SCRIP-BITS

Lamentations 3:22-23.    It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
 
Oh Friends, do you feel the undeniably new and uplifting mercies of God being showered down upon you this bright and sunny Saturday morning? I’m sure you do! Just being alive, not reading your name in the day’s obits, is cause enough to celebrate and give Him a big, ‘Thank you Lord!’ Yes my people, once we’re alive anything’s possible, there’s hope for improvement in everything around us. Why? Because that’s the faithful, non-retractable promise of our most wonderful and magnificent God! So please, let’s stop being fearful and worried about the daily problems of life that surround us, that keep us tied up in knots, and instead simply dedicate our lives to truly serving our heavenly Father. Remember these assuring words of Jesus: ‘Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature (height)?’ (Matt.6:26-27) None of us can, so there’s absolutely no need to panic, for as our Bit so rightly states: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ So why has worry become like a national pastime, when our most faithful God blesses us each day with LOVE and compassion anew? Instead, with the wonderful promise in the Word and the visible evidence in our lives, we should be continually rejoicing and giving God thanks for being so good to us, when we really don’t deserve it. Consequently, before we get to the scriptures I’ve been promising for the last two days, (smile) let’s all join together and offer up a loud, grateful and sincere word of thanks. ‘Oh Father in heaven, we your humble servants down here on earth, thank You and bless Your Holy Name because You’ve been so good to us in these troubled times. We humbly ask that You continue to bless us as we fight the good fight of faith to further Your glorious kingdom. On the holy, spilled blood of Your Son Jesus, we pray. Amen.’ Yes my people, there’s nothing our God likes to hear more than heartfelt thanks and appreciation!  Now turning to those scriptures that tie into our Bit on the Lord’s never ending compassions and mercies, let’s begin with a word from Malachi, where he solemnly declares: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal.3:6) So true Friends! Only because the Lord made a covenant with our fathers and He is a faithful and unchanging Deity that we’re not condemned to eternal death and damnation for our numerous sins against Him. Then in the Maschil (Contemplation) of the psalmist Asaph, titled ‘A reminder of God’s goodness to Israel,’ he rightly declares: ‘But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.’ (Ps.78:38-39) Oh my brethren in Christ, how can we not be truly grateful and appreciative of such and understanding and magnanimous God eh? And we’ll close with some appropriate words from Isaiah, as he talks about salvation being for those who trust in God: ‘O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.’ (Is.33:2) Yes Friends, in light of all the evil and ungodly turmoil that’s currently surrounding us, those scriptures sure are good ones for us to ponder on this day. So till we talk again tomorrow, our God in favour, please walk safely under the shadow of His mighty, all-embracing wings. Much LOVE!…only a Deity who’s sure and confident in Himself…like our Jehovah God…can afford to be so magnanimous…