SCRIP-BITS

And the balmy springtime weather continues my Friends! Thank the Lord! Any little respite from winter is okay by me, (smile) for this has certainly been the winter of my discontent. Now, from the Gloria Copeland book ‘Hidden Treasures,’ re abundant living in the riches of proverbs, here are some important, in fact very essential words on which to build our lives. ‘The foundation of prosperity in every realm of life is a continual lifestyle built on the Word and the wisdom of God.’ And that’s the living truth my people! It’s based on Chapter 8 of Proverbs, the Foundation of a Prosperous Life. Every which way we turn in this world, our success, or lack thereof, depends on our obedience to God’s Word and the wisdom His Holy Spirit desires to impart to us. Without a good relationship between both aspects of God in our lives, we’ll never become first class citizens of His kingdom. We’ll continually falter…and eventually fall. As Jesus says in our Bit: ‘The world cannot hate you; but it hateth me, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.’ So logically speaking, if the works of the world are evil, then to stay true believers of Christ, amongst a mostly ungodly population, we have to embrace God’s Word and wisdom with grateful acknowledgement and enthusiasm. And our world is evil Friends. No doubt about that. But comparing Jesus’ time to ours, is like comparing kindergarten and university levels of education, for it seems the more we advance in knowledge and technology, the more advanced our systems of evil become. And though Jesus testified against the world and its wicked ways, He didn’t come to destroy it. ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that (the) light is come into the world, and men LOVED darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone 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 3:17-21) Ah mih people, Jesus came to save the world by being a shining light in its darkness, especially in the darkness of men’s hearts. But because our deeds are so evil, we shy away from Jesus’ light, so that they are not exposed. But remember my brethren, we worship an omnipotent, omni-present, omniscient God from whom we cannot hide, like so many evil and unwise humans try to do. It’s therefore better, and wiser, to come before our Creator and heavenly Father with our evil hearts in our hands, acknowledging our inadequacy, our inability to live a good and prosperous life without His guidance and wisdom. Only in so doing will the darkness and sinful deeds of our earthly existence be purged. Now let’s consider a few things of note: The world disliked Jesus because He pointed out its evil ways. It also dislikes us because we’re His followers who do the same thing. But don’t forget that Jesus did not come to destroy the world, but to save it, and our duty is also to bring as many unbelievers to Christ as possible. So it’s imperative that we be fully spiritually armed at all times with God’s indestructible, unbeatable weapons of war, both to repel Lucifer’s evil attacks, and also to help us convict some of his evil followers and lead them to Jesus. That’s our earthly responsibility. And we’ll end with some appropriate words of our Saviour. ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake; but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt.10:22) Oh my people, please realize that our earthly journey is not a sprint race, but one of endurance. So if we want to be successful in the furthering of Jesus’ kingdom, we need to band together, do like He says, and hang in there to the end…just like Bruh Paul did after Jesus anointed him to spread His gospel…just like Jesus did when the Father sent Him to earth to save us from sinful death and eternal separation. Much LOVE!…the race is not for the swift…but for the sure of foot…those who have what it takes to stay the course…to the very end…