Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 October 2020 Hebrews 9:22.

11 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

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

Hebrews 9:22.     Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.

Well faithful soldiers and saints of Christ, that big day, the day of the Lord is here again, calling us to praise and worship in whatever way we can. And this Sunday is Thanksgiving weekend here in luverly Canada, so there is no better time than this to ramp up our thanks and praise to Almighty God, our Creator and Provider, who has done so much for us, a bunch of poor, pathetic, undeserving sinners. 

And also, there’s no better song to sing today than this one which talks about our greatest gift from God; forgiveness of our sins through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. That precious fountain of blood which flowed from Immanuel’s veins and paid for our awful debt of sin, for evermore. And the official name of the hymn was ‘Praise for the Fountain opened.’ But now it’s generally known by its first line. ‘There is a Fountain filled with blood.’ It’s based on the Old Testament verse from Zechariah 13:1, re the cleansing of Jerusalem. ‘In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.’ 

But before we get into this beautiful old hymn, let’s get a li’l background on it and its writer, William Cowper, an English poet of great renown. (1731-1800) Born to an English clergyman father, physically frail and emotionally unstable, which the death of his mother at six further complicated. He studied law, but when called to the bar he experienced a panic attack which led to a mental breakdown and attempted suicide. That consequently led to a stay in a mental asylum. 

It’s claimed that during that time, while reading the Bible, he came across Romans 3:25 that Jesus Christ is “set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” And through reading of the Scriptures, Cowper realized his need for a Savior and the need for forgiveness of sins. Consequently, in 1764, at the age of thirty-three, he dedicated his life to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Bouts of depression, melancholia and attempted suicide apparently peppered his life, but they say that ironically some of his best hymns were written during those times. And wonder of wonders, whom do you think he linked up with later in life – the one and only John Newton, the slaver turned Anglican Pastor, and writer of ‘Amazing Grace.’ And they teamed up over the years to write ‘The Olney Hymns’ Hymnal, (349 hymns) named after the town where Cowper and Newton were then living. 

Just more amazing instances of the Lord’s mysterious movements in getting His work done, through rather unlikely people. That’s why the Good Book says: ‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound (put to shame) the things which are mighty.’ (1 Cor. 1:27) 

So let’s get to it now nuh: in full, soulful and sincere voice, in a slightly rocking tempo, like the live worship video done by the band, Shane and Shane, let’s offer up our sacrificial praise. No dirge like music this Thanksgiving weekend, especially for such a wonderful gift from our Creator. 

‘There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains: Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains; And sinners, plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains. The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day; And there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away: Wash all my sins away, Wash all my sins away; And there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood Shall never lose its pow’r, Till all the ransomed Church of God Be saved, to sin no more: Be saved, to sin no more, Be saved, to sin no more; Till all the ransomed Church of God Be saved to sin no more. E’er since by faith I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming LOVE has been my theme, And shall be till I die: And shall be till I die, And shall be till I die; Redeeming LOVE has been my theme, And shall be till I die. 

When this poor lisping, stamm’ring tongue Lies silent in the grave, Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save: I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save, I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save; Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing Thy pow’r to save….I’ll sing thy pow’r to save…’ 

Oh my people, what truthful and most magnificent sentiments! The precious shed blood of Christ is the greatest thing in this world, because it is the only thing that can take away our sins, when, like the thief who died on that fateful day with Christ, we come to the cross and let that crimson blood cleanse us white as snow! Mama Mia! No other faith can match the power of Jesus, because He is the Son of the One True God Jehovah! 

And interestingly enough there’s a book titled ‘Immanuel’s Veins,’ by Ted Dekker. The author apparently says that Christ bled on the cross for us…’For the heart of man.’ And talking about ‘Immanuel, God with us – that he would leave the spiritual realm and be present in flesh and blood in such an act of humility is a staggering notion.’ And it surely is! ‘He willingly gave His blood, in the flesh, so that others might find life, for it is written: “He did not come by water only, but by blood” (1 John 5:6), and ‘Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.’ (Hebrews 9:22). 

This why blood is required for us to have life. And He didn’t give ‘just enough to satisfy the requirement, to fulfill a covenant or agreement? No. He gave it all. He gave His life. For us. Because He LOVED us.’ Yes friends, Jesus sacrificed His sinless life because He LOVED us. As Isaiah tells it: ‘But he was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us have turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.’ (Is. 53:5-6) 

And He did it all for LOVE, my brethren! That just goes to show the awesome power of LOVE! And I guess it’s appropriate here to quote the most important verse in the Good Book; the raison d’etre for it all: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) And that’s why Jesus said the greatest commandment is to LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, body and soul, and the second is to LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. (Matt. 22:37-39) 

Consequently, if we don’t have LOVE, and show LOVE, then we are not true followers of Christ! Much LOVE!

…from the creation…to the revelation…it’s all about LOVE… 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 March 2015 1 John 1:9‏

25 Mar 2015 Leave a comment

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

1 John 1:9.   If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Oh Friends, the ole fella’s heart is somewhat heavy this Wednesday morning after learning yesterday afternoon of the passing of my surrogate sister Diana Chung Rampersad in Trinidad.

You know it was one of those totally unexpected things. I saw the flashing red message light on the phone and idly wondered who was calling about what. Can you imagine my shock and surprise when I listened to the message bearing that most unfortunate news? She was younger than me. My condolences go out to her husband and two children and the rest of her family.

Ah Lord eh! And the sad part is that when I was in T&T last month I called her a couple times and left messages, but got no reply. I wondered why, but now I know that she was sick, on her death-bed with the scourge of this generation, cancer, in one of its many forms.

And it doesn’t seem as though the usual treatments made any difference to her condition. And I can imagine how wasted away she looked. For those of you who have had contact with the disease, you’ll know that it just eats you away, until sometimes you become unrecognizable. And she was always such a bright and perky person.

I first met Di many years ago when she became my mother’s roommate up here in Toronto. And though we didn’t always see eye to eye, we sort of agreed to disagree for my mother’s sake. I must say though that she cared a lot for my mother, even trying to keep that very independent lady on what she considered the straight and narrow path, which led my mother to refer to Di as her grandmother.

She was the only person who could boss around my mother and get away with it. Hn, hn! Sometimes though, Di would come to me and say in conspiratorial tones, ‘Randolph, your mother is something else yes!’ and then outline some unexpected doings of my mother.

My mother always considered Di to be the daughter she never had, and Di played that part very well and very faithfully, to the point of coming up here from T&T when my mother died and helping me with the funeral arrangements and cleaning up of her apartment.

Consequently, I can imagine their reunion in heaven must be a big one. They both have ended their earthly suffering and gone on to their heavenly peace and joy. There’s nothing better we can ask for.

This past week the Lord has also called home the fathers of two of my other friends, but they were somewhat older and been sick for a while, so it wasn’t so unexpected. I pray for all the families involved, that the Lord will give them the necessary strength and faith to stand strong in their time of mourning.

And last, but definitely not least, I pray for successful surgery in the U.S on my brother’s legs, for some vein problems. He had one leg done yesterday, and will have the other done tomorrow. Please offer a pray for Him too, since there’s great power in the prayer of the righteous.

Now let’s turn to our Bit, the same as yesterday. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’

Oh Friends, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I am ever so glad and grateful for that very forgiving nature of our God! It means that though we make mistakes, we don’t have to fear His awesome power, His wrath, because it is always clothed in LOVE and forgiveness.

And since we have a sinful nature by birth, it means that we will always be susceptible to sin. And as John wisely says in the verse before our Bit: ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.’ (1 John 1:8) And that’s a fact my people. ‘For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom.3:23)

So sin is an unfortunate constant in our human nature since the fall of our forefathers Adam and Eve. But our God is such a wonderful and thoughtful and caring Deity, that He has made provision for our sinfulness, through the shed blood of Christ on the cross at Calvary and through our confession of those sins.

Listen to Cousin Sol from Proverbs 28. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov.28:13)

Oh my people, my people, what news can be better than that eh? Only eternal life through Jesus Christ! No other Deity operates like our great God! And yuh tell me I wouldn’t LOVE and serve and surrender my will to Him! Chuh! Pure foolishness my brethren, pure foolishness!

Right there is the answer to all our prayers: forgiveness of sins through confession, and eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ! That surely is the way, my people. There’s no other way on this fallen earth that makes any sense.

And if you don’t believe me, then listen to Bruh David as he pleads for cleansing and forgiveness after his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, and arranging to have her husband Uriah killed in battle. He thought that he had gotten away with it, but when the prophet Nathan draped him up about it, he realized that the Good Lord had seen and taken notice.

So he pleads in Psalm 51: ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy LOVING-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgression: and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified (found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest.’ (Ps.51:1-4)

Yes Friends, though Bruh David had committed such a heinous sin, once he sincerely confessed it before Almighty God, he was granted mercy. The same thing goes for us even today. But we must confess the sins to be forgiven. ‘Unconfessed’ sin is definitely not in our best interests.

Now please don’t think that we won’t have to pay for our sins, because there are always consequences to them, but once confessed and forgiven they are thrown away, never to be remembered by God. Listen to this promise from Isaiah. ‘I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.’ (Is.43:25)

Oh my brethren, we can’t ask for anything better than what our magnificent and magnanimous God has offered and provided; forgiveness from sin and eternal life through Christ Jesus.

So please let’s stop playing the fool here on earth with all its bright and glittering sin and shame, and instead get serious about our heavenly lives, reserve a spot in eternity with Jesus, for that’s the ultimate wisdom. Much LOVE!

…as Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) would say…obey God…and leave all the consequences to Him…that’s the best way to live this earthly life…

 

 
 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 November 2014 1 Corinthians 11:24

11 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

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

 1 Corinthians 11:24.   And when he (Jesus) had given thanks, he brake it (the bread), and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Remembrance Day; the solemn occasion when we remember with grateful hearts, spirits and souls, all those who either gave up their lives or fought in the many terrible wars we’ve experienced in the past century!
 
All the powers that be, will turn out in full force, ostensibly to honour those who fought and died that we can enjoy the many freedoms that we do. They will also trudge out some of the surviving vets, as a showpiece. But the stark reality of the situation is that the governments don’t really give a damn about these poor veterans!
 
And why do I say that? Simply because in real life the veterans are indeed poor and are suffering terribly from lack of sufficient government support! A lot of them have mental and physical issues stemming from their wartime activities, but they are in a constant fight with the governments to get proper mental and physical help. Steups!
 
Their pensions are a travesty to their efforts; to the way they laid their lives on the line for us when we so desperately needed them to do so. The corrupt, greedy, inefficient Canadian government is even clawing back money from the vets, if they make a few extra dollars on the side.
 
But the insensitive and hypocritical crooks will get up today and spout a whole lot of lies and half-truths about how much they care for the vets. Heifer dust my brethren!
 
Just ask some of the many struggling families of the dead and living vets how much their governments care about them nuh? You’ll be most surprised at the answers you’ll receive.
 
But yuh know what; we can’t only blame the governments for the poor treatment meted out to the vets. We, the supposedly fine, upstanding citizens are also to blame, because we don’t speak up enough for the vets, or show them enough actual caring. We talk a good talk too, but don’t walk it.
 
However, it is essential that we do remember them, and also teach our children to appreciate the efforts of the many men and women who fought so that they can now live a basically free life, in a free country and society.
 
I think we have also fallen down in our responsibility in that regard too, not teaching our children enough about the war veterans, for many are not even aware of the veterans, so how can they be appreciative of their efforts.
 
And it’s very important that the youth of today understand why and how, they can go about doing what they do without too many restrictions; swaggering about unconcerned, believing that society owes them a living.
 
Anyway my brethren, enough of my ranting. (smile) Please, let’s remember to give our own individual thanks to the vets, and help the surviving ones and the families of those who succumbed in any way we can. It’s only fitting that we do so.
 
But my people, it is even more fitting that we respect, remember and glorify our Saviour Jesus Christ in the fateful and memorable words of our Bit, which Bruh Paul penned to the church at Corinth.
 
‘And when he (Jesus) had given thanks, he brake it (the bread), and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.’
 
Yes Friends, our most important remembrance should be that of Jesus Christ, sacrificing His holy and sinless body for us!
 
And the Good Book continues: ‘After the same manner also he (Jesus) took the cup, when he had supped (after supper), saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show (proclaim, remember) the Lord’s death till he come.’ (1 Cor.11:25-26)
 
That’s the figurative, ceremonial manner in which Jesus desires us to remember Him!
 
Unfortunately though, for whatever reason(s), a lot of us choose not to do so. But it ought to be a conscious and continual rite though of every believer to participate in the ceremony of Holy Communion, wherein we commemorate Jesus’ tremendous sacrifice on our behalf!
 
That commemorative ceremony is also called the Lord’s Supper, and the scholars have an interesting take on it. ’11:20. The Lord’s supper is the distinctive symbol of Christian worship instituted by the Lord on the eve of His death, being a spiritual partaking of bread and the fruits of the vine.
 
These elements are presented as a thankful expression of Christ’s sacrifice, taken in fellowship with Him and with one another. It is a memorial conducted in remembrance of Christ’s atoning death, anticipating His return to earth. The two symbols of this ordinance are the bread, representing the broken body of Christ, and the cup, representing His shed blood.’
 
And re the ‘new testament’ part of Christ’s words, the scholars say: ’11:25. New Testament: Christ is the Mediator of the New covenant, who “by his own blood entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Heb.9:12-15) Notice the emphasis on the blood. This signifies our Lord’s death, which in turn signifies the grounds on which eternal salvation is applied to the heart of the believing sinner.’
 
Therefore Friends, we can see why Holy Communion, and our active participation in it, is of tremendous importance in the lives of all believers! Yes my brethren, it’s through that solemn ceremony that we show a true remembrance of Christ, a true appreciation of His sacrifice, both physically and spiritually.
 
So my people, on this day of Remembrance, let’s sincerely ponder on, gratefully remember and give plenty thanks for the veterans who fought so heroically for us to have safe and free earthly lives, as well as to Jesus, who died that we might have salvation and eternal spiritual life. Much LOVE!
 
…no greater remembrance can we have…than honouring the memories of all those who died in our stead…especially Jesus… 
 
P.S. Please excuse the Bit’s tardiness, but it was just one of those late nights… and thus the body rebelled against getting up early. (smile) Much LOVE!