Psalm 86:4. Rejoice (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday, and I hope you took my advice yesterday to rest and refresh yourselves, so that you’d be bright and bubbly this morning…
Well, as I expected, there are some of the usual moans and groans and miserable looking countenances. But on the positive side of the equation, there are also some fresh, bright eyed, bushy tailed, gung ho, ready to go believers. And for that I say a most welcome and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord!’
Don’t worry though Friends, because it’s a start in the right direction, it’s something to build on, and hopefully every week we’ll get better.
And before we go any further, let me apologize for the typo I made yesterday right at beginning of the Bit. Instead of typing ‘treat,’ I typed ‘teat.’ I’m sure many of you didn’t notice it, but I did, as soon as I read it earlier on today. And was I ever annoyed because I dislike making any mistakes at all in anything I’m writing, especially when it has to do with God’s Word. And I’m even more annoyed when I’ve read it over a couple times, like I do the Bit, and miss the mistakes.
However, today, when the meaning of the wrong word hit my consciousness, I chuckled and decided, yeah, that would work too, since just as babies grab hold of the teat of their mother’s breasts and suck vigorously on them to get the life nourishing milk to sustain them and make them grow, even so we believers need to grab hold of the Word of God and suck it into our spirits to enable us to grow and mature in our Christian faith.
Anyway… Ah chuh! The day before that, I made another typo in the thought for the day, writing ‘rime’ instead of ‘time.’ But I know that you all are wise believers, thus you’re able to pick sense from nonsense. (smile)
Anyway Friends, it’s Monday, time to get up and go out and labour, so without further ado, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great fervour, to rattle Lucifer and get our adrenalin going.
In one loud, harmonious voice now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together.
We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies.
But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle.
Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’
Oh mih breddren, I can feel the adrenalin and the eagerness just bubbling up, threatening to bubble over, so let’s get to our Bit! ‘Rejoice (make glad) the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.’
Yeh mih people, that comes from a prayer of Bruh David, superscripted, ‘Teach me thy way O Lord.’ And in our Bit, he’s petitioning the Lord to uplift his spirit with joy and gladness, because Jehovah is the one he serves and worships. And with good reason too, as he continues in the next verse. ‘For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.’ (Ps.86:5)
And that my brethren is the unmitigated, undeniable, incontestable, gospel truth! (smile) For those three attributes; goodness, forgiveness and plentiful in mercy, are the very foundation of our wonderful and omnipotent God. There’s ABSOLUTELY NO ONE better at those things than Him! And when you add to all that the overwhelming power of His unconditional LOVE, well…well…
Oh my fellow believers there are no words in our limited vocabulary to really describe our God, no description that will do Him the justice that He truly deserves! We’d have to be able to think on His much higher level to find apt descriptions, which we obviously can’t do. So let it suffice to say that He’s a great, incredible, remarkable, incredulous, out of this world Deity!
Now let’s take a gander at some scripture that bears out our theme. And it just so happens that they all come from Bruh David’s petitions to the God of his forefathers. That’s one of the things I greatly admire about Bruh David; he knew without a doubt, on which side his bread was buttered, and hence, no matter his situation, was never afraid or shy to call on the great God, Yahweh.
Hear him from Psalm 25, a prayer for guidance and protection. ‘Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 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 without cause (deal treacherously). Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps.25:1-5)
Oh my people, are those words and sentiments we also cry out to our God? I surely hope so!
Now listen to Bruh David from Psalm 143, Teach me to do thy will, as he cries out: ‘Hear (answer) me speedily, O Lord; my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be (become) like unto them that go down into the pit (grave). Cause me to hear thy LOVING-kindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Deliver me, O Lord, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me (unto thee I look for shelter). Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.’ (Ps.143:7-10)
Oh Friends, you’ll notice that although Bruh David is pleading for mercy, help, whatever, throughout all his petitions he’s also asking the Lord to teach him His ways, lead him in the right paths, keep him upright, etc. Now that’s a pattern of prayer we ought to emulate. Instead of just asking God for stuff, without any effort on our part, we have to truly desire to learn the ways of God, otherwise we’ll always be on the outside looking in.
Therefore my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, on this Monday morning in early September 2013, let’s go out prepped and proper, into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us with a serious and distinct purpose; to bring as many lost souls as we can to Jesus, through our words and our Christ-like behaviour, so that He can cleanse and save them, the way He’s done for us.
Remember that’s what He purposely asked us to do in the ending verses of Matthew 28. So please, let’s get our act together and go out and perform our bounden duty, with joy, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE – just like Jesus did. That’s the ultimate in wisdom and service to God! Much LOVE!
…go ye therefore, and teach all nations…baptizing them in the name of …the Father…and of the Son…and of the Holy Ghost…
P.S. Oh Friends, please look on the ole fella with some LOVING-kindness, for no matter how much I promise myself to keep the Bits short, somehow or other the Word and the Holy Spirit just seem to infuse so many thoughts and so much energy in me, that I just can’t help myself… And I’m already naturally longwinded as it is. (smile) Much LOVE!
SCRIP-BITS 