Ah mih people, our Jesus is so wonderful that there are no words in any language that can truly describe Him! We try, but all our man-made descriptions fall far short of the ideal, of the magnificent Deity that He is! Only Deity like Himself might be able to find language to truly describe Him.
But until we get to heaven and hear the Father and the Holy Spirit describe Him, we’ll have to settle for insufficient terms like: ‘Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Rose of Sharon, Lily of the Valley, Emmanuel, A name above every other Name, to whom ALL knees must bow, Heavenly Advocate, High Priest, Son of God, Saviour of the World, ‘Uniter’ of Jews and Gentiles, He of the Immaculate Conception and of Virgin Birth…etc. etc.’
Yes friends, those are only some of the many names we use to describe Jesus, but the great thing about it is that ALL of them are true and reflect some aspect of Jesus’ great and godly character and the extensive list of jobs that He performs with such grace and majesty! How can we not LOVE and revere Him eh? And if we LOVE and revere Him, then we ought to be delighted to do His bidding, be obedient to His Word and His dictates!
But unfortunately that’s where too many of us draw the line! Yes, we all claim to LOVE Jesus and spout a good talk, but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty, doing as he says, that’s an entirely different subject. We hem and haw about giving up our independence, about surrendering completely to the One who LOVES us so much that He sacrificed His sinless life for our sinful ones. He took our sin and gave us His freedom, His sinless character.
But friends, there can only be one driver of a vehicle or ship or plane at any one time, and it’s either we surrender our lives completely to Jesus and let Him run them as He sees fit, or we don’t. There’s no halfway or in-between measure! You can’t sit on the fence and hope one side or the other will work out. With Jesus, it’s either ALL or NOTHING AT ALL!
As He says so vividly in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other; or else he will hold (be loyal) to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (earthly riches).’
Yes my people, that’s gospel truth! In this world you have to serve somebody, but you can only truly serve ONE somebody at a time, and the choices we have are simply Jesus Christ or the riches of this world controlled by the evil Satan himself. And today I just want to look at a few scriptures that promote serving Jesus as opposed to the evil one and his lure of earthly wealth and power.
First up is Bruh Paul in his first missive to Timothy, where he warns. ‘Charge (command) them that are rich in this world (present age), that they be not highminded (haughty), nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute (to give), willing to communicate (share). Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’ (1 Tim.6:17-19)
Yes friends, nothing is basically wrong with being rich, God gives earthly riches to many of us, but we need to be generous and godly with those blessings. As the scholars explain: ‘6:19. When wealthy believers generously share (v.18), they secure an assurance (laying up in store for themselves a good foundation) that in the future (against the time to come) they will indeed enter heaven (lay hold on eternal life).
Salvation is not purchased by the giving of money, but generosity demonstrates the reality of one’s faith. Since the believer trusts God and not money, he gives. This giving shows where his heart is and that he views his wealth in light of eternity.’
Now James says it thus: ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of (with) the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be (makes himself) a friend of the world is (makes himself) the enemy of God.’ (James 4:4) Yes my people, we cannot be both LOVERS of God and the world at the same time, as John says so clearly in his epistle.
‘LOVE not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man LOVE the world, the LOVE of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.’ (1 John 2:15-17)
Ah friends, please pay particular attention to the part that says the things of the world pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever, because it’s gospel truth. End of sermon! (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (right ho!) our Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has rained down on us to assist us in doing his earthly work.
All together now with sincere hearts, in loud voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment!
I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’
Oh true believers in Christ, how blessed we are! Now let’s go out and share those wonderful blessings as Jesus desires of us. Much LOVE!
…all that we’ve been given…is meant to be generously shared…not selfishly hoarded…
SCRIP-BITS 