SCRIP-BITS

Matthew 8:26.    And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was great calm.

Oh Friends, is Sunday morning, and all the hoopla about the Caribana Parade finish now! Thank the Lord! I don’t think any serious negative incidents occurred, for the duchess didn’t mention any. She just said that the bands didn’t start coming down the boulevard until around 4 p.m.
 
Now it’s been bad over the years, in terms of the bands heading out on the parade route, but I’ve never seen or heard it that bad. And it’s somewhat amusing now, because when the old Caribana group, which consisted mainly of immigrant West Indians, ran the show, the lateness of all the events was blamed on their West Indian mentality for not respecting time in a professional manner.
 
But it’s an entirely new set up now, with new and supposedly more time conscious people. So who or what is to blame for such a late start eh? (smile) Anyway, I won’t get into it, because I really don’t know what’s happening, and Caribana and all that it entails is just too confusing and controversial for my small mind to handle.
 
So this Sunday morning I’ll just stick with my Bit, which I do know a little about. (smile) ‘And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was great calm.’ 
 
Oh my brethren, fear is so rampant in all walks of life in our evil and godless society, that it’s not funny. Whether it’s fear of terrorism, the downturn of the economy, losing one’s job, one’s home, of physical attacks out on the streets in broad daylight, and even home invasions now, attacks right in your castle, fear is one of the common denominators of modern-day life.
 
But technically speaking, so much fear should not exist, because our society has achieved such a high level of technological innovation, with so much surveillance and supposed safety measures. But sadly, those same technological advances are cowing us for Big Brother is using them to scare us and enact controversial laws that deprive us of our privacy and other freedoms.
 
However Friends, true believers don’t need to be that worried. Yes, physical stuff happens to us, our privacy and privileges can be curtailed, or even taken away, but with Jesus Christ as our mind and body guard, we can still stand strong regardless of what comes against us. That’s because we can do ALL things through Christ, who strengthens us. (Phil.4:13)
 
Unfortunately though, that takes a fairly high level of faith, which seems to be sadly lacking in many Christians, for far too many of us are getting frantic and panicking as the world situation deteriorates. Now we do have to be concerned, but we don’t have to turn ourselves and our situations upside down.
 
Remember yesterday we quoted these words of Jesus: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b). Well Friends, that is a staple bit of scripture that we all should learn, believe and hold tightly to, otherwise all the negative happenings in the world today will just confuse, confuffle and eventually drive us crazy. It will only raise fear in our souls, rather than the powerful energizer, faith.
 
Remember we also said yesterday that the level of our faith will determine the level of our fear, and asked us to read Hebrews chapter 11, the chapter dedicated to faith and its rewards. I hope we all did, because it’s for our individual benefit and no one else’s. And if we did read it, we saw the numerous people who operated on faith in Almighty God, even though their individual circumstances cried out for fear.
 
Look at Abraham nuh. Imagine in his seventies, rich as ever, not wanting for anything material, the Lord told him to pack up and move away from his family. And though he didn’t know where the Lord was sending him, he obeyed God, and that was credited to Abraham for righteousness.
 
Today Friends, we have many more options and stuff than any of those people mentioned in the Good Book had, but our faith seems to be at a much lower level. Why? I really don’t know. Maybe life’s just become too easy and we take too many things for granted, like heat, light and water. And since we’re not accustomed to doing without the basic amenities, when something happens to any of them, we get all jittery and fearful.
 
And a good example of that loss of basic functions is when the Internet goes down. Wow! Our whole world stops and everybody gets jittery. That’s because too much of our lives now depend on computers and all the communication devices that are currently in use. Five or ten years ago, many fewer people would have been affected by such a breakdown, but unfortunately every day we’re becoming more and more linked to, and thus more affected by the technological revolution.
 
In many respects it’s a good thing, but there are also some serious drawbacks, as it’s also prone to criminal and fraudulent activities. And remember that anything a man builds, another man can break into or destroy. Man-made safe guards don’t always do the trick. Just look at all the successful hacker activities that are now taking place.
 
Oh my people, we have to use all this new-fangled stuff as mere tools, and stop allowing them to run and control our lives. In other words, stop bowing down to them, because we are certainly using them as idols, and they are taking away from our time with God.
 
Now do you think He appreciates that? No Way! Remember His first commandment is that we should have no other Gods before Him, and we should not bow to any graven images or idols.
 
Unfortunately though, in this crazy, confused world, there are all sorts of idols to worship, and unless we have a strong relationship with Jehovah God, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we will easily get scared and afraid of stuff that’s not supposed to intimidate us.
 
Oh Friends, I implore us this Sunday morning to keep looking to our wonderful, omnipotent and magnanimous God for strength and courage to face the vicissitudes of this life. That’s because only in Him, His Word and His Son Jesus Christ can true strength be found through positive faith.
 
And that’s wisdom of the eternal kind! Much LOVE!
 
…courage doesn’t mean the absence of fear…but more the abundance of faith…