for in such an hour as ye think not | SCRIP-BITS

1 Corinthians 16:13-14. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you (be brave) like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity (LOVE).

Sing it with me people: ‘And after the rain, yes after the rain, then comes the snow…oh yeah…after the rain, then comes the snow, alooking so white and beautiful, just like the good Lord made it to be, just like the good Lord made it to be…’

Oh friends, around 4 o’clock this morning, before I went to bed, I dreamed up that li’l ditty…obviously with the Lord’s help, since I could not concoct such profound statements all on my very own. (smile) But it had been raining for most of the day, and when I looked outside then, was I surprised to see the place all covered with that white virginal stuff.

But yuh know something, once man puts foot in that virginal snow, he sullies it, sullies it good and proper, just like he sullies everything he touches. And just for your info, that white stuff is now falling again out there, coming down in a gazillion droplets, more like rain than snowflakes, but as they say, ‘one one cocoa full basket,’ so every drop that falls adds to, and heightens the level of snow on the ground. (smile)

And another thing, it wasn’t only the snow that God made to be beautiful, but also mankind. That’s why it so cruelly breaks His soft and tender heart when we turn away from Him, and become the evil fiends our sinful nature adores.

And remember, yesterday we were talking about the abdominal sinfulness of man, and considering if we had reached the limit yet where God would again destroy us? Well, unfortunately, I received this mind boggling, heartbreaking response from one of our Scrip-Bit family members. In her own words: ‘We have NOT reached the breaking point of sinfulness. The human capacity for evil is unending.’ Now doesn’t that just drive you crazy, to know that we can become even more sinful that we already are?

Brother! I can’t even contemplate another level of sin for us to ascend to! I guess my mental capacity is just too small to comprehend such a big undertaking. But I prefer it so yes, because then I might just rise to a more sinful level myself. So please, please, just leave me at this level of sinfulness eh! (smile)

And the real sad part in all our sinfulness is not that it’s directed to, or against God nuh, although it works out thus in the long run, but all the evil we perpetrate is basically directed towards our fellow man and our life-giving environment. Man seems to be truly sadistic, destroying what he portends to LOVE, and in the process, his very self.

And very unfortunately, it seems the olden but golden words of the prophet Jeremiah ring ever so true these days: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately (incurable) wicked: who can know it?’ (Jer. 17:9) Now does that mean our hearts can’t be cured of its wickedness? I certainly hope not, else there’s no hope whatsoever for us!

The good thing though, is that our God and Creator knows the motives and will of all of our hearts. He made them so He knows how to decipher them, and that’s exactly what He does before He answers our prayers. That’s why the Lord said to Samuel, when He sent him to Jesse’s house to anoint a new king for Israel and Samuel thought the first son, Eliab, was the one: ‘Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused (rejected) him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.’ (1 Sam. 16:7)

Oh my fellow believers, that’s why we need to often cry out to God like Bruh David did in Psalm 51 – A prayer for cleansing. ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me.’ (Ps. 51:10) Yes precious people of God, if our hearts are so wicked, then it’s only the Lord who can cleanse us and renew a right and steadfast spirit within us, so that we can continue to do His work down here on earth, and make it be as it is in heaven.

And to help us with all that we’re currently going through, I read an interesting exhortation from Bruh Paul last night that seems very apropos to our situation. In his first missive to the church at Corinth, he exhorts them thus: ‘Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you (be brave) like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with charity (LOVE).’ (1 Cor. 16:13-14) Now that seems to be very good advice for all believers, or even better yet, ALL mankind, considering the turbulent, controversial and uncertain situation in which our world is currently entangled.

And now just a few scriptures to reinforce that directive. First some more prayer and exhortation from Bruh Paul. To the Ephesians, he desired: ‘That he (the Lord) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.’ (Eph. 3:16) Yes friends, we do need divine enablement to help us successfully live the Christian life.

And in exhorting the Philippians to steadfastness, he prayed. ‘Only let your conversation be as it becometh (let your conduct be worthy of) the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. And in nothing (no way) terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token (a proof) of perdition (destruction), but to you of salvation, and that of God.’ (Phil. 2:27-28)

That means my brethren, we need to stand strong together, in one spirit, in unity, spreading the gospel of Christ in LOVE, and not being afraid of those who come against us. For if our great God is for us, who can be against us eh, especially since He’s so faithfully promised that no weapon formed against us will prosper or harm us. (Is. 54:17)

And last, but certainly not least, these momentous words from Christ Jesus as to when divine intervention would come, be it good or bad. ‘Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come… Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24: 42, 44) And if we believe in Jesus, then we ought to adhere to His words – watch and pray…and be ready.

So for those of us who sincerely try to do so, let’s go home now declaring (yeahhh!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know who and whose we are. In strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’

So precious saints of Christ, it now behooves us to stand strong and steadfast in unity and share Jesus’ LOVE and friendship with ALL humanity! That’s our bounden duty! Much LOVE!

…and now abideth faith, hope, LOVE…these three… but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor. 13:13)

Proverbs 6:6. Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

Let’s start off on the right foot this morning by apologizing. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa! (smile) The first apology concerns the lateness of the Bit. I had to go down the street for some early morning tests my doctor deemed imperative. Hn! When yuh getting old, the ole quacks and them deem too many things imperative yes! But what yuh gonna do eh? Generally speaking, they know more than you.

The next apology is for not including our Tuesday Mantra in yesterday’s Bit. Wonder how many of you noticed that eh? (smile) I had it written at the bottom of the page, but never saw or even thought of it at the end. And I’ll try not to make that mistake again. (smile) Thanks ever so much for forgiving me, you are ever such a Christ-like group! (smile)

But then I was led to these somewhat condemning words of Cousin Sol regarding our daily behaviour. ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide (leader), overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat (bread, grain) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.’ (Prov. 6:6-8) Yeh friends, laziness and the enjoyment of good living without any labour is becoming rampant in our society. We all want to live high on the hog, but few of us are willing to put in the hours and effort that usually entails.

And Cousin Sol continues in the same vein: ‘How long wilt thou sleep (lie down), O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth (a prowler), and thy want (need) as an armed man.’ (Prov. 6:9-11) Those are good questions Cousin Sol poses, and also a true result of those actions. And we are seeing that kind of attitude increasingly in our society as we get wealthier and have more amenities to do more of our daily tasks, be they hard, menial or complicated.

Now hear how the scholars characterize all of Cousin Sol’s words nuh. ‘6:6-11. The sluggard is the habitually lazy person. He is admonished to learn two important lessons from the ant: (1) the ant has no guide, overseer, or ruler (vs.7), meaning that the ant does not have to have a taskmaster standing over it to make it work; it is a self-starter. (2) The ant is wise enough to prepare for predictable circumstances (vs.8). Two questions about sleep are posed to the sluggard (vs.9). His answer is given in verse 10: “Just a little more sleep!” The result of such laziness is dire poverty, which will come as suddenly and destructively as a robber.’

Oh mih people, mih people, there’s so much wisdom in those words! And it’s not like we haven’t seen it, or experienced it. We all have in some form and fashion, at some time in our long lives. We haven’t been as proactive as we should, then suddenly find ourselves cornered by a predictable circumstance. No, we cannot prepare for the unpredictable ones, but we certainly can for the many predictable ones. And the big one that jumps to my mind right now is preparation for spending eternity with Jesus, wherever that might be!

That’s the most important predictable circumstance we all must face – where to spend eternity. And the wise money is on Jesus! No doubt about that? Now, have we made those preparations yet, by receiving Him as our Lord and Saviour? I can’t tell you how important that is, because the Grim Reaper can come calling at any unpredictable time, and likewise Jesus can come back at any unpredictable time. And once either of those two things happen, and you haven’t received Jesus as your eternal destiny, then you’re doomed to spending eternity with the prince of darkness in the heat and torment of hell.

And to make matters worse, Jesus referred to His second coming like that of a thief in the night. ‘Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ (Matt. 24:43-44) We have been forewarned friends, so now it’s up to us to make the necessary preparations for whenever that event occurs if we’re still alive and kicking. Bruh Paul also warned us in his first letter to the Thessalonians: ‘For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.’ (1 Thess. 5:2)

Oh my people, the Great Tribulation will begin suddenly, without any kind of imminent warning. But we have the certain knowledge that it will happen and those who don’t revere Christ as Lord and Saviour at that most critical time will suffer irreparable damage. So please, please, I implore us, let us get ready for that moment whenever it comes nuh! Let us therefore be like the wise ant nuh, and wisely prepare for that one big circumstance, either death, or Christ’s return, both of which we sure are coming at some future, but unknown time.

And having decided we’re going to do just that, let’s go home now declaring (awright!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know, in no uncertain terms, our wonderful position in Christ Jesus. All together now, in strong voice, with sincere hearts: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’

Yes my bredrin, if we hang on to the vine that’s the Life of the world, until the very end, then we’re assured that the future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…true wisdom is knowing what’s coming…and being prepared…whenever it comes…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 September 2020 Proverbs 6:6.

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