Matthew 6:13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s tired this Tuesday morning… And it’s not because of too much libation celebrating St. Paddy’s Day, as a good Irishman ought to! (smile) It’s just from not enough rest.
Yuh know, it’s interesting that when I was growing up in T&T, you didn’t hear a Calypso on the radio during Lent, except on St. Patrick’s Day. I guess they were considered an inferior art or music form, too irreverent and not worthy to be played during the supposedly holy and serious season of Lent.
And some of them were indeed irreverent, but nowhere near the amount of irreverent junk that’s being played on the radio these days, both in and out of Lent.
It’s strange how the norms and social values of a society change as time goes by, and particularly as the godliness in that society declines, as has happened in Western society over the last thirty or so years.
There is a definite correlation between the decline in moral standards and the removal of God from a society. How very sad my people… When we need God the most, as in the disastrous times we’re now experiencing, that’s when we’re seeing Him the least. What a pity!
And it’s rather unfortunate and despairing that we’ve tried so many man-made solutions to try and solve our many problems of war, strife, corruption, oppression, suppression, economic decline, poverty, sickness etc. etc, but the one solution guaranteed to bring out us of our troubles, a return to seriously worshipping Jehovah God, we steadfastly refuse to try. Steups!
Instead we’re still foolishly trying to further remove Him from the already small, minimal and lowly position He now holds in our constantly faltering and steadfastly failing Western society.
Ah mih people, I don’t know what to say. The powers of evil have us so wrapped up in their wicked, far-reaching, invasive tentacles that it seems impossible to get out from under their ungodly regime.
But that’s only to the naked eye my brethren! To the eyes of faith, the ones of the soul, which look to heaven and Jesus, Beelzebub’s hold CAN, AND WILL BE BROKEN!
But to do that, we need a much greater sense of unity and purpose amongst believers. Instead of fighting amongst and against each other, demoralizing and demonizing each other, we ought to be coming together in some form and fashion to fight against the enemy and the evil powers that are currently dominating the world.
And unfortunately, until we get enough faith, sense and wisdom to do that, those evil world powers will continue to divide, conquer and dominate the troubled world we live in.
And if you’ll notice, my fellow believers, the evil powers, though not in concert on everything, are surely so in their great desire to rid our society of the power and the glory of Almighty God!
Likewise, believers in Jesus Christ don’t need to be in agreement on everything, except the renewal, as well as the expansion of God’s power and glory, majesty and worship down here on earth, just as it exists in heaven above.
That’s what Jesus prayed for when He taught the disciples, and consequently us, how to pray. In the immortal words of our Bit: ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (the evil one): For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’
And that’s exactly what we ought to be doing my brethren; increasing, furthering God’s most worthy and everlasting kingdom down here on planet earth, rather than standing idly by, moaning and groaning, more concerned about acquiring the destructible and destructive things of the world, than the indestructible, everlasting things of heaven.
And it’s not like Jesus left us stranded, completely open to the whims and deeds of the evil one. He particularly prayed for us before He returned to heaven.
‘And now come I to thee (Father); and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray NOT that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil (the evil one). (John 17:13-15)
And Peter admirably follows that up with these words of absolute truth. ‘The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgement to be punished.’ (2 Pet.2:9)
Oh my people, we have all the tools necessary to renew, revitalize and rejuvenate the purpose and kingdom of Almighty God here on earth, so why aren’t we doing it eh? God alone knows for sure!
And there’s no greater tool in the arsenal of God that we possess than that of His Holy Spirit which indwells every believer! And it was given to us for the definite and stated purpose of leading and guiding us unto all truth, to give us wisdom and power to live a godly life amidst the troubles of this wicked and ungodly world.
So I ask again, why aren’t we using it eh mih people? Why are we simply hanging around in fear, anxiety and apathy, complaining about how the evil rulers are taking away our godly rights and justice?
Oh Friends, they are not taking them away, we are allowing them to water down our faith, through lack of unity and a general lackadaisical attitude towards God and our faith!
Please note how all the other religions, despite their fallacy, are more serious and zealous in proclaiming their faith than we are about ours: Christianity; the ONE TRUE ONE, based and built on the ROCK, the strong foundation that’s Jesus Christ, His holy and selfless sacrifice on the cross at Calvary, to pay for our abominable sins.
Oh Friends, doesn’t that mean a whole lot to us, in fact everything? Well it ought to! We should be so joyous, so stirred up, so grateful for Jesus’ atonement, that we would gladly move heaven and earth to spread the glorious news of His gospel and wonderful kingdom!
Please my brethren, I’m pleading with us today, to start doing that RIGHT NOW! It’s high time we lit a huge bonfire under our rear ends to get up and get a true fight going for Jesus and His godly principles! Oh my fellow believers, that’s the only thing that makes any sense in this foolish and senseless world.
When we walk with God, He walks with us. But it has to be a heartfelt, continual walk; not a sometimes on, sometimes off thing, where we only cry out to Him for our own petty, selfish purposes, and then forget about Him afterwards. That’s stupidity at it’s zenith my people! And God’s people ought always to be seeking godly wisdom.
The Good Book claims that a word to the wise is sufficient. Please, please, let’s prove today, without a shadow of doubt, that God’s people are indeed wise. Much LOVE!
…unless God’s truth is refined…and turned into serious action…not merely talk…Christ’s church will not dominate the earth as it ought to…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 March 2014 1 Peter 3:13
17 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 1 Peter, ashamed, aura of love, Beelzebub, believers in Jesus Christ, blessed, calamitous, Catholicism, celebrations, clear concience, complaining, confidence, conquerors, defence, disaster laden world, Drunk or sober mind yuh business, enemy's wicked taunts, enthusiasm, evil, evil doing, evildoers, expectant faith, faith, falsely accuse you, fear, fellowship, fight the good fight, followers of good, further God's glorious kingdom, give an answer, good conduct, good fellowship, Granny's advice, grouchy, hallmarks of Jesus, harm, heavenwards, holy spirit, Holy Trinity, hope, humble servants, hungry hope, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping families together, leprechaun, LOVE, loving kindness, meekness, mighty wallop, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, not afraid, pagan hordes, patron saint of ireland, peace, rejuvenation of spirit, renewed vitality, rest, reverential awe, reward, righteousness., roaring lion, shamrock, spiritual armour, St.Patrick's Day, stand strong, sterner stuff, strength, suffering, surrender, terror, testimony, TGIM, Thank God is Monday., the will of God, threats, ungodly world, weary souls, weekend of rest, well doing, wisdom, worthwhile inraods
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 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 9 March 2014 Psalm 103:1
09 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: belief, benefits, Bless His Holy Name, bless the Lord, Bruh David's forte, children of Israel. Moses, condemned, Daylight Savings Time, destruction, diseases, faith, faithfulness, forgiveness, Hades, heals, heaven, I AM, I can do all things, iniquities, Jamaican time, judgement, loving kindness, mercies, more than conquerors, negative aspects, oppressed, positive aspects, preamble, redeems, righteousness., slow to anger, small potatoes, steadfast and true believers, T&T time, the evil one, the Way, the Word, through Christ who strengthens me, total truth, transgressions, wisdom
Psalm 103:1. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Well Friends, it’s a mild Sunday morning, compared to those of the recent past. Yuh better believe that! The clock has also been set forward one hour, to begin the confusing strategy of Daylight Savings Time. Hn!
To tell the truth, I really don’t know who it benefits from it, if anybody. And it’s been recently proven that there are some negative aspects to the time change. But somebody, or bodies in power, must believe that whatever positive aspects contained therein, do outweigh the negative ones. So us menial folk just have to go along with the idea, whether we like it or not.
And it both amuses and disconcerts me in one respect; when we go forward, like today, we end up on T&T time, but when we go backwards at year’s end, we end up on Jamaican time. So before calling friends and family in those locations, I have to first consider what time schedule we are on, so that I don’t call down there too early, or too late.
Ah Lord eh! But them’s really small potatoes, mih people – wish that was our biggest problem – and there’s no need for us to worry, because we strong, steadfast and true believers can handle anything that comes against us, for ‘we are more than conquerors through him that LOVED us.’ (Rom.8:37)
And furthermore, as Bruh Paul so emphatically states to the Philippians: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil.4:13) Never forget those two scriptures Friends, because they embody total truth for all the ages.
And I’m chuckling while I’m adlibbing here, because I don’t have a Bit as yet, and no clue how to continue this rambling preamble. (smile) But I am assured, because of those two statements above that the Lord will eventually strengthen and guide me, and cause me to write a most wonderful Bit. (smile)
Well it’s certainly in His best interest to do so, since it’s His Word that I’m writing about, and I’m sure, like me, He doesn’t want me to write nonsense.
And lo and behold, to prove His faithfulness and wisdom, He just guided me to a rather appropriate Bit for this Sunday morning: ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.’
Yes my brethren, we can never find a better thing to do than to bless the Lord and His Holy Name! And that surely was Bruh David’s forte, as we can see from all the stuff he’s written, especially from this Psalm of praise and thanksgiving for God’s great and abundant mercies.
Now hear how he continues after that first verse. ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with LOVING-kindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgement for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.’ (Ps.103:2-7)
And nothing my people, nothing whatsoever in those verses can be disputed, for down through the ages, they have been proven to be factual, many times over! Any problems we have with those words stem from us, from our lack of faith, our lack of true belief in the great I AM.
And if you don’t believe me, then listen to some more of this wonderful psalm. ‘The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING-kindness). He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame (He understands our constitution); he remembereth that we are dust.’ (Ps.103:8-14)
Now Friends, anyone who tries to dispute any of those declarations is either a liar or a fool, or both, because without the Lord’s abundant mercies and forgiveness, we would have been all condemned long ago to death, for our numerous sins, and exiled to Hades to dwell with the evil one.
‘But the mercy (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them. The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.’ (Ps.103:17-18)
More gospel truth my fellow believers! The Lord has made special preparations for those who walk obedient to His dictates. And Jesus, in telling the disciples that He was THE WAY to the Father, promised it thus: ‘Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many mansions (Lit. dwellings): if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.’ (John 14:1-3)
Oh mih people, mih people, what a most marvellous promise! And we all know that lies and untruths, by His very holy nature, CANNOT proceed from Jesus’ mouth and Spirit. Thus, when we walk in sync with our Creator and heavenly Father, our eternal destiny is set in stone!
Therefore we all have great cause to exclaim, proclaim and declare like Bruh David: ‘Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers (servants) of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.’ (Ps.103:20-22)
And all God’s people gave a loud and grateful shout of ‘Praise the Lord God Jehovah! Praise Him for His goodness to the undeserving children of sinful men! Praise Him for ever and ever! Amen.’
Yeh mih people, we certainly can’t go wrong in praising and giving thanks to our ever-LOVING, merciful, forgiving and most gracious God! Please put that in your pipe today and smoke it! (smile) Much LOVE!
…praise and thanks are two of the most important elements in worshipping Almighty God…
P.S. Yuh see Friends, as I told you, through faith in God’s mercy and unswerving help, the Bit didn’t turn out too bad at all, now did it. (smile) Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 March 2014 Daniel 2:20
08 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: almighty god, ambiguity, Amen, assumptions, believing in God's promises, Blessed be God's name, Blessed be the name of God, communication, communication guidelines, communication skills, communication styles, confidentiality, counsel, Daniel 2:20. Daniel, deceived, deceiver, deliver us from evil, depth of riches, don't worry, el numero uno, empathetic, ever-Loving, extol the Lord, forgiving, fruit of his doings, glory, God's omnipotence, gospel truth, head honcho, infinite, inquity, Jesus, judgements, keep in close contact with God, lifts up the humble, look to Jesus, lord of hosts, loving kindness, magnificent God, merciful, might, never leave nor forsake us, perceptions, ponder, praise, Praise the Lord, Psalm 147, respect, respite from cold weather, responsibility, sensitive, sing unto the Lord, stand tall, strength, strong points of God, temptation, thanksgiving, the final word, the mind of the Lord, the power and the glory, thine is the kingdom, think before you talk, tolerate, true believers, trust God, understanding, wisdom, wise, work out all things for good
Daniel 2:20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.
Ah Friends, at last it seems like we’re going to have a brief respite from the exceedingly cold temps that’s been overwhelming us the past few weeks. This weekend promises to be above freezing – not all that much- but anything above freezing is surely welcome. (smile) Praise the Lord!
But who knows how long that will last eh? However, as true believers, we need to take whatever comes against us in our stride, faithfully believing in God’s promises that He will never leave nor forsake us (Heb.13:5), and to work out all things for our good when we walk in obedience to Him. (Rom. 8:28)
Therefore, let’s stand tall, and though the weather or other things might be getting to us, let’s just look to Jesus as He desires. It’s not always easy to do, but do it we must. And how did Jesus handle His earthly problems? Basically by not worrying, doing what He was supposed to do, keeping in close contact with the Father, and trusting Him to make things right. And so should we, my brethren.
Now hear are some respectful communication guidelines that we can all use. I got this from my pastor at a recent Advisory Board Meeting, and was guided to share it. Apparently it has been copyrighted by Eric H.F. Law in 1995. It’s laid out in acrostic form, and the letters spell RESPECT, but because of our format we have to do it otherwise.
And it says: ‘R = take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel without blaming others. E = EMPATHETIC listening. S = be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles. P = PONDER on what you hear and feel before you speak. E = EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions. C = keep CONFIDENTIALITY. T = TOLERATE ambiguity because we are not here to debate who is right or wrong.’
Now they all are useful parameters, though I have a slight problem with the last one, tolerating ambiguity, since sometimes you do need to make decisions and distinctions as to who or what is right and wrong. But I do believe that if we put those practices to work, our communication skills will improve a whole lot. Now that includes communication with Almighty God too. (smile)
But it’s time to turn to our Bit: ‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.’ Yes Friends, wisdom and might are among the numerous strong points of our wonderful God!
And today we’ll continue looking at scriptures which uphold Daniel’s contentions. Let’s begin with Job, when he answers his supposed friends’ harsh accusations, acknowledging God’s omnipotence in the process.
‘With him (God) is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding. Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up (imprisons) a man, and there can be opening (no release). Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth. With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.’ (Job 12:13-16)
And oh my fellow believers, there’s absolutely no doubt about the power and wisdom of our majestic and magnificent God to do all those things!
Now listen to the psalmist extol the Lord from Psalm 147: ‘Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (Lit. innumerable). The Lord lifteth up the meek (humble): he casteth the wicked down to the ground. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God.’ (Ps.147:5-7)
Now that’s exactly what we ought to be doing my brethren – giving much praise and thanks to our ever-LOVING, merciful, forgiving, wise and powerful God!
And Jeremiah proclaims in his prayer: ‘Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard (too difficult) for thee: Thou showest LOVING-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest (repay) the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:
The Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work (deed): for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.’ (Jer.32:17-19)
Jeremiah really poured it on quite thick there. (smile) But it’s all gospel truth, my people!
And this testimonial wouldn’t be complete without a word from Bruh Paul. To the Roman church, he declares: ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counsellor? Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.’ (Rom.11:33-36)
And as we LOVE to do whenever possible, we’ll give Jesus the final word on the topic. In His teaching us to pray, He concludes: ‘And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.’ (Matt.6:13)
Yes my brethren, our God is the great I AM, the Head Honcho, El Numero Uno, Number 1 in all the universe! Let’s NEVER, NEVER forget that! Much LOVE!
…if Jesus says that the Father is the GREATEST…then it must be so…since He cannot lie…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 March 2014 Daniel 2:20
07 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: adjustments, attributes of a leader, blessed, Blessed be the name of God, blessing of God's Name, Bruh David, chant up a storm, commuinion with God, contemplation, Cousin Sol, Daniel, Daniel 2:20. Daniel, discernment, echo Daniel's sentiments, energy, exalted, Friday chant, further your glorious kingdom, generous help, give strength, glorious name, glory, God's mercies, God's wisdom and might, greatness, harmony, head above all, holy spirit, importance of prayer, indisputable fact, intercession, Jesus Christ, Lent, Lenten season, look at life, majesty, man of prayer, moderation, modicum of circumspection, Nebuchadnezzar, path to heaven, peace, people of god, power, praise, Praise the Lord, prayer, relaxation, renewed vitality, rest, right perspective, rising of the sun, serious approach, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks, thanksgiving, the things on earth, things in heaven, unbreakable passion, victory, walking and talking with God, week of work, wisdom, zest
Daniel 2:20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.
Well Friends, it’s that day again – Friday… And strangely the shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ are not as loud as usual. (smile) I guess we’re too tired from all the partying we did earlier on in the week, and then the Lenten Season’s seriousness added it’s own li’l bit of moderation and ‘modicum of circumspection,’ as Jeeves would say.
And that’s definitely not a bad thing my people, because every so often we do need to tone down our boisterous selves and take a more serious approach to, and look at life, meaning the things and people that surround us. And as we’ve been saying all week, Lent is the best time to do that, since it’s a season for contemplation and adjustments.
And as always, our Friday Chant will help us get the right perspective on handling the weekend. So let’s chant up a storm. Hn, hn! Sorry, I forgot that we’re too tired to chant up a storm, but let’s just do the best we can. (smile)
As one voice 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.’
Hopefully Friends, that prayer will restore some of our energy and zest, and allow us to go out and do a good job for Jesus. Don’t worry about it though, just talk to Jesus as you go along, and He will enable you to do whatever you need to do.
Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.’
Yesterday, we saw where the Lord blessed Daniel with supernatural discernment, re the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. Today, I want to look at a few scriptures where other people of God echo Daniel’s sentiments.
Sadly, I could only find one scripture pertaining to the blessing of God’s Name, and that comes from Psalm 113, God’s mercies are many.
After opening the psalm with praise, the psalmist continues: ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord’s name is to be praised.
The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!’ (Ps.113:2-6)
Yeh mih people, who is like unto our God eh? And all God’s people joyfully trilled: ‘NOBODY!’ And that my brethren is an indisputable fact!
However, concerning God’s wisdom and might, there are numerous scriptures that shout it out. Let’s take in a couple, beginning with Bruh David’s thanksgiving and prayer when he was preparing to hand over the throne of Israel to Cousin Sol.
Oh, oh fellow believers, the Holy Spirit just guided me to another scripture where the Lord’s name is blessed. Thank You Lord! I sincerely bless Your Holy Name! And lo and behold it comes right before the passage I intended to quote.
So here it is all together. ‘Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.’ (1 Chr.29:10-13)
What beautiful words of prayer and praise to our wonderful God, my brethren!
And we’ll close with an interesting note from the scholars’: ’29:10. David again shows himself to be a man of prayer (cf. 16:2, 7-36; 17:26-27). Those who stand before God’s people should likewise be capable of leading them in genuine intercession and communion with God.’
Oh Friends, we can never overestimate or overstate the importance of prayer in our daily lives, neither the importance of our leaders being able to lead us in genuine communication with God, for it’s one of the necessary attributes, a necessary ability of a leader.
Now may the Lord of heaven and earth bless and keep us safely, and cause His countenance to shine brightly upon us this day, as we journey on our path to heaven, to be with Him forever in LOVE, Peace and Harmony! Much LOVE!
…walking and talking with God…ought to be the believer’s unbreakable passion…
P.S. Oh my people, please note how short and sweet the Bit is today, and say a grateful, ‘Thank You Lord!’ (smile) Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 March 2014 Daniel 2:20
06 Mar 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: almighty god, Arioch, astrologer, Azariah, Babylon, Blessed be God's name, Chaldean, changes the times and seasons, Christ died for our sins, communication, confusion, consequences, Daniel, Daniel 2:20. Daniel, darkness, desperation, difficult thing, disobedience, disobedient, disturbances, earthly pilgrimage, Father God, free, gives wisdom to the wise, God's truth, God-given attributes, growing, Hananiah, high esteem, holiness, in sync with God, interpret a dream, jehovah god, Jesus Christ, knowledge, Lent, Lenten season, life and death, light, LOVE, magician, maturing, Mishael, natural state, Nebuchadnezzar, necessity of prayer, New Year's resolution, night vision, not one iota of doubt, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, one and only true living God, painful, path to heaven, pay a hefty price, plodding along, pray, prayer, progress, raises up kings, ready access, rebellion, rebellious, regress, removes kings, righteousness., seek mercies of God, serve and worship, sinfulness, spirit, standing still, the God of heaven, the Word of god, truly believe it, undefiled by humans, understanding, walk with Christ, wisdom, wisdom and might, wonderful god, work diligently
Daniel 2:20. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.
Ah Friends, this being the season of winter, it’s nothing special to wake up and find a beautiful layer of snow covering the ground. I can’t help remarking how wonderful the snow looks when it lies quietly in the dark, or even in the sunshine, as yet undisturbed, undefiled by human hands and feet. (smile)
But you know that once we humans get into anything, or any place, we always cause disturbances and confusion. I guess that such is the nature of the beast. But that doesn’t mean because something’s in our nature that we have to automatically give into it.
For though sinfulness is our natural state, we don’t have to be always or thoroughly sinful, because Christ died and paid for our sins, so that we could be set free and live in holiness and righteousness before Almighty God.
And this Lenten season is a time for us to consider who God is, and what He means to us. It’s a time to delve into the Word of God to discover His truth, and also delve into our own souls to see how the contents of both match up.
Then we need to aspire to, and work diligently to bring them into sync. For unless our lives are in sync with God’s Word, we are being disobedient, being rebellious, and will eventually pay a hefty price for that disobedience and rebellion.
So Friends, this is the ‘rightest’ time to consider how we’ve done so far in keeping our New Year’s Resolution to improve our walk with Christ this very meaningful year of 2014. Has there been noticeable progress, have we regressed, or have we just stood still? Only you and God can decide the answer to that question.
But it’s rather important that we monitor our walk with Christ, to ensure that we are indeed growing and maturing, as we journey along on our earthly pilgrimage. And we can see from the Scriptures that that is what Daniel and his three amigos, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (their Jewish names) were doing, when Daniel blessed the God of heaven and declared in our Bit:
‘Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his.’ And there’s not one iota of doubt on that proclamation my brethren!
For as Daniel continues: ”And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth (raises) up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know (have) understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.’ (Dan.2:21-23)
Yes mih people, our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God does all those things… and more! And I guess some of you who don’t know the story of Daniel are wondering what all the fuss is about.
Well Friends, it was a rather serious matter, one of life and death! The powerful Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, had a dream that deeply disturbed him, and so he called his wise men, his magicians and sorcerers to interpret it for him.
But when they asked him to tell them the dream, he refused. He wanted the wise men to both tell him the dream, then its interpretation. On top of that, he threatened to kill them all if they couldn’t do both things. (Dan.2:1-9)
In exasperation, the wise men finally told the king: ‘There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
And it is a rare (difficult) thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before (no other who can tell it to) the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’ (Dan.2:10-11)
And they were quite right my fellow believers, except for one point; not ‘gods’, but the ONE and ONLY TRUE LIVING GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who is a most mighty and powerful Spirit!
Now that answer certainly didn’t sit well with king Neb, and he commanded that all the wise men in Babylon be destroyed. Now Daniel and his buddies were numbered amongst the king’s advisers, but when Daniel heard of the king’s decree from Arioch, the captain in charge of the cleansing, he wondered about the king’s haste, and was told the reason by the captain.
Daniel therefore went before the king and asked for some time to consider the matter. (Dan.2:12-16) And the scholars’ note here that ‘Daniel was obviously held in high esteem, as his ready access to the king demonstrates.’
And the Good Book declares: ‘Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing (decree) known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire (seek) mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish (be destroyed) with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.’ (Dan.2:17-19)
Then our Bit comes in. Oh Friends, oh Friends, I can’t help reminding us every day of the wonderful God we serve and worship!
The problem though is that you’ll never see it until you truly believe it! And unfortunately, there are too many of us who don’t believe it, consequently we don’t do the things necessary for God to show up in our lives, that’s why we are sadly plodding along in desperation.
But you can see, as the scholars wisely note, that ‘Even though Daniel had special, God-given attributes, he and his friends still had to pray.’
And that’s the crux of the problem right there, my people! We’re never too mature, too holy, too righteous, or too anything else that we don’t need to pray. If even, Jesus Christ, the mighty Son of the mighty Jehovah God had to pray, why wouldn’t we, poor mortal minions, His fickle and fallible creation, need to do likewise eh?
So Friends, please, let’s note the necessity of prayer in all our lives. For prayer is the method of close and positive communication with our Creator, and without it, we can do NOTHING, NOTHING AT ALL, in our own strength!
Please let that bit of wisdom sink deep into our hearts and souls today, so that we can walk a better and truer path to heaven and Father God Himself! Much LOVE!
…no prayer…means no communication with our Maker and heavenly Father…truly an unwise deed…for the consequences can be rather painful…
