SCRIP-BITS

1 Kings 13:9.     For so it was charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, not turn again by the same way that thou camest.
 
Oh Friends, another beautiful day is dawning with plenty blessings and mercies in store for those who LOVE, serve and worship the Most High God Jehovah! And all God’s people gave a resounding, unified shout of thanks and gratitude: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise and glory be to thee oh Lord, Creator and Controller of the heavens, earth and all therein!’ Yes mih people, it’s only right and proper to give thanks to the One who created us and still looks after all our earthly needs. But in order to get all those blessings and mercies, we need to be ever obedient to God’s will. If it’s one thing the Lord doesn’t take lightly it is disobedience. Yuh see what happened to Saul, the first king of Israel when he usurped the priest’s authority by offering burnt offerings? He lost the kingdom. The Lord anointed Bruh David as king instead. Today’s Bit Friends, highlights another such story of disobedience. King Jeroboam was doing evil in the Lord’s sight, worshipping at high places and altars to Baal in Bethel. But this fateful day, a prophet of Judah accosted Jeroboam at the altar and warned him of the Lord’s displeasure at his perfidy. The prophet prophesied of King Josiah’s birth, who would clean up Israel’s idol worship, and gave Jeroboam a sign that the altar would be torn apart and the ashes poured out. (1 Kin.13:2-3) Soon after that, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar ordering his guards to arrest the prophet. But lo and behold, ‘his hand which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar was also rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.’ (1 Kin.13:4-5) Jeroboam was obviously dismayed and said to the prophet: ‘Entreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored (to) him again, and became as it was before.’ (1 Kin.13:6) Yes Friends, therein lies the omnipotence of our God! There is indeed no other like Him, so I’d strongly suggest that we pay very close attention to His dictates. Once his hand was restored, Jeroboam invited the man to come home with him to dine and be rewarded. But the prophet declined, invoking our Bit: ‘For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.’ So the man went home by another route. But Friends, when the enemy sets out to get us, or the Lord decides to test us, it’s with an intensity we can only resist with and through the veritable strength of the Lord and His Word. Now in Bethel there lived an old prophet who heard about the other prophet’s doing from his sons. So he saddled his donkey and went after him. He found him sitting under an oak tree and invited him back to his house for refreshment. Quite properly the younger man refused, once again invoking our Bit. The older man then said: ‘I am a prophet also as thou art, and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied to him.’ (1 Kin.13:18) So the young man went back with the old prophet and ate and drank with him. However, in the midst of the meal, the Lord appeared unto the older man: ‘And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre (your corpse shall not come to the tomb) of thy fathers.’ (1 Kin.13:21-22) Ah Friends, when we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, the only sensible thing to do is follow the Lord’s directive regardless of what anybody else tells us. After eating and drinking, the young man went out again: ‘And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him; and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.’ (1 Kin.13:24) Eventually the older man heard about it and said: ‘It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him,’ (1 Kin.13:26) Finally, the older prophet went out looking for the young, ‘and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.’ (1 Kin.13:28) Yes Friends, a live lion standing idly beside a dead man and a live donkey, could only be the work of our God. Oh my brethren, please believe that whatever our God says will come to pass. We have so many examples of it, that our current ungodly behaviour and disobedience just boggles the mind! How can we be so foolish eh? I beg of us today to inspect our hearts and souls and see if we’re disobeying the Lord’s directives in any way, and to please, please, rectify it before it’s too late, cause it’s the only wise course available. Much LOVE!…he who doesn’t hear…who disobeys…shall certainly feel…shall certainly pay a hefty price…