SCRIP-BITS

Jeremiah 1:5.    Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
 
Ah Friends, it’s finally over; that’s the city council elections around the country that have caused such a stir in the local communities over the last few weeks. And though some things have changed, some remain the same. There’s a Muslim mayor in Calgary, the first in a Canadian city; a new mayor, Rob Ford in Toronto too. However in my fair city of Mississauga, Queen Hazel, Hazel McCallion, at eighty odd years of age, has been returned for the umpteenth time. I believe it’s her twelfth or thirteenth term as mayor, although she’s currently involved in a big breach of trust investigation over a multi-million dollar land deal between the city and her son that went awry. Only in Mississauga you say! (smile) It’s sad though that we’ve picked up so much of the American way of campaigning; spending a lot of money and more time badmouthing opponents than outlining one’s platform. But only time will tell if the new people will function better than the old. No doubt a whole host of new problems will arise, and many of the old ones will resurface, since they were never dealt with properly. The only unknown is whether there’ll be less dissatisfaction amongst the citizens this term, than there was in the last, though it seems that citizens all over the world are dissatisfied with their leaders. Anyway, let’s hope and pray that this group does a better job than the last. Remember Friends we’ve got to pray for our leaders, for the Lord to guide them in their efforts on our behalf. But enough ‘politricks’, time for our Bit, Jeremiah’s call from the Lord: ‘Before I formed thee in the belly (womb) I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee (set thee apart), and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.’ Yesterday we saw Jeremiah’s negative reaction to the Lord’s call, claiming that he was too young for such great responsibility, and also my response to His call to write the Bit, where I laughed, considered it a joke, since I didn’t think I knew enough about the Good Book to write competently on it. But as He’s wont to, the Lord pushed aside both our simple-minded arguments and guided us successfully. So Friends, if the Lord’s calling you to so something worthwhile for Him, be it big or small, don’t worry about if you are able to do it, because He’ll always help us. And as the Bit says, before we were even conceived, He knew all about us and had certain tasks and plans laid out for us. It’s just a matter of time before He calls every believer to perform their God-given tasks. And don’t feel badly if you balk at the task, because greater men than us balked at the Lord’s calling, then went on to do greater things than we’ll ever do. Consider Moses: He said that he stammered when the Lord sent him to talk to Pharaoh, forty years after he fled from a murder rap in Egypt. He was obviously afraid, and queried the Lord: ‘Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he (the Lord) said, certainly I will be with thee…’ (Ex.3:11-12) Apparently Moses never wondered why his life was saved when all the other Hebrew children were killed, and he had the good fortune to grow up as Pharaoh’s grandson. That’s because the Lord had planned it thus long before he was born. But Friends, please don’t worry, for the Lord will always be with us in whatever task He appoints us to do. And deep down we very well know this, but there’s this little negative grain of fear in our spirits that puts up a roadblock whenever the Lord calls. Interestingly enough though, that warning sign never rises as much when Lucifer calls. We seem more afraid to do the Lord’s calling than Lucifer’s. Consequently we can’t be surprised when Lucifer’s kingdom flourishes instead of the Lord’s. And even when Moses accepted the job, he still kept haggling with the Lord, constantly finding excuses. Listen to this one. ‘And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ (Ex.33:12-14) Yes Friends, it never seems to be easy for us to simply agree to do the Lord’s bidding. But as He told Jeremiah, He knows who we are and what we’re going to do before we’re even conceived. Ah mih breddren, I know that the Lord doesn’t always call us to do easy things, more often than not they’re fairly difficult, but it’s His way of testing us, of seeing whether we truly have surrendered our all to Him to lead and guide us. And if we have, then when He directs us to do something, the appropriate answer is: ‘Yes Lord. When do I start?’ If we keep dragging up excuses about our inability, then we haven’t truly surrendered our lives to Him, we still have misgivings as to His ability to capably lead and guide us along life’s rough and rugged road. That further means, if we really want to be true believers, we have to search our hearts, minds and souls to find out what’s holding us back. Oh Friends, unfortunately, I know whereof I speak on this particular subject, so please let’s set our hearts and souls in order, so that when the Lord calls we’ll be able to promptly answer in the affirmative. Remember He’s promised never to leave or forsake us, and to be with us always. Let’s raise the level of our faith and accept Him on the basis of those faithful promises. More tomorrow on the topic, obviously if God’s willing. Till then, please walk safely and constantly commune with Him. Much LOVE!…to truly trust in the Lord…truly requires blind faith…