Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 September 2012 2 Samuel 23.3

12 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Samuel 23:3.    The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

Oh Friends, another beautiful day is in the offing! Let’s give our most wonderful God some praise for that nuh. ‘Oh Lord, you are so generous and merciful to your often ungrateful earthly children. However, today, we give You much heartfelt thanks and praise for favouring us with the breath of life and allowing us to see, for at lest one more day, all the wonders of creation that You have designed and made for our enjoyment. We also offer thanks for the many other blessings that You have prepared to shower us with today. We LOVE You Lord, and ask that You help us to walk worthy of You down here on this wicked, ungodly earth, furthering your glorious kingdom as we go. All this we pray in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who shed His precious blood at Calvary, so that we could once more be connected to You, and enjoy your everlasting mercies. Amen!’ Ah mih people, the ole fella got carried away there, because there’s so much to thank our ever-LOVING God for! I’m not sure though how many of us realize how truly lucky… no not lucky, but truly blessed we are to be living the comparatively good life that we currently enjoy. We’re living better than approximately 90 % of the world. But do we even know that? And if we do, do we give sufficient thanks for our blessed situations? Remember Bruh Paul’s wise and timely advice to the Ephesians: ‘Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph.5:20) I do believe though, that if more of us would give more thanks, more often, our world would improve quite a lot. So Friends, let’s try and improve our giving of thanks nuh, so that our world would become a much better place, and thus raise up brethren who can, and will comply with our Bit. ‘The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.’ Now yesterday we looked at some scripture that dealt with the meaning of the term ‘Rock’ in our faith, and saw that it was basically a description of a stable, unchanging, powerful Deity, who, amongst other things, offers His followers peace, rest, safety and eternal salvation. And we also noted that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was the ONLY ONE in possession of such amazing attributes. Today, let’s look at the second part of our Bit; ‘He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.’ Hn! It will certainly be difficult to find that kind of ruler in this day and age yes Friends! But unfortunately it’s exactly the kind of leader’s we need to try and bring some semblance of balance and righteousness to our very unbalanced, very disturbed, troubled and ungodly world. And the sad part is that when such leaders rise up, the evil minions of Lucifer do their very best to beat and/or keep them down, while the righteous mostly sit around and wring their hands in anxiety, but don’t do too much to help. Ah mih breddren, be it known that a leader is only as good as the people he leads. That’s why the saying ‘people get the leaders they deserve’ is oh so true. Look at Moses; one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was doing his very best to lead some two million people through the wilderness, but do you think they would cooperate with him, even after seeing all the miracles their God had performed in their favour? No sir! They just kept on grumbling and complaining about every little inconvenience. Shades of us nowadays eh! The stress and strain of leading that rebellious and disobedient people were certainly taking a toll on Moses until his father-in law, Jethro, gave him some wise and wonderful advice. ‘Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy (much) for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel (advice), and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.’ (Ex.18:18-22) Sure words of wisdom my brethren! However, in today’s society it sets up too many levels of authority, which only lead to unwieldy bureaucracy, and is a sure breeding ground for all kinds of corruption. But it’s still the best way for men to rule, for one man cannot do it all, and do it properly too, regardless of how just, righteous and reverential he is. I guess it will just have to continue like that until the righteous reign of the branch of Jesse is entrenched. Please read Isaiah 11: 1-5 for that, as we don’t have time nor space to include it. Yes Friends, when Jesus finally comes to reign over His followers in a world without sin and evil, then there’ll be need for only ONE Ruler! Please, let’s think on that today, and let it guide us as we go along our righteous way. Much LOVE!…when men rule over men…there will always be problems…because of our fallen nature…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 September 2012 Jeremiah 33:3

06 Sep 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jeremiah 33:3.    Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
 
Ah mih people, it’s a new day, but the ole fella doesn’t have anything new to titillate your senses with in my intro. (smile) Oh there’s lots of stuff I could write, but unfortunately it wouldn’t fit with the God-inspired theme that we want to perpetuate in the Scrip-Bit. So I guess I’ll just have to stick with the tried and true approach, telling you about giving thanks and praise to Almighty God for showing us the extraordinary favour of seeing another beautiful day on planet earth. And I don’t care how bad our problems might be down here on earth, none of us are really ready to go and join Him up there in the wild, blue yonder. And I would be certainly amiss in my duties if I didn’t remind us of all the wonderful blessings that the Lord’s prepared to shower down on us this balmy Thursday in September 2012. Remember too, that these mercies and blessings are new every single day. Our God is so great and generous that He insists on bestowing new stuff on us every day. No going back into yesterday’s bag of goodies. So you can be assured that every day you spend on this evil and troubled earth, you will be endowed with new favour, new manna from above. As they say, yesterday is past, tomorrow hasn’t yet arrived, but today, the present is here, so enjoy today’s presence and presents. No need to worry about tomorrow, for Jesus promised that tomorrow would look after itself. (Matt.6:34) A new batch of presents will arrive from our heavenly Father everyday, if we continuously seek to do His will. So let’s stop worrying and being anxious about out troubles, neither of those things will help, but instead make our situations worse. To solve our earthly problems, we need to do as our Bit says: ‘Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty (inaccessible) things, which thou knowest not.’ And Friends, that’s the gospel truth. Many of us can testify to that. And yuh know my people, our God is so wonderful that long before I began walking seriously with Him – though I didn’t live the way He wanted, I never forgot His Word – there are several occasions that I can remember where I was in a serious jam, from which I couldn’t extricate myself in my own strength, and I cried out to Him, and He did provide solutions to my problems. Yes Friends, we can all tell stories of crying out to our heavenly Father in times of dire need and having Him respond with LOVE and mercy. So why then are we still so reluctant to truly follow Him eh? I guess deep down, our basic human nature still desires the things of the world, the glitter and glamour still capture our fleshly senses, and with Lucifer’s able assistance and prodding, those fleshly lusts rise up above the spiritual common sense. But Friends, nobody knows our fallen nature better than the One who created us. And the wonderful thing about it all is that He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He does expect us to try and elevate ourselves in His Word and His Will, to try and become more like His Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus, our shining example. So when we occasionally make a mess of things, we shouldn’t be too proud to call on Him for help, especially since He’s really the only one who can offer us lasting help. Listen to this wonderful promise He made to the people of Judah, through Jeremiah, after severely punishing them for their gross disobedience. ‘For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I have toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope). Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken (listen) unto you.’ (Jer.29:10-12) And my brethren, we all know that our ever-faithful God, faithfully fulfilled that promise. It’s also a promise that still stands and holds good for us today my people! Our amazing God only has good thoughts towards us; thoughts of peace and prosperity. But we first have to engage Him in conversation and communication. When we do our part, He will do His. Hear how Bruh David says it in Psalm 145, re the Lord is gracious. ‘The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy (gracious) in all his works. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.’ (Ps.145:17-19) And Bruh David certainly knew about the Lord’s goodness and graciousness from personal experience! So please Friends, let’s turn our thoughts and our hearts towards Almighty God nuh. He is the One who created us, and only in Him, through the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ, can we find that sense of true peace, LOVE and prosperity, for which all of us are seeking. That’s the ultimate wisdom for this, and every age! Much LOVE!…and ye shall seek me…and find me…when ye shall search for me…with all your heart… (Jer.29:13)
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 September 2012 Proverbs 3:3

02 Sep 2012 1 Comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Proverbs 3:3.          Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.
 
Oh Friends, let’s begin today by giving much thanks for life, health and liberty! And all God’s people declared a grateful, ‘Thank You Lord for all the blessings in my life!’ Let’s also be thankful that the young Christian girl imprisoned in Pakistan for supposed blasphemy, allegedly burning some pages of a holy book, will be safe from the mob that’s been crying out for her breath of life, for at least another two weeks. That’s when her case comes up again. What ignorance and hypocrisy eh! And closer to home, let’s also offer heartfelt thanks that Hurricane Isaac didn’t do as much damage to Louisiana and the other South-western States as expected. This time the anchors (levees) held, unlike when Katrina descended upon them. Oh Friends, our God is certainly a GOOD GOD!  He’s so wonderful, that even in the midst of tragedy, believers can always see the light of His LOVING presence, and feel His gentle, saving touch. Now remember that today is Sunday, so all those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, if at all possible, please get out and fellowship with other believers, giving thanks and praise to God in unity and oneness of purpose. For as we’ve been saying over the last few days, a unified church is very essential in successfully fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission. (Matt. 28:19-20) And before we get to our Bit, let’s hear how Cousin Sol in exhorting us to obedience, opens Chapter 3, as a lead up to it.  ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.’ (Prov.3:1-2) Now that’s the living truth my people! For when we keep the Lord’s law, then we are divinely blessed with peace and long, prosperous lives. And now we can segue smoothly into our Bit: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.’ Yes Friends, those two things, mercy and truth, are of the utmost importance in the lives of EVERY believer. Why? Cousin Sol continues with more valuable advice. ‘So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov.3:4) Now we all desire those things in this earthly life, but the only way to truly and lastingly accomplish that is by having mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth always in our sights. They’re so important that we’ve even been advised and encouraged to ‘Bind them about thy neck.’ That means the Lord’s teachings should be as much a part of us as an adornment or necklace around our necks. In other words, always present and standing out. Just goes to show how important those two attributes are my brethren. And later on in Chapter 6, when warning against adultery, Cousin Sol reiterates the importance of keeping the Lord’s law. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman (seductress). (Prov.6:20-24) In this particular case he advocates it against the wiles of an evil woman, but keeping the Lord’s law is material in every aspect of our everyday lives. And we shouldn’t only have the law close to our bodies like a necklace, but also ‘write them upon the table of thine heart.’ That’s our minds. We need to write them first and foremost in our minds, for as our minds go, so goes the rest of our body. The mind is our most important organ, it’s a unique, marvellous and ‘unclonable’ bit of engineering, and since within it lie the true controls of our bodies, it is thus extremely important in understanding and successfully living this earthly life. That’s why Lucifer always seeks first to infiltrate our minds, cause he knows that once he’s in control of our controls, he’s home free. Consequently it’s of the utmost necessity we guard our hearts and minds very closely. No wonder Bruh Paul strongly advised the Philippians. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:4-7) And we’ll close with some words from the scholars which will help us understand that last verse. ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; and (2) God’s peace far surpassing one’s own understanding of the problem, and his ability to cope with and solve it. Shall keep means “shall guard.” This is a military term for a sentinel standing guard duty. As Philippi was guarded by a Roman garrison, and its citizens were accustomed to seeing soldiers protecting the city, this word would be especially appreciated by the readers.’ Oh Friends, let’s hope we not only appreciate what we’ve read here today, but that we also go out and put it into practice in our daily lives. It’s the best way to glorify God and show Jesus that we truly care about the sacrifice He made for us on the cross at Calvary. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen. Much LOVE!…without solid foundations of mercy and truth…believers will always come up short in Christ…
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 April 2012 Hebrews 6:15

22 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hebrews 6:15.     And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Oh Friends, many of you are going to fellowship with other believers this Sunday morning, or have already done so, if you celebrate the Sabbath on another day. Now many of the physical churches will be, or were crowded, but how did you feel? Did you feel as though you had ample room to interact with God? Or were you sort of stifled? You know the saying that an empty church seems to have more room for God. I believe it’s true. When the church is full, all the bodies take up so much space, that there’s less for God. Hn! Okay, I’m just being facetious, a bit foolish, because as Jesus told the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well: ‘God is a Spirit, and those that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth.’ (John 4:24) Therefore, His spiritual presence doesn’t take up any physical space. But the saying is true in the sense that an empty church, or one with only a few people, allows us a closer and often more meaningful interaction with God because there are fewer distractions. And if you don’t believe me, just try it for yourself sometime. Find an empty church, sit down, kneel, or whatever, and see if your communication with the Father isn’t much smoother with less static and external disturbances. That’s why Jesus always went to a quiet place to pray, to talk to the Father. This brings me to what I want to share. Last year in the Gethsemane watch on Holy Thursday night, by myself in the church, around midnight, the Lord advised me to listen. I took that to mean listen to Him more closely and often for guidance, as well as listen to others; do less talking and more listening. Well I believe I’ve improved a fair amount in listening to Him, but definitely not as good in listening to others. I still think I talk too much. Shut up children and stop smirking! (smile) But that’s because of my passion for whatever I’m talking about. However, I’m working on it. Like building faith, it’s a work in progress. Now this past Holy Thursday, the message I received during the Gethsemane watch was; abide in me – with patience. Please note the proviso Friends – with patience. Abiding in the Lord is surely worthwhile, but if we don’t do it patiently, we’ll lose most of the benefits of abiding, for we can’t be faithful and trusting without that important element of patience. We all know that God’s time does not always coincide with ours. We always want everything now for now. But He challenges us to wait on Him, testing us, while building our Christ-like character. But unfortunately, patience is not something on which our society places a high premium. Rather, our world has become very impatient, what with the advanced technology and the numerous, almost immediate ways of communication, we tend to want everything like yesterday. However my people, God’s Word, from beginning to end, stresses patience. Now that could mean mere waiting on Him, or persevering through adversity, or being steadfast and true in faith, basically enduring, but always letting God lead in His time. And one of the biggest tests of patience comes from our Bit: ‘And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.’ The author of Hebrews, whom most scholars consider to be Bruh Paul, is there referring to Abraham, to whom God promised a son when he was seventy five years old, by his wife Sarah, who was around sixty something, way past normal childbearing age. (Gen.12) In the natural that seemed impossible, and they both had their doubts, Sarah even laughed, but they persevered in faith, and twenty five years later, when Abraham was one hundred, and Sarah about ninety, the promised son, Isaac, was born. Thus Bruh Paul could confidently say: ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience (endurance), that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’ (Heb.10:35-36) Oh my brethren, strong faith with plenty patience is a must if we truly want to serve the Lord God Jehovah! And as Bruh David so eloquently puts it in Psalm 37: ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.” (Ps.37:7) Therefore Bruh Paul could also write this famous passage to the Romans, re the results of justification through Christ. ‘And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience (produces perseverance); And patience, experience (character); and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed (does not disappoint); because the LOVE of God is shed abroad (has been poured out) in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.’ (Rom.5:3-5) And I’ll stop there for today my people, because I don’t want to try your patience too much, (smile) seeing that we live in this very impatient, ungodly world, and many of us have sadly been thus programmed. But we’ll renew our acquaintance with patience tomorrow, provided the Lord sees fit to continue breathing life into our bodies and souls. Till then, please go safely, in peace, hope, LOVE and patience, as Christ Jesus desires. Much LOVE!…I waited patiently for the Lord…and he inclined unto me…and heard my cry… (Ps.40:1)

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 April 2012 Psalm 19:12

21 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 19:12.    Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Oh Friends, on this glorious Saturday morn, where it’s raining cats and dogs outside, (smile) I have a spot of wisdom to share; one of the many I’ve found on the fly leaves of my mother’s Bible. This one says: ‘The most deadly sins do not leap upon us. They creep up on us.’ And isn’t that the awful truth my people! We do all sorts of wrong stuff and realize that they are wrong, possibly because they are so blatant, done fairly openly or others might point them out to us. Those we can fix, if we so choose, because we’re aware of them. But its the silent wrongs which grow and build up in our spirits, the ones of which we’re not really aware, that are the real killers. We’re not aware of them until one day the Lord decides to open our eyes, through some person or incident. And then we either deny it, or cry out in anguish to God, saying: ‘Oh Lord was I really doing that? I didn’t realize it. I repent of that terrible sin, and will try my best to stop it. Please help me and forgive me! I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.’ And then we beat ourselves up for being so blind and foolish. But please remember Friends, God has brought our hidden sins to light for several different reasons: First off, so He can test our mettle, our faith, to see what we’re really made of, if we’re truly serious about walking in His will. He might also be looking at our reaction; to see how we respond to that sudden negative disclosure. Some of us will no doubt get irate and doubt it, while others will readily accept it. Then the Lord wants to cleanse us of it, because any sin in our lives reduces the effective communication with God. And most of all, He greatly desires to forgive us, if we come to Him in true repentance. Once we’re aware of that sin, we need to work on it, with God’s help of course. Now don’t feel badly and start brow-beating yourself, trying to find any hidden sins in your life (smile) for all of us have them. Oftimes they are things we don’t even consider sinful, having dropped our standards to that of the ungodly world, so we don’t pay much attention to them until the Father points them out. Don’t worry, when the time’s right, He will make them known to us. No wonder Bruh David declares in our Bit: ‘Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.’ He knew that there’s stuff hidden in the deepest recesses of our souls that wouldn’t sit well with the Father, so he decided to take in front, before in front took him, (smile) by asking the Lord to cleanse him of any secret wrongs. Is a long time I haven’t heard that bit of parochial wisdom. The old people might not have had a lot of book learning, but they certainly had a lot of wisdom in living everyday life, that’s why so many of their sayings are still pertinent today. Then Bruh David further asks: ‘Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great (much) transgression.’ (Ps.19:13) Oh Friends, our world is filled with much more sin today than righteousness, plenty presumptuous ones too, for we have taken it upon ourselves to act independently, to play God, and/or worship idols of our own creation. How do you think Jesus feels when He looks down on the mess we’ve made of this life, especially when He came to earth to show us the right way to live? Don’t you think some days He wishes He didn’t sacrifice His innocent life for such ingrates? So many of us are turning to Lucifer, selling our souls for earthly power and material wealth, that Jesus’ followers are now in the minority. And sadly Friends, as long as that’s the case, our world will always be filled with turmoil and calamity, because that’s the mark of Lucifer. Plenty, plenty more of us have to come to Christ for cleansing and forgiveness before we can make serious inroads into Lucifer’s evil collective. We have to do like Bruh David did in Psalm 51, when the prophet Nathan confronted him with his hidden sin involving Bathsheba. (2 Sam.12)  ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy LOVING-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified (found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest.’ (Ps.51:1-4) Yes my people, even men of great faith, men considered friends of God, can be humbled by hidden sin. We need to be wary of stuff we do without fully recognizing their implications; that they are truly sins against God. But when we do discover them, we need to sincerely repent as quickly as possible and ask for forgiveness. But by the same token, once the Lord’s granted us forgiveness, we need to faithfully receive it and let go of the guilt, for that’s a major problem with many Christians today: we sin, ask for forgiveness, the Lord forgives us, but we don’t truly receive the forgiveness, wrongly believing that the Lord can’t forgive such a horrible sin and keep saving the guilt in our hearts. Ah Friends, forgiveness is wasted unless and until we accept it and stop dwelling on it. Then we ought to say something like what Bruh David does at the end of Psalm 19: ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’ (Ps.19:14) Oh my brethren, those are immortal words that would do us good to keep close to our hearts and minds, so they can have a restorative effect on us in anxious times. Much LOVE!…it doesn’t matter which came first…the sin or the sinner…because Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can cleanse them both…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 March 2012 Numbers 23:1

23 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , ,

Numbers 23:19.    God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make good?

Oh Friends, it’s that wonderful day again, Friday! And a loud shout rises from the workforce: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes!’ Yes mih people, the weekend is upon us, bringing a brief respite from our labours. But since it’s so short, we need to use it wisely. And to help us do that, let’s chant our Friday Chant, as one grateful body 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.’ And now that we’ve set the proper perspective for the weekend, let’s turn to our very profound and encouraging Bit: ‘God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ Oh my people, words of gospel truth from the living God we worship! Yesterday we looked at several scriptures that dealt with the first half of our Bit: ‘God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:’ Today I have one more to share on that subject. It comes from James in his discourse on faith and humility. He wisely and sincerely tells us: ‘Do not err (be deceived), my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning.’ (James:16-17) Now here’s a word from the scholars on that; ‘Since all changes are either for the better or for the worse, God is unchanging because He is perfect and cannot get better nor become worse. The Scriptures describe God’s nature, will, and character as immutable or unchanging. Illustration: To be immutable, however, does not mean to be immobile. God also has the qualities of personality and can act, think, create, and make decisions. Application: God is unchanging, therefore, Christians can depend on His LOVE and power, because God has not changed since biblical times.’ And all God’s people made a joyful noise to God for His wonderful attributes and His unchanging nature! Now let’s turn to the second part of our Bit: ‘hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ Oh yes my brethren, all that our great God says, He’ll definitely do and make good, no doubt about it! Listen to Him admonish Moses when the Israelites cried out for meat, which the Lord promised, but Moses doubted His ability to provide. ‘And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord’s hand waxed short (Is the Lord’s power limited)? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.’ (Num.11:23) Later on, quail rained down like water around the Israelite camp. Oh Friends, that shows that even a man of great faith like Moses, who had seen so many miracles, was still only a man, thus limited by finite faith and intelligence. Then there’s Cousin Sol, who at the end of his great prayer: ‘And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest (peace) unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.’ (1 Kin.8:55-56) And we’ll end with an everlasting declaration of truth and faithfulness, after the Lord successfully moved the Israelites into the Promised Land: ‘And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest (peace) round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before (against) them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not aught (Not a word failed) of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of  Israel; all came to pass.’ (Josh.21:43-45) Oh Friends, there’s no more to say! We’ve heard it all! Our God is truthful, faithful and all powerful! Whatever He says or promises will come to pass, both negative and positive stuff! So if we’re wise, we’ll follow the One who truly LOVES and cares for us, the Lord God Jehovah. He’s already shown that great and wonderful unconditional LOVE by offering His Son Jesus as a one-time sacrifice for all our sins, then from His eternal store of grace, offers us free salvation and eternal life by just believing on Jesus. Wow! What an awesome and magnanimous God we serve my people! Please, don’t ever doubt or forget it! Much LOVE!…there are no suitable words in man’s limited vocabulary to truly describe our amazing God…  

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