Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 September 2016 Joshua 1:6a.

Joshua 1:6a.   Be strong and of a good courage…

Oh friends, ‘I’m getting better! I’m getting better!’ All thanks and praise and glory be to our most awesome and wonderful God! 

Yeh mih people, the cough and cold and consequent asthma that’s been bothering me for the past week is easing up…Glory to God! I can now breathe a lot easier… All thanks and praise be to the Most High who heals and comforts us in our time of sickness! 

Now here is something interesting and uplifting from my P.S. I LOVE YOU Poster, which I’ve probably shared before, but it’s so nice, we just had to do it twice. (smile) . 

It tells us that ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle, holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’ 

And it would certainly be wonderful if we were all really in a circle holding hands, then there wouldn’t be as much anger, strife and all the other negative options that are currently flooding our world. But the last part is gospel truth though my friends; whatever we give out, is what we’ll get back, like a boomerang…and more than we gave out too. 

So if we sow negative stuff, we will reap more negative stuff than we sowed. However if we sow positive vibrations, then our reaping will be more positive vibrations…exceeding abundantly. So please, let’s concentrate on sowing positive vibes as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ desires of us nuh, not the many negative ones that we’re currently sowing. 

And to show the positivity, the passion and enthusiasm that we have for life this Wednesday morning, let’s declare our Wednesday Wail passionately and exuberantly, with hungry hope and expectant faith. 

Wailing: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. 

My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’  

Oh that’s such a glorious feeling my people; feeling God’s astounding breath of life flowing through our frail and fragile bodies, making us strong and able to fight the enemy to the death! 

Yes my brethren, we definitely can’t afford to look back at all the stuff that’s already happened in our lives, because our best days are still ahead of us, through that amazing future which Jesus has planned for His people. 

And all God’s children declared a loud and grateful, ‘Thank you Jesus! We praise and bless your Holy Name and give You sincere thanks for all that’s You’ve done, are doing right now, and has promised to do for us later on! Amen!’ 

That brings us to our Bit: ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’ 

And I LOVE how it’s so short, but yet so powerful… ‘Be strong and of a good courage…’ When you declare it, it just seems to lift you up and move you in a positive direction. And do we ever need much strength and courage in these turbulent and difficult times! 

Now let’s look at some scripture that enables us to stand strong and be of good courage. The verse right before our Bit says it all. God says to Joshua: ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Josh.1:5) 

What a wonderful promise that is friends! And the great thing about that promise is that it’s also meant for us in these desperate times. We don’t need to fear or fret because our omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present God has promised never to leave nor forsake us, and we know that He’s ever faithful to ALL of His promises. 

Now hear Bruh David tell it like it is from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance. ‘I will LOVE thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold). I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps.18:1-3) 

Ah friends, what hope, faith and trust Bruh David showed in the God of his forefathers! And we all know it was not misplaced, because the Lord indeed saved him from his enemies and supplied all his wants and needs. In the same manner my fellow followers of Jesus, the Lord wants to bless and keep us, but we need to be obedient and faithful to Him and his word. 

And we’ll end with some more powerful and uplifting words from Psalm 18. ‘As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried (proven): he is a buckler (shield) to all those that trust in him. For who is God save (except) the Lord? Or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.’ (Ps.18:30-32) 

Indisputable, incontestable, irrefutable, undeniable, unequivocal, gospel truth my brethren! So let’s write it indelibly in our hearts, souls, minds and bodies nuh, so that we can be strong and courageous in our walk of faith! Much LOVE!

…the Lord gives strength and courage…to those who seek Him sincerely…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 July 2016 Matthew 7:12

Matthew 7:12.   Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

And then it was Friday… 

No wonder the workers united to sing this song of emancipation: ‘TGIF! Thank God it is Friday! No more work, no more slaving for a cruel, heartless massa! The weekend is upon us and we will enjoy all the pleasures it offers – from A to Zee! Thank God for Fridays and the weekends yes!’ 

Ah friends, you really can’t begrudge people some pleasure when they’ve been under the gun all week, just working and doing little else in this supposedly modern but very stressful and demanding world. 

However, we can’t afford to only seek the lust of the flesh in the next two days either; spiritual matters must also be of great concern, otherwise we’ll lose the something in our souls that makes us higher than the animals and just a little lower than the angels. 

Now let’s chant our Friday Chant which gives us a better perspective on the matter. As one now: ‘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 that is a much better way to handle the couple days off we have over the weekend; it keeps our soul and spirit in balance, which is something we desperately need to survive and be successful in our current topsy-turvy world. 

And here’s an interesting quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster. I don’t know if I’ve shared it before, but if I haven’t, I ought to have, and if I’ve shared it before, then it’s nice enough for us to do it twice. (smile) 

And it says: ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle, holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’ 

And isn’t that the awesome truth friends? It certainly is! It’s basically God’s plan for man; whatever you sow, you shall reap. Life is like a boomerang; whatever you throw out to it, it will eventually come right back to you. 

So if you throw out bad, that’s what you’ll eventually receive, the same thing goes for good. The trouble is that we don’t think sufficiently along those lines, so we sow whatever our flesh wants, then when we get back something negative in return we wonder why. 

But life is not rocket science my people, it’s a simple do unto others as you’d want them doing unto you. And Jesus’ words on that subject is our Bit for today. ‘Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.’ 

Yes my people, that’s what we call the ‘Golden Rule!’ And it’s really the only sensible way to live, if what we said above, about sowing and reaping, is true. 

And the scholars explain it thus: ‘Hence, rather than judging others, we are to treat them as we would like to be treated. Therefore all things…do ye even so to them, is the biblical injunction often called the “Golden Rule.” This is the law and the prophets indicates that the statement made here by Jesus is not intended to be novel, but rather a summarization of the second table of the law.’ 

Yes friends, it’s not new, it’s just what has been required of us ever since Moses got those Ten Commandments. (smile) Unfortunately though, not enough of us are following it in these crucial and critical times, thus the ungodly and evil lifestyles we’re seeing so prevalent over God’s great world. 

But it shouldn’t be like that. If we’d use our common sense and life experience we’d realize it. However we tend to live by the lusts of the flesh and the emotions of greed, selfishness etc. which only tear us down. There’s no building of harmony and unity in those negative emotions my people, just breaking down and destroying. 

And that’s exactly what’s happening in our world. I don’t know if we’ve ever gone through a more destructive period in a supposed time of peace. Steups! 

Everyday we’re becoming better at destruction, for a lot of our manufacturing consists of finding and building better ways to destroy. It’s taken us sometimes hundreds of years to build the great monuments of our world, but we destroy them in mere seconds! 

Hn! And not only that, no longer do we have to be up close to destroy, we can stay thousands of miles away and perpetrate hell on earth to our enemies. And then we wonder why our world is going to hell in a bucket! 

Look at all the wars and rumours of wars that are currently causing such woeful strife in our world. Friends, it doesn’t take a fool to realize that if we keep destroying, instead of building, we’ll soon have nothing left to destroy. 

Our leaders seem to be more inept and inefficient than ever, corruption has never been so pervasive, far-reaching and blatant. It just seems that all they are interested in is self-aggrandizement and holding on to immense power for dear life. 

But what they don’t seem to understand is that the more you have, the more you control, the more you have to lose and the more carefully you have to guard it all, which only leads to more problems, in all areas of life.  

Please friends, let’s not be caught up in that vicious cycle of want, of greed and selfishness that is so easy to climb on to, but ever so difficult to get off. Let’s use common sense and God’s Word to direct our earthly pilgrimage nuh. It’s the epitome of wisdom! Much LOVE!

…the Golden Rule…do unto others…as you want them to do unto you…is still the most sensible and godly way to live in this mish-mash world…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 April 2012 Proverbs 19:15‏

 Proverbs 19:15.     Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
 

Oh Friends, we’re going to begin this Easter Tuesday with a situation that ought to be a reality, but unfortunately is not. However, that’s what dreams, hope, faith and Jesus are there for; to convert unreal situations, bring them to light, life and reality. I’m referring to a very poignant quote from my ‘P.S. I LOVE YOU’ Poster, which declares in all sincerity: ‘The people on our planet are not standing in a line in single file. Look closely. Everyone is really standing in a circle holding hands. Whatever you give to the person standing next to you, it eventually comes back to you.’ Ah mih people, that’s the way it ought to be, but right now we’re surely not standing in a circle, and definitely not holding hands. How sad! This selfish generation is all about gathering for itself, forgetting others. In fact the very thought of sharing is absent from too many minds in our world. And all some of us are interested in holding out is a poisoned dart rather than an olive branch. Consequently, we have a rather messed up and troubled planet which is divided into roughly three work groups: those who work all the time – the supposed ‘A’ nature; those who seek a balance between work and play; and those who do very little or nothing. And with the poor economic times we’re currently experiencing, the last group is just getting bigger, not always through their own fault, but often through their inability to find work. Even the most diligent human, after a long, unsuccessful search for work loses that diligence and is primed for laziness and indifference.  Our Bit today addresses those of the latter group. ‘Slothfulness (Laziness) casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.’ And isn’t that the awful truth! Laziness leads to all kinds of bad situations. Listen to Cousin Sol expound on that, in his warning against idleness and falsehood. ‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide (leader), overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat (food) in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep (lie down), O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth (a prowler), and thy want (need) as an armed man.’ (Prov.6:6-11) Now here’s the scholars’ explanation of that: ‘The sluggard is the habitually lazy person. He is admonished to learn two important lessons from the ant: (1) the ant has no guide, overseer, or ruler (v.7) meaning that the ant does not need a taskmaster standing over it to make it work; it is a self-starter. (2) The ant is wise enough to prepare for predictable circumstances (v.8). Two questions about sleep are posed to the sluggard (v.9). His answer is given in verse 10: ‘Just a little bit more sleep!’ The result of such laziness is dire poverty, which will come as suddenly and decisively as a robber (v.11).’ Cousin Sol hit the nail right on the head there Friends, for slothfulness, laziness and their derivatives are definitely too prevalent in our society, especially amongst the younger generation, whom we spoiled by raising them in a pampered environment. Now they believe the world owes them a living, and a very good one at that. Poor children, suffering for their parents misguided thinking; that they shouldn’t have to work hard or suffer much want and need. But Friends, it’s those very things; hard work, want and need, that drive the human animal to get up and do productive stuff. When you lack or need nothing, there’s no incentive or need for you to do anything. And as our Bit says: ‘an idle soul shall suffer hunger.’ Now therein lies an absolute truth! Hear Cousin Sol on the contrast between the wise and the foolish: ‘He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack (negligent) hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.’ (Prov.10:4) A lazy person will never rise to great heights in any profession, even that of laziness, because to be really lazy takes hard work. (smile) But it’s true. Try it, and you’ll see. Some days I just want to laze around, and because I’m somewhat diligent, I have to force myself, work seriously at being lazy. Listen to another of Cousin Sol’s sayings on the topic: ‘The soul of the sluggard (lazy) desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat (rich).’ (Prov.13:4) And here’s the same thing put a different way: ‘The thoughts (plans) of the diligent tend (lead) only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want (surely to poverty).’ (Prov.21:5) Oh my brethren, the prevalence of laziness, sloppiness and overall deteriorating standards are helping to downgrade our society. I know that plenty can’t find work, but there’s also a core group that delights in doing nothing, just living off whatever and whomever is available. That’s the group we need to target if we hope to turn things around. And we’ll end with some wise advice from Bruh Paul to the Thessalonians: ‘For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.’ (2 Thess.3:10-12) Though it might be a bit harsh for those who truly seek but can’t find work, for the constant slacker it should be a rule of law, it’s the only way to get them up and doing something constructive. Much LOVE!…let’s make the dream a reality…everybody standing in a circle…holding hands…sharing peace, LOVE, harmony…and Jesus…