SCRIP-BITS

Matthew 5:2.    And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…
 
Oh Friends, how I wish I could be like Jesus; pick up my pen and teach you all with the authority and calmness of spirit that He had. (smile) But unfortunately none of us can match His charisma and authority, which doesn’t mean we ought not to try and get ourselves as close as humanly possible, for that’s that whole raison d’être behind our Christian exercise; to become more like Jesus with each passing day. A fine Bruh Paulian sentence! (smile) And though it’s truly a huge undertaking, as followers of Jesus, we are duty bound to undertake it, and if we’re truly serious, then, with His help, we’ll be fairly successful. But to fulfill that role we need to do the things He did. And I’m still amazed every time I see how cool, calm and collected He was, though the outward pressure was mounting everyday as His time drew nearer. One of the things that made Him so calm and sure was His constant communication with His heavenly Father. Throughout the gospels we see Him taking time to be alone with the Father, to talk to Him and ask for much needed strength, vitality and guidance. Now if Jesus, the Son of God, could do that despite His own godly attributes, why can’t, or don’t we, mere mortals, do the same eh? Why do we feel we’re too big to talk to our Creator and God about our needs and problems? It’s just foolish pride, arrogance and stupidity on our part, my people! While on earth, Jesus made no attempt at self-aggrandizement, He gave all the glory to God, and so should we. And here’s a quote that I’ve intended to use for some time, but never did. I guess the Lord didn’t think it appropriate until now. It’s attributed to the 26th President of the U.S. the multi-faceted Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919): ‘It’s the little things well done that make up a truly good life.’ And that’s gospel mih brethren! We expect the big things to cause big problems, but it’s the little things that really frustrate us, and get our stress levels up. But when we get them right…ahhh! We experience such feelings of relief and worthiness. And yuh know Friends, doing the little things right was Jesus’ trademark. He was always kind, friendly, never condescending or patronizing, hobnobbed with rich and poor, saint and sinner, Jew and Gentile, but was never hypocritical either. He always called a spade a spade, though He’d try to do it in such a manner that you’d not take extreme umbrage at His remarks. Oh Friends, how many of us can say that we do the little things right eh? Not too many I estimate, if we’re truthful about it. For we bad-talk each other, gossip, are rude and unmannerly, look down on others not as wealthy or physically endowed as us, and a host of other small, seemingly insignificant things, which, when put into proper context are very significant, for they do cause a lot of strife and resentment amongst the human family. We’re all way too hypocritical. We dislike others and form negative opinions simply because of their differences in race, culture or creed. Sometimes we dislike and resent people on sight, without knowing a single thing about them. As the old people would say, ‘just because our blood didn’t take them.’ And because of that we treat them with less respect, kindness and LOVE than we should. And though some of these dislikes on sight turn out to be correct, in most cases the opposite is true; we end up liking these people very much. Oh my people, if there’s one thing Jesus never did was disrespect others. He might not like you, or what you stood for, but He always treated you as a child of His Father. And that’s the way we ought to treat each other! Some of you must be asking what has all of this got to do with our Bit: ‘And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…’ because you haven’t heard Jesus open His mouth yet? And the answer is everything, for Jesus didn’t only teach by word of mouth, but more importantly by the way he conducted Himself, by His lifestyle, His Christ-like or Christian way of life. And that’s exactly how we His followers should be teaching too; by the way we live our everyday lives, more so than spouting a lot of scripture, then living a worldly, ungodly, lustful lifestyle. As I keep saying, that’s the main downfall of Christianity; the vast difference between what we say and what we do. Jesus showed us the perseverance and steadfastness we need to adopt in one particular example of His teaching; when He taught in His hometown of Nazareth. We’ll use Mark’s version. ‘And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought (performed) by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judah, and Simon? are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin (relatives) and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save (except) that he laid his hands on a few sick folk (people), and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching.’ (Mark 6:1-6) Oh Friends, I’m sure this hurt and disappointed Jesus more than any other rejection He received in His ministry, because it was His own people whose disbelief was so great. And though they were astonished at His wisdom, their inferiority complex did not allow them to belief that such a bright, shining diamond could have been mined in their area. Aren’t we all like that though, tending to reject the accomplishments of those close to us? We certainly are! Jesus’ people, according to Luke, were so angry, they ‘rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong (over the cliff). But he passing through the midst of them went his way.’ (Luke 4:29-30) Wow! What a reaction from your own people! Re the scholars, there are cliffs in Nazareth, which is some 1000 feet above sea level. They’re not sure though whether it was a miraculous deliverance, or Jesus just stared them down and with His overwhelming personality and presence, walked away untouched. And we’ll close with one last exclamation on Jesus’ teaching; when He went up to Jerusalem as a man to celebrate the Passover. The Pharisees sent some of their henchmen to arrest Him as He taught in the temple, but they did not do so because His time had not yet come, and they were afraid the people would riot. However, when they returned to their Pharisee masters, and were asked why? ‘The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.’ (John 7:46) And that’s the gospel truth my people! Let’s remember it and conduct our lives to suit. Till tomorrow then, God in favour, walk safely under His protective wings. Much LOVE!…a true Christian…one who not only talks…but also walks…like Christ did…