SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, it’s Monday, Carnival Monday in particular! And by the time you all read this, the bacchanal on the roads of T&T will already be in full swing, with the participants inebriated by the enthusiasm of Ole Mas, the Bomb Competition and whatever else. (smile) If you are in the festival, please be careful. As the old people said, ‘drunk or sober, mind yuh business.’ And for us unlucky ones who have to go out and labour for another whole week, let’s not get jealous, but simply accept that the Lord has other good things in mind for us. Many of us will think it unfair, since no work will be done in T&T this week, oh correction, possibly since last week. (smile) Let’s be happy for those who can enjoy it, wishing and praying for their safety. Now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, for we still need to go out and labour in a hostile world. Altogether 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!’ That was good Friends. Now it’s time to walk that talk! And while we’re at it, think about our Bit: ‘And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers (experts in the law) and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?’ We’ve already seen over the last two days how Jesus ripped into the Jewish leaders for their self-righteous pride and hypocrisy, plus their adding so much man made stuff to the Mosaic Law that it was impossible for the people to obey it all. It was okay to help an animal in distress on the Sabbath, but not a human, while the priests baked bread and offered sacrifices that needed much work, which Jesus considered a double standard; a generous interpretation for the ruling class, but a totally restrictive one for the ruled. I guess it’s no different to how many of our laws are interpreted and enforced today; mercifully for the rich and powerful, but stringent and restrictive for the poor and lowly. And how can we not LOVE Jesus eh, with Him fighting for our basic rights of truth and justice? Today we’ll look at another Sabbath Day run in Jesus had with the Pharisees. This one happened right after the cornfield episode, where He coolly informed them: ‘For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.’ (Matt.12:8) I’m sure that didn’t sit well with them. Then He left and went to the synagogue. ‘And behold there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? That they might accuse Him.’ (Matt.12:10) Ah Friends, those hypocrites were only looking for a chance to trap Jesus, they weren’t really interested in the merits or otherwise of the Sabbath. But again, they foolishly reckoned without Jesus’ wisdom. ‘And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.’ (Matt.12:11-12) End of story mih people! It is lawful to do good on any day, including the Sabbath. And just to rub it in: ‘Then saith he (Jesus) to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.’ (Matt.12:13) And all God’s people shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah! Most worthy is our Saviour Jesus to be praised!’ But the hypocrites reacted differently: ‘Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council (took counsel) against him, how they might destroy him.’ (Matt.12:14) Ah mih Friends, that’s the fearful and insecure nature we exhibit when we rule the roost unfairly and unjustly. And the sad fact is that Jesus wasn’t trying so much to destroy their good thing, but just to show them their inconsistencies and hypocrisy. Truly righteous men would at least have seriously considered His suggestions, and seeing some sense in them, even lightened the yoke on the people, but not those self-righteous fools. The same thing is happening in the Middle East now. The people are tired of the oppressive and poverty stricken way of life they’ve been forced to live for so long by selfish, foolish bigots. Oh Friends, when are we going to learn that you can only oppress an animal, beast or human, for so long, before it rises up and retaliates? I sure hope all the petty and wannabe dictators in the West wise up sooner than later, else their turn will eventually come. Please wake up my fellow believers and realize that this evil, ungodly world is not going to give us anything to improve our plight, we have to fight for it, tooth and nail, in Jesus name. Amen! Much LOVE mih breddren!…man’s inhumanity to man…will continue to make countless thousands mourn…until Jesus comes again…

Oh Friends, today I was reading a local magazine, Mississauga Life, and fortunately happened upon an article titled ‘From War to LOVE.’ Now that should really read, God’s guiding hand led me to the article, because after reading the powerful opening statement, I just knew that I was meant to share it with you. It says: ‘Forgiveness made me free from hatred. I still have many scars on my body and severe pain most days but my heart is cleansed. Napalm is very powerful, but faith, forgiveness and LOVE are much more powerful. We would not have war at all if everyone could learn how to live with true LOVE, hope and forgiveness.’  Oh Friends, Jesus Himself could not have said it any better. But those are words spoken by Kim Phuc Phan Thi, on National Public Radio in 2008. That’s the now forty-something mother who in June of 1972, as a nine year old Vietnamese girl, shocked the world as the centre of attention in what’s ‘considered the most powerful political photograph in history.’ Yes, we’re talking about the picture of a naked nine year old girl running down a village street in South Vietnam, surrounded by others fully clothed. The fact is that some of the napalm from the bombs dropped on her village that morning had gotten on to her clothes and burned them right off, then continued burning through her skin, down to her bones. Ah Lord eh! But Friends, our God is so good and great that 39 years later she resides in Mississauga, next to Toronto, and though she’s still plagued by pain, spends a lot of her time going around the world spreading her message of peace, LOVE and forgiveness. And all God’s people gratefully intoned: ‘Glory Hallelujah! All praise and thanks be to our wonderful God who never deserts His children!’ Ah mih breddren, yuh see the awesome power of the LOVE for God and forgiveness, and what it can do in our hearts if we really set our minds to it. Can you imagine what a wonderful place our world would be if most of us behaved like that, actually walked our talk of Jesus? Okay, so I’m a dreamer, (smile) but stranger things have happened, and remember, where there’s life, there’s always hope, plus with our God, nothing is impossible. So now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers (experts in the law) and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?’ Oh Friends, that was always a big bone of contention between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. And the occasion I want to highlight today is one Sabbath when Jesus and the disciples walked through a cornfield. The poor disciples were tired and hungry, so they plucked off some ears of corn and ate them. (Matt.12:1) But you’d think that they committed some horrendous crime the way the Pharisees complained to Jesus: ‘Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.’ (Matt.12:2) Now I think that’s overdoing it. And per the scholars: ‘The Pharisees had burdened the Sabbath with a multitude of detailed observances that were not laid down in the Mosaic Law. In responding to their legalistic traditions, Jesus always referred to the Scripture.’ And in this case, He referred them to (1 Sam.21:1-6) ‘But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungered (hungry), and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?’ (Matt.12:3-4) The best explanation of this also comes from the scholars: ‘The Lord makes the point that in the case of necessity the ceremonial law might be overruled. He uses the illustration of David eating the ‘showbread.’ These loaves were placed on the table in the holy place in the tabernacle each Sabbath. They were to be eaten only by the priest and his family.’ See (Lev.24:5-9) for a more detailed description. And Jesus didn’t let up on them with that one example: ‘Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane (treat as common) the Sabbath, and are blameless.’(Matt.12:5) Here Jesus is referring to the fact that despite the general prohibition of work on the Sabbath, the priests prepared the sacrifices on the Sabbath and nobody said anything about it. (Num.28:9) And Jesus continued chiding them: ‘But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy (desire mercy), and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.’ (Matt.12:6-8) Amen mih Saviour! Now that’s telling them ole greedy, selfish hypocrites where to get off! It thrills me how Jesus could put them in their place and leave them speechless. There He was referring to Samuel’s remark to Saul after he’d disobeyed God’s command. (1 Sam.15:22) As the scholars so aptly put it: ‘If the necessities of temple worship permitted the priests to ‘profane the sabbath’, there was all the more reason why the service of Christ would allow a similar liberty.’ Ah mih people, when will we ever learn that the Law of God always transcends that of man eh? But I guess since they didn’t consider Him the Messiah, they didn’t pay much attention to His words. More on this tomorrow though…if we don’t read our names in the obits. (smile) Till then walk safely with the Lord. Much LOVE!…forgiveness blesses us…much more than those we forgive…

Oh Friends, in the Lord’s wisdom, mercy and generosity, we have been granted another day of life on planet earth. Please, let’s give thanks for it and do our best to walk worthy of God, for that’s all He asks of us. Turning to our Bit: ‘And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers (experts in the law) and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?’ Ah Friends, our Lord and Saviour wasn’t only strong spiritually, but also had much manly parts in His earthly makeup, because this situation arose one Sabbath day as He went to eat at one of the chief Pharisees’ house, with all the hypocrites and them watching Him closely to see if He’d slip up and give them legitimate cause to bring Him to trial. And as luck would have it, ‘there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.’ (Luke 14:2) Re the scholars, ‘Dropsy involves swelling due to a build up of fluid in tissues and cavities.’  Anyway, that’s when Jesus asked them if it was legal to heal on the Sabbath. But their response was one of uncharacteristic silence. ‘And they held their peace (kept silent). And he took him, and healed him, and let him go.’ (Luke 14:4) Ah mih people, I only wish that many more of us had the moxie, the chutzpah, the back and belly that Jesus displayed in His earthly sojourn. Granted, He was divine, and thus had more backbone than we’ll ever have, but if we’re truthful with ourselves, we can all come up with circumstances where we should have taken a bolder step, a stronger stand in Jesus’ name. And as I keep saying, that’s one of the main reasons why godliness, the church, and believers are running a distant second in a two horse race. Beelzebub and his cronies just have more get up and go, more enthusiasm for their evil doings, and consequently more action to further them, than we Christians have for Christ’s will. Our ascendancy lies in talk, not action. But getting back to Jesus healing this dropsy sufferer on the Sabbath day. After healing Him, knowing the Pharisees’ and lawyers mind set, He craftily asked them: ‘Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to (regarding) these things.’ (Luke 14:5-6) Ah Friends, yuh see the hypocrisy! None of then could say Him nay, for the law had been pushed to such a stringent, unworkable, unbalanced state, that it had become okay to help a beast in trouble on the Sabbath, but not a person. But that’s what happens when we take laws to the extreme. We need to remember that laws are made to help man, to improve his life, not to belittle, keep him in subjection or embarrass him. And sadly the hypocrisy was even worse when Jesus healed a woman on the Sabbath who ‘had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together (bent over), and could in no wise lift (raise) up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her unto him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.’ (Luke 13:11-13) Yes mih Friends, the woman and most of those around were grateful for the healing, but the hypocritical ‘ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed (put to shame): and all the people (the multitude) rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.’ (Luke 13:14-17) Oh mih breddren, unfortunately a lot of that sort of nonsense still happens today; where the sick, the poor, the weary and the stranger suffer because of supposed higher ups hypocrisy, unfaithfulness and greed, by their interpretation of the law for their own selfish purposes. Please, let’s try and not be like them. Let’s try and do whatever we can to ease, to alleviate another’s plight, regardless of the man-made laws, opinions and prejudices that will possibly bring us scathing rebuke and unfair condemnation. The most important law is that of God, not that of man. And if we’re true followers of Christ, then we’ll try our best to emulate Him in all we do. More on this tomorrow, our God willing. Till then, let’s diligently search our hearts and minds to see if any of that hypocritical stuff resides there. And if so, sincerely ask the Lord to cleanse us of it, to make us more like Jesus. Much LOVE!…the law was made for man…not man for the law…

Oh Friends, February is dead and gone! Thank the Lord!  Unfortunately though, there’s still March to endure with its cold, uncomfortable, depressing winter weather. But I have a gem of a quote for us. It’s from the novel ‘Four Fires,’ by the South African born, Australian raised, Bryce Courtenay. The same mate who wrote ‘Power of One’ and some other wonderful books, the best of which is still ‘Tandia,’ mih young D. (smile) Anyhow, in this novel, this bloke is writing about a lecture on jungle warfare he received in the Australian army. ‘There are four natural reactions to fear. You either freeze, or faint, or run away or become irrationally aggressive….If we all reacted in one of these four ways, it would be a disaster…So, to overcome your instinct to react in one of these ways, we practise ‘contact drills’. We practise them and practise them until they take over from our natural instincts, and replace them with a planned action. It’s the contact drill that allows us to react in such a way that we are ready to take on the enemy and defeat him.’ Oh mih people, when I read that, it struck me right away that it’s a perfect way to describe the workings of our Christian faith. We can do any of those four things when the enemy attacks, but none of them really help. However, if we practise those ‘contact drills’, which for us are reading, studying, meditating on and being obedient to God’s Word, when Lucifer comes against us, we’re so well versed in and focused on it, that we’re not afraid to stand up to him, and ten times out of ten repel him. Remember Friends, we’re involved in real warfare, and though it’s mostly spiritual, the same tactics used in the physical kind can also apply. So let’s keep that idea at the forefront of our minds nuh, and daily practise those contact drills with the Word, so that the enemy won’t have us responding in the wrong manner when they attack. Hopefully this will also give us some added inspiration this Monday morning and help to drive away those depressing blues that so many of us get when we have to go back out to work. Now let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great fanfare. (smile) ‘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!’ And having sung that so spiritedly, let’s venture out courageously into the evil workaday world and engage and vanquish that wicked fool Beelzebub and his evil minions. Ah Friends, I had intended to finish with this Bit today, but the Holy Spirit, as He occasionally does, threw an unexpected spanner into the works with the contact drill stuff, and as there’s still much to say, I‘m hesitant, not wanting to make it too long and indigestible. Hn, hn! The Spirit just threw me a bad eye and said: ‘Chuh! Forget about length and just write the Word yes man! Them short attention span people that the world producing nowadays, like to talk about God this and God that, but when coming to reading His Word, they can’t find time to read it. They too busy, and only want ten second bites, if not shorter. But when yuh send them the stupid, immoral, ungodly, racist, sexist jokes, they not too busy to read those though.’ Ah mih Friends, yuh see the stuff I have to put up with on all yuh behalf. (smile) And though the Holy Spirit is right, I won’t get into all the stuff I wanted to get into, because it will really be too long. Sending long bites to short bites people will only defeat the purpose. Tomorrow though, our God in favour, I’ll bombard us with the Word that I had planned for today. Yes people, we’ll keep practicing our contact drills, for that’s what the Bit is all about; keeping us focused and filled with the Word, so that we can engage the enemy in a planned and measured way, defeat them, and take them all prisoners for Christ. Praise the Lord! In the meanwhile, you also have to practice your contact drills on your own time, for the enemy never let’s up: ‘So be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.’ (1 Pet.5:8) Therefore we must always be prepared. Much LOVE!…the victorious soldier is the one…who’s always on guard…who’s always prepared…

Ahoy there me mates! (smile) What’s new and exciting this Sunday morning? I hope many things are, and that the Lord’s keeping you busy in His work, while making your paths straight and prosperous, because that’s His promise if we are faithful and obedient to His Word. Ah Friends, the ole fella’s joshing to a certain extent, since I know from personal experience that life is never always wine, roses and song. In fact, most of us live bland, banal lives. But though they may not be chocked full of excitement, neither should they be monotonous and full of drudgery. The Lord created us to be champions, and if we aren’t being champions in our own little world, then something’s wrong with our modus operandi. And to fix it, we need to turn to the Lord in prayer and sincerely ask for His help and guidance. That’s the only way our lives will improve. As our Bit shows, Bruh Paul listed several types of prayers; ‘I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.’ Then he lists three basic reasons why we should pray. We dealt with the first one yesterday; for people in authority, so that our nations can live in peace and prosperity. Now let’s look at his second reason for praying. It’s simple, but extremely important. ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.’ (1 Tim.2:3) Yes Friends, we should pray simply because our God takes pleasure in it. It’s our main form of communication with Him, and He likes us to keep up a constant flow of conversation, for us to keep Him up to date on all the happenings in our lives, be they big, small, good, bad, important or unimportant. Just imagine what would happen nuh people, if instead of all the foolish and inane stuff we communicate and the enormous time we waste on Facebook and other sites, tweeting, texting, talking, we spent even a small portion of that praying, or simply talking to God. Wow! What a prayerful, much more godly and peaceful world we’d enjoy! But no, our sinful flesh and the cunning ploys of the enemy calls us, like the siren’s song, to worship these ‘here today, gone tomorrow,’ man made idols, which though useful in some circumstances, are now being blatantly worshipped. Oh Friends, we even use violence, kill innocent children of God to get them. How sad eh. However, as Bruh Paul so aptly told the Roman church: ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (rational) service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.’ (Rom.12:1-2) Oh mih people, I know that Lucifer’s call is exceedingly strong, but if we truly desire to live for Christ, then we have to resist the evil wiles of that fallen angel. And the only way to do that is to immerse ourselves in the Word and in prayer, regular communication with our heavenly Father. When asking for punishment for the wicked and the strength to stay away from them, Bruh David fervently declared: ‘but I give myself unto prayer.’ (Ps.109:4) Meanwhile, the apostles, when the business of the church began to grow and they couldn’t handle all the duties, decided: ‘But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.’ (Acts 6:4)  And Peter, in his advice on being good stewards of God’s grace, said: ‘But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.’ (1 Pet.4:7) So prayer is of the utmost importance if we seriously want to resist Lucifer, because being in the world, but not of it, depending solely on our own efforts, is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Oh Friends, just as Bruh Paul reminds Timothy in a later missive, when exhorting him to endurance, I also want to encourage us to stand strong in the Lord. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Lord, nor of me, his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions (share with me the sufferings) of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.’ (2 Tim.1:7-10) Yes my brethren, we all have those same attributes, and Christ has done the same things for us, but in these tremulous times we need to use our attributes, in conjunction with the Word, on a deeper and more extensive basis, so that the kingdom can be enlarged and the Most High God glorified, for that’s our God given purpose. More on this tomorrow, our God in favour. Till then, walk safely, and pray plenty. Much LOVE!…oh, how like sweet music to God’s ears…are the sincere supplications and petitions of His people…

Oh Friends in Christ, a happy Saturday to you all! Let’s begin with some words of Wisdom for Today from Gloria Copeland’s ‘Hidden Treasures; abundant living in the riches of proverbs.’ These are from the end of Chapter 2. ‘Direct your heart and mind towards God’s wisdom and knowledge. Expect to hear from God today; don’t miss him in the little things. Walk in discretion. Resist temptation as soon as it confronts you.’ They are indeed wise words my people, and if we follow them, then we’ll surely walk in God’s way, be at peace, and prosper. Now turning to our Bit. Yesterday we looked at Bruh Paul’s four basic types of prayer; ‘supplications, prayers (general), intercessions, and giving of thanks,’ and also defined them. Today we’ll see why He said that prayers should ‘be made for all men.’ There are three chief reasons, each of which he spells out in a later verse. The first reason is: ‘For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.’ (1 Tim.2:2) That means intercessory prayers for leaders and those in authority are necessary for Christians to lead a ‘quiet and peaceable’ or calm and tranquil life. Now here’s the scholars’ take on that particular subject. ‘The word quiet means ‘not troubled from without’; that is, intercessory prayer enables good government to ensure that its citizens are not troubled by enemies or forces outside its borders. Peaceable means ‘not troubled from within’; that is, the church’s prayer also aids competent government in maintaining law and order within its own borders.’ That certainly makes sense, for we all need our leaders to be empowered to keep our national enemies at bay, and also to provide stability and calm at home, without which no nation or group can prosper. And the scholars have put forward an interesting claim about the wording of that verse. ‘The translation ‘godliness and honesty’ is unfortunate, for the exercise of these virtues is not dependent upon good government; they can be cultivated even in poor political management and persecution. The text should read, ‘That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life with the utmost reverence and respect.’ This respect is for governmental authority. Respect can best be realized when rulers are competent and rightly discharging their duties. Otherwise, it is difficult to respect rulers when they are incompetent and unjust.’ And they do have a valid point, for it’s very hard to respect inefficient and unfair rulers, regardless of how much you try to honour God. And that’s exactly what’s showing out right now across the Arab world. Many of the people are devout, but they’ve lived under such tyrannical and despotic rule for so long, that they’ve reached the end of their rope, and are finally saying, enough is enough. Whatever God you worship, your faith will only allow you to live in poverty, want and oppression for so long. Eventually, that same faith will make you rise up and seek redress, seek a better way. Oh Friends, that’s elementary psychology! Keep a man down long enough, he’ll either just lie down and die, or with nothing left to lose, rise up and retaliate. That’s just how God made all His creatures; both man and beast. There’s this state of being cornered, with your back against the wall, with nowhere to go but forward, against your aggressor. At those times fear is joined by anger, frustration and a sense of it’s do or die anyway, so the natural instinct of self-preservation that God endowed all His creatures with, rises to the fore and gives us an hitherto unknown strength and fearlessness to confront our adversaries head on, to the death if needs be. So why can’t these foolish leaders who try to keep their fellow man in subjection and abominable poverty for long periods, while living in royal splendour themselves, understand that that state of affairs only lasts for a relatively short time? That brings to mind the Rasta breddren that taught me History in High School. He’d put his feet, encased in Clarke’s brogues, up on the desk, twiddle his sparse, wiry grey beard and philosophically intone: ‘What is History? History is a record of the past. And why do we learn History? So that we can understand the present.’ And I like to add; navigate the future. But it’s obvious that many of our leaders around the globe have no use for History, or foolishly think that they are different to the other fallen despots. How false! For if we keep making the same mistakes, then the same results will befall us. That’s why they say; History repeats itself. But despite the overflowing graveyard of vanquished despots, dictators and bullies, too many of us still foolishly think we’re so different, even invincible. It’s God’s law that we all meet our match, get our comeuppance sooner or later. So let’s be wise, LOVE Our God, SPREAD His Word and LIVE Our Faith! That’s the only way to ensure a peaceable and quiet life. More tomorrow on this subject, God willing. And a serious note of warning here Friends. It’s essential that we blitz our God with intercessory prayers for our leaders in the West, in the supposed democratic societies, for many of them are getting too big for their breeches, and taking on some dictatorial characteristics. And isn’t it interesting, remarkable really, that the people in the Mid-East who’ve been oppressed for so long, are now rising up for freedom, while we in the West are being slowly, but surely, turned into fearful and frightened societies, and de facto Police States by the cowardly murders, soberly called terrorism, by some of those same people. Much LOVE!…as the man said…power corrupts…and absolute power…corrupts absolutely…