Today’s Scrip-Bit   2 October 2022 Matthew 18:20.

02 Oct 2022 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 18:20.       For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.​​

Come on down friends, it’s time once again to gather, by whatever means possible, and sing songs of praise, give thanks for our many blessings, and offer up worshipful adoration to our great God Jehovah, on this His day, Sunday! Consequently, we adhere to His commands to ‘Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,’ as well as to restrain from toil for one day of the week, like He did when He created the world and all therein. (Ex. 20:8-11) And thankfully, that day is today. (smile) 

So let’s open with a short prayer. ‘Oh heavenly Father, we thank you for this day and all that You have prepared for us to enjoy in it. We thank You also  for enabling us to gather in worship, and ask that Your holy presence be amongst us as we do so in sincerity and truth, remembering the faithful promise of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour: ‘For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’ Please be in our midst as we open our hearts and souls to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.’ And that promise of Jesus can be found in Matthew 18:20. 

Now, let’s raise our harmonious voices in sacrificial praise as we render a sweet, scintillating and oh so soulful version of this favourite song, written by Fernando Ortega, so aptly titled, ‘Give me Jesus!’ Wow friends, there’s no better gift we can ever receive than Jesus. So let’s make that plain as we sing it loud and clear, in all sincerity and truth, a la Danny Gokey’s version with the wonderful background voices of the diverse choir and the stirring music of the full orchestra. (smile) 

Singing: ‘Ohhh ohhh, Give me Jesus… In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise Give me Jesus. (Chorus: Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.) When I am alone, Oh When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus. (Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. For He is all that I need. Just give me Jesus) 

When I come to die, Oh, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus. (Ohhhh Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Oh, it’s all I need, all I need is Jesus. So Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, You can have all this world, You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus, He’s all I need. He’s all I need. 

Give me Jesus…in the morning when I rise…when I lay my head down… when I wake up, when I lay my head down, said I need him, said I need you… said I only want Jesus…when I wake up… Just give me Jesus. All I need is him. We worship you, we worship you, say we worship you Lord. You’re the answer to my prayers, you’re the calm in the storm, you’re my rest and my refuge…oh yeahhh… Just give me Jesus…’  

Oh my fellow saints, that was ever so touching and heartfelt! And yes, the words are simple and somewhat repetitive, but the emotions of gratitude and appreciation they convey as they float over the rich music is certainly amazing, especially when they are sung sincerely from the heart, like we just did. And why is Jesus so important that we’d be willing to give up everything else in the world just for Him? 

Because He is our Lord and Saviour, our Leader, Guide and Good Shepherd! He left His privileged position in heaven, at the Father’s request and came to earth in man’s form to sacrifice His sinless life so that our abominable sins could be forgiven, have everlasting life and be once again made right with the Lord. Now if that isn’t the best example of selflessness, and therefore deserves our total surrender, thanks and gratitude, then I don’t know what is. 

And if you don’t believe me, then, please listen to how Bruh Paul explains Jesus to the Philippians. ‘Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made (coming) in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion  (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of (those) things in heaven, and (those) things in earth, and (those) things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil. 2:6-11) 

Wow! That’s how special Jesus is my people! He left heaven as the Son of God and came to earth like a lowly servant, and learned obedience as a man, and gave His life to please the Father. And it’s not that Jesus so badly wanted to sacrifice His life nuh, but the Father desperately desired to save His ungrateful, disobedient, sinful creation called mankind, but found Himself between a rock and a hard place. Meaning, that to uphold His righteousness and justice, sin had to be paid for by death of a sinless soul, and since Jesus was the ONLY sinless soul available, He had to band His jaw and sacrifice His one Son. That was the ONLY way to carry out the LOVING feeling in His heart. 

And as we said earlier on, it wasn’t that Jesus badly wanted to take the sins of the whole world on His shoulder, for remember the night before His crucifixion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, three times He knelt and prayed to the Father: ‘O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:39) 

Now, according to the scholars, that didn’t mean that Jesus obviously feared death, ‘but it is more likely the cup represents the wrath of God against sin, the divine wrath Christ would incur on the cross as man’s sin-bearer. In the awful anguish of that moment, the sin of the world was poured on Christ, and He became “sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21) Thus, the Righteous One dies a substitutionary death for guilty mankind.’

 Remember His heart-breaking cry on the cross: ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matt: 27:46) Yes friends, it broke Jesus’ heart because that was the ONLY time the Father ever turned away from Him, because He was ugly and repugnant in the Father’s eyes, burdened with the sins of the world. But then, three days later, He rose victorious from the dead, having defeated Satan on his own turf and ascended back to the Father to take His rightful place at His right hand. 

And that’s why He’s all we ever want and need! He’s such a magnificent example to all of mankind, in terms of sacrifice, obedience, and every other thing you can think of, why He’s in such high demand, why He’s our empathetic High Priest and Advocate, as well as the Lord of Lord, and King of Kings! Much LOVE!

…there’s nothing…or no one to compare with JESUS…it’s as simple as that…  

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 October 2020 Jeremiah 29:11.

18 Oct 2020 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.)

Let’s come together this Sunday morning my fellow believers to give our wonderful God much thanks and praise nuh! Yes, let’s come together on this Day of our Lord, whether it’s in a sparsely populated sanctuary with those few souls physically distanced, or by virtual technological means, for coming together is a must one day a week in keeping with the Lord’s command. ‘Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ (Ex. 20:8) And by hook or by crook, we going to do just that. (smile) That’s the awesome power we believers have when we join up with our great God: nothing – no pandemic, or nobody – no government, can keep us from worshipping Him if we choose to do so. 

And today we going to open our worship with a wonderful song of praise, though some might consider it somewhat contentious, or if it’s even appropriate to sing in church, not because of the song itself, but because of the artist who sings it. The name of the song is ‘Buried Alive,’and it’s done by the Jamaican Reggae artist, Buju Banton taken from his Upside Down 2020 album. And yes, the same Buju Banton who was released from prison last year, and for the record is now more popular than ever. 

Now I know some of us are already turning up our noses and feeling mightily disturbed by the idea, but please remember who wrote the song ‘Amazing Grace’ that we consider such a splendid song and very worthy of being sung in church. It was the notorious slave trader John Newton, who transported our forefathers from freedom in Africa to slavery in the Western Hemisphere. It’s only after he got religion that he wrote that song. So for all we know Buju might have also gotten religion, and deserves a second chance, just like John Newton, who even became a minister after his slave trading days were done. 

So let’s not judge Buju, remembering Jesus’ words: ‘Judge not (do not condemn), that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote (speck) that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam (plank) that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold a beam (plank) is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.’ (Matt. 7:1-5) 

And now that we’ve cleared up that li’l matter, (smile) let’s get on with the singing nuh. It’s a nice, simple, rocking reggae tune. I sent it to some of you by what’s app yesterday, so you should know it, but you can also look it up on you tube. So with voices strong, in perfect harmony, let’s sing these words of second chance, of forgiveness and thanks, with sincere hearts. 

‘Oh Lord, I was buried alive, but I’m still breathing. I don’t know what tomorrow may bring, But I’ve got a feeling. I am alive, there must be a reason, I was given one more chance, my heart‘s still beating. Buried alive, but I’m still breathing, I don’t know what tomorrow may bring, But I’ve got a feeling. Now I am alive, there must be a reason, I was given one more chance, my heart ‘s still beating. 

Now all this time… I’ve been blind… only running against the wind. Friends of mine …pass with time… After living a life of sin. Now many give up, many give in. It’s my determination to win. I survived, the worst of times, I survived. Yeah, I was buried alive, but I’m still breathing, I don’t know what tomorrow may bring, But I’ve got a feeling. Oh Lord, Now I am alive, there must be a reason, I was given one more chance, my heart‘s still beating. 

Oh, they made a ditch for one, but there would be two, In their attempt to out my life, The wicked things they do. But Jah made I brave, and I can’t care the grave, Oh no, The Lord is my salvation, Of whom shall I fear? Yeah, I was buried alive, but I’m still breathing, I don’t know what tomorrow may bring, But I’ve got a feeling. 

Oh Lord, Now I am alive, there must be a reason, I was given one more chance, my heart ‘s still beating… (One more time) Yes, I was buried alive, but I’m still breathing, I don’t know what tomorrow may bring, But I’ve got a feeling. Oh Lord, Now I am alive, there must be a reason, I was given one more chance, my heart ‘s still beating…my heart’s still beating…my heart’s still beating…my heart’s still beating…’ 

Oh mih people, those words are so true of all of us! Every day we wake up alive, we must be thankful, because there’s a reason for it, or else the Lord would just take us home during the night hours. That brings to mind Jeremiah’s words on the Lord’s behalf. ‘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) That means the Lord has a good plan for our lives if He leaves us alive here on planet earth, and it’s our bounden duty to find it, through prayer and reading His Word, and then live it to the best of our ability. 

Like the song says, we’ve been given another day, a second chance, so there must be a reason for it, and though we don’t know what today or tomorrow may bring, we have to take hold of the reins and stay with Jesus, stand strong with Him, have that determination to win! For as they say, once there’s life, there’s hope. And if we have hope, then anything’s possible. 

And that’s exactly how we have to look at the current state of affairs of our world; we’re alive, God is still on His throne, in control of things, and He has a special plan for our lives, not calamity, which seems to be pressing in around us right now, but a future and a hope and we’ll survive the worst of times. So please let’s remember that awesome word ‘HOPE,’ which if held long and strong enough morphs into this other word ‘FAITH,’ with which we can move mountains in Jesus’ name! Much LOVE!

…I can do all things…through Christ who strengthens me… (Phil. 4:13)