SCRIP-BITS

Oh thank the Lord Friends, that we’re alive to see another beautiful, sunny day, alive to admire God’s marvellous handiwork! And it’s essential, that everyday, regardless of our circumstances, we make time to admire some aspect of God’s creation; be it big or small, animate or inanimate, as that helps us keep a clear focus on the One who created the universe and all therein. And don’t say you can’t find anything, because everything that God made is a source of wonder in and of itself. It might even help to look in the mirror and declare in wonder and amazement: ‘Oh what a beautiful image of the living God! I am indeed His most marvellous creation.’ (smile) Be careful though, not to get too carried away and let it turn into narcissism. Anyway, today is Monday and we’re not in a particularly light-hearted mood because we have to go back out and face the stressful, evil workaday world. But like everything else in this life, with the Lord’s help, we can overcome that anxiety. So let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in a loud and sincere voice. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Now turning to our Bit: ‘Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip (drift away).’ Yesterday we saw the basic reasoning behind that statement: If all sins and disobedience were justly punished, then most of us would end up in purgatory, eternally separated from God.  But the Father, in His awesome wisdom and exceptional LOVE, made a way for us to escape that diabolical state by sending His Son Jesus as a sacrifice to pay for our wrongs, a fact we can ill afford to forget or neglect once we’ve been taught it. (Heb.2:2-3) Then the author of Hebrews goes on to prove the authenticity of Christ and His offering of salvation: ‘God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers (various) miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?’ (Heb.2:4) And here I’ll quote the scholar’s explanation of this verse, as they do a better job than I can. ‘The miraculous sign gifts of the Holy Spirit were present in the first century to confirm apostolic revelation (2 Cor.12:12; Heb.2:2-4) and are not expected today. Just as it is necessary to erect a scaffolding to aid construction when a building is being erected, so sign gifts were the spiritual scaffolding used by God to give credibility to His revelation which became the foundation of the church. When the written Word of God was complete, God removed the scaffolding. These gifts were given primarily as signs for the Jews (1 Cor.1:22). Also, as the apostles were primarily communicating an oral tradition, they needed signs to authenticate their message (2 Thess.2:15). When considering a sign gift, one should remember that gifts, such as the gift of apostles, were foundational gifts needed in the first century, and were characterized by certain qualifications that could not be met today (Acts 1:21-22) Also, Paul specifically indicated that some gifts would cease (1 Cor.13:8), and he referred to miracles seemingly in the past tense, which he would not do if they were still prevalent at the time of writing. The sign gifts would include apostles (Eph.4:11), healing (1 Cor.12:9), tongues, miracles, and interpretation of tongues (1 Cor.12:10). Some might add to that list the discernment of spirits (1 Cor.12:10)‘ Yes Friends, we no longer need some of the stuff that the first Christians needed to help them believe because we have it all written down and thus can refer to it at will, but with any kind of oral work there must be something physical to justify it, and obviously the Good Lord provided the tools His spokespeople needed to do His work, just like he does with us today, though again different tools for a different kind of society. And who says the Lord doesn’t know what he’s doing eh? Anyway mih people, please take the time to check out the references above, I found them very helpful, and I’m sure you will too. And as we noted before, unlike the early Christians, we have the Word readily available to us in all forms and fashions, but still, if we don’t read, study and practice it, it will be of no use to us. We’ll lose the hope, the motivation, the belief, the faith and the encouragement it engenders in our beings…and what then?  We’ll be lost; like dumb sheep, unable to find our way, in our own strength. And anyone who’s ever been lost knows that’s a terrible experience, one to avoid at all costs. So please, I implore us, let’s pay earnest heed to the Word so that we’ll walk safely with Jesus and not get lost in the darkness. Much LOVE!…to remain connected to God…we need to concentrate on the things of God…