Jeremiah 3:23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s September 1st already? Wow! Where has August and the rest of the year gone to? The summer has passed and it seems as though I’ve done nothing. But then again, the summer might not be quite finished in my neck of the woods, because it’s going to be thirty something again today. And Friends, that’s Celsius, not Fahrenheit. (smile) Anyway, I turned the page of the Alzheimer’s Society calendar today, some of you might have it, and a most appropriate quote for the times jumped out at me. The Dalai Lama declares that: ‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.’ And believe me people, that’s the gospel truth! Happiness is something you’ve got to work diligently at, for at every turn in your life’s journey, there’s something or someone just out to make your life, difficult, miserable and unhappy. So it’s up to all of us to sow the individual seeds to our own happiness. We also need to remember, that no one else is responsible for our happiness, but us. Neither can anyone make us happy, or unhappy, unless we allow them to. That utopian state of happiness lies completely in our hands alone, since it’s an emotional state, and only we control our emotions. And that happiness theme certainly lines up nicely with our Bit, where Jeremiah declares: ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains.’ Yes Friends, many of us look to the hills, mountains, other places and things for happiness and salvation, but the author of Psalm 121, when talking about God’s sustaining power, had the right idea. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.’ (Ps.121:1-2) So though we lift our eyes, heavenward, earthward, or wherever my people, it’s extremely important we know and remember that the Lord God Jehovah is the original source of all our help. None of His creations have the awesome power to help us like He does. As Bruh David confidently proclaims in Psalm 124: ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.’ (Ps.124:8) Therefore we can say with full surety, like Jeremiah does in the second half of our Bit: ‘truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.’ And Friends, I’m going to stay in the Old Testament today, just to give us some insight into the fact that even before Jesus came, the ancients knew God, knew His omnipotence, and looked to Him for His saving grace and salvation. But just like us today, they didn’t necessarily abide by His will, to everybody’s disadvantage. But let’s look at some old time scripture that confidently proclaims that salvation is truly of the Most High God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Obviously Bruh David will be the first to step up to the podium, since he spoke of it so much. In Psalm 3; a prayer of confidence in God, he proudly proclaims: ‘Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.’ (Ps.3:8) Likewise, in Psalm 25; a prayer for guidance and protection, he humbly declares: ‘Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day.’ (Ps.25:5) Meanwhile, in Psalm 51; a prayer for cleansing after his adulterous and murderous liaison with Bathsheba, he sincerely pleads: ‘Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted to thee.’ (Ps.51:12-13) And finally in Psalm 62, where he boldly declares that God is his rock and salvation: ‘He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.’ (Ps.62:6-7) Oh my people, Bruh David was so sure of the salvation of the Lord God of his fathers that he vocalized it in several different situations, as we can see from the quotes above. However, since we don’t want to give the impression that he was the only one who trusted in the Lord’s salvation in ancient times, here are some other important testimonials to that fact. Right at the start of the Good Book, we have Jacob, on his deathbed, prophesying re his children’s future, and staunchly declaring: ‘I have waited for thy salvation O Lord.’ (Gen.49:18) And Moses, in his song to the Israelites, also confidently proclaims: ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise him); my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ (Ex.15:2) And that wily prophet, Isaiah, not to be outdone, in his song of praise by the redeemed, strongly declares: ‘And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ (Is.25:9) And we’ll end with one more quote from Isaiah, when he talks about the Lord, the only redeemer. It’s short, sweet, to the point and true! ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.’ (Is.43:11) And all God’s people joyously shouted: ‘Amen! Glory Hallelujah!’ Oh Friends, let’s remember that and purposely live our lives in accordance with it, just as those stalwart ancients, those men of great faith, did so long ago. It’s one of the wisest decisions we’ll ever make. So, till we meet again tomorrow, God willing, remember to LOVE your GOD, LIVE your FAITH, and SPREAD His WORD! Much LOVE!…the only one who can save us…is the one who created us…
Oh Friends, can you believe it’s September 1st already? Wow! Where has August and the rest of the year gone to? The summer has passed and it seems as though I’ve done nothing. But then again, the summer might not be quite finished in my neck of the woods, because it’s going to be thirty something again today. And Friends, that’s Celsius, not Fahrenheit. (smile) Anyway, I turned the page of the Alzheimer’s Society calendar today, some of you might have it, and a most appropriate quote for the times jumped out at me. The Dalai Lama declares that: ‘Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.’ And believe me people, that’s the gospel truth! Happiness is something you’ve got to work diligently at, for at every turn in your life’s journey, there’s something or someone just out to make your life, difficult, miserable and unhappy. So it’s up to all of us to sow the individual seeds to our own happiness. We also need to remember, that no one else is responsible for our happiness, but us. Neither can anyone make us happy, or unhappy, unless we allow them to. That utopian state of happiness lies completely in our hands alone, since it’s an emotional state, and only we control our emotions. And that happiness theme certainly lines up nicely with our Bit, where Jeremiah declares: ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains.’ Yes Friends, many of us look to the hills, mountains, other places and things for happiness and salvation, but the author of Psalm 121, when talking about God’s sustaining power, had the right idea. ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills (mountains), from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.’ (Ps.121:1-2) So though we lift our eyes, heavenward, earthward, or wherever my people, it’s extremely important we know and remember that the Lord God Jehovah is the original source of all our help. None of His creations have the awesome power to help us like He does. As Bruh David confidently proclaims in Psalm 124: ‘Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.’ (Ps.124:8) Therefore we can say with full surety, like Jeremiah does in the second half of our Bit: ‘truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.’ And Friends, I’m going to stay in the Old Testament today, just to give us some insight into the fact that even before Jesus came, the ancients knew God, knew His omnipotence, and looked to Him for His saving grace and salvation. But just like us today, they didn’t necessarily abide by His will, to everybody’s disadvantage. But let’s look at some old time scripture that confidently proclaims that salvation is truly of the Most High God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Obviously Bruh David will be the first to step up to the podium, since he spoke of it so much. In Psalm 3; a prayer of confidence in God, he proudly proclaims: ‘Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.’ (Ps.3:8) Likewise, in Psalm 25; a prayer for guidance and protection, he humbly declares: ‘Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all day.’ (Ps.25:5) Meanwhile, in Psalm 51; a prayer for cleansing after his adulterous and murderous liaison with Bathsheba, he sincerely pleads: ‘Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted to thee.’ (Ps.51:12-13) And finally in Psalm 62, where he boldly declares that God is his rock and salvation: ‘He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.’ (Ps.62:6-7) Oh my people, Bruh David was so sure of the salvation of the Lord God of his fathers that he vocalized it in several different situations, as we can see from the quotes above. However, since we don’t want to give the impression that he was the only one who trusted in the Lord’s salvation in ancient times, here are some other important testimonials to that fact. Right at the start of the Good Book, we have Jacob, on his deathbed, prophesying re his children’s future, and staunchly declaring: ‘I have waited for thy salvation O Lord.’ (Gen.49:18) And Moses, in his song to the Israelites, also confidently proclaims: ‘The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation (praise him); my father’s God, and I will exalt him.’ (Ex.15:2) And that wily prophet, Isaiah, not to be outdone, in his song of praise by the redeemed, strongly declares: ‘And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ (Is.25:9) And we’ll end with one more quote from Isaiah, when he talks about the Lord, the only redeemer. It’s short, sweet, to the point and true! ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.’ (Is.43:11) And all God’s people joyously shouted: ‘Amen! Glory Hallelujah!’ Oh Friends, let’s remember that and purposely live our lives in accordance with it, just as those stalwart ancients, those men of great faith, did so long ago. It’s one of the wisest decisions we’ll ever make. So, till we meet again tomorrow, God willing, remember to LOVE your GOD, LIVE your FAITH, and SPREAD His WORD! Much LOVE!…the only one who can save us…is the one who created us…
SCRIP-BITS 