Deuteronomy 5:32. Ye shall observe (be careful) to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
And the ice melteth… but then the melted ice freezeth… Yes Friends, that’s the kind of action we had going yesterday; mild temps melting the ice, but with that run off freezing up again during the colder night. What a bam bam! And with the inconsistent weather we’ve been experiencing, there’s no telling how it will all end.
Sadly too, there are still many people without power here in Toronto, down in the Maritimes and also over in Europe, where the weather has played havoc with them too this past week, although their problem was mainly rain and flooding.
Oh my people, this Christmas of 2013 definitely won’t go down as a wonderful one in many parts of the world. In fact, 2013 won’t go down in the annals of history as such a wonderful year period! What with all the disasters, both natural and man made, we experienced, plus what appears to be endless strife in so many parts of the world. And last, but definitely not least, the significant global economic contraction. Hn!
The sad part about the whole situation though is that the wealthy are getting wealthier and still living extravagantly, while the rest of the society is struggling to make ends meet, with their lifestyles plummeting down the socio-economic ladder. But what to do eh Friends? Yes, what to do indeed?
Ah mih people, there is ONLY ONE solution to our problems! Turn to Almighty God in serious, sincere and heartfelt conviction and repentance, then live lives that will honour Him! And until we do that, our earthly situation will continue to be disastrous and calamitous.
Oh Friends, this no hearsay, but what the Lord commanded Israel, His chosen people, from early on. Note when Moses called the people together and reminded them of the covenant the Lord had made with them at Mt. Horeb, which included the Ten Commandments, which he again reminded them of, and also how they were afraid and promised to do as the Lord said. (Deut.5:1-28)
Then the Lord sent them to their tents and told Moses the words of our Bit, which he was commanded to teach them. ‘Ye shall observe (be careful) to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.’ What’s so difficult to understand about that eh mih breddren?
And the Lord continued: ‘Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord you God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.’ (Deut.5:33) Again my Friends and fellow believers, very simple and straightforward instructions.
And it’s interesting to note that when the Israelites obeyed, they prospered, and when they did not, great calamity befell them. But although they experienced both the good and bad, subject to their obedience or disobedience, they still never learned and continued their naturally sinful rebellion against their God and King.
So I guess the question can be asked, why should we be any different, or rather any better? Firstly because we’ve have a much more intimate knowledge of God, through Jesus Christ and the Good Book. Then we’ve evolved to possibly a higher level of natural intelligence, plus the historical lessons from the many nations down through the ages, who’ve tried to live without God and failed.
Unfortunately though, all of that just seems to have made us more stubborn and resistant to God’s Word, and more intent on doing our own, sinful, rebellious thing. But Friends, we keep saying that our God doesn’t change, neither does His Word, so why should our society fare any differently to all those others who were crushed for their disobedience eh? No reason whatsoever!
And it’s not like the Lord didn’t repeat His message numerous times to His people. But since time and space are against us, we’ll just look at one instance. Even in the choice of a King, the Lord was very adamant about how he should be chosen and behave.
‘When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear (stand in awe of) the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
That his heart be not lifted up (proud) above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his day in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.’ (Deut.17:14-20)
Oh my people, nothing there has changed. We still need to have godly leaders, not corrupt, ungodly ones who are only intent on making themselves rich and powerful, but rather wise and honourable, leading the people in obedience to the Lord’s commands.
Obviously those conditions aren’t being maintained today, so why should we be so surprised at our demise eh? Our countries were built on the Christian ethic, so if we lose that Christian ethic, there’s only one possible result; our eventual downfall.
It’s high time for us to wake up my brethren, and return to sincerely worshipping the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD: He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Remember what we’ve been saying for the past few days? That the Lord’s our Judge, our Lawgiver, our King, and that He will save us. Now if that’s true, and we really believe it, then let’s put all it entails into serious action nuh, for then we’ll truly be considered wise. Much LOVE!
…the Lord exalts the obedient…but the disobedient are trampled by His wrath…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 December 2013 Deuteronomy 5:32
29 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: 2013, Abraham, action, adamant, annals of history, brethren, brother, calamituous, calamity, Christian, Christmas, conviction, copy of the law, corrupt, covenant, demise, disasters, disastrous, disobeyed, downfall, earthly situation, economic contraction, Egypt, ehtic, Europe, exalts, failed, fear God, flooding, freezing, God doesn't change, God's Word, godly, hearsay, heart, hight time to wake up, historical lessons, ice, inconsitent weather, intimate knowledge of God, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, Jesus Christ, judge, king, kingdom, Law, lawgiver, Leaders, leading the people, levites, lifestyles, live lives that honour God, live without God, living extravagantly, LOVE, Maritimes, melting, Moses, Mt. Horeb, multiply, natural intelligence, obedience, obeyed, one and only true God, one solution, prolong your days, prospered, rain, reisistant, repentance, rich and powerful, rich getting richer, saviour, silver and gold, simple, sinful rebellion, socio-economic ladder, stand in awe of, statutes, straightforward instructions, stranger, strife, stuggling to make ends meet, subborn, Ten Commandments, the Good Book, the Lord's command, throne, to the left, to the right, Toronto, trampled, turn aside, turn to Almighty god, walk in the ways, wise, wise and honourable, worship, wrath
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 December 2013 Ecclesiastes 12:14
20 Dec 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: actions, admonish, advice to the young, alive and kicking, awesome truth, bad, balancing act, Bruh Paul, care, cheer, childhood, choices, church at Corinth, consequences, controlling factor, dangerous day, dark days, deceitful conception, decisions, enjoyment, every work, evil, excuses, expectantly, eyes, fear of repercussions, fellowship, firmly grounded, flesh, followers, forearmed, forewarned, freezing rain, Friday chant, fun, futility, generous help, gladness, glorious kingdom, God is judge, God's judgement, good, heart, hedonistic sense, hidden things of darkness, impulses, in faith, jesus name, jobs, joy, judgement, judgement day, justified, life, lifetimes, live it out, LOVE, magnanimous god, magnificent, mighty, motives, perspective, praise of God, prayer, precipitation, prime of life, propagated by evildooers, prosper, real judgement, refreshed in soul, rejoice, relaxation, renewed, rest, reveal, righteousness., secret thing, Selah, self-indulgence, sight, snow, sorrow, sow diligently, straight and narrow, struggle, TGIF! Thank God is Friday, thanks, the Preacher, the world's our oyster, total commitment, trial, umbrella, vanity, vexation, warning, ways, week of work, weekend, words, wrong, youth
Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
And then it was Friday – a wintry Friday! There’s already some precipitation on the ground in my area – not much, but precipitation nonetheless. And who knows what’s going to follow eh; snow or freezing rain, or a combination of both? Anyhow we cut it, if the weather people are right, today’s going to be a dangerous day.
So please people, let’s all take very good care as we go about our business outside, for the weather conditions will not be ideal… Hn! And we don’t want any accidents or misfortunes just before Christmas. So if you don’t HAVE to go out, then DON’T GO OUT! Words of true wisdom Friends. (smile)
I also noticed that the weather warning somewhat dampened our usually glorious shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But with prayer and care, we ought to make it safely through another winter’s day.
And to top it all off, let’s chant out Friday chant, with joy and gladness, simply because we’re alive and kicking, have jobs to go to, and live under the umbrella of a mighty, magnificent and magnanimous God!
So my brethren, let’s chant: ‘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.’
Now let’s get that perspective firmly grounded in our beings, so that we can live it out over the weekend. And do we ever need stuff like that to keep us on the straight and narrow, especially when we have a Bit like today’s: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’
Yeh mih people, all our words and actions WILL indeed be judged on the big day! But as the saying goes; to be forewarned is to be forearmed. So now that we know what’s going to eventually happen, we have no excuses for making bad, or wrong, or evil decisions and choices.
Yesterday we saw the Preacher telling us to sow diligently in the mornings, then in the evenings, hold out our hands expectantly, in faith, because we don’t know which seed that we planted will prosper. But then again, in our rejoicing, we also have to pay attention to the many dark days of trial and struggle that will surely come during our lifetimes. It’s a fine balancing act my brethren! That’s what life is.
Now hear this wise advice from the preacher to the young. Oh if many of us had heard it when we were young!
‘Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways (impulses) of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes (as you see to be best): but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement. Therefore remove sorrow (vexation) from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth (prime of life) are vanity.’ (Eccl.11:9-10)
And isn’t that the awesome truth my people! When we are young, we feel the world’s our oyster, and we can do whatever we want to, without fear of repercussions or consequences. But that’s a deceitful conception, propagated by evildoers, for as we are seeing, God will one day judge all that we ever did here on planet earth.
And please note the scholars’ take on the situation. ‘Once again the exhortation to enjoyment is put in the imperative mood. Here the appeal is particularly addressed to the youth to admonish him to enjoy life before the onset of the feeble years described in 12:1-7.
Verse 9 can hardly be taken in a hedonistic sense, because the controlling factor in the youth’s enjoyment is said to be God’s judgement. Rather, it is a warning against a life misspent in self-indulgence.’
Oh Friends, the sooner we learn these lessons, the better off we’ll all be! For yesterday we saw Jesus declare the truth of the judgement day. (Matt.12:35-37) Now listen to Bruh Paul in his first missive to the church at Corinth, talking about real judgement.
‘For I know nothing by (against) myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest (reveal) the counsels (motives) of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.’ (1 Cor.4:4-5)
Ah mih people, more words of divine truth, which will do us a lot of good to hear and inwardly digest!
And here’s an interesting note from the scholars’. ‘4:4. I know nothing by myself (lit. “I know nothing against myself”). This sort of total commitment gave Paul the authority to make such a statement as “be ye followers of me” (cf. 1 Cor.4:16; 11:1).’
Yes Friends, let’s be followers of Bruh Paul nuh, as he was a follower of Jesus! We certainly can’t go wrong if we follow his example. Much LOVE!
…and the heavens shall declare his righteousness…for God is JUDGE himself… Selah (Ps.50:6)
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 August 2013 Luke 18:14.
20 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: affliction, back to school, body, busy schedules, Cleanse your hands, divine guidance, draw near to God, exalted, exhortations, faithfulness, fear, flee from satan, followers of Jesus, following Jesus, gloom, God resists the proud, good works, grace, heart, humble, humble apologies, humble yourselves, humility, in the sight of the Lord, in vain, inner thoughts, jealousy, Jesus' teaching, joy, justified, lament, laughter, LOVE, LOVE for God, LOVING heart, lusts, man's envy, maturing, meek, mind, mourn, New Year's resolution, outward deeds, peace that transcends understanding, petty, pilgrim's path, pride, resist the devil, school of hard knocks, scowling faces, scriptures, self-aggrandisement, selfish, short attention spans, sinners, soul, sour taste, speak directly to our hearts, submit yourselves to God, the good work of God, true believers, unchristian things, ungodly world, weep, wonderful LOVE, worldliness
Luke 18:14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Oh Friends, can you believe that we’re already closer to the end of August than to the beginning! Where does the time fly eh? Just the other day we were all excited about the upcoming Caribana celebrations, but now we’re thinking about schools opening in early September and all that that entails. Brother!
And please accept my most humble apologies for forgetting to remind us (smile) about our monthly check up on the state of our great New Year’s Resolution; that of following Jesus more closely, of becoming more like Him, of maturing in His school of hard-knocks, of humility, of good works, of faithfulness, and of LOVE for God and all His creation.
If you haven’t done that for this month on your own, then please do it now, since it’s always easier to do it in small bits than in big chunks.
And we’ll continue with our Bit of the last two days, because it is extremely important for us to understand the principle it details. ‘I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’
I also have some scripture with which to try and impress the importance of that principle, humility, on us, meek and humble followers of Jesus. (smile)
Ah Friends, that smile is more one of heartache than happiness, because too many of Jesus’ supposed people are still too caught up in the petty, selfish, me and I stuff, the foolish self-aggrandisement that our ungodly world admires and does its best to encourage.
But true believers simply cannot afford to get caught up in that selfish system, where I, the first person, am always first. Instead we need to get into Jesus’ teaching, where I, always comes last.
Now I heard this story recently about a lady who went to church and saw the chairs in the sanctuary placed in a confirmation she didn’t like. Apparently they had been set that way for a few weeks. She then asked one of the ushers when the chairs would be replaced in their earlier configuration.
The usher replied that she didn’t know. And would you believe that fine, upstanding Christian lady walked out of the church and didn’t stay for the service!
Ah Lord eh! And then we wonder why unbelievers look at us with a scowl on their faces and a sour taste in their mouths. But it’s because of those stupid, selfish, very unchristian things that we do in front of them. Now was the position of the chairs so important to the conduct of the worshipping of God? Obviously she felt so.
Anyway Friends, enough of me. I’ll just let the scriptures speak directly to our hearts now. And we’ll begin with James talking about worldliness and pride. ‘Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy (yearns jealously)?
But he giveth more grace, wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh (near) to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Be afflicted (lament), and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness (gloom). Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up.’ (James 4:5-10)
Ah mih people, there’s nothing I can add to that, except clear up some uncertainty by giving us the scholars explanations.
Re verses 5 and 6: ‘Although many believe that verse 5 refers to the positive ministry of the indwelling Holy Spirit, yearning jealously over the believer, the tenor of verse 4 and 5 is negative, speaking of man’s envy. The good work of God begins at verse 6 in contrast to 4 and 5 as the conjunction indicates.
But he giveth more grace is literally “greater grace” (Gr.meizona). God gives grace that is greater than the world’s attraction of verse 4 and the inner lust of verse 5 (cf. Rom. 5:20), and so can withstand both.’
Re verses 7-10: ‘Therefore: The exhortations that follow logically result from the conditions in verses 1-6. Resist the devil: Do not submit to fear, or flee from Satan, but stand against him (1 Pet. 5:8-10). Satan cannot lead into sin against one’s will.
Draw nigh: God will not be unmoved; His welcoming response is always near (cf. Deut. 4:7; Lam. 3:57; Luke 15:20). Hands and hearts: The cleansing of one’s life must involve both outward deeds and inner thoughts (cf. Ps.24:3-4).
And as always Friends, I encourage us to read the scriptures that the scholars recommend. They’re placed there for our benefit, because they do help us in understanding the Word.
And I guess that’s it for today mih breddren, because we already have a lot of stuff to ponder on, and what I still have to say will definitely make the Bit too long. Please note my conscious interest in our busy schedules and short attention spans. (smile)
We’ll just have to continue this topic tomorrow, God in favour. Till then faithful followers of Jesus, please, please let’s look to Him for divine guidance and counsel rather than to man.
And may He grant us the wisdom, strength and courage to tread the difficult pilgrim’s path He’s laid out for us, plus the peace that transcends all man’s understanding, and the wonderful LOVE that flows from the everlasting wellspring of His most generous and LOVING heart. Much LOVE!
…when a man truly knows Jesus…oh…he can’t help but LOVE Him…with all his heart, mind, body and soul…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 June 2013 Proverbs 4:26
07 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
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Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 May 2013 Psalm 38:21-22
09 May 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: appreciation, birds singing, christianity, cry for help, cry of anguish, exalt Almighty God, eyes of faith, fear of stumbling, flim flam, Forsake me not Lord, god, God of my salvation, heart, insincere platitudes, lifeblood, lilies of the field, make haste to help me, mindless creatures, new blessings, new mercies, penitent heart, praise and thanksgiving, prominence, psalm 38, reverence of God, saving grace, song of praise, surety of heaven, sweet morning songs, take things for granted, treasure, tulips, unfailing mercy, vindication
Psalm 38:21-22. Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
Oh Friends, another new day, with new mercies and blessings is upon us! Do you ever get tired of it? I surely hope not, cause that’s our lifeline, our very lifeblood, our saving grace. If we weren’t getting rich, new stuff everyday, where would we be eh? The Lord only knows. And I refuse to even consider it for one moment. But on another point of interest, do we take these new daily blessings and mercies for granted? I sincerely hope we don’t, but give the Lord ample thanks and praise for them every day we awaken and see the light of God in our lives. And I guess you’re wondering what brought that all about? Well it was all brought on when I got up and heard the birds singing their sweet morning songs of praise and thanksgiving through my opened bedroom window. And as I sit in my basement office writing this now, I can still hear them outside dallying in sweet song. Now these mindless creatures instinctively know to whom their very existence is dependent on, and give appropriate praise. But are we, the creation with the wonderful mind built into each of us, as mindful to praise and thank the One who created us and provides for us? Unfortunately, I don’t think we are as mindful to exalt and extol Almighty God as we should. That’s because we take certain things for granted, and also allow the flim-flam stuff of the world to dazzle us and thus take our thoughts away from God. Oh Friends, that just isn’t right or good enough for true followers of Jesus. We definitely need to do better in that respect. Our eyes of faith and our hearts are supposed to be set on the surety of heaven, not on the uncertain things of earth. For as Jesus so wisely noted: ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt.6:21) That means if we keep looking to the things of the earth, we’ll lose the focus on heaven we’re supposed to have. And still on the wonders of creation, I’m reminded of the lovely multi-coloured tulips the duchess has blossoming and blooming in her front garden. Jesus describes it so rightly. ‘And why take ye thought for raiment (worry about clothing)? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (clothed) like one of these.’ (Matt.6:29-29) So Friends, if God was, and is, so gracious and generous to His lesser creations, how much more gracious and generous is he going to be to His greatest creation, mankind? Obviously much more. But sadly, in our sinful, rebellious, LOVE the destructive and destructible things of the earth state, we don’t appreciate our good fortune as we should. But as soon as something goes dreadfully wrong in our lives, we’re quick to hold our heads and bawl, ‘O God!’ and mouth insincere platitudes for help. Now our Bit today is indeed a cry for help: ‘Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ But the big difference is that it’s a cry from a penitent heart. Psalm 38 is titled – the prayer of a penitent heart. Apparently at the time of writing, Bruh David was shaking it very rough indeed; sick, deserted by his friends and surrounded by enemies. Those three circumstances all together would certainly cause a sinful heart to be penitent. But our problem nowadays seems to be, if we don’t hear from God speedily, we tend to lose faith in Him. On the other hand, if we do receive His unfailing mercy, then once the crisis has passed, we tend to forget or relegate Him to the background of our lives once again. That my brethren is definitely not kosher! The Lord God Jehovah MUST ALWAYS have priority, first place in our lives, otherwise He’s unhappy and not prone to respond to our pleas for help. Bruh David was constantly crying out to the Lord for help, one instance being in Psalm 22 – A cry of anguish and song of praise. ‘But be thou not far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling (precious life) from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns (And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered me). I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.’ (Ps.22:19-22) Another example of his cry for help is found in Psalm 35 – A prayer for rescue from enemies. ‘This thou hast seen, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord be not far from me. Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgement (vindication), even unto my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge (vindicate) me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness; and let them not rejoice over me.’ (Ps.35:22-24) And God usually answered his plea for help. Why? Because his heart and mind were constantly tuned to God’s frequency! And though he lost contact every so often, when he did regain the connection, he admitted his wrong doing and sincerely tried to do better. Oh my people, our God made us and knows all of our failures, frailties and shortcomings and thus does not expect us to be perfect. But He does expect the first portion of our lives. He does expect to be front and centre in all we think and do, not just to be called upon in calamitous times and expect to be delivered right away. And sadly, I think that’s the way a lot of supposed believers behave today. God is in the back of our minds until we come upon a serious problem we can’t solve ourselves. But please remember Friends, our God, Creator, Controller and Provider wants to be involved in ALL and EVERY aspect of our lives, without any exceptions whatsoever! So, starting today, right now, let’s see if we can’t give Him some more prominence in our lives nuh, the prominence He so rightly deserves. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it won’t happen either unless we make a serious and conscious decision to do it. Remember my people, that the true seeds of wisdom and knowledge are sown in the reverence of God; as we revere Him, so grows our wisdom and knowledge. Much LOVE!…if we keep God always before us…then we’ll walk our earthly paths without fear of stumbling…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 March 2013 Jeremiah 4:1
16 Mar 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living Tags: abominations, beginning of sorrows, betrayals, christianity, crime, disregard for law, earthquakes, fallow ground, false prophets, fire, glorious opportunity, hardhearted people, heart, impending disaster, justice, lack of trust, lawlessness, LOVE, naive souls, outward conformity, pestilence, religious ceremony, repentance, return to God, righteousness., rumours of war, spiritual fruitfulness, spiritual vitality, tribulation, violence, war
Jeremiah 4:1. If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove (be shaken or removed).
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s shaking it a tad rough this Saturday morning, suffering from insufficient sleep; too many extra curricular activities. (smile) But like the mail, the Bit must go out. And with God’s help, it will. And all believers declared a loud and thankful, ‘Praise the Lord!’ But Friends, do you realize that it’s already the middle of March? The month will be soon be over, though it feels like it’s just begun. Whether the days are truly flying faster, or it’s just our imagination, our perception, we certainly don’t have time to waste on frivolous, unimportant activities, for the signs of impending disaster are all around us. As Jesus calls them; ‘the beginning of sorrows.’ (Matt.24:8) It’s not the end yet, but more like the beginning of the end, with the fulfillment of all the signs He warned us about: false prophets, wars and rumours of wars, nation against nation, pestilence, and earthquakes in various places. (Matt.24:5-7) That means we believers have to get ourselves truly together, as soon as possible, and come out fighting the evil that has contaminated and taken over our world. Consequently, there’s no time to lose in responding positively to our Bit. ‘If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove (be shaken or removed).’ Oh my people, the Lord offered that glorious opportunity to Israel to repent and come back to Him long ago, and He’s offering us that same opportunity today. Instead of removing Him from our schools, public places and homes, we need to be putting Him back there and thus getting more acquainted with Him. And it seems likely, from the sign of the times, that we may not have another opportunity to accept that most wonderful and generous offer. Now how do we show acceptance of that offer? Jeremiah enlightens us: ‘And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgement (justice), and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. For thus saith the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow (untilled) ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.’ (Jer.4:2-4) Now let’s hear the scholars’ opinion on all that. ‘These verses conclude the message begun at 3:6 (Israel and Judah entreated to repent) by using literary figures drawn from Israel’s daily experiences. From agriculture comes the admonition to weed out totally their present practices and break up their fallow ground, and then sow the new seeds of spiritual fruitfulness for God. Repentance and a broken heart must precede renewed spiritual vitality. The second figure comes from religious ceremony. Mere outward conformity to the standards of the covenant were insufficient. (cf. Gen.17:10-14; Deut. 10:16, 30:6; Josh.5:2-7; Rom. 2:28-29; 4:9-25)’ Please check out those scriptures my people, so we can get a better understanding of the matter. But yuh know Friends, unfortunately, all the foregoing definitely applies to our current society! We have to be truly serious about God and do the things necessary to return to Him, not pay mere lip service and conform outwardly. And believe me, our doings these days are truly, truly evil, though we try to gloss it over and give the impression that everything’s hunky dory. But Friends, judging from what Jesus said about the signs of the end, it is not! Not by a long stretch of the imagination! ‘Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted (tribulation), and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the LOVE of many shall wax (grow) cold.’ (Matt.24:9-12) Oh my brethren, all those things are happening today in ever greater numbers. Trials and tribulations of Christians are rampant all over the world. Betrayals, lack of trust and hatred have taken on new dimensions. False prophets are out there too in ever increasing numbers, deceiving many, unwary, naive souls. And don’t even talk about lawlessness, because it’s increasing by leaps and bounds everyday in our supposed lawful society! The growing crime, violence, disregard for the law and resultant fear is shaking our society to its very roots. And LOVE… what is that eh? The true emotion no longer exists, just like Jesus said. We’re now such a cold, and hardhearted people that we see can see our neighbours suffering dire want, but we can calmly turn our heads and walk away, pass by on the other side without a qualm, just like the religious hypocrites in the Good Samaritan story. But that’s not right Friends. It’s also not the way of Jesus, not the Christian way. However, fortunately, and thankfully, there is a way to counter most of this negativity. For while there is life, there’s always hope, hope in Almighty God. But we have to do as Jeremiah says in our Bit, and also as Joel advises. ‘Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And rend (tear) your heart, and not your garments, and turn (return) unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great (LOVING-) kindness, and repenteth him of the evil (relents from doing harm).’ (Joel 2:12-13) Yes my brethren, it is possible to do some worthwhile reclamation, if we repent of our wicked, sinful ways and sincerely return to serving and worshipping the ONE TRUE GOD, He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But it has to be soon, and also on a fairly worldwide basis, or else, further disaster will continue striking us. And that’s certainly not a nice scenario to envision. So Friends, let’s wake up and see the fire, smell the smoke and rotting carcases and get a serious push on Jesus’ agenda, the LOVE Revolution, ASAP. Much LOVE!…as they say…a word to the wise…is sufficient…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 September 2012 Proverbs 3:3
02 Sep 2012 1 Comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: commandments, favour, glorify God, God's Law, Good God, great commission, guard your heart and mind, heart, high esteem, Hurricane Isaac, hypocrisy, long life, mercy, mind, oneness of purpose, prosperity, Sunday, thanks and praise, thanksgiving, truth
Proverbs 3:3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.
Oh Friends, let’s begin today by giving much thanks for life, health and liberty! And all God’s people declared a grateful, ‘Thank You Lord for all the blessings in my life!’ Let’s also be thankful that the young Christian girl imprisoned in Pakistan for supposed blasphemy, allegedly burning some pages of a holy book, will be safe from the mob that’s been crying out for her breath of life, for at least another two weeks. That’s when her case comes up again. What ignorance and hypocrisy eh! And closer to home, let’s also offer heartfelt thanks that Hurricane Isaac didn’t do as much damage to Louisiana and the other South-western States as expected. This time the anchors (levees) held, unlike when Katrina descended upon them. Oh Friends, our God is certainly a GOOD GOD! He’s so wonderful, that even in the midst of tragedy, believers can always see the light of His LOVING presence, and feel His gentle, saving touch. Now remember that today is Sunday, so all those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, if at all possible, please get out and fellowship with other believers, giving thanks and praise to God in unity and oneness of purpose. For as we’ve been saying over the last few days, a unified church is very essential in successfully fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission. (Matt. 28:19-20) And before we get to our Bit, let’s hear how Cousin Sol in exhorting us to obedience, opens Chapter 3, as a lead up to it. ‘My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.’ (Prov.3:1-2) Now that’s the living truth my people! For when we keep the Lord’s law, then we are divinely blessed with peace and long, prosperous lives. And now we can segue smoothly into our Bit: ‘Let not mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.’ Yes Friends, those two things, mercy and truth, are of the utmost importance in the lives of EVERY believer. Why? Cousin Sol continues with more valuable advice. ‘So shalt thou find favour and good understanding (high esteem) in the sight of God and man.’ (Prov.3:4) Now we all desire those things in this earthly life, but the only way to truly and lastingly accomplish that is by having mercy (LOVING-kindness) and truth always in our sights. They’re so important that we’ve even been advised and encouraged to ‘Bind them about thy neck.’ That means the Lord’s teachings should be as much a part of us as an adornment or necklace around our necks. In other words, always present and standing out. Just goes to show how important those two attributes are my brethren. And later on in Chapter 6, when warning against adultery, Cousin Sol reiterates the importance of keeping the Lord’s law. ‘My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee, and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman (seductress). (Prov.6:20-24) In this particular case he advocates it against the wiles of an evil woman, but keeping the Lord’s law is material in every aspect of our everyday lives. And we shouldn’t only have the law close to our bodies like a necklace, but also ‘write them upon the table of thine heart.’ That’s our minds. We need to write them first and foremost in our minds, for as our minds go, so goes the rest of our body. The mind is our most important organ, it’s a unique, marvellous and ‘unclonable’ bit of engineering, and since within it lie the true controls of our bodies, it is thus extremely important in understanding and successfully living this earthly life. That’s why Lucifer always seeks first to infiltrate our minds, cause he knows that once he’s in control of our controls, he’s home free. Consequently it’s of the utmost necessity we guard our hearts and minds very closely. No wonder Bruh Paul strongly advised the Philippians. ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil.4:4-7) And we’ll close with some words from the scholars which will help us understand that last verse. ‘The peace of God is that tranquility of mind freeing the believer from fear and worry. “Peace” which passeth all understanding means (1) peace divinely bestowed in times of anxiety, so wonderful that it exceeds one’s ability to understand it; and (2) God’s peace far surpassing one’s own understanding of the problem, and his ability to cope with and solve it. Shall keep means “shall guard.” This is a military term for a sentinel standing guard duty. As Philippi was guarded by a Roman garrison, and its citizens were accustomed to seeing soldiers protecting the city, this word would be especially appreciated by the readers.’ Oh Friends, let’s hope we not only appreciate what we’ve read here today, but that we also go out and put it into practice in our daily lives. It’s the best way to glorify God and show Jesus that we truly care about the sacrifice He made for us on the cross at Calvary. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen. Much LOVE!…without solid foundations of mercy and truth…believers will always come up short in Christ…
SCRIP-BITS 