SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, it seems like it’s going to be another warm, beautiful autumn day in my neck of the woods. Praise the Lord! And to honour the season of autumn, here’s a quote attributed to American naturalist and essayist, John Burroughs (1837-1921) It says: ‘How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and colour are their last days.’ And isn’t that the truth Friends! Leaves gradually lose their green, chlorophyll-generated colour as the tree roots find it ever more difficult to get food and water in the growing cold ground. The green fades until the leaves become red, gold, russet, brown or some such colour. And oftimes they look much more beautiful than when clothed in austere green. Then they die and fall gracefully to the earth. Oh my people, would that our human lives would pass so gracefully and beautifully into old age, then death! But instead, most of us get grumpy and miserable in our autumn years, possibly because of our many physical aches and pains, and/or because we fear the death that comes with the approach of our winter days. As believers though, we ought to be getting more mellow, thoughtful and quiet of spirit from having experienced and survived life’s ups and downs, plus being more mature in the Word of God and faith in Jesus Christ. At that advanced stage of maturity, we should be able to declare with supreme confidence, as the psalmist does in our Bit: ‘The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles (coastlands) be glad thereof.’  Yes Friends, the Lord God Jehovah does indeed reign over all the earth! He is far above all the other supposed Gods! There is none else like Him, therefore we, His amazing creation, should rejoice and be glad. Now hear the body of evidence on which the psalmist bases His awesome proclamation: ‘Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgement are the habitation (foundation) of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills (mountains) melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. Confounded be all they that (Let all be put to shame who) serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.’ (Ps.97:2-7) Ah mih people, what other deity can match the might and power, the omnipotence of the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob eh? NONE whatsoever! Thus we should be worshipping and praising Him much more than we do. Instead of bowing to man made idols and giving in to fleshly lusts so avidly promoted by Lucifer and his evil cronies, we ought to do as the psalmist advises: ‘Give (ascribe) unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear (tremble) before him, all the earth. Say among the heathen (nations, gentiles) that the Lord reigneth: the world also shall be (is firmly) established that it shall not be moved (shaken): he shall judge the people righteously.’ (Ps.96:8-10) Oh my Friends, if we were ever to do that on the grand scale the Lord both desires and deserves, what a truly wonderful place our world would be, instead of the evil, ungodly earth we now inhabit. And here’s an insight into that problem from the booklet ‘Keys to Happiness’ that I mentioned yesterday. ‘If Christians would associate together, speaking to each other of the LOVE of God, and of the precious truths of redemption, their own hearts would be refreshed, and they would refresh one another. We may be daily learning more of our heavenly Father, gaining a fresh experience of His grace; then we shall desire to speak of His LOVE; and as we do this, our own hearts will be warmed and encouraged. If we thought and talked more of Jesus, and less of self, we should have far more of His presence. If we would but think of God as often as we have evidence of His care for us, we should keep Him ever in our thoughts, and should delight to talk of Him and to praise Him.’ And that’s the gospel truth my brethren. If believers would think and talk more about God and the things of heaven than the temporal, earthly, unimportant stuff we concern ourselves with, then we’d find ourselves in much greater and beneficial communion with our wonderful, LOVING, kind and generous Maker. Fellow believers, all I can say in closing, is ‘Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance (for the memory) of his holiness (His holy name). (Ps.97:12) That’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!…LOVE the Lord…with all thy heart, mind, body and soul…that is the first commandment…

Oh Friends, we’re alive and kicking on what promises to be another beautiful autumn day. Wow! So let’s give our great God some thanks for that privilege and blessing nuh. It’s the least we can do to show our genuine appreciation. I’m currently reading a little booklet called the Keys to Happiness, written in the late 1800s, by whom it doesn’t say, but is it ever well written, with beautiful, somewhat old-fashioned language, but very insightful into the Word of God. I’ll have to start sharing some of those insights… Oh, here’s one right now dealing with prayer and thanks. ‘Let us not be always thinking of our wants, and never of the benefits we receive. We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks. We are the constant recipients of God’s mercies, and yet how little gratitude we express, how little we praise Him for what He has done for us.’ Oh my people, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll readily admit that failing of not thanking God sufficiently for all that He’s done for us. But there’s no time like the present to make a change. So let’s faithfully promise ourselves to try and be much more thankful for the Lord’s blessings and mercies. And God’s biggest act of blessing and mercy is sending His only son Jesus to die for us on Calvary’s rugged cross, to wipe away our sins and reconcile us to Him. As the Keys to Happiness so poignantly declares: ‘How must God esteem the human race, since He gave His Son to die for them, and appoints His Spirit to be man’s teacher and continual guide.’ Yes Friends, our God must really LOVE us plenty and hold us in extraordinarily high esteem to offer His Son’s life as a sacrifice for us undeserving sinners. For that we should be everlastingly grateful and should embrace Him with abundant joy and thanksgiving, boldly accepting Christ as our Lord and Saviour and steadfastly affirming His words in our Bit: ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ We believers know that as an awesome, infallible truth, and yet we don’t take it to heart as seriously as we should. And the sad fact is that long before Jesus came, the Lord was offering free mercy to all. Hear 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) What a wonderful and generous offer! And yet the majority of people refused to take Him up on it. Why eh? Are we so afraid of free stuff? I doubt it. We just don’t want to give up our freedom of choice and our sinful ways. But with the Lord as guide, our lives will be much better off than trying to be our own keeper. After Isaiah, Jesus came and made His proclamation. Sadly with the same result…a minority of takers. But Friends, this is the very basis, the very foundation of our eternal lives. There are only two options here yuh know; eternal death and darkness with Beelzebub, or eternal life and light with Jesus. What does the evil one promise eh? Nothing but death and damnation in the dark underworld of Hades. Now listen to Jesus’ promise. ‘Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on (strike) them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (shepherd) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears (every tear) from their eyes.’ (Rev.7:15-17) And all God’s people shouted in joyful gratitude: ‘All thanks and glory be to the Lamb that was slain for us! He is indeed worthy to be praised!’ Oh my brethren, our choice is as clear as day. Please, let’s grab it now, before it’s too late, then share it with others who have never heard the promises or refused to believe them before, because this is truly a life determining decision. We can’t afford to lose even one precious soul to Lucifer, for Jesus will be very displeased and disappointed in us. And we certainly don’t want to feel His displeasure. So let’s get moving nuh. Much LOVE!…as for me and mine…without hesitation…we will gladly accept the promises of Jesus…

Well hello there all you beautiful believers in Christ, it’s Monday…! And you wouldn’t believe the numerous un-Christian-like replies that come hurtling back at me from that simple Christian greeting. Hn, hn, hn! One fellow even had the audacity, wisdom or lack thereof – your choice – to ask why Monday always seems to come around so quickly, while Friday takes such a long time. I answered that it was simply because between Friday and Monday, there are only two days; Saturday and Sunday, while between Monday and Friday there are four days; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. ‘Oh,’ he claimed, ‘I never thought about it like that.’ Elementary my dear Watson! (smile) Anyway Friends, it’s Monday, and there’s nothing we can do about it, so let’s be up and be about our heavenly Father’s business. But before doing that, let’s fortify ourselves by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. All together, in full voice 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!’ Now let’s go out into the predominantly evil, ungodly world we live in and show them the way; the way of the believer, as our Bit so wisely states: ‘Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.’ And how is that you ask? ‘And walk in LOVE, as Christ also hath LOVED us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour (aroma).’ (Eph.5:2) Yes Friends, that’s how we ought to walk this earth; in LOVE, just as Jesus did. Now it’s not an easy row to hoe, but Jesus did it, and we, His followers, must attempt to approximate it. Please read Luke 6:27-36, where Jesus talks about showing LOVE to our enemies. That obviously doesn’t ring right on our register, but if we want to be true followers of Jesus, then we must seriously attempt to live that way. Jesus ends that section with this very meaningful verse. ‘Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.’ (Luke 6:36) Meanwhile, Matthew reports it as: ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matt.5:48) Obviously, because of our innate sinful nature, we can’t be as perfect as the Triune God we worship, but we can certainly be much more merciful than we currently are. Remember Jesus’ parable on the Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-37). At the end of its telling, Jesus asked the ‘feel him smart’ lawyer – like they’ve been that way forever – who was trying to test Him: ‘Which now of these three, thinkest thou was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves (robbers)? And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.’ (Luke 10:36-37) Oh Friends, that’s the lesson for today! Please, let’s go out into the world and do likewise. More on this tomorrow, God in favour. Till then, remember to LOVE your God, LIVE your Faith, and SPREAD His Word, for that’s our purpose on this earth! Much LOVE!…to be critical is human…to be merciful is heavenly…

Oh Friends, seeing that today is Sunday, which the majority of Christians celebrate as the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath, I went looking for something uplifting and encouraging to share, instead of the doom and gloom scenario we’ve been recently talking about, with our world in such an ungodly, confused and crazy state. After much searching, I was finally led to Psalm 92, a psalm or song for the Sabbath day, wherein the psalmist praises the Lord for His goodness. Please say our Bit with me: ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.’ That’s the gospel truth my people! Because the Lord God Jehovah has been so good to us, we ought to sing His praises, especially on the Sabbath, in fellowship with other believers. We need ‘To show forth (declare) thy LOVING-kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery (lute or lyre); upon the harp with a solemn (harmonious or melodic) sound. For thou, Lord, hast made me glad though thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:2-4)  Yes Friends, the Lord has been very good to us, He’s gladdened our hearts through the triumphant work of His hands, thus we should show appropriate gratitude and joy with worship, praise and thanksgiving. As the title of Psalm 147 rightly declares; ‘Great is our God and of great power,’ therefore: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah!): for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely (beautiful).’ (Ps.147:1) And isn’t that an indelible fact! When we praise our God, an indescribable feeling of joy and beauty rises up within our hearts, souls, bodies and minds and causes such an outpouring of LOVE for our Creator, Guide, Protector and Provider, that our simple human sensibilities are overwhelmed. Sometimes we get so carried away, so lost in praise that we faint or end up in a trance-like state. That’s the awesome power of our wonderful God working in us! Oh my brethren, nothing touches our souls like the LOVING-kindness of our magnanimous God! And when we respond in kind to God and our fellow man, our characterization in Jesus is fulfilled. That’s when the character of Jesus shines in and out of us like a bright light, telling the world in no uncertain terms, that we are His servants, His people, His children, the salt of the earth! We’re bright and flavourful like Jesus! Wow! And there’s no greater joy in this entire world than to be considered, both in word and deed, a true disciple of Christ! Friends, it’s the ultimate accolade a believer can ever receive on this earth! There is such blessedness in trusting the Lord, that it moved the psalmist to joyfully proclaim: ‘Praise ye the Lord (shout Hallelujah). Praise the Lord, O my soul. While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.’ (Ps.146:1-2) That’s because we cannot put our trust in deceitful, treacherous and mortal man, who has no control over his life or his circumstances. However: ‘Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever.’ (Ps.146:5-6) Oh my people, how can we dispute that when we are living proof of His wonderful care, kindness and unconditional LOVE? We can’t! For ‘Thou art good, and doest good: teach me thy statutes.’ (Ps.119:68) Yes my fellow soldiers in Christ’s growing army, our God is the best! And here’s more proof: ‘The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat (plump) and flourishing (green): To show that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.’ (Ps.92:12-15)  And all God’s people broke out into songs of praise and worship: ‘Praise Him, Praise Him, Glory Hallelujah! He is LOVE! YES! He is LOVE!’ That’s the living truth! Oh Friends, I surely hope that this short exercise in praise to our most merciful and forgiving God has raised our spirits and encouraged us to keep looking towards Him for all that we hope for and desire, to stay strong and steadfast in faith, regardless of whatever comes against us, and finally to give Him much thanks and praise, glorify Him, for all that He’s done, is doing and will do for the undeserving children of men. Till next time, God willing, let’s keep living those two great commandments; LOVING our God, and LOVING our neighbour as ourselves. That’s the stated wish of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Much LOVE!…sincere thanks and praise…can only flow…from a heart filled with LOVE and gratitude…

Ah Friends, it’s another day in the life; the first day of October, drawing closer to winter in the northern climes. But it’s also like the Good Book says: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Ps.118:24) Yes my people, it’s imperative that we aspire to enjoy the days that God so LOVINGLY grants us on this planet earth! The journey is not an easy one, but if we lose ourselves in Christ and the things that pertain to Him, we can assuredly have peace of mind, and will enjoy our earthly journey though it be littered with trials and tribulations. Such is the strength and LOVE of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who overcame the world so that we can do likewise. (John 16:33) And our Bit today tells us what not to do, if we want to enjoy the fruits of success found in Jesus. ‘And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.’ Jesus was here rebuking the Jewish religious leaders for introducing man’s religious practices into the Word of God and thus polluting it, not obeying the true Word. Oh Friends, that’s also a monumental problem in our current society. Everybody seems to be coming up with their own interpretation of the Word, consequently confusion reigns and falsehood abounds. Unfortunately it’s been a problem from way back when, as Isaiah declared re the judgement of the earth. ‘The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty (proud) people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.’ (Is.24:4-5)  And Jeremiah echoed the same sentiments in talking about punishment for Judah’s rebellion: ‘But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and the imagination (stubbornness) of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.’ (Jer.7:23-24) Oh mih people, that’s exactly what’s happening to us today! Because we have disobeyed the voice of God and instead walked in the evil ways of Lucifer, we are now paying a catastrophic price for our disobedience. We are going backward instead of forward. Just look at all the strife, dissension, oppression, greed, inequality, injustice, economic despair, fear, violence and unhappiness that’s predominant on earth today. I doubt the world has ever been in such bad shape. And it shouldn’t be, with all our scientific, technological, medical, and psychological advances, which are supposed to make us better off. And my brethren it’s all directly attributable to our foolish and selfish turning away from the ONE TRUE God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; our Creator, Provider and Protector. We’ve seen it happen to the Israelites several times, and in many other societies down through the ages. When they honour and obey God, they prosper, but when they don’t, they feel the wrath of His punishment. So why do we feel that our society is any different eh? We certainly are not! Sorry, we just might be more stupid, ignorant and stubborn than those gone before, because we have all the examples of history to learn from, but we’re making the same foolish mistakes. Oh Friends, I don’t know what else to say to get us back in tune with God nuh, because we’re so stubborn, rebellious and hard-headed. My mother called me ‘own way’. And that’s exactly what we’re currently doing; going our own way, removing God from our lives more and more each day. That brings to mind Wisdom speaking in Proverbs: ‘How long, ye simple (naïve) ones, will ye LOVE simplicity (naivety)? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought (disdained) all my counsel, and would (have) none of my reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock you when your fear (terror) cometh. When your fear (terror) cometh as desolation (a storm), and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early (diligently), but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.’ (Prov.1:22-29) That my Friends, is the lesson for today. It couldn’t be any clearer. Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…or else he will certainly feel…