Oh yes Friends, it’s Monday morning and we’re all excited, chomping at the bit to get out there and engage Beelzebub and his bully boys in spiritual warfare! Wow! We’ve had a good rest and amazing fellowship this weekend, and now we’re dressed in our full suit of spiritual armour, fully restored and re-energized with a new and stronger commitment to go out into the sinful, ungodly world we inhabit and save many souls for Christ! And all God’s people joyfully chorused: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise to the Lamb who selflessly sacrificed His innocent life for us!’ Ah mih people, if all of that was actually true eh. What a feather that would be in the Lord’s cap! Some of it is true though, and we’re hoping and believing with steadfast faith that as time goes by, we’ll get a full house of believers all singing the Monday Morning Battle Song of LOVE. (smile) And Friends, the wonderful thing is that’s what our Bit today is beseeching our God to do: ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.’ We’re asking Him to cleanse our hearts of all the nefarious, sinful designs and desires that constantly flow through it and rejuvenate our spirit, so that we can LOVE Him more dearly and deeply. But before we get into that, here’s a little something, a truism, from Ralph Waldo Emerson. ‘Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.’ And that’s the living truth mih breddren! In fact it doesn’t only apply to peace, but to anything at all you ask for or are offered. If you don’t accept what you ask for or what’s offered, then you’ll never have it. The Lord could bless you with the world of peace, mercy, LOVE, forgiveness and what have you, but if you don’t receive it, accept it with the right heart, then the Lord’s gesture will be worthless. The same goes for our Bit my people. We can beg and beseech Him all we want for a clean heart and right spirit, but in the long run the onus is on us to accept His offer. It’s just like the worldly law of offer and acceptance; we can make all the offers we want, but until that offer is formally accepted, there’s no deal, no consummation of the matter. Psalm 51 is Bruh David’s prayer for cleansing after the prophet Nathan draped him up over his murderous and adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Bruh David could have pleaded for cleansing till he was blue in the face, but it would have been to no avail until and unless he accepted it. That’s the difference between the mature and immature believer; the former knows that asking is useless if we’re not willing to receive. The same thing goes for Bruh David’s other pleas: ‘Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin…Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit.’ (Ps.51:2,11-12) Now those are all things that we too need to ask of the Lord because we are sinners by nature and don’t normally gravitate to good works, which He expects of us. Hence Bruh Paul’s statement to the Ephesians: ‘For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph.2:10) But please note carefully Friends, that contrary to popular opinion, good works do not merit or bring salvation. That comes only through the free grace of God, when we’re spiritually reborn in Christ, and His motto, His modus operandi is doing good works. Hear it from Bruh Paul himself: ‘For by grace are ye saved (you have been saved) through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ (Eph.2:8-9) So it logically follows my brethren, that if we are followers of Jesus, then we are expected to do good works since that’s what He’s all about. However, since we’re inherently sinful, every so often, especially when we know we’ve done wrong, we need to ask the Lord to cleanse and heal us, like Bruh David did, so we can get back on the path of righteousness that true believers are expected to walk. And we’ll end today with some strong words, directions and warnings from the Lord to Israel, when they complained that His ways were unfair. (Ezek.18:29) These words were conveyed to Israel by the prophet Ezekiel: ‘Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.’ (Ezek.18:30-32) Oh Friends, the Lord stated long ago that He got no pleasure from seeing His children, His most precious creation cast into eternal death and damnation with that fool Lucifer. And He still feels the same way. So please, I implore us, let’s clean up our acts, our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, so that we may live forever in the most blessed and holy presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father. It’s the smart thing to do. Much LOVE!…there’s nothing as hard for mankind to accept…as wise and prayerful advice…
SCRIP-BITS 