SCRIP-BITS

Okay Friends, it’s Saturday, a new day, so wipe the slate clean and start anew. God does it, so why can’t we? I’m sure none of us suffered any evil effects or life changing experiences yesterday due to Black Friday. That means there’s nothing to worry about. And to ease our troubled minds, here’s a quote by Helen Keller, (1880-1968) the deaf, blind American author, political activist and lecturer that spells it our like it is. ‘Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.’ Now that’s an unquestionable fact! However Friends, it’s up to us to overcome the obstacles to our happiness. No one else can do it for us. Even if we’re given everything we desire and don’t reach out for our own happiness, we’ll still be unhappy. For happiness, like sadness, is a state of mind; we have to make a conscious decision to be either or. Thus the saying that nobody can make us happy or sad unless we allow it. And the ole fella’s here to tell us the easiest and most successful way to reach out and find true happiness. I guess the smart ones have already figured it out. (smile) Oh my people, true happiness is found in the words of our Bit; Jesus’ invitation to let Him into our hearts. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.’ Unfortunately my brethren, you’ll never know the awesome satisfaction that comes from accepting Jesus until you truly let Him into your hearts, minds, bodies and souls. It’s truly an enlightening and enriching experience that mere words can’t do justice to! You have to feel the feeling! Now there are several sections to our Bit, and yesterday we dealt with the first one, where Jesus is at our heart’s door knocking, politely asking to come in. That we tied into Cousin Sol’s LOVE Song, where the beloved is sleeping, but hears a call to her heart to get up and open the door for her other half, who’s tired and wants in from the uncomfortable weather outside. Likewise Friends, Jesus is knocking at sad, broken, weary, uncomfortable hearts all over the world, asking to come in and make them clean, whole and comfortable. Thus He says: ‘if any man hear my voice, and open the door…’ Sadly though, Jesus can’t enter our hearts unless we allow Him entry. And besides that, He wants to enter through the front door, not the back door, a side window, through the roof, or some such shady entrance. Consequently people, the smartest thing to do when Jesus knocks is to let Him in, through the front portals of our hearts. Remember His words when He declared that He was the Good Shepherd? ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter (doorkeeper) openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.’ (John 10:1-3) Oh Friends, Jesus isn’t a robber or a thief, that’s why He wants to come in through the front door of our hearts, with a special invitation from us to boot. He means serious business, not Mickey Mouse stuff, filled with lies and deceit like Beelzebub. So if He knocks, and you open the door, then He knows that you’re serious about hooking up with Him. It’s also reminiscent of when He proclaimed: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God.’ And why should we do that? ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Let your loins (waist) be girded about, and your lights (lamps) burning. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord (master) when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat (eat), and will come forth and serve them.’ (Luke 12:34:37) Yes Friends, that message works on two levels: The first is when He comes knocking at the door to our hearts, we should run to let Him in. Don’t hesitate, for he who hesitates is lost. And we’re talking about salvation here, which no one can afford to lose. And the second level is after we’ve gladly received Him into our hearts, minds, bodies and souls, then we’ve got to be on the lookout for when He returns in glory, and not be caught napping, which can have very bad consequences. Anyway mih breddren, time and space are against us, so we’ll end on that note. Tomorrow though, our God in favour, we’ll continue this topic. Till then, think on the things we’ve spoken about, and if Jesus happens to come a knocking, simply exclaim: ‘Wow!’ Then gladly open the door and let Him in. You’ll never regret it. Much LOVE!…to refuse Jesus’ offer…is tantamount to committing eternal suicide…