Today’s Scrip-Bit   9 November 2022 Jeremiah 29:11.

09 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

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

Jeremiah 29:11.        For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).

Well friends, it seems like we’re alive for another day! Glory to God! And it also seems to be another glorious sunshiny autumn day in my neighbourhood! More glory to God! Ah mih people, all that we are, and all that we have are directly attributable to our marvellous, merciful, generous, gracious and ever-LOVING God! Please, let’s never forget that. 

And today I want to share an interesting prayer that’s all tied up with the goodness of our omnipotent God, a prayer from Bubba Joel Osteen Ministries that’s been sitting on my desk for ages, supposedly to inspire me, but which I have not even noticed, much less read and invoked for donkey’s years. (smile) I rediscovered it yesterday while cleaning up my desk and thought it would be very useful to us all today; give a kickstart to our day 

And the title of the prayer is most appropriate: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY!’ Oh my fellow saints, let’s remember that today is all we have; yesterday’s past and gone down into the annals of history, and tomorrow is still germinating, so it behooves us to concentrate on today, which is in the palm of our hands. 

So please pray with me: ‘God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me. Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision. Today, God is taking me places that I’ve never even dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’ And all God’s people said a loud and grateful ‘Amen!’ 

Yes mih bredrin, it’s time for us to break free from our limited mindset and pursue the glorious purpose and destiny that the Lord has set out for us in His Master Plan. Remember His promise in Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) 

Oh yes, our God has big, good plans for us, but unfortunately our problem is that we speak of the greatness of our God, but we don’t really believe it, because we don’t think big, don’t truly consider His omnipotence, His awesome power, when talking to Him. But He’s placed talents and greatness in all of us. The main ones being seeds of the fruit of His Spirit that He’s planted in ALL believers, but which we have to allow His Holy Spirt to water and nurture to maturity. 

Bruh Paul listed those gifts to the Galatians as follows. ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering (patience), gentleness (kindness), goodness, faithfulness, Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ (Gal. 5:22-23) Wow! What an array of seeds the Lord has planted in each of us! And that’s not all, there are other spiritual gifts that God has given to His people. Bruh Paul mentions some of them to the church at Corinth in his first letter. 

Listen up and take note. (smile) ‘Now there are diversities (various kinds) of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations (ministries), but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all in all (all things in all of us). But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (for ALL to profit from). 

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues (foreign languages); to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing (distributing) to every man severally (individually) as he will.’ (1 Cor. 12:4-11) 

So you see my fellow believers, the many and varied kinds of gifts that our God, through His Holy Spirit imparts to his followers. And He doesn’t give them to us just to keep them locked up, but to shed them forth abroad to bring others to the knowledge and embracing of His Son Jesus Christ, and consequently bring glory to His Holy and Mighty Name – Jehovah! 

The problem is that we, through either fear or simple lethargy, refuse to use the gifts imparted to us by the Holy Spirit in the way they were meant to be used. But ALL of us have some gift(s) beside the fruit of the Spirit that the Lord gave us so that we could use to enlighten others and bring them to Christ. And it would be a crying shame, and big disaster, come the Judgement Day, when the Lord asks us what we did with this or that gift that He had given us, and we look at Him, with astonishment and stammer: ‘Lor…Lord, I didn’t know I had that gift.’ And then He will recall our lives and show us exactly how it was planted in us, but for whatever reason we did not use it to further His kingdom. 

It’s true my people, many of us are walking around carrying worthwhile gifts of God not being used for His glory. And that’s one of the reasons why our world is in such a terrible state, with so many people turning away from God instead of towards Him in this crucial and very critical time of the ages. So please, let’s wake up and do better nuh! Let’s actually walk the talk we’re so good at spouting. These are the times for which we’ve been specifically made my brethren. The Lord chose to put the future of His kingdom in our hands in these critical times, so please let’s not disappoint Him nuh, by not putting His magnificent gifts to work! 

It will be a tragedy if immense proportions if we allow Beelzebub to completely take over the world. But for those of us who are sincerely trying to use what gifts we have, let’s go home now declaring (yesss!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting all and sundry know of our marvellous position in Christ Jesus. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And if we endure right down to the very end with Jesus, then I can assure us the future we just spoke of will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. So, let’s work together to make it happen nuh. It’s all for Jesus’ sake! Much LOVE!

…gifts are given to be unselfishly and productively used…not locked away…and/or only used for selfish purposes…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 May 2021 1 Corinthians 12:6.

07 May 2021 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 12:6.     And there are diversities (various kinds) of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all in all (all things in us).
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It’s a grey looking day in my neighbourhood, but I’m sure the spirits of true believers are riding high because of the presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ that’s leading and guiding us. And all I’m trying to say there, is that our outer circumstances should not always be a measure of our inner status. That with Christ in our lives, as Lord and Saviour, we ought to be flourishing even when things are not looking so good on the outside. And a particularly good example of that is our current worldwide predicament that’s causing so much sickness, death, strife and upheaval. 

But through it all, followers of Christ Jesus are expected to stand up strong and make a positive difference in some form and fashion. And our Leader knows that is not an easy task, but a very doable one, since He’s already given us all we need to do what He requires of us. That includes the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, the nine attributes we receive when we live by its guiding – LOVE, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23) 

Now that’s plenty to fight this evil and godless world with. But added to all of that is also what we call the Gifts of the Spirit. Those are roughly nine more different gifts, given to different believers to do their earthly ministry. They include – the Word of Knowledge, the Word of Wisdom, the Gift of Prophecy, the Gift of Faith, the Gift of Healings, the Working of Miracles, the Discerning of Spirits, Different Kinds of Tongues, the Interpretation of Tongues. I think it best though, to let Bruh Paul give us some basic explanations. 

He says: ‘Now there are diversities (various kinds) of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations (ministries), but the same Lord. And there are diversities (various kinds) of operations (activities), but it is the same God which worketh all in all (all things in us).’ (1 Cor. 12:4-6) Yes friends, there are all sorts of gifts, activities, and ministries, but they all stem from the same source, the Holy Spirit of God. 

‘But the manifestation (or gift) of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal (All).’ (1 Cor. 12:7) And it’s especially important for us to note that my fellow believers: whatever gift we’ve been given is not just for our benefit, but for the benefit of ALL! Unlike the fruit of the Spirit, we don’t have ALL the gifts of the Sprit. Some have one, or some, and others have different ones. 

As Bruh Paul continues: ‘For to one is given by the Sprit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit. To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same spirit. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers’ (different) kinds of tongues (speaking in tongues); to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing (distributing) to every man severally (individually) as he will.’ (1 Cor. 12: 8-11) 

Ah mih bredrin, with the Fruit of the Spirit, and the Gifts of the Spirit, we believers are certainly wired for battle and eventual victory over this sinful world, provided we use those tools the way we ought. And I like how Michael Bradley puts it in his article on the bible-knowledge.com website. ‘For the record, we feel that the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit are much more important than the 9 gifts are. As the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit have to do with God imparting part of His divine nature into the core of our personalities to help make us into a much better and holy people. 

God’s ultimate aim for all of us is our sanctification in Him, and part of that sanctification process has to do with the Holy Spirit Himself transmitting 9 specific divine qualities and attributes into our personalities.’ Then He seems to quote someone else: ‘But if the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit are the cake, then the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit are the icing on the cake. Put these two together, and allow God to work with a believer with both sets of these 9 fruits and 9 gifts. And you will have one mighty sanctified soldier of Jesus Christ, as the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit will give you some serious heavy ammunition to have at your disposal as you walk with God’s anointing in your daily life.’ 

I couldn’t put it any better friends – with all that ammunition at our disposal, we ought to win whatever war in which we become involved. So today, as the world falls apart around us, let’s use our most potent tool nuh; prayer, to ask our great God for His divine help to halt the scary proceedings that have us wrapped up in much fear and anger. Therefore, as one voice, let’s raise up our Friday Chant to high heaven, sincerely pleading for release from our current demons. 

‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife is causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means 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 both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Now, my people, it’s up to us, to show the Lord that we are truly faithful believers, by using all the gifts with which He’s so generously endowed us to help make our world a better place. Much LOVE!

…God will not do His part in restoration…until we do our part… 

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