Proverbs 25:11. A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.
And all I can say is: ‘Brother! Another cloudy day!’ Ah my my, where is the sun eh? And not for heat, but just a li’l light. Thankfully though, we’re not getting any unwanted precipitation like California, which is receiving all kinds of rain and stormy weather. But it would be nice to get a glimpse of the sun, and see it’s light shining through like Jesus, every so often. (smile) That’s why this S.A.D, or Seasonal Affective Disorder thing is so prevalent in winter and fall. When there’s no actual light in our lives, the body just goes into a state of natural downturn, a state of natural depression, where our moods can vary ever so dangerously.
But what a good thing that we believers have the light of Jesus shining within us, and all the uplifting scriptures of our faith to boost us, else we’d surely be in deep trouble in these S.A.D times. (smile) However, the problem is if we don’t know the scriptures, we obviously can’t use them. That’s why it’s ever so important to read and study the books of the Good Library so that we can have reassuring scriptures to fall back on. Why do you think that the Lord was so specific with Joshua after He made him leader of the Israelites on the death of Moses eh?
He commanded: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of (shall be constantly 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)
Wow! That’s from the Lord God Almighty Himself! As the old people would say, ‘straight from the horse’s mouth!’ And thus it should not be disobeyed, but rather taken to heart and sincerely followed. But nowadays, with our know-it-all attitude, because of the inroads we’ve made into science and technology, we choose to totally disregard the wisdom of our Creator. Remember friends, the Good Library was written to help us to find our way on this crazy and dysfunctional earth. It’s the Encyclopedia of Life and Living!
Remember the days when Encyclopedias reigned supreme, when they were the last word in everything, where we went to find anything we didn’t know about? And selling Encyclopedias was the first job that many of us had on first coming to Canada, because it was possible the easiest one to get back then. I remember a few cold nights out on the road, knocking on doors and getting rude remarks. After one particularly cold night somewhere out in the Ajax area, it was just a small town then, I just said forget it and did not even go back to collect the few dollars they owed me.
Many of today’s young people don’t even know the word Encyclopedia, and if they do, what it really means, or stands for, because we now go to Google for all our enquiries. And yes, it is much quicker, but there’s nothing like holding an Encyclopedia, that’s one volume, (smile) in one’s hand and thumbing through its numerous pages to find some unknown or unremembered fact. It certainly activated our brains more and we found more knowledge that way, than simply dialing it up on Google, which does nothing to activate our dormant brain cells.
Now, where were we, before we got into this talk on the dinosaur that’s Encyclopedias? (smile) Oh yes, we were talking about God’s instructions to Joshua to constantly meditate on His word, if he wanted to be prosperous and find success. And nothing has changed since then my people! The same advice still applies: to have true, or God-given prosperity and success, one must know the scriptures and faithfully follow or live by them! It’s the only way! And do we ever need them in turbulent times like our world is now undergoing, and the cloudy days that we’re experiencing, as well as all the other natural and man-made disasters that are happening all around the globe.
And we’re talking about enlightening and reassuring scriptures like these: ‘This is the day the Lord has made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps. 118:24) ‘God will supply ALL of my needs through His riches in glory through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour!’ (Phil. 4:19) ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!’ (Phil. 4:13) ‘As for me and my house, we WILL follow the Lord; that’s for sure!’ (Josh. 24:15) ‘If God be for me, who can be against me eh? NOBODY! (Rom. 8:31)
‘And the God of all grace, who has called me to His eternal glory in Christ after I have suffered a little while, will Himself restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast. Glory to God! (1 Pet. 5:10) ‘I am an overcomer through Christ.’ That’s just a shortened form of John’s words in his first epistle. ‘For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?’ (1 John 5:4-5)
Then there are these other vibrant and reassuring scriptures: ‘I am above and not beneath. The head and not the tail.’ (Deut. 28:13) ‘I am more than a conqueror, through Christ who LOVES me! (Rom. 8:37) ‘Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.’ (Ps. 141:3) Now that last one is something we should ALL be praying EVERY DAY, because talk is so cheap, rampant and virulent, or bitter and hostile right now that it’s possibly the major contributor to our sad, ongoing demise.
Remember what Cousin Sol said about words in Proverbs. ‘A word fitly spoken (spoken at the right time) is like apples of gold in pictures (settings) of silver.’ (Prov. 25:11) Meaning that a good word spoken at the right time is invaluable to the listener! Remember too, that our words have God-given power, and they can be used for either good or evil, so we should be very careful what we say and when, because Jesus warned: ‘But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.’ (Matt. 12:36) Now that should make us all sit up and think and take care of the words we speak from henceforth!
And then there’s this last but ever so important saying from Sister Joyce (Joyce Meyer) that we should ALL also be declaring (yes!!!) every day! ‘Something good is going TO happen to me today! Something good is going to happen THROUGH me today!’ And that’s just a handful of the many useful scriptures that we can employ EVERY DAY to lift up our spirits and reassure us of the goodness of our most LOVING God, Jehovah! You can also peruse and meditate on the scriptures and find many more to use in your own situations.
Now, for those of us who are trying to sincerely live for Jesus, let’s go home declaring (awright!!!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting all and sundry know to whom we belong, lock, stock and barrel. As one strong voice: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with my immediate neighbours, as well as with the whole wide world! Glory be!’
And having said that, it’s now our bounden duty to go out and share that amazing LOVE and friendship of Christ with all we meet, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…it’s impossible to live a successful life…without reading and following God’s instructions…
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