Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 April 2020 Psalm 63:3.

Psalm 63:3.    Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
 

And then it was Monday… a new day and a new week, but the world was still in panic and pandemic mode. However, true believers in Almighty God were calm and peaceful, as they faithfully declared like Bruh David did when he was running in the wilderness of Judah from his many enemies: ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.’ (Ps. 63:1) Ah friends, many of us figuratively feel like we’re in a wilderness without water today because of our many unsolvable problems, some of us might even be literally in a dry desert. 

But please take heart, the Lord knows our situations, and He’s in the process of fixing them, we just have to remain faithful and stick close to Him, as Jesus so powerfully and truthfully declared: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) He couldn’t have put it any plainer than that. So there are two basic things we need to do this early Monday morning, in fact every morning. The first thing is to stick close to our great God, then the next is to seek His face early with prayer; hopefully as soon as we are consciously awake. 

Yes, we don’t even have to get out of bed, before we offer some thanks and praise, and asking for health and wisdom to have a good day while being obedient to His will. And that will usually set the tone for our day; allowing the Lord to get into our soul and spirit first, rather than give Beelzebub the first chance to corrupt our fragile and tender souls. For as Bruh David continued, two verses down: ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.’ 

Wow mih people! What a powerful, and oh so truthful statement! The Lord’s mercy is indeed better than life…in fact it is life giving, in the sense that without His abundant mercy, we wouldn’t have any life at all, since we have all sinned and come short of His glory, and the penalty for sin is death. But because mercy is not receiving what we deserve, He’s been merciful to a fault and allowed us to have salvation and eternal life! And yes, I did digress a tad there, (smile) but I thought it was important to point out that small matter. Hn, hn! 

So where were we? Oh yeh! We were talking about sticking to Jesus like white on rice, and seeking His face in prayer early everyday. Now assuming that we’ve already stuck to Him, let’s seek His face in prayer through our Monday Morning Covid-19 Battle Hymn nuh. As one body now, with sincere hearts: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive, and hopefully haven’t contracted the virus that’s causing havoc around our world. 

Despite the crucial lockdown, those of us considered essential, still have go to work, and we’re somewhat fearful, because we have no idea, how, when and where the virus might strike. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction. 

Please show us how to successfully handle this scourge that’s plaguing the earth, and help the scientists to find a positive solution, a sure antidote to it as quickly as possible. And for those who have already contracted the virus, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

And yuh know what friends, because the Lord judges us by the state of our hearts and not our mouths, and our hearts just now were truly sincere, we know that the Lord will answer our prayer, just in His own time! And that’s the part that gives us trouble; the waiting for His timing. But as He says, His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, so if we’re smart, we’ll just wait with a good attitude, until He achieves whatever He desired to achieve when He allowed the deadly virus to proliferate in such a worldwide manner. 

Consequently, wisdom decrees that we declare and behave like Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best; lit. fat) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after (close behind) thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.’ (Ps. 63:4-8) 

And that last clause is the gospel truth my fellow saints in Christ – the Lord’s strong right hand is what upholds us in this earthly pilgrimage. And when we remember all that the Lord’s already done for us, is now doing, and has promised to do in the future, then ought our mouths to loudly sing His praises through joyful lips, and our attachment to Him, never falter, as we constantly seek His face, early in the morning, during the day, and late at night. That’s how true saints, true believers ought to live my brethren! Much LOVE!

…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 November 2017 Psalm 36:7.

Psalm 36:7.   How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

And yes, it’s cloudy, it might even rain, but you know that doesn’t detract in the least from the light and LOVE in our Christian hearts deposited there by our Leader, our Friend, our Brother, our Lord and Saviour, our Advocate, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ! 

Oh what a mighty man is our Jesus! He just had to be with the many hats He wears in our lives. So how could we do anything but LOVE Him eh? It would be most unworthy and ungrateful of us, especially in this Thanksgiving time. 

That brings us to our Saturday feature, Anselm’s Quotes; quotes from a brother who sincerely aspires to lead us to a better tomorrow. And the first one addresses what we were just talking about. ‘Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.’ 

Oh friends, there’s no better way of living this life than with an attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving, for that’s the way God expects us to live. And doing so, just energizes our Spirits and allows more favourable things to keep happening. 

The second quote declares that ‘Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.’ And if you truly expect to win, then you had better have the optimism and winning picture in your mind’s eye, otherwise the winning might not come to pass. 

That’s because a large part of winning is mental, of seeing yourself in the winners’ circle. And what’s the point of doing something if you don’t expect to be successful at it eh? None whatsoever! 

And this last quote says it all. If what you are doing is not moving you towards your goals, then it’s moving you away from your goals.’ Simple logic friends. (smile) Your actions and efforts can only carry you one way, hopefully in the direction you desire. 

But yuh know people, the wisest and best way to achieve any kind of success in this life is by following the gospel truth words of Bruh David in our Bit. ‘How excellent (precious) is thy LOVING-kindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.’ 

And why wouldn’t we do that if God is our Creator and Provider eh? Because we’re too full of ourselves, possess too much pride and arrogance, foolishly believing that our success has been wrought solely by our hands. Hogwash! Heifer dust! NOTHING is ever done without God’s help or hindrance! 

And the psalmist truthfully declares it in his opening remarks of Psalm 92 – Praises for the Lord’s goodness. ‘It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High: 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 through thy work: I will triumph in the work of thy hands.’ (Ps.92:1-4) 

Yeh friends, it’s ONLY through the work of God’s hands in the background that mankind can ever be successful! Please, let’s remember that and give Him the kind of praise and thanksgiving, glory and gratitude that He deserves nuh. For if He doesn’t get the exaltation He believes He deserves, He is just liable to leave us to do it all on our own, and the wise ones know that we can’t do much of anything on our own. 

And Bruh David knew that, that’s why when he was suffering in the wilderness, running from Saul and his many enemies, he could write in Psalm 63 – God satisfies the thirsting soul. ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.’ (Ps.63: 3-7) 

Ah mih people, if a man on the run from murderous enemies in a dry and thirsty land can sing the praises of our God so loudly and marvelously, then there must be lots of truth to his words, since his situation is definitely not a joyful or pleasant one. 

So what’s it to be eh friends? Shall we follow the Lord, or shall we follow our own animal instincts? It’s an individual choice we all have to make, and make soon too, because once Christ returns, it will be too late. 

But yuh know what, as Joshua said so long ago, when he put the same question to the Israelites; ‘but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Josh.24:15d) 

Yes friends, I have yet to see any good reason to do otherwise. Hope you feel the same way too, for that is wisdom of eternal proportions! Much LOVE!

…to sincerely follow Jehovah God…should be a no-brainer…if one believes His holy word…