SCRIP-BITS

Luke 4:43.    And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
 
Oh Friends, it’s finally dawned on me that winter is here. Yes people, the little snow and the dire cold of the last few days, made even worse by strong, cold February and March like winds, finally woke me from my reverie. And what’s worse is the promise of lots of snow this weekend, comparable to what’s now gripping the city of London, some seventy odd miles down the road. They are certainly having a rough go of it. Can’t dig themselves out fast enough, before they’re inundated with more snow. Let’s pray for them Friends in their time of need. Perhaps I could do like Jesus, when they asked Him to stay in Capernaum: ‘And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.’ However, I’ll have to move to somewhere warm, with no snow and cold icy winds. (smile) Jesus though didn’t move out of the area, He went around preaching in other cities of Galilee. As Matthew describes it: ‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness (every sickness) and all manner of disease (every disease) among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers (various) diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils (demons), and those which were lunatic (epileptics), and those that had the palsy (were paralyzed); and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.’ (Matt.4:23-25) And according to the scholars, Jesus’ Galilean ministry was a very significant feat, since no prophet had arisen in Israel for over four hundred years. Then suddenly that silence was broken by the proclamation of the Gospel, the Good News of God’s kingdom, by John the Baptist and Jesus. The people must have felt relieved to hear something good and promising after all those years of silence. But yuh know Friends, if there’s only one thing we can learn from Jesus, let it be His strong, steadfast dedication to the job He was sent to do, as our Bit shows. He knew that he was only on earth for a short period and during that time had to get His message as far and wide as possible. That’s why he never stayed in one place for too long, especially after hearing that John the Baptist had been imprisoned. That meant He was the only one then going around preaching: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand (near): repent ye, and believe (in) the gospel.’ (Mark 1:15) We also see Jesus’ dedication to His mission after talking to the Samaritan woman at the well. When His disciples brought Him food and told Him to eat, His reply was: ‘I have meat (food) to eat that ye know not of.’ (John 4:32) This made the disciples wonder if someone else had brought Him food while they were away foraging for some. But Jesus passionately informed them: ‘My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34) Though Jesus had to consume some physical food to stay alive as a human, He considered the sacred mission entrusted to him by His Father much more important than food for the body. The winning of souls for His Father acted like spiritual food for His own soul and took first place in His life. Oh my brethren, do we take our work for Jesus as seriously as He took His for His Father? I certainly hope so. We obviously can’t come up to Jesus’ work ethic, but we can surely strive for excellence in all matters, as he desires of His followers. Now listen as Matthew further describes the situation when Jesus went around teaching and healing in Galilee. ‘But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted (were weary), and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.’ (Matt.9:36-38) Yes Friends, Jesus was filled with compassion for the great number of lost humans, wandering forlornly like sheep without a shepherd. This brings us to the very important question: Do we have compassion on those who are sick, weary, tired and lost? Our answer ought to be an instant affirmative. If not, then we’re not following in Jesus’ footsteps. And Friends, please note, as He told the disciples that the harvest was great but only a few reapers to gather it, that very same situation, if not a worse one, also exists today. There are millions of unbelievers out there in the evil, mixed up world, who have never heard of Jesus, but sadly, only a few, a miniscule amount in comparison, to bring them to Him, to repentance and salvation. We are now those labourers Jesus spoke of my people. Our job is to go out there into the plenteous fields of the evil and ungodly and harvest them for Him. But to do that successfully we need to be strong, steadfast and serious about the job He has entrusted to us, just like He was in doing the Father’s will. And I know that some of you wondered what yesterday’s sermon (smile) had to do with the Bit. But Friends, I’m here to tell us that it had everything to do with it. For it reflected our lack of doing Jesus’ work by letting the evil minions of Lucifer demean and desecrate the Holy Birth of Jesus and the great spiritual awakening it stands for. We allowed them to minimize its significance so that now many have no idea, much less proper regard for the true value of Christmas. So don’t think it was just some rant from the Holy Spirit through me. It was taking all of us to task, for we had not fulfilled our jobs as true labourers in reaping the harvest of unbelievers. Instead, we allowed the plentiful harvest to stay and rot in the fields, making it very fertile ground for Lucifer and his evil cohorts. And I hope we are ashamed and truly repentant for our lack of diligence in harvesting the significant crop of ripe unbelievers. And now, having seen how Jesus put His hand to the plough and never looked back, I hope that we will be much more aware of our duty and perform it in a much more diligent manner. Oh Friends, if we don’t up the ante, and do much better than we’ve done, then we’ll be letting Jesus down, sadly disappointing Him. And one thing He made sure of, was not to disappoint His Father. He carried out His mission with flying colours! Let’s try to do the same with ours nuh. And I just LOVE it when we are able to close with Jesus’ words on any topic. Hear these now, and let them bring light to out hearts, souls and minds, my brethren. ‘I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9:4-5) Please remember Friends, we are now entrusted to be the light of the world, so let’s go out and be such. Till we meet again, God in favour, please walk safely with Him. Much LOVE!…let your light so shine before men…that they may see your good works…and glorify your Father which is in heaven…(Matt.5:16)
 

Luke 4:43.    And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
 
Happy Tuesday Friends! Let’s celebrate that our names are not in the obits today, and say a rousing, ‘Thank you Lord!’ Well the Christmas Season is hard upon us, only another 18 shopping days (including today) till Christmas. But isn’t it interesting, though sad, that our countdown to that most joyful and spiritual day of the year is done in the worldly realm of shopping days, rather than with something spiritual? That just goes to show how much the season has turned away from truly celebrating Christ’s birth to the buying and giving of material things. Ah Friends, I’m sorry for those of you whose Christmas shopping isn’t done yet. Fortunately mine is! (smile) And I’m not being facetious, sarcastic or any such thing, because I’ve simply cut out the nonsense over the last few years. I refuse to join the crazy hordes of Christmas shoppers rushing and pushing, so I either give money or gift certificates. You go and do whatever you want with them. And this year it’s even worse; no way am I going traipsing through malls with my bad knees. Oh my people, it’s nice to give and receive presents, but when the material values of the season are far outweighing its spiritual significance, it’s time to start cutting back and re-evaluating our priorities. And it’s just becoming worse with the cultural changes, where Happy Holidays is being put forth as the seasonal greeting by mamby pamby fools who claim they don’t want to embarrass or annoy other religions. Chuh! What foolishness! What’s the purpose of the holidays eh? What holidays are we celebrating? It’s all due to the Birth of Jesus Christ! Without that splendiferous event, there would be no happy holidays in December! And we won’t get into the argument about whether Christ was really born in December. That’s just become the normal time to celebrate it. Oh Friends, do you think you can stop the Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists or Jews from saying Happy whatever they’re celebrating because it makes Christians uncomfortable? Certainly not! Especially in Muslim countries where you can’t even think of Christ, much less mention Him. Steups! But what’s supposed to be Christian land is pushing aside Christian faith and ideals to please other religions who have no intention of reciprocating, but instead are bent on and seriously working towards world hegemony. Oh my fellow Christians, please wake up now and smell the roses else soon there won’t be any at all to see, much less smell! We’re on the losing end right now for allowing all this nonsense to happen. Do you know that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today; that approximately 75% of religious persecution is directed against Christians? Yuh see how they shoot up a whole lot recently in Baghdad? In church to boot, with no recriminations whatsoever! And one day soon I have some other startling statistics to share on the persecution situation. It only seems that we have religious freedom in the West, for in the North, East and South, Christians are suffering terribly simply because of their faith, especially in the Muslim, Communist and Militarily ruled countries. And don’t be fooled Friends, for the trend has begun in the West too, albeit more subtly with the removal of God and the Bible from our schools, public and government places. Oh Friends, don’t you find it disgusting and pathetic that as soon as you say something, voice an opinion that’s not politically correct re a person or group nowadays, you’re quickly labelled anti this or anti that? The supposed freedom of free speech and thought are quickly thrown out the window. But in all the foolish furor and haste to placate and please those of different religions and cultures, who are blatantly ungrateful and often hostile towards their host country, have you ever heard anybody say or use the term anti-Christian? Not on your life! Because it sure seems okay to blame, belittle and cry down Christianity, the religion that built the great countries that everyone now wants to emigrate to today. Ah Lord eh! And truthfully my people, a lot of the blame lies with us for being so passive and allowing all that nonsense to happen. And if we supposed Christians don’t get up off our fat and lazy fannies very soon and do something about the untenable situation, in a few years we’ll be in the minority in the West too, and somewhere down the line, Christianity will either be outlawed and/or seriously persecuted like it was in the beginning, and still is in many parts of the world. Oh Friends, this Christmas Season, let’s wake up from our prosperity induced reverie and begin to reclaim what’s rightfully ours nuh! Yuh see that even the prosperity is disappearing now! And that’s mainly because we have turned away from the Lord God Jehovah and upped the worshiping of man-made idols and sinful fleshly lusts! We claim that Jesus is the greatest, and so He is, so why aren’t we, His followers, seriously building Him and His Church up eh, instead of letting others denigrate, despise and abuse His Holy Name? Ah mih people, just like we’ve gotten fat and lazy in our economic and technological advancement, we’ve gotten fat and lazy in our religious observance. We mouth a lot of empty platitudes, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, of getting our hands and feet dirty by putting those platitudes into action, we’re nowhere to be found. As I keep saying Friends, the biggest drawback to Christianity is our constant refusal to walk our big talk. Consequently, others don’t take us as seriously as they should, and many rightly consider us hypocrites, since many of us behave like the Pharisees and Sadducees of old, whom Jesus took to task on several occasions for not practicing what they preached. Oh Friends, what’s our nations coming to when children are asked at school to write stories on the Christmas season, but without any mention of Christmas, God or Jesus? It’s a crying shame, but many of today’s children think that Christmas, or to be politically correct, the Holidays, is simply a time for shopping, gift giving, eating and drinking. They have absolutely no clue of the true reason for the celebration. And if WE allow them to grow up like that, eventually the real reason for this wonderful season, the joyous Birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will have been irretrievably lost. Please, please, I beg and implore us: DON’T ALLOW CHRIST TO BE TAKEN OUT OF CHRISTMAS! Oh Friends, I really don’t know how I came to write this stuff. It certainly wasn’t planned, but once I got into it, it just took on a life of its own. I guess the Spirit felt that certain truths needed to be spelled out, because as a group we’ve gotten too comfortable in our sedentary lifestyle, and are not even being reactive, much less pro-active, as we’re supposed to be. I know some of you might not like, appreciate or agree with what I’ve said, but believe me people, it’s the gospel truth! And furthermore my people, it’s high time we stop allowing ourselves to be pushed around, backed into some uncomfortable corner by ungodly evildoers. It’s time to start pushing back, and forcefully too! That is if you want your great grandchildren to be born in a Christian land with working Christian values and Christ, the Head of it all. Nuff said! Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Much LOVE!…it’s time for all believers to seriously…LOVE Their God…LIVE Their Faith…and SPREAD The Word…in other words…it’s time to…seriously WALK OUR TALK…
 

Psalm 102:27.    But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.

Ecclesiastes 3:1.    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1.    To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

Psalm 37:7.    Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
 
Awright mih Friends, ah know is Friday, cause ah hear all yuh shouting ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday!’ from way down the street. So if all yuh so enthusiastic, then leh we sing we Friday Chant with that same enthusiasm nuh. (smile) ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And I’d suggest that we take the Chant seriously Friends, because we said it wasn’t easy to make it through the week, and is only with God’s generous help that we did. And the only way to get His constant, generous help is as our Bit says: ‘Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.’ And with that Bit in mind Friends, I’m resting and waiting patiently for the Lord to tell or show me what next to write. (smile) Seriously though, if we want to be true followers of God, we need to learn to wait on His timing for everything in our lives. And as I can personally testify, His timing is perfect, never early or late, but just in time. The accounting people must surely have been thinking and talking about God when they developed that ‘just in time’ method of delivery. My people, though we may feel anxious about stuff we’ve prayed about and are expectantly waiting for, if the Lord intends for us to have it, then we must believe that it will appear when He considers it appropriate. Now that’s not always easy to do, especially with the current fast pace of life. Half the time we want stuff not even today, but yesterday. However, there’s nothing we can do about the Lord’s ways, and since we keep saying that they are higher than ours, then most likely we’ll never understand them, so all we can do is band our jaws, and accept them, holding on to the promise that He’s faithful. It’s just another way of the Lord’s to test us, to see if we are really faithful to Him. And Friends, when you wait patiently and your problem is solved in the nick of time, then you’re in such awe of His faithful majesty, that your faith is renewed and reinvigorated and you praise Him everlasting… until the next time you have to wait. Only this past week I encountered one of those situations: I had a problem I couldn’t solve, and time was running out. I obviously prayed for help, but none was forthcoming by my timetable. But as I sat at my desk one evening, contemplating whether to call a certain person, my best bet for help – I didn’t really want to, read pride – my phone rang. I almost didn’t answer it because the read out said unknown name and number, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with any charities begging for money. However, I guess with a nudge or slight push from the Spirit, I eventually answered it. Lo and behold my brethren, it was the same person I was contemplating calling! They claimed they just felt like calling me. And if you want to simply call that chance, where God didn’t want to take the credit, then that’s okay by me, because I know that was His doing. And since He’d gone out of His way to hook me up with that particular person in my time of need, I had no choice but to swallow my foolish pride and ask for their help. Praise Him, mih people, for He’s good to those who walk with and wait on Him! Yes Friends, the Christian life isn’t easy, but if you hang in and try to be obedient, then it certainly gets interesting. So once we approach the Lord with the right desires in our hearts, those in His will, with the right motives, then we’re certain He’ll answer us, only in His own good time. That means we’ve got to sit and wait patiently, not merely twiddling our thumbs, but doing other constructive stuff while waiting for His answer in His impeccable timing. Like Jeremiah rightly declares in Lamentations: ‘The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:25-26) Yes my people, to be true believers, we need to surrender our souls, our lives to the Lord, then we must learn to wait on His guidance and direction. That’s the only way our relationship with the Lord will work, leading to us successfully bearing fruit for His kingdom. And above all Friends, that means to ‘fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.’  We can’t be looking at those around us who are supposedly prospering through their own efforts, or in cohorts with Lucifer, while we’re struggling and suffering to do right in the Lord’s eyes. Remember Friends, the treasure of this world will rot, rust and dwindle away with time, but those in heaven will last and burn brightly forever. Now we do need stuff down here, but if we walk righteously with the Lord, He will provide for and satisfy all our needs. It’s when we start getting greedy and jealous and can’t wait on Him, that things go wrong. Please note the first few verses of our Psalm, titled ‘The true state of the wicked. ‘ Bruh David tells it like it is from the get go: ‘Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on his faithfulness). (Ps.37:1-3) Now that last part, ‘and verily thou shalt be fed,’ is not only meant figuratively, but also literally; the Lord will supply you with food and nourishment if you remain steadfast and true. For as the Good Book promises, you’ll never see the offspring of the righteous begging bread. The problem though Friends is maturing in our Christian walk to the point where we acknowledge and accept these things without hesitation. It’s not easy, for Jesus has high principles and standards of excellence for His followers to follow, which unfortunately we’re not always able to live up to. But that’s our earthly purpose; to bring and shape our character as close as possible to His. Consequently, we need to be comfortable in our own skin, our own soul, not looking around at others with envy and jealousy, for we don’t know how they came by their stuff, and the Lord has a different path for each of His children to walk, meaning you can’t walk my path, and I can’t walk yours. That’s why the basics of our Christian lives are hope, faith, trust, surrender, patience and contentment with whatever we have at any given time, praying and expecting more, but not upsetting our souls with jealous indignation. And we’ll close with some very informative words from the psalmist, Asaph: ‘Truly God is good to Israel, even such as are of a clean (pure) heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone (I had almost stumbled); my steps had well-nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish (boastful), when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands (pangs or pain) in their death: but their strength is firm…. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins (pierced in my mind). So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden (held) me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.’ (Ps.73:1-4, 21-24) Yes Friends, let’s learn from Asaph’s mistakes, read all of Psalm 73 soon, and keep walking faithfully with the Lord, He will lead and guide you according to His purpose, then bring you to everlasting life with honour and glory. Much LOVE!…to truly LOVE the Lord…is to obey Him…and wait patiently for His guidance…

Isaiah 49:13.    Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
 
Oh Friends, it’s two thirty in the morning and I’m not sure what I’m writing on yet. But whatever it is, it’s going to be something positive, joyful, uplifting and encouraging. Chuh! I’m tired of all the negativity and tales of woe we’ve been painting recently. So let’s rise up God’s people, and be happy, be thankful and give praises to our great, omnipotent, all-knowing God, who oversees every aspect of our lives and fills them with joy, peace, LOVE, mercy, forgiveness, salvation and eternal life! Wow! And all God’s people openly, loudly and joyfully praised and proclaimed His Holy Name! Yes mih people, it’s time to stop concentrating on the negative images constantly highlighted in our sad, evil and confused world and begin to focus on the positive. Let’s do what we can and let the rest go by. Why worry about it if we can’t fix it eh? Constant worrying on things outside of our sphere of influence only steals the little energy we have. Is only one set of energy we have yuh know. So it’s certainly better to turn it from the negative worrying kind to the positive enabling kind. And I have a quote here that gives us some inspiration and encouragement to go out and embrace life; boldly and brazenly kick it like a football. As Ralph Waldo Emerson advises: ‘Be a football to Time and Chance, the more kicks the better, so that you inspect the whole game and know its utmost law.’ Bravo Ralphie mih boy! Yes Friends, that’s why God gave us life and LOVE and all the other good things in existence; to occasionally step out of our close, cloistered, closeted, safe self and experience true life. And not simply experience it, but also experience it to the utmost, when and where possible. Safety is nice and all that, but every so often we have to let our hair down and step out to the edge of the limb, look over the precipice and see what’s down there. Now we don’t have to go foolishly, for as the old people always warned; ‘drunk or sober, mind yuh business.’ But we still need to expect the unexpected, and sometimes welcome it, to get out of the narrow, confining, boring, uneventful shell that most of live in day to day. It’s time for a li’l excitement. The Good Book says the Lord made the earth and all therein and gave us dominion over it all, to enjoy it. So why are we fussing and fighting, worrying and being unnecessarily anxious over things and situations we can’t control, and not enjoying it eh? Come my people, let’s heed the great prophet Isaiah’s advice when he declared that Israel would be restored to Zion, to its original godly, righteous place with its God, for so too shall we be eventually. So: ‘Sing O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.’ Ah mih breddren, doesn’t that sound great? And all the heavens, the earth, the mountains and God’s people broke forth into joyous song, because their God had comforted them in their affliction. Wow! What a mighty, faithful and LOVING God we serve and worship! Sing His praises my people! No Friends, I haven’t lost it, I haven’t gone crazy yet. But remember though, it’s been proven that crazy people are often happier than the supposed sane ones. No, the Spirit just infused a sense of …how to put it… a sense of letting go, of being relaxed and joyful, to stop being overly concerned with the sad state of our world, which most of us can’t do anything about anyway. The Spirit’s saying that we should concentrate on the problems and concerns in our own backyards, to solve those, and then we’ll truly be helping to turn our world around. You and I can’t do much about the wars and strife that’s currently overwhelming our world, but we can certainly do something constructive about the strife, violence, hunger, poverty, the lack of proper education and housing that’s affecting our individual neighbourhoods. At the grassroots level is where we need to begin the revolution, where we can see and feel that we’re making some difference in our world. Because yuh know Friends, possibly the first and only question Jesus will ask us when we get to heaven is: ‘What difference did you make on earth?’ And according to our answers, as He judges them, so shall our rewards be meted out. However, please understand one thing, we’re not doing good deeds here on earth just to gain rewards in heaven, but because we truly see a need and our righteous hearts, filled with the Holy Spirit, encourages us to help fill that need. That’s why Jesus came yuh know: to fill our needs; to enable us to refute sin and embrace salvation and eternal life. And as His true followers, those are the terms of our duty in His worldly organization, His Church. And remember Friends, we were recently admonished, encouraged to begin dreaming again, to dream large, and to put a li’l LOVE in our hearts, for all of that is part of Jesus’ desire and plan. So let’s get with the programme nuh mih people! And we’ll close with some beautiful, life-giving, redemptive scripture, that will bring untold joy to our hearts and enable us to embark on Jesus’ plan with renewed vim and vigour. ‘I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O, forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.’ (Is.44:22-23) And all God’s people rose up as one, rejoicing, giving much thanks and praising His Holy Name! Now Friends, let’s go out and do His work! Much LOVE!…Jesus was sacrificed…so that we could enjoy life here on earth…not turn it into an earthly hell… P.S. Oh Friends, while editing the Bit, I was also listening to some sweet Caribbean gospel music out of T&T on WACK 90.1 on the Internet and happened to hear these words in song: ‘You are the Lord, the Lord of the dance, the Lord of the song, the Lord of my life. That’s why I worship you..’ Words to live and die by! And for those up early in the morning you can get sweet gospel music from Wack on Mondays to Fridays from 4-6 a.m. No music sweet like we W.I. riddims! Check it out. Much LOVE! 
 

Lamentations 2:19.     Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
 
Ah Friends, November is done, and all the Christmas stuff has begun. This year has certainly flown by, and I have nothing much to show for it. But thankfully I’m alive, and though not kicking as heartily as I would like, I’m hanging in there with God’s miraculous help, guidance and blessing. Praise Him people! And thankfully too, it’s been a rainy night and day, and not a snowy one, in my neck of the woods. Let’s hope that it remains simple showers of blessing, rather than showers of flooding, since we’re scheduled to receive more water from heaven today. Oh Lord, please let the forecasters be wrong! (smile) And Friends please pay close attention to these two sayings; the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and everyone gets their comeuppance at some time or another. Why? Because the Australian born, 39 year old founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been placed on Interpol’s Most Wanted List. And not for the irresponsible WikiLeaks exposures, but for a rape investigation in Sweden. Hn! His lawyer claims that he had consensual sex with two women, but when they found out about each other, they ganged up on him and screamed rape. Oh, hell hath no fury like women duped! But yuh see Friends, Mr. Assange will probably get away with the irresponsible WikiLeaks nonsense, but he’ll certainly have his day in the sun for other matters. How often have we done wrong and gotten away with it eh, but paid for something else that we didn’t do. And though he may be innocent of the rape allegations, his notoriety will definitely be increased. Sadly though, with the way our society is set up these days, that increased notoriety might just bring him more celebrity status and earthly wealth, for we seem to be highly enamoured of the bad boys, those who step outside the law or moral boundaries with impunity, as attested to by all the press and otherwise that the idiot gangsters and their ilk receive. Beelzebub is running riot! Ah Lord eh! Then you wonder why the lamentation for our world. It’s needed people, badly needed! Just imagine what our grandchildren will be like nuh, if they follow in their parents’ footsteps and become even dumber and less motivated in the right direction than them. That’s why Friends, we need to do as Jeremiah so strongly advised: ‘Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.’ Yes Friends, as we noted yesterday, our world is already in a sad state of uproar, and these indiscriminate leaks of private, sensitive government matters won’t help it any. The only way to bring some semblance of peace and sanity to the whole thing is for us believers to wake up and begin praying, crusading, begging and pleading to anyone who will listen, especially our leaders and the wealthy elite, to stop the nonsense and give peace and common sense a chance. And speaking of chance, I read yesterday where some author said that God calls stuff chance when He doesn’t want to put His name to it. That’s okay, for we know He’s definitely in control, and if He chooses not to take the credit, then so be it. But my brethren, let’s turn to some scripture now to reinvigorate our souls nuh. And let’s start with words from Bruh David, Psalm 62; God only is my rock and my salvation. ‘My soul, wait thou (silently) only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him: He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken). In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:5-8) And all God’s people sang His praises and sincerely poured out their hearts to Him! Oh Friends, in those four simple verses our entire delight in, and communication with the Lord God Jehovah is revealed. We hope and wait patiently for Him, because He’s our strong arm and our protector. He’s provided salvation for us as a gracious gift, if we believe in His Son Jesus. And when things get rough, we can always run to Him and pour out all the misery in our souls, because He also is our place of refuge, and He will comfort us and ease our pain. Wow! Oh my people, our God is a one-stop facility, like the malls we frequent nowadays, with everything under one roof. But we’ve got to go to Him. He won’t come to us unless we ask Him to. And this last line of our Bit just tugs at my heartstrings because it’s so true: ‘…lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.’  Oh Friends, it’s no secret that the majority of children in our world today are suffering from severe hunger, want and deprivation! And not only in the poor, undeveloped countries, but right in the middle of the biggest and richest metropolitan areas of our crazy, evil, confused world. As Isaiah said of his evil, disobedient people: ‘Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull (an antelope) in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.’ (Is.51:20) Yes my brethren much of what we’re suffering today is rebuke from our God for our wicked and disobedient behaviour. And if we want our children to have a fighting chance at a good earthly life, we have to clean up our acts, asap too, put away the idols and worldly lusts that have taken hold of our souls, repent and return to God. It’s not rocket science Friends, it says so plainly and simply in the Good Book. And since the Lord has promised to comfort the faithful, if we want to be comforted, then we need to be faithful. And we’ll end with some appropriate scripture from Isaiah that will comfort us, if and when we’re faithful. ‘Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again. But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down; that we may go over (walk over thee): and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went (walk) over.’ (Is.51:21-23) Yes my people, God was calling Israel to awake from its spiritual drunkenness, intoxicated by their sins, and that’s exactly what He’s calling us to do today. Please, for our children’s sake, let’s answer His call. Much LOVE!…to the faithful…comfort, salvation and eternal life are promised…to the unfaithful…disaster, death and eternal darkness are the rewards…
 

Lamentations 2:19.    Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
 
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s been driven to lamenting for our world, for it’s indeed a sad day when the inmates are running the asylum. To begin, I’m querying the responsibility quotient of the latest round of Wiki Leaks exposures. Who are the people behind this foolishness, that’s only fodder for more hate, anger and resentment in our world? How did they get hold of these documents, and aren’t they liable to persecution in a court of justice for spreading these state secrets? Yuh know it’s only in the good ole U.S. of A that that kind of stuff is tolerated. It’s good to have transparency in government, but some things ought to remain secret, especially with our world already in such a heightened state of tension. I wonder if these same fools who are releasing this material would like what is said or done in the privacy of their homes or offices broadcast so publicly around the world? I very much doubt it. They would be the first ones to raise a hue and cry over their precious privacy and threaten to sue the whole world. Steups! Oh Friends, we all say and do things in private that we possibly should not, but we expect them to stay private since they would only inflame already touchy relationships. And what’s the role of the big newspaper chains in this tragedy eh? Are they acting responsibly in printing the stuff? I guess they’d argue that if they don’t print it someone else will, and it’s obviously a revenue boosting set of circumstances. Hn! But moving on, the next question is: And what of Haiti? It’s arguably the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, but paradoxically sits very close to the richest. For generations it’s been plagued by corruption, then recently devastated by several natural disasters in a very short space of time, tormented by a cholera epidemic and now more upheaval because of botched Presidential Elections. Ah Lord eh! And if you want some more tense stuff, check out Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the Iranian backed Lebanese Shiite political party and militia are threatening to up their militancy if any of it’s members are arrested for the 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s Sunni President, Rafik Hariri. It’s been widely expected that an international tribunal is soon expected to do so. A country that not too long ago suffered through many years of civil war then hostilities with Israel, now getting a breath of polluted peace, could be thrown right back to the wolves again. Add to the mix that just this past week, the current President, Saad Hariri, the late President’s son, visited Iran, all smiles and well-wishes. What to make of that eh? Oh my people, there are so many undercurrents of tension in our world that it’s enough to drive you crazy. And we’re only talking about the simmering situations, not the ones already boiling and bubbling over. And one such situation we need to watch very closely is the North and South Korean standoff. Sabres have not only been rattled, but some interaction has been had. And when talking about gross irresponsibility the North Korean situation takes the cake. It’s citizens are literally starving while the ruling elite, living high on the hog, is focused on nuclear armament and military might and facetiously promising to wage war on their South Korean neighbours. And there are many more irresponsible, ungodly, inhumane, disgusting and detestable situations around our world, but that’s enough for one Bit. No wonder when I asked the Lord tonight for guidance in finding a Bit, I opened the Good Book right at Lamentations. Oh Friends, our God’s lamenting over the sad state of His Creations; His beautiful world and His proudest workmanship, His sinful, disgusting, disobedient children. Oh my people, like Jeremiah so rightly warned his countrymen so long ago, I’m warning us today, to: ‘Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.’ Oh mih breddren, our world has most certainly gone mad! And all the technological inventions that make communications so much easier and quicker are fomenting more dissension, division and dislike than bringing us together, as many hoped it would. Chuh! Beelzebub and his evil cohorts are using it to the max to spread their evil and malicious tentacles, while the followers of Christ sadly lag behind in their efforts to spread the Word, the good news of Christ and His Salvation. But Friends, there’s solace to be had, always is for believers. So let’s turn to the Good Book and lament some for our unfortunate world. And what better place to start than with the longest chapter therein, Psalm 119: ‘I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O Lord: I will keep thy statutes. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies. I prevented (rose before) the dawning of the morning, and cried (for help): I hoped in thy word. Mine eyes prevent (are awake through) the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word. Hear my voice according unto thy LOVING-kindness: O Lord, quicken (revive) me according to thy judgement (justice).’ (Ps.119:145-149) Oh mih people, it’s essential that we get up from our lazy slumber and cry out to the Lord for help, both day and night, for deliverance from our enemies! But only in so much as we are obedient to His Word, can we expect His help. Yes Friends, we need to develop an intense longing for God as Psalm 42 directs: ‘As the hart panteth after (the deer longs for) the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat (food) day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday (a pilgrim feast).’ (Ps.42:1-4) Oh my brethren, as Jeremiah asserts, though our God is omnipotent and all-knowing, the only way He will appreciate our problems is if we pour out our hearts like water before Him; communicate with Him seriously, sincerely and steadfastly, let Him know that our hearts are right and that we hunger for His LOVING-kindness and mercy. If we don’t come before Him with our petitions, we’ll just be left to our own devices, which obviously aren’t working very well. Anyway Friends, time and space have run out on us, so we’ll have to continue this topic tomorrow, God willing. But in closing, let’s read this scripture and hang on to it for dear life, as we lament over the sad state of our world. ‘Why art thou cast down (bowed down), O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance (presence).’ (Ps.42:5) Hold fast and hang tight my brethren, our God is still in control! Much LOVE!…like Humpty Dumpty…our world is falling apart…but the good news is…Jesus can put it back together again…Praise the Lord…
 

Romans 1:16.     For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.