Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 February 2018 Proverbs 30:11.

Proverbs 30:11.    There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

One more time friends, one more time, the trump of Jesus is calling us to come out and join the battle for the world in His name! This Monday morning is another precious and purposeful day in our earthly sojourn, where we put our blessings and gifts to work for Jesus. So let’s not grumble and complain because we have to get up and go out to labour nuh. 

Jesus didn’t grumble and complain when He went to the cross and laid down His sinless life for us. It was rough yes, and He pleaded with the Father to mitigate the situation, but to no avail, because that’s the ONLY way we useless sinners would ever be able to communicate with a most holy God. So though things might be rough with us, let’s remember Jesus’ sacrifices on our behalf, and do whatever we can to lift up His name on the earth, without feeling too put out or sorry for ourselves. 

And since we know that getting up on a Monday morning is difficult for many of us (smile) we have that wonderful, energizing prayer, our Monday Morning Battle Hymn to raise our spirits and get us going. Let’s sing it out as one voice now: ‘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!’ 

Yeh friends, that just gets the adrenaline flowing, which enables us to staunchly and confidently fight on for Jesus in this evil world. And today we have a rather interesting Bit from Proverbs, but not from Cousin Sol. These are the wise words of Agur, possibly one of the sages of Cousin Sol’s day. And he tells us that ‘There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.’ 

How sad that is my people, because one of God’s Ten Commandments is: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Ex.20:12) And the Good Book goes on to say: ‘And he that curseth his father and mother, shall surely be put to death.’ (Ex.21:17) 

That means a lot of this current generation ought to be put to death, because I believe this generation perfectly fits the bill described in our Bit. Some of the things I’ve personally heard children telling their parents just drives me bonkers. Hn! In my time I’d never dream of being rude to my parents, much less cursing them real curse words; words of the expletive deleted variety. And the sad part is that they get away with it. But that’s we, the parents fault. For whatever reason, we allow them to talk to us how they want, with little or no respect. 

And Cousin Sol’s contribution to the subject is this: ‘Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure (deep) darkness.’ (Prov.20:20) And so it should be! Now hear these words of Agur after our Bit. ‘There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up (in arrogance). There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.’ (Prov.30:12-14) 

Now those are certainly serious and incriminating charges and unfortunately I believe they can all be laid at the feet of this current generation. They are indeed selfish, arrogant, greedy and ruthless. Other generations have been bad, but I don’t think they can touch this one for their blatant disregard for the niceties of society. 

But again, my contention is that we the parents reared them that way. In trying to make life easy for them, we did them a great disservice, because now they feel the world owes them a living, they are entitled, and they don’t appreciate all that they’ve been so sweetly and easily handed on a golden platter. And the human animal in general only seems to appreciate stuff when he/she personally has to work or suffer to acquire it.

However my faithful brethren, all is not lost. As we say, while there is life there is indeed hope, and that ALL things are possible with Jesus. That means we can still bring about some changes, if not in our children, certainly in our grandchildren. But we need to get serious and begin doing it NOW! So please, for Jesus’ sake, let’s get a move on with it nuh. Much LOVE!

…only through hard labour…or ‘sufferation’…do we truly appreciate our rewards…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 June 2016 Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28.   And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.

Well a blessed day to all you my Scrip-Bit family and friends! And I know that some of us will be quick to say what’s so blessed about it eh? Just look at my circumstances, look at how I’m suffering and struggling. I certainly wouldn’t call that blessed. 

I understand that friends, but it’s all in our attitude toward those circumstances and struggles. Too many Christians expect to just have a nice smooth ride through life without any problems simply because they are followers of Christ. But it doesn’t work like that. Unfortunately, the greater our calling from God, ofttimes the greater the struggle in our lives. 

Look at all the great prophets, Bruh Joseph, Moses, Bruh David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Bruh Paul, and finally Jesus Christ Himself; they all went through many trials and much tribulation to accomplish their earthly goals. Jesus even warned us: ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33b) 

And furthermore, the Lord uses these trials and struggles to test us, to build and grow our faith; to see if we truly believe and are willing to rely on Him and His promises. As Job, another righteous man who suffered great tribulation declared during his time of trial. ‘But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ (Job 23:10) 

And the scholars have an interesting take on that verse. ’23:10. I shall come forth as gold: His friends maintained that Job was full of dross, but Job is confident that no dross, or sin, would be revealed in the fires of refinement.’ 

Yes friends, the Lord puts us through our paces like we put metals through fire to purify them. And believe me, when you go through some of those refining fires, you will come out as bright and beautiful and strong and faithful as gold! 

And we don’t even have to go to the Good Book to learn about struggles; listen to these quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us. He says first: ‘Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.’ And the corollary to that is; Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.’ 

Gospel truth all of that my fellow believers! That’s why so many of this young generation are so soft and sappy and whiny, because they have had most everything given to them by us doting parents. They never had to struggle or work hard for something, so therefore there is no real appreciation of anything they have or get. 

In their minds the world owes them a living. And that’s a big disservice we’ve done to them. No wonder most of them have no belly or backbone, and are quick to throw in the towel as soon as hard times show up. 

Oh my people, everybody goes through struggles and hard times, whether you’re rich, poor, black, white, Muslim, Jew, or whatever, but where we believers win out over the others is that we have the rich and faithful promises of our God to depend on. 

We know for instance that as Bruh Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter: ‘There hath no temptation taken (overtaken) you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able to bear, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.’ (1 Cor.10:13)  

Yes my struggling and suffering fellow believers, our God promises never to give or allow us to bear more than we can handle and will either make a way out for us, or give us the wherewithal to endure it. He doesn’t always make us escape it, but more often than not He brings us safely through it. Another way to boost our faith and make us spiritually strong, more Christ-like, which is the basic goal for all believers. 

That brings us to our Bit, another crucial promise from our ever-faithful God. In the momentous words of Bruh Paul: ‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that LOVE God, to them who are called according to his purpose.’ 

Oh my brethren, what a wonderful promise! Only we Christians are assured that our omnipotent, ever-LOVING God will work out everything in our favour eventually, according to His timetable! It’s all a matter of faith, of belief, of patience and perseverance my people! 

And this is what the scholars have to say about that verse. ‘8:28. To them that LOVE God is the human perspective. God is working all things together for good, but those who LOVE God are best able to appreciate that fact because they LOVE Him no matter what (cf. Job 13:15) To them who are called is the divine perspective. Scripture often refers to believers as “the called” or “the elect.”  

And for those of us who want to know what Job 13:15 says but are too lazy to look it up, let me spoon feed you. (smile) Job defends his integrity before his condescending and self-righteous friends by declaring of God: ‘Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine (defend my) own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite shall not come before him.’ (Job 13:15-16) Just thought I’d throw in verse 16 for good measure. (smile) 

And the scholars say of ’13:15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him expresses the unquenchable faith of one who lives by faith, not by sight. Even when it appears that God Himself has turned against Job, he will still trust in God.’ 

Oh friends, oh friends, in these godless, deceitful and evil times, that is the kind of faith we believers need to have, an unquenchable kind, if we’re going to see it through to a victorious end!  

And we’ll conclude with these fateful words of Jesus: ‘And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.’ (Matt.10:22) Much LOVE!

…Christians have to understand that struggles are a part of human life…but we have the certain promise of victory in the end…to see us through life’s storms in the middle…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 June 2015 Psalm 27:14

Psalm 27:14.   Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord. 

Oh Friends, it was really an invigorating and refreshing experience sitting out on my front porch at minutes to two this wet, and rainy Tuesday morning in the early summer days of 2015! A smell of cleanliness was in the air, as the rain had washed away all the day’s grime and pollution. I listened with joy as the mild breeze sang to the dancing leaves as it blew through them. Even the two flower baskets hanging at the front of the porch were gently swaying to the intriguing riddim of the singing breeze and dancing leaves. (smile)

But please note that that was after the torrential downpour of rain had passed, having been preceded by many zaps of bright and dazzling lightning illuminating the dark and cloudy skies, and several bursts of thunder, loud roars of Thor’s mighty hammer had rolled across the heavens.

Thankfully though, while that was all happening I was safely ensconced in my family room watching the tube, and had to laugh when at times Thor’s roar blocked out the volume of the TV.

Oh how I wish I could block out some of the noise that’s now happening right behind me in the lane, as this area has been flooded with construction work and the associated noises as they claim they are fixing the curbs so that we can have better water flow in the drains.

This stuff has been going on now for at least a month, and we still have to have the lanes and the main street resurfaced afterwards, so it looks to be a noisy and dusty summer. So you can I imagine how I felt earlier this morning as I experienced the peaceful calm that usually comes after the storm. (smile)

And having experienced, having witnessed all those exciting and thrilling aspects of nature, how can I not LOVE what the Lord has provided us eh?  No way Jose!

I believe that any Christian who doesn’t LOVE nature, doesn’t truly know or understand God, for that’s where He has revealed so much of Himself to us. His awesome might and power, His ever increasing glory and His solemn majesty are all visible through the wonders of nature. Glory Be!

But enough of my rambling, listen to this most realistic poem from The One Year Book of Bible Promises, with writings from Ruth Harms Calkin. This one is simply titled ‘The Prayer.’ 

‘For so many anguished months I’ve been waiting for you to answer The one longing desire of my heart. I’ve begged, pleaded, agonized. I’ve prayed at times fumblingly At other times intensely. I’ve knelt and prayed. I’ve buried my head in my pillow and prayed.

I’ve prayed before breakfast and after lunch. I’ve prayed before dawn And after dark. I’ve prayed with spontaneous outbursts while tears washed my face. I’ve prayed over our kitchen sink And as I shopped for groceries. I’ve prayed amid screeching traffic.

At times I’ve prayed with confidence at other times with fear. And yet, Lord, though I have waited Though I have strained to listen There is no answer. I hear nothing…just nothing.

O God, I am so puzzled, so bewildered. A frightening thought haunts me. Could it be true Lord? Don’t You LOVE me anymore?

My child Because I LOVE you so much I wait for you to let Me remove the harmful desire.’

Oh my people, doesn’t all of that ring so loud and truthfully in our ears this morning? Of course it does! Because all of us have had times like those, when with anguished cries we reached out, desperately called out to God in our trials and temptations, but unfortunately never seemed to receive an answer.

And I like God’s answer: He LOVES us so much, that He is just waiting for us to let go of whatever is bothering us so that He can solve our problems. He can’t solve them if we keep holding on to them.

And you know my brethren, that’s a real problem with many of us; we insist on holding on to stuff that we want God to fix, but that is not realistic. He can’t fix it unless we let it go.

And the promise that is held out for that poem is a well-known passage of scripture from Psalm 27 – The Lord is my light and my salvation. Hear these wise and encouraging words of Bruh David which have the pleasure, the honour of being our Bit for today.

‘Wait (in patient faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in patient faith), I say, on the Lord.’

What awesome words of encouragement and wisdom my people! And nobody knew the power of waiting patiently in faith on our magnificent and magnanimous God better than Bruh David!

Sadly though, in these days of excessive busyness, intolerance and impatience, many of us have lost that power, that ability to wait patiently on our wonderful and ever-faithful God.

Most of this young generation don’t even know or have that capability, because all they have been taught and become accustomed to is the now for now realization of all their desires.

In this respect Friends, we have certainly done the young generation a great disservice by not teaching them to wait patiently in faith on the Lord our God. Unfortunately, we too, the older generation, have also moved away from that standard, having been hypnotized, been deceived and taken in by the now for now attitude of our society.

This is not a good sign my people. We need to move back to the realistic and faithful waiting for God to work in our lives. We need to get back to what Isaiah says in his song of praise by the redeemed.

‘He will swallow up death in victory (forever); and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited (patiently in faith) for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited (patiently in faith) for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’ (Is.25:8-9)

Oh Friends, what marvellous words of faith, encouragement and strength! Please, please, let’s hold on to them this and every day, as we again learn to wait patiently in faith on our heavenly Father, for that is the zenith, the epitome of wisdom and common sense!

He will never lead us astray, will never renege on any of the many promises He’s made in His Word, if we are obedient to and wait patiently in faith on His timing, which is always impeccable. That much I can vouch for through personal testimony. Much LOVE!

…to wait…to wait…and yet to wait patiently in faith on God…is one of the hallmarks of Christianity…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 April 2014 Psalm 66:19

 Psalm 66:19.    But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
 
 
Good morning, good morning! Yes Friends, we’re wishing you a good morning and a wonderful day on God’s great earth!
 
And although life might not be all that we want or expect, it sure beats anything else that we currently know. So let’s put aside the fear, the worry, the anxiety, the anger, resentment or whatever other negative thing is troubling our tender souls.
 
Remember that God is always working on, in and for us, trying to make us better people, more Christ-like in character and that includes all sorts of testing, trials, tribulations and being passed through the fire so that we can be refined and brought to the state that He’s prepared for us. 
 
Wow! What a speech! (smile) But it’s all true. So this Saturday morning, regardless of whatever is wrong, let’s not get down on ourselves. Let’s not lose confidence in Almighty God, who LOVED us so much that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us on the cross at Calvary, so that we could be brought back into His ever-loving fold, reconciled to Him.
 
That, my Friends, is the greatest gift that mankind has ever been given, and it’s set to all play out in the coming week, Holy Week, beginning with Christ’s crucifixion and ending in a blaze of glory with His resurrection!
 
And all God’s people gave a joyful shout of ‘Praise be to Almighty God, the giver of all good things to His chosen people!’
 
So let’s not hang our heads down like Tom Dooley and cry, (smile) – the old Everly Brothers song of the same name – but let’s lift up our heads and hearts proudly, with confidence, faith and trust in our faithful leader and Saviour Jesus Christ because that’s why He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones. If we just give in to the negative forces and circumstances around us, then we’ll be doing Him a great disservice, making a mockery of His sacrificial death.
 
Right now is possibly the best time of year to be a Christian, just before Easter, when Jesus turned the whole world upside down with His wondrous doings! It’s a real confidence builder and booster! So sit up, look up, put a smile in your heart and on your face, and take pride in being a child of the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD, Creator of the universe and all therein!
 
And in this calamitous and ungodly world, we need to get even closer to God than we currently are. That means going to Him in prayer, the most effective way of communicating with Him. And it still surprises me that many Christians don’t truly believe or understand the power of prayer! That’s why, as I said a couple of days ago, so many supposed Christians still lead sub-par lives. That’s why we have been inspired to write these messages on the positive power of prayer.
 
And our Bit is a wonderful example of the workings of prayer in a Christian’s life. The psalmist showed no doubt or hesitation when he declared: ‘But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.’
 
Yes my brethren, God does hear and answer our sincere prayers! And today we’ll share one unbroken passage of scripture which encapsulates all that prayer is and does.
 
Listen to James enunciate on the benefits of prayer. ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful) let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
 
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, (the prayer produced by that faith will heal), and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults (trespasses) one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual (effective) fervent prayer (supplication) of a righteous man availeth much.
 
Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (with a nature like ours), and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth (land) by the space of (for) three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.’ (James 5:13-18)
 
What a testimony for prayer my people! And I’ll add my own small testimony here. Before I began writing the Bit, I was feeling lousy both emotionally and physically, and knew I couldn’t write the Bit in that condition, so I read some uplifting stuff and floated some prayers up to heaven asking for strength and guidance to write a good Bit.
 
And Friends, though I expected a positive response, I was truly surprised when I began writing and everything just flowed like water from a fountain – a heavenly fountain that is. I didn’t even need to do a rough draft, as I do most of the time.
 
Now that couldn’t have been just my natural powers. And though I’m still feeling the effects of the cold, Friends, I’m here, and very happy to tell you, that all is now well with my soul! (smile) Please believe in prayer, for it does work wonders in a believer’s life! Much LOVE!
 
…to pray…to pray…and yet to pray…that is the only way…
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 October 2013 Matthew 5:9

Matthew 5:9.    Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
 
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s a bit tardy and tired this autumn Tuesday morn. I guess the old body didn’t get enough rest last night. But like the mail, come hell or high water, in sunshine, snow or rain, in sickness or in health, the Bit has to go out! (smile) So here it is.
 
And to get us going, here’s this interesting poem I found in the November issue of the Anglican Journal Newspaper. The source is unknown, but the words and message are invaluable.
 
The title is: ‘Why were the saints saints? Because they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful, patient when it was difficult to be patient; and because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk, and were agreeable when they want to be disagreeable. That was all. It was quite simple and always will be.’
 
Oh my people, those are indeed words of truth and much wisdom! I LOVE it because it’s so simple, yet very telling!
 
The people we consider saints weren’t really holier than thou, they just did what they had to do without all the complaining and whining that we see in God’s people today. They simply followed Jesus’ example.
 
Yuh think He really wanted to come to earth and be a bloody sacrifice for a bunch of rebellious ingrates? No way! But the Father required it of Him, and being the obedient Son He was, He put His hand to the plough and never looked back.
 
And today Friends, the same is required of us; just do whatever the Lord calls us to do, whether it’s good or bad, easy or hard, and stop complaining and looking for excuses to get out of it.
 
Please note what our Bit says: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’ So if we want to be known as God’s children, then we have to be amongst those who endeavour to make peace, not war, to let calm reign, instead of strife.
 
Now hear what the scholars say about this Beatitude: ‘5:9. The next description deals with the peacemakers. They are at peace with God and desire to live in peace with all men (cf. Rom.5:1). Their peace with Christ enables them to be ambassadors of God’s message to a troubled world. Hence, they shall be called the children of God.
 
Throughout the Beatitudes Jesus clearly underscores that only those who have the qualities of a changed life, herein described, are citizens of His kingdom.’
 
Yeh mih breddren, unless we change our worldly ways, become a new creation in Christ, we CANNOT enter His kingdom!
 
And knowing that many of you won’t check the reference above, I’ll quote Romans 5:1. I sincerely hope though, that my doing so is not a disservice to you all, by making it too easy. Well, even our heavenly Father is sometimes indulgent (smile).
 
Anyway, Bruh Paul is here talking about the results of justification. ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Rom.5:1)
 
And the scholars explain: ‘5:1. Justified by faith (lit. “because we have been justified by faith”): It was God’s doing, not man’s. Peace with God: This is not a feeling, but a standing. God and the believer are no longer at enmity but have been reconciled (cf. 5:10-11; 2 Cor. 5:18). This is a primary result of our justification.’
 
So my fellow believers, all the good things that happen to us as believers, as members of the body, the church of Christ, are not of our doing, but of God. He wanted the enmity between Him and His most valuable creation to end. Thus He conceived that awesome, most marvellous plan of reconciliation, whereby those who wanted to be reconciled to Him, to return to worship, adore and live by His will, at least had an avenue to do so.
 
And all we have to do to receive it, is simply to believe on His Son Jesus; rustle up and ramp up our faith and believe.
 
Ah mih people, it couldn’t get any better than that yuh know! And the beauty of it all is that the plan is so simple, so easy, and most of all FREE! Yes Friends, I just want to remind us that God’s saving grace is indeed FREE!
 
Yet today we make it seem so difficult, because the cares of the world and the outwardly beautiful but really flimsy, unworthy things they manifest get in the way. They cloud our judgement to such an extent that we cannot have a meaningful relationship with our Creator. But please remember Friends, that we’re only supposed to be IN the world, but certainly not OF the world! (John 17:14-16; Rom.12:2)
 
And though I have some more stuff to say, re our Bit, we’ll end here for today, because it would make the message too long and burdensome for our busy lives and short attention spans. See how I’m looking out for you, my people! (smile) So tomorrow we’ll continue with this Beatitude, of course, provided that the Good Lord is in favour.
 
Till then though, let’s ponder what we’ve said today, and please, please, I implore us, let’s sincerely try and improve our relationship with Almighty God nuh, because that’s the only thing that makes sense on this evil, ungodly earth.
 
Remember, He is our Creator, Controller and Provider, and without Him we can do nothing. Indeed, we are NOTHING, without His saving grace, His magnanimous mercy, His unconditional LOVE, and His undeserving forgiveness! Much LOVE!
 
…only if we embrace Jesus and all that He stands for….will we ever enjoy eternal life with Him…that’s simple logic…but also divine wisdom…