Psalm 46:9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
Well a good Tuesday morning to all you beautiful and constant readers of Scrip-Bits! It shows that you do have some faith and trust in me to keep reading what I write. Or it might even be that you have sufficient faith and trust in Almighty God to cause me to write something worthwhile reading. (smile)
Whatever your reason though, I sincerely thank you for staying the course with me, since I can’t do it without your readership and encouragement.
Anyway, I thought we’d begin today with this prayer I recently got from a Bible Study Class at my church. Some of you might know it, but as always, good prayer is never redundant or too old to read and pray again.
So together let’s invoke this prayer, titled, ‘Come Holy Spirit.’ And it says: ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in us the fire of your LOVE. Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.’
Yes Friends, it’s a most worthwhile prayer, since it’s God’s Holy Spirit which works in us, leading and guiding us in the pathways of righteousness!
And right now we truly need to pray that the Lord sends His Holy Spirit amongst the disaster stricken people of the Philippines, where the recent typhoon Haiyan devastated some parts of the country. The loss of life is claimed to be in the thousands, and the destruction is exceedingly great.
Like the prayer above says, the face of the earth there definitely needs renewing. So please, let’s pray that the Lord will inspire them with a spirit of resilience and renewed faith to rebuild and keep on trusting Him, for He is indeed ever-faithful to those who sincerely follow Him.
And let’s help in any other way we can; food, clothing, money etc. because you never know, one day we might also be in an unfortunate situation, needing the help of others.
Now it’s time for our Bit: ‘He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.’
Yes my people, in these troubled times of war, rumours of war and endless strife all over God’s earth, it is a good time to see what the scriptures say about war. Yesterday we were only able to define our Bit as words of divine truth, today however, we’ll look at some scripture that supports the psalmist’s contentions.
And if you didn’t believe that our Bit was, is, and will always be words of divine truth, then listen to these words of Asaph, from Psalm 76, the victorious God.
He opens the psalm with this powerful proclamation: ‘In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In Salem (Jerusalem) also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Zion. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah. (Ps.76:1-3)
Ah Friends, more words of glorious godly truth! But just in case you still don’t believe, then hear these words of that great man of God, Isaiah, re the day of the Lord.
‘And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks (pruning knives): nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.’ (Is.2:4)
And all God’s people declared a loud and thankful: ‘GLORY HALLELUJAH! NO MORE WAR!
Oh mih breddren, mih breddren, that must get to the very depths of your consciousness and convince you! But just in case it didn’t, please listen to John from Revelation, re the new earth and the new heaven.
‘And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ (Rev. 21:3-4)
Oh Friends, what a mighty promise from our Mighty God! Just imagine that nuh; no more negative things in all the earth, which means no more war, just peace and LOVE! Mama Mia! I can’t wait for that day people!
Hopefully my enthusiasm is catching, (smile) but just in case you’re still not convinced of the truth of all you’ve read and heard, then Friends, all I can say is that I’m truly sorry for you, and sincerely hope that the Lord touches your heart at some stage before you go to meet Him.
And for all you who truly believe, please, let’s keep on believing and trusting in our great God, and move from strength to strength, as we keep on keeping on, building and furthering His glorious kingdom, and glorifying His Most Holy Name! Much LOVE!
…if we don’t believe the Bible…God’s Holy Word…what’s the point in believing in God at all eh…
P.S. It’s nice and short today, so smile and enjoy it. Selah.
Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 November 2013 Matthew 5:14
10 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abuse, almighty god, atrocities, belief, Bible, bounden duty, Calvary's cross, Catholic Church, christianity, compassionate, confidence, conquer the heathen, corrupt things, dark world, death, destruction, die a thousand deaths, divine wisdom, divisions, eternal life, evil doers, evil ways, faith, flavour, flood, foolishness, forgiveness, glorify God, God's favour, good for nothing, good news of Christ, good works, grace, grace of God, heals wounds, heaven, hypocrisy, inhumanity, Jesus, Jesus' work, lack of understanding, laid waste, let your light shine, light of the world, Lord and Saviour, LOVE Revolution, Lucifer, Martin Luther, mercy, naivety, negativity, new beginning, Noah, one true God, Peace and Love, persecution, personal relationship, petty grievances, preservative, prosperous land, redeeming work, Reformation, religious attitudes, salt of the earth, salvation, show of love, therapeutic remedy, things of God, trodden underfoot, trust, trust in God, unbelievers, unity, war, wonder of wonders
Matthew 5:14. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Ah Friends, our world is in such a sad state of disrepair and confusion, it hurts to the very core. There are so many more negative than positive happenings, that when you look around all you can see is man’s terrible and ever increasing inhumanity to his fellow man. Not too long ago, it was reckoned in millions, but now it’s counted in billions.
Ah Lord eh! And the atrocities taking place in our supposed civilized world are innumerable and real, real… Hn! I can’t seem to find a word worse than atrocious nuh, so I guess atrocious it is. And the sad part is that many of these atrocities are being committed in the name of some god or the other. And wonder of wonders, all these gods are supposed to be deities which exude peace and LOVE as their main platforms!
Chuh! I guess that’s what I get for reading the newspapers, because they’re simply littered with all the negative aspects of our world, since that’s what is considered worthwhile news today. Very few of the relatively few good things happening in our world are ever reported.
I have to stop here and chuckle yes Friends, because when I was growing up, I could never understand about the constant warfare reported in the Bible and the History Books. And, fortunately or unfortunately, I still don’t understand them, or those happening today. I don’t see what real or useful purpose they serve, for it’s all death and destruction.
So you won the war, big deal! Numerous amounts of your citizens are dead, including your friends and family, your once proud and prosperous land is laid waste… But you won the war, so that makes you a mighty conqueror!
Steups! Pure foolishness Friends! I think I’ll just remain in my lack of understanding and naivety yes. (smile) The Lord might have been wiser though to let all of mankind perish in the flood, because even with that new beginning through Noah and his family, it didn’t take us long to revert to our truly evil ways, and it seems that since then, each generation has gotten progressively worse.
We claim that the Lord made us to have a good personal relationship with Him, but how much of humanity is doing that eh, even amongst the ones that do know about Him? The corrupting things of the world are having a much greater impact on mankind than the things of God, which do not corrupt.
So where does that leave us, eh mih breddren? It leaves the proportionate few who sincerely believe in the ONE TRUE GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of LOVE, mercy, grace, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life, to work harder at spreading the good news of Christ and His redeeming work.
Oh Friends, we definitely and desperately need to outwork and outshine Lucifer and his evil hordes, if we truly desire to bring success to Jesus’ LOVE Revolution. To do that though, we need to develop an extraordinary amount of unbelievable faith to be able to put up with all the abuse, persecution and negativity thrown at us by the numerous evil doers of this world.
We need a faith as talked about by Martin Luther (1483-1546) the German minister who played a large part in bringing about the Protestant Reformation a few centuries ago. Now when I went on the Net to check out the dates of his birth and death, I happened to come across the same quote that I planned to share, but in a slightly different form. I considered trying to put them together, but couldn’t get it to work properly, so I’ll just give us both versions.
Version 1, from my Devotional. ‘Faith is a living and unshakeable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.’
And version 2, from the Net. ‘Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it.’
Wow! Oh my fellow believers, which ever version you choose, it sure calls for a lot of faith! And right now it’s also obvious that our faith is still too small to successfully conquer the heathen. Without great faith, Martin Luther would not have had the ability to fight the Catholic Church, to stand strong and bring about the Protestant Reformation, which was, and still is, possibly the biggest change in religious attitudes since Christ birthed Christianity.
And Friends, with the great power that evil doers currently possess in our world, it will take a great upheaval, something akin to the Reformation, to bring the heathen to Christ. That’s where the LOVE Revolution comes in my people. We have to put on the greatest show of LOVE the world has seen, since Jesus sacrificed His sinless live on Calvary’s cross, for us to get the world’s attention and cause them to want what we so joyfully possess, to come to Christ to gain salvation and eternal life.
And I’m sorry, but the truth be told, we’re definitely not doing such a good job at it right now. There are too many divisions, too many petty grievances, too much hypocrisy, and simply not enough unity for unbelievers to take us seriously.
So what’s the answer eh mih breddren? We just have to get serious about doing Jesus’ work, to dig down deeper in our souls, find ways to strengthen out faith and trust in Almighty God, so that we’re willing to die a thousand deaths on His behalf.
That means Friends, we need to be two things. The first is to be a bright and genuine reflection of our Bit. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’ For as Jesus explains: ‘Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt.5:15)
And secondly, we truly have to be the salt of the earth! Why is that, you ask?
Listen to Jesus, and all of this comes from the Sermon on the Mount. ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour (flavour), wherewith (by what) shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.’ (Matt.5:13)
Yes Friends, salt adds flavour to our food, acts as a preservative, heals wounds and salt water is the best therapeutic remedy in the world. That means we have to be bright and flavourful, compassionate, comforting, healing wounds, whether physically or psychologically, add taste, flavour and light to our bland, tasteless, dark world.
Yes my people, unless we are the true salt and light of this God-forsaken world, then things will just keep going downhill, which we certainly cannot afford to let happen.
So therefore we need to take Jesus’ advice very seriously. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16)
And that my fellow believers is divine wisdom straight from our Leader, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So please let’s put it into action as soon as possible nuh. It’s our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…until the followers of Jesus truly become…the salt of the earth…and the light of the world…His church won’t make serious inroads into Lucifer’s camp…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 October 2013 Matthew 5:8
28 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: aura of love, Beelzebub, blessed, blessings, castigating, christianity, Christians, common sense, confound man, disobedient, enthusiasm, evil minions, fool's wisdom, glorious kingdom, God flourishes, healthy, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Jacob, Jesus Christ, jobs, kingdom of heaven, lies, little children, little faith, live by faith not by sight, LOVE, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Monday Morning behaviour, mysterious ways, negative light, peals of laughter, pure in heart, read and spell, rebellious, see God, shame, simplicitly, small faith, spiritual armour, spread joy, steadfast faith, straightforwardness, strong, sure conquerors, Thank God it's Monday, the great unwashed, tongue lashing, true wisdom, trust, unfruitful, ungodly world, useful purpose, useless, vitality, wonder of wonders, words of jesus
Matthew 5:8. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
And before you know it, Monday has come around again… Chuh!
Yes Friends, it’s that wonderful day called Monday! Hn, hn!
And wonder of wonders, this morning while walking down the street, as I passed one house, a middle aged gentleman came out on to his front porch and surprised me by raising both arms, his head and eyes towards heaven and loudly declared: ‘Thank God it’s Monday, and I’m strong and healthy enough to go back out to work today and spread some joy and blessings amongst the great unwashed!’
Ah Friends, sadly, I hear the peals of laughter ringing out, not from the unbelievers, but from the supposed believers. Shame on you all! Because you’re not doing it, doesn’t mean that others aren’t. That attitude only shows that your faith is small!
No wonder Jesus constantly criticized the people of His day, by saying: ‘O ye of little faith.’ In the gospel of Matthew, He says it three times – Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31. Today He most likely would have said it more often.
Remember Friends, we’re supposed to live by faith and not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7) So if we don’t believe, don’t have faith that something good is happening, or going to happen, then how can we ever see it through to fruition eh? Unless you don’t think, want, or expect Christians to change their miserable Monday Morning behaviour.
Anyway, enough castigating and tongue lashing for today. (smile) Let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with much gusto, verve and vitality.
On the count of three; one, two, three: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
That was a tremendous rendition my people! It had to be, because Jesus was singing along, snapping His fingers and tapping His feet, while the Father sat on His throne smiling, overjoyed to see His blessed Son happy with His people’s behaviour for a change.
Now that should wake us up, put us in the right frame of mind and give us the spiritual wherewithal to go out today and successfully do battle against the awful Beelzebub and his evil minions.
And some of our capability to do that is based, or comes in part because of our Bit: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.’ Yes Friends, when our hearts are right, then God flourishes in us!
And we’re continuing with this Beatitude because I have some scripture to share, re the second half; ‘for they shall see God.’
Now listen to this scripture from way back in time, when that ole scamp, that consummate smart-man, Jacob, wrestled with the angel and eventually got blessed.
The Good Book says: ‘And Jacob asked him (the angel), and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the place Peniel (lit. Face of God): for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.’ (Gen.32:29-30)
Ah mih breddren, who would have thought it eh? But that’s how our God operates; in mysterious ways, not using the obvious to do His will, but instead using those whom man considers useless and unfruitful to confound man. Remember His ways and thoughts are ever so much higher than ours! (Is.55:8-9)
And as you know, whenever possible, we like to end with the potent words of Jesus. Here, He’s talking about greatness, explaining that we have to be as pure, as trusting and humble as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. And to end that section, He says: ‘Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones: for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.18:10)
Oh my people, again we see the simplicity and straightforwardness of our heavenly Leader’s words. He keeps reading and spelling for us, so why is it so difficult to adhere to His commands eh? I don’t know, possibly because it’s just in our nature to be rebellious and disobedient.
And since He gave us freedom of choice, I guess we figure we have to use it in a negative light, just to prove that we can. But whatever the reason my people, turning away from our Creator, Controller and Provider is a fool’s wisdom!
Today therefore, please let’s seriously consider our relationship to Christ, and wisely try to improve it. For that’s truly, common sense and true wisdom. Much LOVE!
…just like a little child looks up to and trusts his earthly parents…even so should mankind look up to and trust our heavenly Father…for to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 October 2013 Matthew 5:5
23 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a pleasant hello, a smile, Abraham, Abrahamic Covenant, abundance of peace, afraid, alleviate tragedies, almighty god, anger, balance, Beatitudes, blessed, blessed are the meek, blessedness of heaven, boast, church at Rome, delight, dictates of our Bit, diligently, divine wisdom, embrace Jesus, every day, faith, from the bottom of my heart, God's wisdom, greet with a smile, heartfelt feeling, heir of the world, humble, humility, inherit the earth, inner confidence, inner strength, Jesus, Jesus sojourn on earth, Johnny Reid, kingdom of god, live by faith, live by sight, LOVE, meek, meekness, memorable words, Mosaic Law, one day at a time, opened up my eyes, physical, ponder, positive difference, promise, promise of the kingdom, resolution, righteousness of faith, say hello to my neighbour, Sermon on the Mount, shake a stranger's hand, show off, simple things, sincerity, sit and talk awhile, solid truth, spiritual, steadfast faith, strong, surrender, tell someone I love them, the last trump, the law, the only way, the strength of our faith, tragedies, trust, truth, try and change the world, weak, wonderful project
Matthew 5:5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (land).
Oh Friends, this is what I had planned for yesterday, until I read about the disastrous school shooting incident in Nevada. And in God’s everlasting wisdom, this project can, and will, definitely alleviate those kinds of tragedies, if we sincerely and seriously put our hands to the plough and furrow straight ahead without looking back.
Now it’s not a new project, but a very old one that we’re guilty of not doing properly. However, we’re starting over TODAY, in a more serious and sincere manner. So listen to the basic nature of the project, as Johnny Reid, in his drawling baritone, tells it to us in song.
‘Today I’m going to try and change the world. Gonna take it one day at a time. I’ve made my resolution, opened up my eyes. Today I’m going to try and change the world.’
That’s just the chorus people, but even that’s very eye opening and inspirational!
Now listen to the verse. ‘I’m gonna say hello to my neighbour. Going to greet him with a smile. And shake the hand of a stranger, sit and talk to him for a while. I’m gonna tell someone I LOVE them from the bottom of my heart. Today I’m going to try and change the world… Chorus’
Oh my brethren, isn’t that a wonderful project? It sure is! And the beauty is that we’ll just take it one day at a time, no rush, doing the simple things that Jesus did in his sojourn down here on earth, and now wants us to carry on in His name.
And the whole thing is very easy; greet our neighbours with a smile and a pleasant hello; shake a strangers hand, then spend a li’l time chatting with them; tell someone we LOVE them, with a sincere and heartfelt feeling of truth.
Oh my people, my people, that’s the only way we can ever change this world!
But to do it sincerely and successfully, we have to live according to the dictates of our Bit. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (land).’
Yes Friends, we cannot do those things, or anything that Jesus requires of us, unless we’re meek, unless we’re humble. Now please remember that meek and humble don’t mean weak and afraid, like many people think, but rather strong, with an inner confidence in God, that you don’t have to huff and puff, get angry, or show off and boast.
Meekness and humility simple means we have a quiet, inner strength, steadfast faith, not afraid of the world or whatever it brings our way.
And this is the scholars’ take on our Bit. ‘5:5. The meek…shall inherit the earth refers again to those who have been humbled before God and will not only inherit the blessedness of heaven, but also will ultimately share in the kingdom of God on earth.
Here, in the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount, is the balance between the physical and spiritual promise of the kingdom. The kingdom of which Jesus preached is both “in you” and is yet “to come.”
Solid truth that mih breddren!
And even before Jesus spoke those memorable words of our Bit in the Beatitudes, Bruh David solemnly declared in Psalm 37, The true state of the wicked: ‘For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider (look diligently for) his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.’ (Ps.37:10-11)
And as per inheriting the earth, Bruh Paul wrote this to the church at Rome. ‘For the promise that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.’ (Rom.4:13)
And the scholars’ explain that thus: ‘4:13. The promise: Many Jews thought that the privileges they enjoyed came from their adherence to the Mosaic Law. This is false. The promises were given to Abraham 430 years before the law was given, hence the law does not annul the Abrahamic covenant. It was merely added alongside until Christ should come to fulfill it. (cf. Gal.3:17-19)’
So we see Friends, it’s all based on faith, trust, and surrender to Almighty God; from the day Abraham received the promise, till the day the last trump sounds. Therefore let’s try and stop living by sight nuh, and instead live by faith, as we ought to, since it’s the ONLY WAY we can truly embrace Jesus and all that He stands for.
That means we continually need to ponder the strength of our faith and find ways to make it stronger. Now that’s where divine wisdom comes in. Much LOVE!
…if each believer tries to make a positive difference…each and every day…then we’ll soon change the world…as Jesus… so long ago, asked us to…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 October 2013 Proverbs 3:25-26
18 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: adder, adult believer's life, Amen, angels, answer, assurance, blessed, body, confidence, conquer evil thoughts, cycles of earthly life, darkness, defence, deliverance, desolation, destruction, duty, dwelling place, enemy, essentials, ever-LOVING God, evil world, excitement, faithful God, fear, fellow believers, fellowship, Friday chant, friends, fun, generous help, get on with God's tasks, glorious kingdom, God is our refuge and fortress, God will never leave nor forsake us, godly stuff, happy, hearts, honour, humility, indisputable truth, jesus name, lays waste, lion, long life, Lucifer, meaningful scripture, meekness, mind, omnipotent god, personal experience, pestilence, plague, Psalm 91, reason of the hope, relaxation, responsibility, rest, reverential awe, reward, righteousness sake, salvation, sanctify, serpent, soul, spiritual exhaustion, stand faithful, succumb, sudden fear, suffering, terror, Thank God is Friday, the Most High, the reward of the wicked, the wicked, threats, trample underfeet, troubled, trust, truth, ultimate truth, ungodly world, week of work, weekend lives
Proverbs 3:25-26. Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken (caught).
The young, female teacher turned to her class and asked: ‘Does anybody know what day today is?’
And much to her amazement, the dozen ‘kindergarters’ all joyfully shouted: ‘Today is Friday! Thank God, cause that means no school tomorrow, or the next day. Yeah! Thank God is Friday!’
Ah Friends, even the young and uninitiated know and look forward to the cycles of this earthly life. However, unlike the children, we adults have a responsibility to do godly stuff even on our days off. We might not like it, but it’s a sure duty in an adult believer’s life.
So with Lucifer knocking loudly on the doors of our hearts, minds and souls, telling us we don’t have to do anything of the sort, let’s chant our Friday Chant, so that we can conquer the evil thoughts of the enemy and get on with God’s tasks.
As one chanter 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 fellow believers, somehow or the other we’ve got to get in those essentials of rest, relaxation and fellowship in our busy weekend lives, or else we’ll eventually succumb to mental, physical and spiritual exhaustion, which will only delight the deceitful Lucifer.
However, to successfully do those necessary things, while thwarting and disgusting the enemy, we have to stand faithful and trust our faithful and ever-LOVING God.
We have to live as our Bit so assuredly declares. ‘Be not afraid of sudden fear (terror), neither of the desolation of (trouble from) the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken (caught).’
Oh Friends, those are words of indisputable truth, as many of you know from personal experience, because you have adopted them and consciously live by them. Our God will NEVER leave nor forsake us!
The problem though is for us to truly believe it and then live by it. Obviously it’s not easy in this ungodly, evil world, but with the help of our omnipotent God, we can do anything we put our hearts, minds and souls to.
Now listen to some scriptures which support our Bit, beginning with Psalm 91 – God is a refuge and a fortress. And isn’t that the ultimate truth, my brethren!
The psalmist declares with supreme confidence: ‘Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth (lays waste) at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation (dwelling place); There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear (lift) thee up in their hands, lest thou dash (strike) thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his LOVE upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life (length of days) will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.’ (Ps.91:5-16)
Oh Friends, again, I never intended to use so much of the Psalm, but every verse just rang true to our Bit and raised the level of trust and excitement in my soul. Hope it does in yours too.
And we’ll close with this very meaningful scripture from Peter, re 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;
But sanctify (set apart) the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer (a defence) to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (reverential awe).’ (1 Pet.3:13-15)
Yes my people, as believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, we have to be strong and confident in the Lord, and also be ready to give good reason why we’re believers.
The scholars say this about that last verse. ‘3:15. An answer (Gr. apologian, “a defense of one’s beliefs:). The Christian faith is to be defended by a reasonable apologetic with meekness and fear.’
Oh how wonderful it would be if we could all answer the questions put to us with a quiet and confident strength and reverential awe!
So please let’s look to that today my Friends and fellow believers, for it’s what Jesus dearly desires of us. It’s essential that we know why we believe! Much LOVE!
…to bring others to Christ…both our speech and actions…must resound with confidence, humility and truth…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 October 2013 Psalm 145:8
12 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: all or nothing at all, anxieties, Caleb, compassion, condemned, damned, death, disobedience, doomed, doubts, earthly life, faith, faithful, faithfulness, fears, forgiveness, foundation of faith, Glory Halleujah, God's attributes, God's strength, Good Book, goodness, gospel truth, grace, guidance, hell, holding you hostage, iniquity, insecurity, intercession, Israelites, Jesus, Joshua, long-suffering, LOVE, Loving Deity, mercy, Mt. Sinai, negative emotions, omnipotent god, pardon, personal experience, praise, promises, rebellious attitude, reverence, sacrificial death, shed blood, sins, straight from the horse's mouth, surrender, Ten Commandments, testify, thanks, the Most High God, the Promised Land, the Rock, time of famine, transgression, true believer, trust, truth, truthful, unconditional LOVE, wisdom
Psalm 145:8. The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s in a time of famine this Saturday autumn morn! Would you believe he has no words to utter? (smile) And I know some of you are in disbelief, a simple breeze could knock you over now. Yes, it’s strange but true! And please keep quiet in the background children, no smart aleck remarks from the penny section.
But Friends, I’m sure that situation won’t last for very long, because the Lord God Jehovah in His abundant grace and mercy will soon fill the void and guide me to what He wants me to write, since it’s His Word that I’m writing about. And mih Friends, when you talk about faithfulness…
Chuh! There’s NO ONE like our God in that department! As I keep saying, He’ll never give you a task to do without giving you the necessary tools and parts to perform it to His satisfaction. And I can attest to that from personal experience! How do you think I’ve been able to write the Bit everyday for almost seven years eh?
Even if I was exceedingly brilliant, and I’m certainly not that brilliant, it would have been impossible without the Lord’s help; His strength, guidance, wisdom, inspiration and faithfulness every single day! That’s what enables me to do a decent job in His glorious name!
‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise our great and wonderful God!’ Yes my brethren, that definitely called for some thanks and praise.
So my people, if today you’re suffering from doubts, anxieties, fear, insecurity, any negative emotions at all, just turn to the Lord in sincere faith, and He will most assuredly help you to overcome whatever negative thing(s) that’s holding you hostage. You have to come to Him sincerely though, with trust, reverence and total surrender. You can’t hold back any part of your being, for with the Lord it’s all or nothing at all!
And we have the memorable words of Bruh David from our Bit to prove my point. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.’
Oh my people, every true believer in Jesus ought to be able to testify to that statement, because it’s the backbone, the sure foundation of our faith! Without God’s grace, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE, where would we be eh? Confused and falling all over each other in the extreme darkness of evil Lucifer’s hell, damned, doomed and condemned to ‘sufferation’ and death.
But through God’s unconditional LOVE and all His other positive and winning attributes, He’s provided a way for us to escape Lucifer’s evil claws; to be saved through the sacrificial death of His one and only son Jesus, whose shed blood paid for all our abominable sins. And as believers we know all about that, but today I want us to look at some scriptures that corroborate Bruh David’s words in our Bit.
And the first passage comes, as we would say, straight from the horse’s mouth. Here God is talking to Moses, the second time he went up Mt. Sinai to renew the tablets with the Ten Commandments.
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:5-7)
Oh my fellow believers, yuh see all of that comes straight from the Most High God Himself, and not from man! And since we know now that He’s truthful and faithful to fulfill ALL His promises, we can rest assured that whatever He says and/or does, it’s the gospel truth!
Now hear Moses, when the Israelites rebelled against the Lord in the wilderness, and He was tempted to just obliterate them. But through Moses’ timely intercession, He stayed His hand.
‘And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.’ (Num.14:17-19)
Ah mih Friends, Moses was smart, using God’s own declaration of His mercy, compassion, forgiveness and slow-burning fuse. And the Lord, true to His word, relented, but not before declaring that the old timers who had seen and experienced all the wonders that He did for them out of Egypt and in their travels through the wilderness, NONE of them would ever set foot in the Promised Land, excepting Caleb and Joshua. (Num.14:20-24)
And yuh better believe Friends, that’s exactly what happened, all because of their disobedience and rebellious attitude! Only Joshua and Caleb, of the multitude that came out of Egypt ever crossed the Jordan. That’s partly why they wandered in the wilderness for forty years too.
So my brethren, let us not be afraid to face our fears, doubts, anxieties and life in general, head on, because we serve and worship an omnipotent, kind, and LOVING Deity, who’s promised to ALWAYS be with, and help us throughout this difficult earthly life, right on to eternity. We can’t ask for more than that. Much LOVE!
…when you build your house on the Rock…the sturdy foundation that’s Jesus…it will never fall…in fact, it will last forever…
P.S. Yuh see Friends, I told you that in due time, the Lord would give me something to say. (smile) Oh thank Him for His faithfulness! Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 October 2013 Psalm 19:14
09 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: almighty god, appreciation, Babylon, be acceptable in God's sight, Beelzebub, believe in Jesus, boundary, Calvary, Chaldeans, champion, Charles Spurgeon, chosen people, Christian vocabulary, commit my spirit, confidence, crucifixion, deeds, deliverance, diminish God's mercy, eternal life, faith, faithfulness of God, fatherless, fear, fly right, followers of Christ, fortified wall, fugitives, gifts, glory, Glory Halleujah, God of truth, God's promises, goodness, grateful heart, hand of the wicked, hell, Holy One of Israel, honour, Isaiah, Israel, Jeremiah, Jesus Christ, Jesus-the answer to all problems, Judah, lift up heads hands hearts, Lord God Jehovah, lord of hosts, LOVE, made right from wrong, mankind, meditation of our hearts, mercy, modus operandi, my redeemer, my rock, never-ending wellspring, Old Testament, oppressed, plead their case, prayer, prophecy, ransom, ravages of sin, reassurance, recalcitrant children, rejection, right action, sacrifice, salvation, straighten up, suffering, the property of the needy, tribulation, trust, truth, under the weather, usurp, words of our mouths, worthless sinners
Psalm 19:14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.
Well a good Wednesday morning to all you beautiful followers of Jesus Christ! I do hope that this message finds you all in good shape. And even though you’re somewhat under the weather, for whatever reason, I encourage you to straighten up and fly right with Jesus, for He’s the answer to ALL our problems.
Lift up your heads, hands, hearts and eyes to heaven and call on Him for relief, for mercy. Then believe you receive it. For as the famous preacher, Charles Spurgeon reputedly said: ‘God’s mercy is so great that you may sooner drain the sea of its water or deprive the sun of its light or make space too narrow, than diminish the great mercy of God.’
And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful, ‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise the Name of our great God!’
Yes Friends, we can never diminish, dilute or use up the mercy of our wonderful God, because it comes from a never-ending wellspring!
Now let’s turn to our memorable and all-encompassing Bit. ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
What a simple but glorious prayer my people! Today, the last day for it, I want to focus on the last half. ‘O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’
That word ‘redeemer’ is a very important one in the Christian vocabulary because it envisions a right action, something being bought back, being made right from wrong. And in the believer’s case, it means that the Lord God Jehovah has bought us back from the ravages of sin, where we were once totally lost in the darkness of Beelzebub’s hell, through the atonement made by Jesus’ crucifixion.
But before that happened, the Lord continually told His people Israel, about Him being their redeemer. And today I want to share some scripture from the Old Testament on that, just to show the faithfulness of our great God.
And we’ll begin with Bruh David’s declaration in Psalm 31, superscripted, ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.’ He confidently states: ‘Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.’ (Ps.31:5)
Have we, or are we able to say that with such confidence my brethren? We should, if we truly believe.
Now hear Cousin Sol: ‘Remove not the old landmark (boundary); and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: for their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with (against) thee.’ (Prov.23:10-11)
Please pay attention to that people. Don’t usurp the property of the needy, because the Lord, their champion will stand up for them.
Moving on to Isaiah. In chapter 43, titled, ‘The Lord, the only Redeemer,’ he boldly declares: ‘But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.’ (Is.43:1)
Yes my brethren, despite Israel’s rejection of their God and king, He still reassures them, as He continues to do with us, even today.
And in verse 14, Isaiah also declares: ‘Thus saith the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans (have brought them all down as fugitives), whose cry is in the (who rejoice in their) ships.’ (Is.43:14)
Yes Friends, the Lord will judge Babylon, after using them to judge His recalcitrant children Israel.
Then in chapter 47, Judgement on Babylon, Isaiah proclaims: ‘As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.’ (Is.47:4) That tells us loud and clear, the name, the identity of our redeemer.
Now let’s move on to Jeremiah. In chapter 15, where the Lord is angry with Judah, and Jeremiah is despondent and desolate because of his lack of success and his tribulation with the people, He nonetheless assures Jeremiah that if he continues his prophetic work, He will save him.
‘And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen (fortified bronze) wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand (grip) of the terrible.’ (Jer.15:20-21)
Yuh see Friends, the Lord doesn’t leave His servants when they are suffering in His name. And that’s still His modus operandi.
Then in chapter 31, Restoration of Israel, Jeremiah warns: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles (coastlands) afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.’ (Jer.31:10-11)
And finally from chapter 50 – prophecy concerning Babylon – Jeremiah declares: ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is his name: he shall thoroughly plead their cause (case), that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.’ (Jer.50:33-34)
Oh my people, I do hope that these scripture passages strengthen our faith in the Most High God Jehovah, by showing His faithfulness in keeping His promises to deliver His chosen people Israel back then, and all those who currently believe in Jesus.
He certainly did as promised: redeemed us all by sacrificing His innocent Son on the cross of Calvary, so that we worthless sinners could have salvation and eternal life; the two greatest gifts ever bestowed on mankind.
So I’m asking us today to show our sincere appreciation by going out and living the kind of life that will honour Jesus and bring untold glory to Almighty God!
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in the Lord’s sight! That’s the least we can do in return for His unconditional LOVE, unending mercy and eternal goodness. Much LOVE!
…a grateful heart will show its appreciation…in the words and deeds it proclaims…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 October 2013 Psalm 135:15
01 Oct 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a fool's wisdom, altar, ambush, Assyria, atrocity, beseeching, cherubim, crisis, deeds, deity, deny help, earthquakes, ever-LOVING God, God's omnipotence, gold and silver, heathen, Hezekiah, house of the Lord, idol of power, idols, in the name of God, instructional, Jerusalem, king of Judah, level of faith, living God, lust after, militants, modus operandi, nitty gritty, Northern Pakistan, pay the price, point of interest, political agenda, political power, political separation, prayer, prosperity, reproach, rewarded, semblance of reason, Sennacherib, stay faithful to god, suffering, talk God, things of the world, time of dire need, true motives, true wisdom, trust, trust in God, turn to God, unfortunate circumstances, up the ante, vindicate, weeping, words, work of men's hands, worshipping
Psalm 135:15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, oh Friends…. One more time I have to ask, what is really wrong with our world eh?
Oh Chuh man! Ponder this story nuh, this atrocity. Some time in the last two weeks, the people in an undeveloped province in Northern Pakistan suffered two serious earthquakes, with many deaths and severe damages to the area. Now apparently there are some militants in the province fighting for political separation and determination.
Now that’s all well and good, for sometimes there is cause to stand and fight. But instead of rushing to help the people in their unfortunate circumstances, it seems these militants were ambushing and killing the Federal people bringing supplies and medical help. Now tell me, is that the kind of people I want to govern and lead me? No way Jose!!!
How can you be killing people who are coming to help me in my time of dire need eh? Steups! And then you want to run my province? Not on yuh life, mih brother! If you see me suffering and deny me help, just to suit your political agenda, can you imagine what you’re going to do to me when you get in power?
Ah Lord eh! But unfortunately, these days that seems to be the modus operandi of all the supposed militants all over the word; they are only interested in one thing, political power, and too bad for anybody, even their own people, who get in their way.
And then they talk about it being in the name of God… Pure Hogwash! They’re simply worshipping at the altar of the idol of power!
And like our Bit says: ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.’
Too many of us talk God, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, its the things of the world that we truly lust after and spend our lives following. But as we’ve been saying Friends, that’s a fool’s wisdom, because God sees and knows the true motives of our hearts.
Now hear this scripture from way back when, a time when Hezekiah, king of Judah received a threatening letter from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, which stated: ‘Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.’ (2 Kin.19:10)
Then the letter went on to boast about all the kings and gods of the lands that Assyria had conquered and wiped out, so why should Judah be any different? But Friends, please note Hezekiah’s actions when he received that letter, for it is very instructional to all of us today.
The Good Book says: ‘And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubim, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.’ (2 Kin.19:14-19)
Ah mih people, yuh see how we should ALL respond to EVERY crisis in our lives? Go straight to our wonderful, mighty, ever-LOVING God in prayer! That is definitely true wisdom, my brethren!
But how many of us do that eh? Certainly not enough! We first run to humans. And only if they can’t fix it, do we turn to God, with weeping and all sorts of beseeching, foolishly, but fully expecting Him to fix our problems right away.
Unfortunately though Friends, our God doesn’t operate like that. We need to be like Hezekiah; stay faithfully tuned to God when things are good, then run to Him FIRST, when things begin to go awry!
Even though Isaiah had promised Hezekiah that the Lord would save Jerusalem, (2 Kin.19:6-7) he didn’t rely on the prophet’s words, but went himself before the Lord and placed his request, quite rightly acknowledging the Lord’s omnipotence and singular Deity over all the world.
Oh my people, when are we truly going to get that in our hearts eh, and stop allowing the things of the world prominence over the things of Almighty God? It’s only when we do that, that our world will move away from the nonsense it now elevates and treasures, and some semblance of reason and prosperity will return.
As the scholars say: ‘Hezekiah was truly a man of trust. He takes his concerns to God in prayer, believing that God would vindicate His name and deliver Jerusalem.’
That only says that we don’t truly believe and trust in God to fulfill His promises to us when we run to Him last and not first. Oh my people, I can only point us in the right direction, it’s up to each of us to follow it. If we do, we’ll surely be rewarded. But if we don’t, then we’ll certainly pay the price… and it’s usually a hefty one.
On a point of interest, you can read all about Hezekiah’s decent reign in 2 Kings Chapters 18-19, and the particular scripture I quoted above, can also be found in Isaiah Chapter 37.
So then my fellow believers, today, let’s up the ante nuh; let’s raise our level of faith and trust in the Lord God Jehovah, not merely in words, but even more importantly in deeds, for that’s the only way we will ever improve our own lives and also bring the heathen to believe in the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Much LOVE!
…only the God who made us…can truly help us…
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