Today’s Scrip-Bit   26 May 2022 Isaiah 52:7a.

26 May 2022 Leave a comment

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

Isaiah 52:7a.      How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (good news),

And we’ll open Today’s Bit with the all-important question that the lady in the song is asking: ‘If Jesus comes tomorrow, or if Jesus comes this afternoon, will you be ready?’ Now that should make us all stop and ponder our personal situations for a few moments. And if the answer is yes, then we can continue along the same basic path. 

However, if the answer is no, then we’d better hurry up and get ready because Jesus said it Himself, that He‘ll be coming like a thief in the night, when no one expects Him. And after He comes, there’ll be only one option available: hellfire and damnation with Satan. So, if we want to go with Jesus whenever He comes, we must get ready asap, else we’ll be left behind to face the Tribulation and whatever else the darkness of the enemy hides. 

And as I was just thumbing through the Good Book for a scripture to use, I came upon this marvellous verse from the prophet Isaiah, where he speaks on the Lord’s behalf. ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings (good news), that publisheth (proclaims) peace; that bringeth good tidings (good news) of good (things), that publisheth (proclaims) salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!’ (Is. 52:7) And there’s absolutely no doubt that our great God reigns supreme my fellow believers! 

Listen to the psalmist tell it from Psalm 93 nuh. ‘The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is established, that it cannot be moved (shaken). Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.’ (Ps. 93:1-2) And that’s the indisputable truth! Our God has been around from the beginning of time, and possibly even before. (smile) He created the world and all therein, and still runs it as He pleases. It’s his fiefdom and no one can say Him nay! 

And only when we have those basic facts fully entrenched in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, can we appreciate the true majesty and wonder of our God, and believe and behave like the prophet Isaiah continues. ‘Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together they shall sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again (back) Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm (revealed his awesome power) in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.’ (Is. 52: 8-10) 

And if that isn’t the gospel truth, then I don’t know what is! For the Lord has indeed redeemed, comforted and brought salvation to His people, in fact to all the nations of the earth, through the sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension of His wonderful Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!  And that’s something to be indeed glad of and to shout about with indescribable joy! 

Oh friends, by now we all ought to know that our God doesn’t make idle promises, and He faithfully keeps them all. And the first coming of Christ got the ball rolling in God’s promise of good news, redemption, comfort and salvation. And like the prophet says, beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings of good things, especially good news of good things like peace, and salvation. Oh yes, we are always ready to meet and greet those who come bearing glad tidings, good news. 

And that’s what Jesus came bearing. So why are so many of us adamantly refusing to accept Him eh? Because we are foolish, and our inherent sinful nature is getting the better of us. We prefer to live in the darkness of Satan, where our evil deeds can be hidden, because we know all too well that once we accept Jesus, who is the light, our evil deeds will be most certainly exposed, and our shame will there for all the world to see.  And if we accept Jesus, then we’ll have to give up those awful sins. 

But some of us just can’t bear to give them, because they are so deeply entrenched in us, and we find them so wonderful. So, foolishly, unwisely, we stick with the enemy, enjoying the perishable things of the world, instead of turning to the imperishable things of heaven that come with the acceptance of Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour. 

But be that as it may, those of us who believe have the duty to go about spreading that good news, bringing those good tidings of salvation and eternal life to all who will listen. Jesus was very decisive when He gave what we call the Great Commission to the disciples, and subsequently to us. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:19-20) 

Now we could not require a more direct directive than that to let us know that we must be amongst the beautiful feet on the mountains that carry the good news of Christ’s salvation to ALL the world. And, can we sincerely say that we’re doing as Jesus commanded? I do hope so. Because we have no good excuse not to do as he requires. We can’t even complain that Jesus didn’t give us the tools to do His earthly will, because He’s certainly bestowed blessings on us that we do not deserve, but are there to help us do His work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, but we need to activate them by declaring (steups!!!) them out loud. 

So, as one strong and confident voice, let’s do that right now. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having activated those marvellous blessings, we now need to go out and action them, use and share them with others, just as generously and unselfishly as Jesus shared them with us. Much LOVE!

…it’s time for Christians to get our beautiful feet moving…so that we can spread the good news of Christ…that the world so badly needs to hear… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   20 September 2021 Psalm 47:7.

20 Sep 2021 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 47:7.     For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. 

It’s a beautiful morning, a wonderful Monday, Election day in the land! So, despite our many problems and differences of opinions, please be sure to get out and cast your vote, for it’s your biggest responsibility in our democratic way of life. And if you don’t vote, you are not doing your democratic duty.  And if enough of us default on our duty, it can eventually lead to the downfall of the system. But we know that won’t happen, because we are all good and worthwhile citizens and take our duties seriously. 

The problem is that we seem to have adopted the American way of campaigning, where it’s all about spending large sums of money on campaigns and slinging mud. The campaigns have become so nasty and personal, rather than concentrating on party-based promises, that it’s turning off a lot of good folks, who are not accustomed to such tactics, and don’t like them. And that’s exactly why we must get out there and vote and let our displeasure be known, vote for those who we believe will give us the most righteous and godly government. 

And yes, I know that politics is looked upon as a godless and evil occupation, but that’s not totally true, for if we elect godly people, most of them will do the right thing. And that’s where the power of our democracy lies, in the power of the ballot box! The only problem there is to find enough godly people to elect. (smile) But if we believe that God is still the sovereign ruler of the universe, then we will have hope that things will get better rather than worse. That brings us to Psalm 93 – subtitled ‘The Lord is clothed with majesty.’ Exactly what we were just talking about. 

So let’s pray it together nuh. ‘The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself; the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved (shaken). Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted (raised) up, O Lord, the floods have lifted (raised) up their voice; the floods lift (raise) up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh (adorns) thy house, O Lord, for ever.’ (Ps. 93:1-5) 

And all God’s children said a loud and sincere ‘Amen!’ Yes friends, our God is still as great as He ever was, and will continue to be the sovereign ruler of His universe! No ifs, ands or buts about it! And the scholars offer this explanation. ‘Psalm 93. This second psalm of the divine kingdom (cf. 47; 96-99) speaks prophetically of the time when the Lord will rule on the earth in the person of the Messiah. The Lord’s kingship is described (vs. 1-2), revealed in nature (vs. 3-4) and present in His house, the temple (vs. 5).’ 

All those psalms mentioned above deal with the Lord’s sovereignty and the Messiah’s reign over the earth. So, let’s hear a few verses from Psalm 47 nuh. ‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great king over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations under our feet. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom he LOVED.   Selah. 

God is gone up (ascended) with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen (gentiles): God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness. The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.’ (Ps. 47:1-9) 

That’s all gospel truth my people! And if we say we believe in Almighty God, then we ought to believe all of that! And we do have the fulfillment of the first part of the promise; that’s the first coming of the Messiah, Christ Jesus, and we are eagerly awaiting His Second Coming to take us home with Him to those magnificent mansions in the sky. So we believers should be all filled with tons of hope and faith, bursting with joy, because we know that our great and wonderful God keeps all His promises. 

Consequently, this fateful Monday morning, where we are beset by numerous problems, let’s not worry ourselves about the outcome of the elections or any of the stuff that’s causing us anxiety. Instead, let’s do as the Lord has commanded us, take our problems to Him in prayer. In strong and sincere voice then, let’s raise our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to heaven. 

‘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. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that 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. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems. 

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land 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!’ 

Let’s not forget though, that it all hinges on our sincere obedience to God’s divine will. Much LOVE!

…the earth is the Lord’s…and the fulness thereof… the world…and they that dwell therein… (Ps. 24:1))                                                                                                                   

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