Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 September 2015 Matthew 24:35‏‏

30 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 24:35.  Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Ah mih people, in the immortal words of the old Jamaican singer, Prince Buster, I have to say: ‘I had a hard night…last night. It was a rough night…last night. I feel so mash up today…’ (smile) 

Unfortunately though, my hard and rough night was not a result of sexual activity, like the Prince was referring to in his song, but of a trying and unrelenting pain in my right cheek, the results of dental work. Hn! 

Ah Lord eh! That’s what happens when the solution causes more problems than the original problem. The tooth in the upper right corner only caused me problems when eating. Otherwise it didn’t hurt at all. But in my wisdom I decided to go and get it and another problem fixed before they escalated. 

Now I was finished at the dentist around 12.30 p.m, left there obviously with my whole face fat and unfeeling because the other problem was in the bottom left half of my mouth. However, I ran around and did a few errands before the rain started falling and I decided to just come home and rest and wait for the freezing to go away. 

Now the bottom left freezing went away before the top right and brother, when that did eventually go away, around four o’clock, the pain began seriously. And though it was not a terrible, terrible pain, it was sufficient to cause severe discomfort, as any pain in one’s face is liable to do. 

I couldn’t even eat anything solid, because any pressure on the tooth just caused more excruciating pain. And to make matters worse, I did not have any breakfast before I went to the dentist, so the ole stomach was growling for food. Finally about 5 o’clock I made some porridge and drank that to ease the pains in the stomach.. 

And though I tried valiantly to wait out the pain in my jaw, I had to take some painkillers around 9.pm. But by 3 a.m that had worn off and I got up with my cheek throbbing again. More painkillers followed, and I finally got back to sleep. 

Right now it’s not feeling too bad, though in the background I can still feel a slight throb. Hope that’s the end of the strong pain yes, and I don’t have to take any more painkillers. And that’s my story for this morning. (smile) 

But Friends, if that’s my biggest problem, then I can truly say, thank the Lord, because compared to the problems of a majority of the world that is indeed a minor one. Many of them don’t even have a dentist around that they could go to, even if they have the necessary funds. 

So many of them don’t have any clothes, food or shelter, and here I am complaining about a little pain. Chuh! But that’s how it goes when you live amongst the privileged few in this dangerous and turbulent world. Anyway, enough about me, it’s Wednesday, so let’s wail our Wednesday Wail with much sincerity and truth. 

As one enthusiastic wailer 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!’ 

Yes Friends, that is exactly where our focus ought to be; on the wonderful future of salvation and eternal life that we have assured with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour! But that’s only if we sincerely believe in Him and follow His commandments. 

Otherwise, we’ll just end up in death and eternal damnation. And believe me, that is not a very nice place to spend eternity. And we have the assurance of that from Jesus Himself as He says in our Bit: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’ 

Now that is indeed a truth that we cannot query! Why? Because it comes from God Himself! And simple logic dictates that if we can query God’s Word, then He can’t be a true God. End of story! 

Now let’s check out a couple of scripture passages that testify to the truth of Jesus’ words. Listen to Isaiah as he calls the faithful to courage. ‘Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and earth shall wax (grow) old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.’ (Is.51:6) 

Yes Friends, our God and His righteousness will last forever; no ifs, ands and buts about that! 

Now hear Peter as he stresses the words of Isaiah, hundreds of years later. ‘For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word (spoken word) of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.’ (1 Pet.1:24-25) 

Oh my brethren, when something is true, you simply cannot deny it. And that’s the way it is with the words of Jesus; undeniably true! 

And we’ll end with these simple but ever so true words from Hebrews. ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.’ (Heb.13:8) 

Yes my people, our Jesus: the ‘Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ (Rev.1:8) 

Now my fellow believers, may we walk steadfastly and sincerely with Jesus, and may He guide and protect us, give us His wisdom and His peace, as we tread this woeful earth in our pilgrim’s journey. Much LOVE!

…I have no greater joy…than to hear that my children walk in truth…  (3 John 4)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 May 2015 James 4:8‏‏

30 May 2015 Leave a comment

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

James 4:8.     Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. 

And then it was Saturday; a supposedly rainy day. But who knows eh? We’ve been promised some showers of blessing for the longest while, but we haven’t seen hide nor hair of heavenly water for at least two, possibly three weeks in my area. It’s been cloudy at times, but not even rain-clouding dark, and the strong winds we’ve recently been having have blown those wispy rain clouds away. (smile)

They remind me of the story of Elijah when he prayed for rain in Israel. On the seventh time Elijah’s servant went to see if any rain was in the offing per Elijah’s prayers, he came back and reported: ‘Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand.’ (1 Kin.18:44)

That was the beginning of an abundance of rain for Israel, but no such luck for us. Anyway, it’s still pretty early in the morning to despair, for with our God’s omnipotent powers anything can happen at any time,  in the blink of an eye.

But here’s an interesting general prayer that we can say every morning when we arise. It’s attributed to Norman Grubb (1895-1993), a British Christian missionary, writer and theological teacher. Please pray with me. ‘Good morning, Christ. I LOVE you! What are you up to today? I want to be a part of it! Thank you, God. Amen!’

Now my people, isn’t that simple and straight to the point? It certainly is. And it does help to get you connected with the Father as soon as you get up, before any evil and negative thoughts can enter your still fragile and not wide awake mind and spoil your day. And that’s all it takes Friends, something short and to the point to get us running on the correct spiritual track.

But before we can get to that, we first have to put into operation the words of our Bit, where we’re born again and can have that kind of ongoing relationship with Almighty God. ‘Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded.’

Yes my people, it’s of the utmost importance that we have a close personal relationship with the Father, through the Son, Jesus Christ, while being indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And we can only do that by repenting of our sins, cleansing our hearts and turning over a new leaf, becoming a new creation in Christ.

Now listen to how Peter deals with the matter. ‘Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned (sincere) LOVE of the brethren, see that ye LOVE one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible (perishable) seed, but of incorruptible (imperishable), by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

For all flesh is as grass, and the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the (spoken) word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.’ (1 Pet.1:22-25)

Yes Friends, Peter is there repeating the words of Isaiah 40:6-8, where  mankind is likened to the grass that sprouts up bright and fresh in the morning, but soon withers and dies, especially when the hot sun beats down on it. And that’s the absolute truth!

But unlike that short-lived grass, the word of our Creator lives for ever, through the gospel being preached throughout the earth; the good news of his Son Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed for us on Calvary’s cross, then rose again in glory and ascended to heaven, where He now sits on the right hand of the Father, advocating for us.

Wow! What an omnipotent, but magnanimous God we serve and worship my brethren! It just can’t get any better than that, though a lot of us seem to think otherwise. But as I keep saying Friends, refusing to accept God’s grace and mercy and His free offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, which ultimately leads to eternal life, is the wisdom of a fool. And there surely are a lot of fools in this evil and ungodly world.

Anyway, enough of my carping, or proselytizing (smile), whichever one catches your fancy, and listen instead to an explanation by the scholars on the topic at hand. ‘1:23. Being born again (lit., “having been born again”) refers to all believers having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, which communicates His offer of salvation to mankind. Thus our salvation rests, from the human perspective, upon OUR willing reception of that offer.’

Yuh see Friends, it all depends on us willingly receiving God’s wonderful offer, that’s why I capitalized and highlighted ‘our’ above. The Lord has done His part by putting the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ on the table, so like any contract that is worthless unless there’s offer and acceptance, we now have the opportunity to accept or reject God’s offer.

However Friends, in this case, rejection of the Lord’s offer will bring disastrous and calamitous consequences, namely eternal separation from Him, and eventual death and damnation. So as far as I can see, with my limited human reasoning powers, accepting God’s offer is the wise thing to do.

I’m therefore urging us to do so as quickly as possible, if possible right now, because the time for Jesus’ return is imminent, and once He returns in majestic splendour and awesome might, that offer will be taken off the table…forever. So please take my wise advice and seriously get involved with Jesus. It will be the best decision you’ve ever made. I guarantee it! Much LOVE!

…to be separated from Christ…for all eternity…is the biggest mistake  a man can make…