Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 October 2018 Proverbs 24:30.

Proverbs 24:30.    I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

 

Well hello there you beautiful believers in Christ Jesus! It’s a beautiful day here in Mo Bay; the sun’s shining brightly, the cool sea breeze is washing over me while I write and listen to the sounds of the surf rushing up on the shore intermixed with friendly talk, laughter and a cool, drum-filled, easy riddim chanting, floating up from four floors down. I’m rocking slightly as I listen to it and try to concentrate on what I’m doing…li’l bit hard though. (smile) 

Well I’ve had breakfast, and my after-breakfast nap too, so I’m rearing to go. Now hear the news…I’ll tell it quietly (smile) ‘It’s Monday!’ And I’m sure that when many of us got up this morning and realized that the workday merry go round was about to begin again, a lot of ‘Chuhs!’ and ‘Steups’!’ and language not fit to print here, emanated from the mouths of many Christians. 

Oh mih people, what can I do to get us to venerate Mondays eh? Because, even with good planning, we still seem to come up on a short and testy rein on Monday mornings. But please remember that when your Monday blues come upon you, all you have to do is join us for the sure-fire antidote; our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Glory Be! How wonderful it is to have an antidote for whatever ails us on Mondays. 

Oh, and I’ll just like to extend a hearty welcome to some folks who recently joined our Scrip-Bit Family. Hope you enjoy it, as we’re all about enjoying life in Jesus, while learning His Word and spreading His LOVE Revolution all around the globe as He desires of us. But please remember that the Bit is no excuse to not read your Bible and learn the Word for yourself; it’s just a catalyst to help you keep the Lord first and foremost in our minds. 

And having preambled so much, let’s get to our Monday Morning Battle Hymn. Let’s pray up such a storm in Jesus name, so that the father can only grant our requests. All together now: ‘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!’ 

Wow! I know for sure that had a good and positive impact on you! Once it invokes the name of Jesus it will have such and impact! And I’m here rocking to the music, trying to figure out what they’re chanting, but the voices are not strong enough. But that’s probably a good thing, because it might just distract me even more. And I don’t have much to say this morning – Hn! 

I’ll just let Cousin Sol warn us with some wise words that might be particularly appropriate to our behaviour on a Monday morning. Listen up, and let these wise words of warning flood our hearts, minds, souls and bodies as they were intended to. Cousin Sol declares: ‘I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face (surface) thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.’ (Prov.24:30-31) 

Oh friends, doesn’t that sound like so many of us today? It surely does, because we’re becoming a more slothful society each and every day. Diligence and excellence are slowly disappearing from our vocabulary and the work ethic has completely gone down the drain! Steups! What a sad say eh when you can’t depend anymore on someone to do a good job. But please remember that as members of Jesus’ posse, diligence and excellence are major watchwords of His, and you can’t be a good follower unless you strive for those qualities. 

Now hear Cousin Sol continue his warning. ‘Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.’ (Prov.24:32) Yes my brethren, Cousin Sol wisely considered the vineyard of the slothful man…and what happened? He was given instruction! Glory be! And I sincerely hope that we too can pay close attention to the affairs of the slothful, lazy and indigent person and learn from their mistakes. 

And what instruction was Cousin Sol given? ‘Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep (rest): So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth (a prowler); and thy want as an armed man.’ (Prov.24:33-34) 

And I’ll let the scholars explain it all. ‘24:30-34. The slothful is too lazy to keep thorns and nettles out of his vineyard or to keep his stone wall repaired (v.31). His laziness is further exhibited in sleeping late when he should be working (v.33). Therefore, his poverty will come as one that travelleth; that is, a bandit or vagabond. Small surrenders lead to great disasters.’ 

Oh friends, I couldn’t put it any better myself, so please let’s learn that lesson as quickly as possible, so that we can keep away the vagabond called poverty. Got to hurry and go and meet the duchess down by the beach now, so that she doesn’t get tired of waiting on me. Remember, a happy wife, usually leads to a happy life! (smile) Much LOVE!

…those who have ears to hear…let them hear…a word to the wise is sufficient…

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 19 February 2013 Proverbs 26:11

Proverbs 26:11.     As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
 
Oh Friends, oh Friends, it’s another beautiful day in the life! Wow! Praise the Lord! Yes, praise our wonderful God for it, because regardless of the suffering, the hardship, the heartache, the pain and illness we may be experiencing, we still know for sure that our God is good and fair and just, and He will not allow us to handle more than we can bear. And furthermore, whatever He brings us to, He’s faithfully promised to bring us through. And all God’s people declared a loud and joyful: ‘Glory Hallelujah! For the Lord He is indeed good to the undeserving children of men!’ Oh my brethren, that’s the basic beauty of the omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Deity we serve and worship! And now, here’s one of those inspiring, positive, uplifting prayers from Dr. Robert H. Schuller’s Hour of Power Devotional, to get us started on the right foot for the day. It’s a prayer of joy, optimism and great expectations that today we’ll do well in the service of our Leader and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Pray with me: ‘Thank you, Father, for the beautiful surprises you are planning for me today. So often in my life, when it looked like the day would be dismal, depressing, and dark, an unexpected burst of golden sunshine exploded through a black cloud sending inspiring shafts of warm, beautiful sunshine into my life. Father, it is happening now! I can already feel the power of your LOVE, through Christ my Lord. Amen.’ Yuh know Friends, it truly amazes me, that I’ve been reading that Devotional for a few years now, but every time I come to one of those uplifting prayers that I share with you, it just seems like I’ve never see them before. It’s the same thing with the Good Book; every time you read it, you discover something new. That happened to me recently while reading Job. I discovered that his friends had actually come and sat down seven days and nights with him in the dust and ashes of his grief, without saying a word. It’s only after that, they began to rag on him about his supposed sins. (Job 2:13) That brings us to our Bit: ‘As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to (repeats) his folly.’ Ah Friends, that’s so true of so many of us today, it’s not funny! Just like a dog goes back and plays in its vomit, it seems very difficult for too many of us to learn from our mistakes, and thus we keep repeating the same ones over and over. As Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) likes to say, you can’t keep on doing the same thing and expect different results. Now listen to Peter, as he talks about false teachers and those who once knew God, but fell from grace and again became entangled in the shoddy, disgusting affairs of the world. ‘For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned (returns) to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.’ (2 Pet.2:21-22) Oh mih breddren, is that ever so true! I guess it’s where the saying, ‘you can take the mud from the pig, but you can’t take the pig from the mud,’ comes from. And we do it all the time. Jesus washes and cleanses us of our sins, but we then let the wily Lucifer tantalize us with his glitzy but empty and useless worldly things, and we fall right back into the mire of sin again. And a good example of that from way back when is Pharaoh, when Moses comes and asks him to let the Jewish people go, but Pharaoh refuses. It took something like (10) ten disasters upon his land and people, before Pharaoh agreed to set God’s people free. And my people, the worse thing that can happen to us when we’re undergoing tribulation or making serious mistakes is a break in the action, where we get a little relief from our misery. That unfortunately often gives us the wrong message, and causes us to continue our folly. That happened to Pharaoh after the plague of frogs, when Moses cried out to the Lord about it. (Ex.8:12-13)  The Good Book declares: ‘But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite (relief), he hardened his heart, and hearkened not (did not listen) unto them; as the Lord had said.’ (Ex.8:15) Likewise do we my fellow believers, usually to our subsequent hurt. Pharaoh foolishly suffered through another five plagues after that, before he finally saw the light. And we’ll end with an interesting scripture from the hymn of praise in the day of salvation per Isaiah, re the foolishness of the wicked. ‘Let favour (grace) be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.’ (Is.26:10) Yes Friends, such is the deceitfulness and stupidity of the wicked, that even though Almighty God shows them favour, pours out His grace on them, they will not learn righteousness but continue their wicked ways. Please my people, let us not be numbered amongst that sorry, unfortunate lot. It’s a fool’s folly! And followers of Jesus are anything but fools; wisdom is our middle name. Much LOVE!…a wise man learns from his mistakes…but a fool continues in his foolish ways…