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…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 May 2012 Galatians 5:22-23
01 May 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: character of Christ, feudal times, fruit of the Spirit, galatians 5 22, gospel truth, holy spirit, inherit God's kingdom, Jesus is everything, pagan celebration, tender hearts
Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 January 2012 Psalm 89:1
29 Jan 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: bright morning sun, holy spirit, lord god, obstinacy, psalm 89
Psalm 89:1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day! Praise the Lord! I’m still caught in the grip of the cold, but thankfully I can see signs of the bright morning sun coming up over the horizon, and I know deep down that like everything else in this world, this cold too shall pass, because the Lord God Jehovah promised it. In the meanwhile though it’s making my life somewhat miserable, just like Lucifer and his evil cronies try to make our lives everyday. But with that same obstinacy and determination we use against things like the common cold, we have to keep on fighting the evil in this world, until Jesus comes again and eliminates it all. I have to chuckle here when I consider how the Holy Spirit has me using the same cold that’s causing me grief, as a metaphor for evil. Only our Lord God could weave some form of suffering into some form of righteousness. Oh Friends, please praise His Holy name! And remember that the number one rule in a believer’s life should be to NEVER GIVE UP! Yes, regardless of how bad things might seem, once we’re alive, there is always hope. And looking back over my own life, I can see several instances where things were real bad, in more than one area too, but though my faith was not as strong and mature as it is now, something inside just kept me plodding on. I had no idea what was going to happen, whether things would right themselves or just fall apart. But yuh know what, though several of those situations caused tempestuous times and occurrences in my life, each situation eventually worked itself out to a better than expected ending. Much of it was my fault for doing wrong and unwise stuff. But I understand now that in a sense, it was God putting me through my paces, to see what I was made of, if I could stand my bounce. But that’s one thing I’m proud of Friends; I always take my lumps whenever I mess up. And though I didn’t understand all the ramifications at the time, I nonetheless kept trying to do what was right, while hanging on to whatever glimmer of hope I could find. Sometimes though Friends, there was no glimmer of hope, but I still never gave up. And though my life is still far from perfect, the Lord, in His great and wonderful mercy, has touched my life with a peace and contentment I never imagined possible. As I keep saying, during the last two years the Lord has opened my eyes so much that now everyday I stand in awe and wonder of His amazing LOVE! Through all my sickness and the unexpected death of my mother, I experienced such a feeling of peace and calm that even I was quite surprised by it. But it didn’t happen by magic or miracles, and it wasn’t very easy either. I first had to sincerely believe that the Lord was in control and knew what He was doing, and as He promised, always makes a way where there seems to be none, and in the long run always works things out for the good of those who LOVE and revere Him. And don’t think I didn’t cry out to the Lord, loud and often, cause I certainly did, when the pain, both physical and emotional, wracked my body and soul. But the good thing my people is that the Lord always answered me in some form and fashion; either by easing the pain or giving me the strength to bear it. If nothing else, the years 2010 and 2011 saw my faith blossom and mature, soar to greater heights than I ever expected or thought possible. I guess the lesson here is that we can listen to others tell us all about God, His goodness, mercy, LOVE, forgiveness and otherwise, but until we go through the fire, where He actually and seriously begins to mould us into the image of His perfect Son Jesus, we can never fully understand or appreciate the true value and benefit of a strong, secure and everlasting faith in Almighty God. Ah Friends, regardless of what you might hear or see, please believe that our God is a great and wonderful God, who stands faithfully behind all those who truly believe in and try their best to follow Him. He knows that we’re imperfect, because He made us, but as He faithfully promised, He’ll never leave nor forsake those who come to Him in humble prayer, with hurting heart and seeking spirit. And it’s very sad that so many people in our troubled world don’t know the LOVE and friendship that Jesus provides, and His great desire to ease their burdens. But that’s our job my brethren. Our duty is to spread the good news of Jesus and His LOVE all over the world, as He announced in His great commission to us. ‘Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:19-20) And that’s the everlasting truth Friends! So let’s energize ourselves this year of 2012 and seriously and diligently concentrate on carrying out that commission nuh. Oh my people, I’m chuckling here because this is one of those Bits where I had nothing planned. I got an intro, then the words just kept flowing from my pen and my heart. I guess the Holy Spirit decided that today we needed a testimony on faith from me. And yuh know what, I like these spontaneous, from the heart Bits. Anyhow, enough talk, lemme go and find an appropriate scripture to head this up. (smile) Soon Come. I’m back people, less than two minutes later. Who says our God isn’t a good God eh! And we’ll end with our Bit, from Psalm 89, a Maschil (contemplation) of Ethan the Ezrahite, talking about God’s sure mercies to Bruh David. And it gloriously proclaims: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’ Please Friends, let’s do that today and everyday that we’re alive, for it’s God’s desire. Much LOVE!…it’s of the utmost importance for us believers…to LOVE our God…LIVE our Faith…and SPREAD His Word…so that others can also believe…
