Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 November 2012 2 Peter 3:9

06 Nov 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2 Peter 3:9.    The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness: but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Oh Friends, it’s Tuesday November 6 2012! At last that fateful day has arrived; Presidential Election Day in the U.S of A! Ah mih people, whatever the result, it will go down as a most memorable day in the annals of history, cause this election will set America, once more on the path to glory, or it will continue on the ruinous path that it has been pursuing for the past two decades. No matter which side wins, and both sides claim to have God as their guide, America will see substantial changes. And the destruction recently unleashed by Hurricane Sandy on its most populous area, only deepens the confusion, and thus the ramifications per the election. My Scrip-Bit Friends, I urge us to pray that this election turns out to be in the best interest of the U.S. since unfortunately, as the U.S. goes, so goes the rest of the world to a great extent. Remember too Friends, that this is a time of prayer, for our world is in such disastrous shape that it’s only true, heartfelt prayer that can help us to climb out of the morass in which we’re currently mired. So let’s pray sincerely for our world and encourage as many others as possible to do the same. This is where the fomenting of our LOVE Revolution is so important my brethren. And to our U.S Friends in particular, please, I implore you; first to go out today and vote, but then before you actually cast that ballot, sincerely ask the Lord to guide you, to give you the wisdom and understanding you need to make the right decision in your voting. Remember, as James says, the Lord gives wisdom to ALL who ask in faith, without wavering. (James 1:5-8) Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness: but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ And all I’m going to do today my people is feed us with some scriptures relating to the different parts of our Bit, which I’ve been planning to do since day one, but have been guided to other stuff. Now, re the promises of God and salvation being nigh, listen to Bruh Paul’s entreaty to the Roman church, as he advises them to walk in LOVE. ‘LOVE worketh no ill (does no harm) to his neighbour: therefore LOVE is the fulfilling of the law. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we (first) believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.’ (Rom.13:10-12) Yes my brethren, everyday brings us one day closer to salvation and to the judgement of the world, so we need to be both watchful and diligent in doing God’s work. Now hear the scholar’s explain some of that scripture. ‘Sleep means insensitivity to the demands of Christ on the Christian’s life. Now is our salvation nearer: The coming of Christ to deliver us from this sinful world grows nearer every day. The night is the time while Christ is out of the world, and the world has been delivered into the control of the prince of the power of the air (Eph.2:2). The day is a reference to the time when Christ will return and establish His reign of righteousness.’ And turning to long-suffering, hear Bruh David tell it like it is from Psalm 86, Teach me thy way O Lord. ‘O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies (mobs) of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.’ (Ps.86:14-15) Oh my brethren, no true believer can have any argument with those statements, for they are indeed living truth! Now listen to Isaiah on the subject. ‘And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgement (justice): blessed are all they that wait for him.’ (Is.30:18) There again Friends, that’s truth in its entirety! And I just saw this note from the scholars, which seems useful. ‘Because God is gracious and has been willing to wait for His people to return to Him, He will certainly bless those who wait for him. “Waiting” is a confident and dependent trust in God.’ And all God’s people declared a rousing ‘Hallelujah!’ And as regards His children perishing, hear Ezekiel on the matter. ‘Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?’ (Ezek.33:11) Yes my people, our God wants nobody to perish, that’s why He’s being so patient and long-suffering with us. But remember that all patience runs out at some time or other, and since we don’t know when the Lord’s will run out, we need to get ourselves together RIGHT NOW, and live in righteousness, so that whenever the TIME comes, we’ll be prepared. Now hear Bruh Paul to the Romans, re repentance, where he talks about judging others is to condemn ourselves. ‘And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgement of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?’ (Rom.2:3-4) That’s oh so true my people! And we’ll let Jesus have the final say, since he’s the authority on the subject. This scripture is brought up when the mother of the disciples James and John asks Jesus to elevate her boys, to let one sit on either side of Him in His kingdom. (Matt.20:20-22) Obviously Jesus could not grant that request because it was not in His power to do so. Then He ends with these memorable words. ‘And whosoever will be chief (first) among you, let him be your servant (slave): Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto (served), but to minister (serve), and to give his life a ransom for many.’ (Matt.20:27-28) Please my fellow believers in Jesus, let’s take those words to heart nuh, and then put them into action, for that’s basically Jesus’ motto right there, and only as we follow it, will His church here on earth be successful. Much LOVE!…to serve…and not to be served…should be the modus operandi of ALL CHRISTIANS…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 31 October 2012 Deuteronomy 31:6

31 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Deuteronomy 31:6.    Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail nor forsake thee.

Oh Friends, the negative saga of ‘Frankenstorm’ Sandy continues. Thankfully it’s been toned down some, but the unfortunate effects are still being felt all over Central and Eastern North America. Hopefully in a couple more days it will finally dissipate and leave us to recover and rebuild. Deaths and damage are still piling up, but that’s par for the course. And if we consider that it could have been worse, then we’ll have a sliver of daylight to hang on to. The Lord in His LOVING-kindness must have heard the prayers of many righteous and mitigated the disastrous effects that Sandy could have caused. Let’s hold on to that thought for good measure nuh. Now here’s a rather significant quote from Mayor Bloomberg as He assessed the damage wreaked by Sandy on the mighty City of New York. He rightly declares: ‘Nature is an awful lot more powerful than we are.’ And that’s an undeniable truth Friends! I only wish a whole lot more of us, especially those in positions of power would recognize that. And then, I ‘d like to ask Mr. Bloomberg and all the leaders of the nations, whom they think controls those powerful forces of nature? Oh my people, there’s ONLY ONE RIGHT answer to the question: ALMIGHTY GOD! The same ONE who created the universe and the very forces of nature. And yuh know Friends, until the majority of the world’s population wakes up and realizes that fact, then attempts to live in harmony with it, our world will be under constant attack, because our righteous and just God WILL NOT allow us to continue wallowing in the mire of sin, as we’re so effervescently and happily doing today. Last year we experienced Hurricane Irene who did billions of dollars worth of damage and caused many lives to be lost, but we never used that as a wake up call. Now we have Sandy, who first rose up from the South, then came North on an unfamiliar path to meet two other storms coming from other directions, to become the first storm of that kind we’ve ever experienced. And I ask Friends, will our response be any better than it was to Irene, or will we continue in the same, evil, sinful, ungodly manner as before? Ah mih people, I sure hope we use this as a wake up call, otherwise the next disaster might just be much worse. And did you notice Sandy’s timing; a week before the Presidential Elections in the U.S.? That’s going to cause even more confusion than there already was. But my faithful brethren, with all that negativity surrounding us, there’s still no need to fear, because our mighty, wise and ever-LOVING God is still in control of His universe. And He WILL definitely do as He promised long ago in our Bit, if we acknowledge and live by it. ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail nor forsake thee.’ Now can you imagine the natural fear and despair that gripped a large portion of the Caribbean and North America before Sandy landed, and is still gripping us after this overwhelming catastrophe? Yes Friends, it’s only normal to fear what we don’t know and/or understand. However, true believers in Jesus Christ won’t allow any fear to stop their progress, because they have the awesome promises of Jehovah God to stand on. And as Sister Joyce ( Joyce Meyer) likes to say, even if we’re fearful, but it’s God’s command, then we should do it afraid. And that makes sense. But now let’s check out some scriptures on fear, that also give us the ONLY antidote for it, FAITH. We’ll begin with Isaiah, as he talks about the final restoration of Israel. ‘Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.’ (Is.41:10) And if that doesn’t lift your spirits, then listen to these true and stirring words of Bruh Paul to Timothy, words that we all know, but don’t seem to take very seriously. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound mind.’ (2 Tim.1:7) And if that still doesn’t move you, let’s hear Peter, as he declares: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.’ (1 Pet.5:6-7) Yes Friends, our God does care greatly for us, otherwise He would not have sacrificed His ONLY Son Jesus for us, but we have to live according to His directives, for He’s the BOSS! Just like our earthly bosses will reprimand or fire us if we don’t do as they say, our God will reprimand and punish us if we’re not obedient to His dictates. And we’ll end with the last words Jesus said to His disciples as He gave them the Great Commission. ‘…and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt.28:20b) Oh my people, if you can’t believe and take comfort in the words of those men of great faith, and also in Jesus’ promise, then I don’t know what else to say, except may the Lord have mercy on you, and work a miracle in your soul, so that you can truly believe in His faithful promises, and sincerely act on them without fear, but rather – in FAITH. Much LOVE!…do be aware…and do care…but please, please don’t fear…or despair… P.S. Due to time and space constraints, I couldn’t include these scriptures, but please read them on your own, as they will be very valuable, re the fear aspect. (Is.43: 1-5; Phil.4:6-7) Much LOVE!
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 October 2012 Deuteronomy 31:6

30 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Deuteronomy 31:6.     Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee. 
 
Ah Friends, another chapter in our calamitous times is being written, thanks to ‘Frankenstorm’ Sandy. She’s had a hand in at least ten deaths in the U.S. and one so far in Canada, where in Toronto yesterday, a Staples sign blew down in the 60 kilometres per hour winds and struck her. What a sad way to go. Meanwhile Sandy came ashore in New Jersey yesterday, lashing the Eastern U.S. coast with merciless winds and rain. Millions of people are without power now, and flooding is escalating. And the sad part is that though Sandy has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, she’s not done yet. To put it nicely, we still have a couple days of inclement weather left. Now can you imagine if Sandy had retained its hurricane status? The whole Eastern coast of North America is being lashed with powerful winds and much rain, snow is even predicted in some areas. That would just put the icing, both literally and figuratively on the cake. Thankfully, so far in my area it’s been mostly gusting wind since yesterday afternoon, though still at a level we can handle, and hopefully it won’t reach epic proportions. The wind seems to have been blowing away some of the rain. I went out on my porch around 4.30 a.m. and surprisingly found my Toronto Star newspaper out there as usual, though they had warned that it might be late because of the weather. But Friends, while we on the East Coast of the continent have been perplexed and perturbed by Sandy, the residents on the northern part of the West Coast have been worried about a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that took place some 40 kilometres off the coast of British Columbia on Saturday. A tsunami warning had been issued, but thankfully nothing came of it, except bickering and confusion in B.C. where it’s claimed the U.S. warning came a whole half an hour before the Canadian, although they knew about the earthquake and its possible repercussions at the same time as the U.S. Obviously the Provincial Government and its agencies claim that they acted responsibly, while the local governments and the people who would have been targeted by the tsunami, claim otherwise. Oh mih people, what’s happening to us eh? In these supposedly modern and revolutionary times, when we can do all sorts of technological wonders, we still can’t get together rationally and solve common problems. As someone told me last night, the Lord’s sending us a message, but we’re not listening. And that could certainly be gospel Friends! Times have become so fearful that many are afraid to walk the roads even in broad daylight, because evil is no longer hiding under the cover of darkness, but has become so emboldened that it’s operating openly in the light now. However my brethren, there’s ONE, and ONLY ONE antidote for Fear, that’s FAITH! FAITH IN ALMIGHTY GOD! As our Bit so encouragingly and appropriately declares: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ What part of that don’t we understand eh Friends? If we truly believe in the all-powerful, faithful God we profess to worship, then we should calmly accept such an awesome promise, and consequently there shouldn’t be any fear in our souls, for the Lord has proven His power and faithfulness time and time again. I guess the problem is that a majority of the population don’t believe in the Most High God Jehovah, and those who do, don’t have sufficient faith to stand the rigours of these troubled times. So without further ado, let’s check out some scriptures, re handling fear with faith building. And we’ll begin with Moses reminding the Israelites of their sad, fearful behaviour on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. ‘Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare (carried) thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.’ (Deut.1:29-32) Oh Friends, that’s certainly a telling reproach against the Israelites! The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is possibly the greatest exhibition of our God’s great powers, His unending LOVE, and also His powerful anger at continual sin and disobedience. That’s shown in the wandering of Israel for forty years in the desert, culminating with the death of all but Caleb and Joshua of the old generation that came out of Egypt. If anybody in this entire world should have believed in Almighty God, it should have been them, having seen the mighty works He did on their behalf. But obviously they did not, and sadly today we are doing the same thing my people; living in fear, when we have God’s awesome promises to stand faithfully and secure on. We talk up a storm about God, but don’t reflect that talk in our actions, that’s why we’re still so fearful. Now listen to Bruh David’s advice to cousin Sol, when he handed over the throne of Israel to him. ‘Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgements which the Lord charged (commanded) Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.’ (1 Chr.22:12-13) Oh Friends what absolutely wise words from a father to a son, especially from one who actually lived the words he spoke, under the calming umbrella of God’s faithfulness. And when Cousin Sol followed them, he became the greatest, wisest and richest king that ever lived! However, in his old age, when he strayed from his father’s words and rebelled against the Lord God of his fathers for the heathen gods of his wives, he lost God’s favour. It’s ever so simple and true Friends: stay faithful to God, and He will stay faithful to you, and under those circumstances, there’s no reason to be overwhelmed by fear. Please, let’s write that indelibly in our hearts, minds and spirits, so that we can continuously recall it, and thus not live in fear. Much LOVE!…we say again…the ONLY thing to conquer fear…is TRUE FAITH in Jehovah God…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 October 2012 Jude 3

27 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jude 3.    Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Ah Friends, another serious calamity is in our midst; Hurricane Sandy. Now whether Sandy is specifically God sent to shake us up in our ungodliness, or it’s just a natural natural disaster, isn’t important at this time. What’s important is that after running over Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas and some of Haiti (poor Haiti), killing about forty people in the Caribbean, he or she is now heading for the North American East Coast and early next week, in time for Halloween (Oct.30) is expected to turn into a ‘Frankenstorm’ as it meets up with another storm of cold air coming down from the north. Hn! And though Sandy is now at a Category 1 status, this hybrid monster storm is expected to do about a billion dollars of damage, if not so much through its wind power, certainly through the rain and flood water it will deliver and cause. So all you Friends along the East coast and close inland areas, please be prepared for strong winds and plenty water in the next few days. Please be careful, as they say it could prove to be more dangerous and damaging than Irene last year. Ah Lord! What’s next eh! It calls for plenty praying mih people! But enough about Sandy, right now I want to apologize to Randall (Randy) Lee, the short, stocky Trinidadian of Chinese descent, my one time pan leader at the U.W.I Mona campus in Jamaica, who died last week in Trinidad. Sorry Randy mih brother for not mentioning you before, but being the quiet, patient, easy going, not given to seeking the limelight person you were, I know you’ll understand. But how can I not say a few words on Randy’s behalf and send out some condolences to his family, when he played a decent part in my young life at the University. Just getting me to commit to beating bass in the steelband with its strong focus and discipline, surely improved my own focus and discipline. And though I wasn’t the greatest bass man, between Randy and Shirley Wylie, they made me adequate. The good thing about Randy is that he wasn’t a loud mouth, abusive leader, but led by example, though there were times when he lost it. But any pan leader will tell you that’s just the nature of the beast. And for those of you who know how hard it is to get disciplined people to beat pan, or inject it into them afterwards, just imagine the headache of getting university students from various disciplines and different walks of life to do it. But Randy Lee did it, even with his own heavy work load of medical studies. I can still see him beating his tenor pan in the pan room with a burning cigarette hanging loosely from his lips. Through his disciplined leadership and Joe Ramsaran’s managerial talent, they made the Playboys Steelband locally famous in the Kingston area. Consequently, more people knew me from, and for beating pan, than for my scholastic achievements. (smile) And isn’t it funny how I had to leave T&T to go to Jamaica to beat pan, since I couldn’t do it at home, because of its low-life status. I could hang out in the pan yard, but not actually beat a pan, because it was reputedly below the level of my family’s social status. Steups! Oh Friends, most of you don’t know the terrible knocks pan and pan men took, some deservedly, before pan reached its current accepted status. It caused strife in a whole lot of families. Anyway Randy mih son (he was older than me), I know that you had a good heart and I feel assured that you’re resting comfortably with the Father now. So till we meet again, up there where the air is rare, keep beating that sweet tenor pan of yours. And finally turning to our Bit: ‘Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once (for all time) delivered unto the saints.’ Yes Friends, it’s the last day for this Bit, and by now you should know what it’s talking about, so we’ll get right into some appropriate scripture from Bruh Paul, as he enlightens Timothy on the coming apostasy (abandonment of religious faith). ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous (money lovers), boasters, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers (irreconcilable), false accusers (slanderers), incontinent (without self-control), fierce (brutal), despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady (reckless), high-minded (haughty), lovers of pleasures, more (rather) than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate (disapproved) concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.’ (2 Tim.3:1-9) Ah Friends, I can’t say it any better, and besides Bruh Paul is the authority on the subject. But I can assure you that Christ’s church is going through some rather rough and dramatic changes right now, and if we, the true believers don’t stand up strong and make our voices heard, then I don’t want to see what will prevail on the other side of this regeneration. And we’ll end with some notes from the scholars on that scripture. ‘The last days began with the birth of Christ and will culminate in Christ’s return to the earth to set up His kingdom. The prediction of perilous times indicates that apostasy will characterize the final days of the church age. A form of godliness is mere religion without power or spiritual life. Paul commands Timothy to turn away from these false teachers who prey upon silly women laden with sins, who are especially susceptible to false teachers. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth condemns not intense study but some esoteric quest for truth apart from God’s Word. Jannes and Jambres, according to Jewish tradition, were two magicians in Pharaoh’s court who attempted to duplicate Moses’ miracles. (cf. Ex.7:11; 9:11). ‘  Oh Friends, I again implore us to take the matter very seriously, because as we can all see, it’s coming true, and we certainly don’t want anything less than the absolute TRUTH to be taught in Christ’s church in His Holy Name. That would indeed be utter blasphemy, worthy of death and a life of eternal darkness with Lucifer. So let’s rise to the occasion nuh my people, and diligently raise the profile of Jesus and His church, thereby making Him proud of us. Much LOVE!…to know false teachers…one must be familiar with the scriptures…and ask the Lord for discernment in your faith walk…
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 October 2012 Jude 3

25 Oct 2012 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jude 3.    Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
 
Ah mih Friends, yuh see why I’m not a big fan of this wireless communication revolution. I’ve been trying for about the last forty minutes to send a message to two friends in Jamaica, re how Hurricane Sandy was treating them. I seem to have gotten off the first one okay, but five minutes later the second one refused to go. They told me that the server was busy, then something went wrong, to check the service status of Hotmail. I did that, but they claimed it was working properly. Then I was advised to report the problem to Microsoft, which simply told me thanks for reporting it, but to click on to some user services advice site. Now why do I have to go to other users for advice with a Microsoft problem eh? Steups! I finally logged off of Internet Explorer – I started out with it, and I still prefer its set up to the other browsers – and logged into Firefox. At least there I was able to open the draft e-mail, but after that I still got the same run around, and finally another server busy notification. Now what’s happening at 3.30-4 in the morning that Hotmail’s server is so busy eh? Laugh at me, but I still like my telephone and my typewriter. Yes, they may be slow, but they always work, and I don’t lose valuable time and info. Believe me, if I wasn’t writing this Scrip-Bit, my computer would remain unused and unopened for several days. That reminds me of one time in the early days, before the Bit, Hotmail banned me for a month, because I had over 500 unopened e-mails. Hn, hn! Ah Lord, longing for the good, old days! When the wireless stuff works, it’s fine, but the slightest glitch causes untold headache, plus loss of time, money and info. So now I don’t know when I’ll be able to send out the Bit. It’s a good thing I usually do a rough copy by hand, then transfer it to the computer. I just seem to get my thoughts together better that way. Anyhow, I was planning to talk about Hurricane Sandy that seems to be cutting a dangerous path across my second home, the lovely island of Jamaica. And if you’re wondering why I call it my second home, it’s because I lived there from 1966-1969, attending the University of the West Indies on the Mona campus. Don’t ask me what I studied -partying, hanging out and beating pan. (smile) In fact that’s where I became a man, while suffering the first real hardships of life on my own. But you know what Friends, although those were possibly the roughest times I’ve ever been through, overall, I enjoyed it tremendously, because the people treated me like a million dollars, though they didn’t know me from Adam. I now realize that it was the hand of God moving on my behalf, amidst all the testing that He was putting me through, apparently priming me for this work, some thirty odd years later. Believe me Friends, there were a few times if the Lord hadn’t intervened, I wouldn’t be writing this Bit. But enough about me, let’s offer up some serious, heartfelt prayers for the wonderful, though currently down on its luck, island of Jamaica and its beautiful people, asking the Good Lord not to allow Sandy to do too much damage to the already suffering land. Oh fellow believers, I guess a loud ‘Praise the Lord’ is in order, because I just tried sending that message again (4.30) and it seems to have gone through. So, hopefully the Bit will go through too, when I’m finished writing it. And our Bit is the same as the last couple days: ‘Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye earnestly contend for the faith which was once (for all time) delivered unto the saints.’ Now yesterday we looked at why Jude felt it necessary to write the epistle, because of the false teachers who were slyly infiltrating the church of Jesus. We also saw that it’s now an even bigger problem in these current times with the availability of untold information and the ease of mass communication. That’s why brethren it’s becoming ever more important to closely watch, monitor and verify what we read, and whom we listen to. This also makes it extremely important for each of us to consistently read and become very familiar with the Good Book, so that we can at least ask questions as we seek the TRUTH. For if we personally don’t know what the Word says, then we can’t counter what anyone else tells us, which is absolutely necessary in these times of much false teaching and teachers. And before we go any further, please note, as one scholar, Bill Crowder, points out, in contending for the faith, we should not be contentious. (smile) That means we have to do it without too much fussing and fighting, quarrelling and belligerence. But instead, as Bruh Paul warns Timothy: ‘And the servant of the Lord must not strive (quarrel); but be gentle unto all men, apt (able) to teach, patient, In meekness, instructing (correcting) those that oppose themselves (are in opposition); if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of (so that they may know) the truth.’ (2 Tim.2:24-25) Ah Friends, that’s sometimes difficult to do, but if we are to be true followers of Jesus, we have to try and adopt His methods. And Jesus was never quarrelsome or argumentative. So I guess that’s one more facet of His Holy nature that we have to incorporate into our faith walk. Unfortunately space and time have run out on us, so, until tomorrow then, hasta manana, when we’ll resume this topic, provided that fits into God’s plans. And if it doesn’t, then we’ll be in an even better situation, in heaven, resting comfortably in the bosom of Jesus. (smile) Much LOVE!…believers MUST read, meditate on and understand the Good Book…so that they won’t be easily led astray…