Matthew 18:7. Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to the man by whom the offense cometh!
Oh Friends, December’s here; the season of snow and also of Advent in the Church’s Calendar. It’s that time when we celebrate the extraordinary, incarnate birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a time we call Christmas. Wow! It was the opening salvo in the divine war on death and damnation by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, followed by the powerful bombardment of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, which brought salvation and eternal life to all who believed on Jesus’ Name. But as always, the enemy tries to deny or belittle those facts and has already rolled out his heavy sales pitch on the earthly goods he peddles, urging us all to come and buy, with money most of us don’t have. And as usual, the emphasis is being placed on the purchasing of things rather than on the birth of Christ. The happy holidays nonsense, instead of Merry Christmas, is also in full swing, and I would like us to ask those people what happy holidays we’re celebrating, what’s the real occasion for all this peace on earth goodwill to men, and the giving of gifts etc? It is because of Christ’s birth why there’s a holiday season in the month of December. Why are we so reluctant to admit that eh? Because it turns off people of other faiths? So tough beans! When they celebrate their religious rituals they don’t give two hoots whether it turns of anybody else, so why are we so fickle and stupid about our religious rituals eh? Nothing’s wrong with the merriment and goodwill, only wish we could have it all year, but please call a spade a spade, and put the emphasis of the season where it should properly be, on Jesus Christ, not on the merchandising of worthless earthly goods. And now that I’ve had my say, let’s bring on the Star of the show, the one and only Superstar in all creation, Jesus Christ, as He warns us in our Bit about temptations to sin. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses (enticements to sin)! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.’ Yes Friends, as we saw yesterday, temptations will come against all of us at some time(s) in this earthly life. The problem though, is how we handle those enticements to sin. The best course is obviously to reject them, but with our fragile nature we’re not always able to do so, and Jesus understands our dilemma because He was also tempted when He lived on earth. (Matt.4) But as He told the disciples when they fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane: ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt.26:41) Now that’s the living truth Friends! Being watchful and steadfast in prayer is the best way to avoid or reject temptations when they come, as Jesus showed when Lucifer tempted Him. All His rejections were based on God’s Word: ‘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 shalt not tempt (test) the Lord thy God…Get thee hence (away with you), Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord they God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:4,7,10) But unfortunately none of us is perfect, so on the hopefully few occasions when we succumb to the enticements of the enemy, we need to realize it as quickly as possible, then confess and repent of our sin, for we serve and worship a wonderful and ever-LOVING God who is always willing to pardon and forgive us when we come to him in true repentance. And I think we’ll end there today, because the remainder of the stuff I want to say will run on too long, and I don’t want to takes us away from our busy schedules of shopping and whatever else, simply to read about Almighty God, Our Creator, Provider and Protector. Yuh see Friends, how considerate I am. (smile) We’ll deal with the rest of it tomorrow, if the Lord sees fit to give us the breath of life. Till then, please walk safely in His ever-LOVING embrace. Much LOVE!…watch and pray…watch and pray…it’s the only way to reject temptation… P.S. Oh Friends, I guess I’m a bit crusty this morning because of all the nonsense I see us doing, both believers and non-believers as the Christmas season arrives, like spending money that we don’t have, running up debt on credit cards that we’ll hold our head and bawl when the time comes to pay, just enabling the prophecy of the rich getting richer and the poor poorer. Please, I’m imploring us not to get too caught up in the worldly aspects of the season. Let’s be wise and don’t overspend, instead concentrate on the real issue, the Birth of Jesus. Much LOVE!
Oh Friends, December’s here; the season of snow and also of Advent in the Church’s Calendar. It’s that time when we celebrate the extraordinary, incarnate birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, a time we call Christmas. Wow! It was the opening salvo in the divine war on death and damnation by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, followed by the powerful bombardment of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, which brought salvation and eternal life to all who believed on Jesus’ Name. But as always, the enemy tries to deny or belittle those facts and has already rolled out his heavy sales pitch on the earthly goods he peddles, urging us all to come and buy, with money most of us don’t have. And as usual, the emphasis is being placed on the purchasing of things rather than on the birth of Christ. The happy holidays nonsense, instead of Merry Christmas, is also in full swing, and I would like us to ask those people what happy holidays we’re celebrating, what’s the real occasion for all this peace on earth goodwill to men, and the giving of gifts etc? It is because of Christ’s birth why there’s a holiday season in the month of December. Why are we so reluctant to admit that eh? Because it turns off people of other faiths? So tough beans! When they celebrate their religious rituals they don’t give two hoots whether it turns of anybody else, so why are we so fickle and stupid about our religious rituals eh? Nothing’s wrong with the merriment and goodwill, only wish we could have it all year, but please call a spade a spade, and put the emphasis of the season where it should properly be, on Jesus Christ, not on the merchandising of worthless earthly goods. And now that I’ve had my say, let’s bring on the Star of the show, the one and only Superstar in all creation, Jesus Christ, as He warns us in our Bit about temptations to sin. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses (enticements to sin)! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.’ Yes Friends, as we saw yesterday, temptations will come against all of us at some time(s) in this earthly life. The problem though, is how we handle those enticements to sin. The best course is obviously to reject them, but with our fragile nature we’re not always able to do so, and Jesus understands our dilemma because He was also tempted when He lived on earth. (Matt.4) But as He told the disciples when they fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane: ‘Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ (Matt.26:41) Now that’s the living truth Friends! Being watchful and steadfast in prayer is the best way to avoid or reject temptations when they come, as Jesus showed when Lucifer tempted Him. All His rejections were based on God’s Word: ‘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 shalt not tempt (test) the Lord thy God…Get thee hence (away with you), Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord they God, and Him only shalt thou serve.’ (Matt.4:4,7,10) But unfortunately none of us is perfect, so on the hopefully few occasions when we succumb to the enticements of the enemy, we need to realize it as quickly as possible, then confess and repent of our sin, for we serve and worship a wonderful and ever-LOVING God who is always willing to pardon and forgive us when we come to him in true repentance. And I think we’ll end there today, because the remainder of the stuff I want to say will run on too long, and I don’t want to takes us away from our busy schedules of shopping and whatever else, simply to read about Almighty God, Our Creator, Provider and Protector. Yuh see Friends, how considerate I am. (smile) We’ll deal with the rest of it tomorrow, if the Lord sees fit to give us the breath of life. Till then, please walk safely in His ever-LOVING embrace. Much LOVE!…watch and pray…watch and pray…it’s the only way to reject temptation… P.S. Oh Friends, I guess I’m a bit crusty this morning because of all the nonsense I see us doing, both believers and non-believers as the Christmas season arrives, like spending money that we don’t have, running up debt on credit cards that we’ll hold our head and bawl when the time comes to pay, just enabling the prophecy of the rich getting richer and the poor poorer. Please, I’m imploring us not to get too caught up in the worldly aspects of the season. Let’s be wise and don’t overspend, instead concentrate on the real issue, the Birth of Jesus. Much LOVE!
SCRIP-BITS 