Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 March 2023   1 Peter 4:12.

10 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 4:12. Beloved, think not it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.

And then it was Friday, with a lot of us shouting: ’TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ But that was earlier this morning when the roads were all clear and dry. I wonder how many of us will exhale the same sentiment now that the snow’s been falling for a couple of hours and it’s another winter wonderland out there, that will surely make the evening commute chaotic? And it’s still coming down, pretty heavily too. It seems determined to leave us something to talk about. (smile) And it also seems like snow on a Friday is becoming a habit in this last part of the winter season. 

And unfortunate as that might be, it’s all a part of living in the northern climes and we just have to grin and bear it, get on with shovelling the stuff and say thank You Lord, for life and health and strength to endure it! Remember friends, with the Holy Spirit of Jesus dwelling within us, nothing is impossible. We just have to put our minds to it. And I believe we have just the right story today that delightfully broaches the subject. It comes from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, and it’s aptly titled ‘Fiery Trials.’  

So please read with me: ‘God is teaching me incredible lessons regarding growth. I see with undeniable evidence that growth means pruning, and pruning means pain. I confess, I’m actually a coward about pain. I certainly never pray for it. I don’t anticipate or look for it. I do only one thing. I ask God to steady me, since the Bible so clearly states that trials are a part of our life-walk with Him. In all honesty I would prefer to escape the testing. 

I don’t like the pain of emotional trauma, which can be so overwhelming and baffling. I don’t like the deep cutting pain that goes on and on without relief. The pain of loneliness frightens me, the pain of losing someone dear to me grieves me. Nevertheless, I am praying for an open heart. I can’t begin to contemplate what fiery ordeals God may choose for my testing and growth, but I do long for my yieldedness to prove my willingness to be conformed to the image of His dear Son.’  

Mama oh Mama! That can surely be the cry, the mantra of every Christian, of every soul that’s ever come to Christ in humble sincerity. For none of us likes pain or trials or testing that brings tough times, even sickness and sometimes death. But in God’s kingdom it is necessary to go through some tough times that we might grow in the image of His Son Jesus Christ. And why is that you ask? Because the scripture says: ‘For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.’ (Rom. 8:29) 

Yes my people, God’s number One plan is that all who come to Him be remade in the image of Christ, who is the only perfect being in the universe. And no, we will never be perfect like Him, but the idea is to become as close to His perfection as humanly possible. That means we need to grow in spirituality, and we can only grow when we go through tough times and hard tests. That’s just the reality of life. Living on the mountain top doesn’t really teach us anything, but when we ‘re down in the valley, that’s where we learn and grow through the rough and tough times found down there. 

And sadly, Jesus spelled it out for us in clear language, when He stated. ‘I am the true (genuine) vine, and my Father is the husbandman (vinedresser). Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth (prunes) it, that it may bring forth more fruit.’ (John 15:1-2) Wow! And we all know the benefits of pruning: cutting off today, to make better tomorrow. And indeed, the Father prunes the children so they can bear more and better fruit. It’s just a fact of life. Our earthly fathers do it to us too and we don’t complain, when some of them say, ‘It’s either my way, or the highway!’ 

But we tend to get antsy with our heavenly Father when He desires to test and prune us so that we can become closer replicas of Christ Jesus. Consequently, Bruh Paul later wrote to the Roman church these encouraging but tough-talking words. ‘And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.’ (Rom. 12:2) Now friends, that verse is one of the most important scriptures in the entire Bible. 

And why is that? Because it points out to us the battlefield where all the actions of life are controlled. Yes, in the mind. The mind is the battlefield of our lives. Both the Holy Spirit and the devil fight for supremacy in our souls through our minds, through our thoughts, that either lead to good or bad decisions and actions. That’s why it’s ever so important to fill our minds with the scriptures so that we can fight the deceitful lies and schemes of Satan as he fights to have us come over to his dark and evil kingdom. 

And when our minds are flooded with the scriptures we can then appreciate, though not necessarily like (smile) this promise of Peter, on which our story was based today. ‘Beloved, think not it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached (insulted) for the name of Christ, happy (blessed) are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth on you: and on their part he is evil spoken of (blasphemed), but on your part he is glorified.’ ((1 Pet. 4:12-13) 

Ah friends, I know those are hard scriptures to accept, but we just have to grin and bear them as we said earlier, because it is the will of God, that we go through some tough times to make us tough people. And remember that Christianity was never designed for cowards, but for people with belly and backbone, like Jesus possessed. Now let’s go to God, through our Friday Chant, asking for the wisdom and strength to handle all the problems that are currently coming against us. 

As one strong voice:  ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the confusion and anxiety caused by the pandemic and our many other serious problems. We can’t fix them on our own Lord, so we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, without further serious setbacks. 

And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to return backsliders to your fold, show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic, the bubbling discontent and dissatisfaction in our land, as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And if want the Father to do all that we’ve asked, we’ve now got to do all that we’ve promised. Much LOVE!

…tough times don’t last…but tough people do… 

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

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Today’s Scrip-Bit   30 July 2022 Romans 8:31.

30 Jul 2022 Leave a comment

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

Romans 8:31.      What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?​

Well, well, well…if it isn’t lazy Saturday! But let me tell you a li’l ‘secrat’ (smile) as my young daughter said when she was small. I think it’s more tired Saturday than lazy Saturday oui! That’s because I never got home from the Pan Festival until 2.30 in the morning. What an example of very poor planning and communications! The show, and by the way it turned out to be just a showcase of Pan talent, not the usual competition. Anyway, the doors were scheduled to open at six o’clock and the show begin at seven. Hn! 

Now we all know that our West Indian reference to time is poor, but this one took the cake. The doors didn’t open until after seven, and the show didn’t begin until nine. And with nine bands to play two songs each, they had to skip the intermission. Can you imagine loud pan music, in particular Afro-Pan, blasting in the heart of ole Toronto after one in the morning. They must have friends in City Hall and Police Headquarters yes. (smile). But despite all the poor management, we did hear some good pan. 

The pansides were small though and with many junior members, possibly because of the pandemic and lack of time to rehearse properly. But the reigning champions Pan Fantasy, brought their big side and their ‘A game and blew them away again! That alone was worth going to see. Enough on pan now though, let’s hope next year we’ll get back to the competition format, for that really brings out the best in all of us. 

So, finally, let’s see what interesting quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And this first one tells it true. ‘Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.’ Oh, it’s always best to begin right where you are and do what you can with what you have. Wishing and hoping for better things and times won’t make it so. The important thing is to get some action going, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem. 

And to drive the point further home, let’s think about how our heavenly Father takes us, and begins with us, right where we are, even when we are at rock bottom. Yes friends, He reaches down, stoops down and gathers us up and begins molding us into the perfect image of His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ right there. He doesn’t wait for us to improve before He takes us in. Likewise, it’s best for us to always begin right where we are, and do something useful with whatever we have. 

And if you sincerely believe in Him, and ask for His help, you’ll be amazed at what that small, insignificant beginning could become with His hands on your shoulders and His Spirit in you. That brings us to the next quote: ‘The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.’ Oh my people, with Almighty God on our side, that question is immaterial, for NO ONE is going to stop us when God is rooting for us! As Bruh Paul so emphatically wrote to the church at Rome. ‘What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom. 8:31) 

Not a single soul! And that’s the living truth! Because, as Bruh Paul further proclaims: ‘Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:37) Wow mih bredrin! There’s no greater encouragement possible than simply knowing that Jehovah God is on our side, in league with us. As they say: You and God are a majority! And there’s no disputing that. With the most powerful force in the universe on your side, anything is possible. 

That leads us to this quote: ‘If you continue to think the way you’ve always thought, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always got.’ Now that’s ever so true! You can’t keep thinking the same way and expect to get different results. As the old people would say; You can’t plant peas and expect to reap corn. It’s simple, you reap what you sow and nothing else. So, if you want to get better results, you have to change your thinking because it all begins and ends in the mind, the battlefield of our souls. It’s where all the arguments are made and the decisions formed. 

Therefore, to get positive results you must have a positive mindset, and there’s no better positivity than that that can be gained from Christianity, from the Master of Positivity, Christ Jesus! He wrote the book on the subject, the Bible, where all things are possible if you believe in Him. He said it quite plainly to the father of the boy with epileptic seizures. ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.’ (Mark 9:23) And that’s the major problem we are having in our world today; not enough sincere and serious belief in Christ Jesus. That’s why our world is falling apart, one brick at a time. 

Oh, we are all waiting for things to change. But when are they going to change and how eh? We have to change them and the sooner the better. That’s why this next quote is so important to us today. ‘Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change.’ That’s right! Feelings are flimsy and unreliable, they can change in a moment’s notice without any good reason. So we can’t depend on them to bring us around to whatever action we desire to happen or accomplish, we need to get into the action first, and when we do, then feelings will follow. 

Yes my people, too many of us are currently living by our feelings, and our feelings are letting us down because of all the sadness, strife and disaster that’s surrounding us. But when we put our trust in Jesus, feelings fly out the window, because we now have a solid, rocklike foundation on which to build, to grow our lives, not fleeting, unreliable feelings. Jesus is the most reliable foundation in the world. Now, I can tell you that until I’m blue in the face (smile) but you’ll never know it for sure, until YOU begin to build on Him. 

Oh friends, it’s all about a personal relationship with Jesus! Yes, you can tell your family and friends about Him, but until they get personal with Him, it won’t matter at all. That brings us to this last quote: ‘Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.’ Words of awesome wisdom my fellow believers. That’s exactly what Jesus did on His earthly sojourn, for everything was stacked against Him, but He persevered in the face of rejection, of tribulation and disbelief, even to the point of death. As the Good Book says: ‘And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself , and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil. 2:8) 

Yes, my fellow saints, Christ came to earth to do a job, and He did not allow anything or anyone to stand in His way of accomplishing the Father’s will and purpose. Likewise, we ought not to allow anything or anyone to stand in our way of doing the Father’s will for our lives. We must always put our best foot forward, even when it seems like the whole world is against us. But, please, let’s remember that working for Jesus will always bring some rejection and hardship, but perseverance in His name, will always bring us out on the winning side! So, as His earthly ambassadors, let’s sincerely commit to stand our ground and do His bidding with diligence, excellence, perseverance and true belief! Much LOVE!

…life was not meant to be a bed of roses…for even roses have thorns…  

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