Romans 5:19. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Oh Friends, it’s Monday! Yes you heard me right; it is Monday, so cut out the plaintive moaning, there’s no getting away from your duties. You chose to take up your cross and follow Christ, therefore rise and shine and prepare yourself for battle. Jesus has already issued His marching orders, so please shake off the sleep, tiredness, laziness, fear or whatever is holding you back, and get a move on. And to help us get in warrior mode, let’s sing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn with great gusto. 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!’ Oh Friends, what a wonderful opportunity it is to serve Jesus, the One who’s done so much for mankind, what no one else in all of creation could do! That’s being a worthy sacrifice for all of our sins from day one, right throughout eternity. As Bruh Paul so appropriately puts it to the Romans in our Bit: ‘For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.’ Yes mih people, from the day our forefather Adam disobeyed God and brought sin into the world, all of his descendants thereafter were tainted by sin; were born, lived in and died under the evil aura of sin. However, our wonderful God, in all His might, wisdom, LOVE, mercy and forgiveness, devised an ingenious plan to repatriate us to His side; the sending of His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross, to shed his precious, sinless blood as a one time sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. And all God’s people raised their hands, hearts, eyes and minds to heaven and gratefully declared: ‘Oh thank you Father for sending Jesus to reconcile us to You. We praise You and bless Your Holy Name, now and forever! Amen.’ Ah mih breddren, that reconciliation, with the consequent salvation and promise of eternal life are the greatest gifts ever bestowed on man. And Jesus was definitely obedient, as we can see from the gospels, where He constantly made obeisance to His heavenly Father, and gave Him all the glory for all the wondrous acts He, Jesus, did here on earth. Bruh Paul says it well to the Philippians, re Christ: ‘Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in the fashion (appearance) as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ (Phil.2:6-8) That is the epitome of obedience Friends! I’m sure that a mere handful of us, if so many, would even contemplate such obedience, much less follow through with it. So why are we so reluctant to be obedient to Jesus eh? And it’s not like He’s asking us to do anything even close to what His Father asked of Him. But yet we hem and haw over living a decent life in His name and telling people about Him, in fact denying them the opportunity to be saved and receive salvation and eternal life like us. Foolish fear about what the world will say and think about us makes us keep quiet or even like Peter, deny that we know Him. Oh Friends, how shameful that is; to claim that you’re a follower of the greatest person who ever lived, but then be ashamed or afraid to stand up for Him! Jesus didn’t want His living and dying to be kept a secret. He wanted it to be noised abroad to the whole world. People of other religions, none of which can hold a candle to ours, because it’s the living truth, are much more vocal and proud of theirs than we are of ours. Oh Friends, it’s time we stopped hiding our lights under bushel. Jesus said: ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ (Matt.5:16) And that is exactly what He did while here on earth. So Friends, if Jesus could be obedient to His Father, and we claim to be His followers, then shouldn’t we be obedient to Jesus too? I’ll leave that for each of us to ponder today, and pray that we all come to the right conclusion. This scripture should help us: ‘Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.’ (Heb.5:8-10) Yes Friends, obedience brings great rewards. Much LOVE!…oh how could believers not be wildly enthusiastic and excited about Jesus…after all He’s done for us…and not want to shout out the good news to the entire world as He asked us to do…
SCRIP-BITS 