SCRIP-BITS

Proverbs 15:16.     Better is little with great fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.
 
Oh Friends, sorry the Bit is a tad late, but the ole fella was a bit under the weather this morning, (smile) Wish I could say that about the wind yesterday that just blew and blew and had the poor trees rocking and rolling all day long. I certainly have never seen so much strong wind in the summertime, and a cool one too, as I’ve done this year. The only problem is that it’s sometimes inconvenient when you want to sit outside, with stuff continually blowing away. Otherwise, it’s perfect. Oh, another reason for my lateness is that my old desktop computer, which I favour, for some unfathomable reason, refused to boot up this morning, thankfully though, not long enough for me to lose my cool. And now that I’ve made all my excuses, (smile) let’s turn to the matter at hand, our Bit: ‘Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith.’ Now that’s one of the wisest proverbs that Cousin Sol ever penned, because it’s always better to have reverence and respect for the Lord God Jehovah, even if your earthly possessions are few, than to have much worldly goods and a lot of relational problems. Yes Friends, the most important thing for believers to have in this world is a sense of peace and calm, which can only be acquired through trust and faith in Almighty God. Strife within any aspect of our lives will rob us of God’s peace and take a negative toll on all of our endeavours, even if we own material possessions untold. That’s because strife, dissent, discontent, anger and resentment are the main tools the enemy uses to steal our joy, to make us lose our focus, to take our attention away from God. As Cousin Sol says in the next verse: ‘Better is a dinner of herbs (vegetables) where LOVE is, than a stalled ox (fatted calf) and hatred therewith.’ (Prov.15:17) And that’s the living truth my people! It’s much better for us to eat a simple meal of vegetables, with a li’l bit of LOVE in our hearts, than to be partaking of the fatted calf with negative things like hatred, anger and their fellow accomplices running rampant in our households or establishments. Bruh David says it thus in Psalm 37, the true state of the wicked: ‘A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arm of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.’ (Ps.37:16-17) That’s so true my brethren! I’m sure we’ve seen it for ourselves, even experienced it too: where there is LOVE and unity in poverty, but endless strife and deceit in the lives of the rich and powerful. That’s because spiritual riches are far better than material wealth. Now here’s another proverb that attests to the situation. ‘Better is a little with righteousness, then great revenues without right (justice).’ (Prov.16:8) Oh Friends, it’s ever so important for believers to stay away from the greedy, acquisitive mindset that the world is promoting, because that way of thinking automatically draws us away from God, which is the worst thing that can ever happen to us here on this earth. If God’s not front and centre, first and foremost in our lives, then our lives will be a veritable mess. For only where God resides, where His LOVING-kindness exists, is there any chance for peace and calm to abide. The sad part is that we don’t have to be rich and/or powerful to have strife in our lives. Unfortunately it’s also very prevalent in too many middle class and poor households. What with the wickedness of our world, plus the current economic downturn, it’s so easy for the enemy to infiltrate our homes, workplaces, schools, and even churches. That’s something believers have to seriously guard against, we can’t take it lightly at all my people. Many of us underestimate Lucifer’s power and his weasel-like ways. Please don’t, for he can come at us from many different angles, in many different ways. We have to be constantly on guard for his underhanded moves. Like the advertising people, he’s a master of painting glorious pictures of evil and cruel situations. And the only way to successfully keep him at bay is by having the Word of God securely planted in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies. We have to consistently LOVE our God, LIVE our Faith and SPREAD His Word, so that there’s no room for Lucifer to invade our spirits. As I read in an article a friend recently sent me, when Lucifer keeps banging on our door, the best way to get rid of him is to ask Jesus to answer the door. Wow! What an exciting strategy Friends! That will surely drive his evilness away in fear and disgust. Oh my people, our world has become so evil, greedy, deceitful and treacherous, that we need to be always on our p’s and q’s, always on the lookout for the enemy’s many tentacles surreptitiously coming to trip and ties us up in his network of sin and wickedness. And there’s no better way to end today’s Bit than with these wise words of advice from Bruh Paul to young Timothy: ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content. But they that will (desire to) be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction). For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith (for which some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim.6:6-10) And that’s the gospel truth mih breddren! Please Friends, let us therefore live our lives in accordance with God’s Word, so that we aren’t pierced through with too many sorrows. It’s the only wise and sensible way to live. Much LOVE!…where LOVE truly exists…evil cannot obtain a foothold…