Today’s Scrip-Bit   27 October 2023 Colossians 3:23.

27 Oct 2023 Leave a comment

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

Colossians 3:23.        And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

So it’s Friday, and the universal shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ has gone up all around the world! What a world! When all we seem to live for is Friday and the upcoming weekend. It’s all about getting away from the boring, same old, same old jobs that we do during the week, a lot of them by rote, that’s automatically, without having to think about what we’re doing. And, unfortunately, not a great percentage of us like our jobs, we just put up with them because they earn us the money to keep our lives going. 

What a sad thing it is when so many of us spend a lifetime doing jobs that we don’t like and are just looking forward to retirement and the time when we no longer have to do those mundane and boring jobs. It doesn’t say a whole lot for our society, when so many of our populace are disgruntled and dissatisfied. But thankfully, today we will learn how to avoid that self-defeating attitude of despising our jobs. 

First up, these wise words of Bruh Paul in his letter to the Colossians. ‘And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:23-25) 

And all that means is that believers, regardless of our station in life – be it the lowliest worker or highest paid leader – ought to do the best work they can despite their circumstances, to work as though they were working directly for God and not for men. And that’s a fact too, because in the long run, it’s the Lord who will richly reward them for their good work, while repaying, without partiality, the wrong doers with judgement for their evil deeds. 

And just in case you don’t believe Bruh Paul, then listen as Cousin Sol puts in in his perspective, writing as the Preacher in Ecclesiastes. He writes: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.’ (Eccl. 9:10) And isn’t that the awesome truth! It certainly is. That means whatever we do on earth is our portion to do, since there’s no working in the grave. Thus, we ought to do to the best of our ability and as though we’re doing it unto our Creator, Almighty God! 

And above all, remember these key words of Jesus to the disciples: ‘If you LOVE me, keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15). Now that also pertains to us in this age. And what does He mean by that? He means that we should not only keep the basic Ten commandments, but also the moral commandments that He gave us. Like LOVING one another, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, doing unto others as we desire them to do unto us, being excellent and diligent in our work, not being too judgemental or critical of others, especially when we’re guilty of the same things. 

It’s those sorts of things that Jesus was more concerned about, things that were not written down as Old Testament law, but as His New Testament directives. It’s well documented about not killing and stealing nor committing adultery, but not His ways and the ways He wants us to follow. And besides, they were and still are in direct opposition to those of the world. And as He said earlier on: ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have LOVE one to another.’ (John 13:35) 

Yes my fellow believers, ALL that Jesus teaches can be confirmed in one small but ever so powerful word: LOVE! If we go about showing the LOVE of Jesus, doing the same basic things He did, to the best of our human capabilities, then we’re keeping His commandment. For remember Bruh Paul’s treatise on LOVE in what we term the LOVE chapter; that’s 1 Corinthians 13:, where he enlightens us on all the wonderful things that constitute LOVE. Things like long-suffering, kindness, not given to boasting or arrogance, doesn’t behave rudely or selfishly, doesn’t think nor rejoice in evil, but rejoices in truth, etc. etc.  

Then he ends with this perfect gem: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity (LOVE), these three, but the greatest of these is charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 13:13) Oh my people, LOVE is indeed God’s greatest attribute, and He expects His followers to walk in the footsteps of His Son Jesus Christ, whom He gave to be crucified for our sins because He LOVED us. It’s as simple as that my brethren. The Lord doesn’t expect anything from us that He won’t do or hasn’t done himself. 

And as we go out today, let’s remember these most poignant and true words of Peter. ‘And above all things, have fervent charity (LOVE) among yourselves: for charity (LOVE) shall cover the multitude of sins.’ (1 Pet. 4:8) And isn’t that the gospel truth! The LOVE of God towards us made Him send Jesus to die and cover our sins, and the LOVE we show to others, also covers both their sins and ours. So in one word, it’s all about LOVE! And having come to that awesome conclusion (smile) let’s now go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking the deep and sincere LOVE that we need to restore some sense of balance to our angry and terribly unbalanced world. 

As one voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…   because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. 

We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And the only way to receive divine help is by turning away from our evil deeds and being obedient to God’s will. So let’s do that now nuh, if we truly desire to hear a positive word from heaven. Much LOVE!

… LOVE makes the world go round…both literally and figuratively… 

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ    

Today’s Scrip-Bit   19 November 2022 Proverbs 3:5.

19 Nov 2022 Leave a comment

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

Proverbs 3:5.       Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Saturday, oh lazy Saturday, so glad to see you! And the good thing about Saturdays in the winter time, is that you don’t go out unless you really really have to! (smile) Especially if, as my computer tells me, it’s snowing now, which it isn’t in my area, although it might be in some other area, but that’s just one more excuse to enjoy a lazy Saturday. (smile) Anyway, enough laziness, let’s get to the Lord’s business and see what we can make of the quotes that our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. 

Now, he only sent us three quotes, so today’s Bit ought to be short…Hn! I wouldn’t count on it, with my penchant for being long-winded. (smile) And the first quote says: ‘Being vulnerable is a strength, not a weakness.’ And that’s the gospel truth! For although the word ‘vulnerable’ is defined as ‘susceptible to, or able to be easily physically or mentally hurt, influenced, or attacked,’ in another sense, when one is vulnerable, one isn’t fearful of being hurt or abused, but steps into the fray in spite of one’s vulnerability. 

And that comes out most forcefully in the emotion of LOVE, for when one LOVES, one is open to all kinds of negative things, but it doesn’t stop one from LOVING. And I think we also see a vulnerable strength in the word ‘meek, or meekness.’ Used in a negative manner it means weak and/or submissive, but used in a positive or biblical manner it means strength under control. And who are more vulnerable than Christians eh, if we truly follow Christ’s advice, like LOVING our enemies, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, etc. etc. 

As Bruh Paul quotes Ps. 44:22 to the Roman church. ‘As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom. 8:36-37) Yes, believers may seem vulnerable, but that doesn’t mean they are weak. In fact, we are the strongest group on earth, as we fight the devil and his iniquity workers with goodness not evil. Just look at the Beatitudes, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. His descriptions of those who are heavenly blessed all seem to be weak, passive and very vulnerable, but in fact they show an active strength clothed in humility, peace and godliness. 

Listen to this Beatitude from Jesus: ‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.’ (Matt. 5:5) He didn’t mean blessed are the physically or spiritually weak, but blessed are those who have humbled themselves before the Lord God Jehovah! And to be truly humble, one must have a strong spirit, because by nature humans are not created as beacons of humility, especially in this age of greed, selfishness and advantage taking. 

As ‘Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said: “Meekness is strong, not weak; active, not passive; courageous, not timid; restrained, not excessive; modest, not self-aggrandizing; and gracious, not brash.’ In other words, to be vulnerable means to not be afraid of being human, of living for Christ. 

Now,  the next quote says: ‘We have to let go of who we think we should be and embrace what is.’ I don’t know about that nuh. We should certainly live in the present, but the important question is what’s our present life like, is it intertwined with Christ, or is it just running loose and lustful like the world? Remember, God has a plan for each and every life He creates, and if we’re not living in His will for our lives then we’re on the wrong side of the fence. The truth of the matter here is that we should first ascertain from our heavenly Father His will for our life, then put it into action, not do what we think we should in our own strength, or meekly (negative use) follow the world. 

And Cousin Sol wisely warns in Proverbs: ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make straight) thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear (reverence) the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel (body), and marrow (strength) to thy bones.’ (Prov. 3:5-8) Yes friends, it’s only when we buy into God’s plan for our lives that we truly blossom and are able to reach our destiny. 

And the last quote tells us: ‘In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.’ I guess there’s truth to that statement for we cannot discern light unless darkness is first present. That brings us to Jesus, who is the light of the world. He said it Himself: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12) 

Oh my people, isn’t that wonderful? It surely is! Jesus came to earth so that we could have the option of eternal life in the light of His heavenly Father and not merely the option of succumbing to the darkness and evil of Lucifer, the fallen angel, and ending up in hellfire and damnation with him. Unfortunately though, that darkness is covering our world right now with an overwhelming black cloud of sin and ungodliness, and it’s only as we accept Jesus and His bright shining light that the darkness of our world will lessen, for darkness is inherently evil, while light shows up goodness and godliness. 

And what better way to end today than with the words of John the Revelator, as he saw the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven in his vision. He joyfully declares: (yesss!!!) ‘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) 

What a marvelous, bright and shining day that will be my fellow saints, when the very presence of God will be with us, His redeemed people. And from thence, He will forever dwell with us in the eternal state of a life without pain and sorrow, just joy and gladness in His shining light. So, let’s wake up and reach for that glorious goal nuh my brethren! Much LOVE!

…oh when the saints go marching…I want to be in their number…oh when the saints go marching in…  

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ