Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 July 2016 Revelation 1:18.

30 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 1:18.     I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death.

Well friends, it’s Saturday; Caribana Saturday in the big T.O! Mama Yo! (smile)

Although it’s now officially known as something like Toronto Caribbean Carnival, brought on by all the litigation and controversy over the name in the last few years. But in most people’s minds it will always be Caribana. 

Anyway, just like a rose by any other name is still as sweet, likewise Caribana by any other name still is a big festival. And you can imagine the city is hopping with all the functions slated for this long holiday Civic weekend. 

Well to cut a long story short, I did my hopping last night at the Pan Alive Steelband Competition. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years that has been my sole Caribana venture, because the big parade on Saturdays is more than I can physically handle, I can’t party like I used to. Chuh! (smile) 

And in any case what passes for mas down there doesn’t thrill me any more. But I’m not complaining. I had a good time at the pan competition, as I usually do. But also, as any of you who has ever been to a pan competition will know, there’s always controversy over the judges decision. 

And there certainly was some of that last night as the judges’ declared Pan Fantasy the winners for the fifth consecutive time. Steups! Now they might have deserved the accolade over the last couple years, but definitely not last night in the minds of most people. 

They looked good and their playing wasn’t bad, but it lacked the little something that makes a winner. A couple of bands like Silhouettes and Afro Pan sounded better. I’m not a big Afro Pan fan, but last night they played well and should have beaten out Pan Fantasy, instead of taking second place. 

One good thing though, this year there were fewer bands than normal, ten, and the Competition was better organized and was more of a show, with one pan side on stage at a time, and the judges no longer moving around. It also began on time and finished before midnight as the city dictated. 

Our own Calypso Monarch, Macoumeh Fifi, as well as a one pan side (one pan in each category) called Pan Elite from Arima in T&T performed during the intermission and after the bands performed. So some kudos go out to the organizing committee. And that’s that for Caribana…

Oh, except to send out Granny’s advice: ‘Sonny boy, please, ah beg yuh, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business!’ Yes friends, we definitely have to be on our p’s and q’s during these big festivals as the enemy excitedly comes out on the prowl, looking for spirits and souls to invade with his evil power. And we definitely can’t allow him to do that. So please be careful this Caribana long weekend. 

Now here are a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. The first one says: ‘It’s better to have a stiff neck from aiming too high than to have a stiff back from aiming too low.’ 

And that is quite true, especially for Christians, since our Leader, our Lord and Saviour expects excellence from all His followers. His is a not necessarily a high intellect organization, as you can see from some of the people He originally chose as His disciples, and the ole crooks and scamps the Lord used to do His bidding in the Old Testament. 

But you’ll certainly notice that all His choices were high performance and achievement oriented. They did great things through the Lord’s help, even though they came from lowly backgrounds. The Lord takes pleasure in using the world’s castoffs and nonentities to confound the powers that be. 

And the second quote declares: ‘No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful, or greedy — unless you let them.’ And that’s the gospel truth my people! 

Technically speaking, no one has that sort of power over us, unless we allow them to. So when we say that so and so made us angry, or jealous, or whatever negative sentiment we choose to display, it’s technically incorrect. In truth, we are the ones allowing them to make us whatever. 

It’s the same thing when we declare that the devil made us do something. Of a fact, the devil has absolutely no power over us unless we allow him to. Remember our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ defeated hell, death and the grave, Lucifer’s dominions, when He died, and rose from the grave on the third day. So please, let’s stop allowing people to have such power over us, because it detracts substantially from our witness for Christ. 

And that brings us finally to our Bit. ‘I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Hades) and of death.’ 

That says it all my fellow believers! Our Leader Jesus has conquered the forces of evil, which means there is nothing that we need be afraid of from the enemy, because in reality he is like a toothless dog, just barking his foolish head off, with no real power to bite or harm us. Whatever he does to us, is what we allow him to do. 

Yuh don’t see, even when Beelzebub wanted to harm Job, he had to first go to Almighty God for permission. (Job 1:6-12) The same applies to us today my brethren; whatever happens to us, the Lord allows for reasons He alone understands. But the evil one can’t just get up and hurt us because he feels like. 

And we’ll end with these awesome words of Jesus as He says to John after our Bit. ‘Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be (take place) hereafter;’ (Rev.1:19) 

And according to the scholars: 1:19. This is the key verse of the book. Revelation has three major sections: (1) the things which thou hast seen – chapter 1, especially the vision of Christ (c.f. v.11 – “what thou seest”); (2) the things which are – chapters 2 and 3, the conditions in the churches; and (3) the things which shall be hereafter – chapters 4-22, beginning with the judgements of the Tribulation period (cf. 7:1 –“after these things”).’ 

Yes friends, there’s a whole lot to come, and we’ll be wise to be on Jesus ‘s side, for He is indeed the Mighty Conqueror! Much LOVE!

…only fools will bypass the wonders of Jesus…to join the hapless band in Hades… 

P.S. I know it’s long and late, but you have to cut the ole fella some slack as this is Caribana weekend. (smile) Much LOVE!

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 December 2015 Revelation 1:3

01 Dec 2015 Leave a comment

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

Revelation 1:3.  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Oh Friends, what’s there to say on this wet and somewhat chilly December 1st morning eh? Not a lot… and plenty. And what do I mean by that? 

Well we’ve become such a talkative society with the flourishing of communication technology and the social media, but a lot of that talk is inane and foolish, a waste of our very valuable time, while there is a lot of meaningful and important stuff that we should be talking about which we’re not doing. 

Like for instance about the sorry state of our world and how to fix it, and of God and the ungodly society in which we’re currently living. 

Most of us will say that God is the most important element or person in our lives, but when we check out our lives in action, that statement doesn’t hold true, otherwise our world would not be in such a sad state of deterioration. Unfortunately, the things of the world are still our first priority. 

Remember yesterday we spoke about Christians concentrating on the things of heaven, rather than those of earth? And I sure hope we did our homework, reading the Book of Colossians, so that now we know what’s really expected of us, and we can go on and put it into action in our lives. 

Oh my people, unless and until we truly make God and His Word the focus of our lives, our world will never get better but continue to slide into the murky depths of Hades. And I’m sure that’s not the kind of legacy we want to bequeath to our children and our children’s children. 

So it’s completely up to us believers to keep on fomenting Jesus’ LOVE Revolution, so that the world can return to its godly roots. Nuff said! He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

And since it’s Tuesday, let’s confess our Tuesday Mantra like we really believe and mean it. All together now: ‘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.’ 

Oh my people that’s so refreshing and revitalizing! Just imagine nuh, that we are the BELOVED of God, and the FRIEND of Jesus! 

Wow! What an honour and a privilege to be so highly considered! Now let’s make the most of it by going out and sharing the LOVE that they have so graciously and mercifully shown us nuh. A LOVE that our fallen world so desperately needs. 

Now let’s turn to our Bit, but we also need to hear what comes before it, so that we can understand its proper context. ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly (quickly, swiftly) come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 

Who bare record (bore witness) of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ (Rev.1:1-3) 

Oh Friends, what powerful and meaningful scripture! And I know that many of us don’t understand what the Book of Revelation is all about, so here is some info from the scholars that will help us to better understand. 

‘1.1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is the title of the book. The revelation is both from Christ and about Christ. Since Christ is the revelation of God Himself (John 1:18), God gave the revelation to Christ to be shown to John by means of an angel (messenger). 

The word “revelation” (Gr. apokalypsis) refers to an unveiling or exposure of God’s program for the world through Christ. The prophecies of the book will occur shortly in the sense that the day of the Lord (the end of the age) may begin at any time (following the Rapture). The statement must be understood in accordance with God’s perspective on time (cf. 2 Pet.3:4, 8) 

The word signified (Gr. esemanen) refers to the conveyance of truth by means of signs and symbols, and refers to the visions described throughout the book. Symbols must be interpreted either from something in the context or from other scriptures.’ 

Now let’s rest for a moment after taking in all that heavy stuff. (smile) 

Yes friends, it’s time we start eating some adult food, some meat and potatoes, rather than just drinking baby milk all the time. If we want to mature in Christ, then we need to take our understanding of His Word to a higher and deeper level. 

And before we go any further, allow me to point out something. Please note that the word ‘apocalypse’, as we see from above, means the unveiling or revelation of what’s going to happen, not the eventual fiery and tumultuous destruction of the world as many of us consider it, although that might be involved in the revelation. 

Now let’s continue getting deeper in God’s Word with some more explanations from the scholars. ‘1:2-3. Bare record: John was a witness of what he wrote. He saw the revelation and wrote what he saw. The blessing of verse 3 has a threefold condition: (1) read the book, (2) hear (understand) it, and (3) keep (obey) it. 

The essential nature of prophecy was the communication of new truth (divine revelation). God has given it to be obeyed, not simply to be discussed and debated. The time is at hand in the sense that nothing else now has to occur before the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation Period.’ 

Awright mih breddren, that’s enough food for thought for today. But let’s be wise and ponder all the things we’ve read and heard, so that our hearts and minds can be truly filled with the Word of God and the things of heaven. 

More on this tomorrow, the Lord willing. Till then though, let’s all try to walk in sincere peace and LOVE, showing mercy and compassion to others, as our wonderful Lord God has shown, and is still showing to us. Much LOVE!

…this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth…but thou shalt meditate therein…day and night…that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous…and then thou shalt have good success… (Josh. 1:8)

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 March 2013 2 Peter 2:8

19 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

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

2 Peter 2:8.    The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.

Oh Friends, it’s a rainy morning after a snowy night in my neck of the woods, so please be careful out on the roads this morning. Now we’re a tad late because the old body and mind weren’t feeling right, that’s alive and kicking (smile) when I first got up, so I decided to go back to sleep. However, I slept longer than expected. Two hours later I got up with my mind clear, but my back aching. Ah Lord eh! When it’s not one thing is another yes! Anyway, today is still a new day, and it’s going to be filled with new mercies and blessings from our ever-LOVING God. It’s one of His faithfully kept promises. So please remember that regardless of how you feel, or where you are, once you’ve put your trust in Almighty God, surrendered your soul to Him, every new day will bring new showers of blessings, for which we ought to be most thankful. Oh, another reminder of utmost importance. Before you leave home, please make sure you’re securely ensconced, totally dressed in your spiritual armour so that you can safely engage the enemy in battle. We’re talking about your helmet of salvation, your breastplate of righteousness, your belt of truth, sandals of peace, that massive shield of faith, and the all conquering sword of the spirit. Wow! What solid protection my brethren! Please don’t ever leave home without it! In fact, even when you’re home, please be dressed in it, because the wily Lucifer and his evil cronies are no respecter of places or persons. Wherever and whenever they find an opening, they’re going to dart in there as quickly as possible. So basically, once we’re awake, we need to have on that spiritual armour, and be always on guard, even in the comfort of our homes. And I’m chuckling here Friends, because I never intended to write about spiritual armour, but I guess the Lord considered it a good tie in with our Bit on temptation. ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ Yes fellow believers, it’s the same Bit as yesterday, because we have more scriptural info to pass along on the subject of temptation. Now yesterday we saw how Bruh Paul warned the Corinthians about temptation, (1 Cor.10:11-13) letting them know that we’re not to play high and mighty in regards to it; as though we’ll never bow to the tempter’s evil, ungodly invitations. He also noted that we’re not alone in temptation, for we’re all tempted at some time or another, it’s just one of the casualties of being an earthling. However, and most importantly, we must know and believe that our wonderful God will not allow us to suffer more temptation than we can safely handle, and will also ensure that we come out safely on the other side of it. One note of caution though, that doesn’t mean we won’t be tempted, or constantly shielded from it, but that He’ll work it out for out good, just as He does with everything else that comes against us. (Rom.8:28) And just in case you don’t believe Bruh Paul, (smile) then please listen to Bruh David as he waxes eloquently about how the Lord hears the righteous in Psalm 34. ‘The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off (destroy) the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh (near) unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed in) spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate (condemned or held guilty). The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate (condemned).’ (Ps.34:15-22) And all of that is gospel truth my people! Bruh David experienced it personally, and so have many of us. Our God won’t molly cuddle us, and keep us away from all suffering and temptation, but He will most definitely acknowledge the cause and cry of the righteous, and basically keep them safe from harm, while moulding them in the shape of His perfect Son, Jesus. And if you happen to see the wicked prospering from their evil exploits now, please don’t worry, or lose faith, for the Lord will deal with them in His own time, as our Bit truthfully declares. As believers, we just need to worry about doing God’s will, trying to persevere, to stay strong and faithful, with right hearts and clean spirits, so that the Lord will look kindly on us and hear our cry with empathy. And we’ll end with a promise of Christ from His message in Revelation to the church at Philadelphia. ‘Because thou hast kept the word of my patience (my command to persevere), I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation (trial), which shall come upon all the world, to try (test) them that dwell upon the earth.’ (Rev.3:10) Wow Friends! What a promise! And all God’s people gratefully declared: ‘Thank You Jesus! We LOVE and adore You!’ And the scholars agree that this is a real awesome promise. ‘This verse presents a promise that Christ will rapture genuine believers out of the world before the Tribulation period begins. The hour of temptation is the period of worldwide testing (Gr. peirasmos) which has not yet occurred (cf. Dan.12:1; Matt.24:21,29). Christ promises to keep them from (Gr. ek, “out of”) the period of Tribulation. That is, they will not even enter into this period of history. The Tribulation is for the purpose of trying or judging them that dwell upon the earth, those who are connected to the earth and its system. Believers are not included in this term. (cf. Phil.3:18-20; 1 Pet.2:11; Rev.6:10; 11:10; 13:8,12,14; 17:8).’ Please read those scriptural references so we can get a better understanding of it all. Oh my people, I’m shaking my head and wondering how, knowing all that, why would any sane and sensible person decide to revoke Jesus and do evil eh? So please, in light of all we’ve said, let’s ponder that question today and wisely come to the brilliant conclusion that good will indeed win out over evil in the long run, because our God and Saviour, Jesus has promised it. Much LOVE!…in the world…ye shall have tribulation…but be of good cheer…I have overcome the world…  (John 16:33b) P.S. And all God’s children, unable to contain their excitement and enthusiasm, gave a mighty shout of joy and most gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord! Amen!’ Much LOVE my fellow believers, please stay strong in the strength of the Lord our God!