SCRIP-BITS

Seven more Friends! Yes, only one more week to the Big Day; Christmas Day, the beginning of the end of all our problems people! That was the start of the process whereby our tears and our sins would be washed white as snow, and our God would welcome us back to Him with open arms. Wow! Give the Lord some praise for that my people! Praise Him for being such a magnanimous and LOVING Deity, for caring so much about us that He devised a plan which on one level would cause Him great anguish, forsaking and sacrificing His only Son, but on another would execute justice and righteousness and release His fallen creations from the evil clutches of Beelzebub. And on Christmas Day, when our Saviour was born, that all knowing, far reaching plan was begun. So why shouldn’t we give thanks and praise to Almighty God, dance and sing and rejoice on the anniversary of such an auspicious occasion eh? No reason at all Friends, for without Christmas Day we would have no Easter, therefore no salvation and eternal life with Jesus, just death and eternal darkness with Lucifer. But thankfully our God is a good God, full of mercy, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness, and did not want to execute righteous judgement on us, as our evil behaviour called for. No wonder, Bruh David in this psalm titled, ‘Teach me to do thy will,’ cried out in anguish to the Father: ‘Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgement with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified (righteous).’ (Ps.143:1-2) And that’s the gospel truth mih breddren; no man can ever be truly justified in the eyes of God! Our basic sinful nature precludes it, regardless of how, good, faithful and true we are. For as Bildad the Shuhite said: ‘Dominion and fear are with him; he maketh peace in his high places. Is there any number of his armies? And upon whom doth not his light arise? How then can man be justified with (be righteous before) God? Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?’ (Job 25:2-4) Oh Friends, our innate rebellious nature prevents that from ever happening! And when Eliphaz rebukes Job, he asks: ‘Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?’ (Job 4:17) That’s impossible too Friends! And Job, though he was very anguished in his tribulation, still had enough good sense to realize man’s unrighteousness. ‘I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God (how can a man be righteous before God)? If he will contend (if one wished to argue) with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand (one time in a thousand). He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?’ (Job 9:2-4) Nobody! Yes my brethren, no one has ever hardened themselves against our God and prospered. Therefore it comes as no surprise when the psalmist reasons: ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark (take note of) iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’ (Ps.130:3) Not a single soul mih friends! However, since our God is so magnanimous and kind hearted, the psalmist could continue: ‘But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared (reverenced with awe). I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.’ (Ps.130:4-5) Yes Friends, there is forgiveness, not because of anything we have done, but through the Lord’s overwhelming grace and compassion. And we have to sincerely seek it, through hope, patience, faith and trust in His Word. And how could we ever earn righteousness when the Preacher so ominously declares: ‘For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.’ (Eccl.7:20) But fortunately my people, we worship a God of eternal wisdom, and His own time, He fixed that problem of man’s righteousness. And it all began with the birth of that baby boy, two thousand odd years ago, in that dingy, smelly stable in Bethlehem. And that’s why Christmas Day is so important to us Friends, because it ushered in a new beginning, a time when the darkness that enveloped our world, and the people struggling in it, beheld a light from on high, a light come to release them from their misery, from their drudgery, from their sins. Oh Friends, please let’s appreciate Christmas for the wonderful occasion it truly is. That first Christmas Day was like springtime to our world; bringing a promise of new life, light and growth to a cold, darkened, sinful land. So let’s make time this season, to sit down and contemplate all it truly means, having everything to do with our Saviour Jesus’ humble entrance into this sinful world to do a truly remarkable job, for which we’re all eternally grateful. Please put Christ first this Christmas, and relegate everything else to a distant second, for that’s how it ought to be. And Friends, if God’s in favour, we’ll continue this amazing discourse tomorrow. (smile)Till then, think on the things of Christ, not on those of the world. Much LOVE!…all journeys begin with the first step…Christmas Day was the first step…in our journey…to salvation and eternal life…