SCRIP-BITS

Lamentations 2:19.     Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
 
Ah Friends, November is done, and all the Christmas stuff has begun. This year has certainly flown by, and I have nothing much to show for it. But thankfully I’m alive, and though not kicking as heartily as I would like, I’m hanging in there with God’s miraculous help, guidance and blessing. Praise Him people! And thankfully too, it’s been a rainy night and day, and not a snowy one, in my neck of the woods. Let’s hope that it remains simple showers of blessing, rather than showers of flooding, since we’re scheduled to receive more water from heaven today. Oh Lord, please let the forecasters be wrong! (smile) And Friends please pay close attention to these two sayings; the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and everyone gets their comeuppance at some time or another. Why? Because the Australian born, 39 year old founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been placed on Interpol’s Most Wanted List. And not for the irresponsible WikiLeaks exposures, but for a rape investigation in Sweden. Hn! His lawyer claims that he had consensual sex with two women, but when they found out about each other, they ganged up on him and screamed rape. Oh, hell hath no fury like women duped! But yuh see Friends, Mr. Assange will probably get away with the irresponsible WikiLeaks nonsense, but he’ll certainly have his day in the sun for other matters. How often have we done wrong and gotten away with it eh, but paid for something else that we didn’t do. And though he may be innocent of the rape allegations, his notoriety will definitely be increased. Sadly though, with the way our society is set up these days, that increased notoriety might just bring him more celebrity status and earthly wealth, for we seem to be highly enamoured of the bad boys, those who step outside the law or moral boundaries with impunity, as attested to by all the press and otherwise that the idiot gangsters and their ilk receive. Beelzebub is running riot! Ah Lord eh! Then you wonder why the lamentation for our world. It’s needed people, badly needed! Just imagine what our grandchildren will be like nuh, if they follow in their parents’ footsteps and become even dumber and less motivated in the right direction than them. That’s why Friends, we need to do as Jeremiah so strongly advised: ‘Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.’ Yes Friends, as we noted yesterday, our world is already in a sad state of uproar, and these indiscriminate leaks of private, sensitive government matters won’t help it any. The only way to bring some semblance of peace and sanity to the whole thing is for us believers to wake up and begin praying, crusading, begging and pleading to anyone who will listen, especially our leaders and the wealthy elite, to stop the nonsense and give peace and common sense a chance. And speaking of chance, I read yesterday where some author said that God calls stuff chance when He doesn’t want to put His name to it. That’s okay, for we know He’s definitely in control, and if He chooses not to take the credit, then so be it. But my brethren, let’s turn to some scripture now to reinvigorate our souls nuh. And let’s start with words from Bruh David, Psalm 62; God only is my rock and my salvation. ‘My soul, wait thou (silently) only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him: He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:5-8) And all God’s people sang His praises and sincerely poured out their hearts to Him! Oh Friends, in those four simple verses our entire delight in, and communication with the Lord God Jehovah is revealed. We hope and wait patiently for Him, because He’s our strong arm and our protector. He’s provided salvation for us as a gracious gift, if we believe in His Son Jesus. And when things get rough, we can always run to Him and pour out all the misery in our souls, because He also is our place of refuge, and He will comfort us and ease our pain. Wow! Oh my people, our God is a one-stop facility, like the malls we frequent nowadays, with everything under one roof. But we’ve got to go to Him. He won’t come to us unless we ask Him to. And this last line of our Bit just tugs at my heartstrings because it’s so true: ‘…lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.’  Oh Friends, it’s no secret that the majority of children in our world today are suffering from severe hunger, want and deprivation! And not only in the poor, undeveloped countries, but right in the middle of the biggest and richest metropolitan areas of our crazy, evil, confused world. As Isaiah said of his evil, disobedient people: ‘Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull (an antelope) in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.’ (Is.51:20) Yes my brethren much of what we’re suffering today is rebuke from our God for our wicked and disobedient behaviour. And if we want our children to have a fighting chance at a good earthly life, we have to clean up our acts, asap too, put away the idols and worldly lusts that have taken hold of our souls, repent and return to God. It’s not rocket science Friends, it says so plainly and simply in the Good Book. And since the Lord has promised to comfort the faithful, if we want to be comforted, then we need to be faithful. And we’ll end with some appropriate scripture from Isaiah that will comfort us, if and when we’re faithful. ‘Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down; that we may go over (walk over thee): and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went (walk) over.’ (Is.51:21-23) Yes my people, God was calling Israel to awake from its spiritual drunkenness, intoxicated by their sins, and that’s exactly what He’s calling us to do today. Please, for our children’s sake, let’s answer His call. Much LOVE!…to the faithful…comfort, salvation and eternal life are promised…to the unfaithful…disaster, death and eternal darkness are the rewards…