SCRIP-BITS

Luke 7:50.     And he (Jesus) said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee go in peace.

Surprise Friends, it’s Friday! The day we’ve all been anxiously waiting for to begin our weekend. And Surprise, Surprise the ole fella’s the one shouting the loudest ‘T.G.I.F! Thank God it’s Friday!’ Why? Because I’m writing this missive to you at 3 a.m. from the fifty-fifth floor of the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas! Yes Friends, the ole fella’s in Sin City U.S.A! Wow! I’m writing while looking out at the bright lights of the famous Las Vegas Strip. I haven’t seen much of the action as yet because I only got here a few hours ago and Trump’s a couple blocks away in quieter surroundings. I left T.O. at 9.p.m Thursday and got here four hours later at 10 something. The miracle of modern travel! And who says the Lord doesn’t move in mysterious ways eh! Tell dem deh lie, for He certainly does! I’m not sure if it was Paladin the old TV movies, who used to say, ‘Have gun will travel, but I’m certainly saying now: ‘Have Bible, have laptop, have passport will travel! (smile). I didn’t have the last two before, so I couldn’t go anywhere far and write the Bit, neither could I leave the country without a passport. But then the Lord in His wonderful kindness surprised me with a laptop from my children for Christmas. Then I heard about my wife’s cousin getting married in Vegas, and after having two passport forms sitting in front of me on my desk for over two years, I suddenly got the Spirit, filled out one and took some new passport photos, and voila! A couple weeks later I had all the necessary requirements for travel! Friends, that just goes to show when we wait as patiently as we can on the Lord He will eventually give us our heart’s desires, and in many cases better than that. Now I don’t know what He has planned for me in Vegas, but I know it’s not gambling,(smile) because I don’t have the desire or the funds, but I’m definitely here with an open mind, and deep down I feel that this will be a holiday to treasure in my memory chest. But enough about me, let’s get down to the Lord’s business and chant our Friday Chant! ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And that my people can only be accomplished if we have true and strong faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, fully acknowledging that He is who He says He is, and can do what He says He can do. Faith is the most critical component of Christianity, as Jesus so vividly points out in all His doings, per example our Bit: ‘And he (Jesus) said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.’ Now here are two more examples of Jesus testifying that strong faith is of the ultimate importance in Christian maturity. The first is when He healed ten lepers while passing through a village on His way to Jerusalem. They cried out to Him from a distance: ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed.'(Luke 17:11-14) But the sad part of this story is that only one of them, when he realized that he’d been healed, ‘turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God. And he fell down on his face at his (Jesus’) feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.’ (Luke 17:15-19) Yes Friends, only one out of the ten was grateful enough for their healing to turn back and thank the Master, and that a stranger, a Samaritan – with strong faith.Hn! But don’t turn up your noses in disgust and superiority, for many of us do the same thing: the Lord blesses us and we don’t have the good manners to say even a simple ‘Thank you Lord.’ Our final example of Jesus using faith as His basis for healing comes from the time He was approaching Jericho and a blind beggar sitting by the roadside heard the commotion and asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ‘And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.’ Those around him told him to shut up: ‘but he cried the more, thou son Of David, have mercy on me.’ Jesus then commanded that they bring the blind man to Him, then asked him: ‘What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.’ (Luke 18:35-43) Ah Friends, what a pleasure it is to see people giving our great, generous and merciful God thanks and praise for His many blessings! Unfortunately, we don’t do it as often as we should in these godless, sinful times. Please, let’s rectify that situation nuh. The problem though is that too many of us nowadays have only the talk it faith, not the real feel it faith, so we don’t ask or believe as strongly and with enough purpose as we should. So obviously strong, true faith is sadly lacking in far too many believers today, and only as we rectify that problem, will God’s kingdom be furthered as it should. From Vegas with Much LOVE!…faith…in Jesus…is the power that moves mountains…that turns them into molehills…