Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 March 2016 Deuteronomy 31:8

29 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

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

Deuteronomy 31:8.   And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

And then it was Tuesday my friends – Easter Tuesday! Now that means it’s also time for the great spectacle of goat races in Tobago! 

Yes my brethren, it’s time to get us down to Buccoo and enjoy an afternoon of goat races and great partying at possibly the only stadium in the world built to host that sport. Only in T&T, you say! 

They had a small offering while I was there the other day and it was really enjoyable. I hadn’t seen goat races in many a year. I vaguely remember the last time as being completely wasted and partying down the place with a friend’s sister on the verandah of a house near the track. 

Ah Lord eh! Those were the days! In those times they had individual parties at houses that surrounded the track. But now, progress has come along, and it’s held in a brand new state of the art facility, with all the amenities; food, drink, music, etc, all in one place. So don’t hesitate to check it out. (smile) 

And since Today is Tuesday, it’s of the utmost importance that we declare our Tuesday Mantra, with sincerity, joy and a true sense of belief and purpose. 

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.’ 

Yes my fellow believers, that’s exactly who we are, the beloved of God; a fact that NO ONE can take away from us. So as many of us go back out to work after the long Easter weekend, let’s hold that thought, that fact, close to our hearts, and let it empower us as we go about our day, doing the Lord’s work. 

Let’s remember too that Jesus is our friend, in fact our BEST Friend; one who sticketh, stands closer with us than a brother, as Cousin Sol says in Proverbs 18:24. And basically, all we are called to do is share His LOVE with the world. Now that shouldn’t be too hard to do, should it? (smile) 

Unfortunately though, our world today is not interested in true LOVE, the agape, the brotherly kind of LOVE that Jesus desires to share. But friends, we’ve got to keep on keeping on and pursue our vocation to LOVE with a strong, never-ending zeal, for that’s what makes us true believers and followers of the triumphantly risen Christ! 

Now here is something from our One Year book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is titled ‘At Such Times.’ 

And it says: ‘God, there are times In the midst of heartache and heartbreak When there is no comfort, no solace Anywhere at all. There are times When in my crumbling state of mind I feel I can no longer endure – Not for a day, not even an hour. 

It is at such times, O God That I draw heavily upon Your unfathomable LOVE. At such times I implore Your transforming peace. At such times I live By the power and promises Of a Father who cares infinitely more Than I can begin to grasp or comprehend. Today, dear God, is a “such time.” 

Oh my precious and beautiful people of God, I’m sure that resonates so truthfully with us all, because there are times in all our lives when we feel lost and alone, and Almighty God is the ONLY One who understands our situation, and the ONLY One who can provide us true solace and comfort! 

So let us never be afraid, ashamed or whatever, to call upon our heavenly Father for His peace and LOVE, because He’s always there, ready and able to help us. 

And the Biblical Promise for that poem is also our Bit for today: ‘And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.’ 

Yes friends, our God made that promise through Moses oodles of years ago, and it still stands even to this day! 

And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘O heavenly Father, thank You for Your promises! We don’t always put our full trust in them, but deep down we know that they are solid, solid as a rock, and that You will never renege on any of them, because You are a faithful and true God. 

Please help us to stand more securely on the many promise You have made to us over the years, for that is the only way we will ever successfully handle the evil and ungodly world that now surrounds us. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.’ 

And one of the best-known instances of our God going before His people and neither forsaking nor failing them is this passage from Exodus when the Lord took the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. 

‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.’ (Ex.13:21-22) 

And please note the last verse there friends. I believe the writer added it to assure us that God did keep His promise for the long haul. And we’ll close with these words from the scholars re the pillars of cloud and fire. 

’13:21. This glowing cloud was the shekinah glory of Yahweh, which later filled the tabernacle (40:35) and then Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 8:10), and finally departed from the temple and the city just before the Babylonian captivity (Ezek 8-11). 

This “glory of the God of Israel” will not return to Israel until the second coming of Christ (Ezek.43:1-7), at which time the glowing cloud will once again cover God’s earthly people (Is.4:5). It guided the people through the wilderness, assured them of God’s presence, and protected them from the Egyptians (cf.14:19-20).’ 

Oh friends, what a faithful and mighty God we serve. Please never let us forget that. Much LOVE!

…the God of Israel…faithful and true…is His name and nature… 

P.S. Please excuse the lateness. Just too much late night Easter Monday partying. (smile) Much LOVE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 August 2015 Psalm 41:9

11 Aug 2015 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 41:9.  Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me (acted as a traitor against me).

Well Friends, a glorious Tuesday morning to you all! God’s still on His throne and the universe is unfolding as it should. Glory to God! We too are still alive and have the promise of His many new blessings and mercies prepared especially for today to look forward to.

Hn! What a wonderful God we serve and worship eh! One who prepares special blessings and other good stuff for us each and every day. No stale stuff for our God! He LOVES His people so much that He wants to give us something new at every sunrise. 

And then people wonder and ask why we LOVE Him so much? That’s obvious; simply because He sincerely cares and looks after us with a mother’s tenderness and concern, paying serious attention to all our hurts, fears and earthly problems and helping us to resolve them. How can we not LOVE Him then eh?  

The problem for us now is to find people who are of like beliefs as ourselves, meaning believe in Jehovah God, and are willing to stand strong and steadfast in His Name and do what He desires. Unfortunately, in this ungodly world those people are hard to find. 

But we have a couple of recent quotes from our Friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. They came separately, but I have put them both together as they fit nicely that way. 

And Anselm wisely advises: ‘You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you choose to be around. Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.’ 

Oh my people, those are indeed words of awesome wisdom! We can’t change the habits of the people around us, but we can definitely change the people that we choose to be around. And following on from that, we need to surround ourselves with people who are going to lift us higher, give us sound and godly advice. 

Yes Friends, in our camps, we desperately need people who are going to encourage and support us in our earthly endeavours in a positive manner, not those who tend to be negative, an attitude that only serves to drag us down. 

That’s why it’s ever so important that we carefully choose those we allow into our inner circle, and not make that inner circle too large and unwieldy either. For a man with too many friends is just begging for destruction. And that’s why Cousin Sol says that ‘A man that hath friends must show himself friendly (may come to ruin): and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ (Prov.18:24) 

And the scholars paraphrase that by saying ‘a man must not spread himself too thin among many superficial relationships. Far better it is to have (a few) friends who become like family and LOVE at all times (17:17).’ 

Gospel truth my brethren! That brings us to our Bit. ‘Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me (acted as a traitor against me).’ 

And that’s no lie! For many of us have experienced that same disappointment that Bruh David is talking about. And in this ever more selfish and ungodly world it is becoming real difficult to find true friends. 

Look at Job nuh; instead of truly commiserating with him in his awful tragedy, his supposed friends only came and berated him, accused him of some secret sin as the reason for his downfall. 

And we certainly can’t blame him when he cries out: ‘My kinsfolk have failed, and my familiar (close) friends have forgotten me. They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight…All my inward (close) friends abhorred me: and they whom I LOVED are turned against me.’ (Job.19:14-15,19) 

Ah mih people, that is what usually happens when some serious tragedy overtakes us; many of our close associates no longer stand beside us. And you can see that in bright and living colour in a lot of celebrity circles. 

When the celebrity is hot, riding the wave of financial and career prosperity, there are a lot of hangers on, but once their star begins to dim, and their financial ability diminish, they all quickly disappear, like rats abandoning a floundering ship. 

Yes Friends, like Bruh David says later on in Psalm 55 – A cry against deceitful friends. ‘For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne (bear) it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 

But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide (companion), and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company (in the throng).’ (Ps.55:12-14) 

Ah mih people, what heartache betrayal of close friends brings! And the closer they are to us, the deeper the pain! No wonder the prophet Micah, on denouncing the sins of Israel solemnly declares: ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 

For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.’ (Mic.7:5-7) 

Ah Friends, sadly a lot of what Micah says is true, for there is a lot of unnecessary feuding between families these days. So if there is much dissatisfaction and resentment amongst the smallest unit of our society, what can we expect from the larger units eh? Nothing but the same, except on a larger scale. 

But I like how Micah continues after bemoaning the untrustworthiness rampant in his day. He staunchly and confidently declares: ‘Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.’ (Mic.7:8) 

And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful, ‘Praise the Lord!’ Yes my brethren, for He is indeed worthy to be praised because He does not ever leave or forsake us, or turn against us. Our wonderful God is forever faithful and true! That’s why we can put our total trust and faith in Him! 

Please my brethren, let’s be wise and look FIRST to God for guidance, direction and every good thing in this life, for man’s faithfulness cannot be trusted. Much LOVE!

…it is better to trust in the Lord…than to put confidence in man… (Ps.118:8)

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 July 2015 Proverbs 17:17‏

25 Jul 2015 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 17:17.  A friend LOVETH at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Ah Friends, one more day, one more day on God’s planet earth this Saturday morning! Praise the Lord! He allocates them one at a time, which means we have to enjoy each one as it comes along, because we don’t know if we will see another one tomorrow. In His infinite wisdom He might just decide that we have enjoyed enough of His breath of life down here, and it’s time to move on to higher matters and heights.

So please, let’s all give our Creator, Provider and heavenly Father a rousing shout of ‘Thank You Lord! Thank You for Jesus and all that You have done for us unworthy humans. We are Your creation and though we rebelled against You, Your LOVE for us was so great, You found a way through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross at Calvary to reconcile us to You. We can never repay Your LOVING-kindness, but we will be forever grateful! Thank You Lord! We LOVE You and Praise Your Holy Name!’

Yes my people, it’s ever so wonderful to serve and worship such a magnificent and magnanimous God!

Now here is a quote attributed to one of our early church fathers, St. John Chrysostom (349-407). He was born in Antioch and became the Bishop of Constantinople. Constantinople was founded by the Roman emperor Constantine on the already existing city of Byzantium, part of the Byzantine Empire. It is now known as Istanbul, part of modern day Turkey.  

St. John was well known for his writings, public speaking and influence on church affairs, including his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders.  Anyway, his quote says: ‘A friend is clearer than the light of heaven, for it would be better for us that the sun were extinguished than that we should be without friends.’

Ah mih breddren, I don’t know if I would go so far nuh, (smile) but Friends definitely are useful and necessary, especially in these very trying and deceitful times. And according to my One More Day Devotional for People with Chronic Illness: ‘Friendship is our greatest achievement and reward. Our friends are people to care about, celebrate with, and count on.

Within the closest friendships we find the best of each other at all times. Friendships enrich our lives… It is no accident that we become close and maintain our contact. We offer help and hope. We share each other’s pain and enhance each other’s growth. We appreciate our friend’s unique qualities.’

It’s all true my people, but it’s ever so hard to find one of those real friends nowadays, where distrust, deceit, fraud and all kinds of evil are rising to the forefront of our society, where trust is no longer the rule, but rather the exception. 

All of that eventually brings us to our Bit. ‘A friend LOVETH at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.’ What awesome truth my people! And how lucky, or rather blessed we are, if we can find even one person to fit that bill in our earthly lives!

The scholars explain it thus: ‘17:17. A true friend has unquenchable LOVE that is not diminished by adversity.’

Ah Friends, do we have that kind of LOVE for anyone in our lives, or does anyone have that kind of LOVE for us? I certainly do hope so, otherwise we’re missing out on a most important part of life.

And what I want to do now is to quote some scripture from Proverbs, where Cousin Sol writes a lot about friends and friendships. Don’t know how many we’ll get in, because there quite a few. We’ll do it by chapters, beginning with 14. ‘The poor is hated even of (by) his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends (the LOVERS of the rich are many.’ (Prov.14:20) And that’s gospel truth!

The scholars put it this way. ‘14:20. Social standing is improved with riches, but the good neighbour will have concern for all, regardless of their status.’ That’s how it’s supposed to be, but there aren’t a whole lot of good neighbors around these days nuh.

In Chapter 16, Sol writes: ‘A froward (perverse) man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief (the best of) friends.’ (Prov.16:28)

And the scholars simply say of this: ‘16:28. Gossip destroys friendships.’

Now we all know that is an indisputable truth since we all have experienced it to some extent. And it hurts like the dickens!

And in chapter 17, early on, Sol says almost the same thing. ‘He that covereth a transgression seeketh LOVE; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very (the best of) friends.’ (Prov.17:9)

Now that’s the real difference between a true friend and an imposter! One will keep quiet about certain private matters, while the other will go and broadcast them to the world.

Meanwhile in chapter 18, Sol pens this highly interesting and oh so true proverb. ‘A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ (Prov.18:24)

Now that doesn’t mean exactly what it says. Listen to the scholars. ‘18:24. A man that hath many friends must show himself friendly may also be translated, “A man of many friends comes to ruin.” In other words, a man must not spread himself too thin among many superficial relationships. Far better it is to have (a few) genuine friends who become like family and LOVE at all times (17:17).’ 

And isn’t that the unfortunate truth my brethren! We all know of people who have suffered irreparable damage by having too many hangers on in their lives. Celebrities are a very good example of that. Some of us might even have experienced it.

And these last two come from chapter 27. ‘Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.’ (Prov.27:6)

Hear the scholars: ‘27:6. True criticism from a friend may hurt for a time but may be welcomed, for it issues from his LOVE, whereas the kisses of an enemy are an attempt to conceal his hatred.’

And last but definitely not least: ‘Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.’ (Prov.27:17)

And the scholars explain that thus. ‘27:17. As the proper tool shapes and sharpens iron for its desired use, so a man sharpens his friend morally and intellectually by their personal friendship.’

Now that is the kind of friends we need in these last desperate days! Oh my people, I do hope now that we have a better understanding of what true friendship is all about. So let’s put that understanding into practice nuh, but carefully, for easy does it. Much LOVE!

…I bring myself honestly to my friendships…  (One More Day Devotional).

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 April 2015 1 Thessalonians 5:17‏‏‏‏

11 Apr 2015 Leave a comment

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

1 Thessalonians 5:17.      PRAY WITHOUT CEASING!

Ah Friends, the rain finally stopped yesterday, and the sun peeped out from behind the clouds, but then the wind began causing havoc; it played a rough, villainous mas all day. (smile)

Ah Lord eh! When it’s not one thing it’s certainly another! But that’s life my people; good things come and go, and so do bad things. The bad thing, winter, has gone, and the good thing, spring, is a coming, though it’s also bringing with it much rain and strong winds. But as Job said, we can’t expect to get good without bad. (Job 2:10) And one of the good things we can get, and also be, in this crazy, evil world is a Friend.

Yes my fellow believers, Friends are important in this life. But we have to be careful that we don’t have too many supposed ones, or those who are just wolves in sheep’s clothing, meaning they are really our enemies masquerading as our Friends.

And what caused me to follow this line of thought today, is a quote I read by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), the famous American essayist, lecturer and poet. He describes a Friend thus: ‘A Friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.’

And that’s very true my brethren. That definition of a Friend, and any other implies a certain amount of trust. The closer the friendship the greater the trust. What did Cousin Sol say in Proverbs: ‘A friend LOVETH at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.’ (Prov.17:17)

And according to the scholars: ’17:17. A true friend has unquenchable LOVE that is not diminished be adversity.’  

That’s much better than this Proverb: ‘A man that hath friends must show himself friendly (may come to ruin): and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’ (Prov.18:24)

And the scholars explain that thus: ’18:24. A man that hath many friends must show himself friendly, may also be translated, “A man of many friends comes to ruin.” In other words, a man must not spread himself too thin among many superficial relationships. Far better is it to have genuine friends who become like family and LOVE at all times.’

That’s gospel truth my people! A lot of times too, friends are more trustworthy and reliable than our family members. And we’ll end this li’l preamble on Friends by saying, that literally speaking, if you want to have friends, you also have to behave like a friend; be pleasant, kind and show yourself to be trustworthy.

Unfortunately though, the corrosive and corrupt state of our world doesn’t lend itself to too much trustworthiness, especially when a premium is placed on selfishness and deceit. So please, let’s all be very careful whom we let into our inner circle, if we want our lives to not get worse than they should.

And as for everything in our lives, when coming to friends, we must also pray about them; pray that the Lord will either make them work out or show us their insincerity very early in the proceedings, so that we can drop them like a hot potato. (smile)

That’s why our Bit tells us to ‘PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.’ Having a prayerful attitude is all for our benefit, not God’s.

And to end this series of messages on the importance of prayer, let’s listen to James as he discusses patience in affliction. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess you faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.

Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that I might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by (the land for) the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (James 5:13-18)

Oh mih people, yuh see the multi-purpose function that prayer plays in the believer’s life! As we said in an earlier message, prayer is our lifeline to our Creator, Almighty God, and that communication should never be broken, if we want to have a godly and fruitful life.

And we’ll go cruising home with Peter, the rock, this Saturday morning in the spring of 2015. Hear this wonderful verse from his passage on being good stewards of God’s grace. ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.’ (1 Pet.4:7)

Yes Friends, it’s of the utmost importance that believers make prayer a strong and steadfast foundation in their lives, for that is the will and desire of God! It is also wisdom of the heavenly kind! Much LOVE!

…we’ve said it before…but we’ll say it again…prayer should be like breathing…constant and regular…otherwise we die spiritually…