1 John 4:16. And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth in LOVE, dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Oh Friends, another beautiful summer’s day is in the offing, and I didn’t see any of our names in the obits! Wow! That must mean we’ve found favour with our Creator and thus blessed with another awesome day on planet earth! And all God’s people shouted a grateful and heartfelt; ‘Glory Hallelujah! Thank You Father for another day of life, and the many other blessings You have prepared for us! We LOVE You and praise Your Holy Name!’ Ah Friends, you wouldn’t believe the ruckus that short but sincere prayer caused in heaven. (smile) Now that we have gratefully acknowledged our Creator and given thanks for our wonderful lives, the angels are busy getting ready to shower down upon us all the mercy and forgiveness that was planned to bless us with today. Mama Mia! And what’s the ONE word that encompasses all that? And all God’s children joyfully shout it out: ‘LOVE!’ Yes Friends, all that God’s ever done, is currently doing and has promised to do in the future stems from that magical, mysterious, miraculous, mystifying word, LOVE. Can you believe that those four lowly letters put together, can make such a powerful word, a word so omnipotent, that it makes the world go round? LOVE,properly spoken and practiced can overcome the greatest hate, anger and resentment. But strangely enough, it doesn’t work the other way. For hate, anger and resentment can NEVER CONQUER TRUE LOVE! And that’s the gospel truth Friends! I dare any of you to show me anywhere that TRUE LOVE ever existed, and then the negative emotions conquered it. If it ever happened, then TRUE LOVE NEVER existed there in the first place, cause if it did, it would surely have been victorious. That’s because, as our Bit so rightly declares, LOVE IS OF GOD! ‘And we have known and believed the LOVE that God hath to us. God is LOVE; and he that dwelleth (abides) in LOVE, dwelleth in God, and God in him.’ That’s an indisputable fact Friends! TRUE LOVE is so strong my brethren, that Bruh Paul raved thus about it. ‘Who shall separate us from the LOVE of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that LOVED us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the LOVE of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (Rom.8:35-39) Oh my brethren, what a powerful speech, one filled with gospel truth, on the strongest tie in God’s great universe – LOVE! And though nothing can separate us from God’s LOVE, there seems to be a problem with our LOVE,betwixt and between each other. We all know, if we’re truthful to ourselves, that the spirit of LOVE, togetherness and selflessness is nowhere near as prevalent and forthcoming as it should be either in Christ’s Church, or in the world at large. So how can we truly claim to be believers if we don’t have the spirit of oneness with each other, as part of Christ’s body? And if we don’t have that feeling of selflessness towards and care for others, how then can we truly LOVE our God, SPREAD His Word and LIVE our Faith as we’re supposed to do eh? It’s a very serious problem in Christ’s body, my people. That’s why so many unbelievers blatantly disregard and mock us, and call us hypocrites of the highest order. And oftimes they are right, because oftimes what we say and what we do, don’t coincide with each other or with God’s Word. Oh Friends, I’m tired saying it, but I guess I’ll have to continue saying it until it’s no longer true, or the breath of life goes out in me, which ever comes first, (smile) but the only way we’re going to improve relationships in this turbulent world of ours is by LOVE; talking LOVE, and even more importantly showing and practicing LOVE! Oh my brethren, the LOVE REVOLUTION which we believers are currently spearheading desperately needs to pick up steam, and quickly too, as it seems that Jesus’ second coming is imminent, and whoever is not aboard the LOVE TRAIN bound for glory, will be lost forever! Now the Father’s LOVE is so strong for His human creations, that He doesn’t even want to lose one single soul to Lucifer. And by the way, eternal separation from the Father, meaning eternity with Lucifer, is the worst thing that can ever happen to a human being! So please Friends, let’s get moving nuh, let’s get up off our comfortable derrières and seriously and sincerely begin preaching and practicing LOVE! As John so patiently and genuinely implores: ‘My little children, let us not LOVE in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18) Friends, let’s meditate on that scripture today and see how we can improve our LOVE WALK. Notice how God gave us two of almost all our appendages, that’s so we could help each other; the heart of Jesus’ teaching; the essence of LOVE! Much LOVE my brethren!…and now abideth, Faith, Hope, LOVE…these three…but the greatest of these is…LOVE… (1 Cor.13:13) ABSOLUTELY!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 August 2012 1 John 4:16
23 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: blessings, conquer, day of life, eternal separation from God, eternity, faith, forgiveness, glory hallelujah, grateful, heartfelt, hope, hypocrites, LOVE, LOVE is of God, LOVE Revolution, mercy, miracle, more than conquerors, praise, selflessness, the second coming, True LOVE
Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 August 2012 Ecclesiastes 3:14
16 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: adoration, blessings, champions, dressed for success, eternal, faithful, forgiveness, God's work lasts forever, good gifts, Jesus, justice, loving kindness, mercy, reverence, righteousness., storm of passion, unchanging God, unfocused
Ecclesiastes 3:14. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
Oh Friends, I just got a zeppo, (smile) a brainwave, a message from on high, that the action of God is now flowing through us in a pattern of success! Wow! What a wonderful way to greet a new day, one already filled with blessings, LOVING-kindness, mercy and forgiveness! That means we’re certainly dressed for success my brethren! There’s no better way to ignite a storm of passion in our souls for Jesus! And that passion we badly need in these lean and mean times. What’s amusing here though is that the positive action statement I opened with, sits on my desk, right in front of me, printed in large white letters on a blue background, surrounded by several slips of small paper with fortune cookie sayings on them. That means it’s highly visible, and every time I sit at my desk, I ought to see it. But the reality is that very often I don’t notice it at all. I’ve grown so accustomed to it, that even if I see it with my eyes, it doesn’t register in my mind. And sadly Friends, that’s how a lot of things are in our too busy, not properly focused lives. We put up things to serve as reminders, activators and encouragers, but there comes a time when we just look right through them without them registering on our mental apparatus. And the only reason why I noticed that saying just now is because the action of God, His Holy Spirit was truly moving through me and pointed it out, no doubt bringing it to my attention so that I can bring it to yours. Besides being a wake up call for us my people, I believe God is here highlighting our less than stellar areas of reliability; of mental concentration, of self-discipline and self-control, of how we can’t stick to things for any length of time, but continually jump from one thing to another, of how quickly we tire of things that we so desperately wanted and had to have, and crave change just for the sake of change itself. Meanwhile, as Cousin Sol wisely says in our Bit: ‘I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put (added) to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.’ Now that’s all irrefutable truth my people! Our God doesn’t change, and whatever He does, lasts forever. We can’t add to, or subtract from it. Unfortunately though, we can’t say that about our sinful, wishy-washy human nature. And that my Friends is why we have to believe, trust, surrender and have faith in the Lord our God. We can’t do very much in our own strength, and the little we can do never lasts, as we’re always in some sort of quandary as to how to do it, or how it’s going to look. Our heavenly Father doesn’t have that problem, and consequently, we believers don’t need to worry or be anxious about our shortcomings, because our great God, in His awesome power and LOVE, has everything under control and keeps us together if we live in His will. He does all those things so that we can appreciate and reverence Him, truly behold His glorious majesty, and sincerely trust, worship, adore and serve Him. Now let’s listen to some scriptures that authenticate our Bit: We’ll start with words from James, Jesus’ half-brother. And he decisively tells us: ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness (variation), neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.’ (James 1: 17-18) All of that is gospel truth my people! So let’s sow those seeds of God’s power, His unchanging nature, His goodness to us, whom He made to be champions, deep in our hearts and minds nuh mih breddren. For that in turn gives us the power to walk this evil earth unafraid of Beelzebub and all his evil cohorts. Now hear Bruh David from Psalm 9, Praise for God’s justice: ‘But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgement. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgement to the people in uprightness.’ (Ps.9:7-8) More confirmation of God’s eternal attributes, and His devotion to righteousness and justice. And from Psalm 102, a cry in distress, we hear the psalmist truthfully declare: ‘My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.’ (Ps.102:11-12) So why do we weak mortals, sculpted from the dust of the earth, continue to believe that we’re such hot shots eh, when in the twinkling of an eye, the Lord God Jehovah, Creator of this universe and all therein, can so easily snuff out the breath of life that He, first breathed into us? Now hear some more wise and applicable words from Psalm 102: ‘I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure (continue): yea, all of them shall wax (grow) old like a garment; as a vesture (cloak) shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years have no end.’ (Ps.102:24-27) Oh Friends, that ought to wise us up and show us that the true and only way to find peace and prosperity on this earth is by faithfully worshipping and serving Jehovah God. By the way, the author of Hebrews repeats those same words as justification for his belief. (Heb.1:11-12) So my people, let’s end today just as we began nuh; by believing that the action of God is now flowing through us in a pattern of success. And that’s the living truth! Much LOVE!…Jesus Christ…the same …yesterday…and today…and for ever… (Heb.13:8)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 August 2012 Proverbs 15:13
12 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: cheerful countenance, compassion, depression, disappointment, forgiveness, good words, laughter, LOVE, mercy, merry heart, motives, smile, tribulation
Proverbs 15:13. A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
‘Oh my my, who are those beautiful people over there?’ the elderly lady asks of her young female guide as they walk through the restaurant’s parking lot, pointing to a group of men, women and children laughing, talking, hugging and kissing beside a bus they had just exited. ‘Oh, they are Christians, followers of Jesus,’ the guide replies. ‘Can’t you see their rosy smiles and feel the LOVE, mercy, forgiveness and compassion of Jesus just flowing from them?’ Oh, I’m a bit short-sighted my dear,’ the lady replies. Then taking a few steps closer towards the group, she gleefully exclaims: ‘Oh yes, I can see it now! The joy of Jesus is just radiating out of them! I must go and tell them that. Followers of Jesus are such wonderful people! I only wish I had known Him much earlier in my own life. Then I would have had so much more joy!’ and she totters forward on her spindly legs, ably supported by her cane, to break the good news to the group. Wow! What a heart-warming story Friends! If it only truly happened like that eh? But unfortunately a lot of the time we believers are more looked upon like self-centred egotists because of our overly serious and often sour outward appearance. However, there’s no reason why a scene like that described above couldn’t or shouldn’t happen since we all have the capacity for the attributes of Jesus already planted in us, from the day we first believed. It’s just for us to allow the Holy Spirit to grow those seeds of beautiful emotions and attributes within us. And my people, that outer look of joy and peace has to first start, to come from within us, as our Bit so rightly declares: ‘A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.’ Yes Friends, when our hearts are happy, then it reflects positively on our faces and our outward actions. Likewise when our hearts are sorrowful, we get a negative reflection on our faces and in our actions. In fact my people, the state of our hearts is probably the most important aspect of our faith walk, for remember that’s where the Lord looks when He wants to detect our true motives. And if He finds that our outward actions or words are just a cover or facade for inappropriate motives, He will simply ignore whatever we’re trying to accomplish. But when He sees that our actions and motives are truly synced to His will, then He puts the angels to work on our behalf. And it’s not like we all don’t know, or haven’t experienced both sides of the coin; first where our hearts are happy and we just keep chugging merrily along without a care in the world. And on the flip side, when our hearts are sorrowful over some real or perceived disappointment, then we just become depressed, listless and uninterested in what’s happening around us. The problem though Friends is to try and place ourselves in the first position more often than in the latter. And sadly that’s becoming harder with each passing day in our troubled and strife torn world. But remember Jesus told us that though we would have tribulation here on earth, especially if we spoke His name, we should not worry or be afraid of the world, but instead to have peace and good cheer, for He had already overcome it. (John 16:33) I know that’s easier said than done, but we can do it if we seriously try our best and also invoke Jesus’ help. Anyway, enough of my rambling, (smile) there are some pertinent scriptures I want to share. And we’ll start with the second verse after our Bit: ‘All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.’ (Prov.15:15) It seems that Cousin Sol knew this principle quite well, for earlier on he states: ‘Heaviness (anxiety) in the heart of man maketh it stoop (causes depression): but a good word maketh it glad. (Prov.12:25) And that’s a fact Friends, a good or kind word spoken to us surely cheers our hearts. Now hear Cousin Sol philosophize again: (smile) ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.’ (Prov.17:22) And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! Sometimes when we’re sad and depressed we also feel physically sick, but once even a little chuckle creeps into our spirit, we begin to feel physically better. That brings to mind the saying that laughter is the best remedy for many our ailments. It’s also the cheapest and easiest because it uses fewer facial muscles than frowns. And you know a whole lot of believers would feel a whole lot better if they would laugh a little more, lighten up, cultivate a merry heart, rather than the sourpuss look and attitude that so many of us possess. Now let’s end with some wise words from Isaiah, re the suffering of the Lord’s servant: ‘The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.’ (Isa.50:4) Oh Friends, that’s a very important scripture, because it reminds us that it’s part of our godly duty to speak a kind, encouraging or cheerful word to our fellow believers, or anyone who needs their spirit uplifted. The Lord’s put that spirit of wisdom, of learning in us, so that we can exhort and build up each other, when necessary. And that’s never been as necessary as it is in these trying times Friends! So please, let’s all decide to work on having cheerful hearts most of the time nuh, so that Jesus’ spirit can flow out of us, and also to talk to each other with uplifting words and ideas. It’s the only way to keep a happy and cheerful groove in Christ’s church. Much LOVE!…each one, teach one…so that each one will uplift the other…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 August 2012 Proverbs 13:12
03 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: Caribana, change, christianity, enthusiasm, eternal life, faith, forgiveness, Friday chant, hope, hope flourishes, LOVE, mercy, prisoners of hope, rest and relaxation, salvation, TGIF!
Proverbs 13:12. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! Caribana Friday to boot! So you can imagine the numerous ‘TGIF’s!’ and ‘Thank God it’s Friday!’ that are reverberating around this wonderful city of Toronto. In fact, T.O has been hopping with Caribana fever for the past week. And the fever will only get hotter and sweatier (smile) as the days progress. Even the ole fella’s enthusiasm has risen a few notches, just knowing that my Auntie Anne and Uncle John will be in town from New York for the celebrations. Mamacita! Hope to play a mas with them tonight in the Pan Competition at Lamport Stadium. And since my Uncle John is an ole pan man from back in the days of Highlanders with their high pan, when plenty people ridiculed them, it’ll be interesting to hear his take on the quality of the pan up here. I remember liking Highlanders from day one, and every time I’d go down the Bay in Scarborough, I’d play their famous single ‘Let every valley be exalted’ on the jukebox in Scobie’s parlour. And I’ve lived to see the day when high pan is now the norm, rather than the exception. Just goes to show what hope and faith in your God-given desires can accomplish. The leaders of Highlanders could have just allowed it to die as so many people were against it. But they didn’t. I guess that’s the way we humans are; we resist change, resist getting out of our comfort zone, even if it’s for the better, because change is usually disruptive and disconcerting. However, on a personal level, it seems like the Good Lord might be putting a spoke in my wheel, or perchance issuing a warning, since my knees have been pain free all week, until last night when one of them began hurting. Hn! And if that continues, then there’s no way I’m going to the Caribana Parade on Saturday. But Friends, the good news is that our God’s a great, good-hearted, LOVING and healing God, and if He wants me to go, He can heal me in time to do so. Praise the Lord! That’s what Christianity is all about Friends; a strong hope, trust and faith in our Lord God Jehovah, Creator and Controller of the universe! Now to get a proper perspective on this celebratory weekend, let’s chant our Friday Chant in loud voice and most excellent enthusiasm. Thought I’d forgotten it nuh. (smile) As one divine choir 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.’ Yes mih people, celebrate, but remember to mind yuh p’s and q’s, and also don’t forget, as Granny says, that drunk or sober to mind yuh business, because we don’t want to give the enemy even one iota of space to invade our souls. And as you can see from our Bit: ‘Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life,’ that we’re going to stick with the topic of Hope today, because it’s such an integral and vital part of our belief system and too many believers, for one reason or another are either losing hope completely or experiencing a sad lessening of it. And when the seed of hope doesn’t flourish in us Friends, it also means our trust and faith in God, as well as His joy are decreasing too, because they are all intertwined. And that’s never a good thing. Living for Jesus is not a one and done thing, but like plants and babies, our growth is a continuous process, where we move from strength to strength. It’s like going to school too, where we can’t move up to a higher grade until we pass the tests of the lower one. As Bruh Paul says, we first need to drink spiritual milk, before we can eat solid spiritual food. (Heb.5:11-14) And HOPE is the emotion that fuels all our spiritual endeavours. It’s like the gas that a car needs before it can run. Hope makes believers run. So let’s go home now with some scriptures that impart hope to our hopeful souls. And we’ll begin with words from a contemplation of Bruh David, where he’s seeking preservation and blessing. ‘I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell securely) in hope.’ (Ps.16:8-9) Yes Friends, if we set the Lord before us in all our doings, as our be all and end all, both our spirit and our flesh will experience oodles of hope. Then the author of Psalm 119 say is thus: ‘Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.’ (Ps.119:116) Oh my people, we’ll never be ashamed of our hope if it’s centred in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour! Meanwhile this verse on hope from Zechariah just thrills me. Talking about Zion’s future king, he solemnly proclaims: ‘Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.’ (Zech.9:12) Oh Friends, I certainly hope that we all belong to that august group, ‘the prisoners of hope.’ For as I said yesterday, we’re lost and done like dinner without it. And finally Jeremiah, in his Lamentations, truthfully declares: ‘It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.’ (Lam.3:26) Please my brethren, let’s follow that sage advice of Jeremiah nuh, so that our lives will be greatly enriched with all the good things of God; hope, faith, trust, surrender, forgiveness, mercy, unconditional LOVE, salvation and eternal life. This I pray on the precious blood of Jesus spilled for us at Calvary! Amen. Much LOVE my people!…to hope…to hope…and yet to hope…that is the way of the true believer…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 April 2012 Psalm 19:12
21 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: cleanse, dominion, earthly wealth, forgiveness, Godly communication, loving kindness, mercy, power, psalm 19, repentance, secret faults, sin, sinner, truth, wisdom, world standards
Psalm 19:12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
Oh Friends, on this glorious Saturday morn, where it’s raining cats and dogs outside, (smile) I have a spot of wisdom to share; one of the many I’ve found on the fly leaves of my mother’s Bible. This one says: ‘The most deadly sins do not leap upon us. They creep up on us.’ And isn’t that the awful truth my people! We do all sorts of wrong stuff and realize that they are wrong, possibly because they are so blatant, done fairly openly or others might point them out to us. Those we can fix, if we so choose, because we’re aware of them. But its the silent wrongs which grow and build up in our spirits, the ones of which we’re not really aware, that are the real killers. We’re not aware of them until one day the Lord decides to open our eyes, through some person or incident. And then we either deny it, or cry out in anguish to God, saying: ‘Oh Lord was I really doing that? I didn’t realize it. I repent of that terrible sin, and will try my best to stop it. Please help me and forgive me! I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.’ And then we beat ourselves up for being so blind and foolish. But please remember Friends, God has brought our hidden sins to light for several different reasons: First off, so He can test our mettle, our faith, to see what we’re really made of, if we’re truly serious about walking in His will. He might also be looking at our reaction; to see how we respond to that sudden negative disclosure. Some of us will no doubt get irate and doubt it, while others will readily accept it. Then the Lord wants to cleanse us of it, because any sin in our lives reduces the effective communication with God. And most of all, He greatly desires to forgive us, if we come to Him in true repentance. Once we’re aware of that sin, we need to work on it, with God’s help of course. Now don’t feel badly and start brow-beating yourself, trying to find any hidden sins in your life (smile) for all of us have them. Oftimes they are things we don’t even consider sinful, having dropped our standards to that of the ungodly world, so we don’t pay much attention to them until the Father points them out. Don’t worry, when the time’s right, He will make them known to us. No wonder Bruh David declares in our Bit: ‘Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.’ He knew that there’s stuff hidden in the deepest recesses of our souls that wouldn’t sit well with the Father, so he decided to take in front, before in front took him, (smile) by asking the Lord to cleanse him of any secret wrongs. Is a long time I haven’t heard that bit of parochial wisdom. The old people might not have had a lot of book learning, but they certainly had a lot of wisdom in living everyday life, that’s why so many of their sayings are still pertinent today. Then Bruh David further asks: ‘Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great (much) transgression.’ (Ps.19:13) Oh Friends, our world is filled with much more sin today than righteousness, plenty presumptuous ones too, for we have taken it upon ourselves to act independently, to play God, and/or worship idols of our own creation. How do you think Jesus feels when He looks down on the mess we’ve made of this life, especially when He came to earth to show us the right way to live? Don’t you think some days He wishes He didn’t sacrifice His innocent life for such ingrates? So many of us are turning to Lucifer, selling our souls for earthly power and material wealth, that Jesus’ followers are now in the minority. And sadly Friends, as long as that’s the case, our world will always be filled with turmoil and calamity, because that’s the mark of Lucifer. Plenty, plenty more of us have to come to Christ for cleansing and forgiveness before we can make serious inroads into Lucifer’s evil collective. We have to do like Bruh David did in Psalm 51, when the prophet Nathan confronted him with his hidden sin involving Bathsheba. (2 Sam.12) ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy LOVING-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified (found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest.’ (Ps.51:1-4) Yes my people, even men of great faith, men considered friends of God, can be humbled by hidden sin. We need to be wary of stuff we do without fully recognizing their implications; that they are truly sins against God. But when we do discover them, we need to sincerely repent as quickly as possible and ask for forgiveness. But by the same token, once the Lord’s granted us forgiveness, we need to faithfully receive it and let go of the guilt, for that’s a major problem with many Christians today: we sin, ask for forgiveness, the Lord forgives us, but we don’t truly receive the forgiveness, wrongly believing that the Lord can’t forgive such a horrible sin and keep saving the guilt in our hearts. Ah Friends, forgiveness is wasted unless and until we accept it and stop dwelling on it. Then we ought to say something like what Bruh David does at the end of Psalm 19: ‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’ (Ps.19:14) Oh my brethren, those are immortal words that would do us good to keep close to our hearts and minds, so they can have a restorative effect on us in anxious times. Much LOVE!…it doesn’t matter which came first…the sin or the sinner…because Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can cleanse them both…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 April 2012 Proverbs 1:7
18 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: blessings, Christ is the answer, devotion, faithful friends, forgiveness, LOVE, mercies, new day, new footing, praise, principles, religions of the world, robert h schuller, understanding, wisdom, worship
Proverbs 1:7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Well hello there all you fine, frolicking, fun-LOVING, faithful Friends in Christ Jesus! (smile) It’s a new day, and Christ is starting it off with new mercies, blessings, forgiveness etc. So let’s also start it off on a new footing nuh. Let’s wipe the slate clean of all and any worries, concerns, fears or anxieties that plagued us yesterday. And the best way to do that is by beginning our day with God. You’d be surprised how far a little praise and worship on your rising goes towards helping us have good, productive days. And I want to help us start today afresh with some truthful and encouraging words from Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, a prominent American churchman. I discovered them a few days ago in my Hour of Power Devotional by Robert H Schuller. What’s strange and interesting about the upcoming quote and the one I recently shared, ‘God Needs Us,’ is that I’ve been reading this devotional for several years now, but this is the first time I can ever remember seeing either of them. Hn! I guess the Lord just made me aware of them so I can share them. Anyway, here is the encouraging and uplifting exhortation of Dr. Shoemaker. ‘Religion can never be the answer to human problems. All of the religions of the world are inadequate. Christ alone is the answer. Christ alone understands. Christ alone forgives. Christ alone eliminates your guilt. Christ alone saves and then assures you that you are God’s child and the most wonderful person possible! Christ alone fills the human heart with LOVE – joy – peace – self-confidence. No wonder a genuine Christian really LOVES himself.’ And that’s all the gospel truth my people! Remember we ought to first LOVE our God, then our neighbours as ourselves. So it logically follows, that to fulfill the last part, we have to also LOVE ourselves, otherwise we’d not be in a position to LOVE our neighbours, and believing and trusting in Jesus gives us the ability to do it all. How wonderful is our Lord and Saviour eh! He is without comparison! And all God’s people let rise a joyful shout to heaven: ‘Oh bless you Lord Jesus! We LOVE You and praise Your Holy Name! Amen!’ Yes mih Friends, Jesus is our be all and end all! That brings us to our Bit, one of the most important verses in the entire Bible. ‘The fear (reverential awe) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ Wow! True Words of Wisdom my brethren! That’s where it all begins; everything in a believer’s life starts with a reverential fear of our omnipotent God. Now let’s hear some views on that from the scholars: ‘The fear of the Lord means submission to the Lord and His revelation. When one is afraid of something, he either runs from it or submits to it. The latter idea is in view here. It is a healthy fear, like the fear of electricity or the fear of one’s parents, which causes one to act in an appropriate manner. The beginning does not mean that the fear of the Lord is left behind in the course of acquiring wisdom, but that it is the controlling principle of wisdom.’ So Friends, it’s not like we’re scared of God and thus need to run away from Him. But on the contrary, we’re scared in the sense that He’s all powerful and can save us from anything that comes against us, including ourselves. So instead we run to Him to gain all the good stuff He has set aside for those who truly LOVE, trust, believe and surrender their hearts, souls, minds and bodies to His wise, all-knowing, merciful, forgiving and ever-LOVING will. What can be better than that eh Friends? Absolutely NOTHING! Therefore, in light of that wise and glorious statement, for us to show true wisdom, we ought to bring our weak and sinful human selves under God’s protective umbrella, which will enable us to live godly, prosperous lives, both here on earth and in heaven above. It’s true that we’re supposed to learn from our mistakes, but my people, shunning the Lord God Jehovah is one mistake we can’t afford to make, because He can call us home or return in glory anytime, and if we’re not right with Him, then crapaud smoke we pipe. We’ll end up lost in Hades forever with Lucifer; eternally separated from Jesus. And my brethren, let me tell you, that’s the worst fate that can ever befall a human being! So let’s get smart nuh and turn to Jesus, dedicate our lives to Him, so that he can imbue us with His knowledge, understanding and LOVE, that will enable us to truly LOVE our God, LIVE our FAITH and SPREAD His wonderful Word as we ought to! More on this tomorrow, if we don’t read our names in the obits. So get right with Jesus today, just in case you read your name in the obits tomorrow. It’s very possible. Much LOVE!…we can’t ever say it too often…to know, know know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…just to know He cares…makes it all worthwhile…to know, know, know Him…is to truly LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 April 2012 Psalm 80:3
04 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: beseech, bewailing, calamity, concerns, face to shine, faith, forgiveness, mercy, o lord god, prosperity, psalm 80, repentance, turn back, worries
Psalm 80:3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.
Oh my people, it’s Wednesday; day three of Holy Week, two days to your crucifixion! Are you worried and concerned? Of course! Sitting on pins and needles? For sure! Are your palms sweating and your stomach tied up in knots? That’s expected! Well let us think now how Jesus felt, with just two short days before His number was called up yonder, and act accordingly; with care and compassion, LOVE and kindness, mercy and forgiveness, the same way He did, although He was under great stress and strain. Now let’s look at our Bit: ‘Turn (Restore) us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.’ And isn’t that the living truth Friends! The only way our evil, ungodly, disobedient world can be saved is by the Lord restoring us to righteousness. For remember Jesus’ words when He spoke about the vine and the branches: ‘for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) That also is undeniable truth Friends! So if we want to return to a safe, prosperous, caring world, then it’s obvious we have to turn to Jesus for help. And how do we do that? By repenting of our sins, asking for mercy and forgiveness, receiving it, then living a righteous, obedient life to God’s will thereafter. Psalm 80 is Asaph’s prayer for restoration of the fortunes of Israel, and he considers our Bit so important to his beseeching God, that he includes it three times in the psalm. Yes my brethren, verses, 3,7, and 19 are all the same petition. And I don’t see how it could be any less important in these very troubled and calamitous times that we are currently experiencing. I like how Asaph bewails the condition of his people. ‘O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people? Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.’ (Ps.80: 4-7) Ah mih breddren, the Lord’s certainly angry with us right now too; bread is short and tears are plentiful. As Isaiah says, the Lord is feeding us with ‘the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction,’ (Is.30:20) for our turning away from Him en masse and embracing the evil Lucifer with open arms. How could it be otherwise eh my people? The Lord is a holy, jealous, just and righteous God, therefore he cannot allow our disobedience to go unpunished. Jeremiah says it quite aptly: ‘I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke (an untrained bull): turn (restore) thou me, and I shall be turned (return); for thou art the Lord my God.’ (Jer.31:18) Now hear the scholars take on that verse. ‘A first step in repentance is confession of sin and a prayer for the Lord’s effective enablement of the believer’s life. True repentance involves the work of the whole person in recognizing and sorrowing over sin, and renouncing it so as to turn to God in full heart’s devotion to His lordship.’ And they reference Psalm 32; The blessedness of forgiveness, and Psalm 51; A prayer for cleansing.’ But Friends, is it happening like Jeremiah says: ‘Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon (struck myself on) my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded (humiliated), because I did bear the reproach of my youth.’ (Jer.31:19) I’d like to think so, but in any case the numbers are way too small to effect any large-scale and worthwhile improvement in our world today. Now don’t get me wrong, the Lord will gladly accept even one truly repentant sinner, however we need a whole lot more to further our LOVE Revolution and enable us to sincerely and successfully turn things around. Listen to Peter’s ending when he pleaded with the Jews in Jerusalem to repent: ‘Unto you first God, having raised up his Son (Servant) Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.’ (Acts 3:26) My fellow believers, we all know that, but for some reason(s) or other, we just don’t seem to be too keen on making the changes needed to bring about that transition. I guess not enough of us both desire the changes and are also willing to pay the price to make them happen. But believe me Friends, the price to get back into God’s good graces, is extremely cheap, compared to that of continuing to support Lucifer and his evil works. If yuh think we’re suffering calamity now, just wait and see what happens if we continue along our present path. My people, in closing, let’s offer up a prayer that Jeremiah offered up long ago in his Lamentations, but which is still very appropriate for our troublesome situation today. And let’s do it with a truly repentant heart if we want our God to take notice and help us. As one now, lifting our heads, hearts, eyes and hands to heaven: ‘Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? Turn thou us unto (back) to thee O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.’ (Lam.5:20-21) And all God’s people said a prayerful, heartfelt ‘Amen!’ Much LOVE!…it’s the same old story…if you don’t hear, you’re going to feel…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 March 2012 Leviticus 19:18
29 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: christianity, easy yoke, enemies, faith, forgiveness, light burdens, love thy neighbour, loving god, mercy, prosperous, revenge, serious problems
Leviticus 19:18. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Hi there mih people! How goes it? I hope it all goes well with you. And if by chance it doesn’t, then I certainly hope that you are resting safe and secure in the LOVING arms of Jesus, giving ALL your problems to Him, while taking up His easy yoke and light burden, for that’s why He sacrificed His holy, innocent life on our behalf. He redeemed our sins so that we could live a decent, comfortable, prosperous life here on earth. But by the same token, we also have a very important part to play in making His words come true. And today Friends, you’re not going to hear much from me, cause I’m going to jam us with scripture. And I can hear some of you in the background saying, ‘Thank you Lord.’ (smile) Today we’re going to invest in scripture that pertains to the second most important command of our God, which we are not obeying, and which is causing a myriad of serious problems in our world. And it all begins with our Bit: ‘Thou shalt not avenge (take vengeance), nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.’ Yesterday we looked at scripture that pertained to the first part, vengeance, today we’ll look at some that deal with the second half; LOVING our neighbours as ourselves. But first, here’s a scripture on vengeance that I just discovered and felt compelled to share. It’s from Proverbs, wise words of Cousin Sol. ‘Say not thou, I will recompense (repay) evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.’ (Prov.20:22) Please remember that Friends: REVENGE is the Lord’s job, not ours. We have to wait patiently and let Him do His thing on our behalf in His own, good time. Now moving on to the second part of our Bit: ‘thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ Oh Friends, when I consider how we disobey that command, I just have to bow my head in shame and ask the Lord to be merciful unto us, because our lack of decency towards each other is the major source of most of our problems. We will never like everybody, but it’s our God-given responsibility, as Christians, to treat each other decently; be kind, merciful and forgiving. Remember Jesus said that whatever we sow we shall eventually reap. And my people, that’s exactly what’s happening in our world today; we’re reaping the evil fruits of the evil seeds we’ve sown. Can you imagine what a truly wonderful world this would be if we just treated each other the way we’d like to be treated? Oh mih breddren, there’d be such joy in heaven and also here on earth! But we’ve become so selfish and greedy that we expect others to treat us well, even though we treat them like garbage. Anyway, enough of me, let’s get to the scriptures I promised before time and space runs out. And we’ll start with Jesus during the famous Sermon on the Mount, where He proclaimed: ‘Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, LOVE your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully (spitefully) use you, and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye LOVE them which LOVE you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans (tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute (greet) your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.’ (Matt.5:43-48) Oh Friends, that’s the bedrock of Jesus’ philosophy; do good regardless of the circumstances. And I did not plan to quote all of that, but the Spirit said to do it, so therefore being the obedient son I am, I did. (smile) Then later on in Matthew 19, when the rich, young ruler asks Jesus about gaining eternal life, He quotes him the Ten Commandments, amongst them being: ‘Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself.’ (Matt.19:19) Again, when some smart aleck lawyer tries to give Jesus a run for His money and asks about how to inherit eternal life, Jesus asked him what was written in the law? The lawyer replied: ‘Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he (Jesus) said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.’ (Luke 10:27-28) But like most lawyers, thinking they’re so smart, he tries to one-up Jesus by asking who was his neighbour. This led Jesus to tell them the parable of the Good Samaritan. And right there Friends, we have what’s wrong with our world. The priest and Levite, supposed holy and righteous men of his own culture were too busy and selfish to look after the injured man. But the Samaritan, a veritable enemy, had the Love, mercy and kindness to stop and look after him. Oh my brethren, that’s the kind of world Jesus wants us to build! As He said earlier, LOVE thine enemies, that way they’ll see the real Christian Spirit of Jesus in us. Think back to the Bit a few days ago where we spoke of the Anglican minister with the two Muslim workers, working in harmony to help all and sundry, regardless of race or creed. That’s what LOVING our neighbours as ourselves truly is. And for all of our sakes, let’s try to do more of that nuh Friends, so that out heavenly Father will smile down on us. It’s definitely in our own best interest. Much LOVE!…it can’t be said too often… you reap what you sow…so sow good seed…that you may reap good fruit…
SCRIP-BITS 