SCRIP-BITS

Ah Friends, it’s one of those days when the ole fella’s fighting to come up with a worthy intro, and sadly, my earnest entreaty to the Lord for one, hasn’t yet brought forth any fruit.  Oh, there are several things I can talk about; like the worsening drought and famine in Somalia and surrounding areas; or the 7 trillion dollars of value wiped out in a volatile global stock market over the last two weeks, due in large part to the foolish infighting in the U.S debt ceiling; as well as the downgrading of the U.S. Govt’s debt rating from triple A to double A, which was solidly in place from 1941. All this has obviously worsened the world’s economic situation, which to a great extent depends on stability and fair expectations. It might even lead to further recessionary activity with increasing interest rates a by-product. It’s a fallacy that we’ve come out of the last recession engineered by the great Wall St. meltdown. How could we, when manufacturing plants are shutting down every day, and way more jobs are being lost than are being created? Also, the few new ones are mostly in the low productivity service industry, which features low pay, contractual labour and no benefits. Unfortunately Friends, it seems that the world’s economy will get worse before it gets better. Hn, hn! Notice anything Friends? There’s the intro I was struggling to find. The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways! Thank you Lord! Luckily though – well not luckily, but through our God’s good provision, believers have an infallible way to fight all the ups and downs of this earthly life. Listen to our Bit: ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’ And why is this? ‘For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal.5:17-18) So we see my brethren that the Holy Spirit of God and the flesh are constant adversaries in our lives. If we follow one, we cannot follow the other. However, walking with the Spirit, living with the Holy Spirit’s help, is what believers ought to do. But how do we do this, especially when the things of the flesh are so inviting and appetizing, though detrimental in the long run to both our physical and spiritual beings?  The scholars offer these directions. Firstly, believers must believe that the Spirit is with us, sent by God into our hearts. That’s fortified by Bruh Paul’s earlier words to the Galatians. ‘And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.’ (Gal.4:6) Yes Friends, every believer is given the Spirit of Jesus the moment he’s born again, adopted of God, which gives him the awareness that God is his Father. Then, in every spiritual confrontation, believers must yield to the wishes or dictates of the Spirit; submit our own desires to those of the Spirit. We also need to depend on the Spirit for help in all situations, as this enables us to live a life that’s pleasing to God. ‘For we through the Spirit (eagerly) wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.’ (Gal.5:5) Then finally, believers ought to anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in our daily lives. As we grow and mature in faith, getting to know the Spirit and its workings better, this will become easier. Now if we live by that advice, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, meaning we won’t carry out the strong desires of our sinful nature, which takes us away from the LOVE, grace, mercy, blessing, kindness, forgiveness and faithfulness of Almighty God. And surely, no sane, sensible person would ever want to live without those most valuable divine benefits in our earthly lives. Life is rough enough as it is, without them, it would be unliveable. Anyway Friends, that’s it for today. We’ll continue this topic tomorrow, God willing. Till then, let’s spend some time seriously pondering this invaluable info, re walking in the Spirit, seeing how we match up, then figuring out how to get better, for it’s our close association with and dependence on the Spirit that matures our faith and draws us closer to Jehovah God. Much LOVE!…Nearer my God to thee…Nearer my God to thee…Nearer my God to thee…Nearer  my God…