Ephesians 5:8. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.
Oh Friends, another Monday has dawned sunny and bright on God’s Little Acre! Praise the Lord! And as He would have it, I’m sitting here on the porch of my cottage in Store Bay, enjoying the cool breeze that’s blowing across the compound, writing encouraging words of LOVE, Peace and Togetherness to you. Oh, I can feel your pain (smile) as you get up to go and labour this Monday morning after a hectic weekend – Thanksgiving in the U. S. and the Grey Cup in Canada. And I can imagine the mess that Toronto must be in seeing that the hometown Argonauts won the 100th edition of our famous game! But don’t worry about anything Friends, for our great God has everything under control, and He has the ‘rightest’ remedy for whatever ails you; just turn to Him, asking in all sincerity for healing, strength and courage to do His will today. And we’ll help and encourage each other by singing our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, harmoniously and with as much energy as we can muster. 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!’ Yes mih people, that should get us going in the right direction, with more energy than we previously had! And please remember that going out to earn an honest living, is one of the many ways in which we can please and glorify our wonderful God and further His righteous kingdom. That’s why in leading up to our Bit, Bruh Paul expounds to the Ephesians on what a believer ought not to do. (Eph.5:1-7) Then in our Bit, he reminds them of what they had become: ‘For ye were sometimes (once) darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.’ That’s the absolute truth my brethren! If we’ve been converted from children of darkness to children of light by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, then we have to give up the things of darkness and concentrate on the things of light. As the song by Germaine Cowan so rightly says, since I’ve rearranged my life to suit Christ; ‘The things I used to do, I do them no more. The places I used to go, I go there no more.’ And that’s exactly as it ought to be Friends! For all old things have passed away, and we’ve become brand new creations in Christ. Now here are some scholarly observations on the subject. ‘Darkness indicates that the readers used to be spiritually unenlightened, and accompanying this ignorance was immorality with its resultant guilt and misery. Light denotes that the recipients are now to be religiously informed. Their knowledge of the truth is attended by moral purity and happiness.’ And after our Bit, Bruh Paul continues: ‘(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.’ (Eph.5:9-10) And the scholars here direct that; ‘Because of constant temptations and solicitations to evil, believers must always be proving or discerning what is and what is not acceptable unto the Lord.’ Yes Friends, it’s a constant battle we wage against the powerful forces of darkness, so we have to be constantly on the lookout to do God’s acceptable will, and not that of Beelzebub. Then Bruh Paul continues his warning: ‘And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove (expose) them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.’ (Eph.5:11-12) And here’s what the scholars have to say about those two verses. ‘Reprove is better translated “expose.” The believer’s duty is expressed here in two ways. Negatively, he is not to have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, that is, not indulge in the sins of the unsaved. Positively, he is to “expose” (reprove) these sins, that is, bring them to light and show them for what they really are, so that the unbeliever may see their hideous nature and their terrible consequences.’ Then on verse 12, they explain: ‘For tells why the Christian must expose the sins of the lost. If it is shameful even to discuss their iniquities in decent company (cf. v.3), how much the worse is the committing of these sins. Hence, the need to bring them to light.’ Ah my people, there are indeed some real atrocious deeds been perpetrated by the evildoers in these wicked and troubled times. ‘But all things that are reproved (exposed) are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.’ (Eph.5:13-14) Yes fellow believers, we need to diligently root out sin from our lives and the lives of those around us where possible. And as the ole people would say, ‘whatever is done in darkness will eventually come to light.’ And that’s the gospel truth! And even better, the gospel of Christ will bring us out of the darkness into the light, for that’s its basic purpose. So mih breddren, let’s seriously ponder our deeds today nuh, and see where we’re falling behind, giving into the things of darkness, then uproot them with the light of Christ’s gospel, so that we stay true to our faith and calling. It’s not easy, but with God’s generous help, we can surely do it. Much LOVE!…only by storing the truth and light of the gospel in our hearts…can we reject and expose the darkness and evil of Lucifer…
SCRIP-BITS 