SCRIP-BITS

 
Oh Friends, morning has broken, just like it did on that first day back in the Garden of Eden, and our God is still in control, still showering daily blessings and mercies down upon us. Please, let’s gratefully accept them and thank Him for His unstinting generosity towards undeserving children. But so great is His LOVE towards us that His compassion just naturally surrounds us anyway. We can never earn or repay His goodness, but we can certainly LOVE and revere Him with all our hearts, minds, bodies and souls as He both desires and deserves. So Friends, today, let’s faithfully promise ourselves to do just that nuh, and by so doing, bring much hope and joy to followers, both here on earth and in heaven above. Now turning to our Bit: ‘Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect (my chosen one), in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgement (justice) to the Gentiles.’ Wonderful prophecy Friends, declared centuries before Jesus came! And we shall continue looking at the second part: ‘mine elect (my chosen one), in whom my soul delighteth;’ Yesterday I erroneously said that there were two instances of the Father showing His great delight in Jesus, His chosen one. There are actually three. We’ve already looked at the first one; Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, with the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove and the Father clearly stating that He was pleased with the Son. (Matt.3:16-17) The next instance is at His transfiguration. The Good Book says that Jesus took His inner circle of Peter, James and John, up into a high mountain: ‘And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment (clothes) was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear him.’ (Matt.17:2-5) Wow mih people! What an awesome, awestruck moment that must have been for the disciples! ‘And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore (greatly) afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.’ (Matt.17:6-7) So there’s another instance showing that Jesus was clearly Deity and the Father was immensely pleased with Him. But Friends, please note the last section of the voice: ‘hear ye him.’ It’s possibly the most important part of the speech specifically aimed at the disciples and consequently all believers, including us today. Are we paying attention and listening to Jesus? I sure hope so. Now here is some info on the topic from the scholars: ‘Peter, James, and John represent the ‘inner circle’ of leadership among the disciples (Luke 8:51; Matt.26:37) and serve here as ample witnesses according to Mosaic Law. They went into a high mountain apart, meaning privately, by themselves. Tradition claims this took place at Mount Tabor, but a more probable location would be Mount Hermon, near Caesarea Philippi. Jesus was transfigured before them. The verb (Gr. metamorphoo) indicates a transformation of essential form, proceeding from within. See Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18, where it is used of the spiritual transformation of the believer’s new nature. The witness of Peter in 2 Peter 1:17, 18, verifies the testimony that this was a real experience, not a vision.’ And the third instance of the Father showing public delight in Jesus is on Palm Sunday in Jerusalem. A group of Greeks had also come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover Feast, and asked Philip about meeting Jesus. (John 12:20-22) When this info was conveyed to Jesus, He answered them, ‘The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.’ (John 12:23) Then He began teaching them about a seed dying before it can bear fruit, also about the repercussions of hating and LOVING  this life, and that those who follow Him would be honoured by the Father and how His soul was troubled, but He couldn’t change the situation because that’s why He came to earth in human form. (John 12:24-27) Then Jesus said: ‘Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him. Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.’ (John 12:28-30) Oh Friends, how much more evidence do we need to believe that Jesus was truly the Son of God, come to earth as a human being, the integral part of God’s mighty plan to redeem our sinful souls and reconcile us to Himself? Throughout the Good Book we find references and prophecies being fulfilled centuries after by Jesus. Is our faith so small that unless we physically see it for ourselves, we can’t believe it? I hope not, otherwise we’re certainly in a bad way. This Saturday morning is a good time for us to sit and ponder those questions; to ponder our faith, our belief in Jesus, and in the Holy Word of God. So happy pondering! (smile) And I sure hope that we all conclude that out belief, faith and trust in the Godhead of the Holy Trinity is exceedingly strong. Much LOVE!…now faith is the substance of things hoped for…the evidence of things not seen… (Heb.11:1)