Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 September Galatians 6:1

03 Sep 2015 Leave a comment

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

Galatians 6:1.   Brethren, if a man be overtaken (caught) in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Well a beautiful Thursday morning to you my Friends and neighbours in these last days of summer 2105! And this past week has indeed been true summer days; hot and hazy. So much so that the parched ground is crying out for drink, for rain, for heavenly blessings to keep everything from drying up and being scorched to a dull and dead brown. 

Ah mih breddren, it surely seems that these days when it’s not one thing, it’s another. Life doesn’t seem to flow along smoothly anymore, and our world just seems to lurch from one crisis to another. 

Blessedly though, as children of the Most High God, we don’t have to be overly concerned about anything, because He has promised to look after us in whatever situation we may find ourselves. And we know that our God is a most faithful Deity. 

However, we do have our part to play in the unfurling of the universe, and here are some worthwhile ideas from an anonymous Irishman from the Hour of Power Devotional, which I believe I might have shared long ago, but which today are definitely worth sharing again. 

Listen closely. ‘Take time for work, it is the price of success. Take time to think, it is the source of power. Take time to play, it is the secret of youth. Take time to read, it is the fountain of wisdom. Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness. Take time to dream, it’s hitching your wagon to a star. Take time to LOVE, it is the highest joy of life. Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul’ 

Oh Friends, what wonderful advice! And if we would only take it and adapt it to our own lives, we would be so much happier and useful in these trying times. The sad fact though, is that most of us know all those things, but we just don’t put them into action and practice them, therefore our lives are not as worthwhile as they ought to be. 

But as they say, ‘you can only lead a horse to water, you can’t make it drink.’ So despite all the wise and wonderful advice we might get, if we don’t accept it and use it, then technically speaking it’s useless. 

That brings us to today’s Bit; an eloquent, though quite important aspect of our Christian beliefs. ‘Brethren, if a man be overtaken (caught) in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.’ 

Ah mih people, that is indeed a big responsibility, but one we need to seriously address nonetheless. And the scholars give us some interesting explanations. 

‘6:1. In a fault (or, “by some transgression”). The sin in view is a deliberate overstepping of divine boundaries. Ye which are spiritual refers to those who walk by the Spirit (5:16), in whose life the fruit of the Spirit is found (5:22-23). The man who is overtaken by willful sin is also a Christian, but he has not been walking by the Spirit. The spiritual brethren are to restore the erring brother. 

This word is used of mending fishing nets (Matt.4:21) and of people mending their ways (2 Cor.13:11). Restore means therefore to bring back a person to his former moral condition. The word was also used in secular Greek for setting broken bones, which has to be done gently. So the church is to restore the lapsed in the spirit of meekness (i.e. gentleness). 

The grievous and sensitive wounds caused by sin must be handled delicately. Considering thyself: Those restoring the fallen must individually keep constant watch over their own lives. The spiritual man can be morally dragged down as he deals with the sin of his carnal counterpart.’ 

Yes Friends, to a certain extent we are our Christian brother’s keeper. We all ought to walk in the Spirit, but when we do fall, we must be assisted back to faith by our Christian brethren. But note though, in gentleness, not the harsh and brutal way that we tend to do it; severely criticizing the fallen brother or sister and spreading all sorts of gossip about them. 

Most importantly though my people, when we are trying to help another, we must pay very careful attention to our own circumstances lest we get dragged down by the same moral ineptitude of those we are trying to help. And I know that many of us will claim that that can’t happen to us. But you would be surprised at how easily it can happen. 

And we’ll end with some more pertinent words from Bruh Paul, this time to the Ephesians, re the unity of the Spirit. ‘I therefore, the prisoner of (in) the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation (calling) wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness (gentleness), with long-suffering, forbearing (bearing with) one another in LOVE; 

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’ (Eph.4:1-6). 

Yes Friends, there is only ONE of several things, and though we are individuals, we are all a part of that ONE, and we need to keep that ONE as tight knit, faithful and fruitful as we can. This therefore behooves us to walk in a manner fitting the divine invitation, (calling) which brought us to salvation. 

And all of God’s children said, ‘Praise the Lord! Glory Hallelujah!’ 

So please, let’s go out today and do whatever it takes to keep that ONENESS in Almighty God. Much LOVE!

…everything flows from ONE…ONE God…ONE Saviour…ONE Holy Spirit…and ONE Body…the Church…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 December 2013 1 Corinthians 12:12

12 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 12:12.    For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

 
Ah Friends, as I keep saying, when it’s not one thing, it’s always another! The past few days the main C.P. unit of my computer has been acting up, throwing hissy fits and tantrums, and having solved that, now today it’s the printer.
 
Earlier on, it kept telling me that the yellow cartridge was empty, or it couldn’t detect it. But I know it’s full, and only a couple of days ago I printed stuff. So I put something to print, but it kept telling me the same nonsense. Then, like it asked, I took out the yellow cartridge a few times and put it back in ‘slowly’ as advised. But I kept getting the same result.
 
Then in a small fit of anger I slapped it a couple times. And lo and behold, it finally recognized the yellow cartridge and printed the document without a problem. Oh Friends, I had to chuckle, but it’s the same thing we need to do with some of the spoiled brats we have running around our society.
 
The funny thing though is it’s now telling me that the yellow cartridge is full and the black one, which was just showing as being full, is now very low.
 
Ah Lord eh! Now why would I want to have all that temperamental equipment around me eh? Software is now running everything, and like rebellious children, at times it chooses to do its own thing.
 
Oh for the wonderful mechanical things of yesteryear! At least when they acted up, you knew it was a mechanical problem and had some idea of where to look for it. And that’s my rant for the day! (smile)
 
Now let’s get to our Bit, the same as yesterday, for there is more scripture to be shared on it. ‘For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.’
 
Now yesterday we saw where Bruh Paul declared the ONENESS of our great and wonderful Triune God, in both the Holy Communion and the Holy Spirit. Today, let’s listen as he tells the Ephesians about that ONE GOD.
 
‘There is ONE body, and ONE Spirit, even as ye are called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.’ (Eph.4:4-7)
 
And here are some of the scholars’ thoughts on the scripture. ‘4:4-6. This passage elaborates on the “unity of the Spirit” (v.3). This ONENESS among Christians refers to having (1) one body – the one body of Christ, the Christian church; (2) one Spirit – the same Holy Spirit who imparts the same spiritual life to all believers; 
 
(3) one hope – all Christians share the same future certainty and are headed toward the same heavenly destination; (4) one Lord – all submit to the same divine ruler, Jesus; (5) one faith – all believers have placed the same trust in Christ for salvation;
 
(6) one baptism – Holy Spirit baptism at the time of salvation (1 Cor. 12-13); and (7) one God and Father – all believers in Christ have the same God and heavenly Father.’
 
Oh Friends, I couldn’t put it any better, and I hope that ONENESS that ought to exist in all Christian relationships has finally found root in our hearts, because without that most necessary understanding, and subsequent action, Christ’s church, His LOVE Revolution would simply fail.
 
Now here is some more info from the scholars’ that ought to help us better understand the scripture that we’ve read. ‘4:7. But draws a sharp contrast with the preceding “unity” (v.3), expressed in the seven fold “one” of verses 4-6 and in the fourfold “all” of verse 6.
 
The contrast in verses 7-16 shows that there is a diversity within Christian unity: while the church is one, there is a variety of spiritual gifts within, given for the church’s benefit. Grace is a spiritual gift. Every one of us has been granted some spiritual capability to serve God and contribute to the church’s growth.
 
According to the measure of the gift of Christ: Jesus determines both what gift each believer is given, and the amount (measure) of that gift. Two persons may be given the same gift, but one may have a greater measure of that gift than does the other.’
 
Oh Friends, that’s just a natural fact of life that as true believers we must learn to accept, and stop letting it build jealousy, resentment and dissension amongst us, because that’s exactly what happens when we look at the gifts of others and compare them to ours.
 
In the long run we’ll either get too proud and figure that we’re better than them, or feel inferior, thinking we’re not good enough. I know it’s difficult to do, because human nature simply thrives on comparison, and unfortunately each option has negative consequences.
 
But as fellow believers we must learn to realize that it’s not about us, individually, but about us as a totality, Christ’s church, and resist and let go of whatever negative feelings may crop up. Sadly though these negative comparisons and resentment and jealousies are rampant in the church.
 
Oh my people, they’re like a serious rot in Christ’s body that we need to eradicate as soon as possible, because if it gets any worse, the church will eventually fall apart, and that’s something we can’t afford to let happen on our watch.
 
So my brethren, as of today, let’s stop comparing gifts and whatever else that causes jealousy and resentment in the body of Christ nuh. And instead let’s start feeling good and glad and grateful for all the gifts that Christ has given us, so that we can accomplish our purpose here on earth, namely to glorify God and further His righteous kingdom.
 
Now that’s divine wisdom in all its splendour! Much LOVE!
 
…in Christ’s church…self…should be a little thought of or used term…