Psalm 135:15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Oh Friends, on this glorious, but a tad chilly morn, the last Sunday in September 2013, I think we should begin our message with a hymn of praise to our wonderful God, Jehovah. So please sing this old, but ever timely hymn with me.
‘Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children, God is LOVE, God is LOVE; (repeat). LOVE Him, LOVE Him, all ye little children, God is LOVE, God is LOVE; (repeat). Thank Him, thank Him, all ye little children, God is LOVE, God is LOVE; (repeat)
Oh yes my people, there’s no better way to start our day than with some thanks and praise to our ever-LOVING God! Now let’s hope that all of us who are able to, will get out some time today and fellowship with other believers, for we need that strength and reassurance that fellowshipping brings.
That’s why the Lord gave us ONE day each week, regardless of which one you choose, to get together and worship and celebrate His Holy Name. That’s a chance to get away from the evil world and all the ungodly things it has to offer and filter some godly stuff into our precious souls with praise and worship. And all of that fits in very nicely with our Bit: ‘The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.’
Ah mih Friends, during our work week, we’re constantly bombarded by all the idolatrous things the world has to offer, so we’ve got to make the most use of the opportunity on Sundays, or whenever you celebrate the Sabbath, to put replenish our souls by reasserting that the Lord God Almighty is the ultimate mover and shaker in our lives.
Now for the last two days, we’ve been looking at scripture that supports our Bit, and today we’ll continue to do the same. There’s plenty scripture on idolatry my Friends, and we need to get it all into us, so that we can resist the attractive siren call of the idols of the world.
And we’ll begin with Moses’ warning the Israelites. In Deuteronomy Chap. 4, from verses 15-27, he warns them about turning to the worship of idols when they go into the Promised Land and become prosperous and successful. Letting them know that it would provoke God to anger, and He would then scatter them amongst the heathen.
‘And there shall ye serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; (For the Lord thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy father which he sware unto them.’ (Deut.4:28-31)
And Friends, we all know that the Israelites did not heed Moses’ warning and eventually turned to idol worship, not once, but several times. And God, being the faithful keeper of His promises, dutifully scattered them amongst the heathen. But by the same token, each time they woke up from their stupidity and repented, He was also faithful and merciful to restore them to their land and prosperity.
Oh my people, please remember that our God doesn’t change, and like the Israelites, we have a covenant with Him, through Christ Jesus to stay away from idols and graven images. However, like the Israelites again, we’re not fulfilling our part of the contract, but instead are heavily into worshipping the things of the world. No wonder so much calamity and disaster are currently plaguing our world.
So it’s obvious that if we want to eliminate the catastrophe in our world, then WE have to change. We have to get out of the worldly rat race, CUT OUT the pre-eminence of worldly things in our lives. We can see from the Israelites’ example that all is not lost, that while there’s life, there’s always hope, for our God is a most merciful and forgiving Deity.
Thus, if we sincerely repent and turn from our evil ways, He will once again, enfold us in His LOVING embrace, but it all depends on us my people. We hold the key to both our earthly and eternal destiny, and His name is Jesus!
So let’s use it to unlock the door to righteousness, salvation and eternal life, like we’ve been taught nuh. It’s the only wise, sane and sensible thing to do, provided we want to save and improve our world. You don’t have to be rocket scientist to figure that our Friends.
So, though I have more stuff to share, taking into consideration our busy schedules and already overworked mental systems, (smile) I’ll leave us to ponder on those things that make for a godly and righteous life. Much LOVE!
…God’s world doesn’t change…He who is disobedient….will ALWAYS pay a stiff price for their disobedience…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 September 2013 Psalm 135:15
29 Sep 2013 Leave a comment
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Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 September 2013 Joshua 1:8
14 Sep 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: awe of God, Babylon, backsliding, become prosperous, bondage, Book of the Law, calamitous repercussions, charles stanley, clarifies our direction, commandment, confirms our counsel, consider, constantly talk about, crux, disastrous times, disobedience, encouraging, enlarges our view of God, enlightening, faith, God's promises, God's Word, Good Book, good success, gospel truth, guides us to success, have success, ill repute, increases our faith, israelite nation, Israelites, Joshua, keeps us aware of God's preence and power, left hand, levites, man's rebellious nature, meditate, mortal souls, Mosaic Law, Moses, old wives tales, ponder, purifies our heart, quietens our spirit, religion, right hand, scriptures, sharpens our perception, stubborn nature, the Lord's Law, theology, tip of our tongues, true wisdom, trust, turning away from God, vengeance, while there's life there's hope
Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 August 2013 Psalm 27:14
28 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: an adventure, assurances, attributes, awesome promise, backbone, be of good courage, believers in Jesus, belly, bountiful promises, choices, chronic illnesses, common sense, complaining, courage, covenant, daily devotions, definite promise of Almighty God, depressing, differing days, don't be afraid, don't be dismayed, enthusiasm, ever-faithful, ever-LOVING God, evil world, faith, faithful God, generous, God has faithfully promised, God will not fail you, God will not forsake you, God's Law, godly answer, good courage, good success, groaning, Hallelujah, have success, Herculean task, ingredients of a day, Israelites, Joshua, joy, life, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, LOVE, meditate on God's law, mix and match, moaning, Moses, naysayers, negative day, never ending cycle, optimism, ordeal, patiently, personal example, positive energy, positive expectation, positive spin, praise, praise his holy name, problems, Promised Land, prosper, psalm 27, redemption, River Jordan, sacrificial act, sad, sincere communion with Jesus Christ, sincerity, sins, stand strong in the Lord, standing on God's promises, strength, strengthen your heart, survival, the cross at Calvary, the Lord, to the Lord in prayer, truth, unbelievers, ungodly world, wait in faith, wait on the Lord, walk in obedience to His will, we can do all things with Christ's help, wisdom
Psalm 27:14. Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.
And here we stand once again Friends, in cold amongst the ingredients that it takes to make another day! Ingredients that according to their quantity, their mixing and matching, have the ability to produce anything along a continuum; from a very sad, depressing and negative day at one end, to one that’s full of joy, enthusiasm and positive energy at the other.
And the results we obtain, all depend on the amounts of each ingredient we use, and how we mix and match them. That’s why all of us have differing kinds of days.
Now here’s some sound advice on the subject, taken from the footnote of an old devotional, One More Day, Daily Devotions for People with Chronic Illnesses. And the advice is: ‘Life is an adventure of choices to be lived, not an ordeal to be survived. I choose optimism and joy.’
Yes my people, that’s the way it should be! Life was meant to be lived, not merely survived! So whatsoever ingredients we’re dealt today, let’s adjust the mix to bring us positive energy and joy in our spirits nuh. That’s only simple common sense.
Regardless of how difficult or hopeless things might seem, or even actually be, there’s always a way for us to put a positive spin on them. And that’s especially true for believers in Jesus Christ, seeing that we have all those beautiful and bountiful promises and assurances from our generous, ever-faithful and ever-LOVING God!
And when we add the greatest sacrificial act ever done in the history of this world, Christ’s redemption of our abominable sins by His death on the cross at Calvary, how can we not be joyful and full of positive energy eh?
And all God’s people gave out a deafening roar of ‘Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Praise His Holy Name!’
Yes Friends, that’s the kind of response we need! So please, let’s not go about moaning and groaning and complaining today, though our entire world might seem to be crumbling around us. Let’s stand strong in the Lord, as He’s asked us to do.
Let’s show the unbelievers and naysayers, by personal example, why we’re true believers in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Today, and everyday, we need to do as Bruh David so wisely advises in our Bit: ‘Wait (in faith) on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait (in faith), I say, on the Lord.’
Yes my brethren, after taking our problems to the Lord in prayer, we need to remain in patient and positive expectation for His godly answer. And I know that it oftimes takes a lot of courage, belly and backbone to do that sort of thing. But then again, as believers, we must remember that we can do all things through Christ’s help.
Yeh, it often feels like an ongoing, never ending cycle. We need courage and strength to deal with our problems. But that courage and strength can only come from close and sincere communion with Jesus Christ. And when we’re finally granted those attributes, we need to apply them to our problems. But having done that, the cycle begins again.
Ah Lord eh mih people! It might be rough, but there’s no need to be afraid, for our God has faithfully promised to look after us, once we walk obedient to His will. Now listen to this awesome promise God gave to the children of Israel, through Moses, when he anointed Joshua as his successor.
‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them (your enemies): for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Deut.31:6)
Oh Friends, what an amazing promise! And while the Israelites walked sincerely with God, that promise was never broken. But here, to my mind, is one of God’s greatest promise moments in all of the Good Book. It was when He personally anointed Joshua.
Now listen to our heavenly Father, as He reassures and energizes Joshua, to whom He’s given the unenviable and Herculean task of taking the Israelites over the River Jordan into the Promised Land.
‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance (you shall give as a possession) the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper (have success) withersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall constantly be in) thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ (Josh.1:5-9)
And all God’s people declared in loud voice: ‘Wow! What a mighty and faithful God we serve and worship!’
Indeed we do Friends, because God kept His Word as long as Joshua held up his half of the bargain. The same applies to us today my people. Those very words have been spoken over us by Jesus Christ, which means we’re in covenant with Him, and once we do our part, He will definitely do His. But it all depends on us, being strong and courageous and keeping His laws.
So let’s get ourselves together nuh, let’s seriously meditate on His Word, be strong and take heart from it, so that we can be prosperous and successful in this evil, ungodly world. That’s not a remote possibility Friends, but a sure and definite promise of Almighty God to all who serve and worship Him in truth and sincerity.
Now my people, that’s what is termed awesome wisdom! Let’s grab hold of it and hang on tightly nuh! Much LOVE!
…standing…standing…standing on the promises of God my Saviour…standing…standing…I’m standing on the promises of God…
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