Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 April 2021 Luke 24:5b

04 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

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

Luke 24:5b.     Why seek ye the living among the dead?
HAPPY  EASTER!

At last friends, that marvelous day of celebration which we’ve waited so long for, well it’s finally here! We’re talking about Resurrection Day! All praise and glory to our omnipotent and ever-LOVING God! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has risen from the dead this Easter morn! Glory be! He has conquered the evil Satan, and taken away from him, the keys to hell, death and the grave! Christ is now Master of all He surveys! Glory Hallelujah! The seed planted in His death on Good Friday has borne fruit this Easter Sunday! 

Consequently, these words from the Simple Series musical ‘Mercy Tree,’ featured on the album inspired by the message and mission of Billy Graham’s ‘My Hope,’ are ever so appropriate for us today to hear, read, understand and digest. So please listen up. ‘We have gathered here today to lift up the name of Jesus. We rejoice in His victory over sin and the cross. Our cries of ‘Hosanna! Save us now!’ have been answered. Our Redeemer has conquered death! And because we are certain of that fact, we have reason to celebrate!’ 

Oh my people, do we ever have reason to celebrate and lift up the name of Jesus. So let’s begin doing that by singing this most celebratory and true hymn, written by one of our foremost hymnologists, Charles Wesley (1707-1788) The hymn is titled ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today.’ And it has been considered by many Christian hymnologists as being the most definitive church anthem for Easter. Each verse features a focus on the Resurrection of Jesus. Wow! 

So enough talk, let’s sing! In an up-tempo beat, with trumps and cymbals, harps and psalteries in full voice, let’s raise our sacrifices of praise in sweet harmony to high heaven, with sincere thanks and gratitude pouring out of our hearts, minds, bodies and souls! ‘Christ the Lord is ris’n today, Alleluia! Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia! Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia! Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth, reply, Alleluia! Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia! 

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia! Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia! Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia! LOVE’S redeeming work is done, Alleluia! Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia! Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia! Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia! Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia! Foll’wing our exalted Head, Alleluia! Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia! 

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia! Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia! Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia! Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia! Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia! King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia! Everlasting life is this, Alleluia! Thee to know, Thy pow’r to prove, Alleluia! Thus to sing, and thus to LOVE, Alleluia!’ 

Oh friends, what awesome bliss this Easter morning has provided to us faithful believers in Christ Jesus. For as Bruh Paul preached to the Athenians on Mars Hill: ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring (his children). (Acts 17:28) And isn’t that indeed the gospel truth my fellow saints in Christ!  He is our very lifeblood, without Him, we are nothing! With Him, we are everything! We lack for nothing! 

And our celebration wouldn’t be complete without some powerful words from the Good Book. Hear Luke tell the Resurrection Story. ‘Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they (a group of women) came unto the sepulchre (tomb), bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout (about this), behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 

And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they (the men) said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.’ (Luke 24:1-11) 

Yes friends, it was difficult for Jesus followers to believe His resurrection, having seen His cruel demise three days earlier, even despite their remembering His words on the subject. They weren’t gullible religionists, but tough, skeptical, hardworking, down to earth folk, who did not find it easy to believe the rather implausible situation. But they eventually did believe when Jesus showed Himself to them, and consequently we too believe, though we haven’t seen Him in the flesh. But here is some interesting info from the scholars, re the Resurrection of Christ, that we all should certainly be aware of. 

‘The Resurrection of Christ included five accomplishments. (1) the physical renewing of His life; (2) the reunion of His body and His Spirit; (3) the subjugation of death under Him; (4) the attainment of His new position; and (5) His receiving of a transfigured body. Application: Because of the Resurrection, the Christian receives both eternal life (John 11:25) and spiritual power (Eph. 1:19-20). Christ’s resurrection also provides for the future resurrection of the believer (1 Cor. 15:20) and is the key to victory in the Christian life because of our union with Christ (Eph 2:6). (First Ref. Ps. 16:10; Primary Ref, 1 Cor. 15; cf. Acts 1:9).’ 

Oh precious people, without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith would be worthless! Let’s remember that nuh, and hold on to it with our very last breath, for it’s our golden key to heaven’s eternal sanctuary! And we’re going to end with these marvellous and ever so encouraging words from the website hymnary.org on our hymn today, and the whole resurrection business. (smile) ‘In every worship service, the words we say and the actions we participate in are somehow shaping us. 

Perhaps without even being aware of it, worship is doing something to us – it’s forming habits and language inside of us to both teach us why we are in relationship with God, and how to be in relationship with God. One practice that many liturgists and hymn authors have brought into worship is describing an event that happened in the past (usually a moment from the Gospel story) as if it were happening today, in order to instill in us the understanding that, just as God worked in the lives of people two thousand years ago, He is still working today. 

The hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” is a perfect example of this. Right in the title is an indicator of the present tense: the word “is.” As we sing this song, we are first brought back two millennia as “witnesses” of the resurrection, and then we are also made aware that though the actual event of the resurrection happened once, it is in a sense an on-going event with ever-present effects. We are called today to live out of the resurrection, to follow our risen Lord in newness of life, and to ever lift our “alleluias” in praise.’ 

So mih bredrin, as we joyfully celebrate Christ’s resurrection, let’s take that wonderful advice and go out today, and every day hence, sincerely following Christ and keeping our voices lifted up to Him, in much deserved praise. That’s our bounden duty as Christians! Much LOVE!

…because He lives…we too shall live…  

    Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8                

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 March 2016 1 Corinthians 15:22

27 Mar 2016 Leave a comment

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

1 Corinthians 15:22.    For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

HAPPY   EASTER!

Oh friends, oh friends, is Easter Sunday! Glory Hallelujah! It’s a time to sing and dance, praise, worship, magnify and glorify our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! For since the beginning of time there has never been a day like this one! A day of such joyful celebration and giving of heartfelt thanks and gratitude! 

And here too, since the original fall of man, are the three most important words ever spoken: ‘HE IS RISEN!’ 

Yes my fellow believers, Christ is risen indeed! All praise and glory be to our God, the Father of grace and mercy and forgiveness and LOVE, who so skillfully and wisely orchestrated and engineered the events that led up to this magnificent day some two thousand years ago, and by which, through hungry hope and expectant faith we still live these many years hence! 

And so we ought to, because it’s the greatest miracle that has ever been done; a man, the Son of God, being raised from the dead to eternal life! Mama Yo! No wonder we describe our heavenly Father as being omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present, for only such a mighty, all-seeing and all-knowing Deity could conceive of such a brilliant plan, and then successfully bring it to fruition! 

Yeh friends, I don’t know about you all nuh, but I am certainly ecstatic to be alive and able to celebrate this Easter Day! You know Christmas is big and wonderful and exciting and all that, but it’s Easter that makes the big difference in the disposition of our souls. 

Without Jesus’ death and resurrection we would have been forced to spend eternity separated from the Father, in the sordid, evil company of Beelzebub. Now who in their right mind would ever want to spend any time at all with him eh, much less all of eternity?  Steups! 

Sadly though, some foolish and evil men are consciously making that choice. However, with Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, offering His life on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, we now have the wonderful option of spending eternity in heaven with the Holy Trinity! 

Now what can be more reassuring, exciting and momentous than that eh mih breddren? NOTHING AT ALL! 

Unfortunately, the unwise ones who are choosing Beelzebub over Jesus, will have a rude awakening come the Judgement day, when they are cast into the lake of fire with their leader for all eternity. 

And the trouble is that no one but the Father knows the day and time of that monumental event, so it’s necessary, in fact essential that we come to faith, place our sincere trust and belief in Jesus asap, and for sure before we depart this earthly life, for once our hearts are still, so too our options are dead, finito! 

That’s why I keep encouraging us to sincerely turn to Jesus Christ and follow Him, for He is indeed the WAY, the LIGHT, the LIFE and the TRUTH of this world! No one comes to Jehovah God but through Him! 

Oh my people, Christ died on Good Friday and all our sins died with Him. He rose on Easter Sunday clean as a whistle, having defeated hell, death and the grave! 

Wow! That means all of mankind has a new chance to be reconciled to their Creator, through Jesus. And how are we assured of that? Listen to Bruh Paul’s words on the subject to the Corinthians. 

‘But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept (have fallen asleep, have died). For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ (1 Cor.15:20-22)  

Ah friends, through Adam’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, we were all committed to a life of sin, born with a sinful nature, but through the LOVE and grace and forgiveness of our magnificent and magnanimous God, Jesus Christ paid the enormous price for our sins. 

Since the price of sin is death, it meant that only a sinless soul could reprieve us from a death sentence. And since Jesus was the only sinless soul besides the Father in existence, the awful but extremely liberating task fell to Him. And like the stalwart giant that He is, He carried out His task with a steadfast sense of purpose. Oh precious people, if we could only be so steadfast and purposeful in following Him eh! 

And I purposely chose not to get into all the descriptions of the Easter Morn in the Good Book because we all know the story of how Jesus’ followers came to the tomb and found the stone rolled back and the tomb empty, and the two angels who asked them why they were seeking the living amongst the dead and reminded them of His warning: ‘The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ (Luke 24:7) 

Also how Mary Magdalene in her sorrow mistook Jesus for the gardener and almost died from an overdose of joy when she realized it was her Lord and Master. (John 20:11-18) 

Simply regurgitating it didn’t appeal to me, and this is where the Holy Spirit led me, and I do hope you all enjoy this slightly different offering. (smile) 

And I want to end this Easter morning with some rather appropriate words of warning from Jesus, re the Son’s relationship with the Father. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 

For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgement also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (condemnation).’ (John 5:25-29) 

Oh my fellow believers, please, please, today let’s pay special attention to those warning words of Jesus nuh, for our very destiny depends on our actions down here on earth. And as we go out and celebrate this wonderful Easter season, please let’s also remember Granny’s wise advice. ‘Drunk or sober, please mind your business.’ 

For it is in these times of great joy and celebration that we tend to let our hair down a little too much and allow Lucifer to get a toehold in our souls. Let’s be wise not do that this weekend nuh. Much LOVE!

…death could not conquer Him…the grave could not hold Him…for as the Son of man…He was the giver of life…eternal life…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 April 2014 Luke 24:5b

20 Apr 2014 Leave a comment

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

Luke 24:5b.  Why seek ye the living among the dead?

Oh Friends, it’s Easter Sunday morning! What a day it’s going to be, for Christ is risen! Yes indeed, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, from the depths of Hades! He’s broken the bonds of death and the grave and set us free to live eternally with Him in victory!
 
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! What a wonderful Saviour! Give Him abundant praise and thanks this Easter Sunday morning!’
 
Ah mih people, Easter Sunday two thousand years ago was one of the most, if not the most significant day in man’s history. Just imagine the women going to the tomb early in the morning with spices to anoint Jesus’ body, wondering how they would move away the stone from the tomb’s door.
 
Then, lo and behold, when they got there, ‘…they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.’ (Luke 24:2-3)
 
Can you imagine their astonishment? First no stone in front of the tomb door, then no body of Jesus! Mama Mia! I’m sure they must have been real flustered, their simple minds thinking all sorts of crazy thoughts.
 
Then to make matters even worse, ‘…it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout (about this), behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:’ (Luke 24:4)
 
Wow! That must have really had them jumping out of their skins! ‘And as they were afraid, and bowed their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?  
 
It certainly was an eventful day for those poor women; not finding Jesus’ body, but instead two angels, who questioned them in the words of our Bit, then further went on to inform them. ‘He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
 
And they remembered his words. And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things to the apostles.’ (Luke 24:6-10)
 
Oh Friends, can you imagine the fear, consternation, doubt and scepticism that fateful morning! And what would have been your reaction to the women’s story eh? Fear, scepticism, anger, disbelief, belief?
 
Luke tells us thus: ‘And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.’ (Luke 24:11)
 
I guess that would have been the reaction of most of us under the then prevailing circumstances. However, John tells us that despite their doubt and disbelief, he and Peter ran towards the sepulchre.
 
‘So they ran both together: and the other disciple (whom Jesus LOVED) did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
 
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie. And the napkin (face cloth) that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped (folded) together in a place by itself.
 
Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and he believed. For as yet they knew not (understood) the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.’ (John 20:4-10) 
 
As they say Friends- seeing is believing, but touching is the naked truth.’ Peter and John saw and believed.
 
Per the scholars: ‘His clothes lay in an orderly fashion. Had His body been stolen, the grave clothes would not have been left. They believed that Jesus was alive, not yet knowing the details of His resurrection.’
 
And John continues: ‘But Mary (Magdalene) stood without (outside) the sepulchre weeping: (her second visit) and as he wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
 
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back (around), and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
 
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence (carried him away), tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
 
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say Master (Teacher). 
 

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not (do not cling to me): for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.’ (John 20:11-18) 
 
Oh mih people, can you imagine Mary’s feelings when she realized that she was talking to Jesus, in living colour? And did the disciples truly believe after Mary told them that she had seen Jesus? Who knows my people?
 
There are many unanswered questions, but the most important fact has been ascertained: Jesus rose from the dead, and thus we have been set free from the bonds of sin and death! Glory Hallelujah! 
 
And we’ll end by outlining some facts, per the scholars, on Christ’s Resurrection. ‘The resurrection of Christ included five accomplishments: (1) the physical renewing of His life; (2) the reunion of His body and His spirit; (3) the subjugation of death under Him; (4) the attainment of His new position; and (5) His receiving of a transfigured body.
 
Application: Because of the Resurrection, the Christian receives both eternal life (John 11:25) and spiritual power (Eph.1:19-20). Christ’s resurrection also provides for the future resurrection of the believer (1 Cor.15:20) and is the key to victory in the Christian life because of our union with Christ (Eph.2:6) (First Ref. Ps.16:10; Primary Ref. 1 Cor.15; cf. Acts 1:9).’
 
Oh Friends, we could not ask for a greater gift in this sinful life and world, so please let’s take it all seriously and try our best to live and LOVE the way Jesus desires of us. Let’s not make His sacrifices a waste of time and effort.  It’s the best way to show our seriousness and faithfulness and LOVE!
 
Please have a joyful and glorious Easter Sunday… and don’t overdo the celebrations. Remember Granny’s advice – drunk or sober mind your business (smile) Much much LOVE my fellow believers on this glorious Easter Sunday!
 
…He is risen…Christ is risen…let the world know and rejoice…that Christ is risen…