Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 October 2017 2 Chronicles 7:14.

2 Chronicles 7:14.   If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Oh friends, who knows what kind of day any of us will have today eh? When we awaken, it’s usually with the expectation of a bright, productive and positive day, but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. But what’s always the case though, is that on each and every day of our lives, we are positively embraced by the Holy Trinity of our God-head. The Father is looking out for us in His wisdom, omnipotence, grace and mercy. 

Meanwhile, the Son is advocating to the Father on our behalf, and also shining down brightly on and around us, so that we can have that proverbial lamp for our feet and light for our path.  And betwixt and between all that, the Holy Spirit is operating in our spirits, showing us what the Father desires of us, helping us to do His holy will and communicate with Him through prayer.  

And regardless of how our day turns out, those three magnificent, powerful and ever-LOVING spiritual Beings are ALWAYS in our corner. Now what could be better than that eh my fellow believers? Nothing really! That’s why on this Monday morning, even if your body, soul and spirit are not in sync, and you don’t feel like getting up to go to work, you know that that feeling can be overcome through the help of our Triune God and the singing of our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. 

So let’s belt it out now nuh with as much enthusiasm as we can muster. ‘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 feel the Holy Spirit working in you: brightening up your mood, causing the adrenaline to flow as you excitedly and enthusiastically get yourself together to go out amongst the heathen and do Jesus’ work in a most diligent and excellent manner. Glory to God my people! And what work is that, some of you ask? 

Well Jesus told His disciples to ‘Go ye therefore, and teach (make disciples) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway(s), even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20) 

 And that same Great Commission also applies to us, but instead of going elsewhere, right now I believe we need to concentrate on fixing our own society, which has become so godless and evil and heretical, that an alarming number of us have never even heard about Jesus, in what is supposed to be, or at least once was a Christian Society. 

And it all begins with us acknowledging our Bit, putting those all-important, transformative words into action. ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’ 

Ah friends, how very encouraging is our God eh? For as the scholars tell us: ‘7:14-15. While this promise was originally given to Solomon regarding the people of Israel, it is certainly applicable to all who will call on the Lord in repentance and faith. These verses stand as a high expression of God’s LOVING readiness to hear the prayers of a repentant people (cf. 6:37-39; James 4:8-10).’

And there’s no doubt that although we call ourselves Christians, too many of our actions aren’t Christian-like: we’re not humble before God; we don’t seek His face or pray like we should…and don’t talk about the wickedness that exists in our ranks. Hn! That’s why I maintain that all the recent natural disasters and physical strife are a serious warning from Almighty God. 

And if you figure our Bit comes from the Old Testament so it’s outdated, then listen to James, as he talks about worldliness and pride. ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh (near) to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted and mourn (lament) and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:7-10) 

Oh friends, if we want to see brighter days and our land healed, then we’ve got to turn back to the One True and Living God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we’ve gone astray for far too long now. So let’s be wise like the Israelites of old nuh; acknowledge the warning…and repent.  Much LOVE!

…God punished His chosen people…when they went astray…so why not us eh…the chickens are coming home to roost…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 March 2016 Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9.    Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

Welcome friends to the first day of spring in the North Country, although it’s still pretty chilly outside. (smile) It’s also Sunday my people, which means it’s time to get thee hither to church, to gather with other believers to praise and worship and give thanks and glorify Almighty God and receive His power, strength, energy, wisdom, confidence and enthusiasm to face the upcoming week. 

Now this is not my suggestion, but God’s command: ‘Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day, thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. (Ex.23:12) 

And in modern day Christian society we have chosen Sundays to be our day of rest and worship, and in a convoluting kind of way, also the first day of the week. The important thing though, is that we take off one day a week from our labour and rest and worship the Lord as a group, regardless of which day it might be. 

Now listen to this other scripture about the observance of the Sabbath from the prophet Isaiah. ‘If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 

Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the  high places of the earth (the hills), and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.’ (Is.58:13-14) 

What more can we ask for re the observance, the celebration of the Sabbath eh my brethren? Nothing at all! The Lord has promised us a joyride if we faithfully observe it. (smile) 

And fortunately, today also happens to be Palm Sunday; that magnificent day of celebration, when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was ushered into Jerusalem in kingly fashion, but on a humble donkey, where the people spread their garments and branches they cut down from trees along the roadway for Him to ride over. 

‘And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.’ (Matt.20:8-9) 

Oh my people what a day of celebration that must have been in ole Jerusalem. Notwithstanding, that a week later the same fickle souls were then fiendishly crying out ‘crucify Him, crucify Him!’ That just shows what a bunch of ingrates and turncoats and hypocrites we are. 

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. (smile) Today, let’s enjoy the pomp and pageantry that was Palm Sunday, for it will be indeed a fleeting, though rather important moment in time. 

And the breathtaking aspect of the day, is as the Good Book says: ‘And all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek (lowly), and sitting upon an ass (donkey), and a colt the foal of an ass.’ (Matt.21:5)  

Oh my people, how wonderful is our God eh, who can foretell stuff centuries and eons before they come to pass! ‘Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.’ (Is.42:9) 

And the Lord did tell us about Palm Sunday long before it happened. The words of our Bit spell it out loud and clear: ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just (righteous), and having salvation; lowly (humble), and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.’ 

What an awesome God we serve and worship my people! No other supposed deity has done, or can do those things; only the Almighty and Everlasting God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

‘And all God’s people joyfully sang: ‘Praise Him, praise him, Glory Hallelujah, He is LOVE, He is LOVE!’ That He certainly is my people! 

Now here is some info from the scholars. ‘9:9-10. The ass (donkey) was an animal of peace. The kings of the earth come to bring destruction and devastation: Israel’s King comes to bring peace. The prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.’ 

Yes my people, our God is so mighty, majestic, magnificent and magnanimous that I can’t understand how so many of us can fail to appreciate, LOVE, serve and worship Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls nuh! 

He has never lied to us, never led us astray, has proven His great and unconditional LOVE for us unworthy reprobates by sending His only son Jesus to die on the cross so that we could be free, washed clean of our disgusting sins, thus reconciling us to Him, bringing us back into a right relationship with Him, offering us a free gift of grace that leads to salvation and eternal life with the Holy Trinity in heaven till time immemorial! 

What more does He have to do to convince us eh mih breddren? The only thing left is for us to be able to worship the prince of darkness and lust after and enjoy the things of the world and still get to heaven. But I can assure you friends, that’s NEVER going to happen. 

The Lord in His righteousness and holiness and justice could not agree to that. Yuh see the great heartbreaking lengths He went to, to secure our freedom; sacrificing His only Son? Now if it were possible to get into heaven another way than through Jesus sacrifice, don’t you think He would have taken it? 

Anyway, that is all now hypothetical; Jesus was sacrificed to pay for our sins, and He’s the ONLY way to get to heaven. So let’s go out and celebrate, have a wonderful Palm Sunday, sing and praise and joyfully shout ‘Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!’ Much LOVE my fellow believers!

…sing and rejoice…O daughter of Zion…for, lo, I come (am coming)…and I will dwell in the midst of thee…saith the Lord…  (Zech.2:10)