Psalm 79:9. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away (provide atonement for) our sins. for thy name’s sake.
Awright mih people, the weekend is over, it’s time to rise and shine and get back to labouring, for Monday calls us to battle once again. Shake off the sleep and lethargy and get thee hither! (smile) There’s no time for pussyfooting and complaining, because the Lord’s work is out there waiting to be done.
So to help us get in the right spirit, the right frame of mind, let’s deliver one of our best renditions ever of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. As one glorious, heavenly choir, let’s blow them away my brethren, put a spark in Jesus’ eyes and get the Father to dancing and thus even more eager to bless us than normal.
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 friends, yes! That was superlative! You could see the pride in Jesus eyes as He realized that we were poised for greatness today. And you better believe, we were so sweet that the Father had to come down of his throne and do a li’l two step jig. Glory to God!
Yes mih breddren, it’s the right beginning to a new day, especially a Monday. So let’s keep that spiritual fire burning nuh as we go out into the evil and ungodly world, with expectant faith and hungry hope and do the will and work of Jesus!
And today I have a quote to share, attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) the famous American architect, interior designer, writer and educator. And it says: ‘The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.’
And I definitely agree with that, simply because the longer you live the more you know and learn about life, especially if you are a Christian, for as you mature in Christ, you find life much more rewarding and interesting, despite its many problems and pitfalls.
So for all of us who are getting older, entering the winter of our years, please let’s look at life with new eyes nuh, let’s expect that we will achieve the best each day has to offer, as we journey on, in and with Christ.
Oh friends, the ole fella’s on a roll this morning. The Holy Spirit is working… no doubt about that… and our beautiful rendition of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn just has the adrenaline gushing through my veins.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away (provide atonement for) our sins, for thy name’s sake.’
And that strikes me as being a rather appropriate one during this Lenten season, where the Lord did just what the psalmist Asaph asked; ‘purge away ( provide atonement for) our sins,’ through the substitutionary, sacrificial death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Good Friday.
And you know what I particularly like about that plea? How Asaph invokes God’s sentimentality re His glory and His name: ‘for the glory of thy name… for thy name’s sake.’ We all know how touchy He is about His glory and His name, as He declares through Isaiah. ‘I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.’ (Is.42:8)
Yes friends, nothing gets our God angry as not giving Him His rightful praise and glory. But Asaph’s plea was no doubt sincere as the heathen; the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem and taken its citizens into captivity. The Lord had allowed this because of Israel’s backsliding and worshipping of idols.
And he continues in the same vein. ‘Wherefore should the heathen (nations, gentiles) say, Where is their God? Let him be known among the heathen in our sight by the revenging (avenging) of the blood of thy servants which is shed.’ (Ps.79:10)
During a time of severe famine in Judah, the prophet Jeremiah also prayed a similar prayer to Asaph’s. ‘O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.’ (Jer.14:7)
Oh my people, I believe the very same thing can be said about our recent behaviour. We have tossed God out of our public institutions, with the worship of all sorts of man-made idols daily increasing, while parents no longer seem to instruct their children in the Word of God, which leads to their utter sinfulness.
And I like how Jeremiah continues pleading for his people, although God tells him not to. ‘We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.’ (Jer.14:21)
Oh friends, our society right now is in the same khaki pants that Israel was in back then, and only acknowledgement of our sinfulness and repentance will cause God to possibly relent from whatever calamity He has planned for us. And yuh better believe He has something big planned, if we continue our wicked ways, something that will eventually evolve out of all the relatively small stuff that’s happening now.
All I can ask is that we wake up and do our best to turn things around, a.s.a.p. otherwise the ending will be real calamitous, and our children will bear the brunt of it. Much LOVE!
…the Lord’s patience endures for long…but when it snaps…then come the fireworks…
SCRIP-BITS 