Today’s Scrip-Bit 23 March 2021 Jeremiah 13:15.

Jeremiah 13:15.     ​Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.

One more time friends, one more time to get out there and work for the Lord! That’s why He’s given us another beautiful day to enjoy and do His wonderful bidding! So let’s say and do as Bruh David so wisely said and did nuh: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it!’ That’s the best decision we can make this day my people! 

So forget, yes, disregard the problems and circumstances that are trying to keep you down, because you are a child of the Most High God Jehovah, and He won’t allow anything to break you down. And He does have the power to turn all the things that are worrying you around. I can testify to that because I have seen my God turn it around…many many times too…for many many people too, so there is no need to give up on your journey because your God can and will turn it around for you also! 

And in these unprecedented times of woe and sorrow in so many of our lives, this is as good a time as any other to listen to the truth of God’s word. Hear the prophet Jeremiah to his people Israel on God’s behalf, when they were in a state of turmoil, just like we currently are. ‘Hear ye, and give ear, be not proud: for the Lord hath spoken.’ (Jer. 13:15) 

And I guess you want to know what the Lord hath spoken eh? Well, please listen very closely. ‘Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.’ (Jer. 13:16) 

Oh my people, my people, that is a direct word to us from our great God today in this time of pandemic and strife and all the other negative problems our world is currently experiencing! How can we try to get rid of the Creator and Controller of our universe and expect to live a good life eh? That’s not wisdom in the least! It’s pure foolishness! 

Look at Lucifer, who was so proud and haughty because he was an archangel and wanted to overthrow God, His Creator? It just isn’t possible for the created to overthrow the creator. And where is he now eh? Living in the bowels of hell, the most despicable place in our world! And if we keep thinking we can throw God out of society we’ll suffer the same fate as Lucifer! 

I don’t know why so many of us believe that our God makes promises and won’t keep them. Oh we believe the good ones, but the ones that will come upon us for disobedience, somehow or the other, we convince ourselves that those won’t come to pass. But my friends, let me remind us that our God doesn’t make idle promises. Anything He promises, He will do, if the situations warrant them. And don’t talk stupidness about that’s in the Old Testament, for Jesus made many of the same promises in the New Testament. 

If you don’t believe and obey, you will pay the necessary price. And please, please, don’t try to prove it nuh, because once you die without Jesus, or He comes back and you haven’t received Him as Lord and Saviour, your options are ended. The only thing then would be automatic living with Lucifer! And believe me, that’s an option you don’t want to end up with for eternity! 

So please look at what the Lord said to the people of Judah and understand that He is not a joking God! Oh He is indeed a LOVING God, and will give oodles of chances, but you WILL pay the price for gross disobedience, as the children of Israel did! Now let’s listen to the rest of the message.

 ‘But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:17) And there will be indeed weeping and gnashing of teeth and all sorts of other calamities, exactly like we are suffering right now, because we refuse to swallow our foolish pride and arrogance and return to the God of our forefathers! 

And Jeremiah continues with the warning. ‘Say unto the king and to the queen (queen mother), Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory (your rule will collapse). The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.’ (Jer. 13:18-19) And it certainly was carried away captive, because of their obstinate refusal to turn back to God. 

And please note that many of our cities and towns have been shut up in the past year because of the pandemic and awful strife that’s been taking place. So why can’t we at least contemplate that some of the recent happenings are because we have become a godless and disobedient society eh? Nothing we’re trying to do on our own seems to be working. There’s all kinds of rebellion and disobedience towards authority that’s only making matters worse. The only option we haven’t yet tried is a revival of godliness! So why not try it and see eh mih people? We have nothing left to lose, but a whole lot to gain. 

Now here’s an interesting explanation from the scholars, re our text for today. ‘13:15-17. A third illustration (warning to Judah by Jeremiah) concerns a weary traveller in danger of being overtaken by the falling darkness of night. Such was Judah. It must renounce all pride and give God His rightful glory before the final darkness of national catastrophe engulfs it.’ 

And let’s hope that many of us today will compare our current situation to that of olden Judah, and don’t follow their foolish ways, because we are not coming out of our predicament with our own efforts. The vaccines might be helping a few, but there’s also strong reactions against taking them, and the racial problems are increasing rather than getting better. Strife, anger, jealousy, and all the negative emotions and actions are now prevalent in our world, instead of the godliness that we so desperately need. 

But there’s good news friends, while we’re still alive there is always hope! And I know that our God can turn it around if we wake up and start doing right by Him. So for those of us who are prepared to stand up and fight for Him, let’s go home now declaring (awright!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting the world know who and whose we are. 

As one strong and sincere voice then: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world. Amen!’ 

So let’s get on with it nuh my fellow saints in Christ. There’s no time to lose, if we want to turn it around…sooner rather than later. Much LOVE!

…God can, and will turn it around…if we first turn ourselves around…return to His fold…in sincerity and truth… 

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 24 November 2015 1 John 5:21‏

1 John 5:21.  Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

Oh Friends, it’s Tuesday…a brand new day! That means new mercies and blessings soon come! Glory to God! Now that is God’s sincere promise, and if you truly believe in Him then you will believe His word and be waiting expectantly and patiently for the new mercies and blessings to rain down upon you. 

Mama Mia! Oh what a wonderful Lord and Saviour we serve and worship my brethren! Let your spirits be lifted high, because our God is still on the throne and still in control of this great universe that He created, and has promised that nothing, or no one can or will ever come between Him and us. Give Him some thanks and praise my people! 

Yuh know, recently I’ve been thinking that our God is so sweet and we are so stupid, or I believe the politically correct term is mentally challenged, (smile) because we’re not bright and smart enough to walk obediently in His will, even though we’ve seen the huge benefits that come from doing so. 

We know that our God LOVES nothing better than to receive our sincere and heartfelt thanks and praise, because that’s what He made us to do; to glorify Him with thanks and praise. But yet we refuse to give Him His just desserts. 

I don’t know about you all nuh Friends, but I just LOVE to give Him thanks and praise, for there’s nothing sweeter than listening to good music with worshipful lyrics and sending up declarations of sincere LOVE and thanksgiving to the Most High God Jehovah! Oh glory to our wonderful Creator and great Provider! 

If we were really smart, we’d be giving Him constant thanks and praise. As Bruh Paul says to the Ephesians: ‘Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (Eph.5:20) 

And again to the Philippians, where he confidently declares: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice.’ (Phil.4:4) 

And the scholars offer this bit of sage advice and explanation. ‘This command to rejoice at all times and in all circumstances is nothing less than a call to faith. For if the Christian believes that his life and all its circumstances are in the hands of a sovereign, wise, and LOVING God who is always working to accomplish good for him, then he can indeed “rejoice always.” 

That is gospel truth Friends! It’s a win-win situation, because God would be enjoying our grateful glorification, and so would we. Glory Hallelujah my people! And that’s the end of my rambling for today. (smile) 

Now let’s turn to our Tuesday Mantra and declare it like we really believe it. As one now: ‘I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen.’ 

Glory to God my brethren for there’s nothing better in this world, especially in these challenging times than to be LOVED by God, be His child, and be a Friend of Jesus! 

Ah mih people, the ole fella is so worked up that he doesn’t know what to do with himself. (smile) I guess then we’ll finally turn to our Bit. ‘Little children, keep yourselves from idols.’ 

And what part of that don’t we understand eh mih people? For right from the very beginning, in the Ten Commandments, our God warned us about it. If you don’t remember, let me refresh our minds. 

The very first commandment is ‘Thou shalt have no other God’s before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything 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 them (worship them), nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that LOVE me, and keep my commandments.’ (Ex.20:3-6) 

Now where does He change that commandment eh Friends? Where does He say that we can put all sorts of other supposed gods, be they graven images or material things before Him eh? Nowhere? So why do we think it’s okay to put all the things we put in our everyday lives before Him eh? 

That’s not wisdom Friends. And the sad part is that Jesus promised, ‘But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.’ (Matt.6:33) 

Yes, precious people, all the earthly things that we are running down and placing before Almighty God are available to us if we seek Him and His kingdom FIRST! 

Now doesn’t it seem somewhat foolish to be killing ourselves over stuff when we can have them without any fuss and bother, if we’d just make the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob our first priority? It certainly does my fellow believers! 

So please let’s ‘wisen’ up nuh Friends, and stop running down the things of the world, the very things that are causing us so much stress and strife, that are ruining our lives in our driving and never-ending pursuit of them! That is certainly not the wisdom of heaven…or really any kind of wisdom at all! Much LOVE!

…true allegiance to God… ought to be the believer’s first and main priority…  

P.S. Sadly my people, like LOVE and hate, late nights and early mornings just don’t agree. (smile)