Today’s Scrip-Bit   11 December 2023   2 Thessalonians 3:10.

11 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

2 Thessalonians 3:10.       For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.

Ah chuh! Another Monday, another new work week! Yes friends, the ever-revolving cycle continues, for once there is Sunday, then there must be Monday. That’s just how the Lord planned it, and there’s nothing we can do to get away from it while we’re alive here on God’s good earth, so we had better learn to live with it, to take it in stride and enjoy it. 

And an interesting thought just struck me; who knows if there won’t be different days in heaven too, and not only one long stretch of endless time. For sure though, we will have to work in heaven, whatever kind of work it might be, it’s definitely not going to be all sunshine, wine and roses while lazing on our fannies all day! No sir! The Lord expects us to do something productive both here on the earth and in heaven above. So we better had start contemplating it all, as of right now! End of story! (smile) 

And talking about work, to many in these modern times it’s anathema, abhorrent, repugnant, violently disliked. And that’s just stating it mildly! Even among the young generation, the very thought of the word work leaves a bad taste in their mouths, so strong is their attitude of entitlement. Maybe though, if we were to apply Bruh Paul’s recipe to the Thessalonians for those who not only dislike work but refuse to do it, we might have a much better work ethic prevailing in our current society. And what’s Bruh Paul’s recipe you ask? 

Listen to him tell it. He begins by describing his own work ethic among the Thessalonians. ‘For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought (free of charge); but wrought (worked) with labour and travail (toil) night and day, that we might not be chargeable (a burden) to any of you. Not because we have not power (authority), but to make ourselves an ensample  unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.’ (2 Thess. 3:7-10) 

Wow! What an original idea! How wonderful would that be eh, if it were implemented in our lazy, entitled, lack of work ethic society! Oh, what a ghastly uproar it would cause! But how else do we get the young to appreciate the value of work, for a society without a good work ethic dies a slow but painful death. And that is exactly what’s happening to our society today; we are dying a slow but painful death because work and all the other things it entails, like diligence and excellence, doing our best, are no longer prominent in today’s milieu. 

And I believe Bruh Paul must have looked to the future and seen the state of our current society, that’s why he penned this next verse. ‘For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.’ (2 Thess. 3:11) Ah mih people, I don’t believe there’s ever been a time in the annals of man when there have been more busybodies, gossips and the like. It’s even become a lucrative business for many, and the advent of social media has made it even worse, where everyone has an opinion on everything and can easily spread it without too much fear of retribution. And the recent upgrades of Artificial Intelligence (A.I) is set to further the confusion of truth, fakes, disinformation, propaganda, conspiracy theories, etc. etc. 

What a crazy world we’re living in Dr. Jack! Very few of us know what’s fact from fiction, and Artificial Intelligence is about to make it even more difficult. And the problem is that sometimes even when you see something yourself, it can easily be a fake situation, something someone purposely set up to lure you into thinking what they want you to think, as with fake accidents for the intent of scamming money from the Insurance Companies. That’s become a big one these days.  Oh mih bredrin, crooks come in all colours, sizes, shapes and genders, we just have to be continually on our p’s and q’s to not be taken in by them. 

But getting back to Buh Paul’s plan, of no work, no food. It was not a total dismissal, he did leave room for compassion. He writes: ‘Now them that are such (idle, busybodies) we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish (warn) him as a brother.’ (2 Thess. 12-15) 

Yes friends, there is room for compassion. As the scholars explain: ‘3:14-15. This instruction falls short of excommunication. Paul intends for his readers to shame the brother who is not an enemy into obedience.’ Well good luck with that! Bruh Paul doesn’t know the large number of us who don’t know the meaning of the word shame! Otherwise our society would not be as shameful and shameless as it is! So who knows how it’s all going to play out with all the craziness and confusion that’s currently controlling our world? 

Only the Lord above! That’s why we need to keep Him as close to us as possible, because He is the ONLY One who can guide us safely through this terrible storm and overwhelming darkness that’s taken over the earth. And having said all of that, let’s now go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, in confident humility seeking divine help to address our many problems. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

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

And after expressing those sentiments, the first item on our agenda should be repentance and turning from our evil ways, for that’s the only way we’ll ever get divine help! Much LOVE!

…if work is not a priority in your life…then you’re on the wrong planet… 

 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ           

Today’s Scrip-Bit   4 December 2023   2 Thessalonians 3:3.

04 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

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

2 Thessalonians 3:3.       But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil (the evil one).

Oh brother, what a cold, wet, windy, snowy, dreary weekend we’ve had! But thankfully, we won’t have to go out to work today under those same unfavourable conditions. (smile) The day has turned out to be dry with a touch of cloudy sunshine. (smile) Just having to get up and go out to work after a couple of restful, comfortable days is bad enough, but having to do it in such nasty conditions certainly doesn’t enamour us to it. Anyway, the important thing is we’ve got to make a living, as well as do Jesus’ work, so please, let’s get out there, enamoured or not, bad weather or not, and put our noses to the grindstone, knowing full well that Jesus will enable us to do anything He desires of us! 

Glory to God for His faithfulness to the undeserving children of men! And there are so many scripture verses that talk about God’s faithfulness to mankind that we can go on for days on end and never completely finish them. (smile). But let’s check out a few anyway to remind us of His ever-faithful attribute. And the first scripture is a most appropriate one, where the Lord passes before Moses on Mt. Zion when He gave Him the two stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. 

The Good Library says: ‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth (steadfast LOVE and faithfulness). Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex. 34:6-7) 

Yes friends, that was the Lord blowing His own trumpet. But who knows better than Him, what He’s about eh? Nobody! Meanwhile Hebrews 10:23, encourages us: ‘’Let us hold fast the profession (confession) of our faith (hope) without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)’ And that’s the gospel truth as Hebrews 13:8 reminds us: ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.’ Our Lord and Saviour does not change. If He was faithful yesterday, then He’s always going to be faithful! 

Then Bruh David puts it this way in Psalm 36. ‘Thy mercy (LOVING-kindness), O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reaches unto the clouds. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains (the mountain of God); thy judgements are a great deep (ocean): O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness (fulness) of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see thy light.’ (Ps. 36:5-9) 

Oh, what wonderful and true sentiments of our most excellent God! And if those verses don’t convince you that our God is ever-faithful, then try these from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, where he expatiates (elaborates) with full confidence. ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:21-23) Oh my people, truer words were ever spoken, for if it wasn’t for the Lord’s faithfulness and LOVING-kindness, we’d be consumed long ago! 

And Bruh Paul said it thus in his second letter to the Thessalonians. ‘Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course (run, rein), and be glorified, even as it is with you. And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil (the evil one). And we have confidence in the Lord touching (concerning) you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you. And the Lord direct your hearts unto the LOVE of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ (patience of Christ.)’ (2 Thess. 3:1-5) 

And we’ll close with these words of John on the subject, from his first epistle. ‘If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John 1:8-10) There again friends, the Lord is faithful to do what He’s promised; that’s forgive us of our sins, if we sincerely confess and try to turn away from them!

Now,  those verses we’ve quoted are only a few verses on the faithfulness of our God, and if they don’t convince you of the Lord’s faithfulness, then I don’t know what will. But believe me, there are many more scriptures on the subject that you can check out, and I’m sure before you’ve exhausted them all, you will believe, (smile) Now, let’s allow our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to take us to the throne of grace, as we seek divine help in these desperate times of need. 

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

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And if we truly expect to see divine help, then we need to get the ball rolling by turning from our evil ways. No divine help will come until that matter is sincerely addressed! Much LOVE!

…faithfulness…one of God’s great, unchanging attributes…and also a must for true believers…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ     

Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 November 2023   2 Timothy 2:3.

27 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

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

2 Timothy 2:3.        Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Ah friends, even on the fairest day, Monday is tough enough to execute, but when it’s also damp from yesterday evening’s rains, chilly and windy, as it is today, then it just triggers a bigger negative response in our souls. (smile) Oh, we know we are going to get through it all right with the help and guidance of Jesus and His Holy Spirit, but it just takes a li’l more out of us than normal, requires a strong and steadfast burst of faith, trust and surrender. I guess that’s when we have to do like Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘Thou therefore endure hardness (hardship) as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Tim. 2:3) 

Now that seems like a very simple scripture, but it is rather profound, and it is not always easy to do in this modern day society, with all the distractions and evil deeds that constantly bombard us from all different directions. However, like everything else Christ asks us to do, we can do it, because He always anoints us to do His will. But the doing then depends on us, if we are willing to stand up and face the adversity in His name. And again, it’s like Bruh Paul admonished and exhorted Timothy later on. ‘But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.’ (2 Tim. 4:5) 

Yes friends, those words also pertain to us, because it’s not only pastors who have ministries, for every believer has a ministry; meaning whatever job the Lord has anointed us to carry out on His behalf, whatever plan He’s laid out for our life. So we don’t need to be the shepherd of a large congregation to talk about our ministry, for even if we’re only mentoring one new believer, or being the only believer in a group of unbelievers, then that’s our ministry, and we ought to carry it out with the zest and zeal like if we had a worldwide organization to look after. 

For, as Bruh Paul continues to hammer home to poor Timothy. ‘No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.’ (2 Tim. 2:4) That means if Jesus has appointed us to be His soldier, disciple, agent or whatever, we cannot get entangled in the affairs of this world and all its evil and futile distractions, but we need to pay serious attention to Jesus’ work, concentrate on what He’s asked of us, because He’s the one that’s hired us to look after His affairs. 

Suffering privation, or affliction is an essential aspect of any soldier’s job. Consequently, we must also heed these words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an 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. 1:8-10) 

Oh my fellow believers, one thing we should never be found guilty of is being ashamed of the testimony of Christ, that’s His gospel. It’s the story of His life and death and the good news of salvation, of eternal life and the reversal of sin that it brought about through the unmerited favour and grace of God, absolutely not of our doing. Remember too these very important words of Jesus. ‘Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven. But whosever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is heaven.’ (Matt. 10:32-33) 

And I know that scripture has some of us scratching our heads and wondering if we fall under it, because for whatever reason(s), we’ve denied Christ at some stage of our life. But I believe this excerpt from a commentary on the subject helps to clarify the matter. It says: ‘The full context of Scripture strongly suggests that a single, panic-driven denial of Jesus will not necessarily end a believer’s opportunity to spend eternity with the Father. Christians are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus, not by perfect performance in acknowledging Him (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

Peter will most famously deny Christ at a crucial moment because of his own fear of being arrested and killed (Matthew 26:69-74). After Jesus’ resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit, though, Peter will spend the rest of his life powerfully acknowledging Jesus to others (Acts 2). Where this warning becomes more dire is in the lives of those who consistently, or easily, dissociate themselves from Christ for the sake of health, wealth, popularity, or freedom. Those who aren’t willing to be associated with Jesus on earth won’t be allowed to claim association with Him in eternity (Matthew 10:37; Mark 8:36).’ 

And I do hope that explanation settle the queries in some of our minds. (smile) And now, having spoken about some of the difficult but necessary stuff, needed to live sincerely for Jesus, let’s go to the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine help to accomplish it. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And the easiest and best way to acquire divine help is by doing exactly what we say above there; turn from our evil ways. Yes friends, that’s the first step in any reconnection with Almighty God! Much LOVE!

…any soldier worth his salt…will stand up strong and steadfast in battle…so should Christians for Christ… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   20 November 2023 Luke 9:23.

20 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

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

Luke 9:23.       If any one will come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Oh Chuh! Another Monday, another day of work!’ we complain. But let’s look at it from another perspective nuh. In the first place we should be thankful we do have a job to go to, for many of our fellow citizens don’t have one, and would gladly trade your situation for theirs. Then what about this perspective: I have a job and thus I am able to keep a roof over my head, and put food on my table. My family is not homeless or starving. We might be finding things a bit rough in this unstable and directionless economy, but we are amongst the blessed few. 

And that ought to be fuel enough for our fire, for our passion for life and Jesus Christ, under whose safe umbrella we are sheltered and looked after in good style. But sadly, that’s one of the major downfalls of our Christian society; we think we should be entitled to an easy life, what with all the amenities in our technology driven world, and as soon as something doesn’t go the way we believe it should, we throw up our hands and complain from now till next never, and threaten to give up. 

Oh, we Christians today are such wimps, it isn’t funny! As the body of Christ, His church, we’ve gotten both individually and collectively frail and feeble, forgetting the tough, but interesting and rewarding things we experienced with Christ at the helm of our earlier lives. But now, the words giving up something for Christ, sacrificing for His benefit, have become anathema to us. Yes, truly living for Christ has become repugnant and hateful to His believers, who only want to live the abundant life without having to lift a finger to enjoy it. 

And I hope it will be of benefit to remind us here of what we signed up for when we became disciples of Christ. Jesus said it thus: ‘If any one will come after (follow) me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.’ (Luke 9:23) Now that is explicit as it can get. One commentator explains it thus: ‘Jesus called those who wish to be his disciples to discipline themselves in their everyday life by living in a way that is honoring to him and others.’ There is no hemming and hawing about it. You either are willing to sacrifice on behalf of Jesus and others or you are not, and it’s a lifelong process. 

And that’s why believers are the laughingstock of our community. We talk a great talk, but our walk is far from credible. Now here are a few more commentaries on discipleship. This one says: ‘A disciple of Jesus is someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus.’ How many of us supposed believers can say we are truly committed to the mission of Jesus by the works that we do eh? Not a whole lot.  For, ‘Being a disciple is more than just being a follower. In the time of Jesus, the relationship between a disciple and master (teacher) was deep commitment and loyalty by both the teacher and the disciple.’ 

Nowadays though, you certainly don’t see too many of us showing that deep commitment and loyalty to Jesus. What we are these days are more like fans of Jesus, rather than disciples, as this commentary explains. ‘In contrast to a disciple is what many call a fan. This is best illustrated by comparing the fan of a sports team with one of the players on the field. A fan sits on the sideline and cheers on their team. They may invest some time in learning about their team. And they may invest in purchasing some of the appropriate swag so that they can fly the team colors. 

But the fan watches the performance from the stands or watches the game on TV. But they do not get directly involved. And if their team disappoints them, they may switch their allegiance to one they find more satisfying.’ Now that’s what so many of us do; watch from the sidelines and offer up glib, empty promises, and move from church to church seeking to satisfy our inner lusts. However, that’s not how true disciples operate. 

‘Disciples are those who are not content to watch from the sidelines. Their commitment to the Savior means they are actively engaged in the kingdom even if it is inconvenient, or difficult, or even if they don’t fully understand what Jesus is asking of them. For example, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would be the mother of the Son of God, even without perhaps knowing all that would be required of her, she nevertheless responded with faith and declared, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38)

Yes friends, those are the realities of the true disciple. Yuh see the different responses to Jesus calling Peter, Andrew, James and John, and that of the young rich man. Jesus said to the first four: ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.’ (Luke 4:19-20) They left lucrative business simply to follow a rabbi they didn’t know. But the pull must have been very strong for them to just walk away from everything they had spent their whole lives building. But that’s the kind of obedience and loyalty Jesus desires from His followers. 

Meanwhile the rich, young ruler’s response to Jesus’ words was entirely different. When Jesus told him: ‘One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.’ (Mark. 10:21-22) Who knows if Jesus really expected the fellow to sell all his possessions and give away the proceeds to the poor, but He was surely testing the level of his devotion to God. And unfortunately, that’s how many of us react to God’s challenges; with a sad, grieved countenance. 

But please friends, although none of us wants to go through the fiery furnace, let’s remember what we signed up for: just that, if the Lord deems it necessary. Now let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for grace and mercy to live up to our promises. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now the seed we need to sow to get divine help is ingrained right there in our prayer…turn from our evil ways. Please, it’s high time we begun doing that! Much LOVE!

…being a disciple of Christ…is not cheap or easy…but the price is surely worthwhile… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ      

Today’s Scrip-Bit   13 November 2023 James 4:10.

13 Nov 2023 Leave a comment

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

James 4:10.        Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

And we’ve been blessed with a bright sunny Monday to begin our new work week, with double digit temperatures! Please give the Lord some thanks and praise for it, because it could have easily been rain and snow instead! (smile) Ah friends, I do hope that we’re out there blowing away the heathen with our superb salty flavour and blinding them with our heavenly light, so that they can know we’re not just ordinary people, but sincere followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the One who sacrificed His sinless life on the cross at Calvary so that our sin debt could be paid in full, and we could thus be reconciled back to our heavenly father. Glory be! 

What a wonderful Lord and Saviour is our Jesus! He is the shepherd of our souls: He said it Himself: ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep….I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.’ (John 10:11, 14) And not only is Jesus our good shepherd, but He’s also the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but through him! (John 14:6) Wow! Jesus has the best way for us to live this earthly life! In other words, He’s our EVERYTHING! And we are NOTHING without Him! 

Listen as He tells it loud and clear: ‘Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:4-5) 

Mama Mia! What a powerful, all-encompassing statement! Without Jesus we can’t do much of anything. And that’s the gospel truth, for the universe and all there is belongs to Him, He created it, for His pleasure. Bruh David said it thus in Psalm 24: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods (rivers).’ (Ps. 24:1-2) 

And likewise friends, the Lord created us in His own spiritual image to honour and glorify Him. He breathed the breath of life into each human being He created and can just as summarily take it away. And we had better learn to respect that li’l piece of info, for it’s why, when the Grim Reaper appears to take us home, we are helpless to say no. 

Furthermore, since the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord, that means it’s also the Lord who allows us to get wealth and live the good and comfortable life. As Moses reminded the Hebrew children so long ago on their way to the Promised Land. ‘But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.’ (Deut. 8:18) In fact my faithful brethren it’s the Lord who gives us power to get or do anything whatsoever! And physical wealth and abundance is one of God’s great blessings for those who are obedient and follow His divine will. 

And since God did not want us to be merely robots, He gave us what we call free choice; the ability to do as we please. However, that free choice does come with serious repercussions if we don’t do His will. He gave us the free choice expecting that we’d be wise enough to use it follow Him not the evil Satan, like so many of us are doing. And that’s why the sin and evil in this world are eating us up and spitting us out like wood chips from a wood factory. We cannot control the evildoers and their evil deeds by our own efforts. No, we need the health and strength and the complete wherewithal of Christ Jesus to do it. 

And it’s not always easy to fight off the devil, but as James says it begins thus: ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-10) Now that right there says it all friends. We need to humble ourselves in God’s sight, not behave proud and arrogant and like we have no need for Him. 

As James says earlier on: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will (wants) to be a friend of the world, is (makes himself) the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy (yearns jealously)? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’ (James 4:4-6) 

Oh my people, once upon a time we were complete enemies of God, but when the time was right He sent Jesus to die for us so that we could become His children once again. Now we have the choice, the option of being a child of God or one of Satan. It only makes complete sense to choose the best option, that of being a son of God, for the other option only leads to hellfire and damnation. But that calls for humbling ourselves before Him. So let’s do that right now nuh, approach the throne of grace through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, asking for divine help. 

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

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And if we’ve truly learned our lesson, then we’ll turn from our evil ways and humble ourselves before Almighty God! Much LOVE!

…the Lord hates the haughty…they are an abomination unto Him… (Prov. 6:17)

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 October 2023 Colossians 3:17.

30 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Colossians 3:17.       Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

Is it Monday already? Yes! But how can it be, when the weekend just began, and I haven’t recovered from last week’s work as yet! (smile) Oh, I know that’s a question that floats around the world every Monday morning. The insinuation is that the two days off over the weekend are not sufficient to recuperate from the five days of consecutive work. And in some places and professions this has been accepted and a four-day work week has been implemented. 

But I can assure you that come Monday morning after the three-day weekend, the result is exactly the same as after the two-day weekend. The time off was not enough! But I believe what happens in that instance is that there’s too much time off between work periods. We get so accustomed to being at home, relaxing for three days, that it then becomes difficult to resuscitate ourselves, to get ourselves back into the work ethic frame of mind. And it will be even worse when we go to the three-day work week, as some are advocating for. 

And how do we solve this problem eh? I really don’t know, and can only suggest that we become true and serious disciples of Jesus Christ and sincerely embrace His work ethic, one of constant diligence and excellence and complete obedience to will of the Father. And as the Bible teaches us, ‘Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ (Col. 3:17) That’s the only way my finite mind can think of to get rid of the Monday morning blahs, and all the foolish excuses we dredge up not to go to work. (smile) 

And the scholars agree with me, when they explain that verse thus: ‘The beneficial influence produced by the indwelling word of Christ is not only to affect public and private worship (vs. 16), but it is also to control ALL areas of Christian life.’ Yuh see that friends, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is responsible for all we believers do, to keep us on the straight and narrow path. And I know telling you to look up verse 16 for yourself  is a waste of time, (smile) so let’s look at it together. It wisely advises: ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.’ (Col. 3:16) 

And as the scholars explain: ‘When believers are forbearing, forgiving (vs. 13), and LOVING (vs. 14), toward one another, when peace reigns among God’s people (vs. 15), then the church is fertile soil for the blessings produced by the word of Christ.’  And that is what we’re supposed to be striving for; making the church of Christ’s soil fertile for His rich blessings by living in peace, harmony and LOVE with each other, regardless of our colour, creed or race. 

Remember, yesterday we noted where Jesus said that He had two flocks, Jews and Gentiles, which He would eventually combine into ONE, with only ONE Shepherd. (John 10:16) That means if the two flocks don’t behave the way Jesus wants, then the whole show will crumble. And sadly, that’s exactly what’s happening today; there are too many divisions and denominations in the church, with too many petty differences driving and keeping them apart. That’s why Jesus said to the disciples: ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; as I have LOVED you, that ye also LOVE one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:34-35) 

Now, are we keeping that commandment my fellow believers? Not on your life! There’s more infighting and petty resentments in the church than in Satan’s kingdom! That ought to tell us something! That we’re not true disciples of Christ. If we were, there wouldn’t be so many divisions and as much infighting in Christ’s church. We’d be standing proud in unity and working diligently to defeat the enemy by spreading Christ’s gospel all around the world like He asked us to do. But no, we’re so busy fighting each other that in the meanwhile the enemy is taking over the world, and the evildoers are being triumphant. 

What saddens me the most, is that the enemy doesn’t even have to use the usual tactic of divide and conquer, because we are dividing ourselves and allowing him to thus get the better of us. And to make matters even worse, too many of us supposed believers have gotten so comfortable in this evil world, surrounded by all its’ amenities, that we’re much more interested in sitting on our fannies and enjoying our creature comforts than getting out into the evil world and teaching others about the wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Christ Jesus. 

That’s why they say the worst kind of Christian is a comfortable Christian. And it’s the truth in spades! When we get too comfortable we don’t want to make any sacrifices for Christ. And I’m sure Jesus is not happy with the poor performance of His church in spreading the good news of His kingdom, and the longer we continue to fight each other, and not do what Jesus demands of us, the worse things are going to become. So what’s the answer eh? The first thing for a believer to always do is pray. So let’s take that step right now by going to the throne of grace, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn asking for divine help to solve our many earthly problems. 

Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

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

And if we listen closely to our prayer, we’ll realize that to get divine help, we first have to turn from our evil ways and sincerely seek God’s face. And until we do that, nothing’s going to change in our favour! Much LOVE!

…whether therefore ye eat or drink…whatsoever ye do…do all to the glory of God… (1 Cor. 10:31) 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ      

Today’s Scrip-Bit   23 October 2023 Proverbs 24:1.

23 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 24:1.       Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them.

And a big, bright welcome to Monday! Yes friends, that’s how we ought to greet the first day of our work week, with enthusiasm and great expectations. For, as believers in Christ Jesus, every new Monday that dawns, means we’re alive, we’ve lived through another weekend, and the upcoming week brings with it a stellar hope of unending possibilities, possibilities filled with God’s amazing grace, mercy and bountiful goodness! And we all know that if are walking obediently in God’s plan for our lives, anything is possible at any time, because that’s the kind of God we serve; a God of surprises, of unexpected affection and enormous favour. 

And having said all of that, what shall we talk about today? Well the Good Library opened at an interesting place in Proverbs, where Cousin Sol talks about the wise man’s strength. So let’s investigate that passage and see what we can glean from it nuh. Cousin Sol opens that chapter by advising: ‘Be not thou envious against (of) evil men, neither desire to be with them. For their heart studieth destruction (devises violence), and their lips talk of mischief (trouble). Through wisdom is a house builded; and by understanding it is established. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.’ (Prov. 24:1-4) 

Now doesn’t all that sound very familiar? It should, because throughout the Bible we’re warned against evil doing and evil doers, and encouraged to take up wisdom and understanding instead. No wonder, in the very first psalm we’re poignantly warned: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder on) day and night. (Ps. 1:1-2) 

And that was the very same message the Lord God gave to Joshua when He made him leader of the Israelites after the death of Moses. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh:1:8) Straight from the horse’s mouth my people, no hearsay or telltale gossip! That means it must be true. 

It’s the same warning that the psalmist Asaph talked about in his own life. Thus he writes in Psalm 73: ‘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 (I 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) And that’s exactly what’s happening to so many of us in these troubled times! Too many of us are being jealous of the prosperity of the wicked. That’s why Bruh David tells us in Psalm 37: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb.’ (Ps. 37:1-2) 

And luckily for the psalmist Asaph, he didn’t completely stumble spiritually, lose his faith and fall in his envy of the prosperous wicked. But as he says later on after experiencing the chastening of the righteous. ‘Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain (kept my heart pure in vain), and washed my hands in innocency. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning. If I say I will speak thus; behold, I should offend against (would have been untrue to) the children of thy generation. When I thought to know (understand) this, it was too painful for me (too troublesome in my eyes). Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.’ (Ps. 73:13-17) 

Yes my fellow believers, as the scholars explain: ‘Not until the psalmist entered God’s sanctuary and received a divine perspective on the wicked’s prosperity did he find his answer to the problem (vs. 17-28). He saw the destiny of the wicked (vs. 17-20); therefore he repented of his foolishness (vs. 21-22) and found his happiness solely in a warm and growing relationship with God (vs. 23-28) The point of the psalm is driven home even more dramatically when remembering that Asaph, the author, was a spiritual man who grew up with deeply religious training (1 Chr. 15:16-19; 16:4-7; 2 Chr. 5:12; 29:30).’ 

Oh my fellow saints, if Asaph, one of the highly spiritual and religious men who made music with Bruh David could be tempted to fall into the camp of the wicked through their prosperity, it’s obvious that the same thing could easily happen to many of us who are not so spiritually mature. That’s why we have to be ever so careful and do as the Lord told Joshua, meditate on His word day and night, because that’s the only way we will ever be truly prosperous and successful. 

And Bruh David gave us some more practical tips in Psalm 37: ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgement (justice) as the noonday. 

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil (for it only causes harm). For the evil doers shall be cut off (destroyed): but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’ (Ps; 37:3-9) 

Yes my faithful brethren, you couldn’t find more practical advice on how to live this earthly life. That means we need to adopt those principles in our own everyday lives so we can reflect the wisdom that Cousin Sol talks about in Proverbs. ‘A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.’ (Prov. 24:5) And with those words, let’s go to the fountain of wisdom, Almighty God, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn seeking divine help for the many problems that currently beset our world. 

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

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And we’ll do well if we take God’s advice and turn from our evil ways. Much LOVE!

…don’t look at what the world offers…but at what God’s kingdom provides… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ         

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 October 2023 Genesis 50:12.

16 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 50:12.       And his (Jacob’s) sons did unto him according as he commanded them.

And as surely as the sunshine follows the rain, and the moon the sun, so does Monday follow Sunday. It’s a day that many of us don’t like because it wakes us from our weekend slumber, but it’s all a part of this thing we call life, and instead of complaining about it, we had better grab it by the tail and swing with it, if we want to enjoy the abundant life that Christ died for us to have. And all God’s people said, ‘Praise the Lord!’ 

Yes, for our own sakes, we had better hold on to God. Do like Bruh Joseph did despite his many trials and much tribulation, most of which were unfair and unjust. And as the Lord promised, when the time was right, He came through for him. The Lord will do the same for each one of us who faces our storms with a good attitude and keep Him first place in our lives. 

Now, the last time we saw Bruh Joseph his father Jacob had died after blessing his sons and making them promise to bury him in the land of Canaan with his fathers, Isaac and Abraham. Bruh Joseph had therefore had Jacob’s body embalmed and the Egyptians mourned for the patriarch for sixty days. 

The Bible then tells us: ‘And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace (favour) in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now, therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again. And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.’ (Gen. 50:4-6) 

It’s obvious that Pharaoh was very proud of and understanding where Bruh Joseph was concerned. And he had just cause because Bruh Joseph had saved Egypt from certain ruin during the years of the severe famine, and even made Pharaoh richer than he had previously been. 

Thus, the Bible relates: ‘And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. And all the house of Joseph and his brethren, and his father’s house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.’ (Gen. 50:7-9) 

Wow! Jacob certainly had a big, royal-like send off. But he deserved it for he was indeed royalty; the patriarch of Israel. And it’s interesting how the Egyptians treated the Hebrews in the early days, as opposed to four hundred years later, under the Pharaoh who supposedly didn’t know of Bruh Joseph and the history of the Hebrew children in Egypt. 

And the Good Library continues: ‘And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and they mourned with a great and very sore (solemn) lamentation: and he made (observed) a mourning for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim (Mourning of Egypt), which is beyond Jordan.’ (Gen. 50: 10-11) 

Imagine that nuh, the great sorrow expressed by the Egyptians over a Hebrew man. That was when the Hebrews were a mere handful of people, before they grew into such a substantial amount of people, that they threatened the Egyptian’s security, and had to be enslaved to keep them quiet. 

‘And his (Jacob’s) sons did unto him according as he commanded them. For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre. And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.’ (Gen. 50:12-14) 

Oh mih people, can you imagine the spectacle that funeral must have been? With Egyptians and Hebrews, chariots and horses, plus food carts and whatever moving over the land from Egypt to Canaan. And on the way to Canaan land, they stopped for seven days and partied on the threshing floor of Atad. It was such an immense spectacle that the Canaanites changed the name of the place to Abel-mizraim (the Mourning of Egypt). 

At that moment in time, all of the great Hebrew patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had finally been put to rest in the land that their God had promised to their descendants. And the Hebrew people went on growing and prospering in the land of Goshen in Egypt, through the generous auspices of their great God. Likewise, we can also prosper if we sincerely turn to Him for help… and do we ever need a monumental amount of help in our world right now. 

So, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, let’s go to the throne of grace in confident humility and ask for divine help to handle our many earthly problems. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. Heavenly Father, You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Yes, we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

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

It’s obvious then, that our next step is to change our evil ways…if we truly desire to receive divine help. Much LOVE!

…with sincere obedience…divine help is only a prayer away… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ  

Today’s Scrip-Bit   9 October 2023 Matthew 5:16.

09 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 5:16.       Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

And on this Thanksgiving Monday morning, all over this beautiful and blessed land of Canada thanks and praises are being offered up to heaven! And do we ever have a whole lot to be thankful for. The problem though is that those many blessings are not equally distributed throughout our land and our populace. And that sad state of inequality is unfortunately lowering the quality and level of our standard of living, and consequently causing much dissension, disunity and discontent in our society. 

Now that’s not rocket science, because wherever there is blatant and widespread inequality, there will eventually be serious ramifications and consequences. And right now we’re seeing those unwanted divisions and disruptions occurring more frequently and more violently, not only in our country, but unfortunately all over the world, for the inequality is prevalent all over the earth, and the downtrodden and  marginalized are crying out loudly for a fair share of the earth’s wealth, so that they can experience a reasonable standard of living. 

However, the powers that be; the rich and ruling classes are foolishly clamping down, trying to further devalue and bring even more devastation to the have nots. The rich are indeed getting richer, while the poor, if possible, are getting poorer. No wonder our world is currently buffeted by numerous wars, rumors of wars and overwhelming instability, and everyday a new theatre of dissatisfaction opens up with loud cries of injustice and degradation. And what’s the answer to our problem of inequality you ask? 

Obviously a more egalitarian society, where people are seen as, or considered equal and consequently deserve equal rights and opportunities. And until our world seriously and sincerely moves toward a much more equal situation, where the ten% of haves don’t possess 90% of the pie, while the 90% of have nots only possess 10%, that sort of ridiculous inequity will always be cause for rampant dissatisfaction, and eventually chaos. It’s so sad when our world contains truths like, man’s inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn. And by the way, it’s no longer thousands, but millions that are mourning because of mankind’s greed, selfishness and inhumanity. 

And what’s so sad about the whole situation is that there’s more than enough to go around for all the have nots to be satisfied and the haves to still maintain a big portion of the pie, but certainly not 90%. And that’s where we believers in Christ come in. For if we don’t stand up for the poor, the downtrodden, the sick and the lame like our Lord and Leader did when He was here on earth, who else is going to stand up for them eh? Definitely not the evildoers of Satan’s fold. And until we Christians start to make some kind of serious efforts to right the wrongs of the world, things will only go from bad to worse. 

And contrary to our excuses, the job is not impossible, or as big as we claim. It’s just that it will take more effort than we are willing to expend. For if the majority of Christians were to behave like true Christians, our world will be a helluva lot better place than it currently is. Just a li’l kindness and help on our part, a li’l standing up for some injustice or evil deed would bring surprising change. But sadly, too many of us supposed believers don’t want to be bothered with the problems of those less fortunate than us, we just want to relax and be comfortable in our li’l cocoon, insulated from the dire state of our world. And the truth is that a comfortable Christian is indeed the worst kind of Christian there is! 

Jesus didn’t come and die so that we could be comfortable and don’t care about our fellow man. He was always concerned about the sick and suffering, those considered worthless by society, and so should we, His followers, be similarly concerned. But the material wealth of the world and the many amenities now available have killed our pioneering spirit and made us lazy and uninterested in improving things. We just want to sit on our laurels and enjoy the good life. But be it known, that any society which sits on its laurels and does not keep its standards high, will eventually finds itself in ruins, for it’s the standards of a society that make them prosper and keep them in a healthy situation. 

It’s obvious that these words of Jesus have fallen by the wayside in our modern times: ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.’ (Matt. 5:13) And if we’re truthful, we’ll admit that we have lost our salty flavour, and that’s why so many are being trodden underfoot. 

The same goes for these words of our Lord and Saviour: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lampstand); and it giveth light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt. 5:14-16) 

Oh my people, there again we have sadly not shone as a bright light in this world. Whatever light we have is hidden under a basket, or we’ve never lit the candle in the first place. But whichever it is, it is not good enough. Jesus desires us to follow in His footsteps and bring some peace and LOVE to our inflamed and hateful world, and we can only do that if we get up off of our fat fannies, and renew or recapture our salty flavour, as well as light our candles and go brightly in this dark and evil world! Let’s promise ourselves to do just that nuh, for our children’s sake! And we can begin by most appropriately asking for heavenly help this Thanksgiving Day, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

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

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, let’s get up and get a sincere move on nuh, so that we can be assured of divine help! Much LOVE!

…without the salt and light of Christians…the world is dark and flavourless… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ         

Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 October 2023 Genesis 45:26b.

02 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Genesis 45:26b.       And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.

Oh my people, I don’t know what’s happening nuh, but it’s forecasted to be warm and sunny all week, with temps in the low to mid-twenties! Wow! And this in the first week of October to booth! I must say I like this climate change business yes! (smile) But the trees have not been fooled, they’re still cautiously changing the colours of their leaves and preparing for the frosty season, because they know that when it comes, as come it must, it will come without any warning. Anyway, let’s say thanks to our God and enjoy the good weather while it lasts. 

Now, let’s see what’s happening in that enlightening and oh so teachable story of Bruh Joseph. When last we saw him, he’d revealed his identity to his brothers, and all of Pharaoh’s house knew that his brothers had come to him. And strangely enough, this pleased Pharoah and his household so much that Pharaoh commanded Bruh Joseph to give his brothers wagons and food to bring down their father and families to Egypt. ‘…for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ Yes my brethren, when the Lord is working on your behalf, you don’t get favour and goodness in small amounts, but He causes even your enemies to like you and bestow their abundance on you! 

Thus, the Bible reports: ‘And the children of Israel (Jacob) did so: and Joseph gave them wagons (carts), according to the commandment of Pharoah, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment (clothing); but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner; ten asses (donkeys) laden (loaded) with the good things of Egypt, and ten she asses (donkeys) laden with corn (grain) and bread and meat (food) for his father by (for) the way. So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out (meet with calamity) by (along) the way.’ (Gen. 45:21-24) 

Ah friends, that is the way families should treat each other. In fact, that is the way all Christians, all believers in Christ Jesus should treat each other; be generous with whatever we have to those in need. Unfortunately though, these are greedy and selfish times, and even supposed believers are not being as generous as they can, or ought to be towards the large amount of people who are suffering from dire want. The body of Christ, the church itself is not as involved as it should be with the poor and needy. But that’s one of Jesus’ intentions behind its formation; a certain help to society in times of need. And we certainly need to improve our efforts in that area if we are to fulfill Christ’s demands. 

Anyway, getting back to the story of Bruh Joseph, the Good Library tells us: ‘And they (Bruh Joseph’s brothers) went up out of Egypt, and into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.’ (Gen. 45:25-26) They were lucky he didn’t just drop dead on them with the surprise of such news. His favourite son, missing and thought dead for twenty years, is still alive and governor of the most prosperous and powerful land on the planet! Brother! That was more than enough to jolt the heart of an old man. 

But that was not in God’s script. (smile) So Jacob simply felt faint with the amazing news. ‘And (in his disbelief), they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto them: and when he (Jacob) saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And Israel (Jacob) said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.’ (Gen. 45:27-28) 

And all yuh still thing our God isn’t a great dramatist? No sir! He is the best! For His Word, from Genesis to Revelation, the sixty-six books are filled with all sorts of drama: good, bad and indifferent! So why don’t we pay more attention to God’s Word then eh? Nothing that man has ever written on his own can even come close to the drama filled words of the Bible, which is the infallible and inerrant Word of God written for man’s benefit through the intercession of the Holy Spirit. 

For as Bruh Paul writes to Timothy, describing the unique character of Scripture: ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine (what to believe), for reproof (what is wrong), for correction (how to correct wrong), for instruction in righteousness (how to live): That the man of God may be perfect (proficient, capable), thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works (having all he needs to do what God wants).’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17) 

Yes my fellow saints, the Bible is our Instruction Manual for life down here on Mother Earth! And if we don’t follow its directions, we will pay the price, the consequences for disobedience, sooner or later. For as Uncle Charles (Dr. Charles Stanley) used to say: ‘we reap what we sow, more than we sow, and later than we sow.’ And that’s the gospel truth! In one form or another, our misdeeds do not go unpunished. And a good example of that is how the evil deeds of Bruh Joseph’s brothers came back to haunt them long after the fact. 

So please, I plead with us, especially in these very evil and ungodly times, let’s read and study that heavenly written Information Manual and put it into sincere and serious actions in our lives nuh, so that we don’t have to pay serious consequences later on. And the first step in that direction is going to the throne of grace in sincere and humble prayer, through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, and asking for divine help in time of earthly need. 

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

So, we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading for wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. Oh Father, please ease the pain of the many suffering from negative situations, show them Your awesome grace and mercy. And faithfully keep Your promise to prosper us if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

And before the Lord will keep His promise, we have to keep ours; turn from our evil ways and sincerely seek His face! That’s the ONLY WAY to enlist divine help! Much LOVE!

…our God is good and forgiving…but like a good parent…He doesn’t put with continual disobedience from His people…when we don’t hear…we feel…  

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ     

Previous Older Entries Next Newer Entries