Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 January 2020 Philippians 3:14.

25 Jan 2020 Leave a comment

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

Philippians 3:14.    ​I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
 
And on a rainy, somewhat gloomy looking Saturday morning, the urge to sleep in was irresistible, especially when the beddy-bye time was the wee hours of the morn. (smile) I was up late watching the epic movie ‘Gone with the Wind.’ And it has to be one of the best movies ever made, simply because of it’s scope, grandeur and length; 4 hours. It must have taken a long time to make since they didn’t have all the computer stuff and special effects back in 1939 when it was first released, that we have now. 

And it just shows the utter wastefulness of war; the civil war in the U.S, where the old South is fighting to keep a style of life that has outlived its usefulness, with slavery and the grand families, plantations and mansions of the time as its centre piece. However, by the time I got to the intermission, it was already 4 a.m. so I shut it down until another time. 

Anyway, it’s Saturday, so let’s see what mental goodies our friend Anselm sent us this week nuh, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I’m in a quandary here, not knowing where to begin and end, as each of the quotes seem to have real truth, substance and body to them. (smile) Ah, the best place to begin is always the beginning! And the first quote tells us: ‘Keep a good attitude and do the right thing even when it’s hard. When you do that you are passing the test. And God promises you your marked moments are on their way.’

 Now that’s ever so true my faithful brethren! It’s exactly what our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ expects from ALL His followers! It’s not easy to do, but with His help we can do it. That’s why He told us to not to indulge in an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth situation, to go the extra mile, to turn the other cheek, to give away our coat too, and to LOVE our enemies, bless them and pray for them.’ (Matt.5:38) That’s also why Bruh Paul told us not to recompense evil with evil, but to overcome evil with good.’ (Rom. 12:17, 21) 

And that runs right into the next dandy of a quote: ‘There is nothing better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.’ Ah friends, none of us like adversity, but unfortunately that’s the only way we grow in our faith walk and learn from our mistakes. It’s only when we go through rough times that we actually have to use our faith to help us get through them. Otherwise our faith just sits dormant and thus cannot grow. 

Look at all the great people of faith, they all went through tough times, especially Jesus! Yuh think He really wanted to go though all the rejection and ‘sufferation’ He endured? Not really, but it was all a learning curve, so that He could be strong enough to endure the cross! And please remember His most reassuring and encouraging words: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Precious people of Christ, those are words we should have written deep in our souls so that we can use them when adversity comes a calling, as it invariably will during our earthly sojourn. 

Then there are also these awesome words of wisdom: ‘Don’t be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn’t do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.’ Yes friends, none of us began our lives as wise as we now are. That’s because true wisdom comes with age and experience. So we don’t need to knock the young as much or as hard as we sometimes do, for hopefully they too will get wise with age and experience. 

Remember Jesus words: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again’ (Matt.7:1-2) Oh my people, if our current, oh so quick to judge and judgemental world would only adopt that teaching eh! Unfortunately it doesn’t like that’s going to happen at any time soon, because we’re all so engrossed on judging each other; just look at the foolishness that’s going unhindered on the social media platforms nuh. Some of us with the biggest planks in our eyes are daring to judge those with mere specks in theirs!  (Matt.7:3-5) 

Now here’s the piece de resistance (smile): ‘Let go of yesterday. Let today be a new beginning and be the best that you can, and you’ll get to where God wants you to be.’ And we all know that as gospel truth because we serve a God of new beginnings, new chances and starting over as often as is necessary. That’s why Bruh Paul admitted to the church at Philippi: ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (reached where I want to be, the ultimate pinnacle): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 3:13-14) 

Yes friends, Bruh Paul didn’t think he was a hot shot, although he could boast about many things, his religious credentials and past Christian achievements. As the scholars say: ‘In ever pursuing his goal to know Christ (v.10), he refuses to let past guilt pull him down, or to rest on past laurels. Either could spell spiritual disaster. Those things which are before refers to his goal of knowing Christ, with all that implies: experiencing His power and participating in His suffering, becoming more like Him in death (v.10), and experiencing the resurrected life (v.11).’ 

And so should we be evermore focused on what’s coming up and not what’s gone before. Hear the scholars: ‘3:14. The mark is the objective of verses 10 and 11 (i.e. knowing Christ). The prize is the joyful personal satisfaction of having attained it, as well as the divine commendation and reward to be granted in heaven for having reached this goal on earth. The high calling of God is the divine summons extended to the believer for salvation.’ 

Oh my people, my people, this Saturday morning I sincerely implore us to be wise and diligently seek that mark, that objective of knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection, so that we can all eventually receive the wonderful heavenly prize given to those who have received and accepted the divine summons of salvation! Now that’s surely a Bruh Paulian sentence! (smile) And we can then declare like Bruh Paul: ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (race), I have kept the faith.’ (2 Tim.4:7)  Much LOVE!

…Christians should always be looking forward to the ultimate prize…that of being with Christ in heaven…for eternity…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 January 2019 Luke 6:37.

19 Jan 2019 Leave a comment

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

Luke 6:37.   ​Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.
 

And then it was Saturday, a supposed day of rest, but unfortunately for many, an even busier day than normal; what with all the household chores that don’t get done during the week to catch up on. But nonetheless, many of us just lay on the couch, like the couch potatoes we want to be, and let the world go by. What a wonderful idea! Especially in the northern climes, on a dark and gloomy day like today when the snow is expected to fly sometime this afternoon. 

Yuh know it’s nice sometimes to just sit or stand by your window and simply watch and admire the dazzling white flakes come floating down from high heaven, like mankind, each one different to the other, and then just pile up on each other to make such a beautiful picture! Oh, our God is so inventive eh! (smile) 

Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, as he keeps aspiring to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one simply says: ‘A wise man can play the part of a clown, but a clown can’t play the part of a wise man.’  I don’t know about that nuh, because to be a successful clown, you also need to be wise. 

Yes! How else will you make your audience appreciate your antics…and you also need to have a wide repertoire of them to ensure some success. But I guess generally speaking, especially with the poor quality of ‘clownship’ that we have nowadays, where everyone considers himself or herself a joker, the quote might hold true. (smile) 

And then there’s: ‘If you have no critics you’ll likely have no success.’ That’s generally true because the naysayers simply stir up the pot to a different level, and without them it won’t boil and bubble and overflow its lip and cause contention and more notice than otherwise possible. (smile) 

Now hear this one: ‘So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.’ And there seems to be some truth to it; note the old adage, ‘the squeaky wheel gets the grease.’ I know that many of us have had our feathers ruffled when we behave nicely, then see some rude, mouthy person show up and get what we wanted, just because of their unmannerly behaviour. 

And I sadly believe that’s the way our world is going these days. Everybody is loudly bitching and complaining about something! Our world is in an uproar like it’s never seen before. And this last quote ought to bring some perspective to our insights. (smile) 

‘Don’t be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn’t do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when you didn’t know what you know today.’ Now on a basic level that’s quite true, we should not be quick to condemn others because they’re not at our level, and remember that one time we were just as daft as them. (smile) 

But I really want to deal with that quote from a Christian point of view, especially in light of Jesus’ immortal words: ‘Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.’ It couldn’t be any clearer that that my believing brethren! 

And the scholars explain thus: ‘6:37. Judge can mean “to distinguish,” or to “consider carefully.” Jesus does not forbid this (John 7:24). Here he warns rather against high-handed condemnation of others. It is God’s task ALONE to render a judgement that condemns.’ 

Oh how I wish that more of us, including believers, would adhere to those words, for there’s so much condemnation going on in our current society, especially with the social media scene, that it’s like a pandemic, all around the world. And if you didn’t listen to how Luke put it, then listen to Matthew’s version. 

‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2) Yeh friends, like a boomerang, whatever you send out, it will indeed come back to you, and oftimes with much more severity. 

And none of us likes that. We LOVE to utter condemnations, with little or no knowledge on the subject, but when we’re judged in the same manner, we’re quick to get agitated and all up in arms. As the old people would say; ‘do so ent like so.’ Yeh, we don’t like others doing to us, what we’ve done to them. 

Now here is some more useful info from the scholars. ‘7:1-4. Judge not refers to an unfavourable and condemnatory judgement. This does not mean that a Christian should never exercise judgement of any kind under any circumstances. The point being made here is that we are not to judge the inner motives of another. 

 We are not to render a verdict based upon prejudiced information. Nor are we to use ourselves as the standard of judgement for with what…ye mete (measure) you shall be judged. That ye be not judged refers to the ultimate judgement of God rather than our own judgement.’ 

Ah mih people, unfortunately a lot of the judging going on in our world today is of the prejudiced kind. We see and don’t really understand, but still we judge, we condemn out of hand. But let that happen to us nuh…the whole world will hear about it. Friends, to avoid all of that, let’s not judge, or worse yet condemn, without knowing what we’re talking about nuh. Let’s follow these words of Jesus: ‘Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgement.’ (John 7:24) 

And furthermore, let’s judge like we’d like to be judged nuh. Remember the Golden Rule, Jesus’ pronouncement for godly and fair living? ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ (Matt.7:12) 

What a way we’ve forgotten that simple but ever so wonderful way to live. Please my people, let’s bring it back into vogue nuh, it would certainly warm and please the cockles of Jesus’ heart and make our world such a wonderful place to live! Much LOVE!

…you reap what you sow…later…and more abundantly too…