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Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

And the weather follies continue! (smile) Yes Friends, there’s been rain, freezing rain, wet snow, dry snow (smile) and all sorts of haphazard weather in my neck of the woods this weekend. And it’s not done yet! The weather people are still calling for more uncertain weather over the next few days.

Steups! And it has certainly been wreaking havoc on the roads, pavements, driveways, keeping people in, and thus hampering the Christmas shopping too.

But you know what Friends? That might just be a warning to us that we’re paying too much attention to what the world considers important – shopping, food, gifts, etc – and not enough to the true reason for the Christmas season – the birth of Jesus.

The precious gift that God the Father gave us to begin the process of the most wonderful and important event in man’s history, since his creation, reconciliation with our heavenly Father.

Wow Friends! That surely was an awesome gift! And along with it came grace; grace to live through each and every trial and trouble in our lives… And that grace is still coming every single day my people!

So today, regardless of the weather, or any other problems we might be undergoing, let’s loudly declare, believe and live out these immortal words of that wise psalmist: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; WE WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!

Yes my brethren, every day we’re granted on planet earth is a special day, a day for rejoicing in our God’s great mercies and ever-LOVING kindness, for every day is a gift of grace from Him.

However mih people, in the midst of all that rejoicing, grace, mercy and LOVING-kindness, we need to also pay close attention to the evil that’s in the world; how it affects us, and how we interact with the world, consciously remembering the immortal truth of our Bit.

‘For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’

We absolutely cannot forget that Friends, else come the judgement day, we’ll certainly be in for some tough LOVE and justice. So let’s never forget that our God is a holy and just Deity, and though He’s also merciful, to retain His integrity, He must see that justice is done.

And speaking of reconciliation, as we did earlier on, listen to these words of epic proportions contained in Bruh Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. Here he’s telling them, and us, about being ministers of reconciliation.

‘(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour (make it our aim), that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of (well pleasing to) him.

For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.’ (2 Cor.5:7-10)

Now here is some info from the scholars on that last verse. ‘5:10. The judgement seat of Christ: The judgement seat (Gr. bema) was an elevated seat in the square of Corinth where Roman magistrates sat to administer justice, and where the athletes who distinguished themselves in the arena received their reward.

The judgement in view here is not of the unbeliever but of the believer (cf. 1 Cor.4:5; Col.3:4). While it is true that for the Christian there is “no condemnation” (Rom.8:1), it is not correct to assume that God will not hold him responsible for deeds done in the body. Paul has already stated this truth in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15.’

Please read those references Friends, as they are most valuable in helping us to understand God’s Word.

And we’ll end this series of messages on God’s judgement, with some very appropriate and extremely potent wisdom from the Preacher. ‘Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.’ (Eccl. 12:13) Don’t ever forget that Friends, because it’s wisdom at its zenith!

And now may the Lord comfort and guide us safely and wisely, as we traverse the paths of our earthly pilgrimage, so that when we come to stand before Him on that fateful day, He’ll say to each of us: ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant!’

There’s no better judgement that that my people, so let’s all be wise and aspire to it nuh! Much LOVE!

…in the day…when God shall judge the secrets of men…by Jesus Christ…according to my gospel… (Rom.2:16)

P.S. It’s so short Friends, that I’m truly amazed. And all God’s people said a loud and thankful: ‘Praise the Lord!’ (smile) Much LOVE my fellow believers in Christ!

Ecclesiastes 12:14. For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

And then it was Friday – a wintry Friday! There’s already some precipitation on the ground in my area – not much, but precipitation nonetheless. And who knows what’s going to follow eh; snow or freezing rain, or a combination of both? Anyhow we cut it, if the weather people are right, today’s going to be a dangerous day.

So please people, let’s all take very good care as we go about our business outside, for the weather conditions will not be ideal… Hn! And we don’t want any accidents or misfortunes just before Christmas. So if you don’t HAVE to go out, then DON’T GO OUT! Words of true wisdom Friends. (smile)

I also noticed that the weather warning somewhat dampened our usually glorious shout of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ But with prayer and care, we ought to make it safely through another winter’s day.

And to top it all off, let’s chant out Friday chant, with joy and gladness, simply because we’re alive and kicking, have jobs to go to, and live under the umbrella of a mighty, magnificent and magnanimous God!

So my brethren, let’s chant: ‘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.’

Now let’s get that perspective firmly grounded in our beings, so that we can live it out over the weekend. And do we ever need stuff like that to keep us on the straight and narrow, especially when we have a Bit like today’s: ‘For God shall bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’

Yeh mih people, all our words and actions WILL indeed be judged on the big day! But as the saying goes; to be forewarned is to be forearmed. So now that we know what’s going to eventually happen, we have no excuses for making bad, or wrong, or evil decisions and choices.

Yesterday we saw the Preacher telling us to sow diligently in the mornings, then in the evenings, hold out our hands expectantly, in faith, because we don’t know which seed that we planted will prosper. But then again, in our rejoicing, we also have to pay attention to the many dark days of trial and struggle that will surely come during our lifetimes. It’s a fine balancing act my brethren! That’s what life is.

Now hear this wise advice from the preacher to the young. Oh if many of us had heard it when we were young!

‘Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways (impulses) of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes (as you see to be best): but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgement. Therefore remove sorrow (vexation) from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth (prime of life) are vanity.’ (Eccl.11:9-10)

And isn’t that the awesome truth my people! When we are young, we feel the world’s our oyster, and we can do whatever we want to, without fear of repercussions or consequences. But that’s a deceitful conception, propagated by evildoers, for as we are seeing, God will one day judge all that we ever did here on planet earth.

And please note the scholars’ take on the situation. ‘Once again the exhortation to enjoyment is put in the imperative mood. Here the appeal is particularly addressed to the youth to admonish him to enjoy life before the onset of the feeble years described in 12:1-7.

Verse 9 can hardly be taken in a hedonistic sense, because the controlling factor in the youth’s enjoyment is said to be God’s judgement. Rather, it is a warning against a life misspent in self-indulgence.’

Oh Friends, the sooner we learn these lessons, the better off we’ll all be! For yesterday we saw Jesus declare the truth of the judgement day. (Matt.12:35-37) Now listen to Bruh Paul in his first missive to the church at Corinth, talking about real judgement.

‘For I know nothing by (against) myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest (reveal) the counsels (motives) of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.’ (1 Cor.4:4-5)

Ah mih people, more words of divine truth, which will do us a lot of good to hear and inwardly digest!

And here’s an interesting note from the scholars’. ‘4:4. I know nothing by myself (lit. “I know nothing against myself”). This sort of total commitment gave Paul the authority to make such a statement as “be ye followers of me” (cf. 1 Cor.4:16; 11:1).’

Yes Friends, let’s be followers of Bruh Paul nuh, as he was a follower of Jesus! We certainly can’t go wrong if we follow his example. Much LOVE!

…and the heavens shall declare his righteousness…for God is JUDGE himself… Selah (Ps.50:6)

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 December 2013 Ecclesiastes 12:14

Today’s Scrip-Bit 20 December 2013 Ecclesiastes 12:14

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