SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, we‘re all on the same time now. Oh goody! In our supposed wisdom, North America has returned to daylight saving time, although I don’t know what we really save, for I was reading a statistic today that claims we have more traffic accidents on the first Monday after the forward time change than on other Mondays. But who am I eh, to argue with the powers that be re the benefits of jumping an hour back and forth each year? Many countries don’t do it and they get along just fine, some of them even better than us. Anyway, let’s get to more important matters, like our Bit. ‘Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse.’ Now that’s what our leaders should be more concerned with, not the time change, because our Bit involves something much bigger and much more important; a positive life changing system. And mih people, what I especially like about our God, besides the normal stuff, such as goodness, mercy, LOVE etc. is His straightforwardness. He doesn’t mince words. He’s a straight shooter; straight from the hip to us. And in this particular instance, He gives it to us in such straightforward terms that even if we’re moronic, we should be able to understand. ‘A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day. And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.’ (Deut.11:27-28) Oh Friends, what can be simpler than that eh? It comes right back to His lament: ‘O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!’ (Deut.5:29) And it’s not like the Israelites are hearing all of that for the first time. From Genesis to Joshua, the Lord keeps saying; obey me, and things will be well with you, disobey me and life will be very rough. Moses even spelled out individually, both the blessings and curses that they would endure, so they had no excuses. Let’s look at some of the blessings of obedience. ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth; And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut.28:1-2) Oh my people, what better promise can we receive eh? Obey, and we’ll be the first among nations. Furthermore the blessings of the Lord won’t only follow us, but overtake us, more than we can even handle. And that’s not all: ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.‘ (Deut.28:3-6) Oh Friends, obeying the Lord God will cause all our endeavours, be they personal or business to flourish; wherever we go and whatever we do blessings will pour down on us. And the Lord’s goodness doesn’t even cease there: ‘The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten (defeated) before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.’ (Deut.28:7-10) What more can we ask eh mih breddren? But our great and generous God offers even more: ‘The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure (storehouse), the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken (heed) unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.’ (Deut.28:12-14) Oh Friends what was there in all of that for the Israelites to misunderstand eh? Nothing really! And it’s not even like the commandments of the Lord are so onerous. But yet they disobeyed, and paid the price, several times too. And wandering in the desert for forty years is serious punishment. I don’t think they even realized that that was all a part of God’s punishment. Note that their clothes didn’t grow old and tattered, neither did their shoes and other stuff. It’s only the disbelievers, the disobedient from the previous generation that waxed old and eventually died off. And since the Lord doesn’t change my Friends, that means that all those promises and conditions haven’t changed over the thousands of years and thus still apply today. We have the wonderful opportunity to obey God, and be blessed, even more now with Jesus having sacrificed His holy, innocent life to pay for our sins, and also giving us salvation and eternal life. Why we’d choose any other lifestyle, boggles my imagination. But each individual has to make their own choice and stand or fall by it. Tomorrow we’ll look at the curses, our God in favour. Till then, please take my advice and walk safely with the Lord God Jehovah. It’s the only sensible thing to do. Much LOVE!…he who hath ears to hear…let him hear…