Oh Friends, none of us wants to be reminded that it’s Monday morning, which means we have to unravel ourselves from our warm cocoons, our LOVE nests, to go out into the cruel, crazy, unfriendly, evil world so we can make a few pennies to keep life and limb together. Unfortunately though, that’s the reality of the situation. However there’s also good news; that if we’re securely ensconced in our spiritual armour, then we’re safely protected from the evil scourge, and mightily empowered to battle the forces of darkness through the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ! Now isn’t that something to be thankful for mih people! Then let’s say it, loud and proud: ‘Thank you Jesus for protecting us through your Holy Spirit! We praise and glorify your Holy Name! Amen.’ But before we get into the nitty gritty of our Bit, let me share what I hope is an enlightening, affirmative, helpful quote from Theodore Tilton, which declares that ‘Pain is hard to bear…But with patience, day by day, Even this shall pass away.’ And that’s a fact my Friends! Pain is a normal condition of human existence which some suffer more than or longer than others, but we all face its dreadful effects at some time or other in our earthly lives. And though at times it’s awfully hard to bear, like many things in our world, if we stand strong and invoke, call up that reservoir of patience and fortitude that’s planted deep inside of every human, we usually can outlast the pain, whether it be physical, emotional or mental. Please note though Friends, that that is only a general synopsis on pain, because some pain can be so dreadful that only serious medical or psychological attention will reduce them. But in general, most pain will gradually pass away with time, if we bear them steadfastly. This brings us to our Bit: ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.’ That’s Bruh Paul’s wise and godly advice to the Ephesians. And if you don’t think the Lord moves in mysterious and wondrous ways, then listen to the story of Today’s Bit. Earlier on in the night I’d written the intro; my usual Monday morning spiel about not going to work without your spiritual armour, not knowing what the Bit would be. Then I decided to, or was guided by the Spirit to use the Pain quote, so I went looking for a suitable Bit on either pain or perseverance and found this one, only to discover that it comes directly after Bruh Paul’s advice to the Ephesians on the daily use of that same spiritual armour. (Eph.6:13-17) Obviously it brought a chuckle to my soul and also some reassurance, a sort of sign, that I was indeed headed in the right direction. Now, let’s see what connection the Bit has with the spiritual armour of God. Oh my people, it has everything to do with it, because it describes the manner in which that spiritual armour should be used. First Bruh Paul explains the need for the armour: ‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles (schemes) of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness (spiritual hosts) in high places.’ (Eph.6:11-12) However my people, though our loins be girded with the belt of truth so we can always speak it, our chests with the breastplate of righteousness to guard our emotions, our feet shod with the shoes of peace so that we can constantly walk therein, our heads secured with the helmet of salvation to guard our minds, holding in one hand that awesome shield of faith to ward off flaming arrows of evil, and in the other hand the magnificent sword of the Spirit, the undisputed Word that brings conviction and repentance, it’s all to no avail unless we practice our Bit. First, there’s ‘Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.’ Yes Friends, prayer is very important in these proceedings, in fact it is indispensable, for without it the armour is not sufficient to gain victory against the evil, powerful forces of darkness. ‘And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ (Luke 18:1) That’s the introduction to Jesus’ parable of the woman who kept pestering the judge for justice, and finally got it because of her perseverance. (Luke 18:2-5) Yes my people, we need to pray constantly, do it at every opportunity, especially when the enemy rises up against us. And it doesn’t always have to be in a grandiose manner, simple chats with the Lord are sufficient. And divine help must be accessed through the wise, unstoppable force of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. The Lord won’t pay us any attention unless that Spirit of Jesus is involved. Then my people, we need to be vigilant with our prayer; ‘watching thereunto with all perseverance.’ We can’t let up our vigilance for a moment, because that’s when Lucifer and his evil cohorts sneak in. Jesus said it best to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane when He found them sleeping. ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Mat.26:41) Oh Friends, we all know that our flesh is the weakest part of our human make up, and since followers of Jesus ought to dwell more on the spiritual than fleshly plane, we have to be very careful in all we say and do, especially since our world is now overwhelmed with the lusts of the flesh. And finally Friends, we have to pray for everybody; ‘supplication for all the saints,’ not only ourselves. As the scholars say: ‘Spiritual combat is both an individual and corporate matter.’ We’re all in it together, and can only be victorious if we fight together. And we’ll close with some most appropriate words of Bruh Paul on thanksgiving and prayer to the Philippians. ‘I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil.1:3-6) So Friends, let’s realize that putting on the spiritual armour of God is only the first part of the process, we still need to be watchful and persevering in prayer for everybody, with the aid of the Spirit to truly activate the winning mechanism. Let’s activate that victory power today nuh! Much LOVE!…the believer’s earthly walk…though never easy…is always filled with encouraging signs of victory…along the way…
SCRIP-BITS 