Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 September 2017 John 14:6.

13 Sep 2017 Leave a comment

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

John 14:6.   I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.

Oh friends, it’s one of those days; the ole fella does not know what to say this Wednesday morning. Hn! Imagine that nuh! (smile) 

I slept the night away and got up feeling worse than when I went to bed. Can you believe it? But that was just my ignorance, for I knew that if lay in bed too long my back would act up something terrible. 

But I just refused to get out of the bed. If people could lie in bed for ten to twelve hours straight, why couldn’t I do it for a mere five or six eh? And now I’m paying the price. But that’s okay, because I have a rather appropriate quote for us from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. 

It says: ‘No one is guaranteed happiness. Life just gives us time and space. It’s up to us to fill it with joy and meaning.’ End of story! 

Yeh friends, it’s up to us to make our lives as joyful and meaningful as we can. Nobody else can do that for us. We have to put in the effort to make our lives whatever we want them to be. And believe me, that’s not always easy, since most of us want to live what is considered the high life, which is not easy to attain or maintain. 

But I’ll let us into a li’l secret here (smile)… serving Jesus is the way to live the best life possible here on earth, and even into eternity. And if you doubt that, hear what He says in our Bit. ’I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ 

What an awesome statement my brethren! But it’s true! NO ONE else has ever made, or been able to make such an enormous and truthful proclamation! Only through Jesus can we gain access to our heavenly Father. 

Remember how it was before Jesus? There was a heavy veil that covered the holy space of God within the tabernacle and only the high priest could enter there once a year to make sacrifice and atonement for man. 

But note when Jesus gave up the ghost on that cross at Calvary, the Good Book declares: ‘And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain (torn in two) from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent (split).’ (Matt.27:51) 

Yes my people, the tearing down of that oppressive veil opened the way for each and every one to come to the Father through Jesus! Wow! How amazing and reassuring is that eh? From then on Jesus became our high priest and heavenly intercessor, giving us individual access to the Father. 

And all of that was done out of the Father’s great and unconditional LOVE for us, His sinful and disobedient children. That’s why we should be eternally grateful to both the Father, who offered His only Son, Jesus, as a living sacrifice, and to Jesus who willingly paid the enormous price for the cleansing and washing of our abominably sinful souls. 

Only Jesus, the sinless One, could have paid the exorbitant price the Father required to wash our sins away. And now we refuse to live for Him, abuse His holy name, doing our best to remove Him completely from our society. What ungratefulness my people, what ignorance and foolishness! 

Please note what’s happening to our society as we try to remove God from it. Our lives are getting rougher and tougher despite all the supposed amenities we now have. Nobody is really happy, and we have to work harder and longer to just make ends meet. 

It just goes to show that the physical things and the ungodly lifestyle that the world wants us to adopt are not the panacea for earthly living. JESUS IS! And until we get around to truly believing that and living it, our world won’t get any better. In fact we’ll just keep wallowing in the mire of sin and ungodliness and keep being unhappy and strife-filled. 

Oh friends, I don’t know what else to say to make us believe that Jesus is the WAY nuh. I guess most of us won’t give Him a try until we hit rock bottom. But don’t worry, whenever and however we come to Him, He will always receive us with open, LOVING arms, for that’s how magnanimous He is. 

But please don’t put it off until it’s too late. He is coming back a second time, in all His magnificence and splendour, and if you’re not a member of His flock then, you will be eternally separated from Him and the Father, and end up on the outside looking in. And I can guarantee that that won’t be a very good situation. 

Now for those of us who sincerely believe, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail as we go joyfully marching home. (smile) ‘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!’ 

Oh, how great it is to live for Jesus! Much LOVE!

…hope has a new name…that name is JESUS…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 September 2014 Hosea 7:13

30 Sep 2014 Leave a comment

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

 Hosea 7:13. Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

‘Hot town, summer in the city… Cool cat, looking for a kitty. Gonna look in every corner of the city…!’
 
Oh Friends, in the supposed summer month we couldn’t make the claim of that old song with very much truth, because it wasn’t that hot. But yuh better believe in the last few days, it was undeniably true!
 
For instance, as I was driving up the road yesterday, with my window down and the sun shining in, I had to hide my forearm from its onslaught. (smile)
 
Oh what confusing weather! But note, we’ll never say no to such beautiful Tobago days, that’s for sure! Especially at this time of year, when the weather is usually leaning towards the chilly side.
 
But another confusing thing is that the trees aren’t paying any attention to the great summer weather, they are still turning into their fabulous fall colours and dropping their leaves, in anticipation of winter.
 
Unfortunately, today doesn’t seem as if it’s going to be a Tobago kind of day, but it’s not going to be too bad either. Anyway, we’ll be thankful for anything, once it’s not that cold, white stuff. (Smile)
 
Now let’s turn to our Bit: ‘Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.’
 
And today I’m not going to get into any rhetoric about our evil deeds and disobedience. I just want to share a few scripture passages on redemption and being redeemed.
 
Now the word redeem basically means ‘to purchase’, and redemption in the Good Book means Jesus Christ purchasing our sinful souls from the bondage of sin, by the shedding of His holy and sinless blood on the cross of Calvary.
 
In other words, by His sacrificial death, He paid the enormous price required by His holy and just Father to absolve us from our abominable sins, thus paving the way for us to become righteous, justified, sanctified and a member of God’s family.
 
So now we are free from the bondage of sin, but please, NEVER, NEVER forget that it was THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST that paid for our redemption!  We would still be lost sinners, facing the penalty of death and eternal separation from Almighty God, if Jesus had not sacrificed Himself on our behalf.
 
That just goes to show how much He truly LOVED us, and I just can’t understand the rebellion, the disobedience and ungratefulness that we constantly show to such a wonderful act of LOVE!
 
Anyway, as I said earlier, no rhetoric, just scripture. (smile) And we’ll begin with this powerful promise of our omnipotent God to the Israelites right at the very beginning of their fight with Pharaoh to leave their bondage in Egypt.
 
He says to Moses: ‘Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with outstretched arm (with mighty power), and with great judgements.’ (Ex.6:6)
 
And we all know that our ever-faithful God did just as He had promised. Then later on, Isaiah also talks about the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel.
 
‘Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of (by) me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.’ (Is.44:21-22)
 
And Hosea continues the prophecy of redemption when he foretells Israel’s destruction. ‘I will ransom them from the power (hand) of the grave (death); I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues (where is your punishment); O grave, I will be thy destruction (where is thy sting): repentance (pity) shall be hid from mine eyes.’ (Hos.13:14)
 
And the scholars have this to say about that verse: ’13:14-16. I will ransom them from the power of the grave: Only God can save Israel from national extinction. After its judgement is complete, Israel will ultimately be redeemed and will bring forth fruits of repentance.
 
This national repentance and restoration will be realized in the Israel of the Millennium. Paul applies verse 14 to the resurrection of Christ, which guarantees the resurrection of all believers in Christ.’
 
When we move on to the New Testament, we have more testimony of redemption. Listen to Zechariah’s prophecy, as his son, John the Baptist is presented to the Lord.
 
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up a horn of salvation (mighty deliverer) for us in the House of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began (from the ages):
 
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant. The oath which he sware to our Father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
 
In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our lives. And thou child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission (forgiveness) of their sins,
 
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (dawn, Messiah) from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ (Luke 1:68-79)
 
Oh my people, we know that prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist going before Jesus to testify of His coming and to call the people to salvation. Jesus came and redeemed us, but that call for salvation is still going out. Today, please hear it and respond wisely. Much LOVE!
 
…today…if you should hear Jesus knocking at the door to your heart…please don’t ignore it…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 June 2012 Acts 1:5

02 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

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

 Acts 1:5.   For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
 
And the rains fell, driven in big sheets of water by a ferocious wind, blowing wither and why, only the Lord knew! Yes Friends, that’s what happened in my area today. When I wrote yesterday’s Bit, the rain had petered out to a mere drizzle, but later on in the day it just poured down like crazy, accompanied by an angry wind that wanted to blow away everything in its path. So be careful what you wish or pray for, because it might come with such force or in such abundance that you can’t handle it. That brings to mind the time in the wilderness when the Israelites were tired of eating manna, morning, noon and night, and hungered for meat and food like back in Egypt. So they cried out to Moses, who in turn cried out to God. This ungratefulness so angered the Lord that He decided, yuh want meat, well take meat, and caused an enormous amount of quail to fall around the camp. He provided so much meat that they shouldn’t only eat it for a few days, ‘But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you…’ (Num.11:20) Shades of what some of our parents did when we wanted something too much. (smile) Thankfully though, it seems the wind and rain have gone back to wherever they came from and all God’s creations are happy that He blessed us with heavenly water. Just hope that there wasn’t too much wind or water damage. Anyway, it’s time for our Bit: ‘For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ Please bear with the ole fella Friends, for another day or two, cause it’s ever so important that we know as much as possible about the workings of the Holy Spirit, since it’s the prime mover and shaker in the lives of true believers. Without knowing what it is and how it works, you’ll be lost as a child of God. And today we’ll look at probably the second most important action of the Spirit in the early days of the church. In Acts 10, we read about Cornelius the centurion, a God-fearing man, having a dream to send for Peter in Joppa. At Joppa, Peter also had a dream telling him to go to Cornelius. (Acts 10:1-23) A day later, they got together in Caesarea, explaining to each other their dreams and reservations, and Peter went to Cornelius’ house, where he found many other God-fearing people. And though it was unlawful for a Jew to associate with Gentiles, Peter realized and said to Cornelius: ‘but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying (objection), as soon as I was sent for…’ (Acts 10:28-29) He was referring to the stuff God had showed him in the dream. Then Peter preached to the Gentiles, opening with these astute remarks, no doubt engendered by the power of the Spirit within him: ”Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons (is impartial): But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.’ (Acts 10:34-35) Then as Peter continued, an amazing thing happened: ‘While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision (the Jews) which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak in tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed (asked) they him to tarry (stay) certain days.’ (Acts 10:44-48) Ah Friends, the mysterious and amazing movements of our God! The promise of Jesus to bring all his sheep together, both Jews and Gentiles was begun right there in granting the power of the Holy Spirit unto the Gentiles too. But as always, when we step out to do God’s will, there’s backlash from supposed authorities. Sometime later, when Peter was back in Jerusalem, the other apostles chastised him for associating with Gentiles, saying, ‘Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter rehearsed (explained) the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by (in) order to them’ (Acts 11:3-4) He explained the dream to them, and the messengers that came for him. ‘And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house. and he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace (became silent), and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.’ (Acts 11:12-18) There my Friends, that’s how we Gentiles, non Jewish people received the Holy Spirit, and from then on became entitled to receive it, once we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ! How great and generous is our God eh? Impartial and caring to all and sundry. May we adopt that attitude, sharing the Word and all that we have with His children, regardless of race, colour, creed or class. That’s what Jesus died to promote! Much LOVE!…the Spirit which indwells a believer…can only do as much, or as little…as the believer allows Him to do…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 March 2012 Psalm 78:32‏

09 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 78:32.   For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
 
Oh my blessed Friends in Christ, it’s Friday! The end of the workweek is here! And all God’s people declared a lusty shout of  ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Whatever tiredness prevailed in their souls, bodies and minds from the week’s struggles was lifted with the thought of the weekend of rest, of fellowship and the praising of God in like-minded company. And to bring all the weekend entails into proper perspective, let’s chant our Friday Chant with godly power. In unison 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.’ Yeh mih people, sometimes the weekend seems busier than the workweek, because we have so much private stuff to do, so that we can get time to go and labour. But instead of worrying too much about the prerogatives of this world, let’s concentrate on those of Jesus and our heavenly home, so that we won’t end up like the Israelites in our Bit: ‘For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.’ It really boggles my imagination when I think about the ungratefulness, lack of faith and trust that permeated the Israelite culture. After the Lord heard their crying about the woeful conditions of their slavery in Egypt, and showed His awesome power by all the plagues He unleashed on Egypt, but not on them. Then when Pharaoh finally allowed them to leave, He found a way for them to leave with a lot of Egypt’s earthly treasure. Furthermore, the Lord parted the Red Sea so that they could get away from the pursuing Egyptian army, then destroyed their pursuers. He kept them away from war by not passing them through the land of the Philistines, led them by a pillar of cloud in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night. And yet they complained about bitter water and no food. So the Lord took care of those in His miraculous ways. But yuh think that meant anything to them. No sir! Neither did they give thanks when He led them to the oasis at Elim. But when they came out of the wilderness of Sin and pitched camp in Rephidim, where there was no water, they quickly got on Moses’ case though. ‘And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me (to death). And the Lord said unto Moses; Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest (struck) the river, take in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah (Tempted), and Meribah (Contention), because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted (tested) the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?’ (Ex.17:3-7) Oh Friends, it’s the same way we have behaved in this last generation; questioning both the presence of God and His goodness to us, after he’d made our way to flourish and prosper when our fathers paid Him His deserved obeisance. Like Israel, we have forgotten where our manna and daily bread come from. ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (Josh.1:8) Yes my people, that’s where the success of an individual, a society, a nation and a world comes from! And that’s why our society has stopped flourishing and is quickly heading downhill, like a snowball hurrying down to Hades, which is where we’ll end up if we don’t change our evil ways and return to the Lord God who created us, protects and provides for us. It’s not rocket science people, just pure and simple common sense. But I forgot that doesn’t exist in our society again. Please let’s get it back, so that our society, our nation and world will survive, not in iniquity, but in righteousness and prosperity. Much LOVE!…only a fool…or a madman…knowingly spoils his own life…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 March 2012 Psalm 78:32‏

07 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 78:32.    For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
 
Oh mih people, as I write this, another beautiful day on God’s wonderful earth is in the offing! And I’m serious, for in my area, in the first week of March, the temperature is supposed to rise up around 12 Celsius. And all God’s people in the northern climes emitted a loud and grateful; ‘Thank you Lord! You are indeed the greatest!’ Now Friends, there’s no disputing that our Lord is the greatest, for He truly is, and the initial revelation of today’s high temp is exceedingly wonderful, on the surface, but deep down, what does it really signify? It really signifies that our weather patterns have indeed gone haywire, no matter how some of us try to deny it. For this winter so far, we’ve gotten almost as many warm days with rain as we’ve gotten cold ones with snow. In the thirty odd years I’ve been in Canada, living in the same general area, I’ve never seen this phenomenon before. Meanwhile, consider the numerous tornadoes that ripped through the U.S. this past week. I can’t remember ever hearing about so many tornadoes in quick succession either. And to bring it full circle parts of Europe and Asia were recently hit by cold spells and blanketed with snow like they haven’t experienced in ages. And we haven’t even taken into consideration the warming of the waters in the Arctic and the melting of the icebergs. Putting it all together Friends, I don’t think it portends much good at all. Between our mishandling of the earth’s attributes, and God’s retribution for our disobedience, a period of climate change has been unleashed that can no longer be called subtle. But has it brought us to our senses? Unfortunately NO! And just like the Israelites, our Bit is a disgraceful condemnation of our modern society. ‘For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.’ Now let’s get some pertinent background on the Israelite situation, so that we can better understand our own. Oh my brethren, our God is so concerned about us that we don’t know the half of it. And why am I saying this? Because I just noticed something in the Good Book that I never noticed before, and it moved me. Don’t know if you ever noticed it, but I find it significant enough to mention. When the Lord took Israel out of Egypt, ‘God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent (change their minds) when they see war, and they return to Egypt: But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed (in orderly ranks) out of the land of Egypt.’ (Ex.13:17-18) But yuh know that made no difference whatsoever, for the Israelites still complained and disobeyed no end while going through the wilderness to the Promised Land, that’s why it took them forty long, hard years, and only Joshua and Caleb from all those who came out of Egypt ever set foot there. The Lord also having promised to lead and guide them, did just that: ‘And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.’ (Ex.13:21-22) He even used the cloud to prevent the Egyptian army camped behind them at the Red Sea from seeing them (Ex.14:20) But they showed no appreciation for that either and instead complained about the army back there ready to slaughter them. The Lord solved that problem by having Moses part the sea, allowing them to cross over on dry land, then engulfed Pharaoh’s army by returning the water to its original position. (Ex.14:21-30) ‘And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared (stood in awe of) the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.’ (Ex.14:31) But for how long my brethren? Only a short period, for after three days in the wilderness without water their complaints began again. And when they did find water, it was bitter and undrinkable (Marah). ‘And the people murmured against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance (regulation), and there he proved (tested) them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will bring none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.’ (Ex.15:24-26) Now that was the first incentive the Lord gave Israel to be obedient unto Him. ‘And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and three score and ten palm trees: and they encamped by the waters:’ Now at Elim, there were no complaints, not a word of dissatisfaction was heard, because the living at that juncture was beautiful. It was a true oasis; 70 palm trees for shade, and 12 wells of fresh, drinkable water. What was there to complain about? Nothing! But please note Friends, there didn’t seem to be any praise and thanks either. Doesn’t that remind you of us? How we complain when things get rough, but when God is generous with us, and things are going good, we forget to give Him praise and thanks. Oh Friends, that’s our ‘ponderation’ for today; where in our lives have we complained, but where also have we not given thanks for God’s goodness. Let’s try and make some amends for our ungrateful behaviour today. Much LOVE!…to return ungratefulness for kindness…is the mark of the unrighteous…