Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 June 2015 Nehemiah 8:10b‏

Nehemiah 8:10b. …for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

‘Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain…pita pata, pita pata. Oh listen to the rhythm of the falling rain…’ Hn!  And next thing I knew I was hypnotized, lulled back to sleep for a couple hours. Wow! That’s the hypnotizing, beguiling power of the falling rain!

Yeh Friends, I was up at six o’clock, but lay there listening to the beguiling sounds of the falling rain, and then it was suddenly after eight. And going to bed fairly late this morning didn’t help matters any. Well at least I got a couple more hours rest. Glory be!

Anyway, today is Friday…as if you all didn’t know, and consequently sang back to me, the Friday mantra. ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday yes! The weekend is finally here, and it’s going to be wonderful; lots of rest, relaxation, fun and fellowship. Thank God it’s Friday!’

Hn? What are you doing to me my people? Am I hearing right, or are you all just saying that to lull me into a false sense of believing that you are turning around your lives, giving up the things of the world for the things of Jesus? (smile) I really don’t know, but like Jesus, I’m going to have hope and faith and believe for the best; that you’re really changing.

Nonetheless, let’s chant our Friday Chant like we mean it nuh. As one 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 my brethren, without that revitalization of our spirits we won’t be able to do the job that Jesus desires of us. But even more importantly, we also need the groundings of our Bit to successfully do Jesus’ work. ‘…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’

That’s for certain sure my people! Without the joy of God flowing through our souls, we won’t be able to do much of anything at all! That’s why, as I said yesterday, the ole crook Lucifer tries to steal our joy in God, since without it we are weak and powerless. We therefore need to maintain that joy of Jesus in our spirits ALL THE TIME, so that the enemy can’t get a successful shot at us!

And we’ll continue today looking at some scriptures which declare the importance of God’s joy in our lives. And there’s no better place to see the importance of God’s joy in our souls than in Psalm 51 – Bruh David’s prayer for cleansing, after Nathan had confronted him with his abominable sins re Bathsheba.

Bruh David cries out to God: ‘Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ (Ps.51:9-13)

Yes Friends, Bruh David had gotten the evil desires of his heart, but he had lost the joy of his God. We need to be very careful about what we ask for or desire, because oftimes it can move us away from the redeeming and joyful presence of God and make us sorrowful.

Now listen to Jeremiah in his personal lament. ‘Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.’ (Jer.15:16) Oh my people, does the Word of God bring joy and rejoicing to our hearts? It certainly ought to.

Meanwhile Peter tells us this about being distressed when caught up in much temptations. ‘That the trial (genuineness) of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (tested) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing (revelation) of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye LOVE; in whom, though now you see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.’ (1 Pet.1:7-8)

What powerful tools are faith and belief in Jesus Christ, my brethren! For though we’ve never seen Him face to face, yet we so strongly believe and trust in Him that even when we’re tried and tested, we still retain the unspeakable joy found in His Spirit.

And James puts it in simple straightforward terms. ‘My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trials).’ (James 1:2)

And the scholars explain that ‘These “negative” experiences are to be accepted with great joy, not for the sake of the trial itself but because of the positive work God can accomplish through the testing.’

Yes Friends, when we look at everything from the standpoint that it comes from God, who has promised to work everything out for our good, then we can accept whatever comes against with joy, knowing that we will come out better, more Christ-like in the end.

Then Jude tells us: ‘Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling (stumbling), and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.’ (Jude 24-25)

Ah mih people, with those words of absolute truth and wisdom we’ll end today’s message. Now let’s ponder all that we’ve read and make the conscious decision to keep the joy of God always in our hearts, minds and souls, so that we can reject the advances of the enemy and stand strong in the name and faith of Jesus! For that is indeed the zenith of wisdom. Much LOVE!

…and my soul shall be joyful in the Lord…it shall rejoice in his salvation… (Ps. 35:9)

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 April 2014 Psalm 19:14

Psalm 19:14.    Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.
 
And then Friends, it was Wednesday morning of Holy Week! Wow! That most amazing and awesome time is fast approaching! We’re talking about the Easter weekend when Jesus, our mighty Lord and Saviour turned the whole world upside down with His crucifixion and eventual resurrection!
 
And all God’s people declared a loud shout of joy: ‘Oh bless the name of Jesus, our champion and our Holy Redeemer!’
 
Yes my people, the name of Jesus is indeed worthy of incomparable blessing, thanks and praise for the overwhelming change He’s wrought in the world and in our personal lives.
 
And speaking of change Friends, here is an interesting quote from one Irene Peter, taken from my One More Day Devotional. There were so many Irene Peter’s listed when I checked for some info on her, that it was impossible to decide which one it was.
 
Anyway, Irene says that: ‘Just because everything is different, doesn’t mean anything has changed.’ And that can often be true my brethren!
 
We are continually growing – hopefully in a good and positive manner – but ofttimes that growth is gradual and we don’t realize or recognize the change (s) until an event, or some events, wake us up to the reality of the situation.
 
And though our lives may sometimes end up being completely different, deep down inside we are still the same basic person; still having the same unique personality that God has so amazingly granted us. We are still warm, caring, LOVING and faithful people, but we have grown in certain respects.
 
And it’s always nice to know that though we have grown, through all the changes, our basic personality has remained the same. And oh my people, one of the best ways to grow is by allowing the faithful and immortal words of Bruh David in our Bit, to take hold of, and rule our souls. 
 
‘Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength (rock), and my redeemer.’ 
 
What a powerful statement, my fellow believers! One that we should all be trying to practice!
 
And though it is not always an easy task – what with all the ungodliness and evil that continually badger and buffet us – with Jesus’ help, we can certainly do it most of the time.
 
That’s provided we’re serious about it, and retain a strong self-control, not allowing our tongues to start blabbering before our hearts and minds consider the situation and are able to formulate a godly response.
 
And we have Bruh David again pleading in Psalm 51, his prayer for cleansing after the prophet Nathan draped him up for his adultery with Bathsheba.
 
He prayerfully declares: ‘O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps.51:15-17)
 
Yes Friends, our God doesn’t desire outward and/or material sacrifices so much as true inner contrition. And that’s where a lot of us, even supposed believers, are sadly lacking today!
 
We certainly talk a good talk, and sometimes even walk the talk, but yet, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, our hearts are not truly turned to God, or in sync with Him and His directives. That’s why He wisely chooses to investigate our hearts, the inner recesses of our souls, to ascertain our true motives.
 
And we’ll close with these beautiful words and intentions from Psalm 104 – God’s preservation of nature. ‘I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
 
My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord. (Shout Hallelujah!).’ (Ps.104:33-35) 
 
And my people, there’s no better time than this Easter Season to shout a glorious ‘Hallelujah! Praise and blessings to our awesome God, and to His most wonderful Son, Jesus Christ, the true King of Glory!’ 
 
Let’s now go forth in all truth and wisdom to LOVE and serve the Lord! Much LOVE!
 
…God’s people are at their best…when their hearts and mouths are filled with His praise… 
 
P.S. Oh Friends, please excuse the lateness of the Bit, but it was all my fault. I got up late, and then at one point Internet Explorer began acting up, as it has been doing since they supposedly made some improvements. Hn!
 
But at one stage all I could get were capital letters, and there I was thrashing Explorer. I even stopped and got on to Google Chrome, only to experience the same situation. Then it suddenly dawned on me, the capitals lock was on.
 
Hn, hn! How ‘geekish’ eh! A perfect example of what I was talking about; letting our hearts and minds consider the situation before letting out tongues wag. Ah Lord eh! Our God certainly knows how to drive home a lesson.
 
Please note too how short the Bits are these days. (smile) Much LOVE, my brothers and sister in Christ!
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 3 December 2013 1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9.    If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 
Aye mih bredden, I never expected these wonderful promises of our ever-LOVING, merciful, forgiving, gracious, omnipotent God to take up so many days nuh! And we’re only on the second one, with quite a few more to go through.
 
But that’s a-okay, because they are all very integral parts of our faith, of both our earthly and heavenly lives. And without them… Hn! I refuse to even think about that option, for in our serious sinfulness, we would have been destroyed long ago.
 
So please, let’s be wise and plod on in faith and trust as true pilgrims, as those promises teach us about the divine truth and wisdom contained in the Word of Almighty God. And today we’ll see the perfect example of our Bit, lived out in a believer’s life. ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
 
Yeh Friends, that perfect example of the real life working of our Bit is to be found in none other than Bruh David. 2 Samuel 11, tells us about his seeing the beautiful Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite, lusting after her, lying with her, then plotting to have her husband killed in battle.
 
Most of the populace were none the wiser, but Almighty God saw his abominable sin and sought justice as is His wont. Remember that saying that what is done in darkness, is often brought to light. So in 2 Samuel 12, the Lord sends the prophet Nathan to Bruh David with some nansi story about a rich man having a visitor, and instead of killing one of his many sheep to serve his visitor, took the pet lamb of his neighbour.
 
Oh Friends, yuh see how our Lord can be even more devious than us when it’s called for. Now when Bruh David hears Nathan’s story, he’s furious at the rich man.
 
‘And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely (deserves to) die. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.’ (2 Sam.12:5-6)
 
But can you imagine Bruh David’s chagrin when Nathan says to him: ‘Thou art that man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things (much more).
 
Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.’ (2 Sam.12:7-9) 
 
Yeh mih people, Nathan dressed down Bruh David real good and proper in the Lord’s name!
 
And as the scholars’ so rightly note: ’12:5-7. How easy it is to see the sins of others without applying the scriptural standards to ourselves (cf. Matt.7:3-5)! David called for the full weight of the law to be applied (cf. Ex.22:1)’
 
That last reference deals with the stealing of animals and the repayment. But the scholars’ statement is gospel truth! We’re always quick to pass harsh judgements on others, but never apply the same standards to ourselves, as Jesus points out in the first reference (Matt.7:3-5), quick to take the splinter from someone else’s eye, without removing the big beam from ours.
 
But sadly, the Lord wasn’t done with Bruh David, for Nathan continued with his rebuke. ‘Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
 
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil (adversity) against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ (2 Sam.12:10-12)
 
What a fiery dart to Bruh David’s heart mih breddren! And yuh better believe that the Lord was very serious.
 
For as the scholars’ tell us: ’12:10-11. These judgements came to pass literally in the sins of his own household (ch.13), the rebellion by his own son Absalom (ch.15), and the civil war that followed (chs.16-20). David was never to fully know rest again.’
 
Oh Friends, you can read those referenced chapters for yourselves and realize the truth of the scholars’ words. But thereafter, because of his gross misconduct, Bruh David was always embroiled in some sort of strife or disagreement, a lot of it within his own family.
 
It just goes to show my fellow believers that the Lord is very serious about His Word, re promises, and disobedience. Bruh David was king, and should have known better, especially since the Lord had blessed him so much, showered him with such worldly abundance and LOVING-kindness. A better example was expected from him.
 
Likewise, the Lord expects better examples from us, His adopted children. We can’t afford to preach one thing, then go out and do something entirely different, thus bringing disrepute upon the Lord and His righteousness.
 
Unfortunately though, we do it all the time, and that is why so many hold Christians up as the biggest hypocrites on the planet. And oftimes they are quite right.
 
So Friends, to day let’s sit down and consider our individual circumstances and see if there be any serious faults in us nuh. And if there be any, let’s immediately confess them to the Father, and sincerely ask for His mercy and forgiveness, for that is the very essence of wisdom and wise living.
 
So until we meet again tomorrow, the Lord in favour, let’s try our best to walk in the revealed light of Jesus, and not wallow in the sinful darkness associated with the world and Lucifer, its evil leader. Much LOVE!
 
…please remember that…disobedience ALWAYS brings…unwanted, unfathomable consequences…