Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 August 2013 Psalm 109:30

05 Aug 2013 Leave a comment

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

Psalm 109:30.    I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise Him among the multitude.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, and the party continues in good ole Canada, where it’s a holiday in most, if not all of the provinces! The Caribana weekend will wind down with all sorts of events across the G.T.A today, and with all the cottagers returning home from their extended stay in cottage country, the traffic won’t be much different than a normal Monday evening.
 
There’s one bit of sad news to pass on though. Apparently a young man was fatally run over by one of the trucks along the Parade route late Saturday evening. We offer our sincere condolences to his friends and family, and pray for their comfort in this their time of grief.
 
Ah Lord eh! And yuh know that is one of things that turned me off of the parade; the young people don’t know how to jump in the streets. They just rush and push and cause havoc. Neither do they respect the space needed for the big trucks and them to operate. They just seem to want to get involved without any thought for their safety or that of the other revellers.
 
Anyway, some people, both here and around the world do have to go out and labour today, so let’s encourage them by lustily singing along to the delightful strains of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
 
Wow! I spelled Monday right! Mama Mia! Just like I had problems spelling Friends right some time aback, Monday seems to be my new Achilles heel.
 
And though some of us are not going to work, we all still need the strength and blessings of our Heavenly Father to make it through the day in this hellish and ungodly world. So let’s all sing with hearts, eyes, heads and hands raised up to heaven.
 
‘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 with that surge of spiritual emotion, let’s turn to our Bit, which appropriately continues the adoration of Almighty God. ‘I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise Him among the multitude.’
 
Yes Friends, that is what ALL believers are expected to do! Why? Because our God is a great and majestic God! He made the universe and all therein, and still controls it! He’s also omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, which means He’s all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere! So He’s alive and kicking, therefore you can’t run nor hide from Him. Plus He’s merciful, forgiving, blessed, and full of LOVING-kindness to the sinful and undeserving children of men!
 
What more do we want or need to therefore praise Him eh? There’s plenty more though. We can also add His undying and unconditional LOVE for us, His mortal creation. And His sending His only Son, Jesus Christ to die, to be a human sacrifice to repay our disgusting and abominable sins undoubtedly showcased that!
 
Now those sins rightfully called for eternal death, but my people, because of Jehovah God’s everlasting LOVING-kindness, instead of reaping death and destruction, instead we’re reaping reconciliation, sanctification, righteousness, salvation and eternal life through the free gift of grace, offered to all who believe in His Son Jesus Christ, our wonderful Lord and Saviour!
 
Now tell me if that isn’t more than sufficient reason to give much praise and thanks to the wonderful Being, the great Deity, known by such Names as Yahweh, I AM THAT I AM, Jehovah Nisi, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord of Hosts, the Most High God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc. etc. with each name specifically relating to one of His many attributes?
 
It sure is my people! And He truly deserves even more thanks and praise then we’re even capable of giving in our paltry mortal state.
 
Bruh David recognized this obligation, one that turns into a great desire when we sincerely put out trust in the Lord. As he says in Psalm 35, a prayer for rescue from his enemies: ‘I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much (a mighty) people.’ (Ps.35:18)
 
Yes mih breddren, giving plenty, plenty praise and thanks to the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD is what we believers need to do more than anything else in these evil, godless, turbulent and disastrous times! For it is by His LOVE, the stripes of his Son Jesus, the holy blood that poured from those stripes at Calvary, that we are healed and redeemed!
 
And we’ll end with some appropriate verses from Psalm 111, aptly superscripted, Praise the Lord for His care. Say with me: ‘Praise ye the Lord (Sing Hallelujah). I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, sought out (studied by) all them that have pleasure therein. His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.’ Amen. (Ps.111:1-3)
 
Now Friends, that’s gospel truth and eternal wisdom! So as true believers, let’s go out and put it all into practice nuh. Much LOVE!
 
…words must be spoken…but actions ALWAYS speak louder than words…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 July 2013 Luke 10:33

29 Jul 2013 Leave a comment

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

Luke 10:33.   But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.
 
‘Monday, Monday! Oh how we believers LOVE that day! No Friends, it’s not a typo. I know that many of us would rather say: ‘Oh how I LOVE to hate that day!’
 
But that’s not even worldly wisdom my brethren, much less wisdom of the godly type. For even worldly wisdom dictates that we do something constructive and productive with our time, so that we can get ahead in the material aspects of life, and godly wisdom adds the winning of souls for Jesus to the mix.
 
So, all in all, Monday is a very important day in the life, whether you’re a believer or not, since if you don’t work at a worldly job, you most likely won’t eat, and if you don’t work for Jesus, your rewards in heaven would be minimal or even non-existent.
 
And having said all of that, which hopefully won’t fall on deaf ears, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great conviction, to reassure Jesus that we’re up and about and ready to join the battle on His behalf against the evil Lucifer and his band of evil cohorts. So let those vocal chords loudly declare in sweet harmony, our convictions, re Jesus and His Holy and most worthwhile cause.
 
As one 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!’
 
And you can see that if we adhere to what we just sang, then we’d not be like the priest and the Levite, who both passed by on the other side, but be as Jesus desires of us, like the Samaritan in our Bit. ‘But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.’
 
Ah my brethren, that word compassion is a mighty word, and a defining one in the lexicon of the believer. But before we get into that, let’s get some historical background from the scholars on the basic situation. ‘Jews and Samaritans were bitter rivals (John 4:9). The Samaritans were despised for having at least partial Gentile ancestry (due to Assyria’s conquest of Samaria in 721 B.C) and for having a different worship centre (Mount Gerizim; John 4:20).
 
Thus Jesus’ parable was highly provocative. Samaritan was to Jesus’ hearers automatically a term of reproach. To portray a Samaritan as fulfilling the commandment (see v.27), but Jews as circumventing it, would be a supreme insult to the listening lawyer (v.25) and the rest of His audience.’
 
Now that gives us some insight into the true meaning and importance of the parable. It also reminds us of one of Jesus’ many other provocative and unorthodox but wise teachings; LOVE your enemies, of which He reassures us thus: ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you;
 
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors, sinners) the same? and if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt.5:43-48) 
 
Oh my people, I never intended to use all of that scripture, but after reading it, I realized that I had to since one part was no good without the others. And now I’ve seen some interesting info from the scholars that brings greater understanding to it.
 
‘The law of LOVE, sometimes called “law of Christ,” summarizes the ethical principle of the Sermon on the Mount. “LOVE thy neighbour” summarizes the entire second table of the law (cf. Lev.19:18-34). But the unscriptural addition “hate thine enemy” was a popular concept in Jesus’ day. 
 

The admonition LOVE your enemies is one of the greatest statements Jesus ever made. The LOVE enjoined in this passage is LOVE that originates from God Himself. Man is not commanded to attempt to LOVE his enemy on the basis of mere human affection but rather on the basis of a LOVE that comes from God.
 
The quality of LOVE commanded here is expressed by giving. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute you. LOVING an enemy involves doing good toward that enemy in order to win him over to Christ.’
 
Oh Friends, there’s a lot for us to ponder on and meditate today, so let’s get to it nuh. Let’s consider the Good Samaritan and LOVING our enemy aspects of lives, and if we’re falling short in these areas, then let’s come to the Father and ask for His gracious forgiveness and His awesome strength to get with the program. For that my Friends, is heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!
 
…to reciprocate kindness is natural…but to truly serve Jesus…we must take it one step further…be kind to those who are not kind to us…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 March 2013 Isaiah 40:8

04 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

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

 Isaiah 40:8.      The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Oh Friends, it’s Monday!   And I’m suddenly inundated by a whole setta ‘Steups’! and ‘Chuhs!’ and ‘Go away nuh! Yuh can’t see that people tired and want to sleep?’ ‘But it’s Monday,’ I insist. ‘Time to get up and go to work.’ Finally I receive a gruff, unenthusiastic, ‘Awright, Awright. Steups! This work thing cutting into mih party scene yes! Chuh man!’ And believe me Friends, some of us really feel that way, though it should be the other way around; work first -especially Jesus’ work – then partying a distant second. Ah mih people, whatever happened to the great progress we appeared to be making in being enthusiastic about Monday mornings and work eh? Was it only a pipe dream on my part? Because it surely seems like we’ve regressed right back to square one. But don’t think that I’m giving up on us. Not by a long shot! I’m making it my life’s work to see that we’re enthusiastic about getting up and rearing to go out to battle for Jesus on a Monday Morning. (smile) Anyway, since we seem to be in an unusually grumpy mood and testy frame of mind this morning, I’m not going to push my luck. I don’t want to be physically attacked, because I hear violence lurking in the background. Hn, hn! So let’s just sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with as much gusto as we can muster. As one, in harmony 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!’ Ah mih breddren, that wasn’t as good as it usually is nuh, but hopefully it got our motors going and with the Spirit of Jesus diligently working in us, we’ll soon get up to speed, and hopefully recognize the great significance of our Bit: ‘The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.’ Now that my fellow believers is one of the most absolute truths that exist in this universe! In fact Friends, it’s what our entire belief system is based upon; the infallibility of the Word of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! If there’s no assurance, no surety or security to that, then all we think and believe as Christians is inaccurate, immaterial and serves no useful purpose whatsoever. If there’s no truth to the Creation Story: ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth… and God said, Let there be light: and there was light… And God said, Let us make man in our own image…’ (Gen1:1,3,26) And also no truth to this most provocative statement: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty,’ (Rev.1:8) then there’s no real authority, or even plausibility to our Christian boasts. But fortunately my brethren, there are facts, figures and scripture to back up those supposedly extreme positions we Christians hold as truth. And they ought to be extreme, otherwise there’s no need for a God. Who wants a God that’s just like us eh? To be a genuine God, One must be way out, way above the heads of mere mortals in all aspects. And this, our immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God made extremely clear from early times, through His prophet Isaiah: ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.’ (Is.55:8-9) That says it all my people! And I like what the scholars say about that verse. ‘God’s sovereignty and omniscience are extolled by the statement that His thoughts (i.e., purposes or intentions) and ways (derakim, or “directions“) are higher than ours. While God may certainly be known by men, He is still incomprehensible in the totality of His person and purposes.’  And that’s the way it should be fellow believers! Now let’s look at some scripture that corroborates the contention of our Bit, that the Lord’s Word will last forever. And what better way to begin than with Isaiah’s famous prophecy. ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.’ (Is.9:6-7) What powerful words my people! And the great thing about them is that we know the prophecy was partly fulfilled by the first coming of Jesus, the remainder will be fulfilled when He comes again, as He’s so faithfully promised. Anyway Friends, that’s enough for today. We’ll continue this Bit tomorrow, the Lord in favour. Till then, let’s stand steadfast and strong in faith, relying completely on the absolute infallibility and gospel truth of the Lord’s Word, for there’s nothing else in this fallen world to compare to it. Much LOVE!…if the Word of God isn’t true…then man’s earthly journey is pointless…his suffering meaningless…and his fullness of joy a bitter lie…

 

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