SCRIP-BITS

Proverbs 18:21.      Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Sunshine, lollipops and roses… Well one out of three isn’t bad on this cold winter Saturday morning. (smile) Yes friends, the snow has been cleared away and we’ve gone back to a cold, crisp sunshiny day to rest and laze about in. Please give our great, gracious and merciful God thanks for been able to see another wonderful day on His amazing planet earth! 

Yes, times they are currently somewhat rough, but how many of us would really prefer to be sleeping in eternity right now eh? Not many of us, because there’s something about this earthly life that very few of us want to leave, though times are less than stellar. For some of us it might be fear of the unknown, while others just want to enjoy the worldly delights available, but whatever the reason, we are not quite ready to leave the confusion and troubles of this earth. (smile) 

So having ascertained that fact, let’s turn to our Saturday routine; that of checking out the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. And the first quote tells us: ‘You cannot hang out with negative people and expect to live a positive life.’ Now that’s the gospel truth, and it ought to be simple logic for most of us. But unfortunately it isn’t, for many of us hang out with negative persons, their negative words and behaviour and don’t expect any of it to rub off on us. 

That’s foolish my brethren! It’s like playing with a dog that has fleas and don’t expect some of the hardy and annoying critters to rub off on us. And I know that we can only bring the negative believers to Christ by interacting with them, but we have to be very careful that our positivity in Christ rubs off on them, and not their negativity rubs off on us. 

That brings us to the next quote, which ties in with the one above. It says: ‘The more you talk about negative things in your life, the more you call them in. Speak victory, not defeat.’ Another statement of gospel truth my people! You can’t talk in one way, that’s negatively, and expect to receive something different, meaning positivity, for each breeds the same thing, not the other. As they say, you reap what you sow, you can’t plant peas and expect to reap corn. (smile) But that’s what a lot of us do. We have a negative reaction to life, but expect it to end up positively. 

That will never happen friends, as this next quote explains: ‘You can change your world by changing your words… Remember, death and life are in the power of the tongue.’ More truth from God’s word! Cousin Sol said it very clearly. ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that LOVE it shall eat the fruit thereof.’ (Prov. 18:21) Yes my brethren, whatever words we speak we will only receive the fruit they bear. So, if our words are negative, then we will reap negativity, and if they are positive, we will reap positivity. 

Please note that we are talking about a constant pattern of both kinds of activity, not just one or two instances, because we all have moments when we briefly touch on the other side. And even more importantly friends, not only shall our words have a serious effect on our earthly lives, but also on our eternal ones, for Jesus said it loud and clear. ‘But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’ (Matt. 12:36-37) 

Oh my people, that ought to put the fear of God in our hearts, especially in these times when idle talk rules in our society. The social media platforms and the great advances in, and interconnectivity of telecommunications has given rise to an inordinately talkative society, where we can speak about what we don’t know, and even do it anonymously. So, if we are wise, we’d better begin thinking about what we say now, since our words will count against us come the judgement day. 

Meanwhile, the next quote also offers words of wisdom, as it advises us thus: ‘Why don’t you start believing that no matter what you have or haven’t done, that your best days are still out in front of you….’ It’s just another way of saying think positively and believe that with God’s help you can always rise up higher in your walk with Him. And we are only going to quote a couple of scriptures in support of that argument. 

First up is one we all know but fail to put into action, the words of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, where he declares: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11) 

And what about this other verse from Bruh Paul’s missive to the church at Philippi? ‘Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 1:6) Yes friends, the Lord will continue working His good work in believers until Jesus Christ returns to earth, meaning that our security is eternally assured, so there’s no need to fear that you will go backward instead of forward with Christ as your Lord and Saviour. 

And the last quote directs us to ‘Do all you can to make your dreams come true.’ Now that sounds good and true, and Bruh David enshrined it in scripture in this memorable verse: ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ (Ps. 37:4) However, as a believer in Christ Jesus, we must be careful that our dreams intertwine with His divine will, otherwise they won’t come true. The Lord, the devil, or we might put desires in our hearts, but only the ones that fall within the will of God will come true. 

And I can talk from personal experience here, because I’ve tried a lot of things, dreams that I believe He’d put in my heart. And although He allowed me to get involved in all of them, and I had some success, they never were as successful as I desired, because they were not really His will for my life. So, I eventually had to give them up for one reason of another. And to prove my point, writing this Scrip-Bit was never my idea, not even one that I thought I could accomplish, and laughed when He proposed it. But it was obviously in His will, for with His faithful help, I’ve been doing it successfully now for fifteen years. 

That says it all! But don’t worry, I still have several other dreams that I’m working on, other desires of my heart that I believe He’s put there, (smile) and hopefully those will fit in nicely with His will, and we will eventually accomplish them…with His divine help of course! So please, let’s not jump around willy nilly thinking that every desire of our heart will be fulfilled, but let’s concentrate on finding those that fall into God’s will for our lives, so that He can raise us up and glorify His holy name. Remember, that’s our number one purpose on this earth. Much LOVE!

…life is certainly complicated…but with Christ in our hearts…the complications are certainly manageable… 

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