day of Love | SCRIP-BITS

Song of Solomon 8:6. Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

Happy Valentine’s Day my people! I guess this is what we call the Day of LOVE in our current ungodly world. And even though it’s mostly about outward appearances and another chance for the commercial set to increase their fortune, I guess we’ll have to take it, since we won’t get anything better.

And I don’t know why I read some of the news headlines before I began writing the Bit nuh, because they made me later than I already was, and are the farthest things from LOVE and consequently dampened my spirit! It’s just about greed and power hungry people seeking the aphrodisiac of power through any means, and immense inhumanity to man from his fellow man.

It’s surprising that with all the supposed wonderful improvements we’ve made, that the inhumane treatment we mete out to each other is still so widespread and gut wrenching! And the horror of social media has just made it easier to do it from afar, anonymously, and get away with it too.

But what does the ole fella know eh friends? Apparently not a whole lot. And they will quickly say that I’m from another time and place; a minted dinosaur in a brand new world! And they might just be right. But the fact of the matter is that I prefer my dinosaur status to that of this brand new, unfair and oh so unjust world. Enough of my morbid thoughts though on this Valentine’s Day. (smile) It’s a day to celebrate LOVE, so let’s see what the Good Book has to say about it nuh.

And in my searching, I was led to this most interesting, but li’l known passage of scripture, most appropriately from Cousin Sol’s Song of LOVE. ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for LOVE is strong as death; jealousy is cruel (severe, hard) as the grave: the coals (flames) thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

Many waters cannot quench LOVE, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance (wealth) of his house for LOVE, it would utterly be contemned (despised). (Song 8:6-7)

Ah friends, what powerful and heart-warming words on that most valuable, but most elusive attribute of our wonderful and ever-LOVING God! And the scholars offer this interesting explanation: ‘8:6-7. These verses are clearly the climax to the story. The maiden describes in the most vivid terms the unquenchable nature of true LOVE: it cannot be destroyed by death or the grave; it burns like a blazing fire that cannot be extinguished, and it cannot be bought.’

Wow! What an amazing thing is LOVE! It’s an unquenchable fire; an indestructible element, and most of all it has no price; it cannot be bought, it has to be experienced! So on this supposed day of LOVE my faithful brethren, please let’s remember those things and work seriously on our LOVE experience! (smile)

And to help us do just that, let’s review these memorable words of John in his first epistle. This verse sets the stage: ‘He that LOVETH not knoweth not God; for God IS LOVE.’ (1 John 4:8) That’s the first thing we have to know and believe friends if we want to be a part of God’s kingdom; that God IS LOVE!’ If we don’t wholeheartedly acknowledge that, then all bets are off, we can’t be a part of God’s realm.

But having faithfully acknowledged that, we then come to this next ever so important step in our LOVE walk. ‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)

Ah my people, to truly walk in step and in LOVE with God, we have to deny the evil desires and the sins that are so much a part of our human existence.

And you wonder why I dislike computers…I just turned aside to check the spelling of a word, and next thing a blip in the electricity occurred and the computer shut down. Then I had to reboot it twice to get it back up, losing more than ten minutes of time and also the two lines I had just written and not saved. Can’t even remember what it was now! Steups!

And that is what we are basing the entire future of our world on; technological contraptions that can be infiltrated and easily shut down by a simple power glitch. Chuh! That’s why I like being a dinosaur yes! (smile)

Yeh I remember now, I was writing about paying special attention to the provocateurs of evil who are always trying to turn us away from God. And yuh see that, the enemy didn’t like my warning, so he tried to expunge it by setting up the glitch. (smile) But li’l does he realize that he’s a beaten foe and the time of his eventual demise is near. So please let’s hold on dearly and tightly to the LOVE of God, which will NEVER be extinguished, destroyed or bought! Glory be!

Now let’s go home rejoicing in what we call our Thursday Blessings; the blessings our most magnanimous God has bestowed on us to use in His work down here on earth. All together now in strong faith and loud voice! ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’

So with all of that LOVING-kindness poured out on us, let’s go out now and share it with the less fortunate, as Jesus so greatly desires of us. Much LOVE!

…only true LOVE…can save our dark, evil and dismal world…

Proverbs 21:13. Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Oh Friends, it’s Friday, it’s Friday! Thank God it’s Friday! And the lucky workers around the world, though not always with the best intentions, are thanking God that it’s Friday, and they’re going to have a brief respite from their arduous labours.

Now that is all well and good, but what we do with the brief respite from work is also important. We cannot just waste it on riotous and dissolute living, but need to use it to replenish our strength; mentally, physically and emotionally.

So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us the right perspective on how to use our oh so valuable weekend. All together now, in full 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.’

Now that’s a much better and wiser way to use our days off! And on another important note Friends, today is not only Friday, but also VALENTINE’S DAY; a day on which we celebrate LOVE!

And though it’s been highly commercialized, like almost every other important day, and is more or less viewed as a day for romantic LOVE, it’s still a day when we reach out and touch others.

And any day we do that is indeed a great day! For reaching out and touching others, showing some kind of LOVE is so badly needed and in such short supply in our greedy, angry, resentful and ungodly world!

And it really doesn’t matter all that much what kind of LOVE we touch others with nuh, once it’s TRUE LOVE, it goes a long way towards bringing peace, justice and equal rights to our unjust, war-like and oppressive times.

So today my brethren, when we think of LOVE and giving, let’s not only remember those nearest and dearest to us, with flowers, chocolates and whatever else the commerce peddlers throw at us, but more importantly, let’s stop for a moment and consider our Bit.

‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.’

Oh Friends, that is just another angle of the universal principle on which our just, merciful, gracious, forgiving, LOVING and sovereign God built His universe; whatever you sow, the same shall you reap. That means, generally speaking, whatever we do, will be done back to us.

So if the poor cries out to us for help and mercy, and we ignore them, at some future date, when we too cry out for help and mercy, we will not be heard, but also ignored. It’s a simple principle – tit for tat.

And our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ made it quite clear to us when He declared: ‘Judge (condemn) not, that ye be not judged (condemned). For with what judgement (condemnation) ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete (use), it shall be measured to you again.’ (Matt.7:1-2)

And as the scholars explain: ‘7:1-4. Judge not refers to an unfavourable and condemnatory judgement. This does not mean that a Christian should never exercise judgement of any kind under any circumstances. The point being made here is that we are not to judge the inner motives of another.

We are not to render a verdict based on prejudicial information. Nor are we to use ourselves as the standard of judgement for with what…ye mete (measure) you shall be judged. That ye be not judged refers to the ultimate judgement of God rather than our own judgement.’

Oh mih breddren, what’s so hard to understand about all that eh? Nothing at all! It’s like we say: it takes two to tango; two hands to clap; one hand can’t wash itself.

Yes my fellow believers, one of the most important words in our human vocabulary, regardless of the language, is ‘help.’ And one of the most important phrases is ‘help each other,’ for without somebody’s help, NONE of us can ever hope to prosper and succeed. That’s why the phrase ‘no man is an island,’ has also been coined.

The Lord God Jehovah didn’t make this world merely as a bunch of selfish, self-supporting individuals, but as a group of people who are supposed to work together, to help each other along life’s dark, winding and lonely road.

Unfortunately though my fellow believers, our world is littered with the poor, needy and oppressed, and it’s our bounden duty to help them however and whenever we can.

Remember it was the poor, the needy, the lost, the sick, the suffering and the oppressed that Jesus came to save, and it was those types that He hung out with, much more than the rich and famous. And if we’re to be His true and worthwhile followers, we need to do the same things He did.

So today, on Valentine’s Day, this Day of LOVE, I’m asking us all to remember those who are not as fortunate as us. Pray for them, as well as try to help at least ONE unfortunate person. Bless them with something, or in some way that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can interpret as genuine caring and LOVE.

Remember the rich and powerful don’t give two expletives deleted about the poor and downtrodden, so it’s up to us believers to help them out of their misery.

Please, let’s make a serious, sincere and generous effort to help someone today. That’s not only godly wisdom, as well as our bounden duty, but also a godly act, which we’ve all committed and promised to make our life’s work.

So please, let’s start keeping our promise nuh, for it’s not wise or healthy to make promises and then not keep them. Much LOVE!

…therefore all things…whatsoever ye would that men should do to you…do ye even so to them…for this is the law and the prophets… (Matt.7:12)

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 February 2014 Proverbs 21:13

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