Lamentations 3:57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! The weekend cometh; fun time, frolic and much fellowship! And today I want to share a simple but dynamic quote attributed to a man who lived a long time ago in ancient Greece, between 620 and 560 BC, a man whose writings, whose stories have been immortalized, read by every generation. His name is Aesop. We all know him through his famous Fables; like the Fox and the Grapes, or the Tortoise and the Hare. Many of his stories are used today in the moral education of children. Why, you ask? Because his stories weren’t merely concocted for story-telling purposes, but as Apollonius of Tyana, a 1st century AD philosopher said of the slave/story teller, he wrote ‘like those who dine well off the plainest dishes, he made use of humble incidents to teach great truths, and after serving up a story he adds to it the advice to do a thing or not to do it.’ And his truth that we’ll share today is that ‘No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.’ Yes my Friends, that’s gospel! In the world of our God, He sees and appreciates every kind act we do, whether it’s great or small, and He puts a tick next to out name in His Heavenly Book of Kindness whenever we do one. Oh Friends, that’s laying up treasure in heaven! Please, let’s never forget that and keep on doing those acts of kindness. And that reward account in heaven also helps us here on earth, for the more kind acts we do with a right heart and motive, the more the Father will be inclined to bless us. Yes, in our day of tribulation, when we cry out to the Lord for help, we’ll be able to say, like Jeremiah did: ‘I called upon thy name O Lord, out of the low dungeon (the lowest pit)…Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.’ (Lam.3:55 & 57) Oh my people, that’s one of the biggest benefits of living a godly life on this earth. Besides doing good in the Lord’s name, we also have the privilege of calling upon Him for help in times of trouble, and also knowing for certain sure that he will answer us. From day one, this has been so my people. Hear the warning of the prophet Azariah to King Asa. ‘Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:2) That’s simple and straightforward my people; what we’d call ‘tit for tat.’ You seek the Lord, you’ll find Him, and He will deal righteously with you. But if you forsake or ignore Him, then He’ll do the same to you. No wonder so many of us cry out to the Lord in vain, because we don’t seek Him all the time. We only remember Him when trouble befalls us, then we cry out and expect Him to hustle and help us. Now listen to James tell it like it is. He’s a little more in your face than Azariah. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw night to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded…Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8,10) Oh my brethren, those are some of the things we need to do continuously in our earthly walk with Jesus. And when we do them, when we’re truly walking in the Saviour’s footsteps, and we call out to Him in times of trouble, then we’ll hear Him say, like Jeremiah did: ‘Fear not.’ And that’s no joke Friends. It’s one of our God’s greatest, strongest, and most often repeated promises. From the days of Moses, during the Exodus, when the children of Israel were griping and complaining, and he said to them: ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (be quiet).’ (Ex.14:13-14) And Friends, you know what happened after that; possibly the greatest sign of God’s existence and presence that He’s ever showed to man, the parting of the Red Sea, Israel walking over on dry land, then the utter annihilation of the Egyptian army when the waters returned to normal. They certainly didn’t see those Egyptians again, just like Moses promised. Yes my people that’s the greatness of our God! And if you don’t believe Moses, then hear the Lord speaking through that great visionary, Isaiah, re the final restoration of Israel. ‘Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is.41:9-10) Oh mih people, how much more assurance can we ask for eh? Not much. But the Lord, in His LOVING kindness and mercy, and knowing our penchant for doubting, for an insecure spirit and faith, sent His innocent Son Jesus to die for us. And if after all of that Friends, we still doubt His LOVE and concern for His creation, His handiwork, the sinful children of men, then I don’t know what else to say. I can only leave you to God. But I will continue to believe, trust, follow, surrender and live faithfully to the One who died for me, who cleansed me of all my sins, and is right now preparing a place for me to be with Him, wherever he might be, when I depart this earthly life. Let’s hope you all are doing the same Friends. Till tomorrow then, God willing; Much LOVE!…as for me and mine…we will follow the Lord…and not fear…
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! The weekend cometh; fun time, frolic and much fellowship! And today I want to share a simple but dynamic quote attributed to a man who lived a long time ago in ancient Greece, between 620 and 560 BC, a man whose writings, whose stories have been immortalized, read by every generation. His name is Aesop. We all know him through his famous Fables; like the Fox and the Grapes, or the Tortoise and the Hare. Many of his stories are used today in the moral education of children. Why, you ask? Because his stories weren’t merely concocted for story-telling purposes, but as Apollonius of Tyana, a 1st century AD philosopher said of the slave/story teller, he wrote ‘like those who dine well off the plainest dishes, he made use of humble incidents to teach great truths, and after serving up a story he adds to it the advice to do a thing or not to do it.’ And his truth that we’ll share today is that ‘No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.’ Yes my Friends, that’s gospel! In the world of our God, He sees and appreciates every kind act we do, whether it’s great or small, and He puts a tick next to out name in His Heavenly Book of Kindness whenever we do one. Oh Friends, that’s laying up treasure in heaven! Please, let’s never forget that and keep on doing those acts of kindness. And that reward account in heaven also helps us here on earth, for the more kind acts we do with a right heart and motive, the more the Father will be inclined to bless us. Yes, in our day of tribulation, when we cry out to the Lord for help, we’ll be able to say, like Jeremiah did: ‘I called upon thy name O Lord, out of the low dungeon (the lowest pit)…Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.’ (Lam.3:55 & 57) Oh my people, that’s one of the biggest benefits of living a godly life on this earth. Besides doing good in the Lord’s name, we also have the privilege of calling upon Him for help in times of trouble, and also knowing for certain sure that he will answer us. From day one, this has been so my people. Hear the warning of the prophet Azariah to King Asa. ‘Hear ye me Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.’ (2 Chr.15:2) That’s simple and straightforward my people; what we’d call ‘tit for tat.’ You seek the Lord, you’ll find Him, and He will deal righteously with you. But if you forsake or ignore Him, then He’ll do the same to you. No wonder so many of us cry out to the Lord in vain, because we don’t seek Him all the time. We only remember Him when trouble befalls us, then we cry out and expect Him to hustle and help us. Now listen to James tell it like it is. He’s a little more in your face than Azariah. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw night to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded…Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-8,10) Oh my brethren, those are some of the things we need to do continuously in our earthly walk with Jesus. And when we do them, when we’re truly walking in the Saviour’s footsteps, and we call out to Him in times of trouble, then we’ll hear Him say, like Jeremiah did: ‘Fear not.’ And that’s no joke Friends. It’s one of our God’s greatest, strongest, and most often repeated promises. From the days of Moses, during the Exodus, when the children of Israel were griping and complaining, and he said to them: ‘Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord, which he will show you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (be quiet).’ (Ex.14:13-14) And Friends, you know what happened after that; possibly the greatest sign of God’s existence and presence that He’s ever showed to man, the parting of the Red Sea, Israel walking over on dry land, then the utter annihilation of the Egyptian army when the waters returned to normal. They certainly didn’t see those Egyptians again, just like Moses promised. Yes my people that’s the greatness of our God! And if you don’t believe Moses, then hear the Lord speaking through that great visionary, Isaiah, re the final restoration of Israel. ‘Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is.41:9-10) Oh mih people, how much more assurance can we ask for eh? Not much. But the Lord, in His LOVING kindness and mercy, and knowing our penchant for doubting, for an insecure spirit and faith, sent His innocent Son Jesus to die for us. And if after all of that Friends, we still doubt His LOVE and concern for His creation, His handiwork, the sinful children of men, then I don’t know what else to say. I can only leave you to God. But I will continue to believe, trust, follow, surrender and live faithfully to the One who died for me, who cleansed me of all my sins, and is right now preparing a place for me to be with Him, wherever he might be, when I depart this earthly life. Let’s hope you all are doing the same Friends. Till tomorrow then, God willing; Much LOVE!…as for me and mine…we will follow the Lord…and not fear…
SCRIP-BITS 