SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, the Lord in His infinite wisdom and great mercy has seen it fit to bless us with another day of physical life on planet earth. All thanks and praise be to Him! Sometimes though, we wish that He would take us home asap because our days are often filled with much difficulty, plenty heartaches and overwhelming sorrows. But please remember that we are soldiers in His army, fighting to the death against the forces of evil and darkness, and to be good soldiers we must bear up under the pressure of the spiritual warfare in which we’re engaged. Good soldiers don’t moan and complain or run away. They stand strong and steadfast and fight against the enemy for what they believe in. Consequently, we need to be always on guard against the enemy and his wily, treacherous ambushes. However, because of our fallen nature, we seem to automatically lean more towards the sinful, ungodly things of the world, thus Jesus’ admonition in our Bit to His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, when they could not stay awake. ‘Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth my people, as each one of us can readily attest to! We can be easily led astray by the temptations of the evil one if we’re not careful, if we’re not on guard, as good soldiers ought to be. Now that wasn’t Jesus’ only warning to His disciples re praying and being on guard against temptation. Luke 18:1 says: ‘And he spake a parable to them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint (lose heart).’ That was the parable of the persistent woman and the unjust judge. Then, after telling the disciples of the signs that would portend His Second Coming, (Luke 21:25-32) Jesus again pleaded with them: ‘And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged (weighed down) with surfeiting (carousing), and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ (Luke 21:34-35) Yes Friends, we need to be always on the lookout for temptation. And the best way to not succumb to it is through constant prayer. We’re never going to avoid temptation, for it’s one of the facts of this earthly life. But note how Jesus responded to Lucifer’s temptation in the wilderness; (Matt.4) by uttering words of faith. ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God… It is written again, Thou shall not tempt (test) the Lord thy God… Get thee hence (away with you) Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:4,7,10) And in the same manner should all believers be concentrating on the Word of God when Beelzebub comes a calling, so that we can find the necessary strength through fervent prayer to repel his obscene attacks. No wonder Bruh Paul talked so much about the need for the believer to pray. He was talking from personal experience. ‘Pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess.5:17) ‘I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty (reverence). For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour….I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubt.’ (1 Tim.2:1-3,8) Oh Friends, it’s imperative that we turn to constant prayer if we want to be able to withstand the attacks of the evil tempter, for only the Word of God has the power to repel Him. And we’re not talking about bowing and scraping and all the pretensions we put on when we seek to pray, but simply constant communication with the Father; always being focused on Him and His Word, talking to Him about everything in our lives, be they big or small, because He’s interested in all that happens to us. And if we keep repelling the evil one, then we’ll have the added benefit of making our world a better place, with less people falling prey to his evil machinations. What a blessed day that will be my brethren! However, since I don’t want Jesus’ strong, steadfast soldiers to complain that the Bit is too long (smile) I’ll end here. We’ll have more on the subject tomorrow if the Lord sees fit to bless us with another day of life down here on earth. Much LOVE!…only God’s power…through faith and His mighty words…can nullify Beelzebub’s strength…