the Lord is our judge

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 April 2022 Isaiah 33:22.

19 Apr 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: blow me down, Buccoo, Buccoo Goat Racing Stadium, climate change, committed all judgement unto the Son, Easter Monday, every knee shall bow to me, every tongue shall confess to God, fear ye not the reproach of men, Goat racing, He was ordained of God, his tongue talketh of judgement, hurry, I am the beloved of god, in god's eyes, lock stock and barrel, LOVE, Mother Nature, neither be ye afraid of their revilings, share His love with the world, stand before the judgement seat of Christ, straight from the horse's mouth, the law of God, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, the mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, the people in whose heart is my law, the purpose of the law, the spiritual law deals with man's relationship to God, there is one lawgiver, to be the judge of the quick and dead, to reveal the sovereignty of God, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, who is able to save and to destroy, worry

Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

Oh, what a sad ending to a beautiful Easter Monday in my area – rain in the afternoon, and then wet snow in the early evening. I had a nap while it was raining, and on getting up, I looked outside, and, as the Bajans would say, ‘Blow me down!’ was I ever surprised to see the whole place covered in white, and the wet white stuff still coming down hard. It must have messed up the evening commute, but thankfully, the roads seem clean now, although the land is still covered in white. That’s Mother Nature for you in these days of climate change!

Anyway, today’s a new day – Easter Tuesday, and everything’s set for the big do on that day – Goat Racing in Buccoo, in sweet Tobago! Yes mih people, I hope you have yuh dan-dan (pretty clothes) ready to get down to that stadium in Buccoo built mainly to hold goat racing. And yuh better get there early if you want to get a seat, because they are coming from all over to check out this spectacular event, held only in Tobago. And was I ever surprised a few years ago when I went down there and saw the stadium.

Oh, it’s nice and all that, but I don’t think it can ever capture the atmosphere of the old Goat races, further up the road, on a strip of land between some houses, where everybody gathered around the track, in a more intimate setting. And in those days, I believe they also had crab races. But the best part of the day was the parties they had in the houses surrounding the track! Yes! I remember one particular year in my teens, my buddies and I getting totally inebriated, and a friend’s sister and I partying up the place. (smile) Yuh remember that one Harry? Possibly not, since he might have been into the waters even more than me.

I guess you would call those the good ole days. And they were, because our society was not as evil, ungodly and stressful as it is now. Today, it’s all about greed, selfishness, money, power and sinful pleasures, with God and His things of no real account. But, for the comparative handful of us who still hold Almighty God as El Numero Uno – Number One, who have unequivocally placed our hope and trust in Him, there is good reason to be joyful. Why? Because the scriptures, the immovable, unchanging everlasting true Word of God tells us so.

Listen to these words of the prophet Isaiah spoken to the people of Israel ages ago. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ (Is. 33:22) Wow mih bredrin! What a mighty God we serve if He is truthfully all those amazing things to us! And if you don’t believe me, then let’s check out some scriptures which ought to make you believe.

As per the Lord is our judge; listen to Peter preaching to the Gentiles. ‘And he (Jesus) commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick (living) and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission (forgiveness) of sins.’ (Acts 10:42-43) And there you have two of the promised things; Judge and Saviour.

Meanwhile, Bruh Paul said to the church at Rome. ‘But why dost thou Judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought (despise) thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.’ (Rom. 14:10-12) Now, as per verse 11 above there, we are familiar with it coming from Phil. 2:10-11), but Isaiah declared it long before that in Is. 45:23)

And there’s never any better source of information than right from the horse’s mouth. So, check out these words of Jesus to the hypocritical Jews of His time. ‘For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth (gives life to) them; even so the Son quickeneth (gives life to) whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the Son…And hath given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the Son of man.’ (John, 5:21-22, 27) That’s straight from the horse’s mouth friends, so you better had believe it! And in there you also have about being saved by the Son of man that God sent to give us life eternal.

Now, re God being our lawgiver, listen again to Isaiah, as he calls the faithful to courage. ‘Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed (go forth) from me, and I will make my judgement (justice) to rest, for a light of the people…Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.’ (Is. 51:4, 7)

Then James says on the subject: ‘Speak not evil of one another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another.’ (James 4:11-12) Please remember that friends: there is only ONE lawgiver, Almighty God! And hear how Bruh David puts it in Psalm 37. ‘The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgement (justice). The law of his God is in his heart: none of his steps shall slide.’ (Ps. 37:30-31)

And the scholars offer a marvellous explanation on the ‘Law of God. 37:31. The law of God is the extension of God’s nature and expression of God’s will in His creation. God’s law is expressed in different forms, relating to different areas of His creation. The physical law of God includes the laws of nature which govern the continuous physical existence of this world (Gen. 8:22; Col. 1:17).

The moral law, also called “the perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25), governs the immaterial issues of life (2 Tim. 3:17). The social law of God affects interpersonal relationships and can be summarized by the “royal law” (James 2:8). The spiritual law deals with a man’s relationship with God. It is summarized in “the first and great commandment” (Matt. 23:37).

Illustration: The purpose of the law is to reveal the sovereignty of God (Ex. 20:2), to place a restraint on the sinner (68:7-8), to show the greatness and reality of sin (Rom. 3:19-20), and to lead the sinner to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The purpose of the law did not change with the gospel. When the Judaizers in Galatia sought to teach their erroneous view of the law, they failed to realize that the law has never been able to save anyone. Application: As Christians, we should be concerned to live decently and orderly. (First ref. Gen. 2:17; Primary Ref. Rom. 7:7-14; cf. Ex. 3:13).’

Wow! That’s a lot of scripture to reference, but that’s the only way we can truly learn it. So please, take some time and check out as many of them as you can nuh. I assure you it will lift your scriptural knowledge and increase your awareness of the law and LOVE of our great God. And, as per the saving part of our Bit, we don’t really need to talk about it, because that’s what we’ve been focused on and celebrating all weekend, the Saving Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ so selflessly accomplished through His crucifixion on Good Friday, then His triumphant resurrection on Easter Sunday!

It’s done friends! Like Jesus said on the cross before He gave up the ghost; ‘It is finished!’ Yes, it is! Salvation has finally come. Now it’s up to us to accept or refuse it. And for those of us who have wisely and confidently accepted it, let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we graciously belong, lock, stock and barrel.

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

And having made that boast, it now behooves us to go out and share that awesome LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…Easter…the season of forgiveness, of redemption and salvation…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 March 2022 Isaiah 33:22.

15 Mar 2022 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: behold thy king cometh unto thee, but of power love and a sound mind, conquered Monday, faithful and true, For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, go forth in the strength of Jesus, he will save us, I am the beloved of god, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, in god's eyes, King of Kings, living the Christian life, Lord of Lords, LOVE, not what people say about me, share His love with the world, sweeter than honey on the comb, the Holy One of Israel is our King, the King of glory shall come in, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord of hosts is the King of glory, they have not rejected thee, they have rejected me saith the Lord, Thou sayest rightly that I am a king, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra

Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

Oh my people, it’s Tuesday! That means we’ve conquered Monday, and Tuesday is set out before us also for conquering, though the day may be wet and gloomy with forecasts of precipitation and all kinds of trials and difficulties might lie in our way and naturally cause anxiety and fear. A good Bruh Paulian sentence that! (smile) But we need to remember that we have the power of the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling in us for that exact purpose; to conquer every day which the Lord gives us the privilege of experiencing.

And there’s no better way of starting out than to remember this marvellous scripture of encouragement and reassurance. So, let’s acclaim it out loud together nuh. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) Now if that doesn’t lift our spirits and help us to go forth in the strength of Jesus, then I don’t know what will! (smile)

And as we promised yesterday, if God spared our lives today, we would continue looking at the powerful scripture from Isaiah, which states that God is our be all and our end all, in fact our EVERYTHING! So here goes: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ (Is. 33:22) And that’s the gospel truth my friends, for the Lord is all those things to us …and more.

Now, yesterday we ran out of time and space after talking about the attributes of judge and lawgiver, so today we’ll look at those of King and Saviour. As per God being our King, the Lord Himself first expressed His kingship over Israel, when they came to Samuel, the then judge, and asked for a human king like the other nations around them. The Lord told Samuel, ‘they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’ (1 Sam. 8:7) But nonetheless, later on Israel came to look upon the Lord as their King.

The Psalms, especially those of Bruh David, acknowledge this fact very often. Listen up: In Psalm 24 – The king of glory – Bruh David confidently declares: ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.’ (Ps. 24:7-10)

There is no disputing those facts my people. For the Lord God is indeed the King of glory! And Ethan the Ezrahite repeats the kingly attributes of our great God in Psalm 89 titled – God’s sure promises to David – when he declares: ‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:15-18) It couldn’t get any clearer than that my faithful brethren!

Meanwhile in Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious – Bruh David opens by declaring: ‘I will extol (praise) thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.’ (Ps. 145:1) And the prophet Zechariah promised Zion’s future king with these most encouraging words: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Zech. 9:9) Now that scripture was played out on Psalm Sunday, when King Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, bringing peace instead of war, like the kings of the earth do.

And what can be better than hearing Jesus Himself declare His kingship when He stood accused before Pilate. The Good Book describes it like this. ‘Pilate therefore said unto him (Jesus), Art thou a king then? Jesus answered. Thou sayest (rightly) that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.’ (John 18:37)

And we also know that because of Jesus’ obedience, the Father hath exalted Jesus’ name to the ‘name which is above every other name…that every knee should bow to His name…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:9-11) And we only bow to Lords and Kings.

Then later on in Revelation, we are told about the Beast, the Antichrist and his evil minions: ‘These shall make war with the Lamb (Jesus), and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, chosen, and faithful.’ (Rev. 17:14)

And if you still don’t believe that Jesus is God and King of this world, then listen to this final scripture, also from the Book of Revelation, where John, the writer, says he saw a rider called ‘Faithful and True’ on a white horse, going out to make war and do righteous judgement… ‘And he hath on his vesture (robe) and on his thigh a name written KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’ (Rev. 19:16)

That’s our Jesus, who, when the Father decides the time is right, will have universal sovereignty…the KING over all those who call themselves kings, and the LORD over all those who consider themselves Lords! Hallelujah to the Lamb that was slain for us! And it looks like we’ll have to leave the aspect of ‘salvation’ until tomorrow. Yes, there is plenty to write about that, and trying to do it today would make the Bit exceptionally long, and our focus these days is very short. (smile)

So, for those of us who are sincerely trying to live for Jesus, let’s go home now declaring…would you believe I’ve spelt it correctly every time today…Glory be! Let’s go home declaring (yesss!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, proudly announcing to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’

Now, let’s do our duty by going out and sharing the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…living the Christian life with Jesus…oh it’s so sweet…sweeter than honey on the comb…

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 December 2020 Matthew 5:6.

29 Dec 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a double-minded man is unstable, alive and kicking, ask in faith, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, but enough, calamitous times, doubt destroys fear, driven with the wind and tossed, every cluttered chamber, every hidden pretense, for he satisfieth the longing soul, free me from every shallow substitute, God never makes the same thing twice, he filleth the hungry soul with goodness, he will save us, hem and haw, I am the beloved of god, I can trust my friend Jesus, I don't have to hurry, I don't have to worry, I hunger and thirst for you, I love you my Lord, I shall know, I'm not what I do, I'm not what I have, I'm not what people say about me, if any of you lack wisdom, in god's eyes, into every vacant hollow, let him ask of god, like a wave of the sea, MY Glorious Enough, no one can take that from me, nothing wavering, of my longing heart, one is enough, pour yourself lavishly dear God, put all our eggs in one basket, share His love with the world, thanks and praise, that giveth to all men liberally, the Beatitudes, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, they shall be filled, this is the day the Lord has made, Tuesday Mantra, we will rejoice and be glad in it, with deep consuming conviction, You are My Glorious Enough

Matthew 5:6. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Wowee, Wowee, mih bredrin! It’s another bright and beautiful day in God’s great universe! Wow! And the astounding, the amazing, the marvellous, the astounding – oh I think I’ve said that before, but it’s so good that we can say it again, (smile) yes, the astounding thing about this day is that we’re alive and kicking in it, with a wonderful plan of God highlighted for it! Now what can be better than that eh; our great God with a good plan for us? Nothing mih people, absolutely NOTHING!

So let’s respond as best we can by giving Him a li’l thanks and praise nuh, and agreeing with His marvellous word. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ (Is. 33:22) And for sure, He is all of that my fellow saints in Christ! Make no doubt about it! That’s why we can consequently say with the utmost sincerity and surety: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps. 118:24)

And we’d be very foolish if we didn’t, because there’ll never be another day like today. Oh yes, there’ll most likely be many other todays, but never one again like this one, because our God never makes the same thing twice. Glory be! Otherwise, can you think of there being more than one of each of us? No siree! There’d be even more confusion that we have now. But the good God in His wisdom and power, wisely said, ‘One is enough!’ And it surely is.

But here is something from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that I believe we all could use today. It’s titled ‘My Glorious Enough.’ So please pray with me. ‘Oh, how I LOVE You, my Lord But not enough. How I hunger and thirst for You But not enough. Pour Yourself lavishly, dear God Into every vacant hollow Into every cluttered chamber Of my longing heart. Free me from every shallow substitute From every hidden pretense Until I shall know With deep, consuming conviction That You are my Glorious Enough.’

And mih bredrin, our great and wonderful God is indeed gloriously enough for each and every one of us! In fact, He is more than enough for ALL of us! But the sad truth is that we don’t truly believe it; our less than believing actions show it. When we need to put our sincere trust and faith in Him, we always hem and haw, wondering if He really can help.

Too many of us doubt, deep down in our hearts. And it doesn’t have to be a big doubt nuh, even a li’l one takes away so much of His awesome power in our lives. That’s why Jesus had to admonish His followers so often for being of li’l faith. Unless our faith is strong and unwavering, we miss out on so many good things God has in store for us.

No wonder Jesus’ brother, James, penned these wise and true words to the scattered diaspora of saints way back when. ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting). For he that wavereth (doubts) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.’ (James 1:5-8)

Oh friends, I couldn’t have said it any better. And the problem today with so many of us supposed believers is our doubt, our wavering, our double-mindedness, our lack of true faith! Yes, we talk a good talk, but our real walk is woeful. If it was really good, our world would not be in such a mess, and people would be running towards Jesus rather than dying to get away from Him!

But here’s a magnificent and most suitable word for us from our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus, and it’s the Bible Promise for today’s poem, and also our Bit. We all know it as one of the Beatitudes that Jesus delivered in the opening of His Sermon on the Mount. ‘Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.’ (Matt. 5:6) More gospel truth my people!

And the scholars offer this most interesting explanation of the verse. ‘5:6. These future possessors of the earth are its presently installed rightful heirs, and even now they hunger and thirst after righteousness. They experience a deep desire for personal righteousness, which in itself is a proof of their spiritual rebirth. Those who are poor and empty in their own spiritual poverty recognize the depth of their need, and they hunger and thirst for that which only God can give them. They shall be filled (Gr. chortazo) refers to a complete satisfaction. The psalmist proclaimed: “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” (Ps. 107:9).’

And that’s the awesome, indisputable truth my brethren! Our God fills those of us who are sincerely hungry for Him and what He has to offer and sincerely seek Him for it. And believe me, those of us who are currently alive have never needed Him and what He has to offer more than we do right now in these disastrous and calamitous times.

So let’s wake up and turn to Him for the wisdom and spiritual righteousness that we so badly need nuh. And above all, let’s do it without any doubting or wavering nuh, for we have tried everything that we can do in our own strength and it hasn’t worked. So let’s now put all our eggs in one basket, that of the Lord’s, for He is capable of hatching them without breaking or spoiling any of them. (smile)

And for those of us who are sincerely seeking His righteousness, let’s go home now declaring (steups!) our Tuesday Mantra, telling the whole world who and whose we are! Altogether now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’

So what we waiting for eh? Let’s go out right now and share that awesome LOVE and friendship of our friend and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!

…only do not doubt…for doubt destroys faith… and we need faith to live successfully…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 October 2020 Isaiah 33:22.

21 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a bright sunshiny day, a fearful heart, all for our benefit, all the prophets witness, be strong, better not to vow, but after this the judgement, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalme, commanded us to preach, defer not to pay it, egg all over my face, endure until the end, even God with a recompense, ever-faithful God, fear not, fear ye not the reproach of men, give you all the praise, glad to be alive, grace mercy forgiveness loving-kindness, guiding and taking care of us, halfway home, hands fixed securely on the plough, hang in there, he hath no pleasure in fools, he will come and save you, he will save us, hellfire and damnation, I should not reign over them, in whose heart is my law, it is appointed unto men, like a garment, lo this is our God, look like a walrus, looked foolish, LOVE, lowly, much deserved thanks and praise, my eyes are fixed straight ahead, my righteousness shall prevail for ever, my salvation from generation to generation, neither be ye afraid of their revilings, not looking back at the past, once to die, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, paid the price for our unfaithfulness, Palm Sunday, pay that which thou hast vowed, promise to try and do better, rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, rewards, riding upon an ass, see the error of our ways, shall receive remission of sins, suffer not thy mouth, sufficient in Himself, than to vow and not pay, Thank You Lord, the breath of life, the foal of an ass, the Holy One of Israel is our King, the Lord is our defense, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, the moth shall eat them up, the Preacher, the rain is fickle and faithless, the watchwords of the believer, the worm shall eat them like wool, there is one lawgiver, they have rejected me, to a glorious future with Jesus, to be the judge of the quick and dead, to cause thy flesh to sin, to testify, truth, undeserving sinners, unfailingly generous, ungodly times, upon a colt, we have waited for him, we will rejoice and be glad in his salvation, Wednesday Wail, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, when thou vowest a vow unto God, whosoever believeth in him, ye that know righteousness, your God will come with vengeance

Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

Oh friends, today I’m not going to say anything about the rain falling outside nuh, because yesterday after penning the spiel on it, it made me look like such a walrus. Yes, I looked foolish, because by the time I got upstairs there was no sign of the rainy day that was supposed to be in the offing, but it had turned into a bright, sunshiny day. Steups!

And there I was, with egg all over my face. Hn! Well today it can fall or not fall, do whatever it wants, and I couldn’t care less, because the rain is rather fickle and faithless, like so many of us human beings, including believers. And that’s my spiel for this morning. (smile)

So instead of focusing on the faithless rain, this morning we going to focus on our ever-faithful God, who is so many things to us, re this passage of scripture from Isaiah. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ (Is. 33:22).

Oh my people, what a wonderful God we serve and worship; one who is all things to us! One who is sufficient in Himself, and unfailingly generous to provide everything that we can ever need or want in this great universe that He’s so wisely created! Please give Him some much-deserved thanks and praise nuh.

And all God’s children gave a mighty shout of: ‘Thank You Lord! Thank You ever so much for being our be all and end all! Thank You for your grace, your mercy, your forgiveness, and LOVING-kindness to such fickle, faithless and undeserving sinners like us! We promise to try and do better in the upcoming days, but You know that we can’t do anything worthwhile without Your help, so we plead with You, to keep LOVING and guiding and taking care of us, although we don’t deserve it. We thank You and give You all the praise. We pray this in the name of your glorious Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour! Amen!’

Ah my fellow saints in Christ, let’s hope that we have not just made an insincere vow to our God to be better behaved and obedient in the upcoming days, for you know what Cousin Sol says in his role as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes: ‘When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer (delay) not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin…’ (Eccl. 5:4-6a)

And yes my people, those statements hold true even today. It’s best that we not vow at all, than to vow and not pay, an attitude that is rampant in our current world. Oh, how does our mouth cause our flesh to sin in these ungodly times! And the worse thing we can ever do is make a pledge to God and not keep it, although we have been doing it from the beginning of time….but we have also paid the price for our unfaithfulness. No wonder our world is in such an inglorious uproar, with no sign of any improvements soon.

So let’s take our pledge this morning seriously, and with God’s awesome and most generous help, try to do better nuh. Remember, it’s all for OUR benefit, not His! Now let’s check out some scriptures surrounding our Bit: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’

And the first scripture , re ‘the Lord is our judge,’ comes from Acts, where Peter is preaching to the Gentiles. ‘And he (Jesus) commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission (forgiveness of sins).’ (Acts 10:42-43) Yeh mih people, Christ will be our judge on that fateful day. For let’s not forget the immortal words of Hebrews: ‘And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.’ (Heb. 9:27)

Now don’t get all upset and scared, for this judgement will not be about hellfire and damnation, but one for believers, who will give account of their lives before Christ, and receive, or lose rewards for the way they used their God-given talents and gifts down here on earth.

Now, per ‘the Lord is our lawgiver,’ hear Isaiah. ‘Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation,’ (Is. 51; 7-8)

Yes friends, it’s the Lord’s law that will prevail. As James says when he talks about our consideration for a brother. ‘There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; who art thou that judgest another?’ (James 4:12). Good question that my brethren. (smile)

And finally, re ‘the Lord is our king; he will save us,’ there are several wonderful scriptures depicting just such a situation. Listen first to Ethan the Ezrahite, from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to David. ‘For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps. 89:18)

Remember God’s disappointment when the Israelites asked the prophet Samuel for a king, like all the other nations. Hear God’s words to Samuel. ‘And the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken (heed) unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.’ (1 Sam. 8:7) God gave them what they wanted, as He ofttimes does, just so that we can see the error of our ways.

Now hear Isaiah in the song of praise by the redeemed. ‘And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’ (Is. 25:9) And more Isaiah (smile): ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; he will come and save you.’ (Is. 35:4)

And finally this awesome scripture from Zechariah, re Zion’s future king, to which we can all relate. ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ ( Zech. 9:9) And we all know that that prophecy was fulfilled when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Wow! What a mighty God and King and Saviour we serve!

Now let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful, unchangeable, everlasting position in Christ Jesus. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’

And we know God’s faithfulness; if we endure until the end, our future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So please hang in there!Much LOVE!

…faithfulness and truth…the watchwords of the believer…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 April 2020 Isaiah 33:22.

28 Apr 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a bunch of ingrates, a God of love, benefit you later, bought and paid for, calamitous times, Christ died to save us, Christ's precious blood, Covid-19, darkness of the world, death, disgrace, disobedient, don't you love me anymore, endureth forever, eternal life, faithful God, fallen angel Lucifer, flowery nature, forgiveness, friendship, glorify the Lord, God of unlimited chances, good days, grace, he will save us, his mercy and truth, holy and righteous deity, hurry, immeasurable love, long life, lost forever, love me so continually, loving-kindess, mercy, northern climes, on the cross at Calvary, One Year Book of Bible promises, Praise the Lord, purposeful fellowship, redemption, Ruth Harms Calkin, sacrificially shed, salvation, shame, share His love, sin, sinful, social distancing, something you do now, the beloved of God, the grave error of my question, the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is our lawgiver, the prince of darkness, trust my friend Jesus, Tuesday Mantra, usurp his creations, wisdom, worry, Wrong Question, zillion dollar question

Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

And it’s a cloudy, drizzly Tuesday morning…Thank the Lord for Life and some spring blessing, so that in these cold and dry northern climes, His earth can return to it its wonderful green and flowery nature! Yeh friends, whatever the situations or circumstances in our individual lives and our overall world, we need to give our heavenly Father much thanks and praise for His LOVING-kindness and mercy and grace to us undeserving children of men. For without those benefits, we’d be lost forever in a state of sin, shame, disgrace and eventual death!

Now here’s a poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin that brings home that very truth. It’s most appropriately titled ‘Wrong Question.’ Please pray with me: ‘My faithful God I see afresh this morning The grave error of my question “Don’t You LOVE me anymore?” I ought always to ask instead “How can You LOVE me so continually With such immeasurable LOVE?” Now that my fellow saints in Christ is the zillion dollar question – how can a holy, just and righteous Deity LOVE a bunch of ingrates so much eh?

Well the answer is really quite simple: our God is also a God of LOVE, of mercy, of grace and of forgiveness, and above all, we are His own creation, created to have purposeful fellowship and communion with Him, so it’s obvious that He can’t simply throw us away even though we’re rather disobedient and sinful! Remember too that He’s also the God of second, third, fourth and unlimited chances. So it would be against His very nature to just cast us off without any form of help. As Bruh Paul told Timothy: ‘If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim. 2:13)

Yes friends, the Lord cannot deny what He is, or go against His natural attributes. And remember too, He promised to redeem mankind after He kicked our forefathers Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden for their unfaithfulness. So it’s finally come right around full circle: the Lord’s kept His word and gave us a Saviour in Christ Jesus, redemption and salvation bought and paid for by His precious blood shed sacrificially on the cross at Calvary. So alright, I said it was simple, and to the Lord it was and is; though to us it might seem rather convoluted. (smile)

But precious people, all we need to know and believe is that Christ died to save us, and true belief in Him and His righteous cause will lead us to eternal life. And a li’l while ago, when I opened the Good Book, what positive and proactive and promising scripture do you think it opened at eh? Hear the voice of the prophet Isaiah: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ Mama Mia! That says it all my brethren! The Lord God of Israel is all of those things to us, and we need to badly acknowledge Him as them if we want to see long life and good days.

Unfortunately though, our world has turned away from God and has made the prince of darkness it’s new leader. But friends, lemme tell you a li’l ‘secrat’ nuh; the Lord is not going to allow the fallen angel Lucifer to usurp His earthly creation, just like He didn’t allow him to usurp His heavenly kingdom. So for all of those who want to put their trust in Satan now, it will be a sad day for them when that day of judgement arrives, as it most certainly will. The Good Book says it quite plainly: ‘And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement:’ (Heb. 9:27)

And then it will be too late to change our minds, so please, please, I beg of us, let’s disassociate ourselves from the darkness of the world nuh, and instead seek the light, the bright, shining and everlasting light of Jesus, for in Him will we find the true life, the true reason for living! And I just got a good allegory for that: like we doing social distancing now for Covid-19, the same way we ought to do social distancing from Satan! Oh yes, I likes it! It’s rather appropriate! Let’s keep our social distance from this world and all it’s sinful temptations and cling to that Master vine that’s Jesus, so that crapaud don’t smoke we pipe when the end times come.

That’s wisdom at its highest mih people, so please let’s joyfully embrace it now nuh. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) defines wisdom: something you do now that will benefit you later on down the road of life! And believe me, clinging to Jesus is the most beneficial thing we can ever do in this life! And the scripture verses for the poem above is also rather apropos for today’s discussion. They’re taken from, or rather all of Psalm 117 – ‘The truth of the Lord endureth forever.’

So please declare (steups!) with me: ‘O Praise (glorify) the Lord, all ye nations (gentiles): praise (glorify) him, all ye people. For his merciful (LOVING) kindness is great towards us: and the truth of the Lord endureth forever. Praise (glorify) ye the Lord.’ (Ps. 117:1-2) And it couldn’t be said, any sweeter or shorter than that nuh mih bredrin. So let’s do it right now nuh; praise and glorify our magnificent and magnanimous God by declaring (Steups! Like I have to go back to school and learn to spell declare (yeah!) and its derivations yes!) our Tuesday Mantra.

So in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ And though the Coronavirus and social distancing might bridle us a bit, they certainly won’t stop us from sharing Christ’s LOVE and friendship with the many others who desperately need it in these calamitous times! Much LOVE!

…it’s definitely foolish…for one created…to trust another created…more than their common Creator…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 April 2017 Psalm 103:2.

28 Apr 2017 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a good time, a horn of salvation, a peculiar people, Abraham, all our cares, amenities, benefits, bless the Lord, borders, busy, Christians, covenant, crowns, destruction, enemies, enthusiasm, fellowship, followers of Christ, forget not all his benefits, forgiveness of sins, forgives iniquities, free time, Friday chant, fun, fun and games, furthering your glorious kingdom, generosity, generous help, gift, good things, good works, grace, grateful, hectic, holiness, improvements, in Jesus' name, in soul body and mind, iniquities, ironic, Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, king, lawgiver, LOVE, loving-kindness, lustful world, lusts of the flesh, magnanimity, mercy, Mighty Deliverer, misguided soul, o my soul, oath, one iota, our Lord and Saviour, partying, prophets, reality, redeems thy life, refreshed, relaxation, rest, restraints, righteousness, sanity, satisfies thy mouth, save, sins, steadfastness, take for granted, tender mercies, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanksgiving for god's mercy, the Christian life, the Lord is our judge, the weekend, thy youth is renewed like the eagle's, Titus, withour fear, zealous, Zechariah

Psalm 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

Well mih breddren, like we’ve successfully completed another week of work in this confused and way too evil and lustful world!

And sadly, it leads too many of us to enjoy the lusts of the flesh too much in our short time off. We try to make up for what we think we’ve lost during the workweek.

That’s why so many of us joyfully declare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Oh boy, that means the weekend is here! Time for fun and games, partying and letting all our cares drift away to wherever they go! It’s all about a good time now! Oh thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’

And as I keep saying, the sentiments are understandable, but the reality is not. We do have little free time during the workweek, much less that a generation ago, when times were not so hectic and busy.

And that’s sort of strange, when all the improvements we’ve made, were supposedly to help us get more free time. How ironic eh, with plenty more amenities, we have even less free time now than then!

But that doesn’t mean we have to overdo the lighter side of life either when we finally get some time off. If we are to keep our sanity and some sort of steadfastness, our lives must have some borders, some restraints that we will not loosen. And our Friday Chant gives us a good example of that.

So let’s chant it now nuh, with as much enthusiasm as the misguided soul above declares his Friday mission. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’

And all of that segues very nicely into our Bit:‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’

And friends that’s exactly what we ought to do, every day, every waking moment of our lives! For remember, all the earth and its contents are His, and it’s only through His magnanimity and lavish generosity that we can enjoy even one iota of the things we enjoy!

Now let’s look at a few of those things that Bruh David declares we ought to appreciate in this psalm titled – Thanksgiving for God’s mercy.

‘Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.’ (Ps.103:3-5)

Ah mih people, if those are not things to be everlastingly grateful for, then I don’t know what is nuh! But yuh know what? Unfortunately, too many of us, simply don’t know, don’t pay attention to, or simply take those things for granted, and that includes Christians.

But just think about it nuh friends, we have a God who forgives all our iniquities, all our sins, all our transgressions! Wow! That certainly is something to be thankful for! Listen to these scriptures nuh that uphold that contention.

Isaiah declares: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us… And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven all their iniquity.’ (Is.33:22, 24).

Now hear Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, as he declares at John’s birth. ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up a horn of salvation (a Mighty Deliverer) for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our lives.’ (Luke 1:68-75)

And friends, we all know that promise was miraculously and marvelously fulfilled by the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! So why we don’t appreciate our wonderful God more than we do eh? I really can’t say nuh. But eventually, we’ll all have to answer that question to our Maker.

Now let’s close with these moving words of Bruh Paul to Titus on the Christian life. ‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (age);

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar (his own special) people, zealous of good works.’ (Tit.2:11-14)

Oh my faithful followers of Christ, there’s absolutely no doubt that we need to be much more diligent in doing Christ’s work, if we are to truly show our thankfulness for His saving grace and mercy! Much LOVE!

…there is no greater gift in this evil world…than the forgiveness of sins…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 August 2016 Isaiah 35:4.

05 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a fearful heart, a wasted life, accountable, another week of work, balance, be strong, circumspection, daughter of Zion, defense, each step I take, enthused, exalted, fear not, feasting, fellowship, free time, Friday chant, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, generous help, giddy, glorify God, Glory be, God will come with vengeance, God will save you, goodness, heartaches, humble, irresponisbility, just, lawgiver, LOVE, loving kindness, lowly, Palm Sunday, partying, pay a price, recompense, refeshed in soul, reinvigorated, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, responsibility, rested, riding upon an ass, righteous, righteousness, rode triumphantly, sacrifice, salvation, same old, slavery, sorrows, strength, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, the Holy One of Israel, the Lord is our judge, the Messiah, the person we become, the weekend, thy king cometh, total control, vengeance, weary, what a mighty God we serve

Isaiah 35:4. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense: he will come and save you.

And then it was Friday, the favourite day of the working class! Thus the ringing out of declarations such as this, all over the world.

‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! At last that wonderful day is here! The start of the weekend and all the wonderful things we going to do during that time; like feasting, like partying hard…and whatever else comes to mind! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends oui; for this short escape from the new-fangled slavery! At last it’s Friday! Glory Be!’

Ah mih people, the weekend is the only li’l free time we have nowadays, so we obviously tend to, or try to pack so many different things into those couple of days off.

Consequently, we end up giddy and/or weary at the end of it, instead of rested, enthused and rejuvenated for another week of same old, same old. That’s why there has to be balance and circumspection in our weekend actions.

Now let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a better perspective on how to use our weekly free time. Chanting: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through.

Yes friends, it’s that fine balance of rest, fellowship and partying that we need to make the weekend truly a time of renewal. So let’s just pay better attention to our weekend activities nuh, and make sure we’re getting the essential things we need to glorify God in the new workweek.

Now here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU! Poster.’ It says, ‘We can’t do much about our appearance, but we have total control over the kind of person we become.’

Now once upon a time the first part of that quote was oh so true, but now with the advances in plastic surgery and otherwise, it is possible for us to change our appearance if we desperately want to. However, the second part of the quote still holds true; we can totally control the kind of person we become.

The problem here though, is do we want to accept responsibility for the kind of person we are or have become? In this age of irresponsibility, we just like to blame others for everything that happens to us, while accepting little or no responsibility for our own actions.

But friends, this is not the way our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ operates in His kingdom. In Jesus’ world, everyone is held responsible and accountable for their own behaviour and actions. So if you’re a believer, you had better smarten up and begin taking responsibility, otherwise you’re liable to pay a substantial price for that irresponsibility.

Anyway, it’s time to turn to our Bit, that most encouraging and reassuring scripture. ‘Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense: he will come and save you.’

And that’s no lie my brethren! Our God has sincerely and faithfully promised to save us and to recompense us for our heartaches and sorrows. What a mighty and wonderful God we serve my fellow believers!

Now let’s hear some scripture that emphasize that promise. First up is this wonderful passage from Zechariah: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Zech.9:9)

Oh friends, we all know that wonderful promise was fulfilled when Jesus rode triumphantly through the streets of Jerusalem on a donkey, an animal of peace, on Palm Sunday!

And all God’s people loudly and gratefully declared: ‘All praise and honour and glory be to our great and awesome God for faithfully keeping His promise of the Messiah’s coming!’

Now hear Isaiah at the end of the chapter describing salvation for those who trust in God. ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.’ (Is.33:22)

And for sure he will do that my people! In fact he has already done it by sending Jesus to sacrifice His sinless and holy life to pay for our disgusting sins! Oh glory to God for His goodness and LOVING-kindness to the children of men!

And we’ll go home to these wondrous and reassuring words of the psalmist, Ethan the Ezrahite from Psalm 89 – God’s sure promises to Bruh David.

‘Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord in the light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn (strength) shall be exalted. For the Lord is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.’ (Ps.89:15-18)

Oh my fellow believers in Christ, please, let’s never forget all of that, for our lives are based on it! Now let’s go forth and rejoice today, knowing that we are made strong and free through the righteousness and sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Much LOVE!

…if you don’t know Jesus…then your life is being wasted…it’s definitely not being fulfilled as it should be…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 October 2020 Isaiah 33:22.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 April 2017 Psalm 103:2.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 August 2016 Isaiah 35:4.

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