1 Peter 3:13. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
Oh Friends, it’s Monday…! And by gosh, I hear a group of people loudly declaring; ‘TGIM! Thank God it’s Monday! Yeahhh! Time to go back to work! I can’t wait to get back out there and do my thing!’
Mama Mia! Am I hearing right I wondered in great concern. Yes Friends, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. And I gladly thought; they must be believers in Jesus Christ, because only such devoted followers would be so happy to go back out to work after a weekend of rest and good fellowship with other believers!
Okay, so I was dreaming, since most of Jesus’ people are still grouchy and complaining on a Monday morning. And the people thanking God for Monday was a group of partying Irishmen, dressed in green, from head to toe, already deep into their figurative cups, while literally holding up their green containers with green beverages, getting an early start on the St. Paddy’s Day celebrations.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day my people! So don’t forget to be attired in green today, having your green cup filled with your green beverage, as well as your green, three-leafed shamrock, and your personal leprechaun (Irish fairy) as you celebrate the Irish culture. That’s the legend of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who supposedly drove all the snakes out of the country, while converting the pagan hordes there to Catholicism.
One interesting part of the legend is that St. Paddy used the three-leafed shamrock to teach the people about the Holy Trinity; the Three in One aspect. Now that sounds like an excellent idea, as it’s always more beneficial to use stuff that people are accustomed to, to help them understand other stuff, like Jesus used the sheep and shepherd analogy to teach the Jews, since they were a sheep-herding nation.
However Friends, though you don’t like to hear it, on all such days of much celebration, it’s very advisable to keep Granny’s advice right up front: drunk or sober, mind your business, because those green beverages can pack a mighty wallop and cause us to open a space for the roaring lion Beelzebub to enter and disrupt our lives.
And now, after all that whatever you want to call it, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn the same way those Irishmen were singing in my dream – in a loud voice, but with much better harmony. (smile)
As one harmonious choir now, let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yes mih people, let’s burst out now on an unsuspecting and non expectant world, showering them with LOVE and kindness, the hallmarks of Jesus!
For as Peter so rightly asks in our Bit: ‘And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?’ Nobody should my brethren! But in these very evil, selfish and ungodly times, anything is possible.
That’s why Peter, in talking about suffering and reward continues thus: ‘But and if ye suffer for righteousness sake, happy (blessed) are ye: and be not afraid of their terror (threats), neither be troubled; But sanctify (set apart) the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer (a defence) to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (reverential awe):
Having a good (clear, void of offence) conscience that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation (conduct) in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing than for evil doing.’ (1 Pet.3:14-17)
Yes Friends, it’s not always easy serving Jesus, but we have to stand strong and do what He desires of us, not considering the suffering we might endure down here on earth, but casting our eyes heavenward, with expectant faith and hungry hope, knowing that the rewards there will be worth all the suffering down here. And in that respect too, it’s always better to suffer for good rather than bad stuff, although it just doesn’t seem right. But that’s the way Jesus operates.
And on that point, here is a note from the scholars’. ‘3:17. In the will of God we are sometimes called on to suffer for well-doing as a testimony to others.’
For as we said the other day, examples that people can see, always work better than words that they can only hear. Now with all of that firmly planted and entrenched in our hearts, souls and minds, let’s go out into the crazy, troubled, calamitous, disaster laden world and show them what Jesus’ people are really all about; that we are made of much sterner stuff than they think!
And may the Lord bless and keep us, give us His wisdom, peace and strength to fight the good fight in His Holy Name! Much LOVE, my fellow believers!
…when a man’s ways please the Lord…he maketh even his enemies…to be at peace with him… (Prov.16:7)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 March 2014 1 Peter 3:13
17 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
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Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 March 2014 Romans 12:9
10 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abhor evil, accolades, adrenalin, anger, aura of love, bitterness, bounden duty, Bruh Paul, carnival merriment, charity, chastised, Christ fever, Christ's service, Christian, Christian's conduct, christianity, clean heart, cling to good, confidence, conquerors, debts, dissimulation, enthusiasm, faith, false concern, false doctrine, fraud, frustrations, genuine, glorious kingdom, going through the motions, good conscience, gospel truth, greed, hissing of teeth, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, hypocrisy, iniquity, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, LOVE, love thy neightbour as thyself, LOVE Walk, meet the enemy in battle, moans and groans, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, negative stuff, outward piety, Pharisees, positive difference, pure heart, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, right heart, right spirit, righteousness., sally forth, sincere faith, sincerity, spiritual armour, strife, take a strong stand, taunts. lies, theatre of strife, time is of the essence, True LOVE, trust, truthfulness, unfeigned, ungodly world, useful purpose, war, weary souls, week of work, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Romans 12:9. Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.
And then the day dawned on a joyful Monday… And all I can hear in the background are moans and groans, hissing of teeth, and a few deleted expletives thrown in for good measure. (smile)
So Friends, I take it that you all are still tired from all the carnival merriment, but please don’t take out your frustrations on me, for I am just the messenger sent to remind you that you have to get up and go out and labour. Yes, you have to go out and earn the money for next year’s mas costume, or to pay back the money you borrowed to buy this year’s. Hn, hn!
Oh yes mih people, it’s ever so easy to borrow, but to pay back… Brother, we behave like it’s pulling teeth – and that’s without any anaesthetic. However, as a true, blue blooded Christian, you have to pay your debts, both to man and God. And you can’t repay either party by lying in bed moaning and groaning, bemoaning your sad and sorry state, a state that you created in the first place.
So let’s stop all the complaining RIGHT NOW, because it doesn’t help matters any, just makes them worse. Let’s simply get up and get ourselves together. And to help us get the adrenalin flowing, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with whatever gusto you can muster.
All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh brother, some of those voices sure sound hoarse and croaky! (smile) However, it’s not our actual voices that matter right now nuh, but the Christ fever that’s throbbing through our veins. So let’s get out into the ungodly world and join our fearless Leader, Jesus Christ, who is already at the front lines, rearing to get at the unbelievers, but unfortunately, He can’t do so without our help. So please, let’s get a move on, for time is of the essence.
And even more important than time in Christ’s service are the two statements contained in our Bit. ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). Abhor that which is evil; cleave (cling) to that which is good.’
Yes Friends, in the stellar words of Bruh Paul to the church at Rome, our LOVE Walk should be without hypocrisy, certainly not like that which Jesus chastised the Pharisees for: ‘Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity (lawlessness).’ (Matt.23:28)
And the scholars have an interesting note on our Bit: ’12:9. Without dissimulation (lit. “without hypocrisy”). The Christian’s conduct in the local church toward fellow believers is to be a volitional caring for others, LOVING faithfully in spite of the response received. The LOVE is to be genuine and unfeigned.’
And tied right into all of that, is this directive from Bruh Paul to Timothy, in his warning against false doctrine. ‘Now the end (purpose) of the commandment is charity (LOVE) out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere faith).’ (1 Tim.1:5)
Oh yes my fellow believers, it’s made very clear there, that doing Jesus’ work calls for TRUE LOVE for one’s neighbour, from a right heart. We shouldn’t be just going through the motions to impress those around us, for then we’re doing the Pharisees’ thing; looking for outward accolades, but with unclean and lying innards.
Remember too that though you can fool your fellow man with your outward piety and false concern, you can’t fool your heavenly Father, because it’s your heart that He examines to determine your truthfulness, your sincerity.
And we’ll end with another of Bruh Paul’s admonitions, this time to the Galatians. ‘For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.’ (Gal.5:14-15)
Unfortunately though my brethren, we are NOT fulfilling the law to any great extent because we’re not really showing TRUE LOVE to our neighbours or ourselves. Consequently, we’re consuming each other in anger, strife, bitterness, wars, depressions, greed, fraud, resentment and the whole host of other negative stuff that’s currently controlling our rapidly declining world.
Oh Friends, it’s up to us, true believers and followers of Christ to take a strong stand, to try and change that unwise attitude that’s permeated our world, and is now steadily destroying it. So let’s get right on it today nuh, for as you can see and hear, everyday, a new theatre of strife and war is being opened somewhere in our disaster filled universe.
And that doesn’t mean that the old ones have ended, it just means that they are being relegated to yesterday’s news, with still no sensible and useful solutions in sight. So for the sake of our children and their offspring, please, I’m pleading with us, let’s do something(s) to make a positive difference today nuh. It’s Jesus’ avid desire, and our bounden duty. Much LOVE!
…create in me a clean heart, O God…and renew a right (generous) spirit within me… (Ps.51:10)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 February 2014 2 Timothy 3:16
24 Feb 2014 Leave a comment
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2 Timothy 3:16. All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Well well mih lovelies, it’s Monday once again! What a way the weekend flies by! Unfortunately it’s time to rise and shine and get out into the world and spread our highly flavoured and tasty salt, and our bright and shining lights, as Jesus asked and expects of us, His true followers. (Matt.5:13-16)
It’s no use whining and complaining that we’re tired and feeling low down, because we spent the weekend partying and overdoing it, instead of resting and getting ready for the new work week. Being negative will only make matters worse, so let’s just get a move on with the help of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Please put some real heart and soul in it now. (smile)
‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Yes Friends, yuh feel the miracle that worked in your spirit! That’s what sincere prayer does! And now that we’ve got the adrenalin pumping, let’s go out there on the battlefield of the world and do our thing nuh, make Jesus proud of us, by helping others and doing good, just like He did when He was here on earth. (Acts 10:38)
And if we believe that, then we also ought to believe what our Bit says: ‘All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’
Ah mih people, so many arguments, and so much strife has occurred down through the ages over the veracity of the Bible, that it’s best we either believe it in its entirety, or don’t believe it at all. On this matter there can be no fence sitting.
Now let’s talk a little about the last part of our Bit, which declares that the scriptures weren’t only written through God’s inspiration but also ‘is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.’
First up is Bruh Paul speaking to the Roman church, re Unity in Christ, and how we ought to help, please and edify each other more than ourselves, for even Christ didn’t please Himself. (Rom.15:1-3) ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience (perseverance) and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.’ (Rom.15:4)
So true, my fellow believers, so true! The scriptures surely provide us with the strength to persevere, be comforted, and have hope, without which, we’d never be able to function properly as Christians.
And here’s Bruh Paul again, this time talking to the Corinthians, re early Israel’ being a warning example, when enroute to the Promised Land, twenty something thousand of them died of the plague in one day, because they had turned from the God of their fathers to worship the pagan deity Baal-peor. (Num. 25)
‘Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition (instruction), upon whom the ends of the world (ages) are come.’ (1 Cor.10:11)
Yes Friends, God knew that the Corinthians and many other societies would follow the disobedience of Israel, and end up in crisis mode with Him. And that’s why He had all those examples recorded for the benefit of those to come, since mankind’s basic nature would still be sinful and prone to disobedience and rebellion.
So please, let’s pay serious attention to the warnings contained in the scriptures, especially as we are now at a very high state of evildoing, and a rather low one of godliness, and there are several signs that the end times are nigh. And unfortunately Friends, once that happens, once Jesus returns, if you’re not safely and securely ensconced in His chosen fold, then crapaud smoke yuh pipe, you’ll be left out in utter darkness, looking in on those who believed, enjoying the light of Christ.
And we’ll end this series of messages on the inspiration of God on the scriptures with a very pertinent plea from Peter, where’s he’s referring to the scriptures as being all grounded in truth. ‘We have also a more sure word of prophecy (the prophetic word made more sure); whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation (origin). For the prophecy came not in old (any) time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ (2 Pet.1:19-21)
Oh Friends, we couldn’t end on a better passage of scripture than that, because it’s the truth of all truths! So please, I’m pleading with all my heart, please don’t let that happen to you. Please be wise and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, RIGHT NOW, for that’s heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…when Jesus comes again…and that could be any time…it will be too late to whimper…if only I had believed…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 February 2014 Ephesians 1:3
03 Feb 2014 Leave a comment
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Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday… And poor me, ah crying because is only three days left before I have to leave God’s Little Acre and return to the cold, dark, North Country. Steups! But what yuh going to do eh? Them’s the breaks! So you just have to grin and bear it. And most importantly, I know that our great and wonderful God will bless me wherever He leads me on His beautiful planet Earth.
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 January 2014 Psalm 5:3
20 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
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Psalm 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday: Monday 20 January 2014! The year that the Lord God Jehovah will make a mighty impact on this planet Earth, that He created! Fellow believers, this year we’re going to receive such a wake up call that we’ll be unable to avoid the Lord’s call to arms.
Today’s Scrip-Bit 13 January 2014 Psalm 5:3
13 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a believer's life, adrenalin flowing, aura of love, awaken joyfully, blessings, courageous leader, crass demeanour, crossroads of decision, cursing, direct my prayer, diseased soul, early in the morning, earnest prayer, enemy's ranks, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, evil ungodly world, excellent advice, faint, fearless, further God's glorious kingdom, groaning, guidance, healing, holy spirit, humble servants, humbly ask, imperative, importance of prayer, important decisions, inspiring words, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping families together, lies, man's body, meditation, men ought to pray, miracles, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, motors revved up, necessary changes, new week of work, not afraid, not lose heart, Oh Lord God Almighty, persitent prayer, positive frame of mind, praise Your Holy Name, preaching of the gospel, protective spiritual armour, public preaching, recognition, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth with confidence, seek guidance, sinful mortals, Son and Saviour, son of god, spiritual strength, standing 'O', steadfast faith, suffering, sure conquerors, surrender our all, temper tantrums, the Father's wisdom, visible fruit, voice of my cry, weary souls, weekend, wiles, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Psalm 5:3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee.
And now Friends, it’s Monday… Easy now…easy does it… No cursing…no temper tantrums. So you overdid the weekend, and now your mental and physical states are not what they should be. As a believer you ought to know better, but it’s too late to worry about that now. Just take a deep breath and control yourself…
Now release it and thank the Lord for allowing you to see another day on His glorious planet earth, and ask for His guidance and blessings. Regardless of your mental or physical state, you know you have to get up and go to work, so why not do it the easy and smart way eh, by communicating with your heavenly Father?
Oh mih people, I’m still trying to get us to awaken joyfully, instead of right away developing a crass and miserable demeanour when the alarm goes off, especially on a Monday morning. And we’ll keep doing it until victory is achieved! (smile) Until then…and even after that, we’ll continue to sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to get our adrenalin flowing and our motors properly revved up.
So as one harmonious choir now, let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Awright mih breddren, that wasn’t a bad rendition, though we’ve done better. It didn’t get us a standing ‘O’ in heaven, but the applause was polite enough. (smile) But seriously Friends, I can’t impress on us enough, the utmost importance of prayer in a believer’s life. Remember yesterday we saw Jesus tell His listeners a parable about how men ought to pray and not faint, not lose heart? (Luke 18:1) Now if He says so, then of a truth, it must be so!
Bruh David takes that a step further though. In Psalm 5, his prayer for protection, he solemnly declares these sentiments. ‘Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation (groaning). Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. ‘My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee.’ (Ps.5:1-3)
In our Bit there, Bruh David proclaims that in the midst of his suffering, he will make his supplication to the Lord early in the morning. And that’s excellent advice Friends, whether you’re in the midst of suffering or not!
As we said yesterday, and I advised right at the beginning today, it’s always best to start our day with prayer, because it starts us off in a positive frame of mind, gives us the necessary spiritual strength to face the day. And the good thing is that it doesn’t have to be an overly long session for the Lord knows how busy we are, but acknowledging Him as soon as we wake, certainly pleases Him.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to these inspiring words from the Good Book. ‘And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary (quiet, deserted) place, and there prayed.’ (Mark 1:35)
Yuh know who Mark’s talking about there Friends? It’s our own beloved Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, while out on His first preaching tour!
So my people, fellow believers and otherwise, if our wonderful, wise, fearless and courageous Leader, the Son of God, could get up early to pray, why can’t we eh? Because we’re too lazy, or just don’t believe that early prayer is valuable, or just don’t believe in prayer at all, who knows? The truth of the matter though my brethren is that prayer is extremely important, and praying as soon as we awaken is best.
Anyway, here is an interesting note on that verse from the scholars. ‘Mark emphasizes that it was a great while before day. Showing that Jesus began each day of His earthly ministry with prayer is only the secondary intention of this verse. The primary aim is to show how Jesus made important decisions: by earnest, persistent prayer. Here Jesus stands at the crossroads of decision.
His first year of public preaching (vv. 9-20) has borne little visible fruit. But His miracles of healing are drawing huge crowds (vv.31-32) and bringing Him recognition (v. 28). So the question is whether He should continue to put the stress of His ministry on the preaching of the gospel for the healing of man’s diseased soul, or place the stress of His work on the more popular performing of miracles for the healing of man’s body. To make the proper choice, He seeks by prayer the Father’s wisdom.’
And that my people, is the truest and highest state of wisdom that exists! So please, let’s ponder all that we’ve learned today, then, as always, get the Lord to help us make the necessary changes in our lives. Much LOVE!
…again I ask…if it was imperative for Jesus…the Son of God…to seek guidance through prayer…why should it be any less so for us…sinful mortals that we are…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 January 2014 2 Thessalonians 3:10
06 Jan 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: abandoned, admonish, adrenalin, all year round, aura of love, be proud, believe, best present, blustery winter's morn, bright sunshine, brother, Bruh Paul, busybodies, Christ-like feeling, Christmas Season, commanded, confidence, conquerors, correct, Creator of the universe, death row, Devil's workshop, disobedience, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, evil, excommunication, faithful Being, forgiveness, further your glorious kingdom, good works, goodwill to men, grace, heavenly Father, hoopla, humble servants, idle hands, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, joy, judgement morn, jump start, keeping lives and families together, lies, lord god almighty, lord jesus christ, LOVE, meddlesome ways, meddling, meet the enemy in battle, mercy, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, new year 2014, New Year's hangover, obedience, peace, Praise the Lord, praise Your Holy Name, pray, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, second chance, serve a useful purpose, shame, should not eat, sing God's praises, snow, snow-white Monday, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength and energy, surrender, Thessalonians, ungodly world, valiant fight for Jesus, walk disorderly, warm temps, warn, we're not afraid, weary souls, week of work, well doing, wiles, wonderful god, work ethic, worthwhile inroads, would not work
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, a beautiful snow-white Monday in my area, and the ole fella’s feeling a tad better. Praise the Lord!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 December 2013 Deuteronomy 5:32
30 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 2013, 2014, Anglican Journal, anxiety, appreciation, astute generation, aura of love, battle, blessings, blues, commandments, confidence, consequences, correct behaviour, covenant, Creator of the universe, curses, Deuteronomy 28, diligently, disastrous, disgusting behaviour, disobedience, disobedient, disobey, do as God commands, don't turn aside, edicts, enemy, enthusiasm, error of our ways, evil, further God's glorious kingdom, Holy Name, holy spirit, humble servants, invincible, Israelites, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, jobs, judgement, keeping lives and families together, lead and guide, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, Love God, Love your neighbour as yourself, material things, modern times, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, negative emotion, New Year's Eve, obedience, Old Testament, opinions, praise, Praise the Lord, promise, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, sally forth, saviour, sinful, sovereign God, spiritual armour, statutes, steadfast faith, stimulus, sure conquerors, surrender, Ten Commandments, the Good Book, tightening the screws, tiredness, to the left, to the right, truth, ungodly world, useful purpose, walk in God's ways, weary souls, wicked taunts, wiles, wise, work week, worthwhile inroads
Deuteronomy 5:32: Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
And another bright Monday morning dawns my Friends; the last one in this topsy turvy year of 2013! But the good news is that we don’t have to work for the whole five days, because New Year’s falls in the middle of the week… And all working people gave a joyful shout of ‘Praise the Lord!’
Well mih breddren, please let’s allow some of that enthusiasm to flow into our spirits this morning nuh, so that we can leave the blues, the tiredness, the anxiety and whatever other negative emotion that has us in grip, far behind. Let’s concentrate on the mid-week joy of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and consequently belt out our last, but also our most emphatic and enthusiastic Monday Morning Battle Hymn of 2013. That’s the least we can do to show our appreciation for a shortened work week. (smile)
As one now mih people, let’s bring the roof down: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh Friends, that was most wonderful! We obviously can’t wait to ring out the old year and ring in 2014. But yuh know what? I have to tell us that if we behave the same sinful, disobedient way like we did in 2013, 2014 won’t be any better. In fact it might just be worse, be more disastrous, because I believe our God is truly getting tired of our disgusting behaviour and is intent on tightening the screws.
Again, I’m calling on us people, to walk in God’s ways, as He directed the Israelites so long ago in our Bit. ‘Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’
Now is that so difficult to do my fellow believers, especially when the very existence of our way of life and our world is involved? I should think not!
I read recently in a copy of the Anglican Journal where one reader was castigating another for trying to hold this generation to the same edicts as the Israelites in the Old Testament. Now some of what he said was true, and he put forward the argument that what we should concentrate on in these supposedly modern times are the two commandments that Jesus gave us: LOVE your God, and your neighbour as yourself.
Now that’s all well and good, but the simple truth is that we can’t even seem to obey those two simple commands. Judging from the behaviour of our society and our world in general, too many of us obviously DON’T LOVE GOD, OURSELVES, OR OUR NEIGHBOURS!
So what kind of world do we expect to have under those conditions eh? Not a very good one. And in any case, to fulfill those two commandments of Jesus, we basically still have to live the life set out in the Old Testament; e.g. the Ten Commandments.
Ah my fellow believers, if we truly believe that the Good Book was inspired by God, and what it says is true, then we definitely need to refresh our minds by reading Deuteronomy 28, where Moses spells out the blessings of obedience, as well as the consequences of disobedience to the Israelites.
And remember, the Word of our Sovereign God DOES NOT CHANGE! That means those words still apply to us TODAY!
Listen up as I quote the first two verses of Deuteronomy 28: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth: And these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2) Then the blessings are spelled out from verses 3 to 14.
Now hear the Good Book re the consequences of disobedience. ‘But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto (obey) the voice of the Lord thy God to observe to do (observe carefully) all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee.’ (Deut.28:15) And the curses are then spelled out from verse 16-68. That should tell us something people; that the curses are much worse than the blessings.
The scholars note: ‘This is probably due to human nature. The threat of severe judgement on the covenant-breaker seems to act as a stronger stimulus to correct behaviour than any promise of blessing.’
I beg to disagree though, for if it did, we would not be as sinful, evil and ungodly a society and world, as we are today. It’s obvious that we don’t care about the blessings or the curses, we’re just interested in the foolish material things and opinions that the evil world holds dear, considers so important that we must even disobey Jehovah God to have and do them.
Anyway Friends, enough for today. But Friends, please, please read Deuteronomy 28, for yourselves, and hopefully it will bring a lot of us to our senses, and we’ll finally realize the error of our ways, and try to do better, so that the curses of Almighty God won’t rain down on us anymore than they are currently doing. Then will we be considered a wise and astute generation. Much LOVE!
…in any language…or court of opinion…the blessings of obedience…are much, much more valuable…than the curses of disobedience…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 December 2013 Isaiah 33:22
23 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: accidents, adrenalin, ascension, aura of love, blues, circumstances, cold, commandment, confidence, crucifizion, damage, dangerous, deity, enthusiasm, evil ungodly world, faith, fallen trees, foot dragging, further your glorious kingdom, Gentiies, gospel, hazards, heavenly Father's business, heavens declare his righteousness, Holy Name, holy spirit, hope, humble servants, ice, invincible conquerors, Jesus Christ, jobs, judge, judge of the quick and the dead, keeping lives and families together, king, lawgiver, lead and guide, lies, lord god almighty, LOVE, meet the enemy in battle, Monday Morning, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, northern climes, ordained of God, our end all and be all, our Saviour, pain, Pentecost, Peter, power loss, ravages of storms, rejuvenation of spirit, remission of sins, renewed vitality, resurrection, sacrificed, sacrificially, Selah, sincere prayer, sinless life, sins, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, strength, surrender our all, taunts, tiredness, truest truth, useful purpose, walk of faith, weary souls, weather, weight of ice, wiles, wintry
Isaiah 33:22. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.
Oh Friends, on this gloomy Monday morning, the eve of Christmas Eve, my area is still suffering from the ravages of the rain, freezing rain and ice storm. The storms themselves have abated, but the damage is there to be cleaned up now.
We’re talking about the emotional and physical pain of the populace, the numerous accidents, vehicular and human, the many trees that have fallen or lost sizeable portions of their limbs from the weight of the ice, the neighbourhoods that are still without power, the lanes and minor roads that are still ice covered or are slushy, making it very hazardous and unpredictable.
Yesterday morning I salted my drive way, and half an hour later when I came out to go to church, it seemed as though I’d never put down any salt at all, because it was covered with a clear sheet of ice. And later, on my way from church, I stopped to buy some more salt, and would you believe I couldn’t put them in the trunk of my car, because the ice wouldn’t allow the trunk to stay opened.
Mama Mia! You really can’t imagine the damage an ice storm can do, until you experience it. But believe me, it possibly does more damage, or is potentially more dangerous than just the normal snow. I remember one in Montreal some years ago, and couldn’t believe the serious damage it did. But now I believe! (smile)
A big, beautiful tree in my neighbour’s backyard is now a shadow of its former self, having lost about two thirds of its limbs, while a big one in my front yard has lost several branches, and has another sizeable branch dangerously hanging over the road. I will most likely have to find and pay someone to cut it down.
And the sad part is that we’re not quite sure what kind of weather to expect in the next few days, except that it will be cold and wintry. But nuh must! It’s winter in the northern climes! (smile) Anyway Friends, regardless of our circumstances this Monday morning, be they good, bad or indifferent, we need to get up and be about our heavenly Father’s business.
And to help us do that, to alleviate the blues, the tiredness and the foot dragging, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with grateful hearts, thankful that we’re still alive and full of the joy of our wonderful God.
In close harmony now, let’s sing: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
And we can all feel the adrenalin flowing now my brethren! Our hope, faith and strength are on the increase, because our God is a most excellent Deity, He answers sincere prayer. Remember Friends, that our God is our EVERYTHING; OUR END ALL AND BE ALL!
As our Bit puts it: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, he will save us.’ And that my fellow believers is possibly the truest of all truths that exist in this universe.
Now let’s corroborate our Bit with pertinent scriptures, taking each aspect of God’s majesty separately. Don’t know how much we’ll accomplish today because there’s lots of scripture to share, but let’s begin with the Lord being our JUDGE. In Acts 10, we find Peter preaching to the Gentiles, after the apostles had received the gift and power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
And having told them about Jesus; His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension (Acts 10:34-41), he then informs them of Jesus’ command. ‘And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of (the) quick and (the) dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission (forgiveness) of sins.’ (Acts 10: 42-43)
Oh Friends, we obviously can’t argue with Peter, because he walked with Jesus, was one of His inner circle of disciples, and saw and heard all that happened. Therefore we need to take what he says very seriously, and adjust our lives so that we can meet the Judge without too much anxiety.
And I like the scholars’ comment on that passage. ’10:36-43. Peter’s preaching presents in clear fashion the gospel: how Christ lived and died, was raised from the dead, and how He did this sacrificially and vicariously for our sins.’
And right there we have the answer my brethren! Because Jesus sacrificed His sinless life for our sins, the Father made Him JUDGE over all His creation, both living and dead. Please let that sink deep into our consciousness my people, because it’s ever so important in our earthly walk of faith. Much LOVE!
…and the heavens shall declare his righteousness…for God is judge himself… Selah (Ps.50:6)
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