SCRIP-BITS

Psalm 8:4.    What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Ah Friends, fall definitely seems to be upon us! Though it isn’t too cold, the Lord’s certainly broken out His seasonal canvas and has begun another autumn masterpiece; splashing the various hues of gold, red, brown, and yellow in varying combinations upon the trees. Soon, nothing will be green but the evergreens. (smile)  As per colour and variety, fall is the most beautiful of the seasons. No other compares to it in terms of visual appeal, but yet there are many who don’t appreciate its beauty; in other words, don’t appreciate one of God’s most beautiful gifts to man. They will pay millions of dollars for a two by four canvas with insipid, unintelligible splashes of colour, oohing and ahhing over it, talking crappy jargon about depth and breadth and use of colour etc, but won’t spend a moment to enjoy God’s handiwork, to which no mortal‘s work can ever compare. But I guess that’s the nature of the beast; more interested in his egotistical, small mentality creation than the Lord God Jehovah’s magnificent exposition. Anyway Friends, today I’ve been led to use the scriptures I disregarded yesterday, and I’m glad because they are all great passages that tell something of how man thinks of himself and his mortal coil. Let’s begin with Job’s view: ‘Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble (turmoil). He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down (fades away): he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.’ (Job 14:1-2) Yes Friends, that’s definitely true; our days are short and turmoil filled. Like a flower, we burst upon the scene with joy and great expectations, but just like a flower, we either fade away or are cut down, and cease to exist. This leads Bruh David to question: ‘Lord what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! Or the son of man, that thou makest account (thinketh) of him! Man is like to vanity (a breath): his days are as a shadow that passeth away.’ (Psalm 144:3-4) And we’ll find the idea, the theme of shadows, breaths and vapour used throughout the Good Book to describe man’s brief earthly journey. Bildad, Job’s friend, in affirming God’s justice, says it thus: ‘(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow.’ (Job 8:9) Meanwhile James, in dealing with unchristian conduct, solemnly declares: ‘Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.’ (James 4:14) Oh my brethren, our mortal lives are surely short, easily snuffed out, and in the large scheme of things aren’t nearly as important as we like to think. And in Psalm 102, a cry in distress, the psalmist sadly intones: ‘Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up (exalted me), and cast me down. My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.’ (Ps.102:10-11) Yes my people, if we get on the Lord’s wrong side, He can quickly abase us, having not too long before exalted us. Both our earthly power and life can be short as the grass or flower that blooms gloriously in the early morning dew, then wilts and withers in the noonday sun. And in Psalm 39, Bruh David, praying for self-understanding and awareness, also decries man’s frail and fragile earthly state to God. ‘When thou with rebukes dost correct a man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume (melt) away like a moth: surely every man is vanity (vapour). Selah.’ (Ps.39:11) Now listen to the Preacher: ‘For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain (futile) life which he spendeth as a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall be (happen) after him under the sun?’ (Eccl.6:12)  No man can do that my brethren, because our minds and knowledge are not that highly developed. And we’ll end with an appropriate warning from Isaiah: ‘Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of (wherein is he to be esteemed).’ (Is.2:22) Oh Friends, from all that we’ve said yesterday and today, it’s very clear that man’s life is like a grain of sand on the shores of time; small and insignificant. His mortal state can move from rich to poor, from the top to the bottom, from full of breath to devoid of life in the twinkling of an eye, because that’s the way our Creator made us. And unless we understand our fragility and weakness before the Lord, we’ll suffer endless misfortunes. It will serve us all well to remember that He is the omnipotent, omniscient creator, not us. We are mere pawns on His chess- board. He is the King. And as I heard a preacher say recently: ‘The King always has one more move!’ Remember that Friends. So, till me meet again, whenever and wherever that might be, go in peace with the Lord. Much LOVE!…until man learns that he’s not the ruler of the universe…but a mere steward of Almighty God…his life will always be  in turmoil…