2 Chronicles 24:20. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
Oh Friends, I came to write the Bit just now, with no intro in mind. But as usual, the Lord, in His awesome LOVING-kindness pointed me to one. I went to straighten out a picture on my cluttered desk and inadvertently disturbed some other stuff, amongst them a couple of the sayings we find in the Chinese fortune cookies. And while replacing them, this particular one, struck me as being rather relevant to today. It simply says: ‘All that we are arises with our thoughts.’ And that’s ever so true my people, because our thoughts are what guide and propel our actions. That means bad or evil thoughts will lead to similar actions, while good, wholesome thoughts will bring good, wholesome actions. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to do at the beginning of this New Year via our Bit; change our concentration from being uppermost on Lucifer and the mindless things of the world, to Jesus and the awesome, soul-inspiring things of heaven. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.’ The Bit is quite plain and to the point Friends. The people of Israel had turned from the God of their fathers, who had given them prosperity, to worshipping idols. And it’s obvious if you worship idols, or any other supposed god beside He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, you will not prosper. Moses said that to the Israelites, long, long ago. ‘And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress (overstep) the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper (succeed). Go not up, for the Lord is not among you; that ye be not smitten before (defeated by) your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the Lord, therefore the Lord will not be with you.’ (Num.14:41-43) But they didn’t listen to Moses, rebelliously went out to battle, and were totally slaughtered. The same thing happened with our Bit. The king Joash had been saved as a baby by his sister Jeho-shabeath from the wicked queen Athaliah, who usurped the throne after her son Ahaziah’s death, killing all the royal heirs. Now, Jeho-shabeath was the wife of Jehoiada the priest, and they hid Joash in the temple for six years, while Athaliah reigned wickedly over the land. (2 Chr.22) In the fullness of time though, through Jehoiada’s influence and cunning, the people rebelled against Athaliah, slew her and made Joash king at the age of 7. ‘And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.’ (2 Chr.24:20) However, after Jehoiada died at age 130, Joash listened to the fawning princes of the land who came and made obeisance to him. ‘And they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served groves (wooden images) and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass.’ (2 Chr.24:18) But our God LOVES us so much that He just doesn’t give up on us. ‘Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.’ (2 Chr.24:19) Oh Friends, that’s the same thing that’s happening in our crazy, confused, misguided world today! The Lord’s sending His messengers to us to tell us repent and come back to Him, else our lives will be devastated. But just like the Israelites of old, we’re not listening. We still insist on going about our own disobedient, rebellious way, instead of doing God’s will. What do you think will be the eventual out come eh? Listen to this. When the Holy Spirit came upon Zechariah and he testified against his people, they conspired against him, and stoned him on the orders of Joash, the king. Joash conveniently forgot the goodness of Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada, who raised him like his own son. But remember Friends, our God says that revenge is His, and he will repay in due time. (Deut.32:35) Consequently, at the end of that year, the Syrian army invaded Judah and Jerusalem, killed the princes, left Joash badly wounded, and sent an abundance of spoil back to Damascus. (2 Chr.24:23) Now please listen carefully to this next verse Friends. ‘For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the Lord delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgement against Joash.’ (2 Chr.24:24) Yuh see mih people, the Lord rights all wrongs in His own way and time! And believe me, right now He is righting some of our wrongs with the devastating changes and problems we’re facing. That’s why I’m urging us to repent and turn back to Jehovah God this year of 2013. It’s imperative that we do so Friends, because I believe this will be a watershed, make or break year. Hear how Cousin Sol tells it in Proverbs. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov.28:13) It couldn’t be any plainer than that mih breddren. Life is tough all around and none of the schemes or solutions of men are working because the problems are too big and complex for our puny minds to even conceive, much less solve. And if we can’t solve our problems, then the only logical and wise move is to turn to Jehovah God, the Creator, Controller and Provider of the universe. And we’ll end with this appropriate piece of scripture, a warning from the prophet Azariah. Please pay close attention to it, because it’s exactly what’s happening right now. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet (before) Asa, (the king) and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations (turmoil) were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of (by) nation, and city of city: for God did vex (trouble) them with all adversity. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.’ (2 Chr.15:1-7) That’s the Word of the Lord Friends; we shall either live by it, or die without it. Much LOVE!…he who does not obey…will certainly pay…that’s the Lord’s decree from day one…and it hasn’t changed…neither will it ever…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 January 2013 2 Chronicles 24:20
02 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: body of Christ, civil tongues, closer walk with God, commandments, differences, dissensions, doctrines, evil spirits, fellowship, glorify God, God's righteous kingdom, goodwill, heartfelt plea, New Year's resolutions, pleas, pleasant demeanour, positive change, power hungry, prosperity, religion, sacrifice, transgressions, true heart of Christ, unity
2 Chronicles 24:20. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
Oh Friends, it’s day 2 of 2013, and for many of us the common grind and daily task begins again today. But can I plead one heartfelt plea with us? Please, as this Christmas and New Year seasons wind down, please let us not go back to the crude, rude, unmannerly, resentful, disgusting way we’ve been treating each other in the past year. It’s just not becoming of us, my people. For once in our life, let’s allow the goodwill and fellowship of the season to continue right through the New Year nuh. We don’t have to hug and kiss, or even like everybody we come into contact with, but we can surely have a more civil tongue in our heads and more pleasant demeanour. That doesn’t cost us anything, but it shows the true heart of Christ. As I said yesterday, there’s only one New Year’s resolution our entire world needs to make, and that’s to purpose a closer walk with Jesus! And being kind and considerate to our fellow humans is the first step in that direction. As the great philosopher Plato reputedly said eons ago; ‘The beginning is the most important part of the work.’ And that’s no lie Friends! I can attest to that just in writing the Bit everyday. The biggest hurdle is to get started. But once I do, everything comes together smoothly. And I’m sure most of you can also attest to the universal fact that making the first move in anything, always takes the most effort and courage. The Chinese Proverb puts it this way: ‘The longest journey begins with the first step.’ That’s also undeniable truth! So if we really want to have a closer walk with Jesus this year, it means we have to begin at the beginning, for though it’s the hardest part of the process, it’s also the most important. For to accomplish anything, we have to begin somewhere, sometime. Now does that get me any marks as a philosopher? (smile) From the lukewarm response, I’d guess not. But it’s the truth anyway. Now turning to our Bit: ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.’ Oh Friends, I believe this will be the most important Bit of this year 2013, because it’s where we take stock of ourselves and those connected to us, of our individual society and of our world. It’s when we seriously try to turn the tables on the evil spirits and people who are currently controlling our lives and our world and ruining them. And what amazes, as well as disturbs me, is that the answer to all our problems is so easy, it’s right before our very eyes; turning back to having a true and sincere faith in Almighty God and having Him play significant roles in our individual lives and our societies. But for some unexplainable reason we seem afraid and/or reluctant to do it. But I do know it’s the right thing for us to do. It’s the only action that will get us out of the sad state we’re currently mired in. But unfortunately, right now, most of us seem to be listening to a different tune from Lucifer and his evil cronies, and thus they are now holding sway. Believe me though, my brethren, if only we, the church, the body of Christ could get back to working AS ONE, instead of fighting each other, we’d eat up, defeat the enemy in no time at all. But it’s the foolish divisions among Christ’s people that allow Beelzebub’s minions to rule the roost. The enemy is successfully using the old divide and conquer tactic on us. But unless and until the mostly petty and unimportant dissensions and differences are seriously addressed and worked out between Christ’s people, His church will not attain any real victory here on earth. But the devil’s in the details; reducing things like power struggles, streamlining doctrines, etc. etc. It’s always the selfish, power hungry, have to be right attitudes that spoil the show. And sadly, that’s not the attitude championed by Christ. It’s time Friends, for us to put up, or simply shut up. It’s time for Christ’s church to come together, to form a cohesive group, preaching what Christ preached, not what we want to preach or hear. If this doesn’t happen very soon, the church is just going to get more fractured and lose what little authority and acceptance it has left. And it’s only true believers, those who are willing to make the sacrifice, like Jesus did, who will affect or cause positive change in the evil doings of our world. But until we work together as ONE, that will never happen. Oh please, my fellow brethren in Christ, I’m appealing, pleading, begging, whatever action it takes, for us to get real serious about our faith, to get together and fight for it, otherwise we’re going to eventually lose it. Just look at some of the other faiths nuh, who though they worship dead and incompetent gods, their great belief, courage and zeal has them fighting tooth and nail to promote their unrighteous cause. Meanwhile, we, the Christians, who supposedly worship the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, fight amongst ourselves, sit on our laurels, seeking individual fame and glory, and refuse to make the effort to seriously come together and make a concerted effort to win the world for Christ, as He so humbly asked us to do. Oh Friends, I’m chuckling here, because this is one of those times when I was led to just get on our case about our dissensions and divisions, our inactivity, our hypocrisy, and all the wrong and bad things in the church, as we know it. Ah Lord eh! When will we learn my people, when will we wake up to the reality that life’s passing us by, and that our efforts are both lacklustre and insufficient? I don’t know if my pleas will make any difference to anything, but Friends, somebody’s got to cry out for unity between Christ’s people and His church, or else we’ll all just keep on going down to hell in the hand basket of petty divisions, of evil and worldly lusts we’ve chosen to put ourselves into. In closing, I just hope and pray that the Lord will take us to task this notable year of 2013, and put it in our hearts to truly be an example of righteousness to the unbelievers, as well as the believers, because they too need proper examples to help them guide their lives on the right path. But Friends, most of that can, or will never happen unless we start to truly LOVE our God, truly LIVE our Christian Faith, and truly SPREAD the WORD of God, as we ought to. Much LOVE!…may the good Lord convict our hearts and minds…at the start of this New Year…RIGHT NOW…to walk ever closer to Him…and thus increase and glorify His righteous kingdom…Amen…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 January 2013 2 Chronicles 24:20
01 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 2013, closer walk with God, commandments, faithful promises, forgiveness, forsaken God, gospel truth, Happy New Year, heady times, heartfelt greetings, LOVE, loving kindness, mercy, never give up, New Year resolutions, New Year's Day, prosperity, Spirit of God, transgressions, victory, wisdom, words of wisdom, worldly things, worldy idols
2 Chronicles 24:20. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
Aye Friends, it’s New Year’s Day 2013! Wow! That calls for enthusiastic, heartfelt greetings. Happy New Year to all my Scrip-Bit Family! And please remember that 2013 will be an even better year for us than 2012 was. The Lord’s promised this, and we all know that He faithfully keeps all of His promises. I guess you also realized that the Bit would be late today, because like many of you, I did a bit of partying last night, celebrated New Year’s all around the world, right up to Calgary at 2 a.m. my time. The party was small, just family, but rousing and interesting. Made me believe the wisdom of staying home, cause when I got tired in the wee hours, I just went upstairs to my bed. And I admit that it was a bit difficult getting up this morning. When the Lord woke me up around 5 a.m. I pleaded, ‘No Lord, please, not yet!’ (smile) And in His wisdom and wonderful LOVING-kindness, He granted me another hour’s rest. Yuh see why I LOVE Him so! No doubt many of you are in the same boat, not in a rush to read my words of wisdom this first day of 2013, (smile) as I wasn’t in a rush to write them. But like the mail, the Bit must go out! Better late than never. Now turning to the problem of resolutions… yes, it has become a problem, because we rush to make them at the beginning of the year, often with good intentions, but a short while thereafter, we either forget them or intentionally discard them. That’s mainly because they are mostly worldly things. However Friends, you know there’s only one resolution we really need to make at the beginning of each year; and that’s just to promise that we’ll walk closer with Jesus. Now that encompasses everything! If we simply concentrate on walking closer with Christ, then everything else will fall into their rightful places. That’s why Jesus was so emphatic and adamant with those memorable words: ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) And that, my brethren, is the only strategy we really need to follow in this current, evil, ungodly age! That brings us to our first Bit of this New Year, one I consider rather appropriate for these undoubtedly wicked times. ‘And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.’ And that’s the gospel, gospel truth my people! If you’re honest with yourselves, you’ll realize that many of the woes and disasters that have recently befallen our individual societies, and our world in general, is because like the foolish, fickle Israelites of old, who were supposed to know better, we too have turned away from Jehovah God and taken to worshipping Lucifer and his evil, worldly desires. A few days ago, while doing my daily Bible reading, I came upon our Bit, and it struck me as being so relevant to our times that I wanted to rush and use it, but I was guided to hold it until today, a more significant occasion, where people were liable to pay more attention to it. And in one of His small, but nonetheless mysterious and miraculous movements, the Lord caused me to hear a song last night that fits in very appropriately with it. The title of the song is simply ‘Superior’ by an artist called Gentleman. And the chorus goes like this: ‘I know Jah LOVING is superior. Your devil complex inferior. Worshipping material. Bowing to your silver and gold.’ Oh my brethren, that is such an apt description of our current world, that I couldn’t let it go by unnoticed! Unfortunately though, I don’t know what to say or do to change that evil, unwise behaviour, since all my best words and actions seem to fall on deaf ears, so powerful is the current lure of Beelzebub and his worldly lust. But what makes us the champions that we truly are, my fellow believers, is that we don’t EVER give up. The victory has already been won; it’s just for us to keep on fighting tooth and nail to ensure that it stays that way. Oh my people, this year of 2013 gives us the great opportunity to make a brand new start, to seriously consider all the options available to us, and to wisely choose to follow Jesus, cause he’s the ONLY way to salvation and eternal life! I won’t badger us with much scripture today, because I know that even in the best of times we seem reluctant to read it, so you can imagine the resistance this New Year’s day, with all the celebrations going on. However, I will badger us to use logic and common sense, to just look around and see what’s really happening in our world, and remember, if you’re old enough, the bye gone days when our world leaned more towards righteousness and Jehovah God than the evil of Lucifer, and consequently it was also much more prosperous, merciful, LOVING, and forgiving. And if you’re too young to remember those heady times, then please read your Bible, ask your parents or older associates, and check out the history of your own country and the world over the last fifty years, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Anyway, enough for today. Please, let’s all give much thanks and praise to our heavenly Father for bringing us safely through another fateful year, and allowing us to see this new one, where we’ll all seriously endeavour to walk closer with Him. That’s my special wish and prayer for us this wonderful upcoming year of 2013! And all God’s people said a loud, grateful and enthusiastic ‘Praise the Lord! Amen.’ Yes Friends, 2013 will be a most memorable and victorious year, not only for believers, but also for our entire world. Please believe it, see it with your eyes of faith, so that with God’s help, we can bring it to reality. Much LOVE!…just a closer walk with thee…this year of 2013…blessed Jesus is my plea…walking ever closer to thee…let it be…dear Lord…please let it be…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 September 2012 2 Samuel 23.3
12 Sep 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: blessings, bureaucracy, commandments, cooperation, corruption, fallen nature, God's glorious kingdom, heartfelt thanks, Jesus, justice, laws, mercy, praise to God, reign, righteousness., truth, unchanging, wise advice
2 Samuel 23:3. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
Oh Friends, another beautiful day is in the offing! Let’s give our most wonderful God some praise for that nuh. ‘Oh Lord, you are so generous and merciful to your often ungrateful earthly children. However, today, we give You much heartfelt thanks and praise for favouring us with the breath of life and allowing us to see, for at lest one more day, all the wonders of creation that You have designed and made for our enjoyment. We also offer thanks for the many other blessings that You have prepared to shower us with today. We LOVE You Lord, and ask that You help us to walk worthy of You down here on this wicked, ungodly earth, furthering your glorious kingdom as we go. All this we pray in the Holy Name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who shed His precious blood at Calvary, so that we could once more be connected to You, and enjoy your everlasting mercies. Amen!’ Ah mih people, the ole fella got carried away there, because there’s so much to thank our ever-LOVING God for! I’m not sure though how many of us realize how truly lucky… no not lucky, but truly blessed we are to be living the comparatively good life that we currently enjoy. We’re living better than approximately 90 % of the world. But do we even know that? And if we do, do we give sufficient thanks for our blessed situations? Remember Bruh Paul’s wise and timely advice to the Ephesians: ‘Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph.5:20) I do believe though, that if more of us would give more thanks, more often, our world would improve quite a lot. So Friends, let’s try and improve our giving of thanks nuh, so that our world would become a much better place, and thus raise up brethren who can, and will comply with our Bit. ‘The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.’ Now yesterday we looked at some scripture that dealt with the meaning of the term ‘Rock’ in our faith, and saw that it was basically a description of a stable, unchanging, powerful Deity, who, amongst other things, offers His followers peace, rest, safety and eternal salvation. And we also noted that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was the ONLY ONE in possession of such amazing attributes. Today, let’s look at the second part of our Bit; ‘He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.’ Hn! It will certainly be difficult to find that kind of ruler in this day and age yes Friends! But unfortunately it’s exactly the kind of leader’s we need to try and bring some semblance of balance and righteousness to our very unbalanced, very disturbed, troubled and ungodly world. And the sad part is that when such leaders rise up, the evil minions of Lucifer do their very best to beat and/or keep them down, while the righteous mostly sit around and wring their hands in anxiety, but don’t do too much to help. Ah mih breddren, be it known that a leader is only as good as the people he leads. That’s why the saying ‘people get the leaders they deserve’ is oh so true. Look at Moses; one of the greatest leaders of all time. He was doing his very best to lead some two million people through the wilderness, but do you think they would cooperate with him, even after seeing all the miracles their God had performed in their favour? No sir! They just kept on grumbling and complaining about every little inconvenience. Shades of us nowadays eh! The stress and strain of leading that rebellious and disobedient people were certainly taking a toll on Moses until his father-in law, Jethro, gave him some wise and wonderful advice. ‘Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy (much) for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel (advice), and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.’ (Ex.18:18-22) Sure words of wisdom my brethren! However, in today’s society it sets up too many levels of authority, which only lead to unwieldy bureaucracy, and is a sure breeding ground for all kinds of corruption. But it’s still the best way for men to rule, for one man cannot do it all, and do it properly too, regardless of how just, righteous and reverential he is. I guess it will just have to continue like that until the righteous reign of the branch of Jesse is entrenched. Please read Isaiah 11: 1-5 for that, as we don’t have time nor space to include it. Yes Friends, when Jesus finally comes to reign over His followers in a world without sin and evil, then there’ll be need for only ONE Ruler! Please, let’s think on that today, and let it guide us as we go along our righteous way. Much LOVE!…when men rule over men…there will always be problems…because of our fallen nature…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 September 2012 Proverbs 3:3
02 Sep 2012 1 Comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: commandments, favour, glorify God, God's Law, Good God, great commission, guard your heart and mind, heart, high esteem, Hurricane Isaac, hypocrisy, long life, mercy, mind, oneness of purpose, prosperity, Sunday, thanks and praise, thanksgiving, truth
Proverbs 3:3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.
Oh Friends, let’s begin today by giving much thanks for life, health and liberty! And all God’s people declared a grateful, ‘Thank You Lord for all the blessings in my life!’ Let’s also be thankful that the young Christian girl imprisoned in Pakistan for supposed blasphemy, allegedly burning some pages of a holy book, will be safe from the mob that’s been crying out for her breath of life, for at least another two weeks. That’s when her case comes up again. What ignorance and hypocrisy eh! And closer to home, let’s also offer heartfelt thanks that Hurricane Isaac didn’t do as much damage to Louisiana and the other South-western States as expected. This time the anchors (levees) held, unlike when Katrina descended upon them. Oh Friends, our God is certainly a GOOD GOD! He’s so wonderful, that even in the midst of tragedy, believers can always see the light of His LOVING presence, and feel His gentle, saving touch. Now remember that today is Sunday, so all those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, if at all possible, please get out and fellowship with other believers, giving thanks and praise to God in unity and oneness of purpose. For as we’ve been saying over the last few days, a unified church is very essential in successfully fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission. (Matt. 28:19-20) And before we get to our Bit, let’s hear how Cousin Sol in exhorting us to obedience, opens Chapter 3, as a lead up to it. ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.’ (Prov.3:1-2) Now that’s the living truth my people! For when we keep the Lord’s law, then we are divinely blessed with peace and long, prosperous lives. And now we can segue smoothly into our Bit: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.’ Yes Friends, those two things, mercy and truth, are of the utmost importance in the lives of EVERY believer. Why? Cousin Sol continues with more valuable advice. ‘So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov.3:4) Now we all desire those things in this earthly life, but the only way to truly and lastingly accomplish that is by having mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth always in our sights. They’re so important that we’ve even been advised and encouraged to ‘Bind them about thy neck.’ That means the Lord’s teachings should be as much a part of us as an adornment or necklace around our necks. In other words, always present and standing out. Just goes to show how important those two attributes are my brethren. And later on in Chapter 6, when warning against adultery, Cousin Sol reiterates the importance of keeping the Lord’s law. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman (seductress). (Prov.6:20-24) In this particular case he advocates it against the wiles of an evil woman, but keeping the Lord’s law is material in every aspect of our everyday lives. And we shouldn’t only have the law close to our bodies like a necklace, but also ‘write them upon the table of thine heart.’ That’s our minds. We need to write them first and foremost in our minds, for as our minds go, so goes the rest of our body. The mind is our most important organ, it’s a unique, marvellous and ‘unclonable’ bit of engineering, and since within it lie the true controls of our bodies, it is thus extremely important in understanding and successfully living this earthly life. That’s why Lucifer always seeks first to infiltrate our minds, cause he knows that once he’s in control of our controls, he’s home free. Consequently it’s of the utmost necessity we guard our hearts and minds very closely. No wonder Bruh Paul strongly advised the Philippians. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:4-7) And we’ll close with some words from the scholars which will help us understand that last verse. ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; and (2) God’s peace far surpassing one’s own understanding of the problem, and his ability to cope with and solve it. Shall keep means “shall guard.” This is a military term for a sentinel standing guard duty. As Philippi was guarded by a Roman garrison, and its citizens were accustomed to seeing soldiers protecting the city, this word would be especially appreciated by the readers.’ Oh Friends, let’s hope we not only appreciate what we’ve read here today, but that we also go out and put it into practice in our daily lives. It’s the best way to glorify God and show Jesus that we truly care about the sacrifice He made for us on the cross at Calvary. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen. Much LOVE!…without solid foundations of mercy and truth…believers will always come up short in Christ…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 August 2012 Exodus 20:3
07 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: anger, Caribana, commandments, deceitful, disobedience, god, graven image, idols, independence, Jamaica, Lucifer's lies, party time, punishment, Trinidad & Tobago
Exodus 20:3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Ah well, the party’s finally over my Friends. It’s time to call it a day. Yeah people, Caribana’s finished for another year. And thankfully it didn’t seem to have any serious negative consequences. But while the party has cooled down in T.O, it’s just beginning in J.A and T&T with the 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations. And where yuh see Usain Bolt retained his track crown, and also bettered his previous record, hn, I can assure you that Jamdown is in a thoroughly party going frame of mind. And T&T won’t be far behind. But as I keep reminding us, drunk or sober, we have to mind our business, so that the ole charlatan Lucifer doesn’t find a chink in our spiritual armour and invade our souls, cause we know that he’s always on the hunt, like a hungry lion, looking for whomever he could get his lying, deceitful claws into. And that’s exactly why the Lord warned us from day one, in our Bit: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Oh Friends, because of our fallen, rebellious nature, He knew our susceptibility to things forbidden, to things of the flesh, to things that the tempter would throw up before us, things looking all nice and glittery, like they were the real McCoy, but in actual fact are all fake. They are all part of a facade, a false front that Lucifer puts up to cover the reprehensible doings he encourages in the back, where no one can see. But Friends God does, for He is all-seeing and all-knowing. Oh my people, why do you think the Lord got Moses to spell out these facts in detail eh? ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to (worship) them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting (punishing) the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy to them that LOVE me, and keep my commandments.’ (Ex.20:4-6) The Lord laid down those rules because we’re His chosen people, and He doesn’t want us going astray, running foul of His law, so that He would be forced to punish us. But yuh know, even after He tore out His heart and sent His Son Jesus to pay for our disgusting sins, we continue to lust after other gods and worldly things. Until now, when we’ve reached the highest point of our evolution, with the most knowledge and technological skills ever seen on earth, where we should be endowed with godly wisdom, because of all the examples of disobedience and punishment that’s gone before us, yet we still running behind the fool fool boy Lucifer, who, if he was so smart, would still be running the angels in heaven and not walking the earth in shame for trying to overthrow the Lord God Jehovah. I mean how silly can you get eh? So my brethren, when are we going to learn that Lucifer really has nothing good to offer us eh? When the Lord destroys us for disobedience and we end up in blistering hot Hades with him? Lord forbid! How many times Friends, has the Lord warned us of this serious breach of His law? Too numerous to count! But let’s look at a couple of them, starting in Deuteronomy: ‘Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you. (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.’ (Deut.6:13-15) Now doesn’t that spell it out ever so clearly that disobedience will bring punishment and eventual destruction? Now hear Jeremiah: ‘And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened (listened), nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again (repent now) every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever. And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt (harm). Yet ye have not hearkened (listened) unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt (harm).’ (Jer.25:4-7) And what happened after that Friends? Judah was invaded, Jerusalem destroyed, and the people taken captive to Babylon for seventy years. (Jer.6:8-14) So you think it will be any different now my people? Not one bit! God’s still sending his prophets, servants and teachers, like me, to warn us, and if we still continue to walk the path of disobedience, as we’re currently doing, we will be punished, as we’re currently experiencing. Oh Friends, please don’t believe that all the calamities and disastrous things that are happening in our world are simply happenstance, because they are not. A lot of it is being fuelled by the Lord’s anger. And if we don’t stop soon and turn back to Him, we will eventually be destroyed. That’s what the Good Book says…and the Good Book doesn’t lie. So please, I implore us, let’s wake up and start doing right by our Creator nuh, if not for our sakes, then for our children’s, or else crapaud surely going to smoke we pipe sometime soon. Much LOVE!…the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way…but the folly of fools is deceit… (Prov.14:8)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 April 2012 Proverbs 1:7
20 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: alcohol, cohesive voice, commandments, drugs, evil, gang violence, godless, good, gospel truth, judgement, knowledge, Old Testament, suicide, wisdom
Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Well Friends, it’s Friday… ‘Thank God for that yes!’ the uplifted hands and voices solemnly declare. ‘Thank God is Friday, so I can get a li’l break from this drudgery!’ Ah mih people, unfortunately most of us toil at jobs we don’t like, but that’s how it is in an imperfect, fallen world. We should sincerely give thanks for our blessings though, because the job at least keeps a roof over our heads and bread on the table. A large portion of our world has neither. In any case, if you’re a true believer, you just have to go out and do the job to the best of your ability with as little complaining as possible, plus a smile on your face and a song in your heart as Jesus desires us to do. (smile) I know it’s not always as easy as it sounds, but that’s the reality of Jesus’ plan. Now to get us some right perspective for the upcoming weekend, let’s chant our Friday Chant with some godly verve and enthusiasm. In one loud, cohesive voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Hope that eases your anxious minds and gets you back on track, so that you can enjoy the weekend with your friends, family, fellow believers and Jesus. For as our Bit so wisely declares: ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the (principal) beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ Oh Friends, that statement is one we should never forget; one we should always keep within easy reach of our hearts and minds, so that when Beelzebub comes a calling, we can call it up to help us chase him away. Note, he’s very persistent, so we have to be even stronger and more steadfast in our faith to be able to resist him, and knowing how and where wisdom comes from will certainly assist us in giving the boot to the evil Lucifer. However, let’s continue looking at scriptures that corroborate our Bit. And the first one today comes from Proverbs: ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy (One) is understanding.’ (Prov.9:10) Some of the words are different to our Bit, but the content and intent are the same; only by knowing, reverencing and respecting Jehovah God, can one get true wisdom and understanding. Cousin Sol repeats it in Proverbs 15, but with another twist: ‘The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom: and before honour is humility.’ (Prov.15:33) That’s oh so right Friends! In God’s kingdom, before we can acquire wisdom we must be respectful, and before we can receive honour, we must come to Him with a humble heart, because foolish pride which we display when we try to be independent only makes Him angry. And we certainly don’t want the Lord’s wrath raining down on us. Then Micah, during the Lord’s contention with Israel, spells out the Lord’s requirements to them. He’s not interested in burnt offerings and sacrifices, just like Samuel told Saul (1 Sam.15:22) ‘He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Mic.6:8) Yes my brethren, true wisdom is doing exactly what the Lord requires. And since neither He nor His Word changes, then that declaration also applies to us today. We can’t get away from it by saying that’s Old Testament stuff which doesn’t apply to us in this modern age. On the contrary Friends, everything in the Old Testament, possibly besides the sacrifice system and the Jewish devotions, still pertain today. Note how both Jesus and Bruh Paul use the Old Testament to prove and boost the New. So please don’t be fooled by anyone who says that the Old Testament is passé. Are the Ten Commandments passé? ABSOLUTELY NOT! That brings us to the next scripture where Moses warns the Israelites about obeying the Lord when they enter the Promised Land. ‘That thou mightest fear (stand in awe of) the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.’ (Deut.6:2) Ah mih people, that is one warning that we, like the Israelites, have totally ignored. We definitely have not taught the Lord’s Word to our children, otherwise they would not be as depraved and godless as they are. That is one big failing our generation will have to answer for. Could that be part of the reason why so many of our children are dying so young from things like suicide, drugs, alcoholism, immorality, gang violence, etc. etc? If they had been more versed in the scriptures would they have stood a better chance? Who knows? And we’ll end with an appropriate scripture from the Preacher: ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ (Eccl.12:13-14) And that’s the gospel truth Friends! So please take it to heart and put it into action TODAY, so that your wisdom can be known and your duty done! Much LOVE!…they only are wise and understanding…who follow the dictates of the ONE TRUE GOD…He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 March 2012 Leviticus 19:18
30 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: commandments, disobedience, glorious kingdom, gratitude, hypocrites, jesus name, lessons, loving, loving others, peaceful calm, rejuvenation, renewed, revenge, spoiled brat, thanks and praise, vengeance, wisdom
Leviticus 19:18. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Oh Friends, it’s the big day, Friday! And all God’s people breathed a grateful sigh of relief and mouthed in true gratitude; ‘Oh, thank God it’s Friday!’ I know some of us have had a rougher week than others, but the beauty of having Jesus as our Saviour is that we can all lay down our burdens and rest in Him, in His peaceful, calm and caring personality. So let’s throw off that tiredness by now putting it in His hands, and also chanting our Friday Chant, to give us a better perspective on the upcoming weekend. As one loud and prayerful voice now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ And with that perspective Friends, let’s see if we can’t do what our Bit commands us nuh: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ Some of you are displeased because we’re still focused on this Bit, but that’s just a spoiled brat attitude. And furthermore, how can we move on when we haven’t learned all the lessons it teaches? It’s like repeating a year or semester of school because we have failed our exams. And believe you me people, we are definitely failing this lesson of LOVING our neighbours as ourselves, else our world would not be in such a troubled state. The truth is that we will never be calm, peaceful and filled with true joy until we truly begin LOVING others as ourselves. But perhaps I’m being a bit presumptuous here, because if we’re not carrying out the first and greatest command of our God; to LOVE Him wholeheartedly, how can we be expected to carry out the second one; to LOVE our neighbours as ourselves? As the scriptures ask, how can you LOVE a God you can’t see, and not a neighbour that you can see? It is somewhat confusing, but believe me, it’s often much easier to LOVE the God you can’t see than the neighbour whose behaviour rankles our very being. But as believers, that’s what we’re called to do, and we’ll continue with some scriptures on the topic that I never got to yesterday. And we can only be blessed by hearing Jesus’ words once more. When asked about the most important commandments, He declared that LOVING the Father was the first and most important: ‘And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.’ (Mark 12:31) Friends, those are words we ought to write indelibly in and on all parts of our beings to continually remind us of them. Then we ought to put them into sincere practice if we want to be seen as true Christians, and not the hypocrites that many, with good reason, take us to be. My brethren it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell us that we’re definitely not obeying the two most important commands of the ONE and ONLY TRUE God, Jehovah, and that if we continue this disobedience we’ll only end up in more hot water and greater calamity than we’re already facing. In Romans, Bruh Paul wisely advises us thus: ‘Let LOVE be without dissimulation (hypocrisy). abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.’ (Rom.12:9) That should be simple common sense, not only for believers, but for all those who wish to live calm and peaceful lives, since evil only brings strife and stress. Later on, to the same Roman church, Bruh Paul, in talking about our LOVE walk, tells them: ‘Owe no man anything, but to LOVE one another: for he that LOVETH another hath fulfilled the law….LOVE worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law.’ (Rom.13:8,10) James also weighs in on the problem with these words of wisdom: ‘If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.’ (James 2:8) Oh Friends, isn’t it very encouraging to know that we’re doing well if we LOVE our neighbours as ourselves? It should be, but unfortunately it isn’t to too many of us. However, let’s go home with a biting bit of scripture from Bruh Paul to the Galatians: ‘For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.’ (Gal.5:14-15) Oh my people, truer words were never spoken, because we can now see it taking place in our crazy world, where there’s little or no LOVE, and we’re consuming each other like gluttons. How sad! But that’s the current nature of the beast. I implore us though to make positive changes as soon as possible, or else with all the strife and anger, resentment and call for vengeance, the greed and jealousy, plus the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, we’ll eventually wipe ourselves off of Mother Earth. All that’s now left to say is let’s wake up and smell the fresh bread that Jesus is so LOVINGLY baking for us, if we only do as He asks. It would surely be a sin if we allow it to go to waste, just because we didn’t LOVE each other. Much LOVE!…he who has ears to hear…let him hear…the consequences of disobedience is calamity…and ultimately death…
SCRIP-BITS 