Today’s Scrip-Bit   11 February 2023 Matthew 7:12.

11 Feb 2023 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 7:12.       Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Oh boy, is this really a lazy day Saturday! I lazed in bed for as long as I could…and now that I’m up, I’m still feeling lazy. And the dry though cloudy and chilly day out there isn’t giving one much encouragement either. (smile) But life must go on. We must do the work that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has ascribed to us. So here I am, being ever so obedient and writing the Bit, although my flesh feels like rebelling. And since it’s Saturday, we will turn to the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Now he only sent me three quotes this week, one of which we had already received and dealt with last week, which means we only have two quotes to consider today. Glory Be! That means we shall have a short Bit! But I won’t go counting on that nuh, because you never know what or where the Holy Spirit will lead me, and with my natural tendency for being longwinded, anything’s possible. (smile) 

So having set the stage, let’s see what this first quote says: ‘Only people who are not happy with themselves are mean to others.’ Now there’s some truth to that statement, I just don’t know how much. Unhappy people do like to see others unhappy like themselves, but if that statement is totally true, then there are even more unhappy people in our world than we thought, since so many of us are mistreating our fellow beings. And I really don’t know why that is, because in many instances there doesn’t seem to be any need for the mistreatment. 

I don’t know if we’re just so evil-minded these days that it comes naturally. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule as outlined by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount, re asking and receiving? ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ (Matt. 7:12) 

One commentator addresses it thus: ‘The Golden Rule, known also as the Ethic of Reciprocity, is arguably the most consistent, most prevalent and most universal ethical principle in history. Many regard it as the most concise and general principle of ethics. The Golden Rule is found in numerous cultures, religions, ethical systems, secular philosophies, indigenous (Native) traditions, and even in the mathematical sciences (e.g. the golden mean). And because it crosses so many traditions and philosophies, the Golden Rule possesses tremendous moral authority and reveals a profound unity underlying the diversity of human experience. The Golden Rule also emphasizes values of mutuality, interdependence and reciprocity.’ 

Yes, it does cut across all different facets of life, and is something we’ve learned since the devil was a boy; do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But somehow or the other we seem to have lost it in these evil and ungodly years. And why is that eh? Who knows. Possibly because the devil’s influence has been getting stronger and more pervasive in the last generation, while the influence of Jesus has waned. 

And I like this biblical explanation of the principle as outlined by Brannon Deibert on the Christianity.com website. He says: ‘In summary, the Golden Rule encompasses the empathic essence of morality. It is a simple yet powerful way of saying that we should recognize the respective dignity of our fellow man and not forget we all are capable of inflicting immoral actions. This is vital in following the commandments of God and creating a more virtuous world….

With regard to the Old Testament, two main points prevail. Matthew’s reference presents the Golden Rule as encapsulating the teachings of the law and the prophets. Second, even though the Golden Rule addresses human interpersonal relationships, its message is additionally theological. That is, the very character of God guides how we should interact and relate to one another. We are to follow and exercise the Golden Rule because God’s heavenly wisdom teaches self-control, and his virtue teaches kindness. 

This proverb is appropriately called the Golden Rule, for it encompasses in its few words the underlying and guiding principle of all morality. It comprises all the rules of the law with regard to man and all the amplification of those precepts given by the prophets. It instructs us to put ourselves in our neighbor’s place, and guide our behavior accordingly. It assumes, of course, that when we put ourselves in our neighbor’s place, we are wise enough not to make any foolish wishes and good enough not to make any evil ones. The Golden Rule was a vital emphasis on empathy and the reciprocity of morality.’ 

And since we are no longer a moral, but a rather immoral society, it’s obvious that golden principle has become irrelevant. Wow! Did we ever say plenty on that quote! Let’s hope we don’t have nearly as much to say on this second and last one, which advises: ‘If you focus on hurt, you will continue to suffer. If you focus on the lesson, you will continue to grow.’ 

Now three’s much truth in those statements, for whenever we focus on our hurts, we tend to make them last longer. It’s just the natural aspect of life. As Cousin Sol says in Proverbs 23:7. ‘For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.’ Yes friends, as a man thinks, so is he. Whatever we concentrate on, will most likely manifest itself in our lives. So if we concentrate on the hurt, the hurt will stay with us even longer than normal. But if we concentrate on the lesson that the hurt teaches us, we will grow. 

And believe me, there is an invaluable lesson to be learned from every hurt we suffer, from every mistake we make. And that’s the difference between hurting and growing. We cannot allow ourselves to wallow in the mire of self-pity when there’s wonderful growth to be achieved on the other end of the scale. And that’s why so many of us are unhappy and feeling hard done by in these tough and turbulent times; we concentrate on the negative aspects of our situations way too much. It’s time to concentrate on the positive aspects instead. And there are always positives to be found regardless of how bad or negative our situations might seem. 

Remember, we have Jesus, the One who strengthens us in all our undertakings, if we turn to Him for His divine help! And that’s the word for today: turn to Jesus, for there’s no better way! Much LOVE!

… in Jesus…we’ll find EVERYTHING we need, want and desire…

 P.S. I warned you! It’s not any shorter than normal. (smile) Much LOVE!

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 January 2022 Deuteronomy 30:19b.

10 Jan 2022 Leave a comment

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

Deuteronomy 30:19b.      I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

Monday has come down again friends, that means the weekend is over! And let me tell you a li’l ‘secrat’ as my young daughter would say in her early years. Monday is going to keep coming down every week or eight days, however you choose to count it. (smile) It is going to keep coming after every Sunday, for all the days of our lives, so we might as well get used to it and properly prepare for it by worshipping with other believers on Sundays, and thus renewing our faith in Christ, the One who strengthens us to do His will.

And though it’s the beginning of the work week, many of us won’t be going to work because of the tighter lockdown caused by the quick spreading of the latest Covid-19 variant, Omicron. Ah mih people, when is this pandemic going to end eh? Only the Lord alone knows yes! For every time we seem to be making some headway, a new variant suddenly pops up its ugly head and triggers more problems again.

It’s not only causing sickness and death but religious, economic and political discomfort with loss of jobs, bankruptcy and violent protests in the streets and churches. That’s due to the large pockets of doubt that exist in the society, as to whether the virus is real, and if the vaccine and other supposed protections are truly useful in reducing the virus’ power and rapid spread.

Unfortunately though, that substantial disagreement has led to a lot of unnecessary rancour, resentment and retaliation which only enables the virus to spread more quickly. And unless we soon come to some general agreement on the entire situation, this predicament will be with us for a while yet, leaving our society in a state of perpetual uncertainty and distrust, as sickness, death, religious, political and economic unrest covers our land.

That recalls the immortal words that Moses said to the children of Israel before he died. ‘I call heaven and earth to record (as witnesses to) this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.’ (Deut. 30:19)

Yes friends, it’s a simple choice, for there are only two options, blessing and life, or cursing and death, but we have to make the decision. And it seems like we have chosen cursing and death with all the disaster and calamity that’s been recently shaking our world. Now, we all like to quote that verse above, but we neglect to ruminate on what comes before and after it.

Before it, come these prophetic words. ‘See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to LOVE the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgements, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.’ (Deut. 30:15-18)

Yuh see my people, the blessings of Israel were dependent on them acknowledging the sovereignty of the Lord and obeying His will. And whenever they strayed from it, as they did several times, much disaster and calamity befell them. And there’s no doubt that in our current society we have strayed far from the Lord God Almighty, disobeying His commandments, turning to idols, even saying that there is no God, while trying to remove Him from our midst.

As I heard one preacher say recently, that atheists spend all their lives trying to remove or dispel a God they don’t believe in. And that’s the gospel truth! Why do atheists work so hard to convince us that there’s no God eh? If there’s none, then they should just leave the whole matter alone and we’ll find out for ourselves. Anyway, let’s see what comes after that seminal verse of Moses’ teaching.

The Good Book follows it with: ‘That thou mayest LOVE the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.’ (Deut. 30:20)

Oh my fellow saints in Christ, right there is our reason for living: to LOVE the Lord our God, to obey His voice and cleave unto Him, because He is our life and our length of days! We all know that without Him we have no life, for it’s His breath of life that makes us alive, not anything that we ourselves do. And He also causes us to live however long we do. He controls our lifespan.

So why are we so foolishly anti-God eh, when He controls all that we ever were, all that we are, and will ever be? It’s not wisdom my brethren? And what’s wisdom, you ask? Wisdom is to turn to Him sincerely, seek His face and His righteousness, His mercy and forgiveness so that we and our descendants shall live eternally. That’s true wisdom!

And in accordance with that, we have but one choice in these trying times, that’s to turn to God in prayer for help. Let’s do that through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn nuh. Altogether now: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. 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!’ 

Now please remember what Moses said: to receive God’s blessings we need to keep His commandments, to keep our promises to do His will. Much LOVE!

…for blessings to triumph…there must first be unity in God…disunited, ungodly people cannot prosper…

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