Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 August 2021 Psalm 145.4.

04 Aug 2021 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 145:4.      One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

Just one of those days…just one of those days! Yes friends, it’s just been one of those days. I went to bed early, that’s by my standards, (smile) but the sleep wasn’t refreshing, the dreams though not nightmares, were nerve racking, as they always are. Then I got up late, with all sorts of aches and pains, so it took me some time to get going. Unfortunately, that’s what happens as the body ages – you never know what state of body you’re going to wake up in. (smile) 

But my state of mind is excellent! Thank the Lord for that! Couldn’t handle it if both body and mind were in a state of sub-par health. And you wouldn’t like to see me now, after being up for a while – moving like an Olympic athlete! That’s the goodness of our great God. He never leaves you in the lurch for long. And that’s why this poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, called out to me so powerfully this morning! It’s aptly titled ‘Celebration!’ 

So please pray with me: ‘’When I think of Your lavish goodness The longings You’ve satisfied The forgiveness You’ve granted The promises You’ve kept. When I think of Your irresistible LOVE Your ceaseless care Your unfailing protection… O Lord God I want to raise flags And fly banners and sound bugles. I want to run with lighted torches And praise You From the mountaintop. I want to write symphonies And shout for joy. I want to throw a festive party For ten thousand guests. I want to celebrate with streamers And bright lights And an elaborate banquet.  (And the Lord excitedly replies😊)  Fine dear child… I’m ready.’  

Oh friends, that’s the way we should feel each and every day, joyfully worshipping and celebrating our wonderful God! And you know, nobody likes a party like Him, especially if it’s one thrown in His praise and honour. And the Bible Promise for our poem today is none other than that great psalm of praise penned by Bruh David – Psalm 145 – The Lord is gracious. So let’s declare the opening verses with the kind of sincerity and joy they deserve nuh. 

‘I will extol (praise, exalt) thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable (beyond our understanding). One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.’ (Ps. 145:1-4) 

Oh my people, that’s the way we ought to be worshipping our God, with much praise and thanksgiving! And yes, a minority of us are doing our best, but too many supposed believers are not even making the effort. And I especially want to point out that last verse there, which says that ‘one generation shall praise thy works to another, and declare thy mighty acts.’ Now, there’s no way we can say that we have done, or are doing that to the current generation. We have fallen down terribly in that department, no wonder this generation has produced such a high number of ungodly children. 

Our parents taught us about God…even possibly forced it into our heads and behaviour too much. But we have gone the exact opposite route and not taught our children enough or as intently as we ought to. And that’s one of the major reasons that our world is currently in such an ungodly mess: the young people either don’t know about God, or their faith is very small, because we the parents haven’t taught them the way we should have. 

And please remember that God is supposed to be taught and shown how He works first in the home, not in schools or churches. That’s because you don’t know what your children will be taught out in the ungodly world. If they don’t have a strong, basic foundation in God from home, they will fall for all sorts of nonsense out there in the big and evil world. 

From the very beginning, God, through Moses, told the Israelites. ‘And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ (Deut. 6:6-7) Please note friends, the word of the Lord should be found in all walks of our lives, and should be taught ‘diligently’ to our children. 

Now hear King Hezekiah when God healed him of his sickness. ‘The living, the living shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.’ (Is. 38:19) It’s indeed the job of the parents to teach the children about God! And why yuh think Cousin Sol wrote: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ (Prov. 22:6) 

That doesn’t mean that our children will always follow the good way if we raise them right. But if they learn about God at home, like they should, then when they go out into the world, they will have a better appreciation, more options, and a greater wisdom when the things of the world come against them. Our job is to teach them about God and show them how it works in a familial situation. What they do with that knowledge when they go out on their own, is up to them, and they will pay the price for whatever decisions they make. But one of their excuses should never be, ‘I was not taught about God, at home.’ 

And it’s sad to think that so many of us parents in this generation, have fallen down on the job. I guess the reasons can fall amongst the sad demise of the family unit, our busyness in making a living, and our own sad lack of faith. Now, I don’t know if we can ever repair the damage done to our children, but we certainly can try in whatever time is left to us. However, we should probably concentrate our efforts now on the younger generation, our grandchildren, and give them the start that we forfeited their parents of. 

Enough preaching now though. (smile) But please remember this is not for condemnation, but for conviction, so that we can see the error of our ways and do better in the little time we have left. Now let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. 

All together now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And as the Good Book reminds us, if we endure right to the very end, then that future with Jesus will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine. Much LOVE!

…the home…that’s where children should learn first…and the most about God…                                                                                                           

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 May 2017 Luke 2:19.

14 May 2017 Leave a comment

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

Luke 2:19.    But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

Well a Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there! And this comes to you, regardless of whether you are a good, bad or indifferent mother. Just the fact that you went through all the rigors of motherhood; the nine months of bearing another child of the Creator’s in your womb and then suffering the excruciating pain, and pangs of birth, we celebrate you this fateful day. 

Motherhood is possibly the highest calling in God’s great earth, for you are following in God’s awesome footsteps; giving birth to a new creation, and then in most cases following that up with care and nurture for the rest of your life. 

And even if you didn’t personally go through the bodily discomfort of motherhood and felt those pains of giving birth, but you nourished and cared for one of God’s little ones, you are still considered a Mother! And as they say, once a mother, always a mother! There’s no getting away from it. 

And on this Mother’s Day Sunday, I went searching for an appropriate hymn to open our praise and worship session, and this one, ‘Where can I turn for Peace?’ seems to be a fan favourite. Apparently it was written by Emma Lou Thayne (1924-1973), a Mormon Poet and English teacher at the University of Utah, as she watched her daughter go through the agonizing throes of anorexia. 

Just like a mother eh! So let’s sincerely offer up these words of heartache, of solace and praise through sacrificial lips as we gather in holy fellowship this fateful Sunday morning. 

In full voice now: ‘Where can I turn for peace? Where is my solace When other sources cease to make me whole? When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice, I draw myself apart, Searching my soul? Where, when my aching grows, Where, when I languish, Where, in my need to know, where can I run? 

Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish? Who, who can understand? He, only One. He answers privately, Reaches my reaching In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend. Gentle the peace He finds for my beseeching. Constant He is and kind, LOVE without end.’ 

Oh friends, what a touching cry of anguish and grief, but one which ends as it should; with the faithful LOVE of Jesus producing solace and comfort in our time of need. As the song so rightfully says, He is the ONLY ONE; the ONLY ONE who hears our piercing cries and answers them, in private to boot! 

No doubt our terrible anguish of soul reminds Him of His own anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He beseeched the Father for mercy, so He can sympathize, and also empathize with our pain. 

Oh my brethren, do we realize that Jesus is like a mother to us? He cares for, cleanses, heals, nurtures, comforts, befriends, and saves us; all the things our earthly mothers do. So in other words, a godly mother is a true reflection of Jesus! 

That reminds me of my biological mother, Molly, and also my five adopted mothers, yes friends, I had six mothers, Glory to God! Unfortunately all of them have gone to be with the Lord now, but their memories will forever be a part of me, because their LOVING-kindness, in my times of need, made me the man I am today. 

The Lord worked His wonders through those strong, beautiful women to bring me to where I needed to be. And believe me, none of them took any nonsense from me; they told me what I needed to hear or do, regardless of what I thought, and Molls, bless her soul, did put the strap to me when she thought it necessary. 

So I wasn’t spoiled or mollycoddled because it was all TOUGH LOVE! Oh how I wish there was more tough LOVE in our world today! We wouldn’t have so many wayward and ungodly children. But I guess we’re just reaping what we’ve sown in the last generation. 

That finally brings us to our Bit: ‘But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.’  It tells us about the foremost mother of our world, Mary, the Mother of Jesus. 

Can we ever imagine the life she experienced? I don’t think so. Her first child being miraculously conceived, being the Son of God, with so many people saying so many extraordinary things about Him. First of all, the angels telling the shepherds about His birth, His Messianic destiny, and they checking out the story and finding Him in the manger, then going and spread the news. Leaving poor Mary, possibly still a teenager, to sit and ponder all that was happening. 

Then shortly thereafter, when they took Jesus to the synagogue to be presented, and heard the praises and marvellous things said about Him by Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38) Can you imagine how speechless and bewildered Mary must have been?  

And then that time when Jesus was about twelve and they took Him to Jerusalem and lost Him on the journey back home to Nazareth, then three days later they found Him in serious conversation with the learned men in the temple. But when they questioned Him as to why He had abandoned them, ‘And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not (don’t you know) that I must be about my Father’s business?’ (Luke 2:49) 

Hn! Yuh think I could have told my mother and father that around twelve years of age? Absolutely not! Most of us would have been checking our teeth to see if they were still all there. (smile) 

‘And they understood not the saying which he spoke unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.’ (Luke 2:50-51) 

Ah friends, Mary’s motherhood wasn’t easy, but she stood up strong under it, knowing that the God who had chosen her to be the mother of His Son, was ever-faithful and would not fail her. 

Likewise, all you mothers out there today, who might be finding motherhood somewhat difficult, please allow Mary to be you example, and believe too, that the Lord who had entrusted your children to you, will not leave you in the lurch, because His faithfulness is exemplary. Much LOVE!

…a mother’s work is never done…