SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, I’m not sure what I’m going to write on as yet, but I’ve been reading this interesting book, ‘The Pursuit of God’ by A.W. Tozer, and for some reason, my spirit’s been led to begin today with the prayer at the end of the chapter on ‘Apprehending (truly knowing and experiencing) God.’ So here it is: ‘O God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou art good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen.’ Ah my people, I think it’s a powerful prayer, and very appropriate to today, where many believers only have God in their minds, have a mental image of God as being some nebulous Being in the background of their lives, with no true experience of the living Deity that is always around, seeking to come into our hearts and lives in a much more meaningful way. The prayer causes us to want to focus on eternal things, as we ought to, rather than the earthly stuff that still holds most of our attention. Oh Friends, I get the feeling that believers these days have only a superficial knowledge of God. Christianity has become too much of a feel good, surface movement, lacking the deeper searching and seeking for God. In other words, we all have some idea of God, but how many of us have really experienced Him personally in our everyday lives? How many of us really seek to know Him deeply, in Spirit and in truth, and delve into His Word with that intent? Too many of us view God as some ephemeral, ghost-like personage, existing on the edge of our sub-conscious. But He’s real Friends! He’s a living, breathing, working God; existing in us, with us and around us, waiting to fully come to us. But we have to invite Him in, make a conscious decision to truly want to know Him, then be willing to put out the necessary time and energy to receive Him, to be receptive to His advances, for He’s always there, gently knocking on the door of our hearts. The only real difference between the saint and the ordinary believer is that the former has a greater hunger and thirst for God, and is/was willing to devote the time and energy to satisfy it. My brethren, that is the kind of Christianity we need today on a very broad scale, if we’re to make any real difference in our world, and bring it back to some form of godliness, from the worldwide ungodly phase it’s currently going through. All believers must be willing to get into the saintly groove and work diligently towards truly knowing Jesus. It’s the only way we can offer meaningful testimonies, testimonies of true substance that will significantly impact the lives of the ungodly, as well as other believers. So unless we have some true, godly, life experience to share, telling others to just believe and have faith, won’t do them much good. But to gain that true, godly, life experience, to grow in maturity, we must first diligently seek and follow after God. There’s just no getting away from the fact that to know God, to become mature and versed in His ways, is like improving in any other activity; we have to practice continuously. And in God’s case, we need to do it with total trust, surrender and obedience. And that’s where I believe too many of us believers fall down. We simply are not prepared to spend the time and expend the energy needed to truly know and experience God. It means giving up a lot of stuff, oftimes family and friends too. But it’s no different than giving up stuff to focus on our careers or other activities that are near and dear to our hearts. We can only win, or achieve lofty heights in any endeavour, when all our emphasis is geared towards that particular endeavour. The same steadfast focus is also necessary in our lives when it comes to seriously knowing God. Oh Friends, this is where I was lead today, and I sincerely hope it makes sense and impacts our hearts, minds and souls, enough to make us want to know God better and do the things required to achieve that most worthwhile purpose. And we’ll end with the words of our Bit, which I had a hard time deciding on. They are God’s words, His promise, on the subject, as declared by the prophet Jeremiah: ‘And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ Please my people, let’s seek Him, let’s search for Him with all our heart, so that we can mature as children of God, and bring great glory to His Name, as He desires. Much LOVE!…seek and ye shall find…knock and it shall be opened…

Oh Friends, I’d been struggling to find a Bit for a little while, when the Lord took pity on me and led me to Psalm 136, titled, ‘Praise for the Lord’s past and present blessings.’ ‘Thank you Lord!’ And was I ever surprised on reading it to discover that each of its 26 verses, ends with the refrain, ‘for his mercy endureth forever.’ I don’t think I’ve ever noticed this psalm before. I know the scriptures it talks about, but not the psalm itself. Anyway, as its title indicates, it deals with the good things that the Lord had done over the years, and was still doing for Israel. It’s a call to praise the Lord, while showing cause why we should. Consequently, the psalmist heartily proclaims in our Bit: ‘O Give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.’ And that’s an undisputable truth Friends! The writer of Psalm 106 also calls on us to ‘Praise ye the Lord. O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter (express) the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise?’ (Ps.106:1-2) Well the author of Psalm 136 aspires to do just that, as he goes on to describe the Lord as ‘The God of gods: The Lord of lords: To him who alone doeth great wonders: To him that by wisdom made the heavens: To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: To him that made great lights: The sun to rule by day: The moon and stars to rule by night.’ (Ps.136:2-9) Now just imagine a powerful, sweet voiced soloist singing those sentiments, then being answered after every verse by a bubbling, enthusiastic congregation, in full voice themselves: ‘for his mercy endureth for ever.’ Oh Friends, what an outpouring of joy that would cause in heaven! That would only cause His mercy to increase. And believe me people, the Lord’s mercy does endure forever. Throughout the Good Book, from Genesis to Revelation, it’s continually stated and shown. It refers to God’s great and loyal LOVE for those He calls His people. He’s made a covenant, a pact, a contract with us, and it’s of the utmost importance to Him to keep it, so that He can prove his faithfulness and loyalty to those who serve and worship Him. And having described God’s general supremacy, the psalmist then turns his attention to specific things the Lord’s done for His people Israel: ‘To him that smote Egypt in their first-born: And brought out Israel from among them: With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm (outstretched arm, mighty power): To him which divided the Red Sea into parts: And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea: To him which led his people through the wilderness: And slew famous kings: Sihon king of the Amorites: And Og the King of Bashan: And gave their land for a heritage: Who remembered us in our low estate (lowly state): And hath redeemed us from our enemies: Who giveth food to all flesh: O  give thanks unto the God of heaven:’ And all the people proudly echo: ‘for his mercy endureth for ever.’ (Ps.136:10-26) Yes Friends, by the time the congregation sings that last refrain, there would be much dancing and singing in heaven too! That’s what praising our God does. It’s contagious. It has that multiplier effect; whoever hears it just naturally joins in, which is the reaction we’d like to accomplish worldwide, per our Great Commission. (Matt.28:19-20) Unfortunately though, we’re not quite there yet, but we’re getting there, slowly but surely. The forces of good are getting their act together and stepping out to engage Lucifer and his evil cronies, fully clad in their spiritual armour, with their shield of faith out front to deflect the enemy’s fiery darts, while that great spiritual weapon, the sword of the Good Book, brings all who encounter it to their knees before Almighty God. Wow! What a bright and enduring picture my brethren, one we should all be focused on bringing to fruition! And we’ll end with a beautiful verse of scripture, as promised by the Lord, re Judah’s revival. ‘The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the Lord of hosts: for the Lord is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord, For I will cause to return the captivity of the land (the captives of the land to return), as at the first, saith the Lord.’ (Jer.33:11) Yes my people, the sacrifice of praise is still most welcome in the ears of our God, so let’s take it to the next level nuh. Let’s get so contagious with praise and thanks, that those who hear us won’t have any option but to join in and further the kingdom! Much LOVE!…Praise Him, praise Him…Glory Hallelujah…He is LOVE…He is LOVE…

Oh Friends, it’s Monday; that beautiful first day of the work week where all our stress just bubbles over, after two glorious days off. (smile) Yes, I know it’s difficult returning to the common grind and daily task, but we don’t have much choice, so we might as well grin and bear it. Or as Bruh Paul wrote to the Colossians: ‘Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.’ (Col.1:11) Yes Friends, we have to put up with some things in this world, and unfortunately, work is one of them. So to help ease the pain, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn without further ado: ‘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!’ Now let’s all go out into the world and do as our Bit instructs: ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’ And that’s the true basis of Christianity in a nutshell Friends; not to be led by the lusts of our flesh and the world’s cheap, gaudy, flimsy baubles, but by the Spirit of Christ, in all that we do. Obviously we will do wrong some times, but hopefully as we grow and mature in the faith, our wrong doings will diminish. Now let’s hear some pertinent scripture on the topic. Bruh David said it this way: ‘Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great (much) transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’ (Ps.19:13-14) Meanwhile, Bruh Paul, in talking about freedom from sin’s power, told the Roman church: ‘Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield (present) ye your members as instruments (weapons) of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield (present) yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments (weapons) of righteousness unto God.’ (Rom.6:12-13) And finally, the psalmist pleaded: ‘Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto (as thy custom is toward) those that LOVE thy name. Order (Direct) my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Deliver (Redeem) me from the oppression of man: so I will keep thy precepts. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes. Rivers of water (tears) run down mine eyes, because they (men) keep not thy law.’ (Ps.119:132-136) Yes my people, it’s all about following God’s law, walking in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. And we can only do that successfully when we read, know, understand and put His statutes into action, since our faith is action based. Just keeping that valuable knowledge to ourselves won’t do us much good, we need to spread it abroad, re our great Commission. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples of) all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20) And if by chance, you don’t know what the works of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit are, check out Galatians 5:19-23, where Bruh Paul lists them. Then having read them, please follow the last two verses of that Chapter: ‘If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Because the Spirit gave us new life at conversion, we ought to stay in step with its leadings and promptings all our lives). Let us not be desirous of vain glory (deceitful), provoking one another, envying one another.’ (Gal.5:25-26) And that concludes the two-part sermon of Walking in the Spirit. (smile) Please, my brethren, let’s go forth and do it as best we can. Much LOVE!…walking in and with the Spirit…is the best way to counteract the enemy…

Ah Friends, it’s one of those days when the ole fella’s fighting to come up with a worthy intro, and sadly, my earnest entreaty to the Lord for one, hasn’t yet brought forth any fruit.  Oh, there are several things I can talk about; like the worsening drought and famine in Somalia and surrounding areas; or the 7 trillion dollars of value wiped out in a volatile global stock market over the last two weeks, due in large part to the foolish infighting in the U.S debt ceiling; as well as the downgrading of the U.S. Govt’s debt rating from triple A to double A, which was solidly in place from 1941. All this has obviously worsened the world’s economic situation, which to a great extent depends on stability and fair expectations. It might even lead to further recessionary activity with increasing interest rates a by-product. It’s a fallacy that we’ve come out of the last recession engineered by the great Wall St. meltdown. How could we, when manufacturing plants are shutting down every day, and way more jobs are being lost than are being created? Also, the few new ones are mostly in the low productivity service industry, which features low pay, contractual labour and no benefits. Unfortunately Friends, it seems that the world’s economy will get worse before it gets better. Hn, hn! Notice anything Friends? There’s the intro I was struggling to find. The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways! Thank you Lord! Luckily though – well not luckily, but through our God’s good provision, believers have an infallible way to fight all the ups and downs of this earthly life. Listen to our Bit: ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’ And why is this? ‘For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal.5:17-18) So we see my brethren that the Holy Spirit of God and the flesh are constant adversaries in our lives. If we follow one, we cannot follow the other. However, walking with the Spirit, living with the Holy Spirit’s help, is what believers ought to do. But how do we do this, especially when the things of the flesh are so inviting and appetizing, though detrimental in the long run to both our physical and spiritual beings?  The scholars offer these directions. Firstly, believers must believe that the Spirit is with us, sent by God into our hearts. That’s fortified by Bruh Paul’s earlier words to the Galatians. ‘And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.’ (Gal.4:6) Yes Friends, every believer is given the Spirit of Jesus the moment he’s born again, adopted of God, which gives him the awareness that God is his Father. Then, in every spiritual confrontation, believers must yield to the wishes or dictates of the Spirit; submit our own desires to those of the Spirit. We also need to depend on the Spirit for help in all situations, as this enables us to live a life that’s pleasing to God. ‘For we through the Spirit (eagerly) wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.’ (Gal.5:5) Then finally, believers ought to anticipate the effects of the Spirit’s help in our daily lives. As we grow and mature in faith, getting to know the Spirit and its workings better, this will become easier. Now if we live by that advice, we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, meaning we won’t carry out the strong desires of our sinful nature, which takes us away from the LOVE, grace, mercy, blessing, kindness, forgiveness and faithfulness of Almighty God. And surely, no sane, sensible person would ever want to live without those most valuable divine benefits in our earthly lives. Life is rough enough as it is, without them, it would be unliveable. Anyway Friends, that’s it for today. We’ll continue this topic tomorrow, God willing. Till then, let’s spend some time seriously pondering this invaluable info, re walking in the Spirit, seeing how we match up, then figuring out how to get better, for it’s our close association with and dependence on the Spirit that matures our faith and draws us closer to Jehovah God. Much LOVE!…Nearer my God to thee…Nearer my God to thee…Nearer my God to thee…Nearer  my God…

Oh Friends, another beautiful day is in the offing, filled with lots of mercy and blessings! And note too, you have not seen your name and/or picture in today’s obits. (smile)  And all God’s people joyfully cried: ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ Most of us also live a good life compared to the majority of the world, but even so, the lives of believers won’t always be easy. In fact they’ll be filled with a fair amount of suffering. Hopefully it won’t be bad enough to call it ‘sufferation’, but unfortunate enough to cause us pain and heartache. Remember though, Jesus’ words of assurance: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33)  So though we’re sure to have problems, we should not be afraid, but be of good cheer, high spirits, for Jesus has gone before us and braved, cleared a path in the world for us. Also, when Christ appeared to the disciples before His ascension, He explained to them that it was necessary for all the things written about Him in the Old Testament to be fulfilled. (Luke 24:44) ‘Thus it is written, and thus it behooved (was necessary for) Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.’ (Luke 24:46) So suffering plays a big part in believers’ lives. But Bruh Paul, in his second missive to Timothy, assures us: ‘It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not (are faithless), yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.’ (2 Tim.2:11-13) In other words, if we pay the price in Jesus’ name, then we’ll reap the accompanying benefits. And Bruh Paul, having said to the Roman church: ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.’ (Rom.8:16-17) He could then consequently declare the words of our Bit with confidence: ‘For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.’ Yes Friends, the unfortunate things we experience here on earth are not worthy to be compared with the glory of Christ’s Second Coming, the rewards we’ll receive in heaven and the glory we’ll experience in Jesus’ presence. Mama Mia! Oh what a happy day that will be my people! We Christians look forward to that glorious time with a blessed hope which fuels our faith. The fact that there’s better stuff ahead for us is what keeps us going, keeps us turned off of the world’s pleasures. As Bruh Paul expounded to the Corinthians: ‘For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound (abound) to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not (do not lose heart); but though our outward man perish (is perishing), yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.’ (2 Cor.4:15-18) Ah my people, as believers in Christ, we can’t afford to concentrate on, or be caught up in the things of this evil, lustful, idolatrous world, because it reduces our focusing on heavenly, eternal things. The things of the world, which we already see, we know are temporary. But those things we can’t see, the ones pertaining to heaven, that Jesus spoke of, and wants us to concentrate on, they are eternal, they last forever. And as believers’, that’s the mindset we ought to have. Unfortunately though, too many of us, even long time believers, still focus on the earthly things that will pass away. This should not be so my brethren, because it detracts from our witness for Christ, which should be our most important consideration in this earthly life. In conclusion, let’s remember that Christianity is a movement based on LOVE and ACTIVE SERVICE. Jesus was a man of action. He suffered much here on earth, but that didn’t stop Him from carrying out His commission since He knew the benefits that would accrue from His suffering and humble obedience to His heavenly Father; our salvation and eternal life. Likewise, we shouldn’t allow the world, with its evil and suffering, to stop us from doing our God-given duty, for great shall be our rewards in heaven, if we stand strong here on earth, and don’t faint in God’s service. Much LOVE!…suffering in Jesus’ name…is par for the believer’s course…