SCRIP-BITS

Micah 7:7.     ​Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Welcome Saturday, we so glad to see you, cause it means no work – for those of us who still have a job! Yes friends, laziness day is finally here. So let’s take advantage of it nuh and laze about and rest from the rigours of this past, oh so trying week. (smile) Awright, I know that a rather large percentage of us already laze about all week because of the pandemic and job situation, so what’s one more day eh? You ought to have gotten accustomed to it by now. 

Okay, I’m just trying to be facetious and foolish, but though it’s a serious problem with many of us, we do need to lighten up some since getting all worked up over the situation is not going to make it better, just worse. And that’s my word for this morning. (smile) 

So since it’s Saturday, let’s hear what our friend Anselm had to say this past week nuh, as he aspired to inspire us for a better tomorrow. And I don’t like it, but these days he insists on prefacing each quote with the moniker: ‘Positive affirmation you should tell yourself to remind yourself just how awesome you are. I’m calm, happy, and content.’ That’s because every week I need to remind us that those things are only possible if we are securely anchored in, tightly attached to the rock called Jesus. 

And now that I’ve reminded us, (smile) let’s proceed with the first quote. ‘My needs and wants are important.’ And to a certain extent they are. But we must be very careful about separating our needs and our wants because very often what we consider a need is actually a want, and in God’s kingdom, wants, according to their nature can be very hard to come by. 

Remember Jesus’ advice on the subject. ‘Therefore take no thought (do not worry), saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewith shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt. 6:31-33) 

Oh my people, our great and wonderful God knows that we have need of food, clothing and shelter, and if we make Him our first priority, He will provide the necessities of life for us. We won’t have to fret and worry over them. Our wants though, are a completely different story, because ofttimes they are tied up with the things of the world, and thus the Father is not likely to grant them. That’s not to say He won’t grant our wants, but they have to be tied up with his business rather than the world’s. 

So if we insist on running behind things like wealth and power and celebrity status, then we might find it a trifle hard to succeed. Not that those things in themselves are totally bad, but it’s our purpose, our motive behind those longings that the Lord considers. That brings us to this next quote, a rather interesting one indeed. ‘I attract money easily into my life.’ 

Mama Mia! I wish I could say that! And so can almost the whole world! But unfortunately, money doesn’t come easily to most of us, otherwise there wouldn’t be as much poverty in our world. Oh it does come easily to some, but a rather small percentage of our population. And the thing about money, although it’s very necessary in our lives, it also has the misfortune to induce things like greed and selfishness, which eventually lead to evil purposes and it is the breeding ground for all kinds of atrocities. 

Bruh Paul hit the nail on the head when he described it thus to Timothy. ‘For the LOVE of money is the root of all (kinds of) evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.’ (1 Tim. 6:10) Yes my brethren, we see it every day, and many of us have experienced it personally too. (smile) For when we run down the devil that’s money, we often end up straying from God and ruining our lives in the process. 

Yes, money is a very powerful stimulant in this evil world, and unfortunately most of us don’t know how to obtain and use it wisely. Even the rich, or especially the rich, need to know how to use it wisely, else they will soon end up poor, because everybody wants to take it from them. Oh, under certain circumstances it can easily be had, but by the same token it can easily be lost. No wonder some many large, easily acquired fortunes are lost the same way. That’s why we say things like: ‘Easy come, easy go.’ And ‘A fool and his money are soon parted.’ So please, don’t be overly attracted to it, or hope it doesn’t come too easily to you. (smile) 

So having said all of that, more than I intended to say, let’s look at this next quote: ‘My life is full of amazing opportunities that are ready for me to step into.’ Now that all depends on… on what you ask? On your definition of amazing. Yes, there are probably plenty of opportunities out there for you to step into, but what’s your definition of amazing eh? Does it mean easy, can make a lot of dinero, glamorous, powerful…or what? 

Please be very careful of those supposedly amazing opportunities that are just waiting for you to step into. Our society is very fraudulent and likes to make things look so much better, so much more appealing and attractive than they really are. I can tell you from personal experience that very, very few of them are as amazing as they look. 

That brings us to this next quote: ‘I am blessed with an amazing family and friends.’ Now if we can truthfully say that, then we are truly blessed, because there is nothing better in this world than having good friends and family around us – except knowing and living for Jesus of course. (smile) But that too is also often hard to come by, because you choose your friends, but don’t choose your family, they are chosen for you and although family is supposed to be supportive and LOVING and all those other good things, too often, especially in this divided, disunited and selfish society, they cause us the most headaches. 

And sometimes, even when you do your Christian best, for one reason or another it makes matters worse. Yuh see how common place it is now for families to be feuding, fighting and litigating, especially over earthly wealth and power. And nowadays these words of the prophet Micah are even truer than when he wrote them so long ago. ‘Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide (companion): keep (guard) the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house.’ (Mic. 7:5-6) 

And what’s the solution to that eh? Micah gave it: ‘Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.’ (Mic. 7:7) And while we’re doing that my brethren, we can also action this last quote. ‘I forgive those who have hurt me.’ 

Oh mih people, after sincerely seeking Christ, that’s the next best thing we can do, because that frees us up from all the bitterness and pain that unforgiveness causes. And remember the basic prayer that Jesus taught us? It contains these most illuminative words: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.’ (Matt. 6:12) 

And He illuminated them even more with this postscript: ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’ (Matt.6:14-15) And if we need more illumination that that friends, then something’s seriously wrong with us yes! Much LOVE!

…with LOVE and forgiveness in our hearts…we can never go wrong…