SCRIP-BITS

Psalm 71:1.    In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, and I can hear your enthusiasm ringing out with lots of ‘TGIFs!’ and ‘Thank God is Fridays!’ but my spirit is not as enthusiastic because I’m praying that the rain will hold of so I can get some work done on my leaking basement today. I sure don’t want to have to baby-sit it all weekend. Anyhow, we all need to get our minds and souls in the proper perspective for the weekend, so let’s chant our Friday Chant, which will enable us to do that. As one, in a confident voice: ‘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 here’s our Bit, the first verse of a prayer for help in old age. ‘In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion (shame). Now that, in conjunction with our Friday Chant, ought to put us on the right road today; have us walking, talking and behaving as Jesus desires. The ole fella who penned the psalm was obviously surrounded by enemies, (vs.9-10) but he was confident that the Lord would look after him in the rough times that seemed ahead. And where did this assurance come from? ‘For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth. By thee have I been holden up from the womb (upheld from birth): thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels (womb): my praise shall be continually of thee.’ (Ps.71:5-6) Yes mih people, the old guy’s trusted the Lord from his youth, so he knows whereof he speaks. Some of us old fogeys have also trusted the Lord from young, while others didn’t get so trusting till later in life. But whatever time one begins to seriously trust in the Lord God Jehovah, it’s the right time, though the earlier in life the better it is. And when we talk of trust in the Lord, there’s none better than Bruh David, who portrayed it throughout his entire life. Listen to him on the subject in Psalm 25, a prayer for guidance and protection: ‘O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait (in faith) on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress (deal treacherously) without cause.’ (Ps.25:2-3) Oh my brethren, in any relationship whatsoever, trust is a necessary ingredient for it to grow and prosper. That goes even more for our relationship with God, because unless we fully trust Him, fully surrender our very lives and souls to Him, we’ll never have the right relationship that He desires, and that will benefit us the most. Hear Bruh David again proclaiming God’s trustworthiness: ‘This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles…O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.’ (Ps.34:6,8) And Bruh David is speaking from personal experience people, so we ought to pay close attention to his words. My Friends, talk is cheap, and we all talk a good talk, but it’s only when the heifer dust hits the fan that we can truly see whether we’re walking our talk or not, re total trust in and surrender to Almighty God. We can fool each other, and even ourselves, with our talk, but not God, for He knows exactly who’s serious about trusting Him, and not merely making a mockery of His Word. So if we truly believe that the Lord’s our Creator, Protector and Provider, in fact our Everything, why then are we so reluctant to lay our lives out before Him eh? The answer’s simple Friends: we don’t truly trust Him as much as we say or think, the lust of the flesh and the desire to go our own way, to make our own decisions are still strong within us. But thankfully we’re still alive today, so we still have some time to rectify the situation. So let’s hunker down nuh, let’s seriously search our hearts and souls for any reluctance that resides there to totally trust Him, then let’s prayerfully acknowledge it, and gratefully let it all hang out before Him. That’s wisdom and trust at its best. Much LOVE!…trust is a two way street…that must be acted upon…not merely spoken…
 

Matthew 5:16.    Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16.    Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
 
Oh Friends, it ‘s a brand new day, with brand new mercies and blessings as so faithfully promised by our Lord and God! Wow! What a champion He is! Consequently, I sure hope that we all gave Him much thanks and praise for so graciously blessing us to see it. Today I want to share some words of St.Therese, Saint of the Little Flower and Champion of the Small Way, words that interact nicely with our Bit, but first listen to this authoritative statement of Jesus as expressed in the Bit. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ Now that’s an order that all believers should take very seriously and diligently try to put into action, because that’s how the Word is best spread, and unbelievers brought to Christ. However, in reality, not all of us can be big, shining lights on the world stage. We all can’t be brilliant spotlights, some of us have to be satisfied and contented with being just glowing nightlights since that’s the purpose for which we were created. The important thing is that we shine to the fullest whatever light we possess. And that’s where St. Therese words come into play, assuring us that we can all work diligently for Christ, even in small ways. We don’t necessarily have to shine big and bright to make a useful contribution, just give all we’ve got. Listen to how she says it: I have always longed to be a saint, but when I compare myself with the saints, I was conscious of the same difference that exists between a high mountain and a grain of sand. Instead of feeling discouraged, I would say to myself: God would never inspire me with an ideal that cannot be attained, so that I can still aspire to sanctity although I am so small and weak. I cannot become great; I must put up with myself as I am, with my innumerable imperfections, but I will try to find a new way to heaven quite short and direct. We live in an age of inventions; in the houses of the rich you go up in a lift, instead of climbing the stairs. As I am too small to climb the arduous ladder of perfection, I also must find a lift to carry me up to God. I turned to the Scriptures to find some clue and came upon these words of eternal Wisdom: “Whomsoever is a little one, let him come to me!” …Your arms, O Jesus, are the lift which will carry me up to heaven.’ What inspiring and encouraging words! And yuh know what, she became great for doing the little things she could in Jesus’ name, although she was sickly and full of self-doubt, and died at a young age, early twenties, of tuberculosis.  But the certainty that Jesus LOVED her and would carry her up to heaven in His LOVING arms buoyed and boosted her to do what little she could. Yes Friends, even the smallest and lowliest among us has an assigned path to tread, a worthwhile job to do in Jesus’ name. So please, DON’T ever think that because you and your deeds seem small and insignificant in the great world order of things, that you’re insignificant in the sight of Almighty God. That’s just not true, for the Father of All Creation dearly LOVES everything and person He’s ever made. Remember we all can’t be superstars – sorry – stars, because there’s only ONE SUPERSTAR, and that’s Jesus, but we can all play a useful role in furthering His kingdom. Remember too that stars can only be stars when they have a solid team of workers behind them. Likewise, in the building and furtherance of Jesus’ kingdom, some of us will have to be mere grunts, mere workers, but still absolutely necessary in the building process. Note, it’s the builder and the architect of the beautiful building who receive the outward praise, but it’s the ordinary men, with and without specialized knowledge and skills, with strong and dirty hands that do the actual building, and without them it’s impossible to construct the beautiful building. In the same way, it’s impossible to build God’s kingdom without all kinds of people. As Bruh Paul so wisely puts it: ‘For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office (function): So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one (individually) members one of another.’ (Rom.12:4-5) Yes my people, as they say; ‘all for one and one for all,’ that’s how it is, rather supposed to be in Christ’s Church. Please let’s try to make it so nuh, and cut out all the petty divisions, dissension and jealousies that currently pervade, plague and prevent the successful building of Christ’s body, His Church, here on earth. More on this tomorrow, provided the Lord sees it fit to bless us with another day. Till then, please, please, WALK, TALK, LIVE and LOVE good, in Jesus’ name. Amen! Much LOVE!…even the smallest grain of sand…has an important part to play in God’s great universe…  P.S. I forgot to reiterate St.Therese’s most powerful statement, that God will never inspire us with an ideal, an idea, a heart’s desire that we cannot attain. Please believe that my people, because it’s the gospel truth. Whatever He inspires us to do, He will help us to achieve. Much LOVE!
 

Matthew 5:16.     Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.
 
Oh Friends, the real fall weather is finally hitting the northern climes. Now wet and windy weather seems more the norm than the exception. However, God’s people are of hardy, never say die stock, so we’ll handle whatever comes against us without going under. We might bend, but we’ll NEVER break, once the enabling Spirit of Jesus lives and reigns within us. Please remember that all you fellow believers: there’s no quitting in Jesus! It might take some time though for us to adjust to and believe this truth, but as we mature in Christ, that challenge will eventually take root and begin to bear good fruit. It’s all a matter of seriously and diligently putting our heads, hearts and hands to the plough and never looking back. Now here’s a quote from Swedish Diplomat and former Secretary General of the U.N. Dag Hammarskjold, which sort of sums up the Christian maturity problem. ‘Maturity: among other things – not to hide one’s strength out of fear and consequently live below one’s best.’ Unfortunately though, that’s something a lot of strong Christians do. We obviously should not boast or take too much pride in our strength, but like Jesus so confidently said of us: ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle (lamp), and put it under a bushel (basket), but on a candlestick (lamp stand); and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.’ (Matt.5:14-15) And that’s what we’re supposed to be Friends; a city that’s set on a hill with its lights shining brightly to all the world! Thus Jesus’ admonition in our Bit: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ That brings me to another inappropriate behaviour we Christians tend to exhibit; that’s trying to devalue the favour God has blessed us with, playing down our rightful blessings too much, so that we should appear humble and poor in other men’s eyes. But Friends, God never meant His people to be poor and destitute, that’s why He shows each of us special favour sometimes. We don’t have to boast about it, or behave as though it’s our own accomplishment, but we need to let others know with humble pride what God has done for us, that He’s purposely blessed us for a good reason. I heard my Bubba, Joel Osteen, talk about this the other day. We don’t have to make excuses for whatever God has seen it fit to bless us with. He’s done that so we can be proud of walking in His Will, that we can glorify Him, so that others can see and believe that He’s a keeper of his Word, and if they truly live for Him, He will also bless them in special ways, ways that other’s won’t be. As Bubba said, ‘favour is not always fair.’ So if God favours us with special blessings, we ought to be proud, but not prideful and arrogant, and use those blessings to help others and show His wonderful nature. However, many of us believers sadly seem to think that we should hide our God-given light and blessings under a basket, but that’s definitely not so my people. We obviously should not strut around like better than thou peacocks, but we must take pride in our Christian heritage and show it to the world in a manner that will make their mouths water for the good thing we have. We shouldn’t be afraid of what others say about out beliefs and bury our heads in the sand, like ostriches, but proudly hold them up to Jesus’ shining light for all the world to see. Remember our purpose; to spread the gospel to the whole world. (Matt.28:19) And who would want to participate in a broken down, ‘poor me one’ movement eh? Nobody! But as I said before, this appreciation, strength and confidence to bare our light to the evil, disbelieving world only comes with time, patience and study of God’s Word. And this is not hear say Friends, but personal experience. A few years ago, though I was a believer, and had decent enough faith, I was definitely not as mature, proud and confident in Jesus as I am now. Even five years ago, when the Lord first proffered the idea of the Bit, I laughed and told Him I was not capable of doing it. But He was adamant about my doing it, and I eventually put my faith and trust in Him. And here I am now, bold and beautiful in the faith, though still with a long way to go. That’s because God helped and nurtured me every step along the way, as He promised. Oh Friends, that’s the wonderful kind of God we serve and worship; an extraordinary Being, who’s main property is genuine and unconditional LOVE for all His creation! And it’s that same property of LOVE that moved Jesus to sacrifice His life for us, and which He wants us to show and tell to the rest of the world, so that His glorious kingdom could be furthered and the Father’s greatest desire fulfilled; not to lose even one of His most precious children to the evil Beelzebub. So let’s get serious nuh Friends, let’s fully accept the goodness and LOVE of our God, buckle down and spend serious time in His Word, then go out and proudly let the world know what He’s done, doing, and will do for us. That’s how we’ll fulfill our great commission. Oh my people, I hope it all makes sense, because when the Spirit gets my adrenalin flowing, I tend to natter on. (smile) And just in case it doesn’t, I know that as you all are filled with Jesus’ Spirit, you can all pick sense from nonsense. (smile) Much LOVE!…it’s high time believers step up to the plate…and truly LOVE our God…LIVE our Faith…and SPREAD His Word…

Habakkuk 3:18.  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Mark 14:38:     Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Mark 14:38.    Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

Proverbs 8:34.    Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, but there’s not as much hullabaloo as normal because many people only worked four days this week and it’s also wet and windy outside. That’s means the ‘TGIFs’ and ‘Thank God is Fridays’ aren’t as loud and boisterous, but the little band of revellers still chipping happily down the street, soaked to the bone, beating their dudup to the scintillating rhythmical accompaniment of iron and bottle and spoon. Hn, hn! With that picture in mind, let’s chant our Friday Chant to give us clear perspective on the weekend. ‘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.’ Yes mih people, the weekend is to revive ourselves so we can start the workweek battle afresh on Monday. And out Bit today addresses that problem quite nicely by pointing us to the halls of Wisdom, as she cries out to us, as she truthfully proclaims: ‘Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.’ That’s no lie Friends! As Wisdom further truthfully declares: ‘For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.’ (Prov.8:35-36) Truer words were never spoken my brethren! I’m therefore imploring us to pay close attention, to heed Wisdom’s warning, and not be found amongst those that hate her, don’t do wrong to our very own souls, but rather be safely and wisely embedded, ensconced in the group that LOVES her, so that we will find favour with Almighty God. Why, you ask? The answer’s simple. For ‘The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths (deeps) are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.’ (Prov.3:19-20) So people, if wisdom and knowledge played such an important part in God’s creation of the world and all therein, why should it play any lesser part in our journey here on earth, since we are the wonderful products of that same wisdom and knowledge? Unfortunately though, in this evil, ungodly, lustful society we have today, not many people are seeking the spiritual wisdom that we need to live a good, long and prosperous life. We are mistakenly being led to seek earthly wisdom, which can be instructive, but must always be supervised by the spiritual kind. And I’ll leave us with some verses that clearly show why wisdom in God’s ways is to be desired above all else. ‘Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding: for the merchandise (gain) of it is better than the merchandise (profit) of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth (holds fast to) her.’ (Prov.3:13-18) Oh Friends, it’s time for us to wake up and smell the roses, to seriously pursue Wisdom and all her wonderful benefits so that our lives can be greatly improved, through God’s LOVING and merciful favour. Only a fool would think and/ or do otherwise. Much LOVE!…to seek wisdom…and to get understanding…is to be truly wise…
 

Luke 6:43.     For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
 
Ah Friends, it seems like it’s going to be another wet and windy day in my area, with leaves blowing all around. Some people in Mexico and parts of Guatemala weren’t so lucky though as Hurricane Jova and a new tropical depression hit them forcefully yesterday. Ah Lord, when are all these natural disasters going to stop eh? Only you know that Lord, but we pray for those unfortunate people, pray that you’ll help them rebuild their lives as soon as possible. And we know that you’ll expedite our prayers because you’re a good, merciful and ever-LOVING God. Now that’s the infallible truth Friends! And as our Bit so rightly declares: ‘For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt (bad) fruit; neither doth a corrupt (bad) tree bring forth good fruit.’ More truth from Jesus my brethren, while admonishing the hypocritical leaders of Israel. The same tree or vessel can’t bring forth both bad and good stuff. It has to produce one or the other, according to its nature. ‘For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.’ (Luke 6:44-45) Irrefutable words of Jesus my Friends! And hear how He lambastes them in Matthew’s version: ‘O generation (brood, offspring) of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.’ (Matt.12:34) Now Friends, don’t go condemning those Jewish leaders because we’re just as bad today, if not worse than they were. Too many of us believers talk with forked tongues. We have much evil lurking in our hearts, but try to make what comes out of our mouths and souls seem good. But that’s not possible, at least not for very long, for the true nature of our hearts will eventually creep out into our words and actions. I don’t know if it’s simply because the population today is much greater than in Jesus’ time that we seem to have more hypocrites running around, or that our society has become so afraid, ungodly and two-faced that all of us have naturally become more hypocritical. Is the set up of our society forcing us to think or feel one way, but act and say another? Something is seriously wrong though, because as time goes by we’re finding the people around us; from family to friends, neighbours and coworkers, not to mention the wealthy and those in power, our leaders, less and less trustworthy. Unfortunately, the selfish, worldly motive seems to be uppermost in all aspects of our society. And we’ll conclude today with an appropriate discourse on the matter by James, when speaking of the evil, unruly, poisonous tongues of men. ‘Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude (likeness) of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.’ (James 3:9-12) Likewise Friends, believers should not be blessing and cursing from the same mouth since it shows that our hearts are not truly in sync with Jesus. That kind of behaviour only gives Christ and His Church a bad name. So please, let’s take a close look at ourselves today, at how we’re doing in that respect, and then make a serious, sincere promise to God and ourselves to improve the quality of our speech in accordance with the righteousness of our hearts. It’s only when those two things work in tandem that God is glorified and His kingdom furthered. Much LOVE!…it’s time believers stop talking…out of both sides of their mouths…

Matthew 28:19.    Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
 
Oh Friends, our God is good; good to the very last drop. (smile) Please believe that, since it makes absolutely no sense to believe in a Deity that’s not good. I guess I’m in a bright, philosophical mood this morning. I’m up early, because I went to bed early. My back’s not aching as much as it did yesterday. And above all, I remembered to turn of the alarm before I went outside to say morning and thanks to our Maker for giving me the exquisite privilege to experience another wonderful day. All thanks and praise to our tender-hearted God for His goodness to us! Now here’s a quote from Horace (65 B.C – 8 B.C) the Roman poet, philosopher and drama critic which I got from the Covenant House October calendar. It simply says: ‘Take as a gift whatever the day brings forth.’ That’s truly the only way to enjoy our days on this planet Friends! Whatever happens on any given day, believe that it comes from God, and that there’s a relevant purpose for it in the building of our Christ-like character, otherwise God wouldn’t send or allow it. Believing whatever happens in our day is God sent or allowed brings us peace and tranquility and helps us to handle every situation properly, be it good or bad. Keep remembering Romans 8:28: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ So let’s begin our days by believing that the everlasting God, in His great wisdom knows what’s happening in each of our lives, and in His great mercy, He’ll also give us the wherewithal to bear anything that comes our way, as is promised. ‘There hath no temptation (over) taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13) Oh Friends, that’s indeed one of the most excellent promises of our God. Though He allows trials and tribulations to come upon us, if we stand strong and steadfast in faith, He will also show us how to handle the misfortune. That brings us to another great promise of Jehovah God, as proclaimed through Jeremiah: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer.29:11) Oh my brethren, with such outstanding promises from our most faithful God, who has never once reneged on a promise, I don’t understand how we can turn away from Him in such droves to bow down to the evil, lying, unfaithful destroyer Beelzebub. When that happens, it’s obvious that our naturally sinful nature is ruling us instead of God’s Word. It means our minds are too concentrated on the things of the earth, rather than on those of heaven. And that’s liable to get us into serious trouble, not only with Almighty God, but also with men, because then we don’t have that sense of peace and calm within us that only comes from the grace of God. Consequently, we’re liable to get very easily angered, depressed or some other negative emotion and display very unchristian like behaviour. Ah mih people, as you can see, the ole fella’s on a roll. Hn, hn! This is one of those days where the Spirit just got into my soul, shook my reins and said ‘Go! Run with the Bit!’ And I did. That part about running with the bit, brought forth a chuckle because it works two ways; writing the Bit, and also being guided by the bit in my mouth, which the Spirit surely did, because I was only allowed to run where He guided me. Ah Friends, that’s the compelling beauty of our wonderful and ever-LOVING God! First of all, He gives us freedom of choice; freedom to choose between Him and the evil one. And when we wisely chose His light burden and easy yoke, He allows us to run free and strong, with awesome promises all through our earthly sojourn. Then at the end of our earthly days, there’s the greatest gift ever to look forward to; salvation and eternal life in His endearing presence. And all God’s people joyfully shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All thanks and praise be to our Great God!’ But nuh must mih breddren, since there’s no one else like Him, and nothing better to look forward to in this life! So Friends, please, I’m imploring us to get our act together, prime our hearts and minds with God’s faithful promises, then go out into the evil, ungodly, hurting world and do as Jesus set forth in the Great Commission. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.’ (Matt.28:19-20) Got to go and find a Bit now to suitably encompass all my ranting and ravings. (smile) And as always, the Spirit came through for me in no time flat. The Good Book was opened right there, and I’ve never used it as a Bit before. So yuh see Friends, if you stick by Him, He’ll most definitely stick by you. Much LOVE!…standing…standing…standing on the promises of God…the only way to enjoy our earthly pilgrimage…