SCRIP-BITS

Psalm 25:14.    The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.
 
Oh Friends, the bacchanalian celebrations continue in T&T today! It’s the big day, with all the pretty costumes out on the streets and moving across the main stage at the Queens Park Savannah and several other smaller venues. Every street corner is jammed packed, with pan and brass blasting and people jumping and wining, trying to give credence to its title of the ‘greatest party on earth.’ Now Rio might be bigger, but Friends, there’s something about T&T mas that just gets into your spirit and moves you. I guess it comes from the powerful amalgamated spiritual background of our African, Indian and Christian heritage. And if you want to watch it live, you can check out www.carnivaltv.net, they promise to be streaming it from around 7 a.m. That’s your Carnival fix. Now here’s your spiritual direction. (smile) This is a quote from St. Frances de Sales, (1567-1622) a French Roman Catholic Bishop of Geneva, supposedly active in the struggle against Calvinism. And it’s for all of you who think you’re so busy. ‘Half an hour’s meditation each day is essential – except when you’re very busy. Then a full hour is needed.’ Yes mih Friends, too many of us figure, or claim that we’re too busy to spend much time with God. But the truth is, when we’re so busy that we don’t know our A from our E, that’s when we really need to spend plenty quality time with our heavenly Father, so that He can settle us, take away our world induced busyness stress, and right our rocking, unsteady ship. That’s why Bruh David in his prayer for guidance and protection stoutly and truthfully declares: ‘The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them (cause them to know) his covenant.’ That’s for certain sure my brethren! If you don’t show proper respect and reverence to the Lord, you will never know what He’s about, or what His plans are for you. That’s because those things are only revealed when you get into true, personal closeness with Him. Then and only then, will you truly understand His will. It’s like most things in this world; we learn more about them, the more we interact with or study them. Our God is no different; the more we interact with Him, study, meditate and follow His Word, the more understanding we gain of His ways, His likes and dislikes. That means we obviously can’t follow God truthfully, unless we have a good, strong understanding of Him, His statutes and precepts. Cousin Sol says it this way: ‘For the froward (perverse person) is abomination to the Lord: but his secret (secret council) is with the righteous.’ (Prov.3:32) Yes my people, only if we live right with our God, will He show us what He’s all about, plus His plans for us individually. Now hear our Saviour’s take on the subject. ‘For every one that doeth (practices) evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed). But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.’ (John 3:20-21) That’s at the end of the passage where He expounds to Nicodemus on the need to be born again to enter heaven’s portals. It’s absolutely essential for followers of Jesus to see the light, to come out of the slavish darkness that Lucifer wants to keep us in, so that we can be forever ignorant of God’s tremendous goodness and exceedingly great LOVE. And unless our deeds can stand the light of day, public scrutiny, then we living in darkness mih people. Now listen to the Master again, when He went up to the Feast of the Tabernacles at Jerusalem, and people wondered about His great knowledge, a mere carpenter’s son. ‘And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned (studied)? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of (concerning) the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.’ (John 7:15-18)  Ah Friends, when we seek our own glory, that’s when we stumble and fall. Notice that even Jesus, the Messiah, in His divine wisdom, here on earth always acknowledged the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as His teacher, mentor and fountain of His wisdom. Even so should we mere sinful mortals, if we truly want to know the secrets of Almighty God and heaven. Much LOVE!…in like proportion to our godly reverence… will the secrets of heaven be revealed to us…