Leviticus 19:1-2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
Good morning, good morning, Friends, neighbours, families, believers, unbelievers, and whoever else is out there! I just want to say, or rather ask just one thing – whom do you think enabled you to see this blessed day eh, and what can we attribute it all to? Well I guess that’s two things… (smile)
Anyway, we’ll answer the last question first by asking another question, one asked by the group Sister Sledge in their old song ‘Thinking of You:’ – ‘What do you think brought the sun our today? ‘ And the fabulous answer: ‘IT’S LOVE! FOR WITHOUT LOVE THERE’S NO REASON TO LIVE!’ And isn’t that the awesome, gospel truth my brethren? It surely is!
Now that answers the last question. ‘It was LOVE that caused our first heartbeat.’ Everything that’s happened in our world was caused by that wonderful emotion – LOVE!
Now the next and most important question is who, or what possessed that immense LOVE to cause it all?
And the CORRECT answer, regardless of what you might think or believe, is your Creator, your Heavenly Father, El Shaddai, the Lord God Almighty, the Lord of Hosts, the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, who’s alive and kicking – kicking mightily too – He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Creator of the universe and all therein!
Your Provider and Controller, your Rock, Strong Tower, Mighty Fortress, and Deliverer through His sinless and wonderful Son Jesus Christ, to whom ALL knees must and WILL bow, and ALL tongues must and WILL confess that He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings!
Glory Hallelujah to our omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent Triune God, whose Holy Spirit lives and dwells within us to lead and guide us into all truth and righteousness! Amen!
And now that we’ve gotten that one, or rather two facts straight Friends- the Who and Why of our earthly existence, let’s move on to our Bit. No rambunctious rambling this morning, per the Holy Spirit, (smile) because there’s lots of scripture to be covered.
‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.’
Now yesterday we got some info from the scholars, per God’s Holiness, today we’ll get some more, just on a somewhat different level. ’19:2. Chapter 18 dealt with holiness in sexual behaviour: this chapter deals with holiness in social ethics. Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy: This certainly could be termed the motto of Leviticus.
“Holy” (qadosh) and its cognate terms, for example, sanctify and holiness, occur 152 times in Leviticus (about 20 percent of the total occurrences in the Old testament). Israel’s fundamental calling was to be a “holy nation” (Ex.19:6). They were to be “separated from sin” and “to cling unto the Lord.” God’s holiness served as the model for all the congregation.’
And I’m here to tell us my brethren, that that model still stands today for us all. Unfortunately though it is a model which we have chosen in our stupid and foolish worldly ways to ignore – sadly, as we can see and feel, to our great expense.
Anyway, here comes the really interesting part of the scholars’ info. ‘Jewish scholars have seen in the material of this chapter (19) a counterpart of the Ten Commandments, the precepts of which are recapitulated as follows: the first and second in verse 4; the third in verse 12; the fourth and fifth in verse 3; the sixth in verse 16; the seventh in verse 29; the eight and ninth in verses 11-16; and the tenth in verse 18.’
And knowing that we are a busy and lazy bunch, (smile) who find it difficult to check out stuff in the Good Book, I’m going to spoon feed us (smile) with these scriptures.
Now what does verse 4 say. ‘Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten (molded) gods: I am the Lord your God.’ (Lev.19:4) That pertains to the first and second commandments.
Then in verse 12, you’ll find the third: ‘And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:12)
In verse 3, lies the fourth and fifth rule: ‘Ye shall fear (revere) every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.’ (Lev.19:3)
In verse 16, we’ll find the sixth: Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people, neither shalt thou stand against the blood (life) of thy neighbour: I am the Lord your God.’ (Lev.19:16)
Meanwhile, you can check out verse 29 for the seventh commandment: ‘Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.’ (Lev.19:29)
The eight and ninth statutes are found in verses 11-16: ‘Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. (v.12 is already above) Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgement (justice): thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.’ (Lev.19:11,13-15) And you already have verse 16 above.
And the tenth commandment is recapitulated in verse 18: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ (Lev.19:18)
And there we have it my Friends and fellow believers – another instance of our wise God, getting the overall message to us in a slightly different form and place to keep it fresh and ever-recurring to us.
And do we ever need to hear God’s Word and message my people! So that we counter the evil and ungodly message that the world is putting forth and unfortunately is taking great hold, being so very prevalent amongst our young generations.
Oh Friends, the only way we’ll ever counter Lucifer and his evildoers is by returning to those Ten commandments which the Lord enshrined as His Law so many ages ago. And since our God doesn’t change, is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, it means His Law hasn’t changed either. We are still expected to abide by it.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Bit; the slight difference in format, but nonetheless still abounding with meaningful scripture!
And your homework for today is to check out the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20, and see if they truly relate to the stuff we described in Leviticus 19.
Now please do your homework, for you will be questioned on it in class tomorrow. (smile) Much LOVE my brethren!
…the only wise and decent way to live…is by following God’s Law…the Ten Commandments…
P.S. Please excuse the tardiness of the Bit, but I got up late and then found that what I wanted to write took more time and was longer than I expected. But it’s all good! Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 April 2014 Leviticus 19:1-2
28 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: advocates, aura of love, be holy, blessed, bounden duty, Christ's Resurrection, confidence, Easter celebration, enthusiasm, evil, fellowship, glorious kingdom, glory, glory hallelujah, godly love, heavenly Father, holiness, holy spirit, honour, human frailties, humble servants, invincible, Jesus Christ, jobs, keeping lives and families together, living standards, lord god almighty, LOVE, loving kindness, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, Moses, negative side, Oh Lord God Almighty, our calling, perfect harmony, positive spin, praise, pure, purity, reach out to others, recociliation, reconciled to God, rejuvenation of spirit, relaxation, renewed vitality, righteousness., sacrificially, selflessly, separation, separation from sin, serve a useful purpose, sin, steadfast faith, thanks, the Lord your God is holy, trials, tribulations, true colours, truth, ungodly world, weaknesses, weary souls, Ye shall be holy
Leviticus 19:1-2. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
Oh Friends, that wonderful day called Monday has rolled around once again!
And all God’s people declared a loud, hearty and grateful: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Wow! Are we changing or what! (smile)
But unlike last Monday, when many of us had the day off to celebrate Easter Monday, today we all have to go to work, so that we can earn money to buy bread to keep our physical bodies going.
And as I said sometime aback, we don’t have much choice, provided we want to eat and have a roof over our heads, so we might as well put a positive spin on it, rather than the negative, I’m tired, etc. etc. attitude that is so common today.
Ah mih people, most of the world’s population would kill to have the blessed life that many of us live in this Western Society. So please, let’s stop complaining about the few things which we don’t have, many of which are not essential, and enjoy and celebrate the many things we do have that give us the best living standard in the entire world.
And the best way to do all of that is by giving our wonderful God a whole lot of glory, praise, thanks and honour. So this Monday morning when we’re still celebrating Christ’s amazing and life-changing Resurrection, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great gusto, remembering what Christ so selflessly and sacrificially accomplished for us two thousand years ago.
So mih breddren, let’s sing, loud and in perfect harmony: ‘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!’
Yes mih people! That was wonderful! Jesus was pleased. It made Him feel that His sacrifice was worthwhile after all. Now we’ve got to go out and show the world our true colours in Jesus. And there’s no better way to do that than to personify the words of our Bit: ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.’
Matter finish and done with Friends! Your God is holy, so if you want to truly worship Him, then you need to be holy too. No ifs, ands and buts about it!
And before we go any further, let’s hear what the scholars have to say about the Holiness of God. ’19:2. The Hebrew word translated “holiness” comes from a root meaning “to separate or cut off.”
The primary meaning of holiness implies God’s positive quality of self-affirming purity; the secondary meaning implies separation, particularly separation from sin. The holiness of God means He is absolutely pure and absolutely separate from (and above) all His creatures, and also separate from sin and evil.
Illustration: Because God is holy, all sin is offensive to Him. For this reason he had to break fellowship with His own Son when Jesus became our sin bearer (cf. Matt. 27:46) Only through the identification of Christ with our sin as our sacrifice can we be reconciled to God.
Application: When the Scriptures mention the holiness of God, they also stress the personal holiness of His people. (First Ref. Gen.1:4; Primary Ref. Lev.19:2; cf. John 14:6).’
What more can I add to that eh Friends? Not a whole lot; except to say that if we want to be God’s people, then like Jesus said in our Bit yesterday, we need to be perfect, complete, abounding in godly Love, and as today’s warns, we also need to be holy, like our heavenly Father.
Now please don’t go away with the idea that the Father needs us to be perfect, because He knows that we can never be, since He didn’t make us that way. But in spite of our human frailties and weaknesses, He does expect us to try and be excellent advocates and examples of His LOVE and Holiness, personified through Jesus.
And if we are sincere about wanting to follow Jesus, then He will help us to do so. Therefore, with all of that in mind, please, let’s get really serious about Jesus nuh!
And Friends, there’s no better time than right now to do so, in the midst of this Easter Season, when all the world’s eyes and minds are on Jesus and His great work of reconciliation. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to reach out to others and cause them to want to come to Him.
It’s also our calling and bounden duty as believers. So please let’s do as we ought nuh. Heavenly wisdom requires it. Much LOVE!
…to sincerely work for Jesus…we must be willing to sacrifice some…and to bear some trials and tribulations…like He did…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 April 2014 Matthew 5:48
27 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Abram, adversity, all things are possible, almighty god, as your heavenly Father is perfect, assurance, be perfect, blameless, child of God, complete, El Shaddai, Epaphras, exhortations, expectant faith, faith, faith and humility, fully assured in God's will, furthering God's kingdom, God uses trouble to mature us, God's glorification, God-like characteristics, godly love, goodness, heavenly presence of God, holy spirit, hungry hope, hypocrites, labouring fervently, lacking nothing, let patience have her perfect work, lukewarm faith, mercy, mirror image of Jesus, morally perfect state, negative assessment, new creation in Christ, perfect in Christ Jesus, Pharisees, progressive maturity, satiate, satisfy, scribes, servant of Christ, sinless, stand perfect and complete, strong, talk our talk, the will of God, triune God-head, true reflection of God, trusting in God's goodness and mercy, vibrant, walk our talk, warning
Matthew 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
Oh Friends, today is one of those days when I don’t have a clue as to how to get the Bit going. (smile) But nonetheless, trusting in our wonderful God’s goodness and mercy, I am putting pen to paper, believing, having hungry hope and expectant faith that He will lead and guide me by His Holy Spirit to write something worthwhile. Something that will eventually lead to His glorification and the furtherance of His everlasting kingdom.
And if, perchance, He chooses not to run around today in a preamble, (smile) then we’ll just get straight into our Bit, because there are several scriptures which corroborate it, that need to be shared.
Anyway, I just want to say here that I dearly LOVE those two phrases I used above; hungry hope and expectant faith. I don’t remember where I first read them, but they certainly resonated, made a huge impact on me. The imagery seems so perfect – a hope that’s hungry, and a faith that’s expectant. They just seem to be made for each other!
And from here on in, that’s exactly how I want us to feel and behave. Let’s try to have a sense of hope that’s so strong and vibrant, reflecting the way we feel when we are dying from hunger and want food in the worst way, to satisfy and satiate our growling stomachs.
Likewise, with faith, let’s endeavour to have real great expectations of whatsoever we’re believing in and for, because passive, wishy-washy, lukewarm faith just doesn’t cut it. Moreover, if we truly want to attain to the level of our Bit, we desperately need a hope that’s truly hungry and a faith that’s really expectant, for how else can we become perfect like our heavenly Father eh?
‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
And remember, yesterday the scholars explained being perfect doesn’t mean ‘sinless,’ but rather ‘complete,’ having a passionate, godly LOVE, burning within us for both those who LOVE us and those who don’t. In other words, my people, a true reflection of our Creator.
And in fact Friends, from the earliest days, our God has been trying to get us to be perfect and complete. Listen to the words He spoke to Abram. ‘And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God (El Shaddai), walk before me, and be thou perfect (blameless).’ (Gen.17:1)
Then back in the New Testament, we have Bruh Paul, re his service for Christ, writing thus to the Colossians: ‘(Christ) Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.’ (Col.1:28-29)
Then in his closing exhortations in Chapter 4, he writes: ‘Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth (greets) you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete (filled) in all the will of God.’ (Col.4:12)
And the scholars explain that verse thus: ‘4:12. That ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God means that “you may appear perfect and fully assured in all His will.” Like 1:23, 29, this refers to the Colossians being ushered into God’s heavenly presence in a morally perfect state. When this someday occurs, their experience of progressive maturity and assurance will have preceded it.’
Meanwhile, James, in talking of faith and humility encourages us: ‘But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire (complete), wanting (lacking) nothing.’ (James 1:4)
And per the scholars: ‘1:4. The natural response to adversity is to escape it. But God uses trouble to mature His people.’
Ah mih people, to be a true child of God, a new creation in Jesus Christ, we definitely do need to improve our God-like characteristics. Otherwise we’ll end up being big hypocrites, just like the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time – looking good on the outside, but terrible on the inside.
So please, let’s talk our talk, and then walk that talk big time, so that that negative assessment Jesus made of the Pharisees and them, will never be made against us.
If we want to walk in Jesus’ footsteps, we have to work at being like Him and our heavenly Father – perfect and complete in every way. It’s not easy to do in this godless and wicked world, but with the help of our triune God-head, remember that ALL THINGS ARE INDEED POSSIBLE!
That’s the wisdom of the ages! Much LOVE!
…as believers…in all our words and deeds…the world ought to see reflected in us…a mirror image of Jesus…so that they can come to know Him too…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 April 2014 Matthew 5:48
26 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: admonition, as your Father in heaven is perfect, be perfect, believer is capapble of sin, bless them that curse you, boycotts, children of your heavenly Father, complete LOVE, do good to them that hate you, ethical principles, gas prices, gasoline prices, harbingers of spring, hate thine enemy, human affection, inwardly digest, Jesus Christ, law of Christ, law of LOVE, LOVE, love that comes from God, Love your enemies, LOVE your neighbour, marathons, mark, modern lifestyle, motor vehicles, New Testament, oil companies, parades, pray for those who spitefully use you, publicans, rise in gas prices, road closures, road repair, saved by the grace of God, Sermon on the Mount, shareholder returns, sin, sinless perfection, street fairs, tax collectors, the driving season, the Good Book, the sun rises on both the good and the evil, traffic snarls, wisdom
Matthew 5:48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Oh Friends, today we have another two certain harbingers of spring. The first is the rise in gasoline prices, which are currently running around $ 1.40 per litre in the Greater Toronto Area (G.T.A). They say it’s about 15 cents more per litre than it was last year. Ah Lord eh!
And if you live in these parts, you’ll know that just around this time, termed the start of the driving season, gas prices are always on the rise. Hn! The ole crooks who control the commodity just laugh at talk of boycotts and other stuff, because they know that we have to buy it, since our modern lifestyle is centered around motor vehicles. We need vehicles, and thus fuel for them, to do almost everything; from grocery shopping, to work, to church, and even to play.
Strangely enough too, the prices always seem to be a few cents less outside of the G.T.A. Why is that I wonder? But what really amuses me – that’s strictly sarcasm – is that every time there’s an uproar over the exorbitant gas prices, and some politician(s) check into it, there’s never any case of gouging to be found.
But yet the oil companies are making billions of dollars in profit every year, while the poor people whom they expect to buy the gas are losing their jobs by the thousands, to cut costs and increase shareholder returns. Don’t these greedy, short-sighted, capitalist fools realize that it’s the same people they’re putting out of work that they expect to buy their products? Steups!
But enough of that, because the blatant exploitation just makes me angry, and there’s nothing much I can do about it. Now the second harbinger of spring is road closures. Chuh! Roads are closed every day for any number of reasons, including road repairs, walking, bicycling and running marathons, parades and festivals, street fairs, etc. etc.
Some days it makes you long for winter, when none of these things are around to make driving so onerous. One lane to the T.O. airport has already been closed for a couple of weeks, and will remain that way for at least a couple of months. So can you imagine the traffic snarl that now creates on an already badly traffic snarled highway?
All I can do is praise the Lord that He has significantly reduced my driving these days, so I don’t spend as much money on gas, or time on the road. But the sad fact is that almost anywhere you go, the traffic jams will affect you.
Anyway, we can’t do much about the rise in gas prices or road closures, so let’s grin and bear them, and instead focus on something we can control, both individually and together as Christ’s Church; that’s our Bit. ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’
But Friends, before getting into any other scriptures on the topic, let’s first hear some much needed explanations from the scholars. ‘5:48. This section of the Sermon on the Mount is summarized with the statement Be ye therefore perfect. Since the New Testament is clear that even the believer is capable of sin, the term perfect (Gr. teleios) is not to be taken as sinless perfection. Perfect here means “complete,” that is, possessing a complete LOVE that, like God’s (v.45), embraces those who LOVE you as well as those who do not.’
And as my corollary to that, (smile) although it comes before it in the Good Book, listen to Jesus on the subject. ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so?’ (Matt.5:43-47)
And now Friends, let’s get some good explanation on all that from the scholars. ‘5:43-44. The law of LOVE, sometimes called “law of Christ,” summarizes the ethical principles of the Sermon on the Mount. “LOVE thy neighbour” summarizes the entire second table of the law (cf. Lev.19:18-34). But the unscriptural addition “hate thine enemy” was a popular concept in Jesus’ day.
The admonition LOVE your enemies is one of the greatest statements Jesus ever made. The LOVE enjoined in this passage is LOVE that originates from God Himself. Man is not commanded to attempt to LOVE his enemy on the basis of mere human affection but rather on the basis of a LOVE that comes from God.
The quality of LOVE commanded here is expressed by giving. Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute you. LOVING an enemy involves doing good toward that enemy in order to win him over to Christ.’
And now for some further explanation from the scholars. ‘5:45-47. In summarizing the importance of LOVE, Jesus reminded that LOVE was a necessary proof of salvation: that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven may be better rendered, “that ye may prove to be sons of your Father.”
An initial reading of this text out of its context might seem to imply that LOVING one’s neighbours automatically makes one a child of God. However, the New Testament is clear that LOVE is the evidence that one is already saved by the grace of God (cf. 1 John 3:14). Therefore Jesus reminds us that we are to LOVE our enemies as our brethren, for even the publicans LOVE those who LOVE them. Publicans were public officials of Jewish nationality who worked for the Roman government as tax collectors and were generally despised by the people.’
And there we have it Friends, today’s sermon, (smile) ably assisted by the scholars. I do hope that the information they provided will be helpful to us all, giving us a better understanding of what Jesus requires of us, for that’s what the Good Book is all about, and what we’re here to try to learn, mark and inwardly digest. Please ponder it all, asking God for help to understand it, because that’s truly wisdom from on high. Much LOVE!
…godly LOVE should be the basis for ALL Christian action and interaction…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 April 2104 Lamentations 3:32
25 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a journey of hope and love, a saved world, accepting the challenge with a strong faith, advocating, all knees shall bow, all lips declare, almighty god, ascension, Beelzebub, bequeath our children, blessings, cast off forever, compassion, downward spiral, evil, evil powers, examine our ways, exhorting, expectant faith, eyes of faith, faith, fellow believers, forefront of our society, friends, gift, glory, God does not delight in afflicting His people, God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, grateful, grief, heavenly wisdom, honour, hope, hungry hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, just and righteous Deity, justified, Lamentations, legacy, lift up our hearts, LOVE, loving kindness, magnanimous Creator, magnificent and magnanimous God, materially, mercies, mire, new day, new every morning, omnipotent god, one true God, only son, pangs of misery, prosper, punishment for sins, put into action, quicksand, raise up the name of jesus, reignite God's image in our hearts, rekindle God's fire in our souls, resurrection, righteous, sacrificial death, Saint of the Little Flower, selfless, sentiments, sinful nature, sinful people, slaves, Son Jesus, spiritually, St. Therese, stooges, sucking away our lifeblood, take us to task, thankful, thanks and praise, the way to salvation, triumphant victory over death and the grave, turn again to God, uncoditional love, ungodly, walk in the steadfastness of god's grace and love, walk of faith, what a wonderful God we serve and worship, wisdom
Lamentations 3:32. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, glory be! Yes, it’s another new day in paradise! Another marvellous and wondrous gift from our magnanimous Creator!
Oh my people, it just stirs me up so much when I consider the wonderful God we serve and worship!
Wow! Which other supposed deity gives His people new mercies and blessings every single morning eh? Who shows such undeserved compassion each and every day eh? NONE but our omnipotent God, my brethren!
That’s why we ought to give Him enormous thanks and continually praise His Holy Name. Remember, He doesn’t have to do what He’s done and doing for us, neither do our puny efforts deserve His LOVING-kindness. But it’s His unsurpassed unconditional LOVE that causes Him to bless us so richly, in spite of our sinful nature and behaviour.
And please remember too, that while we were yet stooges and slaves of Beelzebub, He sent His ONLY Son Jesus to die for us, so that we could be made justified, righteous, and all the other wonderful things that Jesus’ selfless, sacrificial death, resurrection and ascension accomplished.
So there are indeed numerous reasons for us to be thankful and grateful! Therefore, instead of trying to belittle Jesus’ importance, or take God out of our society, as we are allowing the evil powers that be to do, we ought to be jumping and shouting, beseeching and pleading, picketing and protesting, advocating and exhorting, to raise up the name of Jesus, just like the Father did after His triumphant victory over death and the grave!
We ought to be encouraging ALL knees to bow, and ALL lips to solemnly and sincerely declare that Jesus is indeed the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Oh Friends, we ought to be filled with such a hungry hope and expectant faith, that we can clearly see, totally envision through our eyes of faith, a saved world; a world where Almighty God and Jesus Christ are once again at the forefront of our society!
Oh my people, my fellow believers, that’s the ONLY WAY our society will once again prosper, both spiritually and materially. If we don’t feel that way, don’t envision it happening, then we’ll just continue the downward spiral in which we’re now totally engaged.
Oh my brethren, the quicksand in the evil and ungodly mire of the world is slowly sucking away our lifeblood, unfortunately causing us to drift further and further away from the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and if we don’t soon put a stop to it, then our children, and their children too, will be the ones to suffer the real pangs of misery and defeat, since we’ll already be dead and gone.
Now is that the legacy we want to bequeath to our children, whom most of us LOVE like the Lord LOVES us? I sincerely doubt it.
However Friends, it’s also necessary to remember that though we are currently a very sinful people, and that sometimes the Lord will take us to task for our sins, He will not cast us off forever. (Lam.3:31)
And all God’s people loudly declared: ‘All glory, praise, thanks and honour be to our magnificent and magnanimous God!’
Yes Friends, those are indeed wonderful sentiments, but we need to not only mouth them, but even more importantly put them into action!
And as our Bit so wisely and rightly states: ‘But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.’
Ah mih breddren, it gives our God no joy, no pleasure to punish us, but as a just and righteous Deity, He has to keep things right. Now listen to the words of Jeremiah, as he laments the state of his people Israel, which very much approximates to our current state.
‘For he doth not afflict willingly (with delight), nor grieve the children of men. To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth. To turn aside the right of (justice due) a man before the face of the most High. To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil (woe) and good (well being)? Wherefore doth (how then can) a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search and try (examine) our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.’ (Lam.3:33-41)
Oh Friends and fellow believers, that bit of scripture both highlights our current situation, and also points the way to our salvation!
Please, let’s accept the challenge with a strong faith, and ask God to ‘reignite His image in our hearts, and rekindle His fire in our souls,’ so that we can turn this evil and ungodly world around, and once again walk in the steadfastness of His abounding grace and undying LOVE!
Now that my people, is truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
’…the walk of faith is ultimately…a journey of HOPE and LOVE…’
P.S. Those words in inverted commas above, have been taken from a devotional booklet on healing, based on the writings and actions of St. Therese, the Saint of the Little Flower.
Please, please, my people, let’s use them to truly reignite the flame and fire of God’s LOVE within us nuh, and thus bring some much needed change to our badly drifting and listing world! Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 April 2014 Proverbs 16:16
23 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a new day, Advocate, all glory to Jesus' name, blessings, blessings to impart, calm my troubled heart, Calvary's cross, Christian faith, comfort, conclusion, discretion, Easter Season, encourage and strengthen our faith, every secret thing, evil, faith, favour, fear, fear God, forgiveness, foundation tools, get understanding, get wisdom, giant of a man, God shall judge every work, God's arsenal of tools, God's favour, good, grace, importance of wisdom and understanding, in time of need, instruction of wisdom, inwardly digest, Jesus Christ, Jesus is alive, Jesus' shed blood, keep God's commandments, LOVE, mark, my heavenly Friend, my hungry soul to feed, my King, my priest, my prophet, My Redeemer lives, my soul's complaint, new mercies, our Lord and Saviour, power of wisdom, read, Redeemer, resurrection, reverential awe, silence all my fears, stay close, stray from the straight and narrow path, sweet joy, the busyness of life, the Preacher, the ways of the world, the whole duty of man, triumphant from the grave, truth, understanding is better than silver, ungodly world, uplifting words, walk in obedience to God's Word, wipe away my tears, wisdom, wisdom is better than gold, wondrous presence, words of solid advice
Proverbs 16:16: How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver.
Oh Friends, it’s Wednesday; a new day! I certainly hope you’re all looking forward to the new blessings, mercies, grace and forgiveness that our wonderful God has planned for us today!
And all God’s people declared a loud and lusty: ‘But of course! Everyday we look forward to our God’s new favour, as we try to walk in obedience to His Word!’
Oh what a great following we are my Friends. (smile) But by the same token, sometimes we get carried away by the ways of the world and stray from the straight and narrow path that’s connected to Jesus.
And as the Easter season begins to fade, many of us tend to either forget about what it means, or simply lessen its importance as the busyness of life gets in the way. That’s why this morning I was led to remind us that Jesus is wonderfully still alive, and also of what He’s done, currently doing and promises to do in the future in the lives of all His followers.
So here are the words of one of our favourite Resurrection Hymns, My Redeemer Lives. Let’s read or sing them aloud, so that they can take firm and solid root in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies, thus continually reminding us of the wonderful Lord and Saviour we have in Jesus Christ.
A Saviour so in LOVE with us, that He paid for our detestable sins with His shed blood on Calvary’s cross, and is still out there working, pleading and advocating on our behalf. Wow! What a giant of a man and God!
Now let’s sing, or read out loud, these beautiful, uplifting words; words to encourage and strengthen our faith. In perfect harmony now Friends.
‘I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever living Head. He lives to bless me with His LOVE, He lives to plead for me above. He lives my hungry soul to feed, He lives to help in time of need.
He lives triumphant from the grave, He lives eternally to save, He lives all glorious in the sky, He lives exalted there on high. He lives to grant me rich supply, He lives to guide me with His eye, He lives to comfort me when faint, He lives to hear my soul’s complaint. He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears
He lives to calm my troubled heart, He lives all blessings to impart. He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly Friend, He lives and LOVES me to the end; He lives, and while He lives, I’ll sing; He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death:
He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there. He lives, all glory to His Name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same. Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer lives!’
Ah mih people, how wonderful is our Jesus! And I surely hope that that gave us all a mighty lift, as we focused on Jesus and His unparalleled actions on our behalf.
And wonder of wonders, it all flows so smoothly into the wise advice of our Bit: ‘How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!’
And my brethren, by now, there should be no doubt in any of our minds as to the absolute truth, the indisputable veracity, (smile) and the ultimate wisdom of those words!
Now hear another of Cousin Sol’s proverbs on the subject: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.’ (Prov.15:33) More words of solid advice and truth my people!
And Friends, don’t for one moment believe that Cousin Sol is the only one who sings the praises of God’s wisdom. Listen to Jeremiah, as he too extols the power of wisdom in God’s arsenal of tools.
‘He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.’ (Jer.10:12)
And mih people, Jerry thought that that was so nice, he wrote it twice. (smile) Chapter 51:15. In fact, Chapter 10:12-16, is exactly the same as Chapter 51:15-20. Please check it out.
And we’ll end this series of messages on the humongous importance of wisdom and understanding in a believer’s life, with these pertinent words from the Preacher.
‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14)
Oh my people, what a fitting end to this message. It’s all there in black and white (sorry – blue and white) for us to see, read, mark and inwardly digest!
Let’s not be like the foolish men of this evil, ungodly world and refrain from accepting and inculcating the foundation tools from which our Christian faith springs. Much LOVE!
…oh wisdom…oh understanding…please fill my heart today with your wondrous presence…so that I may stay always close to my Redeemer…my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 April 2014 Proverbs 16:16
21 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a word to the wise is sufficent, ambassadors for Jesus, arrogance, aura of love, be wise, blessed, blessings, child-like faith, confidence, daily grind and common task, discretion, enduring riches, enthusiasm, eternal life, evil, faith, find knowledge, fly in the ointment, further God's glorious kingdom, gold, gospel truth, hate evil, hear instruction, holy spirit, I love them that love me, invincible, it's better to get wisdom than gold, Jesus Christ, jobs, lead and guide us, Lord and Saviour, LOVE, Monday Morniing Battle Hymn, negative light, obtain the Lord's favour, pangs of jealousy and envy, peace, perverse mouth, positive light, pride, prudence, relaxation, renewed vitality, represent Jesus with dignity, reverence, righteousness., silver, spiritual armour, steadfast faith, sure conquerors, surrender our all, taunts and lies, the evil way, understanding, understanding heart, understanding than silver, ungodly world, useful purpose, we're not afraid, who finds me finds life, wisdom, worthwhile inroads
Proverbs 16:16. How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
And then it was Monday…! Yes Friends, that old enigma, that proverbial fly in our ointment, the first day of the work week has shown its beautiful face again! (smile) Now there’s nothing we can do about it, so we might as well just make the most of it by looking at it in a positive rather than a negative light.
Fortunately though, some of us don’t have to go out and labour today because it’s a holiday in some places. But where it’s not, our unfortunate brethren have to get back to the daily grind and common task – or whichever way it is. However, to lessen those pangs of jealousy and envy which will naturally pop up between the two groups, let’s get into our Monday Morning Battle Hymn early in the proceedings. (smile)
Let’s sing as one group totally united in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who yesterday did the impossible, rising from the dead, thus making it possible for all of us to do likewise if we have a child-like faith in Him. So my brethren, let’s sing with unlimited gusto and perfect harmony.
‘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!’
Wow Friends! That surely was a good rendition! But I believe the greater exuberance came from the group not going to work. They could afford to sing exuberantly because they know they’ll be continuing their Easter celebrations without the evil massa looking over their shoulders. (smile)
But my fellow believers, whether we’re going out to labour, or staying home to celebrate, let’s make sure we represent our leader Jesus with dignity, LOVE and peace; be worthwhile ambassadors for His kingdom.
And this is what our Bit, which we bypassed for Easter Sunday, is basically trying to give us – namely the tools we need to walk worthy of Jesus. ‘How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!’
Oh my people, gold and silver are valuable and useful, but if you don’t have wisdom and understanding, you’ll not know how to use the silver and gold to their best advantage, and soon you’ll be a pauper. That’s like all those folks who either win or inherit large sums of money or other material wealth and have no inkling, no training, no wisdom in how to use their new found wealth. In short time, they’re right back to their original status.
That’s why wisdom and understanding are so important in any undertaking whatsoever! If you have those two mainstays, two foundation blocks of life, then you can handle any matter that arises in your earthly pilgrimage.
And we’ll just turn to Proverbs 8, where Cousin Sol delivers a treatise entitled: Wisdom is everlasting. Remember now that Cousin Sol is reputed to be the wisest and also the richest man who ever lived, so he ought to know a thing or two about wisdom, understanding and wealth.
He begins the chapter thus: ‘Doth not wisdom cry (cry out)? And understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places (takes her stand on high hills, by the way in the places of the paths (beside the way where the paths meet). She crieth (cries out) at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the (entrance of the) doors.
Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man. O ye simple, understand wisdom (prudence): and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things. For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing forward (crooked) or perverse n them. They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.
I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions (and discretion). The fear (reverence) of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward (perverse) mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I LOVE them that LOVE me; and those that seek me early (diligently) shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable (enduring) riches and righteousness.
My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead (walk) in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgement (justice): That I may cause those that LOVE me to inherit substance (wealth); and I will fill their treasures…..’ ( Prov. 8:1-21)
Oh Friends, you couldn’t get a better lecture on the benefits of wisdom and understanding! And after that Cousin Sol goes on to talk about how the Lord used wisdom and understanding to create the world and set all its parameters in place. (Prov.8:22-31) This we’ll leave out, but it’s your homework for today to read it. (smile) I’m serious though, as it is very interesting.
And we’ll end with these last verses which give us further consequences of seeking or not seeking wisdom and understanding. ‘Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not (do not disdain it).
Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: and they that hate me love death.’ (Prov.8:32-36)
Oh my people, the importance of wisdom and understanding couldn’t be stated any clearer than that! So I’m pleading with us to diligently seek them, so that we can find favour with God, rather than death for despising and disdaining them. Now that’s truly heavenly wisdom! Much LOVE!
…a word to the wise is sufficient…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 April 2014 Luke 24:5b
20 Apr 2014 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: accomplishments, angels, anger, anoint Jesus' body, astonishment, be crucified, belief, Christ is risen, Christ's Resurrection, Christians, consternation, death, delivered into the hands of sinful men, did not understand, disbelief, disciples, doubt, drunk or sober mind your business, Easter Sunday, eternal life, fateful morning, fear, future resurrection of the believer, Galilee, glory hallelujah, Granny's advice, Hades, he believed, Jesus Christ, key to victory, let the world know, linen clothes, live in victory with christ, Lord and Saviour, Lord jesus, Mary Magdalene, most significant day in man's history, praise and thanks, Rabboni, rejoice, resurrection, scepticism, sepulchre, set us free, Simon Peter, Son of man, spiritual power, the third day rise again, they remembered Jesus' words, union with Christ, why seek the living among the dead
Luke 24:5b. Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Oh Friends, it’s Easter Sunday morning! What a day it’s going to be, for Christ is risen! Yes indeed, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, from the depths of Hades! He’s broken the bonds of death and the grave and set us free to live eternally with Him in victory!
And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! What a wonderful Saviour! Give Him abundant praise and thanks this Easter Sunday morning!’
Ah mih people, Easter Sunday two thousand years ago was one of the most, if not the most significant day in man’s history. Just imagine the women going to the tomb early in the morning with spices to anoint Jesus’ body, wondering how they would move away the stone from the tomb’s door.
Then, lo and behold, when they got there, ‘…they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.’ (Luke 24:2-3)
Can you imagine their astonishment? First no stone in front of the tomb door, then no body of Jesus! Mama Mia! I’m sure they must have been real flustered, their simple minds thinking all sorts of crazy thoughts.
Then to make matters even worse, ‘…it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout (about this), behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:’ (Luke 24:4)
Wow! That must have really had them jumping out of their skins! ‘And as they were afraid, and bowed their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
It certainly was an eventful day for those poor women; not finding Jesus’ body, but instead two angels, who questioned them in the words of our Bit, then further went on to inform them. ‘He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
And they remembered his words. And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things to the apostles.’ (Luke 24:6-10)
Oh Friends, can you imagine the fear, consternation, doubt and scepticism that fateful morning! And what would have been your reaction to the women’s story eh? Fear, scepticism, anger, disbelief, belief?
Luke tells us thus: ‘And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.’ (Luke 24:11)
I guess that would have been the reaction of most of us under the then prevailing circumstances. However, John tells us that despite their doubt and disbelief, he and Peter ran towards the sepulchre.
‘So they ran both together: and the other disciple (whom Jesus LOVED) did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie. And the napkin (face cloth) that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped (folded) together in a place by itself.
Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and he believed. For as yet they knew not (understood) the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.’ (John 20:4-10)
As they say Friends- seeing is believing, but touching is the naked truth.’ Peter and John saw and believed.
Per the scholars: ‘His clothes lay in an orderly fashion. Had His body been stolen, the grave clothes would not have been left. They believed that Jesus was alive, not yet knowing the details of His resurrection.’
And John continues: ‘But Mary (Magdalene) stood without (outside) the sepulchre weeping: (her second visit) and as he wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back (around), and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence (carried him away), tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say Master (Teacher).
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not (do not cling to me): for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.’ (John 20:11-18)
Oh mih people, can you imagine Mary’s feelings when she realized that she was talking to Jesus, in living colour? And did the disciples truly believe after Mary told them that she had seen Jesus? Who knows my people?
There are many unanswered questions, but the most important fact has been ascertained: Jesus rose from the dead, and thus we have been set free from the bonds of sin and death! Glory Hallelujah!
And we’ll end by outlining some facts, per the scholars, on Christ’s Resurrection. ‘The resurrection of Christ included five accomplishments: (1) the physical renewing of His life; (2) the reunion of His body and His spirit; (3) the subjugation of death under Him; (4) the attainment of His new position; and (5) His receiving of a transfigured body.
Application: Because of the Resurrection, the Christian receives both eternal life (John 11:25) and spiritual power (Eph.1:19-20). Christ’s resurrection also provides for the future resurrection of the believer (1 Cor.15:20) and is the key to victory in the Christian life because of our union with Christ (Eph.2:6) (First Ref. Ps.16:10; Primary Ref. 1 Cor.15; cf. Acts 1:9).’
Oh Friends, we could not ask for a greater gift in this sinful life and world, so please let’s take it all seriously and try our best to live and LOVE the way Jesus desires of us. Let’s not make His sacrifices a waste of time and effort. It’s the best way to show our seriousness and faithfulness and LOVE!
Please have a joyful and glorious Easter Sunday… and don’t overdo the celebrations. Remember Granny’s advice – drunk or sober mind your business (smile) Much much LOVE my fellow believers on this glorious Easter Sunday!
…He is risen…Christ is risen…let the world know and rejoice…that Christ is risen…
SCRIP-BITS 