SCRIP-BITS

Ezekiel 20:19.    I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements and do them.
 
Well Friends, is Ash Wednesday now! The mas done! It over for another year. All yuh get yuh fix of carnal lusts, is time now to get a jolt of spiritual power in this Lenten season. (smile) But seriously though mih people, we need to get more spiritually minded, develop a stronger spiritual base, a sure foundation, both in our individual lives and in the lives of our nations, if we ever hope to turn our disaster headed world around. As the great philosopher Aristotle is supposed to have said: ‘We cannot learn without pain.’ And we all know that’s a fact, via our translation of ‘no pain, no gain.’ But however you put it, to improve our lives we must endure some struggle, some pain. The problem though is that our society has become so soft and spoon-fed that most of us shy away from a little struggle or pain. We whine and complain at the very onset of any difficulty. But look at the terrible pain that Jesus endured for us. The least we can do is endure a little to further His kingdom. And yes, doing His will, spreading His gospel of peace, LOVE, joy, salvation and eternal life will bring us pain of variable nature and varying intensity, but the good part is that the rewards later on, both in this life and the next, will all be worth the discomfort. What reward can be greater than to hear Jesus say on that glorious day, when He greets us with a bear hug and the words: ‘Welcome home, my good and faithful servant!’ Ah Friends, that will be the most blessed day of our entire lives! But that delightful scene will never be enacted unless we do as our Bit encourages: ‘I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgements, and do them.’ Oh brothers and sisters in Christ, our God has been saying this to His people from the day He set Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately they failed the test, and from then on sin and disobedience have been running rampant amongst mankind. And it must be said that great is our Lord’s patience, and His faith in man of stellar proportions. Else why did He choose the Israelites as His special people, bring them out of bondage in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land? And although they rebelled several times during the journey, and even after they entered the Promised Land, He stuck with them through thick and thin, punishing them when they went astray, and rewarding them when they walked the right path. At Mt. Horeb He made a covenant with them, instructing Moses to: ‘Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children. And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude (form); only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgements, that ye might do (observe or perform) them in the land in the land whither ye go over to possess it.’ (Deut.4:10-14) Oh my brethren, after the Lord took the time to speak with His people out of the flaming mountain, and Moses reiterated His message several times along the way, the Israelites still rebelled, followed other gods, did all sorts of abomination in the Lord’s eyes, not the least been intermarrying with the heathen, a sure way of reducing the effect of the Lord’s statutes in their lives. Why eh? Having experienced God’s goodness, miracles and LOVING-kindness along the rough and rugged road to the Promised Land, one would have though that their faith would be iron strong. But apparently it worked in the opposite manner. However, our God LOVES His greatest creation so much, and doesn’t want to destroy us as we so rightfully deserve, that He sent His only Son Jesus to die a horrible death as a sacrifice, to pay for our sins. He gave us another chance to escape the ravages of Hades. But sadly we have not embraced Jesus as much as we should have either. We still tend to follow the lusts of our flesh and the evil dictates of Lucifer, thus we stay in bondage to sin and wonder why our lives are so terrible. It’s simply because our constant sinful ways keep us separated from our heavenly Father. And that my people is the worst thing that could ever happen to us. But the terrible fear, violence and all the other negatives dominating our world today is a stark and frightening reminder of the sad plight of the majority of it’s citizens, who because of their unbelief, their refusal to accept and obey Jesus and the Word, are currently separated from the Most High God Jehovah. Fortunately though Friends, life still exists, which means there is yet hope. But that life can be very short-lived, so to be on the safe side, we have to make amends RIGHT NOW. For though it breaks our God’s heart to lose any of His creation to Beelzebub, there’s nothing He can do if we refuse His offer of reconciliation; eternal separation from Him will be our lot. So I implore us, to take our Bit to heart and truthfully live it, if we desire to spend eternity with Jesus. Much LOVE!…however you make up your bed…is just so you’ll have to lie on it…