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 21 September 2013 Matthew 16:18

21 Sep 2013 Leave a comment

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

Matthew 16:18.    And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter (a stone) and upon this rock (large rock) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Oh Friends, it’s one more morning, one more day! And though it looks like it might be a rainy day in my area, it certainly won’t stop the outpouring of new mercies, blessings, manna and forgiveness from heaven above. Don’t you just LOVE the faithfulness and LOVING-kindness of our wonderful God? Nothing stops His daily benevolence to His children, although we most often don’t deserve it.
 
And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful shout of, “Praise the Lord God Jehovah for His unceasing goodness to the children of sinful men!’ And that’s certainly how it ought to be my brethren!
 
Anyway, I want to clear up something that I said yesterday, which was, and is liable to cause some confusion. In the last scripture I spoke of getting some wise words ‘from the Rock – Petros, Peter.’ Thankfully one of my readers pointed out the problem, that some people would take it to mean that Peter was the ‘Rock’ on which Christ intended to build His church.
 
And this would be totally plausible after reading our Bit. ‘And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter (a stone) and upon this rock (large rock) I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ 
 
Now let’s get some background on it. This scripture came up after Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. And the ever bright and feisty Simon chirped up: ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona (son of Jonah): for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.16:16-17)
 
Jesus was saying there that Simon had achieved that conclusion through spiritual insight. Then He launched into our Bit.
 
I believe the problem comes from the translation of the Greek words used in the original; ‘Petros and Petra.’ The first, ‘Petros’ which we translate as Peter, apparently means a small stone, while ‘Petra,’ means a large rock. The distinction has obviously gotten lost in the English translation. And though Jesus’ next words tend to convey the ‘Rock’ meaning, we’ll see differently afterwards.
 
After our Bit, Jesus tells Peter: ‘And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matt.16:19)
 
But Jesus says the same words to all the apostles later on when talking about lost sheep. ‘Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matt.18:18)
 
Now hear the scholars take on the subject. ’16:18. The Greek word used for rock (petra) is played against the name Peter (Gr. Petros). Some use this passage to teach that Peter was the foundation stone of the church, that he had a primacy among the apostles, and that he became Bishop of Rome. The verse will scarcely bear the first of these propositions, and certainly none of the others.
 
Peter may be meant by the rock, but he is not the exclusive foundation. For the twelvefold foundation of the apostles of the church, see Ephesians 2:20 and Revelation 21:14. This seems borne out by the fact that the same words are spoken to all the disciples in Matthew 18:18 as are spoken to Simon Peter in 16:19. Therefore the rock or foundation of the church is the confession (ultimately, the doctrine) of the apostles, which became normative for the true church.’
 
Oh Friends, I surely hope that clears up any confusion my words may have caused yesterday. And to make life easier for us all, (smile) I’ll quote two of the other appropriate scriptures the scholars referenced, beginning with the one from Revelation. Here John is talking about the New Jerusalem which an angel spiritually carried him away to see. ‘And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in (on) them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.’ (Rev.21:14)
 
Obviously Peter was not the only foundation stone of the church, though he played a large part in its creation and continuation. Now turning to the Ephesians scripture. Bruh Paul is here telling them about the unity of all believers.
 
‘Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed (being joined) together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord.’ (Eph.2:19-21)
 
Yes my brethren, Jesus came and tore down all the barriers between Jews and Gentiles, ripped down the veil of the old temple and laid the foundation of His church on the work of the apostles and prophets, with Him being the corner stone.
 
As Jesus said when relating the parable of the wicked husbandmen: ‘Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner (cornerstone): this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?’  (Matt.21:42)
 
There Jesus is quoting the words of the psalmist, (Ps.118:22-23) words that were written long before He came to earth in human form, thus again proving the importance of the Old Testament as a foreshadowing of the New.
 
Ah mih people, I do hope that today’s message will bring some clear or even clearer insight into the rock situation with Peter. He was important in the foundation of Christ’s church, but not the rock, or even the chief stone. Much LOVE!
 
…the Church’s ONE foundation…is Jesus Christ her Lord…She is His new creation…by water and the Word…