a guideline | SCRIP-BITS

Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Well it’s a big Saturday morning in the springtime, but it’s cold as ever, like a puppy dog’s nose, (smile) something like minus 5 or 6 in my area. And before we go on, let’s make one thing perfectly clear, the idea that because a date on the calendar says that the Spring Equinox has arrived, does not mean it suddenly gets warm! That is pure foolishness and fallacy yes! (smile) It’s still so and so cold – all like yesterday when the wind lent its support to the cold, though it was a bright and sunshiny day!

And the wind itself played havoc with my area yesterday, from late afternoon into the middle of the night, just howling like crazy every few minutes, having stuff creaking and clanking and whatever, leaving homeowners hopeful that no part of their houses or property got damaged by it. But it seems to have settled down now, and no serious damage seems to have been done in my area. Thank God for small mercies yes!

Anyway, since it’s Saturday let’s take a gander at some of the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week, in his noble attempt to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I laughed when I first read this one: ‘If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.’ I suppose that’s because we refer to opportunity as knocking on a door, and it only knocks once and that sort of thing.

So it’s only logical to assume that if opportunities aren’t making themselves available, then the problem might be that there is no door for them to knock on. In that case the sensible thing to do will be to build a door for them to knock on! (smile)

And the next one says: ‘I have not failed, I have just found 10,000 ways that will not work.’ Now that is the way we have to view our mistakes and supposed failures! We can’t ever give up, or stop trying, because in truth, failure is not failure until we stop trying, and that idea is found nowhere in Jesus’ philosophy.

So if you’re a believer, you can’t ever give up or stop trying; you’ve got to keep moving ahead, learning more about Christ and becoming more like Him every day, moving from glory to glory. Praise His holy name!

And this next quote segues nicely with the others: ‘The secret of getting ahead is getting started.’ Yeh friends, we can’t get anywhere until we begin going somewhere! Likewise, we can’t make any progress in our projects and/or ambitions until we begin doing stuff related to them. Everybody wants to write the great American Novel, but no one will ever do so, until and unless they begin writing it. As the Chinese Proverb so eloquently puts it: ‘The longest journey begins with the first step.’ Matter fix!

This upcoming quote is also quite relevant to our everyday lifestyle. It says: ‘To create more positive results in your life, replace ‘if only’ with ‘next time.’ So true my people, so true! We have a bad habit of saying, ‘if only so and so had happened,’ moaning about some past circumstance. But that only gets us in the negative stream of life. What we ought to be saying is ‘next time, I’ll do so and so.’ Try and keep it in the positive stream of the future. We’ll all be better for it.

And the last quote declares (right ho): ‘Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.’ Gospel truth that my brethren! It’s like the saying goes, give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. But teach him how to fish and you’ll feed him for a lifetime!

And I want to put that into perspective with the Lord’s Word: If I just tell you about it, most likely you’ll forget about it shortly thereafter. If I teach you about it, you’ll remember it for a longer period of time. However, if I involve you in the whole process, then you’ll probably learn more than in the two previous scenarios, because you are hands on in the situation, getting down and dirty with the subject matter.

Consequently friends, it is all well and good to go to church and hear sermons, but most of us, by the time we get in the parking lot have forgotten what the sermon was about, although we clapped and said numerous ‘Amen’s’ during it.’ And that’s no lie! (smile) Now, if we then go home and read up the scripture that the sermon was based on, we’ll have a better idea on what the pastor was talking about.

But better still, if we sit down and begin to contemplate, meditate, think seriously on those scriptures, then eventually we will really know them. That’s the only way to truly learn the Word my brethren! We need to get totally involved in it, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit, asking Him to talk to our hearts about it, show us how it affects or can be successfully made a part of our lives.

Please remember friends that scripture is a guideline for our lives, and until we make it such, it will be of no real use to us. Knowing it and not putting it to use is a complete waste of time. We’ll never get ahead until we begin living our earthly lives by the heavenly values found in the Lord’s Word!

And I have to chuckle here friends, because I’ve been writing all of the above with no thought of what scripture we could use to tie it all together. Then I went looking for something in the Good Book, asking the Lord to show me an appropriate one. For a couple minutes nothing happened; my flipping through the word produced nothing useable…

Then Bingo! It suddenly happened. The light went on, and I knew the perfect scripture for out Bit today! Oh, how can I ever doubt the Lord’s faithfulness eh? He doesn’t always make it easy, but He ALWAYS comes through! And the scripture we’re talking about is when the Lord spoke to Joshua, making him the leader of the Israelites after Moses’ death.

‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’

Ah mih people, it couldn’t get any plainer and more straightforward than that nuh! And here it’s the Lord Himself speaking to Joshua; straight from the horse’s mouth as it were, not secondhand info.

And if the Lord thought it important enough for Him to personally tell Joshua about the importance of keeping the Law, then it’s obviously important for us to follow the same path, for therein we too shall be prosperous and have good success. What more needs to be said eh…? Much LOVE!

…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…else he’ll certainly feel…

Psalm 119:57. Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words.

Ah friends, it’s just snow and more snow… and even more snow! Steups! We had more snow again last night and our meteorologists tell us that over the next couple days we are going to have a co-mingling of rain, freezing rain, snow, wet snow and obviously somewhere in there the most dangerous of them all, ice.

Ah Lord eh, if this is the standard for this winter then I’d better hurry up and go to Tobago yes, because I can’t take this everyday snow business nuh. (smile) Especially when Brother Kirby’s nice, hot and spicy, tasty West Indian soup is waiting for me down there. As I said before though, that’s what dreams are made of, and if you don’t dream, you might as well be dead.

Anyway, on this cold, snowy, Saturday morning, a week before Christmas, let’s check out some quotes I received this week from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us with his wise words.

Here’s the first one: ‘If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.’ Now that’s gospel friends, and essentially why liars get into trouble; they can’t remember every lie they’ve told, and to whom.

And the second states: ‘Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.’ Now that is very difficult for many of us to do, since we always tend to make lofty excuses for ourselves, but come down heavy on others. I guess it’s just a natural human reaction, selfish and unfair though it may be.

Listen to the third quote: ‘Help me never to judge another until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.’ That’s also a favourite failing of the human animal, even mature Christians. We tend to judge others without knowing a whole lot about them, and it is definitely an unchristian behaviour.

Remember, Jesus told us not to judge, else we too will be judged. But we still do it a lot. However when the shoe falls on the other foot, when we are unfairly judged…Wow! What a stink we create!

And the last one states: ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ That’s very true my brethren! And I’m sure we can all testify to it. Just think back to some of your brightest or darkest moments; you won’t remember all that was said or done, but you’ll definitely remember the emotional state in which you ended up.

That brings us to our Bit, taken from the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, which deals predominantly with Lord’s Word. ‘Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words.’

Yeh friends, throughout the Psalm, the writer continually talks about the Lord’s statutes, commandments, precepts, testimonies, judgements; how he wants to learn them, so that he can keep them. Are we so enamoured of the Lord’s Word, my fellow believers? We ought to be if we are true to our calling.

And please remember that the Lord’s Word is not for Him, but for us. We are the ones who benefit from it. It’s a guideline for us, so that we don’t mess up our earthly pilgrimage more than is necessary.

Now hear how the psalmist continues after our Bit. ‘I entreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. The bands (cords) of the wicked have robbed (bound) me: but I have not forgotten thy law.’ (Ps.119:58-51)

Oh friends, is that how we behave toward the Word of God? Is it like Jeremiah says: ‘But his word was in mine heart, as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing (holding back), and I could not stay (endure it).’ (Jer.20:9)

Yes precious people of Christ, are we eager to read God’s Word and have a great desire to speak it and keep it? I certainly hope so, otherwise we won’t be worthy of calling ourselves Christians.

And the psalmist continues thus in this passage under the heading of the Hebrew letter ‘Cheth.’ ‘At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgements. I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy (LOVING-kindness): teach me thy statutes.’ (Ps.119:62-64)

Now that’s the picture of a true believer my people! How many of us rise up at all sorts of ungodly hours to give thanks because of God’s righteous judgements eh? Are we faithful companions to and have strong fellowship with others who reverence the Lord’s name and keep His commandments?

All of that is a part of being a true Christian, including enjoying God’s LOVING-kindness which is lavished all over His great earth. And please note the psalmist’s last request: ‘teach me thy statutes.’ That is still his number one wish, for if one doesn’t know the Lord’s statutes, how can one keep them eh?

Ah friends, it’s not easy following Jesus Christ faithfully, but if we are sincere, faithful and diligent in our approach, continually reading and meditating on His commands, statutes and precepts, then we will do a fine job. But it’s oh so essential for all believers to put out the effort to learn the word of God, if we truly want to serve Him at a high level. Much LOVE!

…It is impossible to truly LOVE the Lord…without LOVING His Word…and greatly desiring to know it…and sincerely abide by it…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 March 2019 Joshua 1:8.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 December 2016 Psalm 119:57.

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