Today’s Scrip-Bit 27 April 2020 Psalm 63:3.

Psalm 63:3.    Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
 

And then it was Monday… a new day and a new week, but the world was still in panic and pandemic mode. However, true believers in Almighty God were calm and peaceful, as they faithfully declared like Bruh David did when he was running in the wilderness of Judah from his many enemies: ‘O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.’ (Ps. 63:1) Ah friends, many of us figuratively feel like we’re in a wilderness without water today because of our many unsolvable problems, some of us might even be literally in a dry desert. 

But please take heart, the Lord knows our situations, and He’s in the process of fixing them, we just have to remain faithful and stick close to Him, as Jesus so powerfully and truthfully declared: ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) He couldn’t have put it any plainer than that. So there are two basic things we need to do this early Monday morning, in fact every morning. The first thing is to stick close to our great God, then the next is to seek His face early with prayer; hopefully as soon as we are consciously awake. 

Yes, we don’t even have to get out of bed, before we offer some thanks and praise, and asking for health and wisdom to have a good day while being obedient to His will. And that will usually set the tone for our day; allowing the Lord to get into our soul and spirit first, rather than give Beelzebub the first chance to corrupt our fragile and tender souls. For as Bruh David continued, two verses down: ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.’ 

Wow mih people! What a powerful, and oh so truthful statement! The Lord’s mercy is indeed better than life…in fact it is life giving, in the sense that without His abundant mercy, we wouldn’t have any life at all, since we have all sinned and come short of His glory, and the penalty for sin is death. But because mercy is not receiving what we deserve, He’s been merciful to a fault and allowed us to have salvation and eternal life! And yes, I did digress a tad there, (smile) but I thought it was important to point out that small matter. Hn, hn! 

So where were we? Oh yeh! We were talking about sticking to Jesus like white on rice, and seeking His face in prayer early everyday. Now assuming that we’ve already stuck to Him, let’s seek His face in prayer through our Monday Morning Covid-19 Battle Hymn nuh. As one body now, with sincere hearts: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You that this Monday morning we’re alive, and hopefully haven’t contracted the virus that’s causing havoc around our world. 

Despite the crucial lockdown, those of us considered essential, still have go to work, and we’re somewhat fearful, because we have no idea, how, when and where the virus might strike. Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously come short in obedience and compliance to Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, and You have faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us, ordinary folks, as well as our leaders, employers and medical personnel, wise guidance and direction. 

Please show us how to successfully handle this scourge that’s plaguing the earth, and help the scientists to find a positive solution, a sure antidote to it as quickly as possible. And for those who have already contracted the virus, we pray that You will ease their suffering and heal them. Father, please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again we say: Amen!’ 

And yuh know what friends, because the Lord judges us by the state of our hearts and not our mouths, and our hearts just now were truly sincere, we know that the Lord will answer our prayer, just in His own time! And that’s the part that gives us trouble; the waiting for His timing. But as He says, His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, so if we’re smart, we’ll just wait with a good attitude, until He achieves whatever He desired to achieve when He allowed the deadly virus to proliferate in such a worldwide manner. 

Consequently, wisdom decrees that we declare and behave like Bruh David continues after our Bit. ‘Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best; lit. fat) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips; When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after (close behind) thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.’ (Ps. 63:4-8) 

And that last clause is the gospel truth my fellow saints in Christ – the Lord’s strong right hand is what upholds us in this earthly pilgrimage. And when we remember all that the Lord’s already done for us, is now doing, and has promised to do in the future, then ought our mouths to loudly sing His praises through joyful lips, and our attachment to Him, never falter, as we constantly seek His face, early in the morning, during the day, and late at night. That’s how true saints, true believers ought to live my brethren! Much LOVE!

…to know, know, know Him…is to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Him…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 October 2016 Psalm 30:5.

Psalm 30:5.     For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy (a shout of joy) cometh in the morning.

‘Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day! Everything’s coming up roses! Everything’s going my way!’ 

Oh my people, I don’t know if those are the right words to that li’l ditty, but they surely are my sentiments this Friday morning; the Friday of our Thanksgiving weekend. 

So you can imagine the jumping and shouting of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! It’s the weekend….and a long one to boot! Party time, oh party time! We going to party down the place this Thanksgiving weekend! Thank God for Fridays and weekends yes!’ 

Ah Lord eh! When we going to learn that we can’t just party away the weekend eh? Our activities must have some semblance of balance if we want to use it wisely. So let’s chant our Friday Chant, which gives us a better perspective on how to use the weekend. 

Altogether now: ‘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’s a much better way to use the weekend, rather than abuse and ruin it by simply partying it all away. And please, this long Thanksgiving weekend, in Canada, don’t forget Granny’s wonderful advice: ‘Sonny boy, drunk or sober, please mind yuh business.’ 

For it’s at times like these we tend to give Beelzebub a toehold in our lives. And we definitely don’t want do that. So please, let’s all be careful as we celebrate and give thanks to the Lord for His many blessings this weekend. 

Now let’s turn to our Bit, which does bring a fresh breath of thanksgiving to our mornings. ‘For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy (a shout of joy) cometh in the morning.’ 

Yes precious people , so often the nighttime brings severe and excruciating hardship and suffering, but in the bright light of day, things usually don’t seem so bad. Have you ever noticed too, that most of the time we get sick at night, and something about the night doesn’t seem to go well with sickness. 

We always tend to feel sicker in the night than in the day. But whatever the reason (s), we need to know that Almighty God is always on the job! He’s always there looking after us, whether He’s annoyed with us or not. 

Now let’s check out some other scriptures that corroborate our Bit. First up is a scripture from Exodus, where the Lord gave Moses the second set of tablets containing the Ten Commandments. 

‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. 

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:5-7) 

Now that was the Lord speaking of Himself to Moses. So when we speak those words, we’re speaking words of awesome truth. Listen as Bruh David reiterates them. 

‘The Lord executeth righteousness and judgement for all that are oppressed. He made known his way unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous (abounding) in mercy (LOVING- kindness). 

He will not always chide (strive): neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewardeth us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy (LOVING-kindness) toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.’ (Ps.103:6-12) 

Now what can we ask that’s better than that eh friends? Absolutely nothing! Our great God considers each one of us as a unique specimen and treats us all in a unique manner. Now let’s end with some more words from Bruh David from Psalm 63 – The Lord satisfies the thirsting soul. 

‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee, Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.’ (Ps.63:3-8) 

Oh my people, there’s no better place of comfort, rest, safety and security than in the shadow of God’s wings. Please, let’s try our best today to get a comfortable spot under those mighty wings, for that’s the epitome of wisdom. Much LOVE!

…let’s give plenty thanks this thanksgiving weekend…for we do have a lot to be thankful for…

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 15 March 2016 Judges 5:3

Judges 5:3.   Hear,  O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.

So friends, it’s Tuesday! No big deal. You handled Monday with great aplomb, great self-confidence, so no reason why you can’t do it again today. In fact, Tuesday should be a piece of cake! (smile) 

Yes my people, with Jesus, before, behind and by our side, we can handle ANY and EVERY thing that comes against us. As Bruh Paul so steadfastly and faithfully declared – no it’s stronger than a declaration – as he confidently proclaimed: ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.’ (Phil.4:13) 

And that my people is gospel truth! So let’s not forget it, but have it prime us as we go out to meet each new today. And since today is Tuesday, let’s declare our Tuesday Mantra. I didn’t forget it this week though. (smile) 

All together 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.’ 

Oh my fellow believers in Christ that is oh so true! We are definitely not defined by what the world says or thinks about us, but by our wonderful position as children of, and thus the beloved of Almighty God, Jesus’ friend and brother! Now what can be greater than that eh? Absolutely nothing! 

When we are inextricably linked, tied up with the awesome Creator of the universe and all therein, we are in the best hands possible! 

So let’s not fear, doubt, or be anxious as we go about our daily tasks, let’s walk with a spring in our step, a smile both in our hearts and on our faces, remembering that we are completely surrounded by the incomparable and indestructible protection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! 

And all God’s beloved children gratefully declared: ‘Thank You heavenly Father for LOVING and caring and looking after us as well as You do! We know we don’t deserve much of it, but that’s just the kind of wonderful God and Father You are. 

Today, we give You the praise and glory that You so rightfully deserve, and will continue to do so while Your awesome breath of life remains in our frail and fragile bodies. This we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen! 

Oh precious people, since we’ve been talking up the wonders of our God so much, I decided that we should just make it a day of praise; thus our Bit. 

‘Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel (when leaders lead in Israel), when the people willingly offered themselves (volunteered). Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes: I, even I, will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.’ 

That comes from the song of Deborah and Barak, after the Lord had helped them to defeat their Canaanite enemies, while Deborah was the judge of Israel. Yuh see friends, women have been leaders, and strong ones too from time everlasting! 

Now here are a few verses of praise that I randomly chose, because there are so many. Listen to Moses’ song. ‘Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine (teaching) shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon a tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 

Because I will publish (proclaim) the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgement: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.’ (Deut.32:1-4) 

Yes friends, that’s our God that Moses is talking about. And who knew God’s greatness, saw and did His awesome work more than Moses eh? Possibly only Jesus. So Moses definitely knows whereof he speaks. 

Now here are some excerpts from Psalm 21 – Praise for victory. Bruh David opens the psalm with this proclamation: ‘The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice! Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden (withheld) the request of his lips.   Selah…. 

For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad (joyful with gladness) with thy countenance (presence)…. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.’ (Ps.21:1-2,6,13) 

Again friends, Bruh David experienced God’s great power, LOVE and compassion, as well as His chastening, so he too knows what he is talking about first hand, not through mere hearsay. 

And listen to these words of truth and glory from Psalm 47 – God is the King of all the earth. The sons of Korah unhesitatingly tell us: ‘O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. For the Lord most high is terrible (awesome); he is a great King over all the earth… 

Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King: sing praises. For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.’ (Ps.47:1-2,6-7) 

Ah mih people, how much better off we would be eh if we just sang and gave more praises and attributed more glory to our great God! But sadly, in this past generation we’ve become such a hard-hearted, stubborn and godless society that God no longer looks down on us with the joy and grace that He once did, when we were truly subservient and obedient to His will. 

And we’ll close with these immortal words from Bruh David from Psalm 65 – God satisfies the thirsting soul. ‘Because thy LOVING-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus I will bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow (the best) and fatness (abundance); and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed and meditate on thee in the night watches. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.’ (Ps.63:3-7) 

Oh friends, there is absolutely no better way to live than giving praise and thanks and glory to Almighty God for all that He has done for us in His awesome power and might and His overflowing LOVING-kindness!  

Please, please, let’s get back to that way of living nuh, for it is indeed the path of heavenly wisdom. Much LOVE!

…be thou exalted, O God above the heavens…let thy glory be above all the earth… (Ps.57:5) 

P.S. Sorry that the Bit is somewhat late, but I’m back to my old habits…late going to bed. (smile) But as they say, better late than never. Much LOVE!