SCRIP-BITS

Micah 7:2     The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
 
Oh Friends, finally a little precipitation fell today. For a while there I thought we would have to resurrect Elijah and get him to pray for some rain. (smile) The dry, sunny days are nice, but too much of anything eventually causes negative effects. The lack of rain was starting to turn the grass brown, the earth dry and hard, the brush like kindling, a perfect invitation for brush fires. However, as we all know, the Lord is still in His heaven, still in control, but totally unhappy because Micah’s words of so long ago have come back to haunt us. ‘The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.’ Ah Friends, what an awful shame that those words are again ringing true today! And the sad part is that the situation seems to be getting worse. Like Israel back then, our moral sins are becoming ever more plentiful and intensified. What with the recent economic collapse, which is still taking its toll on the ordinary man, though the governments try to convince us that we’ve hit rock-bottom. Nonsense! Try telling that to the ordinary folk who are still losing their long time jobs that they thought were secure, and still seeing their hard earned savings disappear on account of greedy, white collared fraud artists, who very seldom receive the punishment they justly deserve. Instead, they either receive a slap on the wrist, or are bailed out under the same old rules, with no new accountability put in place, so they can continue the sorrowful, greedy, criminal cycle. Like Isaiah said when he condemned Israel’s idolatry: ‘The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth (takes) it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come (presence of evil). He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.’  (Isa.57:1-2) Yes my Friends, those who seek after righteousness, shall have rest and peace. But with the sorry state of our world right now, it’s difficult for citizens to remain righteous and upstanding, faithful and loyal when they’ve been so badly betrayed, have lost their jobs, houses, and lots of their earthly possessions, with little or no money coming in to feed and clothe their families. And though the rulers talk a good talk, no real positive opportunities are appearing on the horizon for these unfortunate people. It was bad enough before all the fraud came to light and the meltdown occurred. Can you imagine what it’s become since then? Hn! And sadly, it’s spread so much and so fast, because the greed and corruption existed so far and wide, that it’s now acquired pandemic status, flourishing planet-wide, so that Micah’s statement; ‘there is none upright among men,’ can be almost taken at face value, taken literally, for the percentage of righteous folk in our world today is negligible when compared to those of unrighteous standing. And the next part can also be taken literally: ‘they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.’ Note the increase in robberies, both violent and otherwise. Crime in general, but especially that perpetrated with guns, is also rising, as the society becomes more lawless, partly because of the serious poverty, oppression and suppression in many countries. It’s easier to pick out the nations with relative peace, than those in conflict. And even in those with relative peace, violence and conflict are simmering just below the surface. Habakkuk said it like this. ‘They take up all of them with the angle, (a hook) they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag: (dragnet) therefore they rejoice and are glad.’ (Hab.1: 15) Oh my people, what are we coming to eh? Is there none willing to stand up against the greedy oppressors? Listen to Micah further expose the unrighteous. ‘That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, (successfully) the prince asketh, (asks for gifts) and the judge asketh for a reward; (bribe) and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous (evil) desire: so they wrap it up. (scheme together) The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge.’ (Mic.7:3-4) Ah Friends, that doesn’t speak very highly of our rulers and leaders. And this is no idle supposition, we all know that it’s going on, and very blatantly too, since those in power don’t seem to care, consider themselves untouchable and unaccountable. But tell them Friends, that’s a false sense of confidence and security, for the God of justice is ever watchful, and to remember that time longer than twine, for ‘the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation (punishment) cometh; now shall be their perplexity.’ (Mic.7:4) That’s a fact people; the wicked shall pay. It’s only a matter of time, until the Most High God Jehovah calls them to account. Ah my brethren, the wicked are so foolish, it’s pathetic. Hear Micah again. ‘The heads thereof judge for reward, (bribe) and the priests thereof teach for hire, (pay) and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean on the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil (no harm) can come upon us.’ (Mic.3:11) Wow! Isn’t the brazen foolishness of the oppressor, of the unrighteous, just mind-boggling? Don’t they learn from history that all unrighteous eventually are felled by their own samurai, wielding their own swords? I guess not, else they would not continue the tradition. Anyway, Isaiah bewailed his nation’s iniquity thus: ‘Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters (wellsprings) of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. (Isa.48:1) Meanwhile, Jeremiah puts it more succinctly and to the point. ‘Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit.’ (Jer.7:8) Oh Friends, I know that the times are ‘ruff an tuff,’ that ‘sufferation’ is plentiful, and temptation abounds in even greater quantity than normal, but please, I implore us, let’s not go the way of the unrighteous, of the wicked and greedy, for eventually they shall all pay a stiff price for their wrongs. As sincere followers of Jesus, let’s try and bear up under the strain, under the intense pressure that many of us are under. Let’s take everything to God in prayer; let’s lean on the mighty Spirit of Christ that dwells within us. It will be a difficult task, but remember, with God working in us, nothing’s impossible, and if He’s for us, nothing or no one can come against us, especially when we are clothed in His protective armour, because we are conquerors in His Name. So let’s all stand steadfast and strong, cause great will be our rewards if we do. Much LOVE!…it’s in times like these…that true believers must show their mettle…through faith, trust, prayer, total surrender and fellowship..