SCRIP-BITS

1 Corinthians 10:13.    There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
 
Oh Friends, who says life isn’t amazing and amusing eh? It sure is! Case in question: Yesterday afternoon when my nurse came to change the dressing on my prostate wound, I told her about the knee incident the previous day, and since we change the dressing in my bedroom, I decided to re-enact the scene for her. Hn! So I stand by the bedside, then take one step sideways to the left…and Whoa! My knee gives out again, I cry out in pain, and only prevent myself from falling by hastily grabbing on to the bed and nearby chair. Was I ever surprised by that recurring situation! The possibility had never even crossed my mind. Ah Lord eh! But yuh know who isn’t taking anymore sideways steps to the left, (smile) provided I can remember not to. And though I’m still hobbling around on painful knees, I’m chuckling as I write this because as I said yesterday, the only way to truly handle patience and longsuffering is with joyfulness. (Col.1:11) Yes Friends, many believers definitely need to laugh a little more than they now do, cause a cheerful heart makes its own song, and when we laugh, we reduce the pain, the pressure, the tension, the negative energy in ourselves, and then we can put that released energy to positive use. I know that’s hard to do at the best of times, and even harder on a continual basis, but practice makes perfect, and Jesus said, most reassuringly: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) So though we will certainly have problems in this world, if we follow Jesus, we can also have peace, and we should be of a cheerful spirit, because He has already overcome the world and there is nothing for us to fear. But I think there are more sour, surly believers around than non-believers. Too many of us seem to think that putting on a stiff upper lip and a serious, uptight demeanour is the badge of believers, but unfortunately it is not. The badge of believers is a peaceful, cheerful countenance, as Jesus says above. And then we have our Bit: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear (endure) it.’ That’s another promise of great magnitude my people! We can’t avoid temptation, but if God promises to help us bear it, then why are we always so sour and miserable eh? Oh my brethren, until all believers consciously and faithfully adhere to these directives of Jesus and Bruh Paul, we’ll actually be disputing God’s faithfulness, being disobedient for not doing as he says. For if He’s nothing else, our God is most certainly faithful, as Bruh Paul joyfully declares: ‘God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (1 Cor.1:9) Yeh people, there’s no doubt about the Lord’s faithfulness, and if He says that we won’t be tempted to a greater degree than we can handle, then it will be so. And even when we are tempted, He promises to help us bear the brunt of that temptation. So why do we still doubt His promises and live in fear and worry eh? Is it because our faith isn’t strong enough? Or are we simply not taking God as seriously as we should? Whatever the answer Friends, we definitely need to get ourselves standing much more firmly on the strong, secure and faithful promises of our God, especially in these difficult and troubled times. We all know that living a Christian life is not easy, but it’s because of those very promises that we can, and should live a better and more peaceful life than the unbeliever. Now here is another bit of encouraging scripture from Psalm 125, titled, ‘God surrounds His people.’ ‘As the mountains are round about (surround) Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. For the rod of the wicked (the scepter of wickedness) shall not rest upon the lot of (the land allotted to) the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands (reach) unto iniquity.’ (Ps.125:2-3) Oh Friends, the operative word in a Christian’s life is ‘believe.’  That’s why we’re called believers. We need to believe what God has said more strongly than we currently do. We need to have immense faith in His Word. As the author of Hebrews so rightly puts it: ‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ (Heb.11:6) Please Friends, let’s live that faith as we’re supposed to. Much LOVE!…if we stand on all God’s promises…we’ll never fall…for He is faithful…and will abide by them all…