Psalm 39:7. And now Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.
Oh Friends, it’s a new day, and I’m expecting new blessings and mercies, even though some things still remain the same; like my aching jaw and acting up allergies, something they haven’t done in a long while. However, I know that good things are going to happen today, and enough of them to cover and saturate the bad ones. Why is that eh? Because deep down in my spirit I have HOPE; HOPE in the Lord Jesus Christ. As our Bit from Bruh David’s prayer for self-understanding says: ‘And now Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.’ Yuh know, for the last couple days, after reading or hearing that scripture somewhere, it’s been playing in my mind, and even more so today as I came to write the Bit. That told me the Lord wanted us to bathe in His HOPE today, to resuscitate the springs of hope in our mortal lives, which seem to be running low, so that we can stand strong and go forward bravely, building His righteous kingdom. So here goes; as many scriptures on HOPE, as we can fit in to the space we have available. And first up are words from Psalm 16; Bruh David’s Michtam (Contemplation) on preservation and blessing: ‘I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest (dwell securely) in hope.’ (Ps.16:8-9) Now here are some more wise words from Bruh David, who wrote the book on Hope, from Psalm 38, the prayer of a penitent heart. When all his enemies were ganging up against him, he solemnly declares: ‘But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs (responses). For in thee, (I wait for thee) O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear (answer), O Lord, my God.’ (Ps.38:13-15) Now that’s what I call hope Friends! How many of us can sit quietly while others are bashing us, saying all sorts of nasty, untrue things about us, and we just sit quietly and wait for the Lord our God to hear and respond on our behalf? Not very many. But that’s how we ought to be. And turning to Cousin Sol: He simply declares: ‘The wicked is driven away by his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope (refuge) in his death.’ And that’s an indisputable fact my brethren! We know where we’re going when these mortal bodies bite the dust. Heaven, with Jesus! Therefore we have great hope here on earth! Yes Friends, the righteous, those that walk under the protective wings of Jehovah God are fuelled by hope in His everlasting promises and His great mercies. And the Preacher states his theory of hope thus: ‘For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.’ (Eccl.9:4) I guess that can be roughly translated by our saying that while there’s life there is hope, which is an undeniable fact my people. Now hear Jeremiah, re the blessedness of trusting the Lord: ‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is, for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.’ (Jer.17:7-8) Oh Friends, truer words were never spoken! How much more hope and encouragement do we need to believe in the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob eh? And here’s a scripture I like, but don’t hear too often. Zechariah declares on behalf of Zion’s future king: ‘Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render (restore) double unto thee.’ (Zech.9:12) Oh mih breddren, that term ‘prisoners of hope’ should be applicable to all followers of Christ, because hope is such an integral part of our Christian walk, and without it, we’d just die a dog’s death! But because there’s such a thing as hope, that our forefather Abraham embraced so wholeheartedly: ‘Who against (contrary) to hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.’ (Rom.4:18) Yes Friends, without a deep-seated hope and faith in God, where would Abraham be, in fact where would we all be today? He believed, trusted and hoped in God’s promise enough to walk as God desired. How many of us can truthfully make that statement today eh? Obviously not sufficient, otherwise our world wouldn’t be in such a mess. And Bruh Paul, re the service of LOVE to all, talks to the Romans about; ‘Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation, continuing instant (steadfast) in prayer.’ (Rom.12:12) And we’ll conclude with this memorable scripture from Bruh Paul: ‘For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then we do with patience (perseverance) (eagerly) wait for it.’ That’s gospel truth Friends! So regardless of what ever is currently happening in our lives, or around the world, let’s not lose sight of the enormous importance of HOPE in a believer’s life. And just to keep us focused, we’ll reiterate the immortal words of our Bit: ‘And now Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee.’ Words of truth and strength mih people! Much LOVE!…to hope…to hope…and yet to hope…that is the Christian’s strength…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 June 2012 Psalm 39:7
07 Jun 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: God's righteous kingdom, hope, hope against hope, hope for the righteous, Hope in Jesus, my glory rejoices, my heart is glad, penitent heart, prisoners of hope, Psalm 37, self-understanding, wait for the Lord, wellspring of hope
Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 March 2012 Numbers 23:19
21 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: bless, blessings, curse, faith, Holy Name, hope, loving god, mercies, misfortunes, new day, surrender, thanks and praise, troubles, trust, unchanging
Numbers 23:19. God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Ah Friends, the Lord’s generosity is again upon us, with a new day dawning, new manna, new blessings and new mercies all being poured down from heaven for our earthly delight. Wow! What a wonderful and ever-LOVING God we serve! And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Oh Lord, our God, we praise and magnify Your Holy Name! And we give you abundant thanks for all the amazing things You’ve done and are doing for us! Help us to walk righteously in the footsteps of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In His Name we pray. Amen!’ Yes mih people, our God is indeed a great God; the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD in the entire universe; its Creator, our Provider and our Protector! Please let us write that indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, and NEVER forget it, for that certain knowledge is what keeps us keeping on in faith, hope, trust and surrender, through all the misfortunes and calamities of this earthly life. And the basis for all that is found in our Bit: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ The answers to those questions are available in one word: Absolutely! Now some of us might not know the context of our Bit, so let me briefly enlighten us. It stems from the Israelites journey through the wilderness, en route to the Promised Land, at a point where they were approaching the land of Moab, and Balak, the Moab king and his people were terribly afraid, for they had heard of Israel’s might and prowess. Balak therefore sent for Balaam, a false prophet to come and curse the children of Israel. But throughout all their doings; building altars and offering sacrifices, the Lord kept talking to Balaam and he kept telling Balak that the Lord had blessed Israel, therefore he could not curse or cause them harm. ‘How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?’ (Num.23:8) Finally, he tells him our Bit. And before we get into the meat and spuds of our Bit, (smile) here’s what the scholars have to say about it: ‘The immutability of God is stated. The word repent is parallel to lie and is coloured in tone by this very association. Here his repenting is related to falsehood. The concept of the truth of Yahweh is related to immutability. Since God is truth, He does not lie; in fact, He cannot lie. He is unchanging. God is utterly different from man. Something that comes far too easily for many men is impossible for Almighty God: He cannot lie.’ And isn’t that the living truth Friends! Our God cannot lie, but we have made it an art. Lies roll off our tongues, like water off a duck’s back; with no problems whatsoever! So what we’re dealing with here Friends, is the unchanging aspect of our God – He’s the same from everlasting to everlasting; His substantial difference to man, in that He is unable to lie; and His faithfulness. He will not renege on His promises. Now let’s look at the first part of our Bit in a little more detail, check out some scriptures that enhance it. ‘God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent…’ Basically it means that God is not like His creation, man; unworthy of trust, truth and faithfulness. He is of a more sterling character, and there’s no need for Him to lie or lead us astray, and then have to admit that He was at fault. And the first scripture we’ll look at comes from 1st Samuel, where the prophet informs Saul that he’s lost the kingship of Israel. And our God is such a wonderful scriptwriter, that as Samuel is walking away from Saul, ‘he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle (seized the edge of his robe), and it rent (tore). And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent (torn) the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent (relent): for he is not a man, that he should repent.’ (1 Sam.15:27-29) Oh Friends, yuh see the immaculate timing of the word ‘rent’ (tore, torn). As a budding writer, these little things truly amaze me about our God. And you know that lack of amazement of believers in the small actions of our God is one of my pet peeves. How can we be passionate about God and His acts if we only seek big miracles, which are few and far between eh? Meanwhile, He’s working plenty small ones in our lives everyday and it’s those that we need to appreciate if we want to become and remain passionate, otherwise we’ll go through life ‘unawed’ by our great God, and thus live a most pitiful and unmoved existence, which is not what Jesus died so horribly to accomplish. Anyway people, it seems like time and space have run out, but we’ll revisit this Bit tomorrow, provided we’re granted grace and mercy to see another blessed day on planet earth. Till then, as always, let’s truly LOVE our God, sincerely LIVE our Faith, and faithfully SPREAD His Word. Much LOVE!…without a doubt…our God is truly the GREATEST Being in the universe…
Ah Friends, the Lord’s generosity is again upon us, with a new day dawning, new manna, new blessings and new mercies all being poured down from heaven for our earthly delight. Wow! What a wonderful and ever-LOVING God we serve! And all God’s people joyfully declared: ‘Oh Lord, our God, we praise and magnify Your Holy Name! And we give you abundant thanks for all the amazing things You’ve done and are doing for us! Help us to walk righteously in the footsteps of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In His Name we pray. Amen!’ Yes mih people, our God is indeed a great God; the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD in the entire universe; its Creator, our Provider and our Protector! Please let us write that indelibly in our hearts, minds and souls, and NEVER forget it, for that certain knowledge is what keeps us keeping on in faith, hope, trust and surrender, through all the misfortunes and calamities of this earthly life. And the basis for all that is found in our Bit: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ The answers to those questions are available in one word: Absolutely! Now some of us might not know the context of our Bit, so let me briefly enlighten us. It stems from the Israelites journey through the wilderness, en route to the Promised Land, at a point where they were approaching the land of Moab, and Balak, the Moab king and his people were terribly afraid, for they had heard of Israel’s might and prowess. Balak therefore sent for Balaam, a false prophet to come and curse the children of Israel. But throughout all their doings; building altars and offering sacrifices, the Lord kept talking to Balaam and he kept telling Balak that the Lord had blessed Israel, therefore he could not curse or cause them harm. ‘How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?’ (Num.23:8) Finally, he tells him our Bit. And before we get into the meat and spuds of our Bit, (smile) here’s what the scholars have to say about it: ‘The immutability of God is stated. The word repent is parallel to lie and is coloured in tone by this very association. Here his repenting is related to falsehood. The concept of the truth of Yahweh is related to immutability. Since God is truth, He does not lie; in fact, He cannot lie. He is unchanging. God is utterly different from man. Something that comes far too easily for many men is impossible for Almighty God: He cannot lie.’ And isn’t that the living truth Friends! Our God cannot lie, but we have made it an art. Lies roll off our tongues, like water off a duck’s back; with no problems whatsoever! So what we’re dealing with here Friends, is the unchanging aspect of our God – He’s the same from everlasting to everlasting; His substantial difference to man, in that He is unable to lie; and His faithfulness. He will not renege on His promises. Now let’s look at the first part of our Bit in a little more detail, check out some scriptures that enhance it. ‘God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent…’ Basically it means that God is not like His creation, man; unworthy of trust, truth and faithfulness. He is of a more sterling character, and there’s no need for Him to lie or lead us astray, and then have to admit that He was at fault. And the first scripture we’ll look at comes from 1st Samuel, where the prophet informs Saul that he’s lost the kingship of Israel. And our God is such a wonderful scriptwriter, that as Samuel is walking away from Saul, ‘he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle (seized the edge of his robe), and it rent (tore). And Samuel said unto him, The Lord hath rent (torn) the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent (relent): for he is not a man, that he should repent.’ (1 Sam.15:27-29) Oh Friends, yuh see the immaculate timing of the word ‘rent’ (tore, torn). As a budding writer, these little things truly amaze me about our God. And you know that lack of amazement of believers in the small actions of our God is one of my pet peeves. How can we be passionate about God and His acts if we only seek big miracles, which are few and far between eh? Meanwhile, He’s working plenty small ones in our lives everyday and it’s those that we need to appreciate if we want to become and remain passionate, otherwise we’ll go through life ‘unawed’ by our great God, and thus live a most pitiful and unmoved existence, which is not what Jesus died so horribly to accomplish. Anyway people, it seems like time and space have run out, but we’ll revisit this Bit tomorrow, provided we’re granted grace and mercy to see another blessed day on planet earth. Till then, as always, let’s truly LOVE our God, sincerely LIVE our Faith, and faithfully SPREAD His Word. Much LOVE!…without a doubt…our God is truly the GREATEST Being in the universe…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 March 2012 Romans 15:5
20 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: action movement, christianity, division, divisiveness, escape, hope, Jesus...my Everything, My Jesus, opportunity, power, strength
Romans 15:5. Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus.
Oh Friends, it’s another beautiful summer’s day, (smile) and we’re alive and kicking! Glory Hallelujah! Though this is officially the first day of spring, it’s really been like summer this past week, and looks to continue. Our wonderful God, in His great LOVE and mercy, has granted us another day on planet! And all God’s people declared in a loud and grateful voice: ‘Thank you God!’ And let’s not only mouth that thanks, but also show it in action by going out into the evil and ungodly world in which we now live and doing stuff that fits into God’s will. Let’s be obedient, LOVING, kind, generous, merciful, and forgiving – all the things that God is; for to be truly considered His followers, we must also have those attributes and then put them into action. As I keep reminding us, Christianity is an action based movement. All talk and no action is a waste of Jesus’ time. Now here are some of the things Jesus does in a little more detail, from Anne Graham Lotz’s book, My Jesus is…Everything: ‘MY JESUS – He supplies strength to the weary. He increases power to the faint. He offers escape to the tempted. He sympathizes with the hurting. He saves the hopeless. He shields the helpless. He sustains the homeless. He gives purpose to the aimless. He gives reason to the meaningless. He gives fulfillment to our emptiness. He gives light in the darkness. He gives comfort in our loneliness. He gives fruit in our barrenness. He gives heaven to the hopeless. He gives life to the lifeless! MY JESUS…is EVERYTHING!’ Oh Friends, isn’t that the gospel truth of all gospel truths! Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ is truly EVERYTHING we can ever need or desire! That’s why I can\t understand how we can turn away from Him. But something is obviously wrong somewhere, for too many of us are still behaving like lost sheep, with no shepherd or master. Bruh Paul obviously knew our penchant for stubbornness and waywardness, and thus pleaded with us in our Bit: ‘Now the God of patience and consolation (comfort) grant you to be like-minded one to another according to Christ Jesus.’ But I’m sure he’s groaning mightily and turning over in his grave right now, having seen how badly we’ve strayed from his plea. Oh my brethren, I don’t believe that any organization, large or small is as divided and divisive as Christ’s Church. It’s a sad but unfortunately true commentary. And the hurtful part is that it’s mostly small-minded, selfish, unimportant stuff that’s separating us. And though we can’t expect to agree on everything, the body of Christ should NEVER be as divided and confrontational as it is, pervading the entire organization, from top to bottom, from local to international. Then it’s also between different religions, who all profess to have Christ as their leader. Nor is Christianity the only faith that has these problems. All the other major faiths also have a lot of infighting. No wonder our world is in such a sorry state. What a dreadful waste, what crying shame! Bruh Paul knew how important unity was for the church’s survival, thus his saying it to several churches. To the Romans, he earlier said: ‘Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not (do not set your mind on) high things, but condescend to men of low estate (associate with the humble). Be not wise in your own conceits (estimation).’ (Rom.12:16) Meanwhile, in exhorting the Philippians to steadfastness, he pleads: ‘Only let your conversation (conduct) be as it becometh (be worthy of) the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.’ (Phil.1:27) Then in Chapter 2, he again implores: ‘Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same LOVE, being of one accord, of one mind.’ (Phil.2:2) And in 2nd Corinthians, his conclusion and benediction, he pleads with heartfelt fervour: ‘Finally brethren, farewell. Be perfect (complete), be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of LOVE and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints salute (greet) you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the LOVE of God, and the communion (fellowship) of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.’ (2 Cor.13:11-14) And that Friends is my wish and prayer for us all today! In closing, please remember that though coming together will not happen overnight, it certainly depends on each believer coming to the serious realization that without unity, the Church of Christ is doomed! And the sooner we reconcile with each other, the sooner our LOVE Revolution will succeed. Much LOVE!…working together is the only way to success…
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