Oh Friends, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but unfortunately it’s Monday. That means it’s time again to join the workweek fray with Beelzebub, suitably attired in your spiritual armour of course, having had some rest, plus good fellowship with other believers and our heavenly Father. If you’ve had all that, then you’re in excellent form, fine fettle to do battle with the powers of darkness and their evil minions. So get out there and fight the good fight, to the death if needs be. Show them that the forces of good are way superior to those of evil because our Leader is Jesus; a gentle giant on one hand, but a mighty warrior king on the other. And in passing, here’s a thought from Mohandas Gandhi that might be helpful in our battles. He says that ‘Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul.’ Now there is much truth in that statement Friends, for many times our prayers are not for physical, worldly stuff, but more a longing of our souls for balance and serenity. When we can’t find LOVE and understanding in our physical world, we turn to a higher power, the Most High God Jehovah, for help in balancing them both in our confused, unbalanced lives. That brings us to our Bit. ‘And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.’ Yes my people, those virtues that we’ve studied over the last few days ought to effect peace in our hearts. The harmony and unity our God created among His people is to rule in all our lives. The scholars claim that the Greek word translated as ‘rule’ conveys the sense of an umpire in a game, therefore letting the peace of God rule in our hearts means that when dissension arises between believers, we ought to take the path that best maintains peace and encourages harmony. And so it should Friends! You know that over the years Peace and LOVE has become a battle cry in many societies, but the problem is we simply can’t have one without the other, that’s why it never seems to come to fruition. To have peace in our lives, there must be caring, understanding and all the other virtues glued together by LOVE. And you simply cannot have LOVE without peace for the same reason; LOVE calls for all those Christian virtues that bring peace to our souls and lives. As Bruh Paul advised the Philippians: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:6-7) Now, here’s how Jesus said it. ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) So my brethren it’s essential that we have peace in our lives and souls. We can’t afford to be overly anxious or worried about anything since those negative emotions detract from our main purpose, our calling to serve the One True God Jehovah, through the gospel of His Son Jesus; ‘to the which also are ye called.’ Oh Friends, we’re most definitely called to serve our God in LOVE and peace. ‘But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.’ (1 Cor.7:15) There Bruh Paul is talking to the Corinthians in particular about marriage and divorce between believers and unbelievers, but people, the same basic rule still applies today; ‘God hath called us to peace.’ If others want to go their separate ways, we should try to accomplish that as peacefully as possible, with little or no anger and resentment. But sadly, the family break ups of today are excellent examples of what should not happen. Divorce today is a virtual battlefield. They are now so nasty that the main intention seems to be purely selfish; get as much worldly goods, or hurt the other person as much as you can. Only the greedy lawyers win, leaving former spouses hurting and hating, and innocent children often scarred for life. But Friends, Bruh Paul didn’t only say we’re called to let the peace of God rule in our hearts, but also ‘in one body.’ That means we are called to live in peace and unity, as one body, a unified whole as the Church of Christ. ‘There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.’ ( Eph.4:4-6) That’s what he told the Ephesians. Note his extensive use of the word ‘one.’ Everything under the Lord’s jurisdiction should be clothed in peace and harmony. But that definitely does not show up in today’s church, which is so filled with divisions and dissension that it’s become a joke. Oh Friends, we need to remember that we’re one under Jesus and fight to stop any further erosion of the little unity that’s left in the church, cause if we don’t, it will disappear sooner, rather than later. And the evil enemy forces would have won. Ah mih people, it all comes right back to those virtues we’ve been talking about. You can’t have unity when self-interest reigns. And if we’d only listen to Bruh Paul we’d all have such better lives. Yuh see what he says at the end of the Bit? ‘And be ye thankful.’ That’s another aspect of our lives that has gone to the dogs in modern day society. We’re seldom thankful, more often demanding and ungrateful, which doesn’t augur well for peace in our lives. Here’s what we should be doing. ‘Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.’ (1 Thess.5:16-18) And that’s not so difficult to do my people, if we’re seriously interested in peace. Moreover, if we’re to live a good life, then peace is essential like air, food and water. Without it, we either remain unfocused, drifting aimlessly, with no productive aims or goals, or we become angry, selfish, bitter, rabid, wild animals. Sadly, we seem to be heading towards the latter full speed ahead. However Friends, please note that our motto should never be peace at any cost, for some things are worth fighting for. Our rule should rather be, peace, according to the dictates of Jesus. Please, let’s sit and seriously consider the disastrous direction in which our world is heading and do our best, both individually and collectively to turn things around. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Much LOVE….depart from evil and do good…seek peace and pursue it…’ (Ps.34:14)
SCRIP-BITS 