Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 July 2022 Micah 7:8.

02 Jul 2022 Leave a comment

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

Micah 7:8.       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.

And then it was Saturday – lazy day. But yuh know what? Some of us are so dog-tired after yesterday’s hectic Canada Day celebrations that we’re too tired to even be lazy! (smile) Yes, it is indeed possible to be too tired to even be lazy. That’s because lazy is a state of mind, and tired is more a state of body. But anyway, whatever you are this Saturday morning, we do hope that you are in good health and still madly in LOVE with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

Yes, we talking about the Son of God, who so unselfishly sacrificed His holy and sinless life for us, a bunch of ungrateful sinners, on the cross of Calvary. Thus, taking our abundant and ugly sins on His shoulders, while giving us His magnificent righteousness. What an unfair exchange! But He did it because He LOVED us and wanted to save us from the clutches of Satan and his fiery domain of hell. That’s why it’s ever so important that we LOVE Him in return and do our best to live the way He desires. 

And having made that rousing call on Jesus’ behalf, (smile) it’s now time to check on the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one tells us: ‘Believing in negative thoughts is the single greatest obstruction to success.’ Now, I wouldn’t necessarily say that negative thinking is the ‘single greatest obstruction to success,’ but it certainly is a big obstruction. That’s because from the time you think or say, ‘I can’t,’ you inject your project, or whatever it is, with an added burden, an extra weight of doubt and disbelief that you don’t need. 

It’s difficult enough to get things going, you definitely don’t want or need to add any extra weight to your problems. And please remember that all the fighting between good and bad positive and negative goes on in your mind, so the less confusion you have there, the more peace of mind you have, the better off you are. And don’t forget either that the best peace you can ever get is from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He said it Himself. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) 

And on top of that, if you sincerely believe in Jesus then you will also know that ALL things are possible with Him, and consequently we can joyfully and confidently say: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Phil. 4:13) Yes, anything that’s worthy and noble, etc. anything that is in Christ’s will, He will enable us to do it. So there is no need to ever think negatively. 

That brings us to the next quote: ‘A problem is a chance for you to do your best.’ And that’s no lie, since problems are opportunities for us to come up higher, to show what we have, to expose our inner fortitude, confidence and wisdom. As they say, problems are made to be solved. Yeh friends, problems are merely chances to show our mettle. (smile) And life is full of them. In fact, life itself is usually our biggest problem. (smile) So it does no good to turn away from a problem as soon as it shows up, but instead we must put our best foot forward, which means also turning to Christ for help and direction. 

And granted, we will not be able to solve all of our problems, but we should not be found wanting in the trying, should at least get an ‘A’ for effort. And we have the perfect example of that in the following quote. ‘Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.’ 

Oh my people, that’s indeed the gospel truth! Believers in Christ ought never to give up because the words ‘give up’ or ‘failure’ aren’t found in His vocabulary. And ofttimes mere persistence is all we need to overcome a problem. It’s legendary in talking about famous people who failed time after time but never gave up and finally succeeded. We are talking about people like Henry Ford, the automotive success, Thomas Edison, the lightbulb creator, Walt Disney, the creator of our greatest entertainment attractions. 

Each one of them failed several times, were even considered failures by their counterparts, before they eventually found success. The thing is that they never gave up, kept working on their problems, with a positive mindset. They obviously had the idea that Cousin Sol puts forward in Proverbs. ‘For a just (righteous) man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity).’ (Prov. 24:16) 

Just like Jesus said we ought to forgive at least seventy times seven, in other words continually, so we are expected to get up each time we fall, for failure is not failure until we stop trying, until we give up. But until then, while we keep trying, we have not failed, just not being successful as yet. (smile) For as the prophet Micah confidently proclaimed: ‘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 so, we come to the last quote: ‘Every day may not be good… but there’s something good in every day.’ And do we ever need to believe that because it’s more gospel truth! Every day won’t go completely smooth, because that’s just the way life is. But in every day there will be stuff and times that are good, and we must look for those good things and times instead of merely concentrating on the problems and difficult moments. That’s one of the reasons why so many of us live unhappy lives, we overlook the many good things and focus on the few bad or troublesome ones. 

If you don’t believe me, then try this. Get pen and paper and write down the good things and the bad things that happen to you. I’m sure that you’ll find more good things than bad, but unfortunately you focus more on the bad ones. And friends, if that’s the way we behave, then we won’t live the abundant life that Christ died for us to live right down here on God’s great earth. He said that unlike the thief, or the evil one, ‘who only comes to steal and kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’(John 10:10) 

So, the only way to live that abundant life is to stay under Christ’s marvellous umbrella, in peace, LOVE and joy, spreading His word, while living a life that glorifies Him, so that others can come to Him and find salvation, which we all so desperately need, if we ever hope to see God! Much LOVE!

…in Christ alone…is salvation found… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 August 2018 Romans 12:18.

25 Aug 2018 Leave a comment

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

Romans 12:18.   If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.

‘Awright, awright…it’s Saturday and you want to sleep in…so who’s stopping you eh?’ the husband angrily declares from his perch on the couch. The wife shakes her head and looks at him in amazement. ‘Yuh really bold face enough to ask that question?’ she finally shouts. ‘Yes, ah bold face enough to ask it, so why don’t you answer it eh?’ he retorts. 

‘Well lemme tell yuh why ah can’t sleep in on a Saturday morning: first of all it have laundry to do; then there’s groceries to be made. You want to chock your tail full of food, but you’d never say let me face the store and buy some. Then there’s the children to look after…and this humongous house to clean…’ 

‘Whoa, whoa there mih lovely…’ the husband cuts in. ‘Doh tell me nothing about humongous house nuh! Remember I was quite comfortable in the li’l two be four apartment. But it was you an yuh high flying ideas, who wanted the big house, who wanted to keep up with the Joneses. So don’t tell me no nonsense about house too big to clean now nuh…’ 

Ah friends, it sounds humorous when you read it, but it certainly isn’t. Steups! In how many houses are those kinds of arguments repeated each week eh? Way too many! And after a while they only cause strife and resentment between the partners and allows the enemy to creep in and spoil the show. That’s definitely not what we need my brethren. 

Remember one of the acclamations I included in the recent list was one that says: ‘I WILL NOT tolerate strife in my life!’ It’s oh so important that we don’t, and somehow or the other we have to find ways to not let it foment in our households and lives. The only serious way to handle it is to take it prayerfully and humbly to Jesus! But remember you still have to do your part to avoid or lessen it, because it takes two to cause strife. 

Anyhow, later for this strife business. It’s Saturday, so let’s look at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. First up is this: ‘If you try, you risk failure. If you don’t, you ensure it.’ There is some truth to that friends, for it’s only when you try something that you can fail. And if you don’t try, then you still fail, because you haven’t tried. (smile) Not trying is considered failure. 

And the next quote tells us: ‘You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one.’ That should be obvious. If we keep looking back at our past life, we’ll never be able to move ahead with the bigger, brighter and more beautiful one that Jesus has planned for us. 

That brings us to ‘Don’t be ashamed of your story it will inspire others.’ And that’s no lie my brethren! Just look at the shady, deceitful and disgraceful characters the Lord used in the Bible to do His great works? Check out Jacob, the swindler; Matthew the tax collector; Bruh David the murderer and adulterer; and Bruh Paul the murderer! Their stories have all been told to inspire us in one way or another. And so will ours be to others. 

And the final quote says: ‘Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day.’ And that’s the gospel truth friends! There’s no day that’s completely bad! There’s always something good in it to redeem it, even if it’s just the fact that we’re alive. That means we have the awesome hope, that living and working for Jesus will make tomorrow a better day. So brighten up, remember ALL things are possible with and through Jesus! 

That brings us back to the matter of strife in our lives and our Bit, the wise words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome.‘If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.’ That includes women too! (smile) 

Ah mih breddren, just look at our world nuh; it’s just strife filled all over. It’s so much easier to pinpoint the areas where there’s little or no strife than the ones with a whole lot. And if the world is strife-filled, then it’s only logical to assume that a lot of our homes and individual lives will also be strife-filled. But that’s not the life that the Lord planned for any of us. 

Listen to how Cousin Sol puts it in Proverbs. ‘Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no wrong.’ (Prov.3:30) But there’s so much strife that’s’ flying around that has no real basis for it? Too much! 

And Cousin Sol also gives us this bit of wisdom in Proverbs on the subject. ‘He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.’ And oh, so many of us meddle in affairs that don’t concern us! We have an opinion on everything and everyone, although we don’t know the half of the story. 

But friends, like 3 Canal said so long ago in their song: ‘If you don’t have no business, then get some business, and stop minding other people’s business nuh!’ Words to live by mih bredden! 

And we’ll end with these wise words from Hebrews: ‘Follow (pursue) peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.’ (Heb.12:14) Ah friends, with those wise words in mind, let’s begin today to rid our lives of strife and live as peacefully as we can with everybody. Our Leader Jesus, is known as the Prince of Peace, so how can we, His followers be strife makers eh? Much LOVE!

…strife in our lives…is like yeast in bread…it causes the negativity to rise up…