SCRIP-BITS

1 John 5:13.    These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
 
Oh Friends, yesterday was ‘Hot, Hot, Hot!’ And today will be ‘Hotter, Hotter, Hotter!’ (smile) Yes, we’re finally getting some real summer weather, thirty odd degrees. However, it will definitely impact greatly on the hydro-electricity bill with the A/C on continuously, especially since we’re now on this pay more during the day scene. Ah mih brethren, the ole crooks and them know just how to ramp up a bill! Yet they sell power to other jurisdictions for much less than the production cost when they have an over-abundance of it. And who do you think pays for that? The poor, lowly consumers of course! Unfortunately, when the government, the main producers, and the others lesser ones are in cahoots, you can’t do much else but grin and bear it. Anyway, seeing that we’re children of Almighty God, that means we’re privileged, so we’ll just continue doing our thing, laying our problems in the Lord’s hands, because He’s so graciously invited us all who are weary and heavy laden, to come to Him for rest, to bear His easy yoke and light burden. (Matt.11:28-30) Oh Friends, you’ll be proud to know that the ole fella didn’t have to look up the Concordance to find that scripture, but rattled it off from the top of his head. Glory Hallelujah! Rhyming off chapter and verse is not my strongpoint, so anytime I remember a scripture and where it’s found, that’s an improvement. Thank the Lord mih people! Now this is one of those times when I don’t know what I’m going to write about, for before I was ready to write, the Spirit floated the ‘Hot, Hot, Hot’ idea, and I just ran with it. So I’ll have to take a break and check the Good Book to see what the Lord wants us to talk about today. So, soon come! I’m back mih breddren; about half an hour later! Not because it took me so long to find a Bit, but because I was catching up on some other reading that I should have done before starting the Bit. In fact I found our Bit in less than five minutes. And yuh know my biggest blessing is when the Lord guides me fairly easily to a Bit. Sadly, it doesn’t happen all the time, and some days I have to plod and plough through the Good Book to find something my head can get around. But here’s our Bit for today: ‘These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’ Ah mih people, what a wonderful and blessed assurance! And we’ll break it down so we can all understand it, by sharing what the scholars say about assurance, but in between I’ll write out the references they give, so that we’ll have them all right at hand. Here goes: ‘The Scriptures clearly teach that it is possible to know whether you are saved or unsaved. The assurance of the believer is not based on feeling, (though the Christian may “feel” saved), but on the principle of God’s Word. We can know we are saved because Christ is in our hearts. ‘To whom God would (willed to) make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ (Col.1:27) ‘He that hath the Son hath (the) life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not (the) life.’ (1 John 5:12) Because of the witness of the Word of God: ‘He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record (testimony) that God gave his Son. And this is the record (testimony), that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.’ (1 John 5:10-11) Because of answered prayer: ‘If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.’ (John 14:14) ‘And this is the confidence we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 5:14-15) Because of our understanding of the scriptures: ‘And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.’ (1 John 5:20) Because we keep His commandments: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) ‘We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth (guards) himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.’ (1 John 5:18) Because we LOVE the brethren: ‘We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we LOVE the brethren. He that LOVETH not his brother abideth in death.’ (1 John 3:14) Because we have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit: ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ (Rom.8:16) Illustration: Paul claimed to have this inner confidence and was fully persuaded concerning the keeping power of God in salvation. ‘For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.’ (2 Tim.1:12) Application: Because of this assurance, the believer need not be ashamed of Christ, even when he finds himself in difficult circumstances.’ (2 Tim.1:12) Oh Friends, it’s a bit on the long side, but it is all very worthwhile since it gives us some strong foundation of why we’re Christians, of why we believe so firmly in Almighty God and His graceful gifts of salvation and eternal life, expensively purchased for us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Please, let us take these scriptures to heart so that they may enable us to stand strong in our Christian Faith. That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…I am the way, the truth, and the life…no man cometh unto the Father…BUT BY ME…