SCRIP-BITS

Proverbs 29:18    Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
 
Yes Friends, yesterday we talked about what happens when there is no divine guidance in a nation; the people usually cast off all restraints, do as they please, then consequently suffer the pangs and pains of unrighteousness. We saw how the Lord used Samuel, while still a child, as a rudder, to start turning the immoral and unrighteous Israelites around. Today we’ll deal with the second part of the proverb; ‘but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ In the realm of laws made by man, that isn’t always true though, for some man-made laws can be downright disadvantageous, oppressive and cause untold suffering. However, it’s very true in the law we’re talking about here; that law enshrined in and personified by Jesus. After washing His disciples feet, He told them; ‘Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well: for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.’ (John 13:13-17) Yes Friends, it’s basically the old treat others the way you’d like to be treated, and no one’s really better than the other, we’re all here to serve. James calls it the perfect law of liberty; ‘But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.’ (James 1:25) Yes people, if we adhere to that ‘perfect law of liberty,’ the teachings of Christ and His apostles, we’ll be blessed in all that we do, and in turn be happy. The law is perfect and freeing because Jesus, through His birth, death, resurrection and ascension became the embodiment of all religious teachings and work, and it frees us from the principles of sin and death. Jesus is now the authority to whom we look on matters godly, and we no longer worry about sin and death if we believe and trust in Him. Furthermore, we can see how God actually transforms a visionless society, into one that contentedly keeps His laws, if we look through the Books of Samuel. Although Israel rejected the Lord, we can trace His mercy, wisdom and faithfulness in their lives, for when the period of the Judges ended, Samuel being the last, and the selfish, unrighteous people called for a king, the Lord selected righteous men. First Saul, who was okay in the beginning, but later allowed his insecurity and jealousy to get the better of him. Then there was Bruh David, who, with help and guidance from Samuel and later prophets, became a godly king, and turned the nation back to righteousness and reverence to the Lord. In appreciation for this faithfulness, the Lord made an everlasting covenant with Bruh David that affected the whole world, for through Bruh David’s lineage came Israel’s Messiah, the Saviour of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; the one who now rules us all. Oh Friends, new leadership is now being hailed in many parts of the world, let’s sincerely hope that there are men of God around them with a good understanding of His precepts, also power and courage enough to influence these leaders, who themselves have been blessed with godly wisdom, so that they can wisely lead their people, turn our world around, away from the path of destruction on which we’re currently travelling, back to the arms of the everlasting, ever-loving, Most High God, Jehovah. And please remember, a society is only a collection of individuals, meaning that each of us also has an important part to play in that return to righteousness. We’ve got to start it from home; make it all in the family. Much LOVE!…only in obedience to God’s will…is lasting health, happiness and prosperity possible…  And it’s so short today too (smile)