SCRIP-BITS

Oh my beautiful Friends in Christ, unfortunately it’s Monday Morning; time to gear up for battle! But before we jump into the fray, let’s loudly and proudly voice our Monday Battle Hymn! ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once your powerful, protective aura hovers over us. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that your Holy Spirit lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Ah Friends, now that we’re empowered, let’s go out there and give Beelzebub and his buddies’ heck! (smile)  I’ve reworked our battle Hymn. Though it was nice and flowery, it was just too long for our purposes. Now let’s continue with our Bit, strong, true words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus: ‘…Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.’ Oh my people, we’ve all been guilty of that at some time in our lives. It’s like the pompous lawyer who tries to test Jesus by asking how he can inherit eternal life. Jesus in return asks him what the law says, and he immediately spouts it out to Jesus’ satisfaction. (Luke 10:25-28) ‘But he (the pompous lawyer) willing (wanting) to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?’ (Luke 10:29) This led Jesus to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:30-37) Now the lawyer very well knew the answer, for at the end of the parable, when Jesus asks who he considers the neighbour, he answers correctly: ‘He that showed mercy on him.’ (Luke 10:37)  However, in foolish arrogance, he tries to make Jesus look bad, which we all know is impossible, as Jesus’ answer testifies: ‘Go, and do thou likewise.’ (Luke 10:37) But don’t we all react in that foppish, foolish, self-important manner at times my Friends? Certainly! Especially in front of those we consider our betters, so that we can look and sound impressive and hopefully advance our cause; also to those we consider lesser mortals, trying to impress them with our superior intellect. It’s a natural human trait, made even more popular by the fawning, sycophantic way our world now operates. But my brethren it’s wrong to justify ourselves before mortal men, as we saw yesterday, when Jesus castigated the Pharisees for fasting, praying and doing charitable deeds in public just to look good and righteous. That’s definitely not our Saviour’s style; neither should it be ours, because it doesn’t cut any dash with God since He only looks at the true story that’s hidden deep within the recesses of our heart, not our hypocritical outward behaviour. Now the best way to get the message of a true and righteous heart indelibly written in our souls and minds is to look at some scripture that deals with the subject. And we’ll begin with one of the best bits of advice a father ever gave a son. Listen to Bruh David when he encouraged Cousin Sol to build the temple to the Lord: ‘And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the Lord hath chosen thee to build a house for the sanctuary: be strong and do it.’ (1 Chr.28:9-10) Oh Friends, there’s no better direction we can give to our children, or to any other human, than to serve the Lord God Jehovah with a perfect heart and willing mind because that’s where the crux of the matter lies! It’s straight to inner recesses of our hearts that the Lord’s x-ray vision delves. Our hearts are like the bull’s eye on a target, which the Lord always aims for and always hits; dead centre! So the sooner we realize the futility of hiding anything at all from Him, the better off we’ll be. Now hear Cousin Sol from his prayer of dedication re the temple: ‘Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) That they may fear thee (hold thee in reverential awe), to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.’ (2 Chr.6:30-31) Wow! Definitely more words of truth and wisdom my people! And it’s all been applicable from the day God created us, and will be till the end of time; if there’s ever such a thing. Oh Friends, we can never over emphasize the importance of a righteous heart, because that’s where all our doings, good, bad and indifferent, begin and end, and the Lord judges us on its state of rightness. I therefore implore us to diligently try and maintain a right heart in the Lord’s sight. We obviously will do wrong at times, for that’s our nature, but please let’s try and keep our motives as pure and unadulterated as possible. That’s the best way to please our God. More tomorrow on this topic, God willing. Till then, please go in peace, LOVE and safety. Much LOVE!…the heart…the heart…the heart…it’s all about the rightness of our hearts…