SCRIP-BITS

Luke 4:43.    And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
 
Happy Tuesday Friends! Let’s celebrate that our names are not in the obits today, and say a rousing, ‘Thank you Lord!’ Well the Christmas Season is hard upon us, only another 18 shopping days (including today) till Christmas. But isn’t it interesting, though sad, that our countdown to that most joyful and spiritual day of the year is done in the worldly realm of shopping days, rather than with something spiritual? That just goes to show how much the season has turned away from truly celebrating Christ’s birth to the buying and giving of material things. Ah Friends, I’m sorry for those of you whose Christmas shopping isn’t done yet. Fortunately mine is! (smile) And I’m not being facetious, sarcastic or any such thing, because I’ve simply cut out the nonsense over the last few years. I refuse to join the crazy hordes of Christmas shoppers rushing and pushing, so I either give money or gift certificates. You go and do whatever you want with them. And this year it’s even worse; no way am I going traipsing through malls with my bad knees. Oh my people, it’s nice to give and receive presents, but when the material values of the season are far outweighing its spiritual significance, it’s time to start cutting back and re-evaluating our priorities. And it’s just becoming worse with the cultural changes, where Happy Holidays is being put forth as the seasonal greeting by mamby pamby fools who claim they don’t want to embarrass or annoy other religions. Chuh! What foolishness! What’s the purpose of the holidays eh? What holidays are we celebrating? It’s all due to the Birth of Jesus Christ! Without that splendiferous event, there would be no happy holidays in December! And we won’t get into the argument about whether Christ was really born in December. That’s just become the normal time to celebrate it. Oh Friends, do you think you can stop the Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or Jews from saying Happy whatever they’re celebrating because it makes Christians uncomfortable? Certainly not! Especially in Muslim countries where you can’t even think of Christ, much less mention Him. Steups! But what’s supposed to be Christian land is pushing aside Christian faith and ideals to please other religions who have no intention of reciprocating, but instead are bent on and seriously working towards world hegemony. Oh my fellow Christians, please wake up now and smell the roses else soon there won’t be any at all to see, much less smell! We’re on the losing end right now for allowing all this nonsense to happen. Do you know that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today; that approximately 75% of religious persecution is directed against Christians? Yuh see how they shoot up a whole lot recently in Baghdad? In church to boot, with no recriminations whatsoever! And one day soon I have some other startling statistics to share on the persecution situation. It only seems that we have religious freedom in the West, for in the North, East and South, Christians are suffering terribly simply because of their faith, especially in the Muslim, Communist and Militarily ruled countries. And don’t be fooled Friends, for the trend has begun in the West too, albeit more subtly with the removal of God and the Bible from our schools, public and government places. Oh Friends, don’t you find it disgusting and pathetic that as soon as you say something, voice an opinion that’s not politically correct re a person or group nowadays, you’re quickly labelled anti this or anti that? The supposed freedom of free speech and thought are quickly thrown out the window. But in all the foolish furor and haste to placate and please those of different religions and cultures, who are blatantly ungrateful and often hostile towards their host country, have you ever heard anybody say or use the term anti-Christian? Not on your life! Because it sure seems okay to blame, belittle and cry down Christianity, the religion that built the great countries that everyone now wants to emigrate to today. Ah Lord eh! And truthfully my people, a lot of the blame lies with us for being so passive and allowing all that nonsense to happen. And if we supposed Christians don’t get up off our fat and lazy fannies very soon and do something about the untenable situation, in a few years we’ll be in the minority in the West too, and somewhere down the line, Christianity will either be outlawed and/or seriously persecuted like it was in the beginning, and still is in many parts of the world. Oh Friends, this Christmas Season, let’s wake up from our prosperity induced reverie and begin to reclaim what’s rightfully ours nuh! Yuh see that even the prosperity is disappearing now! And that’s mainly because we have turned away from the Lord God Jehovah and upped the worshiping of man-made idols and sinful fleshly lusts! We claim that Jesus is the greatest, and so He is, so why aren’t we, His followers, seriously building Him and His Church up eh, instead of letting others denigrate, despise and abuse His Holy Name? Ah mih people, just like we’ve gotten fat and lazy in our economic and technological advancement, we’ve gotten fat and lazy in our religious observance. We mouth a lot of empty platitudes, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, of getting our hands and feet dirty by putting those platitudes into action, we’re nowhere to be found. As I keep saying Friends, the biggest drawback to Christianity is our constant refusal to walk our big talk. Consequently, others don’t take us as seriously as they should, and many rightly consider us hypocrites, since many of us behave like the Pharisees and Sadducees of old, whom Jesus took to task on several occasions for not practicing what they preached. Oh Friends, what’s our nations coming to when children are asked at school to write stories on the Christmas season, but without any mention of Christmas, God or Jesus? It’s a crying shame, but many of today’s children think that Christmas, or to be politically correct, the Holidays, is simply a time for shopping, gift giving, eating and drinking. They have absolutely no clue of the true reason for the celebration. And if WE allow them to grow up like that, eventually the real reason for this wonderful season, the joyous Birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will have been irretrievably lost. Please, please, I beg and implore us: DON’T ALLOW CHRIST TO BE TAKEN OUT OF CHRISTMAS! Oh Friends, I really don’t know how I came to write this stuff. It certainly wasn’t planned, but once I got into it, it just took on a life of its own. I guess the Spirit felt that certain truths needed to be spelled out, because as a group we’ve gotten too comfortable in our sedentary lifestyle, and are not even being reactive, much less pro-active, as we’re supposed to be. I know some of you might not like, appreciate or agree with what I’ve said, but believe me people, it’s the gospel truth! And furthermore my people, it’s high time we stop allowing ourselves to be pushed around, backed into some uncomfortable corner by ungodly evildoers. It’s time to start pushing back, and forcefully too! That is if you want your great grandchildren to be born in a Christian land with working Christian values and Christ, the Head of it all. Nuff said! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Much LOVE!…it’s time for all believers to seriously…LOVE Their God…LIVE Their Faith…and SPREAD The Word…in other words…it’s time to…seriously WALK OUR TALK…