SCRIP-BITS

Oh Friends, it’s Monday! Time to get up and get a move on, the workweek battle is about to begin. We can’t afford to rest on our laurels any longer because the enemy is already out in full force, and Jesus is at the front line waiting on us. So as the trumpet sounds the call to battle, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn in loud, united voice. ‘Oh Lord God Almighty, Creator of the universe and all therein! We, your humble servants, praise your Holy Name and thank you that this Monday morning we have jobs to go to; jobs we don’t like, jobs that are unfair, difficult and even dangerous, but which serve a useful purpose here on earth; keeping lives and families together. We also thank you Father for the renewed vitality and enthusiasm you’ve wrought in our weary souls over the last two days. It’s that rejuvenation of Spirit which allows us now to sally forth with confidence into the evil, ungodly world that surrounds us, to begin a new week of work, constantly buffeted and bombarded by the enemy’s wicked taunts, wiles and lies. But heavenly Father, we’re not afraid, for we know we’re invincible, sure conquerors, once we’re wearing your powerful, protective spiritual armour. We surrender our all to you, and humbly ask that you let your incredible aura of LOVE, the Holy Spirit, lead and guide all your servants as we go out to meet the enemy in battle. Fill us with steadfast faith, so that we can make worthwhile inroads into the enemy’s ranks, and thereby further your glorious kingdom. We pray this in the Holy Name of your Son, and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!’ Now let’s go into battle fresh and fiery, determined to bring the enemy to heel! But sadly people, we also need to pay attention to our Bit: ‘We have dealt (acted) very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgements (ordinances), which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.’ And that’s no lie Friends! We have behaved abominably towards the Lord who created us but still LOVES and cares for us. Now yesterday we read of two instances where that basic prayer was used by other men of faith, and also the warning that Moses gave the Israelites re turning away from God. Today we’ll look at two more instances where men of faith invoked the same prayer. The first one is from Jeremiah, re confession of Israel’s sins: ‘For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion (disgrace) covereth us: for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.’ (Jer.3:24-25) Then there’s Daniel, also praying for his people: ‘O Lord, the great and dreadful (awesome) God, keeping the covenant and mercy (LOVING kindness) to them that LOVE him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgements: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.’ (Dan.9:4-6) Oh my brethren, unfortunately those same words apply to us today, and possibly even more so, because we’ve reached a state of depravity previously unknown to mankind. And though I don’t have the calibre of faith and holiness that those men of olden times possessed, I still pray the prayer of Nehemiah everyday for our society and our world. I sure hope that men of greater faith and righteousness than me are also praying it, because we desperately need the help, mercy and forgiveness that only Almighty God can provide, if we’re going to right our evil, ungodly, confused, topsy-turvy world. And getting the Lord’s attention is not very hard to do my people. We just need to renew our faith and turn back to Him in conviction and repentance, remove the idols and fleshly lusts that now consume us, and begin serving and worshipping Him sincerely again, the way our fathers did. Now listen to some of Cousin Sol’s prayer when he dedicated the temple to the Lord. He’s just finished saying that if the people are disobedient and suffer the consequences: ‘Yet if they shall bethink (come to) themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely (wrong), we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers…Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause (justice), And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: for they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron.’ (1 Kin.8:47-51) Yes Friends, right there is the answer to all our problems. As I said before, all it takes is sincere repentance and a willingness to follow the Lord’s will. Anything less is of no use. Oh my people, time’s running out, we have to step up to the plate sooner rather than later, so let’s start today nuh, by going out and pondering and praying on these things. It’s in our best interest. And hopefully, we’ll come to the conclusion that we definitely want a better life than what we now have, and are absolutely willing to make the sacrifices necessary to do so. I pray this in Jesus Name. Amen. Much LOVE!…there’s no better way to live this earthly life…than to LOVE and serve the Lord God Jehovah.