Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 September 2018 John 16:33.

John 16:33.   These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

‘Shalom friends, Shalom! Peace! Everlasting Peace! May the peace of God, that peace that passes all human understanding, which is instilled in us by the Holy Spirit, be unto you and yours this somewhat cloudy Saturday morning!’ 

And all God’s people said a loud and grateful, ‘Thank You Lord!’ For there is nothing that’s so badly needed right now in our world, than peace, the peace of Almighty God! And though it’s cloudy, the sun is valiantly pushing through, just like our efforts in Jesus Christ to transform this evil world, to have His LOVE Revolution conquer it! Have faith my brethren. If we persevere in Jesus’ name, it will happen. 

Now let’s look at some of our friend Anselm’s quotes for this week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And the first one says: ‘Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.’ Now that’s simply logical. If you look at things differently, then in the majority of cases, they will appear differently to you. I guess it’s all about our perspective. 

And the second one tells us: ‘You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be.’ And isn’t that the glorious truth! My people, wherever we are, is where we have decided to be, at least for the time being, otherwise we’d be somewhere else. 

That’s unless we’re living for Jesus, and He has us in a particular position or situation right now that we don’t like, and as far as we’re concerned, He is moving us too slowly from glory to glory. But even then, we can always change it. It might not work out for the best under your terms, but it’s always changeable. 

Now this quote is simple but ever so important in a believer’s life. ‘Spread LOVE wherever you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.’ Yeh friends, that’s what Jesus has called us to do, ‘SPREAD LOVE!’ 

His kind of LOVE; the kind that’s sincere and true and really caring and compassionate, not the empty, insincere, deceitful words that the world utters. That means whoever we interact with, we must leave them with a li’l bit of Jesus, so that their souls and spirits can be lifted through His awesome power. 

That leads us to this last quote: ‘With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.’ That’s also very true my people! We might not be able to always control our situations, but we always have the power to control our attitudes towards them. 

What did Jesus say about such situations? ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) 

Wow! What assurance friends! Our Lord and Saviour has already overcome the world, so we should not allow our circumstances to drag us down and keep us down for too long. Through His Holy Spirit that dwells within us, we can have peace in even the most unpleasant and unpalatable situations. 

Bruh Paul told Timothy in no uncertain terms: ‘Persecutions. Afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured; but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’ (2 Tim.3:11-12) 

And that’s indisputable truth! Once we stand up and proclaim the name of Jesus, the enemy WILL come against us. But as the Good Book says, he will come against us one way, but flee seven ways! Glory to God! 

Now let’s end up with some significant scriptures on peace. Hear Bruh Paul to the Ephesians, re Christ: ‘For he (he himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us.’ (Eph.2:13) Yeh people, by His death and resurrection Christ has broken down all barriers between Jews and Gentiles. We are all one body, one church under His name now. 

Meanwhile to the Colossians, Bruh Paul advised: ‘ And above all these things put on charity (LOVE), which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.’ (Col.3:14-15) Oh friends, LOVE is the crowning grace of a believer, and right behind it is peace! 

And to the Philippians, Bruh Paul wrote: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard, sustain) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:6-7) 

Now isn’t that wonderful! Though we don’t understand God’s peace, we certainly have it available to us. So let’s use it nuh mih breddren, for it’s wisdom personified. Much LOVE!

…walking with Christ…brings tranquility of mind…frees us from fear and worry…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 November 2013 Deuteronomy 28:1

Deuteronomy 28:1.    And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.
 
Ah mih people, in this rough and rugged world, when it’s not one thing, it’s certainly another yes. Now yesterday my allergies were bothering me, but I beat them off. Today though, I couldn’t get up. Like the ole body was more tired than I thought.
 
However, as the old people would say; better late than never. So if the Bit’s a tad late, please bear with the ole fella, let your tender mercies and forgiveness, your Christian compassion come to the fore, as you remember that he’s only human and thus very fallible. (smile) And that’s why they say B.S. baffles brains!
 
But I have an interesting acclamation to share today. It comes from Bubba Joel (Joel Osteen), so those of you who deal with him might have already seen it, but for the many who don’t, it’s very useful to share.
 
And Bubba Joel excitingly declares in the title: ‘TODAY IS MY DAY! God has destined me to be a barrier breaker! He created me to be uncontainable. I have talent and potential given to me by the Creator of the universe. There are seeds of greatness inside of me. Today, I choose to break free from a limited mindset and enlarge my vision.
 
Today, God is taking me places I’ve never even dreamed of before. Today, God is fulfilling His purpose and destiny in my life. Today, I will experience His favour like never before in every area of my life.’
 
Yes Friends, we all need to enlarge our vision and change our mindset to one that expects God’s favour, His goodness and mercy, every day of our lives, otherwise we’re more than likely to short-change ourselves.
 
Oh I know that lots of people cry down what’s generally called prosperity and positive thinking, but why not embrace it instead eh? Jesus said that He came to earth so that we could have life, and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)
 
So what does that mean eh? It surely doesn’t mean we should live poor, downtrodden lives. But neither does it mean that every believer will become filthy rich in worldly goods and live high on the hog, as some preachers preach, and some believers believe. I think it means that generally speaking, true believers will live a decent, above average life.
 
For as our Bit so wonderfully puts this everlasting promise of our great and wonderful God: ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee high above all nations of the earth.’
 
As usual Friends, our God’s pronouncements are plain and simple: obey, and you’ll be blessed. ‘And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.’ (Deut. 28:2)
 
Ah mih people, how wonderful He is eh! He even goes on to spell out in more detail, the many fabulous blessings He has in store for us, if we obey His rules.
 
‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (offspring), and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store (kneading bowl). Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
 
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten (defeated) before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.’ (Deut.28:3-8)
 
Oh my brethren, what’s in that not to understand eh? But being foolish, rebellious, prideful, think we know it all, trusting in our own sub-par provision, we’ve turned from the Lord. And what’s the result? We’re obviously reaping what we’ve so stupidly sown with our disobedience; poverty, sickness, economic distress, war, strife, and all other sorts of disasters and calamities.
 
But do you think we’ll even for a moment sit down and seriously ponder the situation? Oh no! Because Beelzebub has us in grip, we’re so firmly ensconced in the palms of his hands, we can’t escape his evil hold, for we’ve sold our souls to him for the worthless treasures of this soon to be destroyed world.
 
And we’ll end with this simple, straightforward, but oh so important verse of scripture. ‘The Lord shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways.’ (Deut.28:9)
 
Oh Friends, it can’t get any simpler and more straightforward than that! So please, today, as true believers in Jesus Christ, let’s all pluck up our courage, pick ourselves up from wherever we’ve fallen, and believe God for a good and decent life, if we follow His dictates. 
 
And it’s not like we haven’t seen it played out just as He said, all down through the centuries; from the days of Jewish prosperity, to their calamities when they disobeyed, right down to our earlier prosperity when we were a more godly people, to our now divisive, disaster and strife torn world, as we’ve become very idolatrous and disobedient.
 
So it’s not like the words of the Good Book haven’t been played out and found to be true. It’s just that we’re obstinate, rebellious, prideful and foolish.
 
So please my people, let’s try and make some wise changes nuh, once again becoming obedient to God’s Word, starting TODAY! That’s wisdom of the most immense proportions. Much LOVE!
 
…if you want to disobey…then know that you’ll surely pay…and pay large too…