, poverty, pressed down, principle of God's world, reflection of god's actions, self-aggrandizement, shaken together, the blessing of the Lord, the breath of life, the same measure ye mete, this is the day the Lord has made, to a glorious future with Jesus, to get more out of life, truth, unrestrained giving, we shall rejoice and be glad in it, Wednesday Wail, you reap what you sow
Luke 6:38. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure ye mete (use) withal (with that) it shall be measured to you again.
And then it was Wednesday; a bright and sunshiny day! Glory to God! No more cold and dreary-looking rain filled days!
What a wonderful and blessed day it is, when the Sun and the SON are both shining brightly in a cloudless blue sky! All spirits are uplifted and we are proud and courageous to say: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’
Yeh friends, we ought to rejoice regardless of the physical appearance of the day, but it so much easier to do when the day is warm and beautiful.
And to set things right, (smile) I’ll just hit us here with a li’l wisdom from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster: ‘To get more out of life, give more of yourself.’
And that’s indisputable truth my people! It’s a simple principle of God’s world; you want more, then give more. It’s just like the more you sow, the more you will reap.
But unfortunately, we live in a greedy society, consequently, a lot of us want more, and much more too, but we refuse to give any of what we already have. That’s why we have so many problems in acquiring the more we want and there is so much fraud and deceit in our dealings with each other.
And it’s not like we don’t know about the law of giving, because our Leader, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ spelled it out very plainly for us, when he dwelt amongst us, some two thousand years ago.
And His words of wisdom are today’s Bit. ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (pocket). For with the same measure ye mete (use) withal (with that) it shall be measured to you again.’
What’s so difficult to understand in that statement eh mih breddren? Nothing really. It’s just that we allow the mores of the world; greed and self-aggrandizement, to dictate our behaviour instead of Jesus’ words.
And thankfully, I won’t get into any sermon on the matter. (smile) We’ll just go through the Good Book and refresh our memories with some of its thoughts on giving.
And we’ll begin way back in Deuteronomy, when Moses instructed the Israelites thus: ‘Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.’ (Deut.16:17)
Please note the parameters my people; ‘as he is able…which the Lord hath given thee.’ So it’s obvious that you can’t give what you don’t have, but out of the little that you do have, you can give something.
And that brings us to Jesus’ contention when He sat in the temple watching people offer money for God’s work. ‘And Jesus sat over against (opposite) the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites (a small copper coin worth 1/8 of a cent), which make a farthing (a Roman coin). And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them,
Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance (surplus); but she of her want (poverty) did cast in all that she had, even all her living (her whole livelihood).’ (Mark 12:41-44)
Yeh friends, it’s not necessarily about how much we give, but also how our giving pertains to our abundance. The widow cast in all that she had, while the rich put in only of their surplus. God obviously will value her offering more than those of the rich.
As the scholars remind us: ’12:43-44. God does not measure giving by conventional human standards.’ So, in future, let’s remember that when we hem and haw about how much to give. (smile)
Now hear Cousin Sol’s take on the subject. ‘He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.’ (Prov.28:27)
Now we have one more factor to this whole giving scene, so listen to Bruh Paul as he educates the Corinthians of the topic. ‘But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully (generously) shall also reap bountifully (generously).
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity (compulsion): for God LOVETH a cheerful (joyful) giver.’ (2 Cor.9:6-7)
Yes friends, it’s not only how much you give, but also the attitude with which you give! Hear the scholars. ‘9:6. One’s return is determined by one’s investment. The passage doesn’t suggest indiscriminate giving, but it does denote “unrestrained” giving.’
9:7. Cheerful giver: The giver is to have a willing heart and a sincere desire to participate in the offering. Giving is not a joke. It is serious business, but it is a delightful experience all the same.’
And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren? When we give generously and willingly we experience a rush of godliness! So let’s prayerfully ponder our giving habits today and see how we can improve them nuh.
And we’ll close by sincerely and harmoniously declaring our Wednesday Wail. ‘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 that’s all we need friends! Much LOVE!
…generous and willing giving…is a reflection of God’s actions towards us…
26 Apr 2017
by randyobrien50
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living
Tags: a glorious future with Jesus, a safe haven, alivie and kicking, all things work together for good, as easy as pumpkin pie, begging bread, defeat you, deliverance, depart from evil, diligently, do good, established by the Lord, faith, faithful promises, fear, God wants to do through us, halfway home, hate evil, he delivers them, he preserves the souls of his saints, in God's hands, judgement, jump and sing, justice, mercifl, my conviction, My personal rainbow, Noah, obedient to God's will, omni-present, omnipotent, omniscient, one more blessed day, praise and thanks, predict the future, problems, righteous, Ruth Harms Calkin, salvation, stands firm, stay in faith, storm, stormy times, the breath of life, the darkest moments, the hand of the wicked, the One Year Book of Bible Promises, the righteous forsaken, the steps of a good man, to them that love God, waves of agony, Wednesday Wail, who are called according to His purpose, with excellence, ye that love the Lord, You are my God
Psalm 97:10. Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Oh mih people, it’s Wednesday! So jump and sing and shout! Shout praise and thanks to Almighty God for giving us one more blessed day on His great planet earth! Wow! We’re alive and kicking for another big day! Isn’t our God wonderful? He surely is!
But don’t forget that we’ve been allowed to see today not only to enjoy it, but also to do whatever work or plan our heavenly Father has in mind for us, for there’s ALWAYS something our God wants to do through us.
So let’s find out today’s task, then do it diligently, and also with excellence, because that’s the hallmark of a true follower of Christ; diligent excellence! (smile)
Now here’s an interesting poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, it’s titled ‘My Personal Rainbow.’
Please pray with me: ‘Lord, right now I struggle with clutching fear. Waves of agony pour over me As I face the darkest moments In my life’s history. But my conviction still stands firm: You are my God!
And though I cannot predict my future Or even tomorrow I am sustained by the reminder That the longest storm the world has ever known… And the worst… Came to an end one clear-sky morning. It was true for Noah It will be true for me. Though as yet I see no deliverance I watch I wait I expect My personal rainbow.’
Yeh friends, each of us will have our own personal rainbow if we continue to have such strong and far-reaching faith!
I know that many of us are going through some very stormy times right now, but the answer to it all is to just put those problems in God’s hands, allow Him to be your pilot through the storm, and you will be guaranteed a safe haven eventually.
Now it won’t necessarily be easy, but with God as your pilot, NO ONE, or NOTHING can defeat you! We just have to stay in faith, standing strong and walking tall for Jesus! Remember all the other times that God has bailed us out of trouble and sincerely declare that if He could do it then, He can also do it now!
And very appropriately, the Bible promise for that poem is one we know and dearly LOVE, Bruh Paul’s admonition to the Roman church: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose. (Rom.8:28) Glory to God!
And if we believe that, then there should be no cause for worry. For concern, yes, but not worry, for everything is in the mighty hand of our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God! Glory Hallelujah! Give Him the praise and thanks that He so assuredly deserves my people!
Now let’s turn to our wonderful Bit for the last time; a Bit that also lifts us up and warms the cockles of our hearts because of our God’s great promises contained therein. ‘Ye that LOVE the Lord, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’ And that’s the immortal truth my brethren!
And we’ll finish this series of messages with some corroborating scripture on the last part of our Bit: ‘he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.’ Listen to Bruh David tell it like it is from Psalm 37 – The true state of the wicked.
‘The steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
He is ever merciful (merciful all the day), and lendedth: and his seed (descendants) are blessed. Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore. For the Lord LOVETH judgement (justice), and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.’ (Ps.37:23-28)
Ah friends, what powerful and faithful promises from our great God! And remember that Bruh David wasn’t talking from hearsay nuh, but from personal experience, which means that all he’s saying is also possible in our lives if we are obedient to God’s will.
And to add more wood to the already blazing fire, (smile) hear how he ends the psalm. ‘But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.’ (Ps.37:38-40)
Yes mih breddren, more words of indisputable, gospel and immortal truth! And if you believe it, then please declare with me our Wednesday Wail which celebrates it all.
‘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!’
Now let’s keep our hands fixed on that plough, while looking straight ahead to that glorious future with Jesus! Much LOVE!
…faithfully LOVING and trusting God…should be as easy as pumpkin pie…given all His faithful promises…
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