Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 November 2014 Psalm 4:1

02 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 4:1.   Hear me when I call , O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious to me), and hear my prayer.
 
Oh my Friends, it’s Sunday; the Sabbath Day, that blessed day of the Lord, when He rested from all His workweek labour! Oh Glory be! Let’s try and follow His example and do the same today nuh, as much as we can, or allowed to do in this 24/7 society.
 
And that includes fellowshipping with other believers at His sanctuary, where we can increase our faith, hope and trust in Almighty God through communal praise and worship. Yes my people, gathering together to magnify our mighty and magnanimous God is filled with all sorts of rewards.
 
And talking about rewards, here is a poem from that new to me, but old in actual age Devotional – The One Year Book of Bible Promises. The poem is titled ‘Enormous Rewards’ and says: ‘O dear God  Thank you for teaching me  The enormous rewards of walking obediently with You: There is joy without guilt  Freedom without fear  Satisfaction without sordidness  Purpose without confusion Friendship without compromise  Forgiveness without penance  Fulfilment without disappointment.’
 
And the scripture reading that comes with it is: ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;’ (Eph.5:20) Not a bad idea at all my people, in fact a rather wise and advisable one for ALL believers, from the many that Bruh Paul declared.  
 
Now let’s turn to our Bit, where Bruh David is calling out for help through prayer, to the God of his fathers. ‘Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged (relieved) me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me (be gracious to me), and hear my prayer.’
 
Ah mih breddren, that is indeed a most worthy plea, but are our hearts in sync with God’s Word? That’s the big question? As our poem above talks about, are we walking obediently with Him? Hopefully the answer is a vigorous and truthful ‘Yes!’
 
And Bruh David continues thus with his evening prayer of trust in God: ‘O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye LOVE vanity (worthlessness), and seek after leasing (falsehood)?  Selah.
 
But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call upon him. Stand in awe (tremble, be agitated), and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.  Selah. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord.’ (Ps.4:2-5)
 
Oh Friends, we couldn’t get any better advice than that!  Put your trust in God and talk to Him in prayer!
 
And Jesus is our poster boy, our most worthy example of that. Check out the night before His crucifixion, when He went up to the Garden of Gethsemane, and said to the disciples ‘Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder (over there) And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful (grieved) and very heavy (deeply distressed).
 
Then said he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry (stay) ye here and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
 
And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is week.
 
He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except (unless) I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.’ (Matt.26:36-44)
 
Oh Friends, what more do we need to make us believe in the necessity for prayer eh? There we have the Son of God, in His passion, beseeching His heavenly Father for mercy and help to endure His upcoming tribulations. Note too though, that regardless of all His pleas, one thing remained constant; He always acknowledged, it was the Father’s will that would be done.
 
And our prayers ought always to have that same acknowledgement my people. Regardless of what we desire, we must always be prepared to do the Lord’s bidding, to endure His will, because His will is paramount over everything. If Jesus recognized that, then as His followers, we should be wise enough to do so too.  
 
Now let’s look at one more example of the power of prayer: this when Herod kills James and imprisons Peter, having him personally watched by a squad of four soldiers, intending to put him on trial after the Passover. The Good Book relates: ‘Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.’  (Just as Bruh Paul advises in 1 Thess.17)
 
‘And when Herod would have brought (was about to bring) him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers (guards) before the door kept the prison. And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him (stood by), and he smote Peter on the side, and raise him up saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
 
And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist (knew) not that it was true (real) which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
 
When they were past the first and second ward (guard posts), they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
 
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety (for certain), that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.’ (Acts 12:5-11)
 
Yes Friends, that’s the awesome power of sincere prayer! Please let it reassure and encourage us in all our worldly dealings. We do have an omnipotent and merciful God to call upon in times of need. Let’s make full use of that wonderful option, for it is indeed the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
 
…prayer is our number one source of communication with our Creator…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 July 2012 1 Peter 4:7

01 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 4:7.    But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
 
Oh Friends, it’s July first; Canada Day! Wow! And the party’s really hopping now! From the stormy Atlantic in the East, to the mighty Pacific in the west, from the Great Lakes, so aptly named, in the South, to the challenging Arctic in the North, the beautiful people of this beautiful and bountiful land are celebrating the awesome goodness of Jehovah God to the undeserving children of men! Oh Friends, that certainly deserves another ‘Wow!’ (smile) And though many may not realize that it’s God’s goodness, His blessings and mercies that they’re celebrating, anything that produces some peace and happiness amongst brethren is better than that which produces anger, hate and strife. Praise the Lord my people! Praise Him for His never-ending, unconditional LOVE to His greatest creation, Man! And now, having waxed poetic and enthusiastic in celebration, (smile)  it’s time to get down to the serious business, that of truly serving, reverencing and worshipping Almighty God, and preparing our lives for eternity, whenever it comes, as our Bit so wisely suggests: ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.’ Oh Friends, being prepared for when Jesus comes, is possibly the most important step a human can take right now, especially if He should come real soon, like today or tomorrow. If we aren’t ready when He returns, then it’s cleaners for us – eternal separation from the Creator of the universe. And believe me Friends, that’s the worse fate than can ever befall a soul, because it means an eternity of the same hellish atmosphere we currently have here on earth, and none of the joys that Jesus promises in His final kingdom. In His eternal domain, there’ll be no sorrow, pain, tears, sickness, heartaches and unhappiness, just joyful living in His Light, worshipping, praising, serving, reverencing and glorifying Almighty God! Mama Mia! Now Friends, I don’t know about you all, but given a choice between those two situations above, I’m definitely choosing, rather have chosen the latter one with Jesus as leader! That’s a no-brainer, the supreme wisdom of the age! And that’s why I’m preparing as best as I can for that magical day when Jesus establishes His eternal kingdom. I would strongly advise you all to do the same, for remember He can come at any time, in the day, or like a thief in the night, but once He arrives, there’s no turning back, no changing your mind. So I’m pleading with us all RIGHT NOW to get serious about where you want to spend eternity and make the necessary preparations. Otherwise, crapaud smoke yuh pipe! And that’s no joke Friends, for if Jesus comes and you’re not prepared, you’ll find yourself in a rather horrible situation, from which there’s no getting out. And now I’ve got to chuckle because what I wrote yesterday wasn’t what I had planned to write, but the Lord, in His eternal wisdom subtly guided me to those immortal words of His wonderful Son, Jesus, and then I realized that was the proper way to begin, given our Bit. Now this is more like what I’d planned to write. And we’ll start by looking at some relevant scripture from James: ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman (farmer) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; (es)stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (has come near). Grudge (grumble) not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.’ (James 5:7-9) Yes Friends, we have to wait patiently, like the farmer, but first, we have to do our action part; preparing, planting seed in fertile ground, like the farmer. If he had not first planted seed, he could wait until the cows come home (smile) and no fruit would ever appear. Likewise my brethren, we have to get our earthly house in order for whenever Jesus returns, be it right now, or many moons hence. Meanwhile, John declares these oh so truthful sentiments: ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh (physical desires), and the lust of the eyes (personal desires), and the pride of life (self-interests), is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Little children, it is the last time (hour): and as ye have heard that the antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time (hour).’  (1 John 2:15-18) Oh my people, right now our LOVE for this evil, ungodly world is far too great, and that means we’re more interested in Lucifer’s lies, than Jesus truthful promises. But please note that the things of the world will pass away, but those of Jesus will not as He so clearly states: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’ (Matt.24:35) Also from the great number of false preachers and teachers now circulating in our confused and troubled world, it’s just one more indication that the end time is drawing nigh. Remember Jesus gave that as one of His signs in Matt.24:4-5. Now let’s close with appropriate words from Bruh Paul to the Romans. ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law. and that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we (first) believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly (properly), as in the day; not in rioting (revelry) and drunkenness, not in chambering (licentiousness) and wantonness (lewdness), not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.’ (Rom.13:11-14) Yes my people, it’s certainly time for us to wake up to the reality of Christ and what He expects of His believers, for every day the time of His return draws nearer, and instead of bowing to the lusts of our sinful flesh, we should instead be finding ways to do and show works and faith that honour the new life that we all have in Christ. It’s a wonderful Saviour we have my Friends, so let’s show it to a disbelieving world nuh, and for their immense benefit, get them to LOVE Him as much as we do! Much LOVE…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…then respond wisely to what he hears…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 June 2012 1 Peter 4:7

30 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

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

1 Peter 4:7.    But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
 
Oh Friends, the party is just getting into full swing, for this is the weekend we celebrate Canada Day; July 1, our Independence rejoicing! And what a party it’s going to be – from Friday evening right through to Monday night; from the East Coast to the Prairies, across the Rockies to the West Coast! Yes people, from sea to shining sea, we’ll be singing O Canada, privileged to be living in the best big country in the world! Mama Mia! But as always my people, please remember Mama’s warning: ‘Drunk or sober, mind yuh business!’ Unfortunately though Friends, like the rest of the world, we’re slowly sinking, slowly drowning in the dark and dangerous mire of evil and ungodliness that’s sadly overtaking Mother Earth. What a shame that God’s greatest creation, mankind, can so turn against Him and follow the foolish, deceitful, wicked Lucifer to destroy all the wonderful things the Creator has made. However my brethren, for those of us who still believe and try to live godly and righteous lives, the Good Book has this warning in our Bit: ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.’ And that’s the indelible truth my people! Listen to this scripture: ‘And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (age)?’ (Matt.24:3) Now listen to Jesus’ answer: ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers (various) places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (tribulation), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt.24:4-14) Oh Friends, that is the definitive word from the One who should know! And sadly, we’re now seeing a lot of what He predicted coming true: the wars and rumours of wars and the many natural disasters, In other words, ‘the beginning of sorrows.’ But unfortunately, we’re also seeing the widespread persecution of Christians, the offence so easily taken by so many, too many of us have too thin skins, numerous, abnormal and abominable betrayals, plenty hatred, plenty false prophets arising and betraying many innocent sheep, evil and lawlessness are in such abundance that most of the world is living in fear and LOVE is being relegated to the trash heap, along with God, and hearts have become so cold and unfeeling that they seem to be made of stone. And finally, the gospel is being preached much further and wider than it’s ever been preached before, thanks to the communication revolution. What does all of that tell us my brethren? That all the conditions for the end have been set in place like never before. It might yet be a while, who knows? But the wise man won’t take any chances, he’ll get ready right now, if he isn’t already prepared. Oh my people, it certainly won’t hurt if we stay sober and diligent, watching closely what’s happening around us, while staying fervent and faithful in prayer. Now let’s end with some more definitive words of Jesus: ‘Now learn a parable of (from) the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it (he) is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman (master) of the house had known in what watch (hour) the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered (allowed) his house to be broken up (into). Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt.24:32-44) Ah mih Friends, those are words of Jesus, so they must be true! Can our generation be the one where all those signs are fulfilled? It’s certainly possible. Now only the Father knows when the end time will be, but we’ve been given a clue, a comparison to Noah’s time, where the people are pleasure oriented and self gratifying, going about their daily lives without any heed to the warning of approaching judgement, and thus are totally unprepared for it. Oh my people, let’s wake up and smell the roses nuh! The Son’s return will be swift and sudden; the lost won’t know what happened to saved, as they just disappear into thin air. Please let’s get prepared nuh! That is eternal wisdom! Much LOVE!…prevention is better than cure…but alas…at the end…there’ll be no time for cure…so let’s wisely make hay while the sun still shines…
 

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