Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Oh Friends, I hear you exclaiming: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ So let’s chant our Friday chant nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.’ Yes my people, we wouldn’t be able to get through the long, tiring weeks, week after week, if it wasn’t for the Lord’s grace, mercy and compassion. But when we put it all in His powerful, benevolent hands, when we surrender our entire lives to Him, then He fills us with His grace and strength, lifts us up, so that we can truly be, the conquerors He made us to be. That’s why Bruh Paul cautioned the Colossians: ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ Friends, if we claim to be believers in Christ, then He should rule our every thought, our every word and our every action. There should be nothing we consider, say or do that doesn’t involve Jesus at its heart. The Father desires us to be like Him, and if we want to please and obey the Father, then we have to seriously try to think and act the way Jesus would in every situation of our lives. I know it’s a lot to ask when we’re surrounded by such ungodly evil, but that’s why we’re different to the unbeliever; our faith and trust in the Holy Trinity empowers us to reach up and out, to live a more righteous and godly life. Bruh Paul said it this way to the Church at Corinth: ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ (1 Cor,10:31) Meanwhile, in Psalm 34, the Lord hears the prayer of the righteous, Bruh David proclaims it thus: ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Ps.34:1-3) Wow! What a powerful testimony! Yes my brethren, we ought to continually bless and praise our God, tell others about Him, and magnify Him together in thankful fellowship. Our Creator, our God, Heavenly Father, Great Provider and Protector deserves no less than the best! As Bruh Paul advised the Ephesians: ‘Speaking to your selves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:19-21) However Friends, we should not take it to the extreme, where every word we utter is God, because that’s just as bad as the other extreme, not paying God any thanks or attention at all. Some of us get so caught up in the Christian thing that we become boring and overbearing, which only turns off others, both believers and unbelievers. Like all things in life we have to strike a happy medium, bringing balance to it. Bruh Paul said it best: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men…’ (Phil.4:5) Though we should always be thankful and rejoicing, yet our graciousness and reasonableness should shine forth. People ought to see and hears us and know that there’s something different, a good different about us. Look at Jesus: He certainly talked about God, but didn’t rave or try to brow beat others with it. He was just calm and peaceful, even when hurting, and let His lifestyle do most of the talking, for He knew that mankind follows more of what they see than what they hear. And we all know our biggest weakness and failure as Christians is that we don’t walk our talk sufficiently. Oh Friends, that’s definitely our Achilles heel! Just ask any unbeliever why they either dislike or don’t pay much attention to believers, and the number one response will be, we don’t practice what we preach, we’re big hypocrites. Consequently, when Peter talks about us being good stewards of God’s grace, he solemnly declares: ‘If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (utterances) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.4:11) Oh Friends, whatever we do in this life, and the next too, ought to satisfy one simple, but also complex requirement; that is glorify our God. If we’ll just set that as our goal, then we’ll be fine. We won’t have too many things to be chastened for, (smile) and God will get the glory He richly deserves. To help us keep that goal, we’ll end with some beautiful advice from Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing 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) Oh my people, truer words were never spoken! So let’s take them to heart and put them into practice nuh, that we can proudly and ably do our duty; glorifying the Most High God Jehovah! Until next time, down here or up there, go in peace and LOVE, with God as your guiding light. Much LOVE!…remember…our lives…they’re all about Jesus…
Oh Friends, I hear you exclaiming: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ So let’s chant our Friday chant nuh. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.’ Yes my people, we wouldn’t be able to get through the long, tiring weeks, week after week, if it wasn’t for the Lord’s grace, mercy and compassion. But when we put it all in His powerful, benevolent hands, when we surrender our entire lives to Him, then He fills us with His grace and strength, lifts us up, so that we can truly be, the conquerors He made us to be. That’s why Bruh Paul cautioned the Colossians: ‘And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.’ Friends, if we claim to be believers in Christ, then He should rule our every thought, our every word and our every action. There should be nothing we consider, say or do that doesn’t involve Jesus at its heart. The Father desires us to be like Him, and if we want to please and obey the Father, then we have to seriously try to think and act the way Jesus would in every situation of our lives. I know it’s a lot to ask when we’re surrounded by such ungodly evil, but that’s why we’re different to the unbeliever; our faith and trust in the Holy Trinity empowers us to reach up and out, to live a more righteous and godly life. Bruh Paul said it this way to the Church at Corinth: ‘Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.’ (1 Cor,10:31) Meanwhile, in Psalm 34, the Lord hears the prayer of the righteous, Bruh David proclaims it thus: ‘I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.’ (Ps.34:1-3) Wow! What a powerful testimony! Yes my brethren, we ought to continually bless and praise our God, tell others about Him, and magnify Him together in thankful fellowship. Our Creator, our God, Heavenly Father, Great Provider and Protector deserves no less than the best! As Bruh Paul advised the Ephesians: ‘Speaking to your selves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:19-21) However Friends, we should not take it to the extreme, where every word we utter is God, because that’s just as bad as the other extreme, not paying God any thanks or attention at all. Some of us get so caught up in the Christian thing that we become boring and overbearing, which only turns off others, both believers and unbelievers. Like all things in life we have to strike a happy medium, bringing balance to it. Bruh Paul said it best: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men…’ (Phil.4:5) Though we should always be thankful and rejoicing, yet our graciousness and reasonableness should shine forth. People ought to see and hears us and know that there’s something different, a good different about us. Look at Jesus: He certainly talked about God, but didn’t rave or try to brow beat others with it. He was just calm and peaceful, even when hurting, and let His lifestyle do most of the talking, for He knew that mankind follows more of what they see than what they hear. And we all know our biggest weakness and failure as Christians is that we don’t walk our talk sufficiently. Oh Friends, that’s definitely our Achilles heel! Just ask any unbeliever why they either dislike or don’t pay much attention to believers, and the number one response will be, we don’t practice what we preach, we’re big hypocrites. Consequently, when Peter talks about us being good stewards of God’s grace, he solemnly declares: ‘If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (utterances) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’ (1 Pet.4:11) Oh Friends, whatever we do in this life, and the next too, ought to satisfy one simple, but also complex requirement; that is glorify our God. If we’ll just set that as our goal, then we’ll be fine. We won’t have too many things to be chastened for, (smile) and God will get the glory He richly deserves. To help us keep that goal, we’ll end with some beautiful advice from Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing 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) Oh my people, truer words were never spoken! So let’s take them to heart and put them into practice nuh, that we can proudly and ably do our duty; glorifying the Most High God Jehovah! Until next time, down here or up there, go in peace and LOVE, with God as your guiding light. Much LOVE!…remember…our lives…they’re all about Jesus…
SCRIP-BITS 