future generations | SCRIP-BITS

Isaiah 54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me.

Oh Friends, it seems like I owe my poor, departed mother another apology on this Sunday morning, the first day of September 2013. Not only did it take me almost two years to go and visit her, it seems that I was so taken up with T&T’s Independence celebrations yesterday, that I failed to mention it was also the second anniversary of her going to be with the Lord. I guess the ole fella’s simply showing his age and human frailty. (smile)

Thanks for reminding me Di, although as I told you, it wasn’t a complete forgetting, because the flowers on the altar at church today will be donated in her memory. And you know Mols sugar, that whatever nonsense or mistakes your Sonny Boy might make, he will NEVER forget you!

How could I eh, after the wonderful relationship we shared for sixty something years, especially since it was an experience chocked full of LOVE? For as Cousin Sol says in his Song, your banner over me was one of continuous LOVE! That’s not to say there weren’t some tumultuous times, but they were few and far between and never lasted very long.

And I’m not the only one who thinks that time is going by rather quickly, because everybody I tell that she’s been gone to Paradise for two years now can’t believe that it’s already been that long.

That’s why, my fellow believers, we can’t afford to dilly-dally with the work we’ve been commissioned to do for Christ here on earth, since we can be called home unexpectedly at any time. And what are we going to tell the Father when He asks why we didn’t do a better job eh, that we didn’t have enough time?

No Friends that’s not going to pass muster, because he’s going to turn back the clock and show us all the time we wasted being involved in sinful worldly endeavours, when we could have been spreading His Word.

That brings us to our Bit: ‘No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of (from) me.’

Now a lot of us claim that promise, and so we should, but as with a lot of other scriptures, we take them out of context, and only use the parts that seem beneficial, while conveniently forgetting the other aspects. And in this particular promise, we always seem to leave out the very important proviso: ‘This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord…’

Yes Friends, if you’re not a servant of the Lord, then that promise is null and void! And furthermore, whatever righteousness we might have, doesn’t come from our own efforts, but from the Lord God Jehovah, our Creator and Provider. And having straightened that out, (smile) let’s look at some scriptures that fortify that, no, those awesome promises, because we’re promised physical, vocal and spiritual protection with righteousness.

Wow! And people still refuse to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! How unwise and foolish!

Isaiah himself tells us, re Ariel (Jerusalem; lit- lion of God) and her enemies, that though the Lord distresses Jerusalem, yet in the end: ‘And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel (Jerusalem), even all that fight against her and her munition (fortress), and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite (still craves): so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.’ (Is.29:7-8)

And just before our Bit, Isaiah trills thus to God’s everlasting LOVE for the children of Israel, and those who follow His commandments. ‘And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument (weapon) for his work; and I have created the waster (destroyer) to destroy.’ (Is.54:13 -16)

So my people, there’s nothing to fear if we are walking obedient to God’s will, for as we’ve seen, He has promised on several occasions to protect us from our enemies when we so do. But unfortunately in these evil, turbulent and dangerous times, we have forsaken our God, have not even taught our children His Word. So what else can we expect but disaster, calamity and misery eh?

I don’t know if there’s ever been a time in man’s history, even during the two great wars, where mankind has been engaged in warfare on so many fronts at the same time. The scale of fighting might not be as large as in the two world wars, but we have many more nations inflamed in both external and internal strife. It’s possibly easier to pick out the few nations that are not involved in some kind of deadly strife.

Oh Friends, when are we ever going to learn eh? The Most High God created us, and though He’s given us freedom of choice, He still retains overall control. And He has continually warned us to keep His commandments, to serve and worship Him in sincerity and truth, while also providing glaring examples of the disastrous happenings disobedience can bring.

So it’s up to us now Friends to rally round the cross of Christ and try to drum some sense into the hard, stubborn minds of our fellowman. That is if we want our children and future generations to live in a somewhat peaceful world.

And in closing, I know that some people try to knock the Old Testament, saying it’s out of date and of no use now. But my brethren, that’s a fallacy, pure foolishness, because the Old Testament is the setting, the foreshadowing, for fulfillment by the New Testament. And throughout the New Testament you’ll find Jesus and all the disciples and apostles quoting important scripture from the Old Testament.

So please don’t listen to anyone who tells you that nonsense! You can’t properly understand the New until you understand the Old, just like you cannot tell where you’re going, until you know where you’ve come from. Much LOVE!

…our earthly pilgrimage may be rough and rocky…but if we concentrate on walking with God…then though we occasionally stumble…we’ll never fall…that’s the Lord’s faithful promise…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 July 2012 Acts 5:29

Acts 5:29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

Oh Friends, another glorious morn is preparing to come up over the distant horizon. Soon the Sun will be blazing forth in all its glory and majesty, just like the SON will do when He returns. In the meanwhile though, His true followers must reflect His light in a world so badly affected by the darkness that is evil. Jesus said: ‘Ye are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:14,16) Therefore, in this evil world, Christians are to shine like a bright beacon on a hill in a dark, stormy night, so that weary travellers will be safely guided in their long, dangerous, earthly journey and finally end up at a place of rest, comfort, caring and peace. A place called the everlasting, ever-LOVING arms of Jesus. Yes Friends, we believers ought to be perceived by the unbelievers as guiding lights in a dark, destructive and wicked world! And here’s a quote by the famous Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) that wisely and rightly endorses Jesus’ contention. ‘Life is not a “brief candle.” It is a splendid torch that I want to make burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.’ Gospel truth Friends, gospel truth! I guess we can compare it to the passing of the torch in the Olympic Games, the current edition of which is now taking place in England. Many of you must have seen the lavish opening ceremonies two days ago. I never planned to watch it, but the Lord in His mysterious ways had me do so. I had taped a football game and when I went to watch it, lo and behold the opening ceremony of the games jumped out at me. Obviously I was a bit perturbed, figuring that the football game had been bypassed for the ceremony, so I watched it. Now it was indeed a good show, but after writing the Bit that day about all the hunger, poverty, pain and the many other negatives in our world crying out for money, I was somewhat angered by it all. But we’ll leave that alone, for all the big, expensive, waste of time festivals that only enrich the already rich, don’t sit well with me. Anyway, the billion dollar question (a million is too small now) is how do we begin to shine that light of Jesus, so that we can pass that bright torch to future generations? Well, we’ve got to start with the principle laid out in our Bit: ‘Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.’ Yes mih people, all our good intentions are of no use until we actually begin obeying God’s sound principles and not the selfish, greedy, evil ones of man. We saw how the apostles put the Jewish council in their place when they told them to stop preaching Christ. Another excellent example of that is Daniel and his friends. When the Jewish teens were brought to Babylon and enrolled in a training programme to convert them to the Chaldean image, the young men refused to eat food offered up to idols or pray to the heathen gods. The Good Book tells us: ‘But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat (delicacies), nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.’ (Dan.1:8) Oh my people, how many of us today have the parts to stand up to the world’s evil and refuse to bow to their wickedness and idolatrous ways? Not sufficient of us I believe, otherwise our world wouldn’t be in such a sad state. But here’s what happens when we do. ‘Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender LOVE (sympathy) with the prince of the eunuchs.’ (Dan.1:9) Yes Friends, when we’re prepared to stand up faithful and strong for God, He will help us in whatever we’re going through. Remember that promise to never leave or forsake us. (Heb.13:5) Daniel and his friends chose to eat vegetables and drink water rather than the idol offered food of the king, and they ended up looking better than all the others in the programme. The Good Book also declares: ‘As for these four children (young men), God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning (literature) and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.’ (Dan.1:17) Praise the Lord Friends! He blessed the young men so that they were the fairest and brightest amongst the lot, and could therefore go forth into the heathen world and proclaim His glory. We know how three of the four were thrown into the fire and came out untouched, not even smelling of smoke. They had previously told king Nebuchadnezzar about their God saving them from the fire. ‘But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.’ (Dan.3:18) Oh mih bredden, it certainly took plenty B, B, and B, (balls, belly and backbone) for those young men to talk like that to an absolute monarch, one who could do whatever he desired with them. Likewise Daniel, when the jealous leaders plotted to have him thrown into the lion’s den for continuing to pray to his God despite the king’s decree. Daniel just kept right on believing in, following and praying to the God of his fathers. (Dan.6:10) And when he was finally thrown into the lion’s den, the Lord shut the lions mouth and he came out completely unharmed. (Dan.6:14-23) Oh Friends, such is the power of our omnipotent God! Remember that nothing is impossible for Him, and if we faithfully worship and obey Him, He will work wonders in our lives. Note how He used Daniel over some sixty years to bring three heathen kings to their knees and acknowledge His supremacy. ‘Then king Darius wrote unto all the people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men (must) tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He deilvereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power (paw) of the lions.’ (Dan.6:25-27) And all God’s people raised a mighty shout of ‘Amen!’ to heaven. Much LOVE my people!…when we stand up for Jesus…He will also stand up for us…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 September 2013 Isaiah 54:17

Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 July 2012 Acts 5:29

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