SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, our world is being bombarded from all sides. Two days ago, an earthquake of magnitude 5.9, centred in Virginia, struck the Eastern U.S. but it was felt all the way up to Toronto. That area of the U.S. has not experienced anything of that magnitude for a long time. Then last night, Southern Ontario suffered through numerous harsh thunderstorms, featuring heavy rain and many pretty bursts of lightning. Luckily, the tornado warnings for the area did not come true. And by the weekend, the first major hurricane of the season, Irene, presently bashing the Bahamas, is slated to hit the U.S and Canadian East Coasts, no doubt unleashing further destruction. What does it all mean eh Friends, this sudden spate of natural disasters? Some say it’s Armageddon time, others say it’s not. Who knows for sure? Only the Lord in His high heaven! But what I do know is that this is a time for true repentance and a wholesale return to diligently serving and worshipping the Lord God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the magnificent, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Deity who created us, still LOVES and looks after us despite our sinful, wicked ways. Oh my people, our once beautiful world is being destroyed in great part because of our evil, ungodly behaviour and attitudes. And only through a strong faith in Almighty God can this serious and rapid decline be halted. Our Bit says it loud and clear: ‘And he (Jesus) said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.’ Yes my brethren, it’s the woman’s strong, bold, daring faith that saved her. She was willing to sacrifice her time, money and possibly freedom to enter the Pharisee’s house and minister to Jesus. How many of us today would be willing to dare such bold conduct eh? Not too many I suspect. But as we noted yesterday, it’s that overpowering, overwhelming kind of faith we need in these troubled times, if Christ’s kingdom is to be enlarged. Note too, that every time Jesus did any miraculous healing, He always made sure to base it on the person(s) faith, as we saw with the woman in our Bit and the two blind men yesterday. Let’s look at a couple more examples. First up is the story of the Canaanite (Gentile, heathen) woman, whose daughter was demon-possessed. She cried out to Jesus to heal her daughter, but He didn’t reply until the disciples begged Him to send her away. ‘But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet (good, right) to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.’ (Matt.15:24-27) Jesus was here telling her that He came to save the Jews, not the Gentiles, and it was wrong to take what rightly belonged to the Jews; ‘the children’s bread,’ and give it to their pet dogs, (the Gentiles). But the woman had an answer for Him; namely that dogs eat whatever falls from their master’s table anyway, so it didn’t make much difference. She knew exactly what was possible through Jesus’ power although she was a Gentile, and persevered until Jesus could no longer refuse her request. She had passed His test of faith. ‘Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee as thou wilt (desire). And her daughter was made whole (well) from that very hour.’ (Matt.15:28.) Isn’t it strange Friends, how the ones Jesus came to save first, the Jews, refused to believe, but the heathens believed without as much urging? Here is another, even more touching example of great faith; the woman who was plagued by an issue of blood for twelve years, having tried many doctors and remedies without any success. Now on this particular day, Jesus was on His way to see the sick daughter of Jairus, one of the leaders in the synagogue. When the woman heard that Jesus was passing through her town, with nothing left to lose, she decided to go out and see if He could heal her. Unfortunately, the crowd that followed Jesus was so large, it seemed hopeless. (Mark 5:21-26) But she too, like the Canaanite woman, persevered and pushed through the crowd until she touched Jesus’ clothes: ‘For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole (healed). And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague (affliction).’ (Mark 5:28-29) And though it seemed a trivial, inconsequential moment, Jesus felt His power drained by her touch, and turned about in the crowd and asked who had touched Him. The disciples were surprised by the question in such a large crowd, but Jesus knew that something special had happened and continued looking around the crowd for the culprit. ‘But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole (healed) of thy plague (affliction).’ (Mark 5:33-34) Yes Friends, it’s all about faith; belief, trust and surrender! And we’ll end with another pertinent example. Right after the woman was healed, news came from Jairus’ house saying that his daughter was dead, so there was no need to bring Jesus to see her again. But when Jesus heard that, His words to Jairus were: ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’ (Mark 5:36) Oh my people, that truth still stands today! Let’s take hold of it and run with it nuh, for it’s the ONLY way that our woes will be lessened and our children’s children assured of a brave and bright new world. Much LOVE!…trust and obey…for there’s no other way…to be happy in Jesus…than to trust and obey…