Psalm 50:14. Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High.
Well a blessed day to all you wonderful people out there in Scrip-Bit Land! It’s certainly a pleasure and a privilege to come into your computers, your homes and your hearts every morning and give you an ounce or two of God. (smile) Remember though, you still have to gather the remainder of the necessary pound, so that you can have your full serving of our great God, each and every day. And we do that by reading His word, studying and meditating on it, then putting it into practice. Please note, we can’t go through life successfully without a full serving of God EVERYDAY! And now here’s some stuff, from what I’ll call ‘Off My Wall,’ where I’ll share with you some of the encouraging words I have up there, but never seem to look at. Now, right next to the almanac – which I’m ashamed to say is still set on May, in October, even after I promised to rectify it in September – there’s a small plastic envelope with the heading ‘Today’s Thought’ written above, and today I was led to share the info on the 3 by 5 inch plastic card that’s been sitting in there for a number of years now. Oh, it’s a worthwhile thought for everyday, but the original intention was not to leave the same card in there for all eternity. I do have some other cards, also with some good words, but only the Lord knows where to find them now. I guess though that one day, if He so desires, He’ll lead me to them, so that I can share them. However, today’s ‘Off the Wall’ thought is: ‘A man who is self-reliant, positive, optimistic, and undertakes his work with the assurance of success, magnetizes his condition. He draws to himself the creative powers of the universe.’ And that my Friends is a glorious truth, but with one detail missing – He must be walking under the dictates of the Most High God Jehovah. For regardless of how great a man might be in his own right, if Jehovah God is not with Him, then all his efforts will be either fruitless or not be long lasting! That brings us to our Bit, which comes from Asaph’s Psalm titled, God is the judge. ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows to the Most High.’ Ah my brethren, those are two very essential essentials (smile) of a believer. We cannot say we’re worshipping our Creator without giving constant and bountiful thanks and praise for all that He’s done for us, undeserving though we are. And that’s even more important when we are backsliding like the Israelites back then, and we are now. Some people are also quick to make promises to God for helping them out of a tight spot, then forget to pay them, unfortunately taking the whole thing for a game. But Friends, our God is very concerned and diligent about promises being kept; His to us, and also ours to Him. Now let’s look at some scriptures that deal with the first half of our Bit: ‘Offer unto God thanksgiving;’ And we’ll start with Hosea, who, in entreating Israel to return to God’s good graces, declared: ‘O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves (fruit, sacrifices) of our lips. Asshur (Assyria) shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless find mercy.’ (Hos.14:1-3) Oh Friends, unfortunately in this age, too many of us are bowing to the work(s) of our own hands, and not to Almighty God. No wonder so much of our world if facing much calamity. If we’re not paying close attention to the last line of that scripture above: ‘for in thee the fatherless find mercy,’ then we’re completely lost Friends, because it’s one of the many eternal truths in the Good Book. And turning to Hebrews 15, where the author – judging from the language alone, it couldn’t be anybody else but Bruh Paul – talks about service well pleasing to God, we read: ‘For here (on earth) have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate (share) forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.’ (Heb.13:14-16) More eternal truth Friends! And we’ll end with some words that this time everybody’s sure Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians. ‘And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph. 5:18-21) Oh my people, that’s awe-inspiring advice! So please, let’s take it and run our race of glory with it nuh! We’ll continue this Bit tomorrow, provided the breath of life is still flowing through us. Till then, may our most merciful and forgiving God grant us the peace, health, safety and prosperity that we need to endure our days on this confused and troubled planet earth. Much LOVE!…without a strong connection to their Creator…humans are totally lost in the nightmare of their own creation(s)…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 October 2012 Psalm 50:14
04 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: assurance, blessed, breath of life, constant thanks and praise, creative powers, dictates of God, fruit of our lips, full serving of God, God is the judge, hymns, idols, iniquity, positive, promises, psalms, success, thanksgiving
Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 August 2012 Psalm 106:36
27 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: calamity, defiled, disaster, divide and conquer, idols, invincible, Monday Battle Hymn, Monday blues, Monday Monday, sure conquerors, unfaithful
Psalm 106:36. And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.
Greetings my people! I come bearing good news. That day which we’re all growing to LOVE, namely Monday, well it’s here, it’s finally arrived! Yuh know the old Mamas and Papas song should have said: ‘Monday Monday! Oh how I LOVE that day!’ Okay, okay, I got the message, you don’t have to kill the messenger. I’m going to stop while the going’s good, because I’m hearing too much moaning and groaning, along with spectacular language not fit for a family Blog. (smile) So Friends, we free paper burn now, why do we have to let it get us down every week eh? We know that every Monday we have to go to work, and have every opportunity to plan and prepare ourselves for it. But like clockwork, come Monday morning, a whole lot of us still end up singing the blues. Fortunately though, I’m here to help us get over that lazy, bluesy feeling, and instead turn it into a diligent, enthusiastic driving force for Jesus! So let’s get that adrenalin up and running nuh, by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with plenty vim and vigour, such that the angels won’t be able to laud it over us with their much practiced choir, but will open their mouths wide in wonder, and turn to Jesus and ask in amazement. ‘Is that really your people down there on earth singing so loudly and sweetly?’ And Jesus, with a big, proud, pleased grin will enthusiastically reply; ‘You bet!’ Now altogether Friends, let’s sing, let’s give the angels a run for their money. ‘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!’ And now that we’ve put the angels to shame, let’s take a look at our Bit: ‘And they served their idols: which were a snare unto them.’ Oh my brethren, that verse of scripture also fits us today like a hand and glove! The Israelites did not destroy all the nations the Lord commanded them to destroy when they conquered the Promised Land. Thus the verse before our Bit tells us: ‘But they were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.’ (Ps.106:35) What else can be expected then? As the old people would say; if you play with the pups, you’ll get bitten by the fleas. Gospel truth Friends! Consequently the Israelites adopted the ways and works of the people they lived amongst. ‘Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto devils (demons). And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood. Thus were they defiled with (made unclean by) their own works, and went a whoring (played the harlot, were unfaithful) with their own inventions (by their own deeds). Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen; and they that hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.’ (Ps.106:37-42) Now doesn’t that sound exactly like what’s happening to us today Friends? We’ve blatantly disobeyed God. Instead of worshipping Him in faith and truth, we’ve tried our best, and are still trying, to kick Him out of our society by banning Him from our schools and public places. We’ve certainly bowed to the idols of the world, making things like cars, houses, the amassing of earthly possessions, an insatiable greed for power, celebrity status, fleshly lusts and pleasures, and all that’s evil our focus, our priority, while relegating Almighty God, our Creator and Provider to the back benches, the nether regions of our society. So what else can we expect, but the wrath of the Lord eh, which we’re experiencing more and more every day? Not a day goes by without a new disaster or new theatre of strife occurring. Our enemies are taking us over, not necessarily by might or physical force, but by financial strength and subtly, stealthily having us fighting amongst each other over petty, unimportant things. Just look at the state of our politics nowadays. It surely is a disgrace, with loads of money been spent on mostly negative personal jabs and certainly not enough time or money on the true problems of our society. It’s all about power! What’s the age old strategy? Divide and conquer! We’re foolishly allowing that to happen with no concern for the overall health of our nations. And last but not least, though we haven’t physically sacrificed our children to the idols of the world, we surely have done it psychologically and emotionally. We haven’t given them proper guidance or discipline, haven’t thought them the Word as we’re supposed to. Consequently they have gone astray even more than we did, and are ever more debasing and destroying themselves at the altar of Lucifer and his worldly idols. Oh Friends, we have to stop this bowing down to Lucifer before it’s too late. And only we believers are going to do it, with Christ’s help of course. So for the sake of our children and their offspring, let’s get a grip and do something serious about retaking our world nuh, otherwise our descendants will lead truly abominable, abhorrent lives. And I’m sure none of us want to se it come to that. Much LOVE!…when the Lord speaks…His people ought to obey…for disobedience brings calamity…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 August 2012 Exodus 20:3
08 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: battle, comfort, don't lose hope, fear God, fight the good fight, Friends in Christ, God's in control, guidance, help, idols, never give up, obey God, spiritual growth
Exodus 20:3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Well hello there my wonderful Friends in Christ! How goes the battle this beautiful summer’s day? I sure hope it goes fairly well with us all. But just in case it isn’t going so good, I want us to remember that our great God is still in control of His universe, and He’s seeing all that we do, as well as guiding our lives on the path that He’s planned for each of us. So wherever we are, and whatever we’re going through, please take comfort in knowing that it’s most likely an important time in, or aspect of our spiritual growth which He found necessary to pass us through. So please don’t lose hope and give up, for once the breath of life flows through our mortal bodies, there is always hope for spiritual renewal. Hn! I sure hope that comes across in the positive manner I intended. (smile) But once we become believers, we will be tested to see what we’re actually made of, and if we’re truly fit for kingdom life. And regardless of whatever happens to us, the first and most important thing we need to do is to obey the words of our Bit: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Yes Friends, that’s the number one commandment! And if we aspire to follow it with all our heart, mind, body and soul, then we should be able to pass all the tests on our earthly journey. It still won’t be easy, but what I LOVE about our God, is though He puts us through the testing fire like gold and silver, He ALWAYS HELPS to pull us through it too. He doesn’t just set the test and leave us stranded. And all God’s people raised a mighty shout of praise to heaven: ‘Thank you Lord, for being so good to the unworthy children of men!’ But for some unknown, unfathomable reason, our world has moved away from serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Now we are much more concerned about doing our own thing, and that of Lucifer, rather than obeying the ONE and ONLY God who so LOVINGLY created us in His image, then promised to look after us forever, if we faithfully served, worshipped and obeyed Him. And today we’ll continue looking at some scriptures that contain serious warnings about bowing down to ONLY Almighty God. We’ll start with some words from 2 Kings, re the repopulation of Samaria with people of other nations by the king of Assyria, after he had captured it. And these people eventually established a religion in Samaria that was a mixture of Israel’s corrupted religion and the pagan worship that the outsiders brought. Obviously that was an unworkable arrangement, which led the Jews to ostracize and reject the people of Samaria, as we see in Jesus’ dealings with the woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob. (John 4:9, 8:48) As the Good Book states: ‘So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places (places for pagan worship). They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence (from among whom they were carried away). Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. With whom the Lord made a covenant, and charged them saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them. But the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear (hold in awe and reverence), and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.’ (2 Kin.17:32-36) Ah Friends, what’s it going to take for us to realize the seriousness of our situation eh? We’re still bowing to the dictates of man and his man made idols, rather than to Jehovah God, so what can we expect when calamities, mayhem and disaster strike us eh? We’ve seen that man neither has the ability or true desire to fix the big things that are wrong with our world; like the strife, hunger, poverty, homelessness, economic fallout, etc. But yet we adamantly, stubbornly refuse to turn back to the ONLY Being who can straighten it all out; the Most High God, Lord of Hosts. Oh Friends, as the saying goes, there’s none so blind as he who refuses to see. And that’s exactly what we’re doing, refusing to see the real cause and effect of our troubled world. When most of us were obeying God, was there as much ‘sufferation’ as there is now? Certainly not! So why are we letting our leaders and wealthy few lead us down the garden path to certain destruction eh? Please, let’s rise up in Jesus’ name and fight the good fight that He asks us to do nuh. It’s the ONLY way we can ever hope to save our floundering, sinking world, and thereby give our children and their children some hope of a better life in the future. Much LOVE!…to fight…to fight…and yet to fight…to the death…in Jesus’ holy name…that’s the credo of believers…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 August 2012 Exodus 20:3
07 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: anger, Caribana, commandments, deceitful, disobedience, god, graven image, idols, independence, Jamaica, Lucifer's lies, party time, punishment, Trinidad & Tobago
Exodus 20:3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Ah well, the party’s finally over my Friends. It’s time to call it a day. Yeah people, Caribana’s finished for another year. And thankfully it didn’t seem to have any serious negative consequences. But while the party has cooled down in T.O, it’s just beginning in J.A and T&T with the 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations. And where yuh see Usain Bolt retained his track crown, and also bettered his previous record, hn, I can assure you that Jamdown is in a thoroughly party going frame of mind. And T&T won’t be far behind. But as I keep reminding us, drunk or sober, we have to mind our business, so that the ole charlatan Lucifer doesn’t find a chink in our spiritual armour and invade our souls, cause we know that he’s always on the hunt, like a hungry lion, looking for whomever he could get his lying, deceitful claws into. And that’s exactly why the Lord warned us from day one, in our Bit: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’ Oh Friends, because of our fallen, rebellious nature, He knew our susceptibility to things forbidden, to things of the flesh, to things that the tempter would throw up before us, things looking all nice and glittery, like they were the real McCoy, but in actual fact are all fake. They are all part of a facade, a false front that Lucifer puts up to cover the reprehensible doings he encourages in the back, where no one can see. But Friends God does, for He is all-seeing and all-knowing. Oh my people, why do you think the Lord got Moses to spell out these facts in detail eh? ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to (worship) them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting (punishing) the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy to them that LOVE me, and keep my commandments.’ (Ex.20:4-6) The Lord laid down those rules because we’re His chosen people, and He doesn’t want us going astray, running foul of His law, so that He would be forced to punish us. But yuh know, even after He tore out His heart and sent His Son Jesus to pay for our disgusting sins, we continue to lust after other gods and worldly things. Until now, when we’ve reached the highest point of our evolution, with the most knowledge and technological skills ever seen on earth, where we should be endowed with godly wisdom, because of all the examples of disobedience and punishment that’s gone before us, yet we still running behind the fool fool boy Lucifer, who, if he was so smart, would still be running the angels in heaven and not walking the earth in shame for trying to overthrow the Lord God Jehovah. I mean how silly can you get eh? So my brethren, when are we going to learn that Lucifer really has nothing good to offer us eh? When the Lord destroys us for disobedience and we end up in blistering hot Hades with him? Lord forbid! How many times Friends, has the Lord warned us of this serious breach of His law? Too numerous to count! But let’s look at a couple of them, starting in Deuteronomy: ‘Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you. (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.’ (Deut.6:13-15) Now doesn’t that spell it out ever so clearly that disobedience will bring punishment and eventual destruction? Now hear Jeremiah: ‘And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened (listened), nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again (repent now) every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever. And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt (harm). Yet ye have not hearkened (listened) unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt (harm).’ (Jer.25:4-7) And what happened after that Friends? Judah was invaded, Jerusalem destroyed, and the people taken captive to Babylon for seventy years. (Jer.6:8-14) So you think it will be any different now my people? Not one bit! God’s still sending his prophets, servants and teachers, like me, to warn us, and if we still continue to walk the path of disobedience, as we’re currently doing, we will be punished, as we’re currently experiencing. Oh Friends, please don’t believe that all the calamities and disastrous things that are happening in our world are simply happenstance, because they are not. A lot of it is being fuelled by the Lord’s anger. And if we don’t stop soon and turn back to Him, we will eventually be destroyed. That’s what the Good Book says…and the Good Book doesn’t lie. So please, I implore us, let’s wake up and start doing right by our Creator nuh, if not for our sakes, then for our children’s, or else crapaud surely going to smoke we pipe sometime soon. Much LOVE!…the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way…but the folly of fools is deceit… (Prov.14:8)
