SCRIP-BITS

Galatians 5:22-23.     But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
 
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Yes Friends, it’s May Day, the first of May already. Imagine that nuh! The year’s really moving along at a fast clip, though the first sentence doesn’t refer to the month of May, but an ice-hockey player, Brad May, who scored a winning goal for the Buffalo Sabres some years ago, and the announcer got so excited that that was his call. May 1st is a day of celebration all over the world, with Maypole dancing and such. It seems to have originated from a pagan celebration. But it is also an important day in the Labour field, called International Workers Day, with marches and such, commemorating and celebrating some of the hard fought victories won by dedicated workers and unions against a rigid, greedy, inhumane employer class in the last century. Unfortunately though, a lot of those rights and the power of workers are now being systematically eroded by governments and employers, trying to take us back to feudal times. Oh my people, we can’t afford to let that happen! Our world is already in a serious recession, many call it a depression, but whatever it is, we can’t afford to sink any lower. And as you well know it’s always the poor, the suffering, the ordinary workingman who suffers the most, bears the brunt of misfortune in those desperate and trying times. We all have to stand up as best we can and fight again, keep on fighting for those benefits so many fought and died for, because the employers are getting greedier and more inhumane and selfish, if that’s possible. They keep on paying themselves huge, unwarranted sums while cutting back the wages and benefits of the ordinary man, or simply laying him off, all in the name of the most important capitalist principle; boosting the bottom line. However Friends, there is one person who can help us in all our trials and tribulations; His name is Jesus, before whom all heads and knees will eventually bow. So don’t worry too much about the wicked, they will get their comeuppance in due time. Now here’s the last quote from the book, My Jesus is…Everything, by Anne Graham Lotz. It says: ‘Jesus – the only One – makes: God visible And change possible And happiness attainable And resources ample And suffering understandable And sin forgivable And heaven available! My Jesus is…EVERYTHING!’ And we all know that as gospel truth Friends, like money in the bank, so let’s take it to heart nuh and put it into action, the way Jesus desires, for truly He is the only way that we can inherit God’s kingdom. And our Bit tells us exactly what attributes we need to successfully walk with Jesus: ‘But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness (kindness), goodness, faith (faithfulness), Meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law.’ But before delving into them individually, let’s get a general overview from the scholars: ‘In contrast to the works (plural) of the flesh, which any individual is capable of performing, the fruit (singular) of the Holy Spirit can be produced only by God. Christian character thus results from ‘Christ living in me.’ For this fruit to develop, all nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit must mature. Illustration: The character of Christ is the fullest manifestation of this fruit in the New Testament. Though Jesus did not recognize the traditions of men, His enemies were unable to prove any charge against Him. Application: So today Christians should allow the Holy Spirit to develop this character within them, so they might be blameless before others and not hinder the testimony of Christ.’ And we’ll end with two scriptural references the scholars point out, both from Exodus, when the Israelites were about to build God’s tabernacle. ‘And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship…And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work….’ (Ex.35:30-31, 34-35) ‘And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise-hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred (lifted) him up to come unto the work to do it.’ (Ex.36:2) Yes Friends, the Holy Spirit, can, and will do wonders within us, if we’ll only allow it to. So let’s pray and ask the Father for tender, malleable hearts that will listen and bear plenty, beautiful fruits of His Holy Spirit. More on this tomorrow, if we wake up alive. (smile) Sadly Friends, many of us are only alive in body, but certifiable dead in spirit. Much LOVE!…being saved is fine…but then we need to show it…by our works…by our actions…by the fruit of our spirit…