Today’s Scrip-Bit 21 March 2015 Psalm 101:1

Psalm 101:1     I will sing of mercy (LOVING-kindness) and judgement (justice): unto thee, O Lord, will I sing (praises).

Who LOVES you my people? Who really and truly LOVES you? Your heavenly Father of course! The One who created you, who nurtured you in your mother’s womb, who knew you even before you existed, who called and caused you to be reconciled to Him through the LOVING sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ!

Wow! What a Father! There’s none other like Him; not on earth or in heaven! And that’s the gospel truth!

So Friends, on this Saturday morning, where spring has just sprung in the North Country, and hopefully will replace the cold, dead, deadly winter asap, let’s offer a few words of praise and thanks to our Creator, Comforter, Healer and Provider; Almighty God.

Please pray with me: ‘Oh Father in heaven, on this new day that You have created, and has so generously given us Your wonderful breath of life to be able to enjoy it, we give You plenty, plenty thanks and praise for being continually wonderful to us, even though we often don’t deserve Your LOVING-kindness.  Just look at all the new blessings and mercies that you have specially prepared to shower down on us today.

Hn! No other supposed deity would ever dream of doing that. But Your heart is so full of LOVE and largesse … You’re such a magnanimous Deity, that even though we’re far from perfect, You still desire to bless us each and every day. Heavenly Father, You know that our minds are finite, and thus our vocabulary is small, and the best we do is say “Thank You! Thank You! Thank You from the very depths of our souls!”

We know too that we’re lost without You, can do very little without Your help, and we humbly ask that You continue to send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts and souls, so that He can work on us, and cause us to LOVE and worship You with all sincerity and truth, to glorify Your Name, the way You truly deserve. All this we pray on the basis of the shed blood of Your Son, and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.’

Oh Friends, that’s just how I was guided to begin today’s Bit and I do hope that it stirred even a small something in all our hearts, so that it will help us to stay on the tried and true path that leads to Jesus. And though we have a different Bit today, it is still one that encourages us to sing of God’s goodness and LOVING-kindness.

Listen to how Bruh David begins Psalm 101 – A commitment to holy living. ‘I will sing of mercy (LOVING-kindness) and judgement (justice): unto thee, O Lord, will I sing (praises). Ah mih people, that is how we should react to the Lord our great and wonderful God!

And Bruh David continues: ‘I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way, O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect (blameless) heart.’ (Ps.101:2)

Oh Friends and fellow believers in Christ, many of us claim, pray and desire to do just that, but it’s not an easy task to perform, especially in these days of rampant and blatant wickedness constantly hammering and jabbering at us. And please, when we do mess up, when we fall from our righteous pedestals, let us not beat up ourselves, for the Lord knows we are only human, and though we might have the best of intentions, our sinful nature often leads us astray.

And the best example of that is Cousin Sol, once renowned as the wealthiest and wisest man in the world because he sincerely humbled himself before, and trusted in Almighty God. Listen to the Good Book tell it: ‘For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect (blameless, at peace) with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father…. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after (did not fully follow) the Lord, as did David his father.’ (1 Kin.11:4, 6)  

Yes Friends, in Cousin Sol’s old age, he forsook the God of his fathers, and followed the God of his many wives (700) and concubines (300). As Derrick Harriot says in the old reggae tune: ‘Solomon was the wisest man, but he didn’t know the ways of a woman…’ or something to that effect. (smile) It’s hard enough to deal with one woman, what else can you expect from so many eh, but grief and heartache?  

And it’s not like the Lord didn’t warn the Israelites not to marry into the pagan tribes, ‘for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave (clung) unto these in LOVE.’ (1 Kin.11:2b) Yes Friends, the Lord’s wisdom is much greater than ours, so please, let’s listen when He speaks to us, because it is always for our own good.

And we’ll conclude today with some appropriate verses 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. (Hallelujah) Praise ye the Lord.’ (Ps.104:33-35)

So my fellow believers, let’s concentrate on praising and singing the glory of the Most High God nuh, each and every day, for it is indeed mete and right for us to do so. Much LOVE!

…Praise Him, Praise Him…Jesus our Blessed Redeemer…Sing O Earth…His wonderful LOVE proclaim…

 
 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 18 March 2015 Psalm 89:1‏

Psalm 89:1.  I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

Oh Friends, please sing this ode to Wednesday with me. ‘Wednesday, oh Wednesday, the middle day of the workweek. Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you make me forget Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you show me that there’s no going backward, only forward. Wednesday, oh Wednesday, you bring me ever closer to Friday and the weekend. Oh how I LOVE you Wednesday!’

Yes mih people, just a little fun to stir up our souls on this chilly Wednesday winter’s morn, after a hectic St. Paddy’s Day. Hope the green beer and other strange coloured beverages didn’t or don’t wreak too much havoc on you all. (smile) Thankfully I stayed away from it all, but not from the late night, hence my late awakening.

Now what shall we preamble about today eh? And I just saw the perfect preamble for today! It’s a poem on a birthday card I received last year. It was just sitting at the edge of my desk, and I was wondering why it was there. But after reading the words that covered the outside, I realized why.

Listen to these beautiful words and sentiments. I don’t know if I’ve shared them before, but I must have, because they’re so beautiful and appropriate for our time. But like most beautiful words and sentiments, they are definitely worth sharing again. The poem’s titled: Each Day Is a Gift from God.’

Please say with me: ‘He has given us morning, brightness, and sun, Laughter to share, and work to be done. He has given us rainbows, flowers, and song, And the hands of our dear ones to help us along. He has given us prayer, with its wonderful power To lighten our hearts in a troublesome hour. He has given us blessings to brighten our way, And always – the gift of another new day.’

Wow mih people! It’s all so wonderful and true! But do we really appreciate it all? I don’t think so nuh, otherwise our spirits and souls would not be as troubled as they are. And many of us unfortunately just take the beautiful things of nature and blessings of God for granted.

However Friends, we shouldn’t be doing that, because then we foolishly shortchange ourselves of the joy of God, and also shortchange the Lord in giving Him His rightful due of thanks and praise, so it just turns into a lose – lose situation.

Instead, we ought to be doing as our Bit so wisely declares: ‘I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.’

What wisdom Friends! And why should we do that? Ethan the Ezrahite, author of the psalm tells us why, as he continues: ‘For I have said, Mercy (LOVING-kindness) shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.   Selah.’ (Ps.89:2-4)

Yes my people, for all those wonderful promises, which have been fulfilled and passed down to us, we too should be joyfully singing of God’s great mercies and LOVING-kindness!

Now let’s check out a couple of other scriptures that encourage us to sing praises and thanks unto the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

In Psalm 95 – A psalm of praise to the great God – the psalmist joyfully proclaims: ‘O come let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto him with psalms (songs). For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all Gods.’ (Ps.95:1-3)

Oh Friends, there’s nothing but gospel truth in those statements, statements to which we should all be adhering to!

Then in Psalm 100 – A call to praise God – the psalmist also proclaims with great wisdom: ‘Make a joyful noise (shout joyfully) unto the Lord, all ye lands (the entire earth). Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.’ (Ps.100:1-5)

Oh my people, with all the good things we have coming from our magnificent and magnanimous God, how can we not be thankful and appreciative eh, and make us just want to burst out in song, to sing His wonderful praises, and glorify His holy name!

It ought to be the natural reaction of a true believer, one who has put their sincere faith and trust in Jehovah God, and is enjoying His blessings, mercies, forgiveness and LOVING-kindness!

Oh my fellow believers, please, oh please, let’s try and rectify that situation nuh, by increasing our appreciation of God’s goodness, and thus being ever more willing to break out in song, giving thanks and praises to the Most High God, for all He’s done, is doing, and has promised to do for us.

That is certainly the wisdom of the truly wise! Much LOVE!

…it is meet and right…for followers of Jesus…to break out in praiseful song…every time they consider His goodness…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 March 2015 Psalm 62:7‏‏

Psalm 62:7.       In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

And the weekly cycle begins again Friends. No way could this… this, constant, consistent, intrepid cycle have been the product of evolution! It had to be thought up, designed, developed and implemented by a brilliant, powerful and imaginative mind, namely that of Jehovah God! And all God’s children declared a loud and proud ‘Praise the Lord!’

This is His day; the day on which He rested after creating the universe and all therein! He obviously wasn’t physically tired, but needed a break from creating to admire His handiwork of the previous six days. And if we are to follow in His awesome footsteps, then we too ought to rest at least one day in every seven, to ponder our deeds and creativity of the past week, and plan for the upcoming one.

And I have a very interesting passage and rather persuasive argument to share on the subject from Gramps Schuller’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuller) Hour of Power Devotional. Listen closely to his reasoning. ‘God knew what He was doing when He ordered the ancient Jews to reserve one day in seven for rest and worship.

The rising tide of emotional problems in our country has escalated with the simultaneous rise in the breakdown of the practice of setting one day aside for quietness, rest, and the refreshment of the spirit. Find a place of religious worship that specializes in positive inspiration, and attend weekly.

The human being’s inspiration tank needs to be refilled (and refuelled) every seven days. That’s the way God designed us. Often it’s when you don’t feel like going to church that you need it most. Your lack of desire for worship is a sure sign that you need inspiration, just as the unenthusiastic sputtering of a slowing car is a certain sign that it is running out of gas.’

Oh Friends, I couldn’t have put it any better! We do need at least one day a week to refresh and revitalize our frail human bodies and spirits. And to help us do that, we ought to associate and fellowship with other like-minded believers in Jesus Christ. There we praise and worship Almighty God and come away filled with strength, confidence, encouragement and a clearer sense of purpose re God’s will and plan for our lives. Oh my people, nothing could be better than that!

Everything we need can be found in our heavenly Father. That’s why Bruh David proclaimed it so powerfully and wisely in our Bit. ‘In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.’

Oh Friends, there could be no arguments whatsoever against the truth of that statement! But sadly, instead of simply accepting those sentiments, though there’s a whole bundle of solid evidence and proof to back it up, too many humans, with their warped thinking and man’s supposed scientific prowess choose to believe otherwise.

But science and God are not at loggerheads, for science is only a tool, used in trying to figure out how Almighty God created stuff, to lay bare the infinitesimal and complicated workings of nature and mankind. And they still have not figured out how half the stuff works, especially the most ingenious apparatus ever created; the human mind! But enough with the scientists, let’s delve into the Word of God, where there are many more insights and truths.

Listen to Bruh David again, this time from Psalm 28 – A prayer for God’s help. ‘Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusteth in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise him. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed one (the Messiah, commissioned one). (Ps.28:6-8)

Yes Friends, our omnipotent God is our great protector. Without Him, we’d be absolutely nothing!

And listen to Bruh David one time, from Psalm 35 – A prayer for recuse from enemies. “Take hold of shield and buckler (small shield), and stand up for mine help. Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me (stop those who pursue me): say unto my soul, I am thy salvation… Let destruction come upon him at unawares (unexpectedly) and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.

And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth (plunders) him.’ (Ps.35:2-3, 8-10)  

Oh Friends, there’s no one else but our wonderful God who picks up, who intercedes for the poor and needy, the downtrodden and disadvantaged! For that alone, He ought to be greatly praised and revered.

And if you didn’t believe Bruh David, then listen to Isaiah as he speaks about the Lord the only redeemer. ‘I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. I have declared, and have saved; and I have showed (proclaimed), when there was no strange (foreign) god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it (reverse it)?’ (Is.43:11-13)

Oh my fellow believers in Jesus Christ, the obvious answer to that question is simply NO ONE! No one in this crazy world is as strong, as omnipotent as our heavenly Father. So man is just fooling himself when he thinks that he can outdo and out duel the Most High God.

So Friends this Sunday morning in the solemn period of Lent, let’s get ourselves together and go to the Lord’s sanctuary and praise and worship Him with other believers, so that we can be refreshed, reinforced and encouraged to face the upcoming work week with faith and confidence. Therein lies the beauty of worshipping God!  Much LOVE!

…no matter how long and hard he tries…the created can never outdo the Creator…that’s just a natural fact of life…

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 October 2013 Psalm 145:8

Psalm 145:8.    The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
 
Oh Friends, the ole fella’s in a time of famine this Saturday autumn morn! Would you believe he has no words to utter? (smile) And I know some of you are in disbelief, a simple breeze could knock you over now. Yes, it’s strange but true! And please keep quiet in the background children, no smart aleck remarks from the penny section.
 
But Friends, I’m sure that situation won’t last for very long, because the Lord God Jehovah in His abundant grace and mercy will soon fill the void and guide me to what He wants me to write, since it’s His Word that I’m writing about. And mih Friends, when you talk about faithfulness…
 
Chuh! There’s NO ONE like our God in that department! As I keep saying, He’ll never give you a task to do without giving you the necessary tools and parts to perform it to His satisfaction. And I can attest to that from personal experience! How do you think I’ve been able to write the Bit everyday for almost seven years eh?
 
Even if I was exceedingly brilliant, and I’m certainly not that brilliant, it would have been impossible without the Lord’s help; His strength, guidance, wisdom, inspiration and faithfulness every single day! That’s what enables me to do a decent job in His glorious name! 
 
‘Glory Hallelujah! Praise our great and wonderful God!’ Yes my brethren, that definitely called for some thanks and praise.
 
So my people, if today you’re suffering from doubts, anxieties, fear, insecurity, any negative emotions at all, just turn to the Lord in sincere faith, and He will most assuredly help you to overcome whatever negative thing(s) that’s holding you hostage. You have to come to Him sincerely though, with trust, reverence and total surrender. You can’t hold back any part of your being, for with the Lord it’s all or nothing at all!
 
And we have the memorable words of Bruh David from our Bit to prove my point. ‘The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.’
 
Oh my people, every true believer in Jesus ought to be able to testify to that statement, because it’s the backbone, the sure foundation of our faith! Without God’s grace, compassion, mercy, forgiveness and LOVE, where would we be eh? Confused and falling all over each other in the extreme darkness of evil Lucifer’s hell, damned, doomed and condemned to ‘sufferation’ and death.
 
But through God’s unconditional LOVE and all His other positive and winning attributes, He’s provided a way for us to escape Lucifer’s evil claws; to be saved through the sacrificial death of His one and only son Jesus, whose shed blood paid for all our abominable sins. And as believers we know all about that, but today I want us to look at some scriptures that corroborate Bruh David’s words in our Bit.
 
And the first passage comes, as we would say, straight from the horse’s mouth. Here God is talking to Moses, the second time he went up Mt. Sinai to renew the tablets with the Ten Commandments.
 
The Good Book describes it thus: ‘And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
 
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.’ (Ex.34:5-7)
 
Oh my fellow believers, yuh see all of that comes straight from the Most High God Himself, and not from man! And since we know now that He’s truthful and faithful to fulfill ALL His promises, we can rest assured that whatever He says and/or does, it’s the gospel truth! 
 
Now hear Moses, when the Israelites rebelled against the Lord in the wilderness, and He was tempted to just obliterate them. But through Moses’ timely intercession, He stayed His hand.
 
‘And now, I beseech thee, let the power of the Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.’ (Num.14:17-19)
 
Ah mih Friends, Moses was smart, using God’s own declaration of His mercy, compassion, forgiveness and slow-burning fuse. And the Lord, true to His word, relented, but not before declaring that the old timers who had seen and experienced all the wonders that He did for them out of Egypt and in their travels through the wilderness, NONE of them would ever set foot in the Promised Land, excepting Caleb and Joshua. (Num.14:20-24)
 
And yuh better believe Friends, that’s exactly what happened, all because of their disobedience and rebellious attitude! Only Joshua and Caleb, of the multitude that came out of Egypt ever crossed the Jordan. That’s partly why they wandered in the wilderness for forty years too.
 
So my brethren, let us not be afraid to face our fears, doubts, anxieties and life in general, head on, because we serve and worship an omnipotent, kind, and LOVING Deity, who’s promised to ALWAYS be with, and help us throughout this difficult earthly life, right on to eternity. We can’t ask for more than that. Much LOVE!
 
…when you build your house on the Rock…the sturdy foundation that’s Jesus…it will never fall…in fact, it will last forever… 
 
P.S. Yuh see Friends, I told you that in due time, the Lord would give me something to say. (smile) Oh thank Him for His faithfulness! Much LOVE! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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