Jeremiah 29:11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Well hello there mih Lovelies! Rise and shine to greet a brand new beautiful day, full of joy and unconditional LOVE! Unfortunately it’s called Monday, (smile) which means that we have to go back out and labour for massa to earn a paltry living. Now that’s the bad news Friends. But here’s the good news, the gospel news: It’s simple, but oh so powerful! All of us who are staunch, true, faithful believers in Jesus Christ, the ONE and ONLY SUPERSTAR, have nothing whatsoever to worry about, because He’s already taken care of everything for us. He’s paid for our disgusting sins by sacrificing His holy, sinless life on the cross at Calvary, even though we didn’t, and will never deserve it! He’s promised us His perfect peace, very different and much more refreshing than that of man! He’s called us to lay down our heaven burdens at His nail scarred feet, and instead offers His easy yoke and light burden! He’s promised to be always with us, wherever we go, and to never leave or forsake us, which He’s faithfully done by sending His Holy Spirit, His Comforter to live within us, to lead and guide us along the straight, narrow, righteous but difficult way! And above all He’s promised the magnificent but free gift of grace through salvation and eternal life! Wow! A place where there’s no more pain, suffering, sorrow, darkness, hatred and tears, but till eternity, His brilliant light will light our golden paths, with joy, fellowship, and an exceedingly good life filled with LOVE! Mama Mia! And all we have to do to receive His generosity is believe in Him; believe that He is indeed the WAY, the TRUTH, the LIGHT and the LIFE, and that no one can come to Father God besides through Him, the SON, the SACRIFICIAL LAMB, our LORD and SAVIOUR, to whom ALL Power has been given, both on earth and in Heaven, and to whom ALL knees must eventually bow. And all God’s people raised a mighty shout to Heaven! ‘Praise be to Jesus Christ, who is indeed worthy to be praised!’ Yes Friends, what awesome promises, most of which have already been fulfilled and are continuously being fulfilled every single day in our lives! How much more do we need before we can trust Him, surrender our lives totally to Him eh? How much better can it get? The gospel truth is that it cannot get any better than that mih breddren! So with all those great things going for us, why are Christ’s people still so sad, miserable, scared, resentful and lacking true joy? Because we either don’t truly believe His Word, or we’re allowing the enemy, the evildoers to bamboozle us with false info. Anyway, on this historic Monday morning, let us all rise up and remember that the joy of the Lord God Jehovah is our strength! Yes, ALL God’s people, let’s rise up and reclaim that joy that so many believers have sadly lost, or simply set aside because of their rough and unfortunate circumstances! Let’s let the whole wide world know that Jesus’ people are ready to ride into battle, even to the death, for Him! And we can start the process by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with overwhelming exhilaration, in loud, tuneful, soaring voice. All together now: ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Oh Friends, I was looking for something to stir up our spirits today, something to get us actively participating in the ongoing LOVE Revolution, and this is where the Spirit led me. I sure hope it has the desired effect, of encouragement, hope, trust and faith, and that we’ll readily and gladly accept, without any reservations, the awesome promised contained in our Bit: ‘ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (hope and a bright future).’ And I want to testify here Friends to the Lord’s true and awesome power, because I wrote all that stuff without a Bit in mind, then within a few seconds of contemplating what would be an appropriate one, the Spirit flashed that one in my mind, and not only that, I knew exactly where to find it. (smile) So please put all your trust and faith in Him, for He will NEVER LET YOU DOWN! Much LOVE mih beautiful people!…STAND UP, STAND UP FOR JESUS…THE TRUMPET SOUNDS OBEY…TILL EVERY FOE IS VANQUISHED…AND JESUS HOLDS ETERNAL SWAY…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 June 2012 Jeremiah 29:11
25 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: believe the awesome promises of Jesus, encouragement, faith, hope, humble servants, invincible, jeremiah 29 11, light burden, LOVE, sacrificial lamb, spiritual armour, stand up for Jesus, sure conquerors
Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 June 2012 Psalm 141:3
24 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: gospel truth, guard your mouth, heights of excellence, negative words, Praise the Lord, talk too much, words are powerful
Psalm 141:3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day, and we’re still alive and kicking, full of God’s breath, vim and vigour! Praise the Lord for His goodness to the undeserving children of men! And thankfully, I don’t have any negative testimony to report re the use of my mouth, at least as far as I know. The Lord didn’t pull me up on anything either. So, so far, so good! (smile) But seriously though Friends, these days we talk far more than is necessary, and logic dictates that the more we do something, the more opportunities we have to make mistakes. Just listen to all the angry, resentful, evil words that are being spoken all over our rapidly declining world nuh! Many of them are leading to wars and strife between nations, between different levels of society, and unfortunately way too much in the foundation unit of our society, the family. Too often I’m hearing appalling stories about strife between parents and children, or between siblings that just boggles my imagination. At those times I thank my dear departed mother that I was an only child yes! That’s because in most of the cases there’s absolutely no need for the anger and resentment that’s tossed around, nor the dissension and divisions that are created, for they usually stem from greed and petty jealousies. I’ve been telling my children from they were old enough to understand, that if I see or hear them carrying on with such nonsense, I will come back from my grave to haunt them. And that still stands mih children! Now to help us understand how powerful our words are, listen to this quote from Rudyard Kipling, (1865-1936) the renowned British author of novels like ‘The Jungle Book,’ and ‘The Man Who Would Be King.’ He declared, even way back then: ‘Words are, of course, the most powerful drug, used by mankind.’ That’s the living truth my people! And can you imagine if it was that way almost a century ago, what it’s like today? There’s nothing else that has the awesome power to effectively change our minds, moods, feelings and attitudes, either for evil or good, like the words that trip off our tongues. That’s why so many of us are taken in by the many scam and fraud artists so prevalent today, plus politicians, preachers, teachers, friends, family and even virtual strangers. Oh yes Friends, there is mighty power in our words! But it’s vital, of the utmost importance that we learn to use words to bless and not curse, to bring about good, positive, godly results, not evil, negative ones, if we’re going to stop the decline of our civilization. Look at all the animosity between the world’s main religions, with Father Abraham the source of them all, and also the many divisions and distinctions within each of them. The acrimony, resentment and outright hatred that exists all stem from inappropriate words, and can be traced back to inappropriate thoughts. But fortunately we don’t have to continue down that ungodly path, because as Norman Vincent Peale, the father of the Power of Positive Thinking, so rightly says: ‘Change your thoughts and you change your world.’ Gospel truth mih people, gospel truth! But how do we do that eh? Well, like every change we desire to make, by first invoking God’s help, one individual at a time. By raising up serious prayers to heaven, along the lines of our Bit: ‘Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.’ But then we have to consistently and diligently do our part; find and study the scriptures that pertain to the particular problem, and there are many that pertain to the mouth, then practice and persevere to bring about the necessary change(s). It won’t be easy Friends, especially in these evil, troubled, ungodly times, with so many distractions vying for our attention. But if we stand strong in our beliefs and keep in constant contact with our God, always asking for His guidance, there’s no doubt we’ll eventually rise to a height of excellence that’s pleasing to Him. Remember that we can do all things through and in association with Christ, who strengthens us. (Phil.4:13) Then we’ll be able to say like Bruh David, in his prayer for protection against oppressors: ‘Thou hast proved (tested) mine heart; thou hast visited (searched me out) in the night; thou hast tried (examined) me, and shalt find nothing (evil): I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. ‘ (Ps.17:3) Oh my brethren, when we can truthfully say something like that, then we’re on our way to glory, we’re using the awesome power in our words aright; in the service of God, not of Beelzebub! Much LOVE!…the power of our words…will only be used aright…when they’re guided by…the all-encompassing Power of the WORD…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 June 2011 Psalm 141:3
23 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: Achilles heel, bridle your tongue, conscious discipline of our minds, the reward of cautious speech, think before we talk, walk your talk
Psalm 141:3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Oh Friends, it’s another new day, another day of life with which we’ve been gifted! Arise and greet the brilliant sunshine of a new morn, the brilliant daystar that’s the embodiment of Jesus rising steadily and powerfully above the horizon! It’s time to get up and get your daily manna, your daily blessings provided from heaven! Let’s not do like the Israelites of old and be ungrateful. Let’s appreciate all that God’s gifted us with; the good, the bad and the indifferent, because that’s the appreciative attitude He wants all His children to possess, but more importantly, to also manifest, show it to the world at large. Unfortunately many believers don’t have it, and thus don’t manifest it. We complain about any and everything, most of them rather petty and unimportant. Now that’s definitely to our detriment, for we can’t have complaining, cursing tongues and yet walk in true step with Almighty God. That’s just not possible. And it’s why Bruh David, in his prayer for help in trouble, wrote the words of our Bit. ‘Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.’ And my people, do we ever need the Lord to do that in our angry, resentful, complaining, talk too much society! Yesterday we heard James’ discourse on the evil state of the tongue; a veritable poison and all that. Those are words of awful truth Friends! And it’s a bad trend, that we, as believers, HAVE TO CURB, if we want to enjoy the fullness of God’s goodness. And here I’ll like to make a confession. Yesterday morning, mere hours after writing the Bit and admonishing us to bridle our tongues, I was on my way home, stopped at a traffic light, intending to turn left. But for reasons known only to the people who regulate them, this light has an early green going east, but none going west. To make matters worse, they have another light down the street on green at the same time as mine, so trying to turn left on a busy morning is painstaking. You either quickly squeeze through when there’s a short break in the traffic or wait until the light turns red and go through then because it’s usually bumper to bumper traffic. Anyway, there I was sitting at the light behind this older van, and several times I thought the driver could have safely made the turn between the oncoming traffic, but he refused to do so. He waited till every car had passed before turning. Luckily the light was still green. Sadly though, my impatience got the better of me and I used some rather inappropriate language at another human made in God’s image. Not so that he could hear, but out loud to myself. And as you’d expect, as soon as the words left my lips, the Lord draped me up on them. ‘Weren’t you the one just telling others to guard their tongues? And you want to be a teacher of My Word, when you can’t guard your own tongue?’ Oh Friends, I was caught red-handed and had to repent and ask His forgiveness right then and there. That’s exactly what James was warning the teachers about in our scripture passage yesterday. Now over the last few years of writing the Bit, I’ve noticed that as soon as, or shortly after I use certain words, or teach certain principles, the Lord always provides some exercise or situation to test me on them. Most of the time I pass them, but obviously I failed the test yesterday morning. But He knows that in my heart I am sincerely trying to improve, I’m just a slow learner. (smile) However my brethren, the problem is that before we can control our tongues, we need to control our thoughts, and therefore our minds, because that’s where it all begins. The words of our mouths flow from the thoughts in our minds. So the first thing we need to do is discipline our minds to provide proper, godly thoughts, and not negative, ungodly ones, which then lead to a spewing forth of negative, ungodly words. That’s why Cousin Sol cautions us so wisely in Proverbs: ‘He that keepeth (guards) his mouth keepeth (preserves) his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.’ (Prov.13:3) Or as the scholars explain: ‘The reward of cautious speech is fuller life and the avoidance of unnecessary trouble.’ And isn’t that the gospel truth mih people! Cousin Sol also imparts this bit of wisdom re the tongue. ‘Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from troubles.’ (Prov.21:23) However Friends, before we can successfully do those things, we have to make a conscious decision to discipline our thoughts, then take time to think about what we’re going to say before saying it. Like so much else in a believer’s life, it’s a question of hope and faith backed by practice, patience and perseverance. But unless we consciously choose to control our thoughts, minds and tongues and practice doing so with patience and steadfastness, our mouths will always get us and our souls in trouble. Unfortunately some of us are so passionate about what we believe in, we simply blurt out what comes to mind without consciously and seriously thinking it through. Sadly that’s my Achilles heel and I readily acknowledge it. But don’t worry Friends, if I can improve, with God’s help of course, and I’m still improving, any body can. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, I haven’t reached where I’m going yet, but I’ve sure come a long way from where I was. And all God’s people said a loud ‘Amen!’ because it applies to all of us in some form and fashion. So Friends, please take strength and courage from my lapse, but please, please, let’s all try and model our thoughts and therefore our words after Jesus, as best as we can, with His help. We’ll never be perfect like Him, but we must strive for excellence in all matters. More tomorrow on this, if we’re still alive and kicking. I never intended to have a testimony on it today. (smile) Much LOVE!…a mind that thinks right and godly thoughts…will cause a mouth to speak right and godly words…
Todays Scrip-Bit 22 June 2012 Psalm141:3
22 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: fellowship, Friday chant, guard your mouth, human degradation, inhumane suffering, rest and relaxation, silence is golden, TGIF!, the tongue can no man tame
Psalm 141:3. Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! The weekend’s here, bringing us a l’il rest from our weekly labour. Praise the Lord! Because if the enemy had his way, we’d all be working seven days a week, from sun-up to sundown, for a mere pittance. Thankfully though, the majority of us have gotten away from that, but there are still some folks – even one is too many – who have it worse than slaves. Please, let’s pray for them; pray that their situation improves, and quickly too, and also let’s do something to help remedy the untenable situation in whatever way we can; with our time, time, talents or financial resources, for the human being was not made in Almighty God’s image to suffer such horrible oppression and degradation. Oh my people, we really don’t know how good we have it nuh. And I’m not talking about some undeveloped, third world country where these atrocities are happening, but right here in our supposed first world societies. Oh Friends, if we only knew some of the brutal, inhumane stuff that goes on, not only on the underside of our society, but also within the hallowed halls of our wealthy and powerful, we’d be totally flabbergasted. So while many of us can gleefully shout ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ a sizeable portion of our society unfortunately can’t declare those glad tidings. So please, let’s remember them when we’re joyous over the two days off that we have, and do whatever we can to alleviate their sad and oh so wrong situation. Now let’s chant our Friday Chant that will give us the right perspective on how to use these valuable weekends. As one voice now: ‘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 having read and digested all that, (smile) it’s time to look at our Bit: ‘Set a watch (guard), O Lord, before my mouth; keep (watch over) the door of my lips.’ Ah Friends, this mouth business is so important in a believer’s life, and sadly too many of us flunk it! And I suppose the first scripture we ought to contend with, is found in the immortal and true words of James, re the dangers of the tongue. He solemnly declares: ‘My brethren, be not many masters (let not many of you be teachers), knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation (stricter judgement). For in many things we offend all (stumble). If any man offend (stumble) not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm (rudder), whithersoever the governor listeth (pilot wants). Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold how great a matter (forest) a little fire kindleth (sets on fire)! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue (the tongue is so set) among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature (existence); and is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude (likeness) of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.’ (James 3:1-12) Oh Friends, I didn’t intend to write all of that, but after looking it over, the Spirit nudged me, and I realized that I would be doing us all a serious injustice if I tried to beak it up, because there are few other places in the Good Book where such an important topic is so extensively and well reasoned in such a short space. And I figured that though many of us have heard the particular part about the tongue, some might not have heard it in its proper context. I also highlighted that part because it’s so true and even more meaningful today than it was back in James’ time. What with the explosion of communication technology, talking and now texting have become such huge aspects in our society and are also beginning to cause huge problems. More and more people are getting in trouble for their words everyday! Now this passage was originally written to the early teachers in the church, whose primary tool was their tongue, and the source of their teaching, their wisdom. He’s warning them of the pitfalls of teaching. First, ‘the teacher will receive greater scrutiny from God, because the teacher often passes judgement upon his hearers, and secondly, the primary teaching tool is the tongue, which no one can control sufficiently.’ Now that’s an undeniable truth my Friends! However, as James reasons, we can’t use it to bless God and curse mankind, who’s made in His image. But such is the widespread use today. My people, we have to definitely control our tongues more carefully than we’re currently doing, or else we’ll find ourselves in serious trouble, both with man and God. So from today, let’s take these memorable words of Bruh David to heart and try and make them our individual goal. ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (my rock), and my redeemer.’ (Ps.19:14) Oh Friends, if we all made that a habit, what a wonderful place our world would be! More on this tomorrow God willing. Till then, let’s go and practice taming our tongues nuh. Good luck with that! (smile) Much LOVE!…this generation needs to learn…that oftimes…silence is truly golden…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 June 2012 Romans 8:16
21 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: assurance of salvation and eternal life, children of God, feast or famine, grieve not the Holy Spirit, holy spirit, ministry of the holy spirit, obedience to God's will, spiritual insight
Romans 8:16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.
Oh mih people, for once the weather forecasters were right. Yesterday was a pretty hot day. And they promise more of that summery weather for today. The A/C units will be again running nonstop, working overtime, and the power producers and technicians will be making loads of money. The technicians might be even too busy to attend to some of the service calls. Sometimes we just can’t win, because it’s either feast or famine, no safe and comfortable in between. But as I keep reminding us, we are children of the Most High God Jehovah, and consequently ours is not to worry, but to turn all our problems over to Him in prayer. And some of you might be led to ask, how do we really know that we’re children of God? Well, for a start, listen to our Bit: ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ Yes Friends, when the Spirit of God dwells in us and works in tandem with our spirit to produce a Christ-like character in us, then we can be assured that we are indeed children of the Most High! Remember yesterday we said that one of the reasons we can be assured of salvation and eternal life is because we have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit? Oh Friends, without that Spirit of God dwelling in us, we’d be completely lost! Such is its importance in the lives of believers. Hear the scholars tell it: ‘The witness of the Spirit is the inner assurance of God’s truth. One of the conditions of this inner conviction concerning the things of God is obedience to His known will: ‘My doctrine is not mine, but him that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of (concerning) the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.’ (John 7:16-17) God uses this ministry of the Holy Spirit to convince us of truth that cannot be understood other than through divine help. ‘And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.16:17) Illustration: This witness was obvious in Peter’s confession of Christ. Even though others had observed Christ and drawn certain erroneous conclusions, Peter received spiritual insight from God as to who Jesus really was. This enlightenment did not mean he had nothing more to learn, because perhaps within minutes of his confession, he was being rebuked by Jesus for his lack of spiritual insight. ‘But he (Jesus) turned and said to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not (are not mindful of) the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’ (Matt.16:23) Application: Christians should be careful always to obey the clearly revealed will of God, so as not to hinder this ministry in their lives.’ We can therefore see my brethren that the Holy Spirit is of the utmost importance in the lives of all believers. He is to be the chief mover and shaker in all that we do. Now the million-dollar question is, do we allow the Spirit to do His job? That’s entirely up to us as individuals. But please note that as much as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, that’s how much we’ll be in God’s good graces. Remember the Spirit is the workhorse of the Holy Trinity, so if He’s not busily working in and through us, then simple logic dictates that God isn’t working in and through us. Hear Bruh Paul talking to the Ephesians re the spiritual blessings in Christ. ‘That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ (Jews). In whom ye (Gentiles) also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.’ (Eph.1:12-13) Here are some thoughts on that from the scholars. ‘There is no difference between the Jewish and Gentile Christians. Christ bestowed the same Spirit on them all. Right when, you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, not after. The sealer is Jesus; the seal is the Holy Spirit. In biblical times a seal denoted both identification of ownership and protection provided by the owner.’ Oh Friends that definitely means when we’re sealed with the Holy Spirit of Jesus that we belong to Him and are protected by Him! And all God’s children shouted: ‘Glory Hallelujah to the Lamb who is most worthy to be praised!’ I like how the scholars further explain the sealing of the Holy Spirit. ‘The sealing of the Holy Spirit guarantees the benefits of our salvation, as a person might seal an envelope to guarantee its enclosures. The Holy Spirit is the seal. Illustration: The Holy Spirit as the seal to the believer is also a ‘down payment’ of His commitment to someday give him all other things God has promised. Application: Christians should be careful to ‘grieve not the holy Spirit of God, by whom ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ (Eph.4:30) There we have it Friends, the facts, and not fiction, on the reality that we are children of God! And we’ll end with this most appropriate verse: ‘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.8:17) Wow mih people, what an awesome promise! Now why would I trade all of that for some stupid, earthly possession that corrodes, get’s rusty and which I cannot take to heaven with me eh? No way Jose! Please ponder, think seriously on these things. and I sure hope you come to the same conclusion that I did. It’s wisdom at its highest point! Much LOVE…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…just to feel His LOVING touch…makes it all worthwhile…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 June 2012 1 John 5:13
20 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: answered prayer, assurance of the believer, believe on the name of Jesus Christ, children of God, hot hot hot, keeping God's commandments, LOVE each other, memorizing scripture, not ashamed of Christ, understanding the scriptures, witness of the Word
1 John 5:13. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Oh Friends, yesterday was ‘Hot, Hot, Hot!’ And today will be ‘Hotter, Hotter, Hotter!’ (smile) Yes, we’re finally getting some real summer weather, thirty odd degrees. However, it will definitely impact greatly on the hydro-electricity bill with the A/C on continuously, especially since we’re now on this pay more during the day scene. Ah mih brethren, the ole crooks and them know just how to ramp up a bill! Yet they sell power to other jurisdictions for much less than the production cost when they have an over-abundance of it. And who do you think pays for that? The poor, lowly consumers of course! Unfortunately, when the government, the main producers, and the others lesser ones are in cahoots, you can’t do much else but grin and bear it. Anyway, seeing that we’re children of Almighty God, that means we’re privileged, so we’ll just continue doing our thing, laying our problems in the Lord’s hands, because He’s so graciously invited us all who are weary and heavy laden, to come to Him for rest, to bear His easy yoke and light burden. (Matt.11:28-30) Oh Friends, you’ll be proud to know that the ole fella didn’t have to look up the Concordance to find that scripture, but rattled it off from the top of his head. Glory Hallelujah! Rhyming off chapter and verse is not my strongpoint, so anytime I remember a scripture and where it’s found, that’s an improvement. Thank the Lord mih people! Now this is one of those times when I don’t know what I’m going to write about, for before I was ready to write, the Spirit floated the ‘Hot, Hot, Hot’ idea, and I just ran with it. So I’ll have to take a break and check the Good Book to see what the Lord wants us to talk about today. So, soon come! I’m back mih breddren; about half an hour later! Not because it took me so long to find a Bit, but because I was catching up on some other reading that I should have done before starting the Bit. In fact I found our Bit in less than five minutes. And yuh know my biggest blessing is when the Lord guides me fairly easily to a Bit. Sadly, it doesn’t happen all the time, and some days I have to plod and plough through the Good Book to find something my head can get around. But here’s our Bit for today: ‘These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.’ Ah mih people, what a wonderful and blessed assurance! And we’ll break it down so we can all understand it, by sharing what the scholars say about assurance, but in between I’ll write out the references they give, so that we’ll have them all right at hand. Here goes: ‘The Scriptures clearly teach that it is possible to know whether you are saved or unsaved. The assurance of the believer is not based on feeling, (though the Christian may “feel” saved), but on the principle of God’s Word. We can know we are saved because Christ is in our hearts. ‘To whom God would (willed to) make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’ (Col.1:27) ‘He that hath the Son hath (the) life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not (the) life.’ (1 John 5:12) Because of the witness of the Word of God: ‘He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record (testimony) that God gave his Son. And this is the record (testimony), that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.’ (1 John 5:10-11) Because of answered prayer: ‘If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.’ (John 14:14) ‘And this is the confidence we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired (asked) of him.’ (1 John 5:14-15) Because of our understanding of the scriptures: ‘And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.’ (1 John 5:20) Because we keep His commandments: ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.’ (2 Cor.5:17) ‘We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth (guards) himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.’ (1 John 5:18) Because we LOVE the brethren: ‘We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we LOVE the brethren. He that LOVETH not his brother abideth in death.’ (1 John 3:14) Because we have the inner witness of the Holy Spirit: ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ (Rom.8:16) Illustration: Paul claimed to have this inner confidence and was fully persuaded concerning the keeping power of God in salvation. ‘For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against (until) that day.’ (2 Tim.1:12) Application: Because of this assurance, the believer need not be ashamed of Christ, even when he finds himself in difficult circumstances.’ (2 Tim.1:12) Oh Friends, it’s a bit on the long side, but it is all very worthwhile since it gives us some strong foundation of why we’re Christians, of why we believe so firmly in Almighty God and His graceful gifts of salvation and eternal life, expensively purchased for us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Please, let us take these scriptures to heart so that they may enable us to stand strong in our Christian Faith. That’s wisdom at its zenith! Much LOVE!…I am the way, the truth, and the life…no man cometh unto the Father…BUT BY ME…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 June 2012 Psalm 116:17
19 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: call upon the Lord, glorify the Lord, humble contrite heart, offer sacrifice, psalm 116, sacrifice of thanksgiving
Psalm 116:7. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s one more morning, one more day that we’re alive and kicking on this beautiful planet earth, so LOVINGLY created by our heavenly Father for our enjoyment! Wow! It’s something we should all be very thankful and grateful for everyday, even though our personal lives might be a tad on the rough side these days. And that’s exactly where our Bit today comes in: ‘I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.’ It’s when times are hard, or some unforeseen, sudden dilemma crops up that we need to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving. When things and times are good and oodles of blessings are being bestowed upon us, we ought also to offer thanks, but under those circumstances, it’s not a sacrifice. A good example of what I’m talking about is the other morning when I felt that sudden, unexpected, excruciating pain in my left knee, as I got out of my car in the church’s parking lot. Now I could have gotten angry and blamed and berated somebody, including the Lord, especially after I asked for an explanation and received none. But instead, I wisely thanked Him for whatever was happening because I knew that He was still in control and had my welfare at heart. The Lord knew that I wasn’t thrilled by the situation, but I got a passing mark because I kept my cool, grinned and bore my pain in reasonable silence. Oh Friends, whenever problems befall us, we’re too quick to blame and complain and get angry, when as believers, we ought to try and take it in our stride and go first to the Lord in prayer, asking for answers and direction. That is where the sacrifice part comes in; when we’re hurting and confused, but wisely lay it all before our wonderful, helpful and LOVING God. That will bring peace to our souls and help us to handle the situation appropriately. Listen to the psalmist Asaph, as he wisely declares in Psalm 50, God is the judge. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’ (Ps.50:14-15) That is exactly what we constantly need to do in these very troubled times my people, instead of complaining and whining and finding fault with everybody except ourselves, where the problems most often lie. We have become such an ungrateful society that I’m sure the Lord shakes His head in wonder and disgust everyday when He hears us angrily clamouring over petty stuff we lack, and not being thankful for all the glorious stuff we do have. Appreciation Friends, vocal appreciation of our God’s goodness is of the utmost importance in a believer’s life! What’s the saying: ‘Complain and Remain, Praise and be Raised.’ That’s gospel truth my brethren! A negative, critical fault-finding spirit disconnects us from God. If in anger and negativity we keep dialling heaven, we’ll always get a busy signal, or no signal at all. Only when we come to Him in a humble, contrite manner do the lines to heaven open up. Hear Hosea’s prescription for entreating the Lord: ‘O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God, for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves (fruits, sacrifices) of our lips.’ (Hos.14:1-2) And the scholars explain that thus: ‘Calves of our lips: The word calves (Heb, par, ‘a young bull or produce’) is best understood metaphorically, referring to the words that the lips produce – in this context praise to the Lord. The nation had used its lips to praise the idolatrous calves; now it will use its lips in praise to the Lord God.’ Meanwhile, Bruh Paul, re the ways of the believer, tells the Ephesians, and us, that our ways should be channelled towards: ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:20-21) As I keep reminding us Friends, living a true Christian life is not easy, but if we are serious about it, in partnership with Jesus, we can do a worthwhile, and even an excellent job. But we have to let thanks, praise and glory to our God be THE central aspect of our lives. Without that all-important ingredient directing us, we’ll most likely sink like a heavy stone, or keep treading water, going nowhere, until we get tired and succumb to the irresistible pull of the depths. Only with praise and thanks in our souls and coming from our lips will we swim to safety. And we’ll end with an appropriate scripture from Hebrews, re service well-pleasing to God. ‘By him (Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks (confessing to) his name. But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ (Heb.13: 15-16) That’s the awesome truth mih people! So please, starting today, right now, let’s turn our lives around nuh. Too many of us supposed believers are negative and complaining, and are therefore disconnected from the Lord, that’s why we can’t get ahead. Let’s begin being more positive, joyful and uttering more thanks and praise, both during the good and bad times, because above all else, God wants us to praise and glorify Him. If that doesn’t impact a great portion of our waking moments, then we’re not obeying His Word. Much LOVE!…to him that hath ears…let him hear…then having heard…let him give much thanks and praise…as is his bounden duty…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 June 2012 Ephesians 6:4
18 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: afflictions, for good and not evil, grin and bear it, invincible, Monday Monday, Monday Morning Battle Hymn, parents awesome responsibility, rejuvenation of spirit, sure conquerors, Ten Commandments
Ephesians 6:4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday; that fateful day which unfortunately means, to labour, to labour, once again to labour. Chuh! We don’t like it, but it’s a condition of earthly life, so we just have to grin and bear it. Now if I didn’t know better, sometimes I’d think the Lord takes pleasure in afflicting us for no apparent reason yes. For example, yesterday morning I left home to go to church, as bright and bouncy as ever (smile). On the way, I stopped and put some gas in my ole limo, then continued to church without any mishaps. However, as I got out of the car in the church parking lot, a sudden excruciating pain ran through my left knee. Friends, I swear that if I wasn’t holding on to the car door, I would have crumpled to the ground from both the surprise and pain. At first I thought it was a cramp, but after massaging it for about a minute, it didn’t go away, so I limped into the church. And would you believe that all through the service it pained me, making my attention to the Lord’s business less than optimal. Now I’m pretty sure I didn’t do anything physical to bring that on, so it was possibly just my arthritic nemesis simply acting up. But when I cried out to the Lord for some sort of answer, I obviously got no reply. So the long and short of the story is that I said, thank you Lord, went home, iced and rested it, which reduced the pain somewhat. In my humble opinion, that was another unwarranted affliction to grin and bear. And the sad part is that I had taken the arthritis medication about an hour before, so there shouldn’t have been that kind of sudden pain. But them’s the breaks, Friends! As believers, we need to accept that whatever happens to us usually has a higher motive than we can understand, and we know that the Lord will use whatever comes against us for good and not evil, as He promises in Jer.29:11, and Rom.8:28. Anyway, enough of my pity party. (smile) Let’s get ourselves together to go out and do God’s will by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty gusto. All together 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!’ Yes mih people, that should boost our enthusiasm, raise our passion for Christ and enable us to take on the enemy without any fear. Now let’s check out our Bit: ‘And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition of the Lord.’ And not because Father’s Day has passed, means we can’t talk to, reach out to the fathers. In fact, the state of fatherhood in our anything goes society is so bad, that we should be talking to them everyday. Today though, I just want to share some appropriate scriptures, so that we can understand how important fatherhood is, was, and always will be in the eyes of our God. And what better place to start that at the very beginning, where Moses tells the Israelites: ‘And these words (the Ten Commandments), which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ (Deut.6:6-7) Later on, in basically the same words, Moses again reminds them of the importance of teaching their children the laws of God. (Deut.11:19) Then in Psalm 78, Asaph’s reminder of God’s goodness to Israel, he declares that the old stories they heard from their fathers: ‘We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.’ (Ps.78:4) Meanwhile, in Proverbs’, Cousin Sol proclaims in no uncertain terms: ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and (even) when he is old (mature), he will not depart from it.’ (Prov.22:6) And finally, listen to Bruh Paul’s words to Timothy: ‘And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.’ (2 Tim.3:15) Yes Friends, parents have an awesome responsibility to raise their children on the Word and ways of God, especially fathers, who are considered the nominal head, the guide, the leader of the household. Anything less on the part of parents is a sin against Almighty God, because that’s the only way the Word and will of God will continue from generation to generation. So let’s get serious and do our duty nuh people! It’s about time, don’t you think? Much LOVE!…when believers don’t teach their children about God…they’re shirking their greatest responsibility as parents…and doing both their children and society irreparable harm…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 June 2012 Ephesians 6:4
17 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: absentee fathers, child education, dead-beat dads, Father's Day, fathering children, nurture and admonition of the Lord, the way of the Lord, welfare of children
Ephesians 6:4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 June 2012 Proverbs 1:20
16 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: free offer of salvation, holy spirit, material possessions, spirit of man, the beginning of wisdom
Proverbs 1:20. Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets.
Oh Friends, another day has dawned, just as it has done for endless centuries, and will continue to do until our heavenly Father decides otherwise. In the meantime, we must enjoy the benefits we derive from His awesome bounty and walk according to His will. In this technologically superlative age though, we have many voices crying out and shouting at us. The noise, both literal and figurative, from all these voices vying for our attention is very loud and confusing, and oftimes we don’t know which voice(s) to listen to, and sadly end up listening to the wrong one(s). But fortunately our Bit is here to safely guide us to the only correct one of those many voices to listen to. ‘Wisdom crieth without (calls aloud in the streets); she uttereth (raises) her voice in the streets (plazas).’ Yes Friends, the mighty voice of wisdom is certainly calling to all and sundry, in all parts of the world. But what is this wisdom, and where does it come from? Cousin Sol explains it thus: ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (One) is understanding.’ (Prov.9:10) There we have it my people! True wisdom comes from God, and we don’t even start getting it until we learn how to reverence Him properly, and then keep seeking Him and His Word, so that we can gain true understanding. But foolishly, in this supposedly enlightened age, instead of seeking God and His wisdom, people are turning away from Him, not even paying Him the slightest homage, considering Him an anachronism, with no place in our modern world. But how wrong they are my Friends! For Jehovah God made this world and all therein, and still controls it, though He allows us to do our thing, and will control it till everlasting. So please wake up and smell the roses; realize that our world is steadily going down the drain because we keep believing the lies of Beelzebub rather than the Truth of Jesus. And here is one truth of Jesus that we must believe, to be considered wise. ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38) Jesus was talking there as our beloved Saviour, whose Holy Spirit would eventually come into each individual believer at Pentecost and dwell with them forever. And Friends, it’s this Holy Spirit which enables us to live a wise and fruitful life in our earthly pilgrimage, not the lies and deceits of the enemy. Look at what’s happening to our world because the majority of its populace has embraced the evil, lying, erroneous ways of Lucifer, instead of the Truth of Jesus. And sadly, long before Jesus came to earth, the Lord’s been offering drink to the thirsty and food to the hungry, for free to boot. But we’ve refused to accept it. Listen to Isaiah tell it: ‘Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (abundance). Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.’ (Is.55:1-3) But did they accept God’s wonderful offer back then? No. And today, when we have an even better offer through the sacrifice of Jesus, we still aren’t accepting God’s free offer. Oh Friends, has Lucifer ever offered anything freely? Not on your life! You have to sell your soul to him first. But yet we quickly run to accept his offer of fake stuff and destructible material possessions. Oh my people why can’t we understand that Lucifer is a greedy taker, while the Lord God Jehovah is a generous giver? And please remember that all the material possessions we’re selling our souls to have will eventually wear out and rust, just like our earthly bodies. And what will we do then, when it returns to the dust from which it was created? What of the spiritual being that dwells within our fleshly bodies? Now that’s where the true wisdom of the Holy Spirit shines forth. The wisdom of the world isn’t concerned with the spirit of man, but the Holy Spirit considers it our most important aspect. And since that Holy Spirit comes from our God and Creator, I tend to believe that’s the right path for the truly wise to take. I don’t know if the Lord was right to give us the ability to make choices, since so many of us make so many wrong ones everyday to our detriment. However, as the Good Book has so clearly shown, in so many instances, when mankind lives by the laws of God, he prospers, and when He doesn’t, he falls on very hard and sorrowful times. Unfortunately, we all have to make a conscious choice to follow either Lucifer or Jesus. I don’t know about you all Friends, but as for me and mine, we’re definitely following Jesus! That’s true wisdom! Much LOVE!…whom would you rather follow…the Creator…or the interloper…
