Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 August 2021 Job 12:13.

Job 12:13.      With him (God) is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

Come on friends, it’s the big day of Friday, the start of this glorious summer weekend! So what’s your plans for it eh? Fun and frolic, wine and song, or just taking it easy and lying in the sun, enjoying its warming rays? Well, a li’l bit of those are all good, but what about some time with our heavenly Father eh? No plans to get together with Him for even a li’l tete a tete? That’s not wise now, for He is the source of all you are, all you have and all you will ever be. 

So please, let’s be wise and make some time to spend with our wonderful God over the next few days nuh, in private prayer, as well as corporate worship. For that’s what truly makes us come alive, enlivens our spirits, strengthens our faith and keeps us going in the right direction. 

Yes friends, without some face time with our God, we become listless and lost, unsure of how to proceed in this rather complicated and unpredictable process we call life, especially when the enemy is getting more active and daring every day, because he thinks he is winning the fight. But we need to show him that he’s oh so wrong. And we can only do that with the grace of our great God flowing from our souls and spirits. And we can only get that ever-powerful grace of God when we sincerely bond and engage with Him. 

For as Job so rightly said when attacked by his supposed friends: ‘With him (God) is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.’ (Job 12:13) Oh my brethren, truer words were never spoken! And did Job ever learn a thing or two about God during his innocent ‘sufferation.’ Earlier on he remarked: ‘He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?’ (Job 9:4) And the obvious answer to that question is ‘NOBODY!’ 

Even the mightiest of His creations, the archangel Lucifer, foolishly tried to overthrow Him but was unsuccessful and ingloriously kicked out from the power and glory he enjoyed in heaven. So, it’s ever so foolish for us lesser mortals to think that we could best God in any respect whatsoever. But we do try, when, like Lucifer, the pride of our looks and doings overwhelm our puny minds. 

It never ceases to amaze me that the created, could ever think that they are more powerful and can thus overthrow or bring down their Creator. It just doesn’t compute friends. The created is like putty in the hands of the Creator, made into whatever image the Creator desires, and the Creator is no fool to imbue the created with so much might and power that the latter could overthrow Him. 

That means all our efforts to rid our society of God is just pure foolishness. And the only thing that’s stopping God from getting rid of us completely is His awesome, though not understandable, unconditional LOVE for us! Remember, He once erased the whole world through a flood when He got tired of humanity’s sin and disobedience. Unfortunately, that new start didn’t work too well either, for we were soon back to our old sinful and disobedient ways. 

And though God promised never to use a flood again, there’s nothing that says He can’t use other means, like fire and brimstone, or sickness and other natural disasters. And who knows what’s really happening in our world right now eh? Look at the serious strife, sickness, fires and upheaval that’s taking place all over the globe! How do we know that’s not the hand of God trying to wake us up, to tell us something eh? We don’t, and apparently many of us don’t care. 

But for the comparative few of us who do care and are concerned about all the ‘sufferation’ in our current world, please, let’s make it our number one desire to spend time with our Maker, our God, our Provider, our Comforter. For it’s only through sincere interaction with Him that our problems will ever be solved, or even lessened. And there’s no better time than right now, to go to Him in prayer, asking for His help to bring back some sense of sanity to our world, for it surely seems to have suddenly gone mad. 

So as one sincere voice, let’s offer up our Friday Chant. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. 

So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. 

And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’  

Now friends, let’s remember our promise to be faithful believers, for if we aren’t, our prayers will not be answered. That means, it now depends solely on our behaviour; it’s our choice, to be righteous, or unrighteous! Much LOVE!

…to God…the giver of life…be all the glory…for ever and ever…                                                                                                              

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8         

Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 September 2017 John 14:16.

John 14:16.   And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.

Arise my brethren, it is the Lord’s Day, and we must be trekking to His sanctuary to engage in blissful fellowship with other believers. What a time it will be, with joyful songs of praise and worship, the reading of God’s word, which enlivens our spirit, and words of encouragement and prayer for and with each other. 

But notwithstanding all of that, these are indeed disastrous times in our world, and we need extra comfort from our faith, thus we’ll open this morning with the old hymn ‘Precious Lord, take my hand’ that fits the bill. The song was written in 1932 by Thomas A Dorsey, a black man from Chicago after his wife Nettie died while giving birth to a child (who also died shortly thereafter). Dorsey sang the song for his friend, Gospel singer Theodore Frye, and Frye’s choir sang it the next Sunday at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church. 

So please friends, and fellow believers, let’s offer up the sacrifice of praise from our lips, as we seek comfort from our comforting God. In rich and soulful harmony now, as we feel it down in our very beings. ‘Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; Through the storm, through the night, Lead me on to the light: (Refrain: Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.) 

When my way grows drear, Precious Lord, linger near, When my life is almost gone, Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall: (Refrain: Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.) When the darkness appears And the night draws near, And the day is past and gone, At the river I stand, Guide my feet, hold my hand: (Refrain: Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.) 

Precious Lord, take my hand Lead me on, let me stand, I’m tired, I’m weak, I’m alone; Through the storm, through the night Lead me on to the light Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home (lead me home)’ 

Oh my brethren, there is NONE other than Almighty God who can satisfy that need for reassurance and comfort in our hurting souls! That’s why we need to call out to Him first when terrible times overcome us, for He is our indispensable Healer and Comforter. Listen as Jesus offers assurance to His disciples in our Bit. ‘And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.’ 

Oh friends, what a wonderful Lord and Saviour we have! He knew that He had to go away and that the disciples would be left in the lurch without Him around.  So He made arrangements with the Father to send them another Comforter, like Jesus, the Holy Spirit, that would dwell within them forever. And he continues: ‘Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.’ (John 14:17) 

And the scholars tell us: ’14:17. The Spirit…shall be in you: The ministry of the Holy Spirit, promised to believers of this age, is unique, since it is given to all believers alike, and is permanent (dwelleth, that is “takes up residence”). See verse 23.’  

And we all know that the Holy Spirit made that magnificent appearance to all believers on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus had told them to stay in Jerusalem until the new Comforter came, because they would not have had the parts to go out and do what He required of them. The Good Book describes that momentous event thus: ‘And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (one purpose, mind) in one place. 

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven (divided) tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.’ (Acts 2:1-4) 

Ah mih friends, our God doesn’t too things in half measures! When He decides to put on a show, He puts on a big one, with all the bells and whistles, not a little Mickey-Mouse event! (smile) But Jesus’ most touching words to me, were the ones He spoke after promising to send the Holy Spirit. ‘I will not leave you comfortless (orphans): I will come to you.’ (John 14:18) 

What care and compassion Jesus shows for those distraught men who had given up everything they had to follow Him, thinking that He would be setting up a new kingdom at that time, only to later learn that He would be killed and then He would go away and leave them…but not alone. That’s not Jesus’ style friends. Once you come to Him, He will ALWAYS be with you: ‘for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb:13:5) 

Oh my people, in ending, all I can says is that the best place to find comfort and compassion in times of sorrow, is in the ever-open and ever-LOVING arms of Jesus. He has already offered the great invitation: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek (gentle) and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt.11:28-30)  

Friends, it doesn’t get any better than that. But please remember, YOU have to make a serious decision to go to Him to find succour. It won’t just fall in your lap. Much LOVE!

…on a comfort scale of 1-10…Jesus is 11 plus…