darkest moments | SCRIP-BITS

Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

And the planes have begun arriving already! Yes, and you must be wondering how the Bit is so early? Well there’s a simple explanation; today is the wedding day, so I have to be up and about and get myself together earlier than normal. And nothing much happened yesterday; the duchess went about her business, I went to the beach, had a short soak, because the water was chilly and I was a tad under the weather, had some jerk pork and chicken washed down with a yellow bird at the beach hut, then came home and rested.

When the duchess came home, we went down for dinner in the outdoor area, listened to some Mento and a live band, New Image, for a while then came back to our room and did whatever. (smile) So let’s see what quotes our friend Anselm sent us this week nuh, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.

Hear this first one: ‘I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence.’ Now all of us, especially believers ought to have that written in spades in our souls. If we can’t be true to ourselves, then whom can be true to eh? And sadly, that’s what a lot of us do nowadays, live to please others and thus frustrate ourselves. As the quote indicates, abhorrence with yourself is much worse than being ridiculed by others; you don’t have to live with them, but you have to be in your own company continually.

And this next quote aligns nicely with the first one: ‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.’ Oh friends, so often we hear different drums than those of the people we associate with and it ofttimes causes resentment, confusion and other negative vibes.

But everybody can’t march to the beat of the same drum, that’s not how God made us. He designed us to march to our own drumbeat, that’s why a lot of people pass through our lives only for a season and not forever. It means that their drum beat no longer matches ours. And though it may be hard to lose some particular friendships, we must always choose our drumbeat and go the way the Lord directs us. Don’t be afraid, whatever the Lord takes away, He will replace with something better! Glory be!

Therefore when we suffer such loss and disappointment we have to stand strong and refocus. Or as the next quote tells us: ‘It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.’ Now that should be obvious. But unfortunately when the darkness hits, too many of us wallow and squirm and complain instead of trying to find the nearest and/or best light source. Thus we use up whatever energy we have in a negative manner and it takes us even longer to get out of the frightening darkness than it ought to.

And that leads us to this next quote which brings the matter to a wiser and larger scale. ‘Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.’ And that’s the exact kind of society in which we’re currently living. Greed, corruption, racism, poverty, injustice, ignorance; they are all running rampant in our midst right now.

And nowhere has that been more eloquently stated than in Bob Marley’s song ‘War,’ where he recounts the words of the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I in a speech in California in 1968. ‘…Until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior, is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned. That until there are no longer first and second-class citizens of any nation. Until the colour of a man’s skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes.

That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race, That until that day, the dream of lasting peace, world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be pursued, but never attained… And everywhere will be war…ah say war…’ And that’s exactly what our world is currently involved in; wars and rumours of war!

Strife is our number one marker! But listen to this last quote which reads as a partial antidote to out current situation. ‘Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.’ And if that isn’t gospel truth, then I don’t know what is! Oh yes, we acknowledge that Jesus and all He stands for is the greatest gift to mankind, but on a more basic level, health, contentment and faithfulness give us the practical values we need to survive as a strong and true community.

Yes my people there’s nothing as important as faithfulness in whatever we believe, say or promise to do. And there’s nobody as faithful as our wonderful God! Hear these words that Ethan the Ezrahite wrote nuh, as concerning God’s sure promises to Bruh David. ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever; with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’ Ethan was sure that the Lord would keep His promises to Bruh David, so he could confidently place his trust in Him.

And yes friends, all the way down through the ages the Lord has been faithful to His promises, from Adam right down to us! When He’s promised good, He’s delivered, and when He’s promised adversity, He’s also delivered. So there’s no questioning His faithfulness whatsoever. His promises might take a while to come true, like Jesus’ first coming took many centuries, and His second is also taking a long while. (smile)

And re the faithfulness of our most wonderful God, Jeremiah says it best: ‘This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam. 3:21-26)

Yuh see mih people, even in Jeremiah’s darkest days, he still knew where the light lay and had the wisdom and positive attitude to seek it. May we be as wise and positive as Jeremiah this Saturday morning and seek Almighty God, above everything else! Much LOVE!

…faithfulness…the foundation on which trust is built…

Psalm 119:57. Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words.

Ah friends, it’s just snow and more snow… and even more snow! Steups! We had more snow again last night and our meteorologists tell us that over the next couple days we are going to have a co-mingling of rain, freezing rain, snow, wet snow and obviously somewhere in there the most dangerous of them all, ice.

Ah Lord eh, if this is the standard for this winter then I’d better hurry up and go to Tobago yes, because I can’t take this everyday snow business nuh. (smile) Especially when Brother Kirby’s nice, hot and spicy, tasty West Indian soup is waiting for me down there. As I said before though, that’s what dreams are made of, and if you don’t dream, you might as well be dead.

Anyway, on this cold, snowy, Saturday morning, a week before Christmas, let’s check out some quotes I received this week from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us with his wise words.

Here’s the first one: ‘If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.’ Now that’s gospel friends, and essentially why liars get into trouble; they can’t remember every lie they’ve told, and to whom.

And the second states: ‘Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.’ Now that is very difficult for many of us to do, since we always tend to make lofty excuses for ourselves, but come down heavy on others. I guess it’s just a natural human reaction, selfish and unfair though it may be.

Listen to the third quote: ‘Help me never to judge another until I have walked a mile in his moccasins.’ That’s also a favourite failing of the human animal, even mature Christians. We tend to judge others without knowing a whole lot about them, and it is definitely an unchristian behaviour.

Remember, Jesus told us not to judge, else we too will be judged. But we still do it a lot. However when the shoe falls on the other foot, when we are unfairly judged…Wow! What a stink we create!

And the last one states: ‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ That’s very true my brethren! And I’m sure we can all testify to it. Just think back to some of your brightest or darkest moments; you won’t remember all that was said or done, but you’ll definitely remember the emotional state in which you ended up.

That brings us to our Bit, taken from the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, which deals predominantly with Lord’s Word. ‘Thou art my portion, O Lord: I have said that I would keep thy words.’

Yeh friends, throughout the Psalm, the writer continually talks about the Lord’s statutes, commandments, precepts, testimonies, judgements; how he wants to learn them, so that he can keep them. Are we so enamoured of the Lord’s Word, my fellow believers? We ought to be if we are true to our calling.

And please remember that the Lord’s Word is not for Him, but for us. We are the ones who benefit from it. It’s a guideline for us, so that we don’t mess up our earthly pilgrimage more than is necessary.

Now hear how the psalmist continues after our Bit. ‘I entreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. The bands (cords) of the wicked have robbed (bound) me: but I have not forgotten thy law.’ (Ps.119:58-51)

Oh friends, is that how we behave toward the Word of God? Is it like Jeremiah says: ‘But his word was in mine heart, as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing (holding back), and I could not stay (endure it).’ (Jer.20:9)

Yes precious people of Christ, are we eager to read God’s Word and have a great desire to speak it and keep it? I certainly hope so, otherwise we won’t be worthy of calling ourselves Christians.

And the psalmist continues thus in this passage under the heading of the Hebrew letter ‘Cheth.’ ‘At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgements. I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy (LOVING-kindness): teach me thy statutes.’ (Ps.119:62-64)

Now that’s the picture of a true believer my people! How many of us rise up at all sorts of ungodly hours to give thanks because of God’s righteous judgements eh? Are we faithful companions to and have strong fellowship with others who reverence the Lord’s name and keep His commandments?

All of that is a part of being a true Christian, including enjoying God’s LOVING-kindness which is lavished all over His great earth. And please note the psalmist’s last request: ‘teach me thy statutes.’ That is still his number one wish, for if one doesn’t know the Lord’s statutes, how can one keep them eh?

Ah friends, it’s not easy following Jesus Christ faithfully, but if we are sincere, faithful and diligent in our approach, continually reading and meditating on His commands, statutes and precepts, then we will do a fine job. But it’s oh so essential for all believers to put out the effort to learn the word of God, if we truly want to serve Him at a high level. Much LOVE!

…It is impossible to truly LOVE the Lord…without LOVING His Word…and greatly desiring to know it…and sincerely abide by it…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 February 2020 Psalm 89:1.

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 December 2016 Psalm 119:57.

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