SCRIP-BITS

2 Corinthians 9:6.    But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
 
Oh Friends, it’s Friday, and we’ve awakened to another wonderful day in God’s great universe! Wow! Please give Him some thanks and praise for that. And this a special Friday too, because it’s the weekend before Christmas. Only nine more days till that joyful celebration of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’s birth! So you can imagine the rocking riddims as well as the sweet angelic music that’s reaching up to heaven from earth. Mama mia! I guess you can call it a cornucopia of music, because it’s all kinds from all over God’s earth. And that’s the way it should be my people. A celebration of Christ’s birth ought to be rich and rollicking, for no one else, no other birth has meant so much to mankind. But before we get carried away in the celebrating, let’s slow down and chant our Friday Chant nuh, so we can get a right perspective on the weekend. Altogether now, in one great 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.’ Yes Friends, as the old people would say; ‘drunk or sober, mind yuh business.’ Regardless of the authenticity of the situation, we can’t afford to go overboard and give the enemy an opening to sow his negative seeds of destruction. And now that we’ve gotten the celebration part straightened out, (smile) let’s turn to our Bit, which is another awesome working of God’s nature within His universe. ‘But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully (with blessings) shall reap also bountifully.’  Yeah mih people, however our hearts lead us, so shall it be returned to us. And since we all know how the programme works, I’m not going to try and reinvent the wheel, I’m just going to let some relevant scriptures do the talking to our hearts, minds and souls. And we going to begin with some awesome words of Jesus, some definitive words, that strike right to the heart of the topic. ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom (fold in garment used as a pocket). For with the same measure that ye mete (use) withal it shall be measured to you again.’ (Luke 6:38) Oh Friends, those words of the Master are so revealing and relevant that we should be able to stop right here. But sadly, our hearts are so stone cold and hard that we need more scriptures to keep chipping away at them. Now listen to some wisdom from Cousin Sol. ‘There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that witholdeth more than is meet (right), but it tendeth (leads) to poverty. The liberal (generous) soul shall be made fat (rich): and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. He that witholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it.’ (Prov.11:24-26) And again from Cousin Sol: ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.’ (Prov.19:17) And we’ll end with one of my favourite scriptures from Hebrews, where the writer, who could only be Bruh Paul, or his clone, is talking about service well-pleasing to God. ‘Let brotherly LOVE continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.’ (Heb.13:1-2) Yes Friends, that statement is oh so true! I’ve experienced it personally and have also seen it in the lives of others. You can come into contact with a stranger only to realize later on that they are able to make a substantial difference in your life, but that difference will only be made if your initial response was up to scratch, meaning Christian-like. What I like about that scripture is that it helps to keep us grounded and focused all year round, re our Christian principles. Anyway, now that we’ve been reminded that whatever we give out, and however we give it out, the same will be returned to us in like manner, let’s light up our hearts this Christmas season, be joyful, generous and full of LOVE, for our embattled world badly needs such joy and generosity. However, as I believe Jeeves would say, let’s adjust our attitudes with ‘a modicum of circumspection.’ Let’s not get carried away with the celebrating and forget the real reason for the season…the birth of Jesus. Merry Xmas to all, and to all a Happy New Year! Much LOVE!…to live and give…at all times…from a right heart…that’s the Master’s desire for all His children…