SCRIP-BITS

I’m sorry Friends, but it’s Monday morning, time to rise and shine and be about the Lord’s business. That means it’s also time to sing our Monday Morning 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 now allows us 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 we’re wearing your powerful, protective, spiritual armour. 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!’ Now let’s go out and do as promised, as our Saviour Jesus strongly advised: ‘But he said, Yea rather (more than that), blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.’  Ah my people, we all know that as an eternal and universal truth, yet we don’t follow it nearly as much as we should. Jesus made this statement after teaching about a divided house being unable to stand, more gospel truth. (Luke 11:14-26) ‘And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company (crowd) lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps (breasts) which thou hast sucked.’ (Luke 11:27) And Jesus replied to her with our Bit. Oh Friends, from day one we’ve been taught that to truly believe in God, one must not only hear the Word and accept it, but more importantly do, or keep it. We’ve also been told, seen and experienced the repercussions that flow from not complying with the Word. So why are we still so stubborn, reluctant, ignorant and downright foolish when coming to obeying God eh? Furthermore, those last two verses, the woman blessing Jesus and our Bit don’t only show that we’re most blessed when we both hear and do God’s word, but also that our spiritual relationship with Jesus is the most important of our lives, even more so than with earthly family. My people, it’s of the utmost importance that we both believe in God and obey His Word; one without the other is useless. And there are numerous passages throughout the Good Book that recommend, warn and advise us on the necessity for obedience to Almighty God. Let’s look at a few, which hopefully will touch our souls and help us to raise our level of obedience. First up is Psalm 1, Blessed are the righteous: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate (ponder) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.’ (Ps.1:1-4) Oh my people what’s there not to understand? The happy and blessed man is the righteous one who obeys God’s laws, whose way is made prosperous because of his obedience. On the other hand, the ungodly, evil man is worth nothing; he’s like the chaff, the outer shell of wheat, which is easily blown away by the wind, and he eventually suffers God’s judgement. Oh my brethren, I simply don’t understand why, knowing all that, we still bow so much to the lustful idols of Beelzebub and his evil cronies of this world. Sometimes I’m tempted to think that the Lord left out an important screw in our mental make up, else we wouldn’t be so stubborn and hard-headed. And if Psalm 1 didn’t do anything for us, let’s turn to Psalm 112: ‘Praise ye the Lord (Hallelujah). Blessed is the man that feareth (reveres) the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth (stands) forever. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion (justice)…The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.’ (Ps.112:1-5,10) Ah Friends, I know from personal experience that it’s not as easy as it sounds, but if we’re to be true representatives, true ambassadors of Jesus here on earth and further His kingdom, then we must do better than we’re currently doing. Too many of us are falling under Lucifer’s spell, which is often difficult to resist, especially in rough times like we’re now experiencing. But then again that’s exactly what Jesus teaches; that in the rough times we’ve got to stand strong and steadfast with Him, for He is the only one who can safely see us through the dark and dreary moments in our lives, and bring us out even better. Oh Friends, please, I implore us to get diligent re the Word and let’s all promise to do better in the future, starting RIGHT NOW! Till we meet again tomorrow, God willing, when we’ll continue this topic, go in peace with the Lord. Much LOVE!…oh…to be happy in Jesus…trust and obey…for there’s no better way…to be happy in Jesus…than to trust and obey…