SCRIP-BITS

Isaiah 51:1.    Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
 
Oh my wonderful Friends in Christ, I hope we’re all in fine fettle this Tuesday after Valentine’s Day, and that we did our part yesterday to increase the outpouring of LOVE in our badly famished world. But even more importantly, I implore us to try and keep up that level of affection we showed to all God’s children yesterday. I know we can’t be at the top of our game every day, but we can certainly be so on most days. And that’s all Jesus really asks of us; to give it our best all the time. Now I heard somebody say recently that regardless of how old or mature we are in the faith, we should never lose the ability to be amazed by God’s doings. And that’s true Friends. We need to continually see God through child-like faith, with stars in our eyes and wonder on our minds, without doubt or distrust, so that we can keep appreciating His goodness and mercy in our lives. It’s only then that our hearts can truly be moved by His wondrous Spirit. That brings me to today’s amazement factor. As I was cleaning up some paperwork on my desk before writing the Bit, I came upon a newsletter put out by Gary Sullivan, a Real Estate Agent in my area, whom I’ve mentioned before. The good thing about Gary’s newsletter is that it has all sorts of good, useful ideas and quotes, more stuff than houses for sale. Anyway, this issue has a short piece on Wilma Rudolph, the famous Black American athlete of the 1960’s, with a couple of very interesting quotes. However, before making a firm decision to use them I decided to find a Bit first. As usual, I opened the Good Book, asking the Lord to guide me to a Bit. Lo and behold, I opened it to Isaiah 51, which is superscripted, ‘The faithful are called to courage.’ A chuckle naturally rose from my soul because Wilma Rudolph’s life was one of exceptional faith and courage. So choosing the first verse of that chapter was a no-brainer. And I obviously said a grateful, ‘Thank you Lord,’ for it’s not always so easy to find a Bit. That’s the kind of stuff I mean when I say we should keep being amazed by God’s doings; small incidents that don’t shake the earth, but do help tremendously in our lives. The big stuff will always amaze us, but it’s the appreciation of the small things that will keep our hearts young and joyful in the Lord. Oh Friends, as Isaiah called his people to courage back then, so am I calling all true believers to have faith and courage today, to stand strong and steadfast in the Lord, no matter what trials and tribulations come our way. ‘Hearken to me, ye that follow after (pursue) righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.’ Yes mih people, all of us who pursue righteousness, who put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, we need to steadfastly look to Him, the rock, the tower of strength from which we were made and from whence comes our power. Remember, God made us in His own image, so we already have the seeds of some of His features, like trust, strength and faith planted in us. Now we have to nurture those seeds so that they may grow bountifully in our lives. But unfortunately too many of us pay more attention to the hole in which we’re in, our negative circumstances, rather than focusing on Christ, the strong tower. Remember Friends, that Jesus is the only one who can truly lift us up out of any mire in which we’re stranded. And Wilma Rudolph’s story is a glowing example of that rising from the mire of adversity through faith and courage…and hard work. We always tend to forget the hard work, but that’s very necessary too. As a grown woman and successful athlete, she staunchly declared: ‘Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion. The potential for greatness lives within each of us.’ And that my brethren is gospel truth! Hear her story: Born prematurely in 1940, 4 1/2 pounds, to a poor backwoods family in Tennessee, 20th of 22 children, she suffered all sorts of illnesses at a young age, including scarlet fever, pneumonia and then the clincher, polio. That meant she had to wear leg braces. The doctors claimed she’d never walk again, but in God’s sphere, never doesn’t exist. And so, in His overall plan, she was gifted with a mother of great faith, who told her that she could do whatever she wanted, and that she would walk again. Thankfully, she believed her mother and not the doctors, and at 9 took off her braces, and by 12 was walking normally. Obviously it wasn’t easy, but that’s the strength of the human spirit, especially when it’s surrounded and supported by others of faith and trust. The rest is history: a basketball star in high school, a top class sprinter in university, a bronze medal winner on the U.S relay team in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Then four years later, at the Rome Olympics in 1960, the crowning glory: three gold medals; the 100 and 200 metres races, and the anchor of the 4 x 100 relay team, thus becoming the first female runner to win three gold medals at the same Olympic Games. Wow! And all God’s people declared with joyful tears: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Yes Friends, things that look impossible when we look to man or Lucifer, become possible when we look to God, our sure rock and strong tower. So let’s promise ourselves, today, RIGHT NOW, that we’ll stop letting Lucifer and his evil cohorts lead us down the garden path to ruin. Instead, we’ll look up to Jesus, who only desires to raise us heavenward. And we’ll end with one more quote from Wilma Rudolph, a telling one too: ‘Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.’ That my people is also gospel, because we don’t appreciate our good fortune half as much if we don’t struggle for it. So let’s keep the power to dream alive and kicking nuh! Much LOVE!…to overcome…you must look up…at Jesus…