Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 February 2017 1 Samuel 30:6b.

21 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

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

1 Samuel 30:6b.   …but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.

Ah friends, these real late mornings are a killer yes! Going to bed at five in the morning does do justice to Shakespeare’s saying that to go to bed late is to be up early. (smile) 

But as they also say, better late than never. So though we might be somewhat late, we’re not irrelevant. (smile) That’s why they say too, that B.S. baffles brains! 

Anyway, on a serious note, let’s begin by offering up an interesting prayer a friend gave me a few days ago. There’s no title to it, but I’ll call it ‘Our Healing Prayer,’ and you’ll see why later on. 

So please pray with me. ‘Heavenly father, I call on You right now in a special way. It is through your power that I was created. Every breath I wake, I live under your power. Father, I ask you now to touch me with that same power. For if You created me from nothing, You can recreate me. 

Fill me with the healing power of Your Spirit. Cast out anything that should not be in me. Mend what is broken. Root out any unproductive cells, open any blocked arteries or veins and rebuild any damaged areas. Remove all inflammation and cleanse any infection. 

Let the warmth of your healing LOVE pass through my body to make new any unhealthy areas so that my body will function the way You created it to function. And Father restore me to full health in mind, body and spirit so that I may serve You for the rest of my life. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen!’ 

Now isn’t that just beautiful friends? It surely is! And what I like about it is that it gets right down to the nitty gritty, doesn’t pull any punches, it’s all about healing. And truthfully, nobody needs that kind of healing prayer right now more than me, as so many parts of my body are malfunctioning. 

And we all know that our mighty God’s name is Jehovah Rapha – The Lord our Healer. Yes friends, our God is the Great Physician. As the prayer says, if He created us, then he can surely fix us. So He should always be the first One we turn to for healing, in fact for everything. That’s what He sincerely desires of us. 

Now let’s turn to our Bit for today: ‘…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.’ 

Ah mih people, I don’t know why, but that statement just kept churning in my mind this morning, so I figured the Lord wanted me to write on it. And you know what? It’s a very poignant statement. It occurs in the Good Book when Bruh David was running from Saul, and went to live with the Philistines, who set him up in the city of Ziklag. (1 Sam.27) 

Now on one particular occasion, when the Philistines were going to fight Saul and the Israelites, Bruh David and his men lined up with them. But though the Philistine king, Achish trusted Bruh David, his leaders did not, so they sent him back home to Ziklag. (1 Sam.29) 

But lo and behold, when David and his men get back to Ziklag, they discover that the Amalekites had struck in their absence and burned the town with fire. Luckily though, they had not slain the inhabitants but carried them away captive, including Bruh David’s two wives and family. 

And the first part of the verse that contains our Bit, tells us: ‘And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved (bitter), every man for his sons and daughters.’ (1 Sam.30:6a) 

Ah friends, yuh see the great responsibility and the built in frailty of leadership. None of Bruh David’s people considered that he had also lost his sons and daughters, they were only concerned about themselves. It just goes to show that when the heifer dust hits the fan, the true selfishness of man shines through. 

And that’s why my people, we keep saying to put no trust in man, but to lay it all in the Lord God our Creator, for He is the ONLY ONE you can trust when the chips fall. Now what would Bruh David have done if he didn’t have the Lord God of his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to fall back on eh? Crapaud smoke ‘im pipe! 

Likewise friends, when things get real rough with us, and there seems to be nowhere to turn, we need to have that unconditional trust in our God that will enable us to encourage ourselves in Him. That’s when our faith needs to be ever so strong that we don’t even think about giving up and succumbing to the enemy’s lies and deceits. 

And what did Bruh David do in his untenable situation? The only wise and sensible thing; he turned to God in prayer, asking if he should go after the Amalekites or not. The Lord told him to pursue them, and through the Lord’s miraculous and mysterious workings, he found them and destroyed them and got back all his people and his goods. (1 Sam.30:7-20) 

Yes my people, our God is great, and if we sincerely seek Him, we will find Him, and He will help us. So please, let’s build that tower of faith nuh, so that in times of need, it will be there to keep us strong in the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator and Provider. 

Now let’s go home encouraging ourselves in the Lord by declaring, in all sincerity and truth, our Tuesday Mantra. 

As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And having said that, let’s go out now and put it all into action as our friend, our Lord and Saviour Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!

…believe it when Jesus says……lo…I am with you always…even unto the end of the world… (Matt.28:20b)

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 August 2012 Jeremiah 17:7

06 Aug 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 17:7.     Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Monday! Yeah, the day we’re all growing to LOVE, because it gives us a fresh opportunity every week to bring others in the work world to Christ. Wow! Isn’t that wonderful? It’s also Caribana Monday in T.O. and the party is still going strong; right up till midnight. Thankfully, I haven’t heard about any untoward incidents over the weekend, because you know how they like to over react. You can’t have thousands of people celebrating in fairly congested areas and not have some problems, especially when the young people nowadays so quick on the draw. Let’s hope nothing serious happens to mar the celebrations and have the more righteous than thou complaining about violence at the parade, conveniently forgetting the number of people that have recently been murdered just normally going about their everyday lives. Anyway, enough negativity, let’s get down to brass tacks and give those people who unfortunately have to go to work today, some incentive to get out there and do Christ’s bidding. So let’s have a rousing rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn! As one voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Yes my people, that ought to get the adrenaline flowing and our minds fully focussed on Christ! Now let’s look at our Bit: ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.’ Yeh Friends, more on that topic of HOPE today, because it’s what our world is so sadly lacking and needs more than anything else. People are losing their jobs and homes by the thousands, causing families to fall apart. The world economic situation is getting worse everyday, generating more fear, more greed, anger, envy, jealousy and strife worldwide, than at any other time in history. Then there’s widespread drought in many places, while serious flooding elsewhere is also causing untold damage. That just means there’s less food available at higher prices. So with all of that, people do have practical reasons to be concerned. And what are our leaders and the supposed experts doing to fix the problems? Absolutely nothing of any real value! They meet often, spend oodles of tax payers money on security, live high on the hog and talk a good talk, but don’t do anything concrete to help solve the problems. And why is that eh Friends? It’s a simple reason. We have forsaken the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator, Controller and Provider, and have turned to our own foolish devices. So if you turn away from the ruler of the universe, what else can you expect but disaster eh? Oh Friends, the only way to reverse all the negativity is by returning to the fold of Almighty God! If we don’t, then we’ll soon be history; the laughingstock of the ages. Sadly, many believers have bought into the negative trends of the world and are losing hope too. But my brethren the one thing we have over everybody else is that secure HOPE of a bright future in Christ! And if we serve Him faithfully, He will provide for us, as He’s faithfully promised. So Friends, please don’t get scared and lose hope. I know it’s not easy with all the negative stuff that’s happening, but that’s where our Christian strength and maturity come into play. Because of our trust and faith in our great and good God, we have no reason to fear anything or anybody. Please, let’s write that indelibly in the deepest recesses of our souls, so that we can use it as a sure foundation. Now let’s go home with some scriptures that will buoy our spirits and give us the hope, comfort and joy, we so badly need. And how did you know (smile) that the first passage is from Bruh David eh? From Psalm 34, the Lord hears the righteous, where he’s running for his life from Saul, lies to Abimelech the priest about being on some hasty secret mission for Saul, so he didn’t have time to get food or weapons. So he takes the shrew bread meant for the altar and Goliath’s sword and flees to Nob. (1 Sam.21) He solemnly proclaims: ‘O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want (lack) to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want (lack) any good thing.’ (Ps.34:8-10) Truer words were never spoken my brethren! If we put our trust in the most omnipotent Being in the universe, to whom nothing is impossible, why should we want for anything eh? And finally, some more moving words, this time from Bruh Paul: ‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’ (Rom.15:13) And all God’s people uttered a loud and glorious ‘Amen!’ Oh Friends, if those words and the rest of the Bit don’t get you excited and make you jump for joy in the Lord, then I don’t know what will! (smile) But seriously though, let’s all lift up our heads and hearts with the hope that’s found in Christ Jesus as we go out into the evil, ungodly world today, and let’s show them what true Christians are made really made of…B, B and B! Much LOVE!…if you have true hope in Jesus…then you won’t be afraid of anything…  P.S. It’s a bit long, because I wanted to finish with Hope today. But then it’s also revitalizing and true. (smile) Much LOVE!