an appointed time | SCRIP-BITS

Job 14:14. If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.

Okay mih people, we’ve come full circle, it’s Sunday, the first day of the new week! Time to fellowship, worship, sing praises and give plenty thanks to our wonderful God!

Remember Friends, that the way we treat today, the way we prepare, will have an immense impact on the other six days of the week. If we prepare well, then the rest of the week will flow smoothly. So let’s be sensible and get our priorities in order today nuh.

As the Good Book proudly proclaims: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ (Ex.20:8) That means focusing on God, family, worship and rest, as much as possible today, given the 24/7 beehive-like activity of our current society.

Much as we would like to, we simply can’t shut down everything like the old days, but that doesn’t mean we can’t lay aside many of our supposedly oh so important activities. We like to claim that everything needs doing today, right now, but in reality that isn’t true. It’s just the natural go, go, go mentality of modern society that has us trained that way.

Just look at how we react when an emergency crops up; we immediately drop everything else and concentrate on that, leaving the supposedly so very important activities untended for hours, sometimes even days. Then when the emergency is over, we come back and pick up those activities where we left them off.

I guess then the best way to handle the Sabbath in the right way, is to consider it an emergency; an emergency to meet and greet our great Creator, so that we can refresh our attitudes, regain both our physical and spiritual strength to face the world without fear and trepidation for the following six days.

If God, in His omnipotence, could rest from His labour for one day after creating the universe, why can’t we feeble, finite humans do the same eh? And that’s all I have to say on the subject! (smile)

So let’s now turn to our Bit: ‘If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time (hard service) will I wait, till my change come.’

Waiting, my Friends, waiting on Jehovah God is everything! As Bruh Paul said to the Galatians: ‘For we through the Spirit wait (eagerly wait) for the hope of righteousness by faith.’ (Gal.5:5)

And the scholars’ explain that verse thus: ‘5:5. Through the Spirit means that by the Holy Spirit’s help, which is obtained by faith, believers wait for the hope of righteousness, that is, live the Christian life awaiting the consummation of their salvation.’

No doubt about it my brethren; if we believe in God, then we will wait on Him and His perfect timing. And as Bruh Paul also informed the church at Rome: ‘For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain (suffers birth pangs) together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for (eagerly awaiting) the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience (perseverance) wait for (eagerly await) it.’ (Rom.8:22-25)

What Bruh Paul is basically talking about here is the senseless pain we’ve been made to suffer through Adam’s fall from grace, and the waiting we’re doing for us to be redeemed in body.

And not only on heavenly things must we learn to wait, but also on earthly things. It takes time to build, to grow, to put together anything at all, and in the process there’s always a period of waiting, which this current society doesn’t do well at all, with its gung ho, always on the go, now for now approach. But that’s why patience, the art of waiting, is called a virtue, and why Job is called the Father of patience.

Now hear these wise and wonderful words of Bruh David from Psalm 62: God only is my rock and my salvation. ‘My soul (silently) wait thou only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken).

In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.’ (Ps.62:5-8)

Words of absolute truth and wisdom my people! Now listen to how the Lord instructed the prophet Habakkuk, when He told him to write the vision of his prophecy on stone tablets. ‘For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab.2:3)

Yes my fellow believers, all things promised by Almighty God WILL come, when He considers the time to be right! Our part is to do our best and hang in with hungry hope and expectant faith till the God appointed time.

And we’ll close with one of the most direct and important instructions of waiting in the Good Book; that from Jesus to the apostles before He ascended into heaven.

‘And being assembled with them (the apostles), commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.’ (Acts 1:4-5)

And we all know that some forty days later, at the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended ‘from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:2-4)

And from that time on Friends, the Holy Ghost has indwelt EVERYONE who believes, who puts their trust and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. What more can I say eh my people?

It’s now up to us to follow through with a strong passion and focus on the things of God, led by the Holy Spirit, be the figurative salt and light of this ungodly and evil world, so that Jesus’ LOVE Revolution will prevail, and God’s great wish will come true – that ALL will come to salvation. Much LOVE!

…to every thing…there is a season…and a time…to every purpose under heaven… (Eccl.3:1)

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 November 2012 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Oh Friends, it’s that time again; Daylight Savings Time has ended. We’ve gotten back the hour we lost in March. I had to look that up, because I thought it was in June we switched over. Hn! Didn’t realize we’ve been on it so long now. And who knows if it really makes any positive difference to our lives, but the powers that be, the money men, seem to think so. To me, it only means that my old, but dear to my heart watch is now carrying the correct time. (smile) That’s because two or three years ago, the cap from the stem broke off, so I couldn’t adjust the time, and a watchmaker in his wisdom told me it wasn’t worth fixing since it would cost more than the watch was worth. So I just left it that way and mentally adjusted the time difference during Daylight Saving Time. And it’s been working pretty well. Consequently the two or three other watches I have sit and languish for long periods of time, because they’re (a) too fanciful for my taste, and (b) this one I’m wearing looks just as good in the fields as in the wedding party, and (c) I’ve grown accustomed to it. In any case I don’t use it that much to tell time since I can’t see it properly without my glasses, (smile) and there is usually a big clock in most places I go. And talking about time helps us to smoothly segue into our Bit: ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ Ah Friends, Peter is here referring to Jesus’ Second Coming, and is encouraging us to basically keep on living in hope because our God isn’t slack or unreliable, as many of us are, regarding our promises. If the Lord makes an unconditional promise, as He has, re Jesus coming again, then He WILL fulfill it. The reason that Peter puts forth here, for it taking as long as it has, is that our ever-LOVING heavenly Father doesn’t want anyone to perish in the fire next time, cause He sincerely wishes for ALL His creation to come to salvation and thus escape the incendiary conflagration that’s going to end this age on earth. And why is Peter telling us this? ‘That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers (mockers), walking after (according to) their own lusts, And saying, where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep (died), all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of (forget), that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against (until) the day of judgement and perdition (destruction) of ungodly men.’ (2 Pet.3:2-7) Now hear the scholars with a more concise explanation than I can give. ‘Peter further warns that in the last days of the church age, scoffers will ridicule the promise of Christ’s second coming. He further states that arguments based on supposedly unchanging processes since creation fail to recall the severity of the flood of water upon the earth. Just as God once destroyed the world by water, so it is now reserved unto fire until the day of judgement. See the description of fiery judgements in Revelation 17-19.’ Peter then goes on to inform us in the verse before our Bit: ‘But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ (2 Pet/3:8) That means time to the Lord is almost immaterial; a thousand years to Him is like one day to us. The psalmist says it thus: ‘For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.’ (Ps.90:40) He makes it even shorter, like a night watch, about three or four hours. Now my beautiful Scrip-Bit Friends, let’s look at a scripture that tells us a whole lot about God’s promises and His timing concerning them. It’s from Habakkuk, talking about the just shall live by his faith, where the Lord summarily instructs him: ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables (on tablets), that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ (Hab.2:2-3) Here’s how the scholars explain that: ‘Write the vision…upon tables refers to the common practice of writing public notices with such large characters on the clay tablets that someone running by could easily read them. If the notice was a warning it would also cause the reader to run quickly to prepare for what was coming. An appointed time indicates a specific future fulfillment of Habakkuk’s prophecy of the fall of Babylon. See Daniel 5:30-31.’ Yes mih people, though God’s promises may take a while to be fulfilled, they WILL come to pass. It took many centuries before God’s promise to make Abraham the father of many nations came true. It also took several centuries after Isaiah prophesied about the first coming of Jesus before it happened. So the two thousand years since Jesus left earth is only like two days in God’s time. But be assured my brethren, it WILL happen, when God judges the time to be right. So in the meanwhile, please let’s live by faith, and patiently wait for it to happen nuh. Much LOVE!…the Son will definitely come again…but as to when…only the Father knows….so be ever ready…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 September 2014 Job 14:14

Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 November 2012 2 Peter 3:9

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