Today’s Scrip-Bit   14 March 2024 Matthew 19:26.

14 Mar 2024 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 19:26.       With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Oh friends, it’s Thursday, but unfortunately there’s no bright sunshine, only cloudy skies. However, the sun hasn’t given up, you can see it fighting a valiant battle against the dark clouds, and we might yet see it shining in all its glory later on in the day. For anything is possible when we have our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father running things! (smile) So don’t give up hope, don’t ever give up hope if Jesus is in your heart, for with Him in the lead, ALL things are indeed possible! 

And not surprisingly, all through the Bible there are scriptures pertaining to that fact, with one of the best examples occurring after Jesus told the rich young man who wanted to be a disciple, to go and sell all his possessions and come back and follow Him. The young man went away sad for he was very wealthy. That led Jesus to say to the disciples: ‘Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly (it is hard for a rich man) to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’ (Matt. 19:23-24) 

On hearing that, the disciples were  amazed, and wondered who then could get into heaven, for at that time it was commonly understood that the rich were blessed and had a place reserved for them in heaven. But Jesus was obviously trying to correct that misunderstanding, by saying that it was extremely difficult, but not completely hopeless for a rich man to enter heaven. And as per the saying that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven; the scholars explain. ‘That has been interpreted as a camel-hair rope going through a needle; or an actual camel squeezing through a small gate, “The Eye of the Needle,” next to the main gate of Jerusalem; or the absolute impossibility of a literal camel actually going through a tiny needle’s eye. This last usage is most likely.’ 

Consequently, the disciples in total amazement, asked, ‘Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt. 19:25-26) Now, as true believers in Christ, we ought to have those memorable words indelibly written in our hearts and souls never to be removed; but always there to give us confidence in our great God, even in the most dire of situations. And since we said that there several other places in the Bible where God’s omnipotence was either questioned or proclaimed, let’s look at a few of those instances nuh. 

So, going right back to the earliest times, we have the Lord’s angel saying to Abraham that a child will be born to him and Sarah in their old age. But Sarah laughed because it was considered impossible to have a child at her advanced age. ‘And the Lord said unto Abraham, wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.’ (Gen. 18:13-14) Yes friends, Sarah’s unbelief made the Lord testy. (smile) And I’m wondering here if it wasn’t because of Sarah’s laughter and unbelief, that the Lord actually waited so long to fulfill the promise, some twenty five years later, when Sarah was ninety and Abraham one hundred, just to show His awesome power. Who knows? 

Then there’s this instance in Numbers 11, where the Lord promised that the Israelites who were clamouring for meat, would have so much meat: ‘That ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days: But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt.’ (Num. 11:19-20)  And when Moses himself questioned the Lord’s ability to provide food for so many Israelites in the wilderness, (Num. 11:21-22) it obviously raised the Lord’s anger. ‘And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short? Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.’ (Num. 11:23) 

And later, the Lord caused a wind to come forth which brought quails from the sea, and the Israelites had more than enough meat to eat; there were quails a day’s journey on either side of the camp, and piled two cubits high. And the greedy Israelites ploughed into the meat like there was no tomorrow. But while they were eating the meat, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote (struck down) the people with a great plague.’ (Num. 11:31-33) Oh my people, it doesn’t pay to doubt the Lord’s power, or be greedy when He is already looking after you.  

Then when Job repents of his audacity to question the Lord, and the Lord takes him to task, he finally says to Him: ‘I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee (no purpose of yours can be withheld).’ (Job 42:2) And that’s the gospel truth friends! Nothing the Lord desires can be thwarted by mankind! Next we turn to the prophet Isaiah, who in berating the Israelites for turning away from the God of their forefathers, calmly informed them: ‘Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:’ (Is. 59:1) 

Yes my fellow saints, the hand of our God is never beyond the reach of salvation! Wherever we are, in whatever situation we find ourselves, His saving hand can always reach out and pluck us from the mire. As the prophet Jeremiah so rightly and truthfully says: ‘Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (difficult) for thee.’ (Jer. 32:17) And lastly, the occasion when the angel Gabriel came to tell Mary, Jesus’ mother, the awesome but difficult purpose God had in store for her. And as we all know, this young, innocent girl accepted God’s purpose without batting and eyelash, quietly accepting the angel’s departing words: ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ (Luke 1:37) And so it was; Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, just like the angel said! 

And in keeping with the Lord’s purposes, He’s bestowed on us undeserved blessings to further His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, but we need to declare them so they can be activated. So let’s do that right now nuh. As one sincere voice: ‘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 accepted those blessings, we’re now expected to go out into the world and share them with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, Much LOVE!

…if the Lord created the universe and all therein…then obviously nothing is impossible to Him…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 November 2021 Numbers 11:1a.

30 Nov 2021 Leave a comment

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

Numbers 11:1a.     And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord:

And then it was Tuesday!  We’ve left a miserable Monday in its wake! Glory be! And thankfully too, there are no more piles of dead leaves littering my driveway…not for another year anyway. (smile) But yuh know how it is when we wish for something to stop happening, it does stop, but oftentimes something worse takes its place. As they say, we go from the frying pan into the fire. Well, I believe that’s what’s happening to me right now. Although there are no more dry leaves in my driveway to collect, we now have that beautiful white, but ever so deceptive and dangerous stuff called snow covering it. 

However, there is a small silver lining to that situation, namely, I no longer shovel snow. Too old and broken down for that now. And sometimes I do miss it. I remember those days I would get out in the driveway, open my garage door and the trunk of my car, turn up the stereo and dance and sing while shovelling. People walking by would look at me and laugh, but that was okay. I was enjoying myself, although I was doing some hard physical labour. 

And that’s the way we ought always to be my fellow believers; joyful when doing stuff that seems difficult, because we have the joy and strength of Christ our Lord and Saviour flowing through us and enabling us to do our tasks with a good attitude. Too many of us adopt a bad attitude when we face difficult situations, but that’s one of the purposes of having Christ in our lives, to give us a good attitude. That’s why, in collecting the leaves, even though I knew my back would hurt me from bending so often, I still tried to keep a smile on my face and a prayer in my heart, that the back pain would not be too bad and would soon go away. 

So many of us complain about our jobs, our friends, our spouses, etc. etc. But you know how many other people would gladly take who and what we’re complaining about, because they don’t have any of it?  We have life so relatively easy now, that we complain about anything that exerts us even a little. But friends please realize how dangerous Complaining is, and how much it displeases God. And these words from the website JollyNotes.com explain how complaining is the work of the devil and can lead to further sin. 

‘Grumbling and complaining are sins that can lead to further disobedience, and give the enemy a hold in our lives (God forbid!). In the Bible, complaining is considered an act of unbelief toward God. We have to remember that complaining does not change situations, or even make anything better. Conversely, complaining increases our frustration. Complaining is also very contagious and if not checked, it will spread discord, discontentment and negativity to others.’ 

Unfortunately, complaining is not a new thing, it’s as old as mankind itself. The Israelites began complaining the moment they crossed the Red Sea, about lack of water and fresh meat and the hard journey. They even contemplated going back to their servitude in Egypt. Eventually the Lord got so fed up with their complaining about the manna they received from His merciful hands, that the Good Book tells us: ‘And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled (aroused); and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts (outskirts) of the camp. And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.’ (Num. 11:1-2) 

But that did not stop them from complaining, for the rabble rousers stirred them up again to complain about fresh meat. Just like the rabble rousers of today are stirring things up leading to much anger, hatred and strife in our society. But I like how the Lord dealt with the Israelites about their plea for fresh meat. He told Moses: ‘And say unto the people, sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh (meat): for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord saying, 

Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and you shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you, because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him,  saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?’ (Num. 11:18-20) 

And as always, the Lord kept His promise. Later on, the Good Book details: ‘And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.’ (Num. 11:31) Brother! Our God doesn’t make joke nuh! When He says He’s going to provide a thing, He surely does. The Israelites had meat around them a day’s journey on either side of the camp, and two cubits high at that! 

‘And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh (meat) was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath (anger) of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote (struck) the people with a great plague.’ (Num. 11:32-33) 

Oh my people, doesn’t that sound very much like what’s happening to us today? For ages we’ve been complaining about all kinds of stuff, turning away from God, being evil, disobedient and proud as ever. Then up crops the plague Covid! And it is a plague because it’s worldwide and doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. In fact, it’s mutating and getting more dangerous as we bicker and complain and don’t want to get together and fight it as ONE! Just like the Israelites way back then, thousands have died from it. 

Our greed, disobedience, and efforts to rid our society of God is no doubt fuelling His anger against us. And until we wake up and see that our only option is to turn back to God, many more will suffer, and many more will die. Oh friends, there’s much more to say on the subject, but we will end on that hopefully sobering note. Tomorrow, God spare life, we will continue with the subject of ‘Complaining, Murmuring, Griping, Whining, Grumbling, Beefing, Belly-Aching, Moaning’; call it whatever you like. 

Now, for those of us who are sincerely trying to do the Lord’s work, let’s go home declaring (yeahhh!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the whole world know to whom we joyfully belong…Christ Jesus! As one strong 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!’ 

And our bounden duty is to go out and do just that; share the amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with others, so that they too can get to know and LOVE Him like we do. Much LOVE!

…it’s only logical…that if you try to negate the Creator of the earth and all therein…you will suffer dire consequences…  

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