Proverbs 10:22. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.
Oh Friends, oh Friends, on this Monday morning in mid December, cold and snowy in my area, I want us to remember one outstanding thing about our situations on this earthly pilgrimage; that as believers in Jesus Christ, WE ARE TRULY BLESSED!
Yes my people, like the song says; ‘Oh we, we are blessed. Let’s tell the world that we, we are blessed!’ (my version)
And that’s exactly what Jesus would have us do my brethren! And not only tell them, but even better yet, show them by our gratitude to God, our actions of care, kindness and LOVE for each other, being living examples of His true LOVE for us!
So no matter how our situations look this morning, whether we’re shaking it rough or not, let’s remember that it’s only because we are truly blessed that we can sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in faith, and have it eventually reflected in our spirits.
So with that in mind, let’s sing that awesome hymn of prayer and praise to get us ready to face the outside world in this new workweek. All together now in one melodious voice.
‘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!’
Ah mih breddren, reading that prayer always brings a chuckle to my spirit, as well as a sense of awe and gratitude.
Why? Because I don’t even remember the how, where, when and why of writing it. But I do know that I was indeed blessed, and had plenty of God’s help and guidance to write it, for I certainly could not have done it all in my own strength.
That’s why I keep preaching…oh no, not preaching…but what…possibly exhorting…because I’m much more an exhorter, an encourager, than a preacher.
So yes, that’s why I keep exhorting and encouraging us to turn to our Heavenly Creator first, and ask for guidance, before we embark on any task whatsoever!
Though sometimes that might seem foolish and counter-productive in the eyes of the world, yet through the eyes of faith in Jesus Christ, that move is ALWAYS PRODUCTIVE, since our God WILL NEVER lead us astray, if we come to Him in true gratitude and a sincere, searching heart.
That’s why Cousin Sol tells us in our Bit today: ‘The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’
And that’s one of the many valuable truths contained in the Good Book my people!
Now we only have time and space left for two corroborative scriptures, and both come from the Old Testament. The first relates to Abraham, when he sent his servant to his homeland to seek a wife for his son Isaac. And what happened?
The servant took ten of Abraham’s camels loaded with goods, and went to Mesopotamia, to the city where Nahor, Abraham’s brother lived.
‘And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed (give me success) this day, and show kindness unto my master Abraham.
Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water: And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.’ (Gen.24:11-14)
Oh Friends that servant was truly smart and faithful! Wish more of us could be so inclined. (smile) For the Lord heard, and responded with favour and blessing.
‘And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.’ (Gen.24:15)
And she did all that the servant had prayed to the Lord for. (Gen.24:16-25) Please read it my people, either to familiarize yourself with it, or to refresh your memory.
‘And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the Lord. And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute (forsaken) my master of his mercy (LOVING-kindness) and his truth: I being in the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.’ (Gen.24:26-27)
And all God’s people declared a loud and grateful: ‘Praise the Lord, for His undeserving kindness to the children of men!’ Yes Friends, the Lord works with us when we work with Him.
Hn, hn! But apparently I wasn’t working with Him when I said that we had time for two examples of scripture, (smile) because we only have time for one. So tomorrow, God willing, we’ll continue with this topic.
Till then, may the Lord bless and keep us safe under His mighty umbrella of LOVE and safety, give us His wonderful peace, and cause us to live faithfully for Him. Much LOVE!
…be careful (anxious) for nothing…but in every thing… by prayer and supplication…with thanksgiving…let your requests be made known unto God… (Phil.4:6)
P.S. Oh Friends, it’s Monday, so it must be a bit long. (smile)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 September 2013 Isaiah 54:17
01 Sep 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: Ariel, awesome promises, calamity, children of Israel, chocked full of LOVE, Christ's work, christianity, Creator, dangerous times, deadly strife, departed mother, dilly-dally, disaster, disastrous happenings, disobedience, distresses, earthly pilgrimage, empty soul, evil times, fallacy, far from oppression, fear, future generations, God's everlasting LOVE, God's promises, heritage of the Lord's servants, hungry man, Jerusalem, lion of God, Lord God Jehovah, man's history, misery, mount Zion, multitude of nations, New Testament, night vision, no weapon formed against you shall prosper, null and void, Old Testament, out of context, pass muster, peaceful world, provider, pure foolishness, rally round the cross of Christ, religion, righteousness., servants of the lord, spiritual protection, spreading God's Word, strife, teach our children God's Word, terror, the great wars, theology, thirsty man, tumultuous times, turbulent times, walking obedient to God's will, worldly endeavours
Isaiah 54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me.
Oh Friends, it seems like I owe my poor, departed mother another apology on this Sunday morning, the first day of September 2013. Not only did it take me almost two years to go and visit her, it seems that I was so taken up with T&T’s Independence celebrations yesterday, that I failed to mention it was also the second anniversary of her going to be with the Lord. I guess the ole fella’s simply showing his age and human frailty. (smile)
Thanks for reminding me Di, although as I told you, it wasn’t a complete forgetting, because the flowers on the altar at church today will be donated in her memory. And you know Mols sugar, that whatever nonsense or mistakes your Sonny Boy might make, he will NEVER forget you!
How could I eh, after the wonderful relationship we shared for sixty something years, especially since it was an experience chocked full of LOVE? For as Cousin Sol says in his Song, your banner over me was one of continuous LOVE! That’s not to say there weren’t some tumultuous times, but they were few and far between and never lasted very long.
And I’m not the only one who thinks that time is going by rather quickly, because everybody I tell that she’s been gone to Paradise for two years now can’t believe that it’s already been that long.
That’s why, my fellow believers, we can’t afford to dilly-dally with the work we’ve been commissioned to do for Christ here on earth, since we can be called home unexpectedly at any time. And what are we going to tell the Father when He asks why we didn’t do a better job eh, that we didn’t have enough time?
No Friends that’s not going to pass muster, because he’s going to turn back the clock and show us all the time we wasted being involved in sinful worldly endeavours, when we could have been spreading His Word.
That brings us to our Bit: ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me.’
Now a lot of us claim that promise, and so we should, but as with a lot of other scriptures, we take them out of context, and only use the parts that seem beneficial, while conveniently forgetting the other aspects. And in this particular promise, we always seem to leave out the very important proviso: ‘This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord…’
Yes Friends, if you’re not a servant of the Lord, then that promise is null and void! And furthermore, whatever righteousness we might have, doesn’t come from our own efforts, but from the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator and Provider. And having straightened that out, (smile) let’s look at some scriptures that fortify that, no, those awesome promises, because we’re promised physical, vocal and spiritual protection with righteousness.
Wow! And people still refuse to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! How unwise and foolish!
Isaiah himself tells us, re Ariel (Jerusalem; lit- lion of God) and her enemies, that though the Lord distresses Jerusalem, yet in the end: ‘And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel (Jerusalem), even all that fight against her and her munition (fortress), and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite (still craves): so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.’ (Is.29:7-8)
And just before our Bit, Isaiah trills thus to God’s everlasting LOVE for the children of Israel, and those who follow His commandments. ‘And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.
Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument (weapon) for his work; and I have created the waster (destroyer) to destroy.’ (Is.54:13 -16)
So my people, there’s nothing to fear if we are walking obedient to God’s will, for as we’ve seen, He has promised on several occasions to protect us from our enemies when we so do. But unfortunately in these evil, turbulent and dangerous times, we have forsaken our God, have not even taught our children His Word. So what else can we expect but disaster, calamity and misery eh?
I don’t know if there’s ever been a time in man’s history, even during the two great wars, where mankind has been engaged in warfare on so many fronts at the same time. The scale of fighting might not be as large as in the two world wars, but we have many more nations inflamed in both external and internal strife. It’s possibly easier to pick out the few nations that are not involved in some kind of deadly strife.
Oh Friends, when are we ever going to learn eh? The Most High God created us, and though He’s given us freedom of choice, He still retains overall control. And He has continually warned us to keep His commandments, to serve and worship Him in sincerity and truth, while also providing glaring examples of the disastrous happenings disobedience can bring.
So it’s up to us now Friends to rally round the cross of Christ and try to drum some sense into the hard, stubborn minds of our fellowman. That is if we want our children and future generations to live in a somewhat peaceful world.
And in closing, I know that some people try to knock the Old Testament, saying it’s out of date and of no use now. But my brethren, that’s a fallacy, pure foolishness, because the Old Testament is the setting, the foreshadowing, for fulfillment by the New Testament. And throughout the New Testament you’ll find Jesus and all the disciples and apostles quoting important scripture from the Old Testament.
So please don’t listen to anyone who tells you that nonsense! You can’t properly understand the New until you understand the Old, just like you cannot tell where you’re going, until you know where you’ve come from. Much LOVE!
…our earthly pilgrimage may be rough and rocky…but if we concentrate on walking with God…then though we occasionally stumble…we’ll never fall…that’s the Lord’s faithful promise…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 March 2013 Philippians 1:11
09 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: afflicted, bad habits, Christ's Church, conquered death and the grave, Daylight Savings Time, dissensions, divisions, done my assigned work, earthly pilgrimage, fruits of righteousness, glorification of God, glorify the Lord, good habits, good works, humbled, Jesus Christ, let your light shine, LOVE, northern climes, nothing's impossible with Jesus, obedience, praise and glory of God, run the race, saviour jesus christ, servant, somerset maugham, spring-like morning, sure conquerors
Philippians 1:11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Oh Friends, on this spring-like morning in the northern climes, I sure hope that these words meet you all in good health and steadfast faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! I also hope that you’re enjoying the numerous new mercies and blessings He’s rained down from heaven this morning. Oh what a wonderful God we serve and worship! And all God’s people shouted a joyous: ‘Praise His Holy Name, for He is indeed worthy to be praised!’ And that’s an indisputable fact Friends! Just a reminder here to those who live under the Daylight Savings time obstacle or debacle. And I consider it both, because it disrupts lives. One minute you’re going to work or school in the dark and coming home in the dark. Then next, you’re doing both in the daylight. I really don’t know if it serves any useful purpose to the ordinary citizen, but the powers that be have declared we must have it, and so we do. Anyway, please remember that the clocks go forward one hour at 2 a.m, tonight or tomorrow morning, your choice. (smile) Now let me share an interesting quote from the famous British writer, Somerset Maugham (1874 -1965), who says: ‘The unfortunate thing about this world is that good habits are so much easier to give up than bad ones.’ And all of us can certainly attest to the truth of that statement, since all our lives we’ve been fighting to give up bad habits, but too often find it extremely difficult, if not impossible. However my brethren, when you’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Jesus, then nothing is impossible! That’s because you and Jesus are the perfect pair, together you can do anything, successfully fight any battle that comes along! Together you’re sure conquerors! Just look at how he conquered death and the grave! So the smartest move you can make, if you have a problem habit, or any problem at all, is to get truly connected to Jesus. What an eye opening experience that can be my people! And I’m saying this from personal experience, not simple hearsay. This brings us to our Bit: ‘Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.’ And as yesterday, we’ll use the scholars’ simpler translation. ‘Filled with the fruit that is righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying and praising God.’ Now the last two days we’ve talked about the fruits of righteousness in our Bit, today we’ll talk about the last half, ‘unto the glory and praise of God.’ And we’ll begin with some choice words of Bruh David from Psalm 22; a cry of anguish and song of praise, where he astutely warns us: ‘Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed (descendants) of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him (hold Him in awesome reverence), all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.’ (Ps.22:23-24) Oh my fellow believers, that’s as good a reason as any to praise and glorify our most awesome God! Now let’s turn to some words of Jesus on the subject. And yuh better believe mih breddren, that doing the Father’s will and glorifying Him was paramount in Jesus’ earthly sojourn. It was His raison d’être, He was totally consumed by it. That’s because He knew where all His strength and power to do His earthly job came from. Right from the start, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached that glorifying the Father was important. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16) Oh Friends, are we doing that? Obviously not to the extent that we should. Next we can turn to just after Jesus told His disciples about His betrayal, and Judas left. (John 13:21-30) ‘Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway (immediately) glorify him.’ (John 13:31-32) To Jesus, the end result was always about the glorification of His heavenly Father! Remember too, as Bruh Paul reminded the Philippians: ‘Who (Jesus Christ), being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:6-8) Yes my people, if only we could be half as obedient to Christ, as He was to the Father, Christ’s church here on earth would be sparkling and growing by leaps and bounds, instead of being more or less stagnant, possibly even shrinking, full of resentment, anger and strife, through too many petty divisions and dissensions. Jesus also drove home the point of obedience and glorification when telling the disciples the parable of the vine and the branches. ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto (for) you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath LOVED me, so have I LOVED you: continue ye (abide) in my LOVE. If ye keep my commandments; ye shall abide in my LOVE; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in His LOVE.’ (John 15:7-10) Ah Friends, it’s all about obedience and LOVE! How are we shaping up in those departments eh? However we’re doing, I’m sure we can all do better. So let’s get a move on with it nuh, so that at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we’ll be able to say, like Jesus: ‘Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee…. I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.’ (John 17:1,4) Oh Friends, all I can say is that we go out into this evil, ungodly world and do the Father’s work as passionately and obediently as Jesus did, consequently glorifying Him. For us believers, that’s wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!…the human being was sculpted by God…with unconditional LOVE…so that he could return that LOVE to God…unconditionally…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 February 2013 Psalm 21:6
27 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: absolute hope, actions, Bible Study, blessed, Christian beliefs, christianity, confidence, darkest hour, deceitful, earthly pilgrimage, evildoers, exceedingly glad, faith, footstools, God's Word, hearts, heavy load, joy, maturity, mercy, minds, pain, powers of darkness, praise, psalm 21, religion, roadblocks, saviour jesus christ, sliding, slipping, souls, spirituality, surrender, thankfulness, treacherous, true believers, true wisdom, trust, unfortunate experience, uptempo dance, victory, virgin snow, weather forecasters
Psalm 21:6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 February 2013 Job 8:13
22 Feb 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: affirms God's justice, all who forget God, bide time, Bildad, blessings, body, caught in their own net, christianity, communion with god, earthly pilgrimage, endurance, fasting, fellowship, fool's folly, forgiveness, fun, glorious kingdom, grace, heathen, hypocrite's hope, hypocrites, Job, LOVE, mercy, mind, mire, patience, perish, praise and thanks, relaxation, remember God, rest, sorry lot, soul, spirituality, torn in pieces, traffic hassles, wisdom
Job 8:13. So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday; the second Friday in Lent! But the joyous ‘TGIF’s’ and ‘Thank God is Friday,’ are not as plentiful or powerful as normal. I don’t know if that’s happening because it’s Lent, but as I recently said, though Lent should be a serious time of reflection, contemplation and communion with God, there’s no need to lose our joy, whatever season it is. And remember those joyous shouts on Fridays are for the ending of the week of labour, the traffic hassles and all the other worldly distractions. It also gives us more time to spend with God, which should make us even more joyous. So please let’s keep our joy going, don’t let Lucifer fool us into thinking that we have to be so pious and holy we can’t have mucho joy in our souls. Remember, it’s that joy we get from being in sync with God that gives us the strength to bear the burdens we all face on our earthly pilgrimage. And to help us with that, let’s chant our Friday Chant with plenty power and sweet harmony. As one 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.’ That was awesome my people! Let’s do it for real now. Oh, by the way, the ole fella aced the fasting test yesterday! I got to the lab around ten thirty-five, but was it ever crowded. I knew though that I wasn’t leaving, because I had no desire to go through the fasting situation again. So I sat down and patiently bided my time, reading a novel. Jesus was surely proud of me, because I didn’t whine and complain. (smile) I didn’t leave there until eleven thirty, which meant I fasted for over 13 hours. Mama Mia! Hopefully that’s it for the year. Anyway, let’s turn to our Bit: ‘So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.’ That my Friends, is the living truth, as declared by our living God! Before we get into it though, let’s get some background info. Those words come from Job’s buddy Bildad, as he affirms God’s justice. And just before our Bit, he’s talking about the demise of certain herbs. ‘Can the rush (papyrus) grow up without mire (marsh)? Can the flag (reeds) grow without water? Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.’ (Job 8:11-12) Then he brings up our Bit, comparing those who forget God and lead hypocritical lives to the demise of those herbs. Bildad further declares after our Bit: ‘Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider’s web (house). He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.’ (Job 8:14-15) That’s oh so true my brethren! Those who forget God and play the hypocrite, their hopes shall eventually be dashed to the ground. Though they build their houses, intricate, pretty and supposedly strong like a spider builds its web, they will not endure. Like a house of cards, they will be easily blown down and destroyed. Now let’s look at some scripture that corroborates our Bit, starting with words of Bruh David, from Psalm 9; Praise for God’s justice. ‘The heathen (nations or gentiles) are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken (caught). The Lord is known by the judgement which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion (meditation or song) Selah. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.’ (Ps.9:15-18) Yes Friends, that’s the sorry lot of all those who don’t revere and worship the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! And if you don’t believe Bruh David, then listen to that other great psalmist, Asaph, as he righteously proclaims in Psalm 50; God is the judge. ‘Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation (conduct) aright will I show the salvation of God.’ (Ps.50:22-23) Oh my people, we certainly don’t want to be torn in pieces, do we? So let’s not foolishly forget Almighty God, the ONE who created the universe and all therein. Instead, let’s wisely offer Him praise and thanks, so that He may be glorified, and walk steadfastly in obedience to His Word, so that we’ll see His salvation. That is the wisdom of the righteous! More on this tomorrow, God in favour. Till then, let’s remember our God and spend worthy time with Him, so that He’ll continue to LOVE, bless, forgive, protect and show us His wonderful grace and mercy. Much LOVE!…a fool in his folly…says there is no God…but what happens then…as the wise man believes…that there is a God…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 January 2013 Proverbs 1:10
17 Jan 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: cyberspace, duped, earthly pilgrimage, enticements, God's assurance, God's vision, God's Word, grossly mislead, idolaters, idols, LOVE Jesus, physical surroundings, power of grace, scammed, sinners, sure promises, the first commandment, true reflection, virtual reality
Proverbs 1:10. My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Oh Friends, another day in our earthly pilgrimage is dawning, bright and beautiful in some physical locations, dark and dreary in others. But yuh know what; in all the hearts that know and LOVE Jesus, the day is dawning bright and beautiful with a sure promise of great things to come, regardless of the physical surroundings. Now today, I want to share a few quotes re virtual reality and the real reality, from this book I’ve been reading, ‘The Incredible Power of Grace – When God’s Assurance Becomes Your Own,’ by Roland R. Hegstad. Oh my brethren, in this modern age of almost instant communication, we’ve become so caught up in computers and all they represent, especially the chance to play in cyberspace and fantasize in what’s termed virtual reality. And as computers become more important, more invasive in our lives, unfortunately a by-product is that we tend to forget, lose sight or understand what is true reality. Author Hegstad advises that to truly understand what’s happening, we have to define our world in small frames of reference, like a photographer does when taking a picture. That frame can only hold so much information, but it’s invariably a true reflection of what’s there. He says: ‘In short, to define reality correctly, we must frame our world through the viewfinder of God’s Word – a viewfinder that reminds us that virtual reality is banishing face-to-face, heart-to-heart communication and friendship that God desires us to share.’ (Page 104) And isn’t that the REAL truth Friends? Virtual reality causes us to lose the reality of interacting with each other on a truly human, face to face basis. It’s become so silly and widespread now to see a group of supposed friends sitting together without any conversation between them, because they are all so busy texting or doing whatever on their communicating devices. Sometimes they can even be sitting together and texting each other rather than talking. How silly is that eh? And the sad part is that’s all most of our young people know and are accustomed to! Oh my people, I believe as author Hegstad does, that our world is quickly losing touch with the real reality and replacing it with the virtual stuff, which is not, and can never be the genuine article, but will always be a mere approximation. And do we want our lives to be ruled by mere approximations? I think not! So please, let’s not get so caught up in the cyberspace and the virtual realities of this world, that we lose sight of who and whose we are. As author Hegstad points out: ‘In God’s vision reality is something more than virtual: it’s a Person, a Person with nail-pierced hands: it’s adoption into the family of God, taking His name and becoming part of His own indestructible heredity.’ (Page 108) That therefore means, ‘Reality has a face! Reality is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ! And we are reality because we are created in His image. We are not just actors on a galaxy-sized Hollywood set. Here and now, we are God’s children. For the child of God, reality is never freedom from individuality, but freedom at last to be finally and fully oneself.’ (Page 114) And ‘When we lose touch with the reality that is Jesus Christ, we also lose self-identity – the concept of who we really are: here and now God’s son; here and now God’s daughter; here and now part of His own indestructible heredity; here and now LOVED beyond comprehension.’ (Page 106) Ah mih people, computers have their uses, as tools, but sadly, because of the world’s forceful push, we are allowing them to invade and control the very essence of our lives. In many ways, they are doing what our Bit so rightly advises against. ‘My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.’ Yes my brethren, this communication and information age is playing serious havoc with our lives. Granted, it gives us more opportunity to spread the Word, but by the same token it also provides more opportunity for us to be grossly mislead. And believe me, a lot of us are being seriously misled, duped and scammed by plenty of the stuff out there in the cyberspace and virtual reality worlds. We need to take much of it with plenty grains of salt. The most important thing in our lives is still, and will always be the WORD OF GOD! Now here’s a passage of scripture that describes God’s instruction to the Israelites, in terns of our Bit, re idolaters, way back when. ‘If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom (you cherish), or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh (near) unto thee, or far off from thee, from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent (yield) unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him. But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be the first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die, because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more such wickedness as this is among you.’ (Deut.13:6-11) Oh Friends, it does seem a bit harsh, but it’s God’s Word and shows how serious He is about His supremacy and enticements to sin, especially worshipping idols and other so-called gods. So my people, in this mad rush to cyberspace and virtual reality, let’s not forget what is truly important in our lives – the WORD OF GOD – for if we do, we’ll certainly pay a hefty penalty for it – eternal separation from Almighty God. Much LOVE!…remember the first Commandment…Thou shalt have no other gods before me… (Ex.20:3)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 November 2012 1 Timothy 6:10
14 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: contentment, destruction, earthly pilgrimage, greed, harmony, Holy Spirit of Jesus, labour of LOVE, LOVE of Money, material possessions, negative problems, positive mental attitude, root of all evil, ruin, self-discipline, stray from the faith, true wealth, wisdom, woe
1 Timothy 6:10. For the LOVE of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Oh Friends, it’s Wednesday, and according to the old nursery rhyme, Wednesday’s child is full of woe! Now the dictionary describes woe as affliction, bitter grief, distress and calamity. And though there could be a tad of truth to the rhyme, generally speaking, once we have the Holy Spirit of Jesus living in us, leading and guiding us on this earthly pilgrimage, woe is something we don’t often experience. Of course we’ll have rough times, but constant, serious, negative problems are not usually associated with God’s children. So please, let’s not dwell on the negative aspects of our lives. Instead, let’s dwell on these 12 Aspects of True Wealth that come from my ‘Off the Wall’ topics. These 12 aspects of true wealth are posted in my young daughter’s larger than normal, multicoloured writing on the right hand wall of my study, right in my sight line, but as with many of the other things posted there I hardly notice them. I’m sure I look at them sometimes and they don’t even register on my mental screen. Like so many other things that have been in our lives for a long period of time, they tend to become invisible. Anyway, here are those 12 Aspects of True Wealth: (1) A positive mental attitude. (2) Sound physical health. (3) Harmony in human relationships. (4) Freedom from fear. (5) Hope of future achievement. (6) The capacity for applied faith. (7) Willingness to share one’s blessings with others. (8) To be engaged in a labour of LOVE – like writing the Scrip-Bit has become to me. (9) An open mind on all subjects to all people. (10) Complete self-discipline. (11) Wisdom with which to understand people. (12) Financial Security. Ah Friends, what a wonderful set of aspirations! But let’s note that the first 11 aspects basically comprise the tenets of our Christian faith, and secondly, that the money matter is placed LAST. Yes my people, money is not the most important aspect of our lives, as so many of us are being led to believe in this money-hungry, ‘gravalicious’ world. If we have the first eleven, the money will come. Let’s remember that and stop running down money and worshipping it more than the God who created it and us. Remember, as our Bit so rightly states: ‘For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil; which while some coveted after (in their greediness), they have erred (strayed) from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ And that is most definitely the gospel truth my people! Now money is not the only source of evil, but it’s certainly a most important one. And sadly, too many of us are letting the getting of money, its dogged pursuit, become our end all and be all. Now Friends, that isn’t a very wise idea at all, since it generally leads to greed and avarice taking over our souls, consequently causing us to forsake Almighty God in the mad rush for earthly wealth. And please note what Bruh Paul says before our Bit: ‘For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us therewith be content. But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction).’ (1 Tim.6:7-9) Oh Friends, there’s no disputing those facts, but though we know them deep down inside, yet we still insist on letting the pursuit of money be our overwhelming goal. But as the scholars so appropriately point out, we must not believe ‘that material possessions have no place in the Christian’s life. By the figure of speech food and raiment stand for all of life’s basic necessities. These are all the believer needs, and having these he can be content.’ Our problem is that we desire to have too many material possessions, more than we can ever need or use, which is the way the world sees it, and which isn’t the way true believers ought to see it. And to prove my point, listen to the wisest man ever, Cousin Sol, on the subject. ‘For wisdom is a defense (a protective shade), and money is a defense: but the excellency (advantage) of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.’ (Eccl.7:12) Yes Friends, money is important, we all need it, and it can be an advantage when we have it, but the advantage of knowledge over money is that it improves our entire life, the way that money can’t. Look at all those who have money and yet are still miserable and unhappy. Oh, I know many of you will take the money and the unhappiness, but if you first have wisdom, you can always make money, but having money doesn’t necessarily bring or mean that you have wisdom. Just look at the numerous fools that have made several fortunes and lost them each time. Wisdom not only helps you to make money, but more importantly, it also guides and enables you to keep it. That’s enough for us to ponder on today Friends. So please, let’s worship the Lord God Jehovah and not money or material possession, that’s the zenith of wisdom. Much LOVE!…if you can buy it with money…then you can’t take it to heaven with you…
SCRIP-BITS 