Today’s Scrip-Bit 11 July 2017 Psalm 42:2.

11 Jul 2017 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 42:2.   My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

Oh friends, welcome to a brand new day with brand new blessings, mercies, and forgiveness! And it was all made especially for us, therefore it is essential that we be glad and enjoy this day that our wonderful God has given us! 

And all God’s people said a loud, proud and grateful: ‘Praise be to God, our Maker, our Helper, our Comforter and our strong Provider! May He reign forever!’ 

And don’t doubt it friends, He will reign forever and ever and ever, because that’s just how strong and powerful and infinite He is! 

Now let’s continue that joyful and grateful tone with which we began by checking out this amazing poem from our One Year Book of Bible Promises with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin, simply titled ‘Roses and Rivers.’ 

Please accompany me, as we pray: ‘O my Father My heart longs for You! Fill me to capacity with Your Spirit…No, Father, I’m sorry – That’s not sufficient. Fill me to overflowing with Your Spirit And then increase my capacity That there might still be more overflow. 

Out of my life May there flow rivers And rivers And still more rivers of Living Water Bringing relief, release And exhilarating refreshment To a bruised and broken world Where thirst can never be quenched Apart from You.’ 

Mama Mia! Isn’t that just beautiful my people! It surely is! And not just for how it sounds, but also for the sentiments it invokes; truly Christ-like desires that ought to come from the hearts of all believers. 

Please, let’s allow those sentiments to be spoken from our hearts today, as we walk in friendship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for if we do, they will certainly keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to God the Father. 

And the Bible Promise for that poem is one that we all know and have written in our hearts. ‘In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38) 

Yeh mih bredden, yeh! It’s promises like those that we must fill our hearts and minds with, so that we can live the prosperous, righteous and abundant life that our Lord has promised to all who believe in Him! 

Wow! With Promises like those, I don’t see how some believers, or rather any believer, cannot live a joyful, Christ-filled life! 

And the only reason I can see why believers are not sincerely joyful most of the time is because deep down, they don’t truly seek or wish for the Lord. They don’t have the hunger and thirst for Him as depicted in our Bit. ‘My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?’ 

Yes friends, when we truly hunger and thirst for God, sincerely seek His righteousness, then our souls overflow with his goodness and mercy. Listen to the sons of Korah as they sing from Psalm 84 – Blessed are they that dwell in thy house. 

‘How amiable are thy tabernacles (how lovely are thy dwellings), O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. 

Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will still be praising thee.   Selah.’ (Ps.84:1-4) 

That’s how the pilgrim feels when he has completed his long and difficult pilgrimage to God’s house in Jerusalem. 

Then he continues: ‘Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca (weeping) make it a well (spring); the rain also filleth the pools (covers them with blessings). 

They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God (appears before God in Zion). O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob.   Selah. 

Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed (commissioned one). For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper (stand in the threshold) in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.’ (Ps.84:5-12)  

Oh friends, what more can I say eh? The pilgrim says it all: Blessed are those who dwell in the Lord’s temple, blessed are those who come to it, and blessed are those who trust in the Lord. If that doesn’t speak mightily to our hearts, then I don’t know what will. 

That brings us to our Tuesday Mantra. Let’s declare it now as though we truly know and believe it. In unison and strong voice: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And if it’s truly true (smile), then let’s go out and share that magnificent friendship with Jesus and His extraordinary LOVE with others nuh. He’s depending on us to raise His Name throughout the earth. Much LOVE!

…truly seeking Jesus…and sincerely living for Him…oh…it’s the most beautiful and fulfilling vocation in the world…

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 April 2016 James 1:25‏

22 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

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

James 1:25.   But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (in what he does.

Well mih people, the day that we all seem to crave has finally come around again – it’s Friday! 

And you know that means joyful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! The weekend’s here! No more labour, no more sweat! Time to party, time to fete! Thank you God for Fridays and the two days off from slaving for massa! Only wish everyday was Friday!’ 

Yeh friends, don’t we all wish that everyday was Friday. Only thing about that is if we didn’t work, we wouldn’t eat nor have a roof over our heads. So though it sounds real good, it’s not practical in the real world. Neither is too much partying and feting. Moderation and contentment should be our motto, not extremes. 

Anyway, since today is Friday, let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a much better perspective on the use of the weekend. As one chanter 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.’ 

Yes my brethren, the weekend ought to be one of rest and revitalization and worship, with elements of partying so that we can have the necessary wherewithal to go back out next week, strong and ready to do Jesus’ work. 

And here I want to mention a little thing I heard brother Corville (Corville Peters) from the Christian call in t.v. show ‘Live At the Cross,’ say recently. He said: ‘At the cross, where heaven met earth, and hate met LOVE, and LOVE overcame.’ 

Oh friends, how true that all is! Whenever hate meets LOVE, LOVE will ALWAYS prevail, because LOVE is by far the stronger of the two emotions. To LOVE under difficult and unfair circumstances as we Christians are supposed to do, is not easy. 

And that’s why for some of us, LOVING is more difficult to do than hating. But LOVE is what we should be all about, because that’s our vocation as true believers in Jesus Christ. 

And with those awesome words of wisdom, (smile) let’s turn to out Bit. ‘But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (in what he does.’ More words of indisputable truth my friends! 

And we’ll continue where we left off yesterday with Christ talking about the law, that He didn’t come to destroy it but to fulfill it. ‘For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot (Gr. iota) or one tittle (smallest stroke in a Hebrew word) shall in no wise (by no means) pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’ (Matt.5:18) 

And the scholars explain that thus: ‘5:18. Verily I say is a unique form used by Jesus throughout His preaching to draw attention to the authority of His message.

Verily (Gr. amen) means “truly” or “certainly.” It is used as a designation of authoritative teaching. One jot or one tittle refers to the most minute letter and marks of the Hebrew alphabet. 

He explained that even the smallest statement in the law must be fulfilled. A “jot” (yodh) is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It functions as a Y in English and looks similar to an apostrophe. A tittle is a small projection on the edge of certain Hebrew letters to distinguish them from one another.’ 

So we see friends, that the law is still, and will always be of supreme importance in our lives. And Jesus continues: ‘Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt.5:19) 

And here’s what the scholars have to say about that. ‘5:19. Because of the seriousness of the law, Jesus emphasizes the importance of keeping even its smallest details. However, in the ultimate plan of God, the law was not to become an extra burden on the souls of men. 

Rather than pointing the way to salvation, the law convinced men of the need of the Saviour. Therefore, whoever shall teach men so but shall not live what he teaches, he shall be made least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach the principles and precepts of the law shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

This simply means that God will reward the faithfulness and effectiveness of our lives, and there will be varying degrees of blessing and reward in heaven.’ 

Ah mih breddren, yuh see it all comes right back to the old saying, about practicing what we preach. In our Christian faith, it’s not right or lawful to say one thing and then do another. 

And in closing today, I want us to ponder our individual lives and see to what extent that is a factor in them, because we all do some of it, at various times, to a certain degree. 

And as always, with God’s help, let’s try and banish that sort of behaviour from our lives, for as we can see from Jesus’ teaching, it is a critical aspect in our heavenly rewards and blessings. Much LOVE!

…a practicing Christian…must always try to practice…whatever he or she preaches…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 April 2016 Exodus 33:14

09 Apr 2016 Leave a comment

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

Exodus 33:14.   And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

And then it was Saturday, and the next couple days in my area are supposed to be cold and snowy and wet and rainy. Steups! Whatever happened to that thing called spring eh? In winter we didn’t get any snow, and now in what’s supposed to be spring, it’s too often cold and snowy! Chuh! And yet they insist that climate change is not real. 

But anyway, whether it is real or not, we believers in Jesus Christ don’t have to let it worry us. Oh yes, the weather will become irascible like many of us, (smile) but we can’t afford to allow that to dictate our lives, that ought to be done by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  

So to help us handle all the unwanted stuff we have to handle, let’s pray this prayer taken from a Devotional titled ‘A Journey of LOVE. Walking with St. Therese of Liseux’ – The Saint of the Little Flower. I’ve shared it before, but in these troubled times, times of hate and anger and doubt and all the negative stuff that’s predominant in our world, we need something to counteract that negativity. 

And the only thing able to do that is LOVE, and we have been assigned the vocation of LOVE. So let’s pray for help in our vocation. Please pray with me: ‘Jesus, I desire above all else to centre my life in you. Only you can give me the courage to face up to my responsibilities, to be compassionate and forgiving, to let go of what is not important and to embrace what is important. 

I am called to accept and to cherish your LOVE for me and to allow your LOVE to go out from me to all your people, Help me to walk in your steps without compromise and to be open to your presence in all of the people I meet. I make my prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.’ 

Yes friends, the irony of it all is that we cannot do God’s work without God’s help! And the most effective way to receive that help is through prayer.  The Lord has promised that when we diligently and sincerely seek Him, He will be found by us. That’s why prayer is so important in a believer’s life. 

That’s also why Bruh Paul told the Ephesians to pray ALWAYS; (Eph.6:18) the Thessalonians to pray WITHOUT CEASING; (1 Thess.5:17) and his young protégé Timothy to pray EVERYWHERE. (1 Tim:2:8) So to all intents and purposes, prayer MUST BE an integral part of a believer’s life, because in doing so we will always be in the presence of God, which is ever so important for our earthly journey. 

Moses, one of God’s greatest prophets was adamant about not continuing the journey through the wilderness if the Lord’s presence was not going to be with him. That is even after God promised in our Bit: ‘And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ 

Ah mih people, without God’s wonderful presence in our lives, innumerable trials and tribulations will come our way, from which we’ll have little or no leeway to escape. However, when we are basking in the Father’s presence, we are assured of His help to get through the difficulties, though not necessarily complete escape. 

That’s because He has promised to work everything out for the good of those who LOVE Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom.8:28) And if there’s one thing we can rest comfortably on, is that our ever-faithful God NEVER reneges on His promises. 

Now let’s look at some scripture that exalts the glory and wisdom of being in God’s presence. And we can’t talk about that without including words from Bruh David’s heartfelt declarations. This comes from Psalm 31 – In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. 

‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence (secret place) from the pride (plots) of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion (shelter) from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city. 

For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee. O LOVE the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart.’ (Ps.31:19-24) 

And we can’t argue with Bruh David because in spite of his mistakes, he was still considered a man after God’s own heart, so intense was His longing for Him. 

Meanwhile, in Jeremiah, when the Lord is dealing with the false prophets, He promises: ‘Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’(Jer.23:39-40) 

Yes friends, that’s the kind of thing that happens when we are cast out of God’s presence. Please pray that it never happens to us. And we’ll end with this great example from the prophet Jonah. 

The Lord had said to Jonah: ‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry (out) against it: for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.’ (Jon.1:2-3) 

Now how foolish was that eh my brethren? As a prophet, a man of God, Jonah should have known better than that. And we all know the story of the terrible storm that arose, due to Jonah’s disobedience, and how he was thrown overboard and spent three days and nights in the belly of a great fish, before coming to his senses and repenting. And the Lord in His great mercy and LOVING-kindness forgave him and gave him a second chance. 

Oh my fellow believers, fleeing from the Lord is not easy if He doesn’t want us to flee. But why should we want to flee from Him anyhow eh, when He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Creator and Provider of all? That’s certainly not wisdom. So please, let’s be wise today and seek the Lord’s presence rather than try to flee from it. Much LOVE!

…the Christian’s desire ought to be…to continually seek God’s face…and to continually bask in His presence…