SCRIP-BITS

Proverbs 29:25.    The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.
 
Oh Friends, it’s another day in the life! Wow! A life though, which many of us consider boring, routine, humdrum and same-old, same-old. Now to a certain extent all those descriptions are true, because life in general consists of the same day-to-day things and acts. In this modern, fast paced society, we get up in the mornings, rush out to work, baby sitters or school, spend most of the day involved in activities we consider uninteresting, then we crawl back home, pick up the children, do the housework and/or homework, go to bed, get some fitful sleep, then it’s time to get up and do the same thing over again. Oh, how our lustful flesh craves excitement and interesting stuff! And thus we’re titillated through the all-pervasive media by the supposed glamour of those we call celebrities in today’s evil, ungodly world. But if you look closely, you’ll discover that many of those who appear to live this glamorous existence are always in some sort of trouble; either with the law, their families, or outside relationships. Unfortunately, their lives never seem to run as smoothly as we’d expect, given all their earthly wealth and power. So though their lives appear exciting from our lowly perspective, that same excitement causes them more problems than our boring, mundane existence. Oh I know that many of us will still opt for that lifestyle, but I do have some good news for us. My brethren, there is one way to always have a full and interesting life, plus safety and security, and it’s so simple that most of us tend to ignore it. And what’s that wonderful, interesting way of life, I hear you plead? Well, as the song says, simply, ‘Try Jesus!’ Yes Friends, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Light, and a host of other things too numerous to mention. And why try Jesus? Again it’s a simple answer: because He’s never failed us yet. And all God’s people shouted a loud, ‘Amen!’ My Friends, we’re all aware of that truth, but because it doesn’t fit into the world’s lustful, idol worshipping agenda, it’s discredited, and tends to make us think that Jesus is boring and out of date. But that’s totally untrue my brethren, for Jesus is every bit as up to date, and even more interesting than the empty, sinful practices of our ungodly world. And our Bit bears that out quite well. ‘The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe (secure, set on high.)’ And that’s no lie! Yes people, whenever we trust in, fear and reverence mankind too much, we end up getting in trouble. However. when we trust in, fear, reverence and surrender our souls and lives to Jesus, we don’t fall into any traps or pits. And we have excellent examples from the Good Book. The first goes way back when to our spiritual father, Abraham. At one stage in his younger days, still known as Abram, a disastrous famine hit his homeland, so he and his wife Sarai set out for Egypt to seek a better life. But just before entering Egypt, he said to Sarai: ‘Behold now, I know that thou art a fair (beautiful) woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive. Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.’ (Gen;12:11-13) And what happens? All the powers in Egypt admire Sarai’s beauty and she ends up in Pharaoh’s house, and Abram receives an enormous dowry with numerous animals and servants. But unfortunately for Abram, ‘the Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him: and they sent him away, and his wife, and all that he had.’ (Gen.12:17-20) Oh Friends, whenever we set out to deceive because of some fear, doubt or anxiety, we always end up regretting it at some future stage. Thus Abram’s fear of strangers abducting his beautiful wife and killing him, led him to a foolish, deceptive act, which hurt him more in the long run, for though he amassed some earthly wealth from the deception, he was run out of Egypt back to the famine land. Was the deception worth it? I don’t think so. Anyway, the Lord obviously had His eyes on Abram, had greater things in store for him and Sarai, and therefore did not allow the deception to work for long. It’s the same way the Lord has His eyes on some of us today, and will not allow us to succeed in any deceptive schemes. Looking back on my life now, I can pin point a couple of my own deceptive schemes which eventually fell through, but if they had succeeded, I certainly would not be writing now about Jesus and His safe, secure and exalting attributes. Thanks be to God! Ah mih people, such are the vicissitudes of life! More tomorrow on this topic, God desirous, but we’ll close with the 9th and last of our New Year’s ponderings: ‘This year, I will share the good news of God’s great grace.’ Oh Friends, what a beautiful way to end our Bit! Now let’s all go out and participate in that most worthwhile and honourable endeavour. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen! Much LOVE!…be not deceived…God is not mocked…for whatsoever a man soweth…that also shall he reap… (Gal.6:7)