Today’s Scrip-Bit 5 January 2018 Psalm 28:7.

Psalm 28:7.   The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Ah mih people, 2018 has certainly come roaring in like a ravaging lion with a wicked winter storm mashing up the East coast of North America, after we’ve already been in a deep freeze for the past two weeks. 

Boston is apparently a mess from snow and flooding caused by surging sea tides. Places in Florida that have not seen snow in decades have certainly seen it now. All the snowbirds that left Canada to winter in Florida must be pretty annoyed. 

They’re calling this extraordinary winter storm a ‘Bomb Cyclone!’ Why I don’t know, but it’s certainly living up to its name. Let’s hope that my li’l area doesn’t get any of it, because all we’ve been seeing and feeling recently is white and cold! Hn! 

But I must say that the ordinary workingman does have an extraordinary resilience to this type of weather, for it has not stopped him from boldly declaring his song: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday and the weekend reach at last! So it cold and snowy, so what? Is winter in the north country, that’s what it’s all about! 

We not going to let a li’l bit of snow and cold stop our partying, stop us from enjoying we two days off from slave labour! Hell no! We going to go outside and play in the snow, then come inside and warm up with some hot toddies! (And his beady eyes twinkle at the thought) What a wonderful weekend it’s going to be! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’ 

Ah Lord eh! I daresay that not all of us are feeling that way. Definitely no playing in the snow…but the hot toddies…well…maybe… (smile) Now let’s chant our Friday Chant, which runs somewhat contrary to the workingman’s song, because our emphasis is not on play and our carnal appetites. 

‘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.’ 

Oh friends, it’s not that we Christians don’t or can’t have fun, but fun is not our goal; working and living for Jesus is. And though that includes having fun, it also means being more focused and cautious about overstepping certain boundaries that can get us in serious trouble. And some of that trouble can have serious lifetime consequences. So it’s not advisable for believers to just go overboard in their leisure time. 

Anyway, enough preaching; (smile) here is our Bit: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’ And that’s the awesome truth my brethren, as Bruh David found out during his rough times. Who else are we going to turn to in our time of need and trouble eh? Obviously the One who made us and still cares for us! 

Bruh David said before our Bit: ‘Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.’ (Ps.28:6) And it only makes sense to turn to someone who hears your cry for help. And we’ve seen throughout the Good Book that it was to the God of his forefathers that Bruh David turned when the enemy came a calling. 

Hear him from Psalm 18 – A prayer 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 (rock), in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), 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) 

What powerful sentiments my people! But that’s because Bruh David didn’t only turn to God in times of need, he kept Him in his heart ALL the time! And that’s why the Lord saved him from his enemies. Oh friends, it’s the same thing the Lord desires of us; to be with Him all the time, not just when life gets rough to remember Him and cry out for help and expect it to come right away. 

Please note that Bruh David was not exempt from trials and tribulations, he had more than his fair share, but the Lord made sure that he came through them safely. Likewise friends, we will experience trouble and heartaches in our lives, but if like Bruh David, we stay anchored in the Word and faith of our great God, then He will also bring us through the fires of our lives unscathed. 

Remember how he brought out the three Jewish boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery furnace, without them even smelling of smoke. And more importantly, while they were in the furnace, king Nebuchadnezzar saw four people in there. Obviously the fourth was either the preincarnate Christ who often appeared in the Old Testament, or an angel of the Lord sent to protect them. (Daniel 3) 

So my faithful brethren, it only makes good sense, it’s eternal wisdom to place our trust in the One who created us and still cares for us. And there’s no better way to end today than with the ever-faithful promise of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Words to live by my people! Much LOVE!

…with the Spirit of the Lord dwelling in us…there’s  absolutely no need to be afraid…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 December 2016 Psalm 28:7.

Psalm 28:7.   The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

And then it was Friday… And the snow not joking at all nuh friends; it had Toronto all snarled and tied up again yesterday evening and last night. Hn! It took one friend, several hours to get home in what would normally be a forty-five minute drive. But that’s the price you pay for living in the northern climes. 

In my area though, the snow didn’t fall till later in the night, but the wind was a howling all day long! I wanted to go out the street, but when I heard the wind and saw what it was doing to the poor, naked trees, I decided to stay in my warm nest instead. What I wanted to do, could certainly wait for a better weather day. (smile) 

And this Friday morning there are going to be more difficulties on the road again. So please my people, leave home early and take your time on the road. Watch out for the crazies! They say it’s better to arrive late, than not arrive at all. 

And what amazes me, is that rain, shine or snow, nothing stops the weekenders from singing their li’l ditty. ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday…and we have the weekend to we selves! As the song says, let it snow, let it snow, for all we care. 

A fine time is going to be had by all! We can’t go outside, so we going to party inside! Thank God for weekends and Fridays yes!’ 

Ah mih people, the party life is nice for a little while, but it soon kills you, both spiritually and physically when you overdo it. What we need to do is to have a modicum of circumspection in our activities, like our Friday Chant says. 

Let’s chant it now nuh, in strong voice, truly believing that what we’re declaring is the best way to handle the weekend. ‘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.’ 

Yes friends, that is indeed the best way to navigate our weekends; a little bit of everything, everything in moderation, because we need to be fresh, energetic and passionate come Monday morning. And how can we mange that eh? 

Listen to our Bit from Psalm 28 – Bruh David’s prayer for God’s help. ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’ 

What a strong and unwavering declaration my fellow believers! Can we make such a declaration in all truth and honesty? We ought to, if we are true followers of Jesus Christ. Bruh David knew on which side his bread was buttered after doing so much running from his enemies, like Saul and his own son Absalom. 

Yeh mih people, only because of his great faith and trust in the Lord God Almighty was he able to defeat or get away from his many foes. His cries and prayers in times of trouble had not gone unanswered; therefore he placed his ultimate hope of salvation in the hands of the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

And so should we friends, because He is the ONLY ONE who can offer true salvation and a wonderful eternal life in His awesome and LOVING presence. 

Now let’s check out some scriptures that corroborate our Bit, beginning of course with Bruh David’s famous words from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance. 

‘The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler (shield), and the horn (strength) of my salvation, and my high tower (stronghold).’ (Ps.18:2) 

Oh friends, how good that makes a believer feel, knowing that the Lord God Jehovah is his strength and fortress, his shield and stronghold! Wow! It doesn’t get any better than that! How could it eh, when the Creator and Controller of the universe is your safe refuge and helps you fight your battles? 

Now hear Bruh David again from Psalm 59, another prayer for deliverance, this time when Saul sent his henchmen to watch Bruh David’s house with the definite intent to kill him. 

‘But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defense, and the God of my mercy.’ (Ps.59:16-17) 

More strong proclamation of God’s power and safe keeping my brethren! And you know, until we come to that point in our Christian walk, when we can sincerely declare those things, we’ll not be taking full advantage of all that God has provided for us. 

Remember God’s basic plan for all of His people is to become as Christ-like as possible. Oh, He knows we’ll never attain to the level of Jesus, because He is God, but that doesn’t mean to say we can’t put our best foot forward and get as close as we humanly can. 

And we’ll end with this verse of encouragement from Psalm 18: ‘I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised so shall I be saved from mine enemies.’ (Ps.18:3) 

Yes friends, that’s wisdom at its zenith! So please, let’s take some time to ponder our walk with Christ today nuh, see how far along we are, and if we are making good headway, and as always, ask for God’s help. You know He’ll never refuse it. Much LOVE!

…there’s no better feeling of security…than walking under the protection of Almighty God…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 November 2016 Psalm 28:7.

Psalm 28:7.    The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

And then it was Friday… And mama yo, I couldn’t stand the noise in mih ears, the raucous singing of ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday! We going to be jamming all weekend! Is fete and more fete! We drinking…drinking from dusk till dawn! We doh care who vex… For as they say, who vex loss. Thank God is Friday yes! Thank God for the weekend oui!’ 

Oh friends, sadly, that is the pleasure seeking attitude of a large portion of our society towards the weekend. 

Ah Lord eh! They think it’s okay to waste it in wine, women and song, but that’s a serious fallacy. The weekend is for some enjoyment yes, but not totally. But try as we can, we can’t get that segment of our population to give up their licentious and ungodly ways on the weekend. 

Anyhow, we have a different song we sing; our Friday Chant, which shows a better and godlier way to use the weekend. Let’s chant it in all sincerity now nuh. In unison: ‘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.’ 

Yes my people, that is indeed the better way to celebrate the weekend! We need to refresh ourselves for another week of work, not continue to stress and strain our already frail minds and bodies. 

But we can only do those kinds of things when we have a sincere faith and trust in the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

Where we can confidently say like Bruh David does in our Bit: ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.’ 

Oh my people, my people, when that kind of confidence dwells in us, then our spiritual strength is so strong, that we can certainly move mountains with the Lord’s help! 

Look at the amount of negative circumstances Bruh David overcame, not because he was a saint, but because he held God in the greatest esteem possible and always communicated with Him, regardless of the circumstances. 

That’s how we need to live in these uncertain and confusing times my brethren! Without God at the forefront of our lives, we stand little chance of getting through this life successfully. 

But enough of me, (smile) let’s get to some scripture which emphasizes what we’re talking about; trust and confidence in Almighty God. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 13 – How long, O Lord, how long? 

‘But I have trusted in thy mercy (LOVING-kindness); my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.’(Ps.13:5-6) 

Oh friends, I can certainly testify to that, because the Lord has indeed dealt bountifully with me. Glory to God! It doesn’t mean you have an easy life – in fact it’s often more difficult as the Lord tests you, but the rewards, the adventure and pleasure involved, are certainly worth the trials He might put you through. 

Now hear Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 112 – Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. ‘A good man showeth favour (is gracious), and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 

Surely he shall not be moved (shaken) for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed (steadfast), trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 

He hath dispersed (distributed abroad), he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever, his horn (strength) shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.’ (Ps.112:5-10) 

That is what happens my brethren when we seek the Lord first in everything that we do. Now let’s end with some more confident words from Bruh David from Psalm 18 – Thanksgiving for deliverance. 

‘The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me. He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. 

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen (Gentiles), and sing praises unto thy name. Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed (descendants) for evermore.’ (Ps.18:46-50) 

Ah friends, I do hope that all that positive scripture raised our confidence level and trust in Almighty God this Friday morning, and will allow us to rise to any occasion that comes our way, for that’s its purpose. Much LOVE!

…the Lord God works diligently on our behalf…when we diligently seek Him with a right heart… 

P.S. Let’s remember to keep on praying for Scotty, our Scrip-Bit family member who is currently in the hospital. I hear he’s doing a li’l better. So please, let’s keep bombarding heaven with our prayers for him. Much LOVE!

 

 

 

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…