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Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 March 2014 Romans 12:9

12 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a swig of rum, abhor evil, affectionate, anguished cries, arthritic aches and pains, associate with the humble, be diligent, be honest, be hospitable, be of good courage, be patient in tribulation, be steadfast in prayer, bless, bless those who persecute you, brotherly LOVE, Bruh Paul, Christian ethic, cling to good, coals of fire, come hell or high water, cry out to the Lord for help, curse not, dissimulation, don't be conceited, don't grow weary, don't repay evil for evil, don't set your mind on high things, don't take revenge, endure our afflictions with patience, evil, faithful help of Jesus, feed your enemy, fervent in spirit, good, gospel truth, harrowing time, hypocrisy, incessant pain, kindly affectioned, live in peace, long and short of the story, LOVE, meet the needs of the saints, moan and groan, night from hell, numbing gel, our Lord and Saviour, overcome evil with good, pain, pain threshold, pain-killers, praise and thanks, pray, rejoice, rejoice in hope, serve the Lord, spring-like weather, take hold of God's grace, tale of woe, Thank the Lord, the Lord will perfect establish strengthen and settle us, toothache, true believers, vengeance is mine, wait on the Lord, weep

Romans 12:9. Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.

Oh Friends, oh Friends, the ole fella’s a mess this Wednesday morning. Why you ask? Because I had a night from hell, last night!

It all began with a minor toothache over the weekend. It wasn’t too bad, just a low grade throbbing on the right side of my face. It seemed that a tooth I’d fixed just before I went to Tobago was acting up again; reacting badly to cold stuff. But the situation was controllable, so when I called my dentist on Monday and got an appointment for Wednesday, today, I didn’t make a fuss.

However mih people, yesterday the pain decided to upgrade itself. It actually began in the morning, because I now remember going upstairs while writing the Bit and getting a swig of rum to swish around the tooth to try and numb it some. But around lunchtime it got worse, and I ended up taking some pain-killers.

That helped a little, but I eventually went to the pharmacy, in the spring like weather (smile) and got a gel that would supposedly numb the tooth. Hn! It wasn’t the greatest, but I handled the pain until around eleven o’clock last night, when I was ready to go to bed.

However, the pain asked me then; ‘which bed yuh going to eh mih brother?’

Oh Friends, I pride myself on having a fairly high pain threshold – and I should have since I’ve been walking around with a back problem for over twenty years, and various other arthritic aches and pains over the last dozen years or so. I haven’t had a serious toothache in a long while though.

But last night…with the pain throbbing in my jaw and in my head, they almost drove me crazy, both literally and figuratively. (smile) Neither the pain-killers nor the numbing gel seemed to be working. At one point in my misery, I went down to the kitchen, got some ice, put some over the affected area…

MamaMia! That only increased the pain. But thankfully, after the ice melted, I did get a little relief from the incessant pain.

So there I was upstairs in my bedroom and bathroom, sucking ice and having an ice pack on my jaw, trying to moan and groan quietly, so as to not disturb the duchess and my young daughter. Hn, hn, hn!

And don’t think I didn’t pray and cry out to the Lord for help. I surely did, though not as loudly as I would have liked to, but there was no mistaking that they were anguished cries.

Anyway Friends, the long and short of the story is that it wasn’t until around 2 a.m that the pain subsided enough for me to get some sleep. Ah Lord eh!

And the trouble is that I can’t tell you exactly which tooth is acting up, for at times it seems like it’s the one on the bottom, as well as the one on the top, and then sometimes my jaw also seems to be in play. Steups! But I understand that that’s how those things often work.

Thank the Lord though, that so far this morning the pain isn’t too bad. I’ve already done my pain killer stuff, and will do the gel thing after I have my coffee. All I can do is shake my head and say, Ah Lord eh! As well as give the Lord some praise and thanks, as I did, or tried to do, all through my harrowing time.

Now all I need is that stupid snowstorm that’s been promised, to actually fall to day. But believe me people, come hell, high water, or plenty snow, the ole fella IS going to the dentist this afternoon. Hn, Hn, Hn!

And I can afford to chuckle now, but a few hours ago, chuckling was the furthest thing from my mind. And that’s my tale of woe for this morning. (smile)

But here is something else that we also need to take into consideration during our times of woe. And it’s staring right at me now, from a piece of paper stuck on my desk. And it says that our task is to take hold of God’s grace, to endure our afflictions with patience, without growing weary.

Why? Because in time – that’s the Lord’s time, not ours – He will perfect, establish, strengthen and settle us. We must wait on the Lord and be of good courage. And that’s gospel truth Friends, although it’s not always easy to do.

But here is something that’s much easier to do – at least I find so. In the telling words of our Bit: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’

However, from the way our society and our world are living, that would seem to be a real difficult, if not impossible task. Anyway, let’s continue looking at scriptures that support the last half of our Bit: ‘Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’

And we’ll begin by showing how and what Bruh Paul envisioned the Christian ethic to be when he wrote our Bit, with some verses that follow it.

‘Be kindly affectioned (affectionate) one to another with brotherly LOVE; in honour preferring (giving preference) to one another; Not slothful in business (lagging in diligence); fervent (lit. boiling over) in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient (persevering) in tribulation; continuing instant (steadfastly) in prayer; distributing to the necessity (needs) of saints; given to hospitality.

Bless (speak well of) them which persecute you: bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (do not set your mind on) high things, but condescend to men of low estate (associate with the humble).

Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation). Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. (Have regard for good things). If it be possible, as much as lieth in (depends on) you, live peaceably with all men.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.’ (Rom.12:10-21)

Ah mih people, that’s the whole Christian thing right there! And again, I never intended to quote all of that, but after reading it through, I couldn’t find a proper spot to stop, for it all seemed so significant and apropos to our topic.

Anyway, that’s it for today. Please read, mark and inwardly digest those words of Bruh Paul, since they do declare the way true believers ought to live. Much LOVE!

…do not let evil enter our souls or dictate our actions…but instead fend off evil with good…with the faithful help of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2014 Daniel 2:20

08 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: almighty god, ambiguity, Amen, assumptions, believing in God's promises, Blessed be God's name, Blessed be the name of God, communication, communication guidelines, communication skills, communication styles, confidentiality, counsel, Daniel 2:20. Daniel, deceived, deceiver, deliver us from evil, depth of riches, don't worry, el numero uno, empathetic, ever-Loving, extol the Lord, forgiving, fruit of his doings, glory, God's omnipotence, gospel truth, head honcho, infinite, inquity, Jesus, judgements, keep in close contact with God, lifts up the humble, look to Jesus, lord of hosts, loving kindness, magnificent God, merciful, might, never leave nor forsake us, perceptions, ponder, praise, Praise the Lord, Psalm 147, respect, respite from cold weather, responsibility, sensitive, sing unto the Lord, stand tall, strength, strong points of God, temptation, thanksgiving, the final word, the mind of the Lord, the power and the glory, thine is the kingdom, think before you talk, tolerate, true believers, trust God, understanding, wisdom, wise, work out all things for good

Daniel 2:20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.

Ah Friends, at last it seems like we’re going to have a brief respite from the exceedingly cold temps that’s been overwhelming us the past few weeks. This weekend promises to be above freezing – not all that much- but anything above freezing is surely welcome. (smile) Praise the Lord!

But who knows how long that will last eh? However, as true believers, we need to take whatever comes against us in our stride, faithfully believing in God’s promises that He will never leave nor forsake us (Heb.13:5), and to work out all things for our good when we walk in obedience to Him. (Rom. 8:28)

Therefore, let’s stand tall, and though the weather or other things might be getting to us, let’s just look to Jesus as He desires. It’s not always easy to do, but do it we must. And how did Jesus handle His earthly problems? Basically by not worrying, doing what He was supposed to do, keeping in close contact with the Father, and trusting Him to make things right. And so should we, my brethren.

Now hear are some respectful communication guidelines that we can all use. I got this from my pastor at a recent Advisory Board Meeting, and was guided to share it. Apparently it has been copyrighted by Eric H.F. Law in 1995. It’s laid out in acrostic form, and the letters spell RESPECT, but because of our format we have to do it otherwise.

And it says: ‘R = take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others. E = EMPATHETIC listening. S = be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles. P = PONDER on what you hear and feel before you speak. E = EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions. C = keep CONFIDENTIALITY. T = TOLERATE ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right or wrong.’

Now they all are useful parameters, though I have a slight problem with the last one, tolerating ambiguity, since sometimes you do need to make decisions and distinctions as to who or what is right and wrong. But I do believe that if we put those practices to work, our communication skills will improve a whole lot. Now that includes communication with Almighty God too. (smile)

But it’s time to turn to our Bit: ‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.’ Yes Friends, wisdom and might are among the numerous strong points of our wonderful God!

And today we’ll continue looking at scriptures which uphold Daniel’s contentions. Let’s begin with Job, when he answers his supposed friends’ harsh accusations, acknowledging God’s omnipotence in the process.

‘With him (God) is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up (imprisons) a man, and there can be opening (no release). Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.’ (Job 12:13-16)

And oh my fellow believers, there’s absolutely no doubt about the power and wisdom of our majestic and magnificent God to do all those things!

Now listen to the psalmist extol the Lord from Psalm 147: ‘Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (Lit. innumerable). The Lord lifteth up the meek (humble): he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.’ (Ps.147:5-7)

Now that’s exactly what we ought to be doing my brethren – giving much praise and thanks to our ever-LOVING, merciful, forgiving, wise and powerful God!

And Jeremiah proclaims in his prayer: ‘Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (too difficult) for thee: Thou showest LOVING-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest (repay) the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:

The Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work (deed): for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.’ (Jer.32:17-19)

Jeremiah really poured it on quite thick there. (smile) But it’s all gospel truth, my people!

And this testimonial wouldn’t be complete without a word from Bruh Paul. To the Roman church, he declares: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.’ (Rom.11:33-36)

And as we LOVE to do whenever possible, we’ll give Jesus the final word on the topic. In His teaching us to pray, He concludes: ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:13)

Yes my brethren, our God is the great I AM, the Head Honcho, El Numero Uno, Number 1 in all the universe! Let’s NEVER, NEVER forget that! Much LOVE!

…if Jesus says that the Father is the GREATEST…then it must be so…since He cannot lie…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 January 2014 Psalm 5:3

15 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: advice, alive and kicking, appliances, attitude of prayer, be happy, begin each day with prayer, behaviour to cultivate, better late than never, boycott threat, complications, Daniel, David, deliverance from death, direct my prayer, disciples, encourage, epistle, faults and foibles, fed the five thousand, freezer problem, friends, get serious about prayer, glory hallelujah, God's grace, greatest power on earth, ground swell, heartfelt, holds us captive, importance of prayer, in the morning, intermittent cough, Jesus, joyfully declare, lighten the soul, look up, LOVE, my voice, negative, new fangled, O Lord, planet earth, plastic, poor-me-one, positive attitude, pray without ceasing, prayer, prayer for protection, pronouncement, Psalm 88, recharge batteries, rejoice and be glad, rejuvenation of spirit, see another day, service charge, sincere prayer, sincerity, sorrowful, spiritual energy, the day the Lord has made, the Good Book, the other side, the power of prayer, tip of the iceberg, troubled world, true believers, truth, year of 2014

Psalm 5:3.   My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Oh Friends, once again we have been blessed with God’s wonderful grace, enabling us to see another new day on His great planet earth! Wow! How thrilling that is!

And I know that you all will agree with me, for despite all the problems in the troubled world and our individual lives, very few really are ready to leave here and go over to the other side. There’s something about earth, with all its faults and foibles that still holds us captive.

Perhaps it’s simply because we know what’s here, but aren’t truly sure about what’s on the other side, although they claim it’s much better there.

In any case, since we’re here, and most likely want to be, let’s be happy, and like the psalmist, joyfully declare: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) That positive attitude certainly helps more than a negative, sorrowful, poor-me-one behaviour.

Oh by the way, a service man did come yesterday to look at our freezer problem, at an exorbitant service charge. Hn!

Apparently there’s a small plastic cup – no surprise there, for everything’s plastic now – where the water runs through to the icemaker. But whenever that cup gets clogged with ice, and the icemaker calls for water, the water cannot run into the cup and into the icemaker. So as water is wont to do, it finds other channels to run into.

Consequently, by the time he checked it yesterday, everything was clear and free, and the only thing we can do is keep a close eye on it, because there’s no finding out why it happens. Ah Lord eh! And last night we had to turn off the icemaker because the bucket was already full of ice.

And the techie agreed with my contention that the earlier appliances worked much better than these new fangled ones, neither did they have as many complications when something went wrong. Although it gave him more work, he wasn’t thrilled with the new stuff, and suggested that we complain to the manufactures themselves, not to the service people.

But which big manufacturer listens to the small man eh, unless there’s a big ground swell and a serious threat of boycotting their products?

Anyway, that’s enough preamble for today. (smile) Yesterday’s Bit was one of the longest, if not the longest one I’ve ever written, and I promise today’s definitely won’t be as long. So in keeping with that promise let’s get to our Bit from Bruh David’s prayer for protection.

‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.’

And I was up early enough today to do my prayer thing and still get the Bit to you at a reasonable hour. Glory Hallelujah! And we’ll continue looking at scriptures that show us the importance of prayer, as well as encourage us to get more involved in it.

And there’s lots of truth in the advice to begin each day with prayer. Bruh David and Daniel (6:10) did it, and in Psalm 88, a Maschil (Contemplation) of Heman the Ezrahite, a cry for deliverance from death, the psalmist also proclaims: ‘But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent (come before) thee.’ (Ps.88:13)

Now we already know that Jesus got up very early every morning to go out into a quiet place and pray. (Mark 1:35) But that wasn’t the only time He availed Himself of the power of prayer. And we have a good example of that after He fed the five thousand, (Matt.14:15-22) and sent His disciples over to the other side of the lake by ship, then went off by Himself to pray.

‘And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart (by Himself) to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.’ (Matt.14:23)

Apparently after using up all that spiritual energy, He needed some recharging of His batteries, some rejuvenation of His Spirit. And believe me Friends, nothing recharges or rejuvenates us like sincere prayer!

Now let’s move on to Bruh Paul. Oh my brethren, I don’t know if anyone has spoken about the importance of prayer more than him! In every epistle he encourages his readers to pray. And his most astounding pronouncement on the subject is simply this: ‘Pray without ceasing.’ (1 Thess.5:17) Plain and straightforward my people!

The scholars dissemble the verse thus: ‘The Greek word here rendered without ceasing is used in secular literature to denote a man suffering from an intermittent cough – one that is not continuous, but occurs at intervals. Just as the individual has the tendency to cough, though does not always do so audibly, so the believer ought to remain in the attitude of prayer though not always praying audibly.’

Therefore Friends, as true believers, we ought always to have that attitude of prayer about us, though not necessarily praying aloud. It’s a most wonderful behaviour to cultivate. And as promised, we won’t ramble on any more today.

But my brethren, that’s only the tip of the iceberg concerning prayer in the Good Book. However we’ll leave you to ponder those few verses today. Don’t want to complicate your busy minds and lives more than they’re already complicated. (smile) .

But please, please, let’s get serious about prayer in this important year of 2014 nuh, both for others and ourselves, because it’s the greatest power on planet earth, when entered into with heartfelt sincerity. Much LOVE!

…there’s nothing like prayer…to lighten the believer’s soul…

P.S. Aye mih people, the Bit will most likely be plenty late tomorrow, because I’m going out of town this evening, and I don’t know when I’ll find the time to write it. But rest assured that once I’m alive and kicking, you will receive it. It’s just a matter of when. And as they say; better late than never. (smile) Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 December 2013 Ecclesiastes 12:14

19 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a part of the world, actions, almighty god, Amen, ask for, behold the sun, best interest, blessings, calamitous days, cautionary note, comparison, condemned, consciousness, constancy in prayer, constancy of weather, corrupt, cursed, day of judgement, days of darkness, deceitful world, decision, desired reults, divine guidance, doing godly stuff, embracing ungodly activities, encouraged, enemy, engulfed, enjoyment of life, enlist, enthused, evening, every work, evil, evil stuff, evil world, eyes, faithful, feeding connection, friends, futile life, futility, give account, gladness, good, good fruit, heavenly Father, hold out our hands, hopeful, Hour of Power, idle word, immortal words, insights, Jesus Christ, Jesus' desires, joy of the lord, joyful fellowship, joys, judged, judgement, judgement day, justified, lead us away, lifeblood, light, light is sweet, live for Jesus, living truth, LOVE, machinations, mistakes, moment of prayer, morning, mysterious ways, new day, new week, omnipotent god, pleasant thing, possibilities, prayer, prosper, puzzling, receive, rejoice, righteous, robert h schuller, sap our strength, secret thing, share, sink deeply, solve problems, sow seed, sown, stand the test, strong sensation, succeed, sunlight, sure of success, testing flames, the help of God, things of God, thwart, treasure of the heart, true believers, trust God, umbilical cord, upright in heart, vanity, wicked designs, wisdom, word of warning, workings, wrested

Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Oh Friends, wonder of wonders! It’s supposed to go up to 4 degrees above freezing with sunshine in my area today! Bubba! From minus temps during the last few days to plus temps today, then back to minus tonight. That’s going to cause much icing up, then freezing rain and possibly snow on the weekend.

What a mish mash of weather conditions! There’s just no constancy to it these days. But my people, there is constancy in prayer; the lifeblood of the faithful, of the true believers in Jesus Christ!

And here is a prayer I’ve been trying to include since the day we spoke of prayer being the umbilical cord, our feeding connection to Almighty God. It comes from Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, and says.

‘Father, I have a strong sensation that you brought me to this moment of prayer because you plan to share with me insights to solve my problems. So I will go out and face the sunlight of a new day and a new week crammed with undiscovered possibilities. I am encouraged! I am enthused! I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time! Amen.’

Yes Friends, I do hope that encouraged us some this morning, because in this cursed and evil world, we desperately need to build hope, encouragement and enthusiasm, if we’re going to live sincerely for Jesus. The world tries to sap our strength, energy and enthusiasm and lead us away from the things of God.

But we need to enlist the help of our God through prayer to thwart the evil stuff that comes against us. And right now, too many of us are still being a part of the world, involved in, and embracing its ungodly activities, instead of just being in it, doing godly stuff, as Jesus desires. And that is definitely not in our best interest. Why?

Because as our Bit so plainly states: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’

Yes my brethren, all our work will be judged by the Almighty at some stage, and it won’t go down well with the judge if our works were evil, were too tied up with the ungodly machinations of this ungodly world. So what are we to do then?

The Preacher wisely declares: ‘In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper (which will succeed), either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.’ (Eccl.11:6-7)

Yes Friends, since we don’t understand the mysterious ways and workings of our omnipotent God, and are never totally sure of success, we need to get involved in the good and godly things that life has to offer, and trust God to produce the desired results.

However, the preacher includes a word of warning here. ‘But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity (futility).’ (Eccl.11:8)

And isn’t that the living truth! Now here some notes from the scholars. ‘The comparison with light (v.7) speaks of the enjoyment of life (cf. Ps. 97:11).’

Ah mih people, I’m going to spoil us here by quoting that referenced scripture, since I know that very few of us will take the time to look it up. (smile) “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” (Ps.97:11)

Now getting back to the scholars’ notes. ‘Verse 8 adds a cautionary note to enjoyment that may be summarized in two ideas: (1) There will be many days of darkness, calamitous days. (2) All that cometh is vanity: That is, joys will not come easily, they must be wrested from a puzzling and futile life.’

And don’t we all know that my fellow believers! Real joy in this unstable and deceitful world is hard to come by, unless we are tied by that umbilical cord of prayer to our heavenly Father, and ask for and receive His divine guidance and blessings.

That’s why the Good Book so staunchly advises us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Neh.8:10) For only when we have a joyful fellowship with the Creator and Controller of the universe, can we really be strong and thus resist the wicked designs of the enemy.

Oh Friends, I wish I could impart the true importance of all that we do on this pilgrimage down here on earth, because it’s going to make a substantial difference in our after-lives. And if you don’t believe me, listen to Jesus, as He talks about good and corrupt fruit.

‘A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt.12:35-37)

Now those aren’t my words Friends, but the Master’s, the Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, so it is certainly reasonable to expect that He knows what He’s speaking about.

Oh my people, we can’t do much about what’s already passed, but we surely can do something about the days to come. Therefore my fellow believers, from today, RIGHT NOW, let’s try to get those immortal words of Jesus to sink deeply into our consciousness nuh, so that we can more closely watch our words and actions, thereby cutting down the mistakes we make, and consequently the judgement we’ll face, come that judgement day.

That’s wisdom at it’s highest and very best my brethren! Much LOVE!

…on that fateful day…our words and actions…will either stand the test…or they will be engulfed by the testing flames…the decision is ours to make…NOW…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 November 2013 Deuteronomy 28:1

27 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: above average life, allergies, B.S. baffles brains, barrier breaker, better late than never, blessed, Bubba Joel, calamities, Christian, come to pass, commandments, compassion, Creator of the universe, defeated, destiny, Deuteronomy, disasters, disobedience, disobedient, disobey, downtrodden lives, economic distress, enemies, enlarged vision, escape, everlasting promise, evil hold, fabulous blessings, favour, flee seven ways, foolish, forgiveness, fruit of thy cattle, God's goodness, God's purpose, godly people, Good Book, good life, have life more abundantly, holy people, idolatrous, immense proportions, in grip, in the city, in the field, increase, Jewish prosperity, Joel Osteen, know it all, limited mindset, listen diligently, live high on the hog, LOVE, mercy, obey His rules, observe and do, obstinate, offspring, palms of his hands, pay, pick ourselves up, pluck up courage, ponder the situation, poor, positive thinking, poverty, prideful, prosperity thinking, reap what we sow, rebellious, scripture, seeds of greatness, set your hand to, short-change ourselves, sickness, simpler, sold our souls, storehouses, straightforward, strife, sworn, tender mercies, the voice of the Lord thy God, tired, Today is my day, true, true believers, trusting, turned from God, voice of God, walk in his ways, war, wisdom, wise changes, wonderful god, worldly goods, worthless worldly treasures

Deuteronomy 28:1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.

Ah mih people, in this rough and rugged world, when it’s not one thing, it’s certainly another yes. Now yesterday my allergies were bothering me, but I beat them off. Today though, I couldn’t get up. Like the ole body was more tired than I thought.

However, as the old people would say; better late than never. So if the Bit’s a tad late, please bear with the ole fella, let your tender mercies and forgiveness, your Christian compassion come to the fore, as you remember that he’s only human and thus very fallible. (smile) And that’s why they say B.S. baffles brains!

But I have an interesting acclamation to share today. It comes from Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen), so those of you who deal with him might have already seen it, but for the many who don’t, it’s very useful to share.

And Bubba Joel excitingly declares in the title: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! 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 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.’

Yes Friends, we all need to enlarge our vision and change our mindset to one that expects God’s favour, His goodness and mercy, every day of our lives, otherwise we’re more than likely to short-change ourselves.

Oh I know that lots of people cry down what’s generally called prosperity and positive thinking, but why not embrace it instead eh? Jesus said that He came to earth so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

So what does that mean eh? It surely doesn’t mean we should live poor, downtrodden lives. But neither does it mean that every believer will become filthy rich in worldly goods and live high on the hog, as some preachers preach, and some believers believe. I think it means that generally speaking, true believers will live a decent, above average life.

For as our Bit so wonderfully puts this everlasting promise of our great and wonderful God: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.’

As usual Friends, our God’s pronouncements are plain and simple: obey, and you’ll be blessed. ‘And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 28:2)

Ah mih people, how wonderful He is eh! He even goes on to spell out in more detail, the many fabulous blessings He has in store for us, if we obey His rules.

‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten (defeated) before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Deut.28:3-8)

Oh my brethren, what’s in that not to understand eh? But being foolish, rebellious, prideful, think we know it all, trusting in our own sub-par provision, we’ve turned from the Lord. And what’s the result? We’re obviously reaping what we’ve so stupidly sown with our disobedience; poverty, sickness, economic distress, war, strife, and all other sorts of disasters and calamities.

But do you think we’ll even for a moment sit down and seriously ponder the situation? Oh no! Because Beelzebub has us in grip, we’re so firmly ensconced in the palms of his hands, we can’t escape his evil hold, for we’ve sold our souls to him for the worthless treasures of this soon to be destroyed world.

And we’ll end with this simple, straightforward, but oh so important verse of scripture. ‘The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.’ (Deut.28:9)

Oh Friends, it can’t get any simpler and more straightforward than that! So please, today, as true believers in Jesus Christ, let’s all pluck up our courage, pick ourselves up from wherever we’ve fallen, and believe God for a good and decent life, if we follow His dictates.

And it’s not like we haven’t seen it played out just as He said, all down through the centuries; from the days of Jewish prosperity, to their calamities when they disobeyed, right down to our earlier prosperity when we were a more godly people, to our now divisive, disaster and strife torn world, as we’ve become very idolatrous and disobedient.

So it’s not like the words of the Good Book haven’t been played out and found to be true. It’s just that we’re obstinate, rebellious, prideful and foolish.

So please my people, let’s try and make some wise changes nuh, once again becoming obedient to God’s Word, starting TODAY! That’s wisdom of the most immense proportions. Much LOVE!

…if you want to disobey…then know that you’ll surely pay…and pay large too…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 November 2013 Genesis 15:18

16 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Abram, Adam, affliction, angel of the Lord, anger, anxiety, assures, barrenness, bear a son, belief, bitterness, childbearing age, children, clueless man, conceived, covenant, dealt harshly, descendants, despised, Egypt, endear ourselves to God, endless problems, exhort, faith, fatall error, father of many, fled, foolish, foolish pride, founding father, Garden of Eden, God's promises, God's will, God-given day, godly patience, goodness, Hagar, harsh treeatment, hope, impatience, inherit, Ishmael, Jehovah God's people, judgement, legal heir, listen, LOVE, lusts of the flesh, maid, omnipotent, original descisions, perseverance, play God, Praise the Lord, pregnant, promises, rash, resentment, river Euphrates, river Nile, Sarai, strife, submit, succumbed, thanks, the Lord judge, thoughtless actions, through the ages, true believers, true wisdom, undeserving children of men, vast tract of land, wait patiently, warfare, warp, wild man, wilderness

Genesis 15:18.     In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed, (descendants) have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.

Oh Friends, once more we’ve opened our bleary eyes to greet another God-given day! And all God’s people gratefully declared: ‘Praise the Lord! Give Him endless thanks for His goodness to the undeserving children of men!’

Yes my people, we do need to praise and give thanks to our wonderful God for His unending grace, which we certainly don’t deserve. But like we have a special place in our hearts for our children, the same way the Deity that created us has a special fondness for us. He LOVES us so much that He can’t help but lavish LOVE on us. (smile)

Now I never intended to stay this long on God’s promises to Abram, but everyday I see more stuff, and since Abram is considered the founding father of our faith, of Jehovah God’s people, I believe we should look at his life and His relationship with the Almighty in some detail, so that we can get a fuller understanding of how our great God works, of how the promises He made, have led to the world we know today.

And today in our Bit, we have yet another promise God made to Abram. ‘In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed, (descendants) have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.’

What’s interesting Friends, is that in every instance the Lord assures Abram that he will have an abundance of descendants, who will inherit a vast tract of land, from the river Nile to the Euphrates. The problem though is some ten years have passed since God first promised Abram a multitude of descendants, but nothing has so far happened to fulfill it.

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife is seventy something, way past normal childbearing age, so she takes it upon herself to play God. She has an Egyptian maid by the name of Hagar: ‘And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.’ (Gen.16:2-3)

And foolishly, like many other men over the years, Abram listened to her and knew Hagar, her Egyptian maid. But Friends, as it so often happens, our impatience comes back to haunt us in ways we never considered before making the original decisions.

The Good Book puts it this way: ‘And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes (sight). And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong (the wrong done to me) be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee (as you please). And when Sarai dealt hardly (harshly) with her, she fled from her face (presence).’ (Gen.16:4-6)

Ah mih breddren, Hagar must have preened and pranced around the household when she discovered she was pregnant with Abram’s first born and legal heir, considering the endless possibilities of wealth and power that would accrue to her and her son. What amazes and amuses me though is Sarai getting on Abram’s case because Hagar despised her for her barrenness. Wasn’t it she who came up with the idea in the first place?

Abram was simply foolish to listen to her. There his faith in God must have wilted somewhat. But you can’t blame him too much, when you’ve been promised a child for ten years, and you’re already eighty-five years old.

But right there and then the whole anger, bitterness, resentment, hatred, strife and warfare began, because one woman took it upon herself to play God, then another allowed foolish pride to warp her thinking. And as usual too, in between was a clueless man. (smile) And sadly, nothing much has changed to this day. Ah Lord eh!

So Hagar runs away from Sarai’s harsh treatment into the wilderness, where an angel of the Lord finds her sitting beside a well. ‘And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under hands…

I will multiply thy seed (descendants) exceedingly, that it should not be numbered for multitude… Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael (God hears); because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.’ (Gen.16:8-12)

Please note Friends, that God saw Hagar’s affliction and relieved her anxiety by promising that her son would be a father of many, though he would be wild and rash and have problems with mankind in general.

‘And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son’s name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six (86) years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.’ (Gen.16:15-16)

Ah mih people, yuh see how our thoughtless actions can cause endless problems, even down through the ages. Sarai couldn’t wait on the Lord’s promise, possibly her faith had not reached the level necessary to keep on waiting regardless of the fact that she was old and nothing was happening. And poor Abram, although his faith seemed exceedingly strong, like Adam in the Garden of Eden, he succumbed to a woman’s arguments and made a fatal error in judgement, which has plagued the world since then, even to this day.

So though it’s oftimes difficult to wait on God’s promises, as true believers, we need to learn that godly patience which comes with strong belief and great faith. We cannot afford to let the lusts of the flesh drive us to do stuff outside of God’s will. When we think we’re speeding up God’s will, we’re usually just creating more problems. God doesn’t need our help to fulfill His promises. Remember He’s omnipotent.

So today, let’s exhort ourselves to listen, believe and wait patiently. For then we endear ourselves to God in true wisdom, and cause ourselves less problems. Much LOVE!

…but if we hope for that we see not…then do we with patience (perseverance)…(eagerly) wait for it… (Rom.8:25)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 November 2013 Philippians 4:12

08 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abased, abound, Beelzebub, blessings, Calvary, catastrophe, chanting, christianity, Christians, circumspection, contented, desires of the heart, destruction, disasters, duty, euphoria, evil one, exchange for one's soul, experience, feet firmly planted, fellowship, followers of Christ, foothold, Friday chant, full and hungry, fun, furthering God's glorious kingdom, gain the world, generous help, glory hallelujah, God judges, God-centred focus, good deeds, good for the soul, good times, goodness, gravalicious, greedy, inherent problems, jesus name, Jesus' selfless sacrifice, jump off the deep end, lead and guide, learned behaviour, lifestyles of the rich and famous, live humbly, loss of lives, LOVE, Lucifer, maturity, may God's counteneance shine upon us, motives of the heart, old rugged cross, partying, peace, Philippians, possessions, Praise the Lord, prisoner of hope, prosperity, refreshed in soul, relaxation, renewed, rest, right attitude, rip-roaring, rough times, satisfied, sell one's soul, solid ground, suffer need, temptation, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, the Lord's in our corner, the Philippines, the undeserving children of men, things of the world, time of dire need, true believers, typhoon Haiyan, ups and downs, waiting patiently, walk and talk with God, weekend, wild animals, wisdom

Philippians 4:12. I know both how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

And the band played, as the people lustily sang: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! TGIF! Thank God is Friday! Work soon done, then it’s my time to play, my time to party! Yes work soon done, then is my time to play, my time to party!’

But hold on a minute Friends, please don’t jump off the deep end so fast. Now some partying is good for the soul, but like too much of anything, it can either get boring or too rip-roaring and thus cause us to go astray, consequently allowing the evil one to gain a foothold in our souls. And that my people we must try to avoid at all cost.

So let’s stop for a moment, let the euphoria of Friday simmer for a bit, while we put on our thinking caps and find some wisdom to lead and guide us successfully through the weekend. And we’ll start by sincerely chanting our Friday Chant, which gives us the right attitude for handling the weekend.

All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’

Yes my brethren, that’s what we need when the weekend rolls around, a shot of circumspection, so that we don’t run lose like wild animals and lose our God-centred focus.

Now there’s one new disaster to contend with, as though we didn’t have enough worldwide. The super typhoon Haiyan apparently hit the Central Philippines this morning, with winds roaring up to 195 miles per hour. Mama Yo! A hundred and ninety five miles an hour!

Yuh know the amount of disaster and destruction that can cause mih Friends! There will most likely be plenty loss of lives and lots of physical destruction, so please, I implore us to pray for them in their time of dire need, and also help however else we can, for that’s our sure duty as true believers.

Ah Lord eh! There isn’t a day that passes by without some kind of bizarre catastrophe taking place in our world, either natural or man-made. But the good thing my people is that as followers of Christ we don’t have to get too low or too high about whatever happens, for we know that come what may, the Lord is firmly planted in our corner.

For as Bruh Paul tells the Philippians in our Bit: ‘I know both how to be abased (live humbly), and I know how to abound (live in prosperity): every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.’

Now my brethren, that’s how the Christian ought to be able to live. And I daresay that I have reached a fairly mature point in that respect, because I’ve been around long enough – don’t read or think old – (smile) and have gone through enough ups and downs to appreciate both the rough times and the good ones.

As a lot of things in Christianity, it’s a learned behaviour; one you can only truly acquire through experience. And the one thing I have going for me in that regard is that though I like nice, expensive things, it doesn’t rile my soul if I don’t get them. I’ve been dirt poor and I’ve also hung out with some wealthy folks, but truthfully, I don’t like either end of the spectrum.

I have to thank the Lord that I’ve never been a greedy, ‘gravalicious’, ‘wanty-wanty’ person. My feet have always been firmly planted on solid ground, and at this stage of my life, I’ve done some of all that the Lord’s put in my heart, though not to the extent that I would have liked. But I’m a prisoner of hope, Glory Hallelujah! And I am still waiting patiently for Him to fulfill those desires to a greater degree.

But Friends, I know the glitzy, glamorous things of the world, the lifestyles of the rich and famous are causing havoc in many believer’s lives today because they want to be able to live the same way. But as I keep saying, we don’t know what they’ve done to get what they have, they’ve most likely sold their soul to Beelzebub.

Now that’s something you surely don’t want to do. Unfortunately though, many of us are indeed doing it. We need to stand strong though and resist that temptation. Granted, none of us want to be poor, but being rich also has its inherent problems.

Oh I know you’re going to say, I’ll take the rich problems rather than the poor ones. But please remember that our God doesn’t judge us by our possessions or outwards actions, but by the motives of our hearts. So all the possessions and good deeds don’t mean a thing if you’ve sold your soul to Lucifer.

For as Jesus asked of His disciples: ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’ (Matt.16:26)

Now that my Friends, is a question each individual has to answer for him or herself. But I just want to let you know that the correct answer to that is, NOTHING OF THE WORLD should be able to purchase our souls!

In fact they’re not for sale, because Jesus has already bought and paid for them with His selfless sacrifice upon that old rugged cross at Calvary some two thousand years ago!

And all God’s people shouted a most grateful, ‘Praise the Lord for His wonderful goodness to the undeserving children of men!’ And that’s as it should be my people!

We’ll end here for today, because it’s already long and I don’t want to tire us out by having to read too much heavy stuff. (smile) So we’ll continue this message tomorrow, obviously if the Lord’s in favour.

Till then, please let’s go safely, constantly walking and talking with God, so that He’ll bless and keep us and cause His wonderful countenance to shine upon us with peace, wisdom and LOVE! Much LOVE!

…it’s not easy…but Christians must learn to be satisfied…contented in whatever state or stage they’re currently at…because that’s exactly where the Father wants us…at that particular time…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 November 2013 Matthew 5:1-2

05 Nov 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: absolute, adamant, arms manufacturers, Beatitudes, bloodbath, Christian living, Christians, conduct, depravity, die by the sword, disciples, discipleship, easy asquisition of guns, edification, encouragement, enlightenment, eternity, follow fashion, food banks, give account for behaviour, glory, god, grace, greed, gun culture, guns in Canada, heaven, high heaven, incompetence, increasing prices, indispensable, inner state of mind, insistent, Jesus, Jesus taught them, Jesus' kingdom, Jewish lifestyle, life, live by the sword, Los Angeles Airport, losing jobs, low paying, manifestations of character, minimum wage, multitudes, New Testament, Paramus. N.J., part time, pray harder, proliferation of guns, proponents of gun rights, quality of life, recession, remuneration, right to bear arms, rising like high tide, salvation, saviour, Sermon on the Mount, service oriented jobs, shame and a disgrace, shameful and disgraceful working conditions, shooting at L.A. Airport, shooting at New Jersey mall, spiritual character, spiritual strength, the church, the Lord's looking down, the straight and narrow path, the Wild Wild West, true believers, truth, vehement

Matthew 5:1-2.    And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set (seated), his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them saying…

Ah mih people, this wasn’t the way I planned to open today’s Bit nuh, but after perusing the news, I just had to change my plans. As I keep asking, when is it going to end eh?

Last night, between 9 and 9.30 p.m. a man apparently walked in to the Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus New Jersey, all dressed in black, with something like a motorcycle helmet on his head, and began shooting up the place with his high powered rifle, then calmly walked back out.

Ah Lord eh! Thankfully though, he didn’t seem to shoot anyone. And if it’s the mall I remember stopping at in that area, some years ago on a visit to the U.S. it’s a pretty big one, and he would have had lots of targets.

The sad part is that that shooting only complements the one in Los Angeles Airport last Friday, when a lone gunman entered a supposedly secure area and killed a Transportation Security Department worker and wounding 3 other people.

Oh Friends, this unfettered proliferation of firearms, and their rather easy acquisition, seems to be taking the U.S. back to the days of the Wild Wild West. But they’re still insistent, adamant and even vehement about their supposed right to bear arms.

And sadly, the nonsense will only stop when people close to the greedy arms manufacturers and other proponents of gun rights have suffered by those same guns. For the same old adage of ‘if you live by the sword, you’ll die by the sword,’ still holds true today, you just have to interchange the gun for the sword.

We’ll just have to pray harder and more sincerely that the U.S comes to its senses before a real big bloodbath occurs. Unfortunately that gun culture also endangers other countries, especially Canada, where the follow fashion fools, who adopt any foolish U.S. custom, are getting guns cheaply down there and smuggling them across the border. It’s reputed that now, guns can almost be as easily purchased, even rented, in Canada, though not legally.

Pray for us Friends, please pray for us all! And while praying for the gun situation to be tuned down, please pray also for the approximately 800,000 – yes Friends, eighth hundred thousand Canadians who are still forced to use Food banks to supplement their food stocks, despite the recession being ended almost four years ago.

But who says the recession has ended eh? People are still losing their jobs and livelihood left right and centre! And the only jobs that are being created are the low paying, part time, service oriented ones. The ones that pay a minimum wage that’s a shame and a disgrace, even in the better places like Ontario.

But the price of everything is steadily increasing, for stuff that’s mostly made cheaply overseas, under even more shameful and disgraceful working conditions and wages. Meanwhile, the remuneration and lifestyles of the management groups, the ones who in the first place caused the recession with their greed and incompetence, are soaring, rising like the sea at high tide.

But thankfully my people, the Lord’s looking down from His high heaven, and one day, we’ll ALL have to face Him and give account for our earthly behaviour.

Anyway, turning to our Bit: ‘And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set (seated), his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them saying…’

That Friends, is the intro to the Beatitudes, which open Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We’re wrapping up the series of messages on the Beatitudes today, and I sincerely hope that you’ve gotten useful info, encouragement, edification and spiritual strength from them over the past week or so.

I know that they’ve been very enlightening to me. And I particularly want to wrap it up with this longish (smile) but important excerpt from the scholars, re the Sermon on the Mount. So here goes.

‘5:1-2. The opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount (the Beatitudes) indicate that this message deals with the inner state of mind and heart that is the indispensable absolute truth of true Christian discipleship. It delineates the outward manifestations of character and conduct of true believers and genuine disciples.

Thus, the life of the believer, described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, is a life of grace and glory, which comes from God alone. To make this quality of life the product of man’s human efforts (as does the liberal) is the height of overestimation of man’s ability and underestimation of his depravity.

To relegate this entire message, Jesus’ longest recorded sermon, to a Jewish only lifestyle, as do some dispensationalists, is to rob the church of her greatest statement of true Christian living.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus states the spiritual character and quality of the kingdom He would establish, and the basic qualities of this kingdom are fulfilled in the church He would establish. Virtually every section of this message is repeated in substance elsewhere in the New Testament.

Nothing here indicates that this message is to be limited in its application to the people of Israel only. Notice in the opening verse that his disciples had come to Jesus and he…taught them the following message.’

And I hope that we too my brethren have gone to Jesus and have heard His message and learned from it, because that will eventually determine where we’ll spend eternity. Much LOVE!

…only by truly following Jesus…can we ever successfully walk the straight and narrow path…the one that first leads to salvation…and then finally…to eternity in heaven with our Saviour…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 October 2013 Matthew 5:10

31 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Beatitudes, blessed, brainwashed, candies, children, christ jesus, Christian calendar, common sense, costumes, daily prayer, dangerous stuff, divine wisdom, don't be afraid, easy money, encouraging words, enduring suffering, evil, evil doing, evil machinations, faith, for Christ's sake, for righteousness sake, friends, glory hallelujah, goblins, God's goodness, good cheer, Halloween, heartfelt prayers, holy spirit, Jesus Christ, just, killjoy, kingdom of heaven, lead and guide, liable to err, live godly in Christ, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, loving kindness, money making day, most powerful tool, needles, nitty gritty, overcome the world, pagan rites, peace, persecuted, persecution, petty things, pick sense from nonsense, prayer, pumpkins, reward, righteousness sake, sins, spread the word, standing steadfast and strong for Jesus, stigma, sufferation, suffering, talk the talk, testimony, trials, tribulation, troubled world, true believers, unjust, walk the walk, well doing, wisdom, wishy-washy, witches

Matthew 5:10. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Oh Friends, it’s the last day of October, can you imagine… But that also makes it Halloween Day. Steups! Just look at how the pagan rites have been inculcated into our Christian calendar nuh!

And it’s only been used as another money-making day by the merchants; candies, costumes and pumpkins. And the uglier and more evil looking your costume, the better dressed you’re considered!

Yes Friends, it’s Halloween; time for goblins, witches, et all! Ah Lord eh!

We start our children from small with the nonsense. And just to show how evil our world has become, nowadays you can no longer send your children trick or treating by themselves, even in your own neighbourhood, since recently so many evil things have been happening to them.

Sadly, it doesn’t even have to be Halloween for our children to go missing, as I received an e-mail last night that a sixteen year old young lady who lives on my street has been missing since last Friday.

And with this Halloween stuff you have to be very careful with the stuff your children collect, because evil people have been putting needles and other dangerous stuff in them. Chuh blast!

Oh Friends, I seriously believe it’s time we do away with this Halloween day and all the evil that it’s come to represent. I know that most likely I’m in the minority on that subject, and some of you might see me as a killjoy, but that’s okay, I can live with that stigma, people have been saying stuff about me since I began showing in mother’s womb. (smile)

But I guess we won’t get rid of Halloween anytime soon because the parents have been brainwashed into it, and the merchants won’t quietly give up such an opportunity to make easy money.

And from all that rambling, I guess it’s easy to figure out that I won’t be participating in the nonsense. Yuh know, on one hand we tell the children that too much candy and sugar is bad for them, but in the next breath we take them out in their evil looking costumes to collect as much candy as they can.

And then we wonder why the children are the way they are! Steups! Let’s just hope the Lord blesses them with the wisdom and common sense – which their parents seem to lack – to go easy on the stuff.

Anyway, I want to apologize for a typo in Yesterday’s Bit, where instead of saying before we ‘can’ enjoy God’s goodness and LOVING-kindness, I said ‘can’t.’ But I know that all you true believers knew what I meant, because you all are wise enough to pick sense from nonsense. (smile)

Just like I said sometime last week about putting our money where ‘out’ mouth is, instead of ‘our’ mouth. That just shows though that the ole fella is very human, and thus liable to err, but hopefully not too often. But enough of this preamble rambling, we have a Bit to deal with.

A Bit which says: ‘Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

Yeh Friends, we now getting down to the nitty gritty of the Beatitudes! It’s no longer just about being nice and godly, but actually about enduring suffering; physical, mental and emotional, all for Christ’s sake! How do we like them beans now eh?

Most of us won’t like them too much because we just like to have everything nice and easy, no ‘sufferation’ whatsoever. But my people, we need to remember these most memorable and encouraging words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)

That means we WILL suffer trials and tribulations, in this predominantly evil and troubled world. But we’ve got to bear up under them with a good attitude because Jesus has already overcome the world and all its evil machinations.

That brings us to the scholar’s take on the subject: ‘5:10. As Jesus develops His message, He clearly teaches that such a life cause His people to be in direct contrast to the world in which they live. Therefore He reminds us, ‘Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake.’

The plural use of “ye” in verse 11 indicates that He foresaw this persecution as touching ALL His followers. Notice 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

Oh Friends, it’s rough, but true! The kingdom of heaven is not for wishy washy or ‘fraidy, fraidy’ people. And many of us out here in the free Western world are just that. Meanwhile, other Christians in more restrictive parts of the world, are being persecuted left, right and centre for simply believing in Jesus and wanting to serve and worship Him.

Many of us would cave in if we ever felt that kind of pressure. We’re doing it now without any pressure at all. But millions of believers around the globe are still standing steadfast and strong for Jesus, despite the serious persecution they’re facing! Glory Hallelujah!

And it sure makes me feel bad to see that we out here, who have it so good, are complaining and whining about so many petty and unimportant things, merely talking the talk without walking the attendant walk.

Oh my people, it’s imperative that we at least send up some real heartfelt prayers for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being so terribly persecuted. So today I’m asking us all, during our time of daily prayer, or at any time at all, to pray for our persecuted brethren all around the world.

Remember. prayer is the most powerful tool in God’s great universe!

And we’ll close with an encouraging word from Peter, re the subject of suffering and reward. ‘And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy (blessed) are ye:

And be not afraid of their terror (threats), neither be troubled… For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit.’ (1 Pet.3:13-14, 17-18)

Oh my fellow believers, I know it’s difficult to live a good life for Jesus, but He did it for us, and as the scholars say: ‘In the will of God we are sometimes called to suffer for well-doing as a testimony to others.’

And we can certainly do it if we hold close to Jesus and let His Spirit lead and guide us, while raising up all the things we need to truly serve Him, from our spirit, where it’s ALL been already planted.

We only need the power of the Holy Spirit now to bring them to the fore. And that my Friends, is a true mark of divine wisdom. Much LOVE!

…our earthly duty is to…LOVE our God…LIVE our Faith…and SPREAD His Word…let’s start doing that in all seriousness nuh…

P.S. Oh Friends, it’s long, but worthwhile. As Jesus said, we can’t always have it short and easy. (smile) Much LOVE!

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 October 2013 Hosea 13:1

03 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a light thing, Ahab, Baal, bounden duty, calamity, cast off restraint, deceitful promises, did evil in the Lord's sight, disaster, disastrous effect, disobey God's laws, don't look back, ease up the pressure, economic decline, Ephraim, exalted himself, faithfulness, Federal government, fiasco, footstool, glorious ray of hope, good news, gospel truth, gracious hand of God, grandiose promises, greed, green light, health care, hope, hypocrisy, ignorance, insincere leaders, Israel, Jeroboam, Jesus Christ, Jezebel, judgement, justice, lead and guide, lies, LOVE, loving kindness, low esteem, mercy, misery, needs God less, no saviour besides God, Obamacare, offended, only way out, partisan support, peacefully, pedestal, petty hang ups, political decline, political state marriage, prophetic vision, prosperously, put our hands to the plough, recessions, Revelation, rhetoric, rich and powerful, ruthless leaders, sad situation, self-deception, selfishness, served Baal, small-minded actions, Solomon, spiritual death, spiritual decline, suffering, suffering masses, sweet words, the people perish, the things of man, to walk in the sins, true believers, turn to God, U.S. leaders, vote, wait on God., worship of Baal, worshipping idols

Hosea 13:1.   When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.

Oh Friends, I can’t believe it nuh! But ignorance is a helluva thing yes! Can you imagine it? The leaders of the U.S. have really shut down most of the Federal government’s business, in classic blinkered style, in partisan support of their selfish, foolish, petty, hang-ups!

And the sad result is that thousands of government employees have been sent home, until only the Lord knows for sure, without pay, because the leaders have not voted the money necessary to pay them. But yuh know what, the same selfish, petty, foolish leaders in congress are still going to get paid, in spite of their bumbling! What hypocrisy!

Ah Lord eh! And as always, it’s the poor and needy who suffer, while the rich and powerful continue to profit, regardless of their evil and greedy ways.

So you don’t like ‘Obamacare,’ the medical plan recently instituted to help millions of Americans who can’t afford to go to the doctor. But if you want to chop it up, do you have to do that on the backs of the poor and helpless, by shutting down the government and putting even more pressure and suffering on the masses? I don’t think so. Especially not when the nation is just trying to fight its way out of one of its worst recessions.

But we’re behaving as if the rich and powerful have ever truly cared about the masses, except as a pedestal, a footstool on which to build their power and material wealth. They spout a lot of rhetoric and make grandiose promises, but in the long run, it’s always what’s in their best interest that gets the green light.

And sadly, too many of the masses fall for the lies, sweet words and deceitful promises of their leaders. But as some wise man once said, we get the leaders we deserve. And that’s gospel, people!

We complain about our leaders and governments, but who put them there eh? We the people! And we the people can also remove them! I do hope the people of the U.S. do wake up soon and see the very low esteem in which their current leaders hold them, and vote them out of office.

But my brethren, when we disobey the laws of God and turn to the things of man and the world to lead and guide us, what else can we expect eh?

As Cousin Sol so wisely declared long ago: ‘Where there is no vision (prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Prov.29:18)

Unfortunately my brethren, God has been removed from too much of our world, especially in the U.S. and the law of God, to all intents and purposes no longer reigns there.

Anyway, let’s pray loud, long, and sincerely that the those ruthless and insincere leaders will soon come to their senses and realize that their small-minded actions are hurting the entire country, in fact the entire world, for though their world status has recently dropped, it’s still remains, as the U.S. goes, so does the rest of the world.

Ah Friends, I don’t want to even think, much less talk about it, because it just gets me going, and unfortunately my displeasure won’t change a thing, except raise my blood pressure, which is already too high. So let’s turn to our Bit, and ease up the pressure some. (smile)

‘When Ephraim spake trembling, he exalted himself in Israel; but when he offended in Baal, he died.’

And the scholars have this to say about it. ’13:1-16. When he offended in Baal, he died: Under Ahab, the nation gave itself to the worship of Baal, and the result was spiritual death. The nation’s spiritual decline also resulted in political decline (cf. 1 Kin.16:31).’

And that’s exactly what’s happening in the U.S. and most of the world today, my brethren! The spiritual decline of the Western World is causing all sorts of political and economic decline. And I’ll quote the reference from 1 Kings, so we don’t to look it up. (smile)

It talks about when Ahab marries Jezebel. ‘And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.’ (1 Kin.16:31)

Oh Friends, it all comes right back down to our worshipping idols, the things of man’s hands, the things which do not fall under the law of God.

And the scholars’ rightly point out. ’16:31. As in the case of Solomon, political state marriage was to have a disastrous effect for Israel (cf. 21:25). Ahab’s reign was to bring Israel to its spiritual depths. Jezebel’s name means ‘Where is the Prince?’ (Baal)’

And the Good Book further states about Ahab. ‘And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above (more than) all that were before him.’ (1 Kin.16:30). Now that’s saying something about Israel’s sad state… and also our own!

Ah mih people, we’re just wrong, so wrong in turning away from Almighty God, especially at this most crucial and critical juncture in the history of mankind, for it augurs no good whatsoever. But the good news is that there’s still life, thus there’s hope that we can turn this unbelievable fiasco around. How, you ask?

As the Good Book wisely advises: ‘Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy (LOVING-kindness or faithfulness) and judgement (justice), and wait on thy God continually.’ (Hos.12:6) It’s the ONLY way out of our misery, my people.

And we’ll end with this verse that confirms that statement. ‘Yet I am the Lord thy God from (ever since) the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside(s) me.’ (Hos.13:4)

Ah mih breddren, until the nations of the world take that statement to heart, and return to living by it, there will be nothing but disaster, calamity and gross ‘sufferation’ all over God’s great earth!

And what boggles the imagination is that we have numerous examples of just that fact happening all down through the ages. But apparently as man evolves, gets more advanced, technologically etc. he begins to feel that he needs God less and less. But that’s the biggest lie and self-deception, my brethren!

And as usual, in this ungodly world, it falls to us, the true believers in Jesus Christ, to try and rectify the situation. So please, let’s put our hands to the plough nuh, and don’t look back, but move straight ahead and try our best to remedy the sad situation we’re in, for that’s our bounden duty. We are the world’s glorious ray of hope! Much LOVE!

…when will mankind ever learn…that it’s not possible to live peacefully and prosperously…without the gracious hand of Almighty God upon us….

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