Psalm 119:130. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
Oh Friends, are you a Saturday child, were you born on a Saturday? Then unfortunately, according to our nursery rhyme, you have to work hard for a living. (smile) But don’t feel badly, because most of mankind also have to work hard for a living. It’s all part and parcel of our forefathers’ fall from grace. However, through the LOVING-kindness of our wonderful God, the sacrificed life of His Son, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit living in us, we’ve been granted some respite from the terrible drudgery and devastating troubles of this earthly life. And all God’s children gave a mighty shout of joy: ‘Oh thank You Father for sending Jesus to die on the cross to pay our sin debt in full! Thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all righteousness! We praise and glorify Your Holy Name today and forever more!’ Yes Friends, we do serve and worship an awesome God! I don’t know when some of us will wake up and truly understand and believe that nuh. I sincerely hope that it won’t be too late for anyone. But it’s also comforting to know that once there’s breath flowing through our mortal coil, it’s NEVER too late, because the Most High is the God of second chances – even third, fourth and fifth. The problem though is that unless we read, understand and obey His dictates, we’re just wasting His time and ours. Why is that eh? Because as the psalmist so gloriously declares in our Bit: ‘The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.’ And isn’t that the undisputed truth, my fellow believers! For without God’s Word deeply embedded in our hearts and minds, we won’t be able to live the way He desires us to. Bruh David say it thus in Psalm 19, the creation and covenant of God. ‘The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.’ (Ps.19:8) Yes my people, when we read the scriptures, our hearts rejoice, our minds are enlightened, our eyes of faith are opened, causing us to develop discernment and focus. Now listen to how Cousin Sol, in his great wisdom, describes God’s Word in Proverbs. ‘For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.’ (Prov.6:23) Oh Friends, the Lord’s dictates are ever so enlightening and guiding, because without them residing and resounding in our souls, we’d be totally lost in the utter darkness of this world, created by Lucifer and his evil minions! That’s why earlier on in this section warning against adultery, Cousin Sol says that we should not forsake the teachings of our parents, which should be the Word of God, but to ‘Bind them continually upon thine heart (and mind), and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.’ (Prov.6:21-22) Ah mih breddren, I couldn’t have said it any better! (smile) And what’s so great about God’s Word entering and taking up a sure reign in our souls is that it gives understanding even to the simple. That means Friends, you don’t have to be gifted with lots of natural intelligence to understand the word. Even a simpleton can, if he is prepared to read and meditate on it, for the Lord will gladly lead and guide him in his endeavour to learn and follow His dictates. And Bruh David verifies that by saying: ‘The law of the Lord is perfect, converting (restoring) the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.’ (Ps.19:7) Meanwhile, Cousin Sol describes one of the purposes of the Proverbs thus: ‘To give subtilty (prudence) to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.’ (Prov.1:4) The scholars explain that verse this way. ‘The simple are naive young people open to any influence, among the chief addressees in the book. Knowledge means the apprehension of reality, including an experiential knowledge of God. Discretion refers to the power of formulating and carrying out the right measures.’ That’s the beauty of learning God’s commands my people! They enable us to live as good and pure and righteous a life as we can on this sinful, ungodly earth. And we’ll let the psalmist take us home, as he praises the Lord for His care towards us. ‘The works of his hands are verity (truth) and judgement (justice); all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord (an awe filled reverence toward the Lord) is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.’ (Ps.111:7-10) And all God’s people responded with a loud, thankful, ‘Hallelujah! Amen.’ We responded that way because it’s gospel truth Friends, which means that to restore some of the godliness our world has recently lost, we have to buckle down and seriously read the Word, so that we can understand it, and live the way it says we should. That’s the ultimate in wisdom my people! Therefore, let’s concentrate on becoming somewhat wiser than we are right now nuh. Much LOVE!…a true believer…must first know the Lord’s commands…then follow them as closely as possible…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 17 November 2012 Psalm 119:130
17 Nov 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: devastating troubles, drudgery, enlightened minds, fall from grace, hope, Jesus, justice, loving kindness, obedience, opened eyes of faith, read and understand the Word, rejoicing hearts, righteousness., Saturday's child, serve and worship, sin debt, The God of second chances, the Holy Spirit, truth, work for a living
Today’s Scrip-Bit 30 October 2012 Deuteronomy 31:6
30 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: calamity, courage, dismay, disobedience, dread, evil, faith, fear, God's faithfulness, Hurricane Sandy, Most High God Jehovah, obedience, the Exodus, the Promised Land, wilderness wandering
Deuteronomy 31:6. Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
Ah Friends, another chapter in our calamitous times is being written, thanks to ‘Frankenstorm’ Sandy. She’s had a hand in at least ten deaths in the U.S. and one so far in Canada, where in Toronto yesterday, a Staples sign blew down in the 60 kilometres per hour winds and struck her. What a sad way to go. Meanwhile Sandy came ashore in New Jersey yesterday, lashing the Eastern U.S. coast with merciless winds and rain. Millions of people are without power now, and flooding is escalating. And the sad part is that though Sandy has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, she’s not done yet. To put it nicely, we still have a couple days of inclement weather left. Now can you imagine if Sandy had retained its hurricane status? The whole Eastern coast of North America is being lashed with powerful winds and much rain, snow is even predicted in some areas. That would just put the icing, both literally and figuratively on the cake. Thankfully, so far in my area it’s been mostly gusting wind since yesterday afternoon, though still at a level we can handle, and hopefully it won’t reach epic proportions. The wind seems to have been blowing away some of the rain. I went out on my porch around 4.30 a.m. and surprisingly found my Toronto Star newspaper out there as usual, though they had warned that it might be late because of the weather. But Friends, while we on the East Coast of the continent have been perplexed and perturbed by Sandy, the residents on the northern part of the West Coast have been worried about a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that took place some 40 kilometres off the coast of British Columbia on Saturday. A tsunami warning had been issued, but thankfully nothing came of it, except bickering and confusion in B.C. where it’s claimed the U.S. warning came a whole half an hour before the Canadian, although they knew about the earthquake and its possible repercussions at the same time as the U.S. Obviously the Provincial Government and its agencies claim that they acted responsibly, while the local governments and the people who would have been targeted by the tsunami, claim otherwise. Oh mih people, what’s happening to us eh? In these supposedly modern and revolutionary times, when we can do all sorts of technological wonders, we still can’t get together rationally and solve common problems. As someone told me last night, the Lord’s sending us a message, but we’re not listening. And that could certainly be gospel Friends! Times have become so fearful that many are afraid to walk the roads even in broad daylight, because evil is no longer hiding under the cover of darkness, but has become so emboldened that it’s operating openly in the light now. However my brethren, there’s ONE, and ONLY ONE antidote for Fear, that’s FAITH! FAITH IN ALMIGHTY GOD! As our Bit so encouragingly and appropriately declares: ‘Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’ What part of that don’t we understand eh Friends? If we truly believe in the all-powerful, faithful God we profess to worship, then we should calmly accept such an awesome promise, and consequently there shouldn’t be any fear in our souls, for the Lord has proven His power and faithfulness time and time again. I guess the problem is that a majority of the population don’t believe in the Most High God Jehovah, and those who do, don’t have sufficient faith to stand the rigours of these troubled times. So without further ado, let’s check out some scriptures, re handling fear with faith building. And we’ll begin with Moses reminding the Israelites of their sad, fearful behaviour on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. ‘Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare (carried) thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came unto this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God.’ (Deut.1:29-32) Oh Friends, that’s certainly a telling reproach against the Israelites! The Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is possibly the greatest exhibition of our God’s great powers, His unending LOVE, and also His powerful anger at continual sin and disobedience. That’s shown in the wandering of Israel for forty years in the desert, culminating with the death of all but Caleb and Joshua of the old generation that came out of Egypt. If anybody in this entire world should have believed in Almighty God, it should have been them, having seen the mighty works He did on their behalf. But obviously they did not, and sadly today we are doing the same thing my people; living in fear, when we have God’s awesome promises to stand faithfully and secure on. We talk up a storm about God, but don’t reflect that talk in our actions, that’s why we’re still so fearful. Now listen to Bruh David’s advice to cousin Sol, when he handed over the throne of Israel to him. ‘Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statutes and judgements which the Lord charged (commanded) Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.’ (1 Chr.22:12-13) Oh Friends what absolutely wise words from a father to a son, especially from one who actually lived the words he spoke, under the calming umbrella of God’s faithfulness. And when Cousin Sol followed them, he became the greatest, wisest and richest king that ever lived! However, in his old age, when he strayed from his father’s words and rebelled against the Lord God of his fathers for the heathen gods of his wives, he lost God’s favour. It’s ever so simple and true Friends: stay faithful to God, and He will stay faithful to you, and under those circumstances, there’s no reason to be overwhelmed by fear. Please, let’s write that indelibly in our hearts, minds and spirits, so that we can continuously recall it, and thus not live in fear. Much LOVE!…we say again…the ONLY thing to conquer fear…is TRUE FAITH in Jehovah God…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 October 2012 Proverbs 15:8
07 Oct 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: abomination, Christ's Church, faithfulness, fellowship, gentle reminder, humble walk, joyful worship, LOVE, obedience, One Body, outward show, religious ritual, righteousness., Sabbath Day, sacrifice, sincerity, spiritual reality, wickedness
Proverbs 15:8. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
Buenos dias mi amigos! That’s Espanol, Spanish for Good Morning Friends! What a way the ole fella is waxing linguistically these days eh! (smile) But please don’t ask me to say much more than good morning or good evening cause the old brain, through lack of use, has forgotten most of the French and Spanish it once knew. Now just a gentle reminder for those who celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, that it’s very important we get together with other believers and encourage ourselves in our wonderful God with praise, thanksgiving and joyful worship. Remember Christ’s church is ONE body, though made up of many individual parts, and unless those parts work together in harmony, meaning believers working in faithful tandem, the body won’t progress, won’t stay strong and grow, but will regress and eventually fall apart like our human bodies do when we abuse or don’t take good care of them. And we certainly don’t want Christ’s church to fall apart, so, if at all possible, let’s get out today and celebrate the awesomeness of the God we so enthusiastically serve and worship. That brings us to our Bit: ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.’ That’s the living truth my people! The Lord doesn’t want anything to do with the wicked. Hear the scholars comment on it. ‘The best that the wicked can offer God religiously is completely rejected.’ And why not, since they are not sincere in their efforts. What the Lord desires more than anything else is sincerity in our dealing with Him, and for that matter, also with our fellow man. As our Bit rightly declares; ‘but the prayer of the upright is his delight.’ And remember Friends, we can fool ourselves and each other, like the Pharisees, with our outward show of righteousness, but we can’t fool God, who looks at the motives of our hearts and not simply our outward actions. We all know the famous words of Samuel to Saul, when he disobeyed God’s orders to destroy all of the Amalekites and their property, but he saved the king, Agag, and allowed the people to keep spoil to offer blood sacrifice. ‘Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.’ (1 Sam.15:22-23) It’s the same relationship we cultivate with our children, where we want them to do as we ask, rather than what they think we want. And the scholars note that: ‘Those verses reinforce the Old Testament viewpoint that religious ritual devoid of spiritual reality and a life of total allegiance to a sovereign LORD is worthless. (cf. Ps.40;6-8; Is.1:10-20; Mic.6:8)’ Absolute truth my people! And since I know many of you won’t look up the scriptures provided, I’ll include some of them here. In Psalm 40, Praise for answered prayer, Bruh David proclaims: ‘Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume (scroll) of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.’ (Ps.40:6-8) And that’s how it should be! Now listen to this excellent example of the ritual worship, when Isaiah calls to the people of Judah to repent. ”Hear the word of the Lord ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offering of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread (trample) my courts? Bring no more vain oblation (futile sacrifices); incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with (endure); it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.’ (Is.1:10-13) The scholars have an excellent commentary on that: ‘The prophet addressed the people of Judah as if they were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. His criticism of their hypocritical religion should not be taken as a rejection of the divinely ordained sacrificial system. Rather, it is a condemnation of their superficial worship. They were merely going through the ritual of religion with no real heart for God. Vain oblations are worthless offerings. Even the solemn meeting became nothing more than a sinful gathering because of their wrong motives.’ Unfortunately though Friends, a lot of that stuff is also happening today. Too many of us are just talking God, with no serious intent in our hearts, merely going through the outward motions. But that doesn’t sit well with our God at all. If there’s no genuine delight in Him, and a faithful following of His dictates, then all our prayers, sacrifices, etc, will be worthless. And we’ll close with the poignant words of Micah on the subject. ‘Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body (my own child) for the sin of my soul? He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to LOVE mercy (LOVING-kindness), and to walk humbly with thy God?’ (Mic.6:6-8) Nuff said my people! Please, let’s allow wisdom to lead and guide us in the dealings with our God. Much LOVE!…the words and actions of an insincere heart…will never get God’s attention…much less His approval…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 29 August 2012 Jeremiah 50:6
29 Aug 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: backsliding, balanced life, balanced time, calamity, forgotten God, gone astray, Haiti, Hurricane Isaac, Hurricane Katrina, lost, Louisiana, obedience, peace, repentance, rest, resting place, salvation, unfulfilled
Jeremiah 50:6. My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.
Oh Friends, is history going to repeat itself, as it so often does? We’re talking about Hurricane Isaac, which by passed Florida with some wind and rain damage, but is heading for poor Louisiana with its full force, like Hurricane Katrina did seven years ago to the day. And the answer seems to be a guarded and hopeful yes, because Isaac has already lashed the unfortunate state with some strong winds and rain. Ah Lord why eh! Why is it that so often the ones who can least handle the calamity, are the ones who get hit by it? Like Haiti, Louisiana hasn’t fully recovered from Katrina, and here comes Isaac! Steups! Anyway Friends, we have to believe that the Lord knows the who, what, why, when and where of the situation, and we need to hunker down and pray for those who will bear the brunt of the disaster, and then help them in whatever way we can after it’s passed. On a somewhat brighter note though, I have some good advice for us re the use of our time. It comes from the Hour of Power Devotional by Robert H Schuller, but apparently was written by an anonymous Irishman. Trust an Irishman to have such sense eh! (smile) That’s a play on my Irish name; O’Brien. And the advice is this: ‘Take time to work, it is the price of success. Take time to think, it is the source of power. Take time to play, it is the secret of youth. Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom. Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness. Take time to dream, it’s hitching your wagon to a star. Take time to LOVE, it is the highest joy of life. Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul.’ Yes Friends, that advice is wisdom at its finest! And I believe that today, each of us should take each line and correlate it to our own lives, and see how we’re doing in the balancing of our time. It’s necessary to have each one of those things in our lives, but we also have to balance them carefully if we want to live a full and joyful life. And we mean a life that’s completely opposite to the one revealed in our Bit. ‘My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused (led) them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.’ Unfortunately though, those words that were true of Israel way back when, are also very true of us today. Too many of us are like lost sheep, wandering around from one worldly thing to the next, with no clue as to what we truly want or where we’re going. Consequently, we latch on to all the fads that crop up in this ungodly world and remain lost and unfulfilled. As Isaiah says: ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.’ (Is.53:6) That was true back then, and it’s still ever so true now! The Lord laid our sins on Jesus, hoping that we’d wake up and see the error of our ways and repent. Hn! But two thousand years later we’re even more ‘own way,’ disobedient, rebellious and hungry for the lusts and pleasures of this evil world. Like the Israelites, our shepherds; priests, leaders, teachers and decision makers have led us astray, led us down the path of Beelzebub, away from that of God, because it suited their purposes. It enriched them with the things of the world, entrenched their power, and kept them running the show. But beware my brethren, Jeremiah’s curse upon the leaders of Israel, is still pertinent to today’s leaders. ‘Woe be unto the pastors (shepherds) that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.’ (Jer.23:1) My people, we have wandered every which way in these modern times, searching for peace of mind and soul, but have failed to find success, because those things don’t exist in any of the places to which we’ve been led. Now hear this scripture, re the results of our disobedience. ‘Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear (dread of me) is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.’ (Jer.2:19) And that’s the living truth Friends, for all our wrongdoings are coming back to haunt us now! The wretched state of our technologically superior world is ample proof of that. Nothing has gone, or is going right in any facet of the world’s affairs. There’s nothing good we can shout for joy about, (except our still young LOVE Revolution) since everything else has negative connotations. Oh Friends, the ONLY solution to our problems is for us to remember our true resting place, and get back there as soon as possible. And where is that? ‘Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.’ (Jer.3:22) Yes my brethren, that place of rest is in the peaceful world of our Creator, the Lord God Jehovah, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Jeremiah says it best: ‘Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.’ (Jer.3:23) Not only of Israel my Friends, but of the entire world! Please pay serious attention, and if you have strayed, don’t be too proud to repent and turn back to the One who created you. He’s always extremely glad to welcome strays back to His fold. Seek Him today, while there’s yet time! Much LOVE!…the wise shall be quick to repent and return…but the foolish will continue in their foolish ways…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 July 2012 Proverbs 10:30
07 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: curses and blessings, faithfulness, global warming, He is faithful that promised, heat-wave, heavenly blessings, meditate on God's Word, obedience, the glass half-full, the righteous shall be blessed, the wicked destroyed
Proverbs 10:30. The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
Oh Friends, yesterday was indeed a hot one! Even the wind was hot! Thankfully to day won’t be as hot – at least that’s what the forecasters say, but you can’t trust them too much with their rather inexact science. A couple of days ago, they were predicting storms in my area, Hn! Up to now we haven’t seen a drop of heavenly blessing! The grass is not as dry as before though, because the Duchess has been blessing it with plenty earthly water. Just hope I can pay the water bill when it comes. (smile) Anyway Friends, all over North America the heat’s been abnormally rampant, one commentator even links it to global warming, but we need more evidence to justify that. However, whatever the cause, it’s hot, so please take care to put on sun screen if you’re going outside for any length of time, drink lots of cold fluids to keep hydrated, and try to stay in cool, shaded, or air-conditioned areas. And remember, as believers in Christ, we have to look on the positive side of the ledger; the glass being half-full rather than half empty, of which our Bit quite rightly informs us. ‘The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.’ Ah mih people, wise words from Cousin Sol! It’s also a very important premise, as well as fact, under the rule of Almighty God, and it’s clearly stated several times and several ways in His Word. Let’s look at a few of them. In Psalm 37, the true state of the wicked, Bruh David says it this way: ‘For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth (land); and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off (destroyed).’ (Ps.37:22) Meanwhile, in an earlier chapter of Proverbs, Cousin Sol states it thus: ‘The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation (dwelling) of the just.’ (Prov.3:33) Yes Friends, the Most High looks down on those who sincerely try to walk in obedience to His Word with much favour. Not so the wicked and disobedient though. Listen to what he told the Israelites on the way to the Promised Land, re the penalties for disobedience. ‘But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments…I will also do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption (a wasting disease), and the burning ague (fever), that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart; and ye shall sow your seed in vain (without profit), for your enemies shall eat it.’ (Lev.26:14,16) And that’s the good part! Oh my people, please make it a point to read Leviticus 26, if you don’t know it, and see the difference between the blessings of obedience and the penalties for disobedience. The latter takes up almost two pages, while the former does less than one page. That just goes to show Friends, how serious our God is about obedience to His Word. Now hear this from Zechariah, re the curse of the flying roll: ‘Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off (purged out, expelled) as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth (swears falsely) shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it (the curse) forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.’ (Zech. 5:3-4) The Lord’s serious about His curses and blessings Friends. As you can see there’s even a special one for thieves and blasphemers. But remembering that the glass is half full rather than half empty, let’s end on a positive note, the blessings of the righteous. In the very first Psalm, the psalmist profoundly proclaims: ‘Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly (wicked), nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful (mockers). But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law does he meditate (ponder, contemplate) day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers (channels) of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’ (Ps.1:1-3) Wow! As I keep saying, what a wonderful and gracious God we serve and worship! Yes my people, that is the Lord’s desire, His promise to those who are faithful and obedient to His Word. Please, I implore us, let’s ensure that we’re numbered amongst the righteous nuh, so that we will be eternally blessed as the Lord has promised. That’s the only earthly avenue that projects true wisdom. Much LOVE!…let us hold fast the profession of our faith…without wavering…for He is faithful that promised… (Heb.10:23) P.S. No complaints about length today though Friends, cause it’s short and sweet! (smile) Much LOVE!
Today’s Scrip-Bit 4 July 2012 James 5:13
04 Jul 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: affliction, doing good, faith without works, giving thanks, meditation, natural disasters, obedience, peace, prayer, prosperity, seek God, singing praise to God, suffering
James 5:13. Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Oh Friends, we’re together again! Thank the Lord! Yes, He saw fit to leave the breath of life in us for at least one more day, so please, let’s all be thankful and do our best to serve, worship and reverence Him in a most worthwhile manner today. And all God’s people shouted with great passion: ‘Oh yes Lord, we will serve and worship You, both today and forever more, because You are such a kind, wonderful, generous, merciful, forgiving and LOVING God!’ Oh my brethren, that surely brought a smile to God’s face, but now we have to go out and walk that talk, because faith without works is useless. As James so rightly says: ‘Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone…Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.’ (James 2:17-18) Remember too that Jesus basically went about every day, ‘doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.’ (Acts 10:38) Therefore so should we, His followers, go about doing good and helping others as best we can, because the Most High God Jehovah is also with us, in the form of His Holy Spirit. And now, turning to our Bit: ‘Is any among you afflicted (suffering)? let him pray. Is any merry (cheerful)? let him sing psalms.’ Those are very truthful sentiments my people, as we saw yesterday. But today we need the first part, praying more than ever, for more people are being afflicted more than ever. Just look at the natural disasters in the last few days; disastrous and damaging storms on the U.S. East coast, raging fires in Colorado, a tornado in Saskatchewan, Western Canada, floods in India and Japan, war and strife in so many parts of our world, plus famines, economic distress and home loss, wanton sinfulness that’s spreading far and wide, with a power structure that’s keeping the ungodly and evil in high places. Now if that isn’t affliction, I don’t know what is. And we haven’t even gotten down to the individual level yet. So Friends, if there’s one thing our world needs more than anything else right now, it’s PRAYER – and lots of it too. If there’s to be any hope for our world, we need to move away from the ungodly, unrighteous state in which we’re currently living, and move back to a GODLIER situation, where the Lord can bless us, and where we’ll prosper once again. Moses strongly warned the Israelites about disobedience. ‘And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways; and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore (plundered continuously), and no man shall save thee.’ (Deut.28:29) Likewise the Lord verily impressed upon Joshua when he took over the leadership of the Israelites: ‘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.’ (Josh.1:8) And what did Jehoshaphat tell Judah as they were going out to battle: ‘Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.’ (2 Chr.20:20) Oh Friends, why are we so surprised then that our world is in such a state of confusion, oppression and strife eh? It’s obvious that if we’re not obeying God’s Word we will suffer. There are so many examples of it through the Israelites, that I don’t know why we think we should be different. God’s Word doesn’t change, that means what He’s said at the beginning, will still be valid at the end. Oh mih people, let’s help our world to wake up nuh. As Eliphaz said to Job: ‘Acquaint now thyself with him (God), and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee…For then thou shalt have thy delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up thy face unto God. Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.’ (Job 22:21,26-27) And though Eliphaz was wrong about Job personally, his prescription for peace and prosperity were correct. Only belief, trust, faith and obedience to God’s Word bring peace and prosperity to a people, my Friends! But instead of rising to greater heights, unfortunately we are sinking to deeper depths because of our unfaithfulness. And in closing, let’s hear the proper way a believer should live this earthly life, in the words of Bruh Paul to the Ephesians. ‘See then that ye walk circumspectly (carefully), not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time (making the most of every opportunity), because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (dissipation), but be filled with the Spirit. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.’ (Eph.5:15-21) Oh Friends, that prescription is still as good today for the overwhelming ungodliness that currently exists in our world, as it was some two thousand years ago! Please, let’s do our best to implement it now nuh, before it’s too late. That’s wisdom at its highest. Much LOVE!…to LOVE, serve and glorify the Lord our God…that’s man’s avowed purpose…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 March 2012 Numbers 23:19
22 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: attributes of God, calamity, disobedience, God's unchanging nature, negative, obedience, thanks and praises, true wisdom, ungodly
Numbers 23:19. God is not man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make good?
Aye mih breddren, we’ve been granted another day on beautiful planet earth! Praise the Lord! And in my neck of the woods, unbelievably, it’s summer! Hn! I’m still taking it with a grain of salt though, for when and where have you ever heard of twenty something degree temps in the middle of March in the northern climes eh? It seems we’ve just bypassed spring and gone straight into summer mode, as the trees are still brown, dry and brittle, with no leaves whatsoever, for there’s been no rain to talk about either. The birds are singing their thanks and praises to God early in the mornings though. (smile) And I surely hope that we believers are doing the same. Now let’s get straight into our Bit: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?’ Yesterday we looked at its basic context; with Balak, king of Moab, hiring Balaam, a false prophet to curse the Israelites, who were coming close to his kingdom in their travel through the wilderness to the Promised Land, and since he’d heard of how they had annihilated other societies, he and his people were sore afraid. But Balaam kept saying, through God’s spiritual intervention, that he could not curse of defy Israel for God had them protected. We also saw how our Bit related to God’s unchanging nature, and His inability to lie since one of His many attributes was TRUTH. Then we began looking at scriptures that corroborated the first part of our Bit: ‘For God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent:’ Unfortunately we only got into one scripture; that where Samuel tells Saul that the Lord’s taken his kingship of Israel. (1 Sam.15:29) Now let’s continue with scriptures that pertain to the first part of our Bit. First up is Isaiah, when he tells the people, who were looking to Egypt for protection, that it’s God, not Egypt who will defend Judah: ‘Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil (disaster), and will not call back (retract) his words; but will arise against the house of evildoers, and against the help of them that work iniquity.’ (Is.31:2) Then in Chapter 51, re the faithful being called to courage, Isaiah again speaks to God’s unchanging nature: ‘Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax (grow) old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished (broken).’ (Is.51:6) And Jeremiah, in lamenting over Judah, solemnly and sadly declares: ‘For this hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent (relent), neither will I turn back from it.’ (Jer.4:27-28) Oh Friends, what will it take for us to understand the great significance and importance of God’s Word, though spoken eons ago, to our current life in these wicked and ungodly times eh? Mankind has been living basically the same way since Adam and Even sinned, but the Lord God Jehovah in His utmost wisdom and great mercy spoke through His prophets, then sent His Only Son Jesus to earth to show us exactly what He desires of us. But sadly we’re still ignoring Him. And if His Word does not change, neither His personality, what can we expect from our disobedience but sorrow and calamity? It’s written right there in the Good Book which most of us acknowledge as being a guide for earthly living, but we mostly do so with our mouth, not with our actions. It traces centuries of time, and graphically shows that when societies are obedient to His will, they prosper, and when they’re not, they suffer. Yet we still choose to follow Beelzebub and his lying, deceitful ways. How wise is that eh? The prophet Malachi, when talking about the paying of tithes, which Israel weren’t doing at the time, said on God’s behalf: ‘For I am the Lord, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein (in what way) shall we return?’ (Mal,3:6-7) Oh my people, it’s the same thing God’s saying to us today; return to me and I will return to you. But being foolish and pigheaded, we, like the Israelites before us, are asking in what way? In every way Friends! For it’s obvious that we’re disobedient, evil, ungodly, perverse and everything that’s dark and negative – a la Lucifer! Fellow believers, the times they are getting more calamitous every day, so let’s wake up and realize what’s happening nuh. Disobedience to the Creator of the universe is a patently stupid act! Let’s stop being deceived by the powers of darkness and instead look wisely to Jesus, in whom all our needs and desires can be fulfilled, in addition to His free gifts of salvation and eternal life. Now that’s indeed true wisdom! Much LOVE!…let him who has ears, hear…disobedience to God brings negative consequences…obedience to God, brings positive consequences…and that’s the gospel truth…
Today’s Scrip-Bit 10 March 2012 Psalm 78:32
10 Mar 2012 Leave a comment
in Inspirational Living Tags: craving, defender, deliverer, faithfulness, foundation of faith, Jesus...my Everything, manna, obedience, pathway to peace, prosperity, rebellion, wellspring of wisdom
Psalm 78:32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works.
Oh Friends, who says our world and weather aren’t shrouded in mystery and eccentricity these days eh? Two mornings ago, I woke up and it was raining. Yesterday morning it was snowing. This morning it will possibly be frozen hard and cold like ice, with the only constant over those three days being the cold, blustery March winds. But please remember that since Jesus is our Leader, there’s no need to worry, for in His awesome power we can handle anything that comes against us. Now listen to some of what our Jesus is and does; from Anne Graham Lotz’s book, ‘My Jesus is…Everything.’ ‘My Jesus: He discharges the debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent. He beautifies the meek. He is the key to knowledge. He is the wellspring of wisdom. He is the foundation of faith. He is the doorway of deliverance. He is the pathway to peace. He is the roadway of righteousness. He is the gateway to glory. He is the highway to happiness. My Jesus is…Everything!’ Selah. Oh my people, please spend a few moments contemplating all those attributes of our Lord and Saviour. Then tell me if He isn’t the GREATEST! Without a doubt! And He hasn’t changed from DAY ONE! That’s why the Israelites’ behaviour through the wilderness en route to the Promised Land is so perplexing, as our Bit declares: ‘For all this they sinned still, and believed not on his wondrous works.’ Yesterday we saw them crying out for water in Rephidim, and the Lord had Moses smite the rock in front of the elders to give them water. So He gives them manna, heavenly food, and water, but they’re still not satisfied and cry out for meat. At that point Moses cries out to God, even to take his life, because the stress of leading the ingrates was telling on him. (Num.11:10-15) This kindled the Lord’s anger and He told Moses to get seventy of the elders and bring them with him before the tabernacle. ‘And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. And say thou unto the people, Sanctify, yourselves (set yourselves apart) against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh (meat); for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?’ (Num.11:17-20) Oh Friends, isn’t our God wonderful! Yuh want flesh eh, then you’ll get so much, so quickly, you soon won’t want it! I’m sure that will remind some of us of our youth, when we were overly greedy and our parents did likewise; gave us so much that we soon got tired of it. Moses himself questioned the Lord about providing meat for so many people, only to be rebuked: ‘Is the Lord’s hand waxed short (Is the Lord’s power limited)? Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.’ (Num11:23) Oh Friends, our God might be a sweetheart, but He’s definitely no pushover. And after the Lord came down and spoke to the elders and Moses outside the tabernacle, the elders began to prophesy as the Lord’s Spirit came upon them. Then they heard that two elders who had remained in the camp were also prophesying. Joshua told Moses to stop them, but Moses was so fed up, he wished that God would put His Spirit on everybody and let them all be prophets. Then they returned to the camp, and a wind came forth from the Lord, and it began raining quails; enough to fill a day’s journey on either side of the camp, and two cubits (36 inches, 3 feet) high. And the greedy Israelites gathered quails for two days and a night, then they began to feast. (Num.12:24-32) But sadly Friends, they didn’t understand the Lord’s motives: ‘And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people (the Lord’s anger was aroused), and the Lord smote (struck) the people with a very great plague. And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah (Graves of craving): because there they buried the people that lusted (yielded to craving).’ (Num.12:33-34) Ah Friends, one more indication that the Lord doesn’t speak in jest. And I don’t think that’s it’s the complaints themselves that really irked the Lord, because if you’re in the wilderness without food and water, it can be problematic. But what got Him angry were their short memories, their spirit of rebellion, their ungratefulness and lack of faith in His promises to lead and guide them safely. How quickly they forgot the many miracles He did on their behalf, invoking our present day mantra of, what have you done for me lately? It’s obvious they doubted His faithfulness in spite of all that He’d previously done. Unfortunately Friends, our current society is jut like that of the Israelites: we want and expect everything now for now, behaving as though life owes us a living, constantly wanting more, and sadly forgetting who brought us the prosperity we had; the Lord God Jehovah. My brethren, please let this be a lesson to us in these troubled times. We have not walked obediently before the Lord our God, therefore our society has been filled with much anguish, sorrow, disappointment and pain. Those things have not happened by chance, but through the Lord’s doings. And the only way to solve our problems is to return to God’s fold, as a nation, walking obediently to His dictates, otherwise our world will keep sinking deeper in the mire in which we’re now wallowing, until we’re completely swallowed up. Much LOVE!…history is a record of the past…and we study it…so that we can learn about the present…
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