Today’s Scrip-Bit 1 June 2017 John 10:11.

John 10:11.    I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Well my people, it’s Thursday! Can you believe that the week is almost over? And can you also believe that today is the first of June? The year is almost half over! Hn! Hn! 

This year of 2017 is truly passing by quickly, and I’m sure many of us have not seen one like it before, both personally and internationally. I know I haven’t. What with my sudden and unexpected personal illness and the numerous upheavals and disasters around the globe, highlighted by Donald Trump’s U.S. Presidency… 

Wow! 2017 is certainly shaping up to be a watershed year; a unique, different and rather unconventional one, more so than any we’ve ever seen before. But throughout all the ups and downs friends, the topsy-turvy unpredictable stuff, ONE thing remains constant: the supremacy of our great God! 

Oh, they might try to remove Him from our society, blaspheme His Holy Name, and invoke all sorts of other evil and negative behaviour, but He still reigns supreme! Mama Mia! It is His world! He created it, everything in it, and He is still controlling what happens in and to it. 

It might not seem so to the casual onlooker, but we believers know that He is still sitting on His heavenly throne controlling things in His way and in His time, with His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ sitting at His right hand interceding for us! Glory to God my brethren! 

What a wonderful thing it is to have the sinless, sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, advocating on our behalf! We couldn’t have a better and more renowned intercessor! And it’s all been done because of the Father’s great and undying LOVE for us! 

Give Him everlasting thanks and praise for being so merciful and forgiving to us my brethren! Without His incredible grace where would we be eh? Making plans to spend eternity with the evil one. Steups! And how sad and disgusting would that be eh? Horrible really! 

But because of the immense LOVE in God’s heart, He couldn’t allow His most precious creation to simply be lost for all time to the fallen angel Lucifer. He wouldn’t be able to live with Himself if He didn’t give them a lifeline, a way to come back from the brink of the precipice. 

And the only way He could do it and still retain His justice and righteousness is by sacrificing a sinless soul, and the ONLY One who fit that bill perfectly was His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ. 

Now don’t you think that just broke the Father’s heart? Just think about our reaction if we had to sacrifice our only child nuh. There be such wailing and gnashing of teeth that it would be heard all around the world. 

But the Father cared for us so much that He chose to break His own heart over a bunch of ungrateful sinners. What does the old song say? ‘Only a fool breaks his own heart!’ 

But I can tell us that God wasn’t a fool for doing what He did. He was just being His natural kind and LOVING self, showing the LOVING-kindness that He was so well known for. 

And for that we should all be everlastingly grateful and thankful, just falling all over ourselves to give Him praise and thanks for being so wonderful to us, a sinful bunch of frail and foolish people!  

Just look at what our Saviour Jesus says in our Bit. ‘I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ And that He did indeed my faithful brethren! 

Now look at what He said before that. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for (except) to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:7-10) 

And so I ask the million dollar question friends: why aren’t we supposed believers having life more abundantly eh, why aren’t we enjoying it so much more than we currently are? That’s why Jesus said He died for us. 

So it seems like we don’t truly believe Him, for Christians should be the most upbeat and joyful people on God’s great earth. But that’s not how we appear to the rest of the world. Too many of us are fearful, afraid to stand up to the rest of the evil world even though we have the true, faithful and wonderful promises of God to back us up. 

Where is our belly and backbone eh friends? Come on nuh people, if Jesus could give His sinless life for us, the least we can do is stand up and acknowledge His presence in our lives, acknowledge Him as our Lord and Saviour! Steups! 

I’m sure it hurts Him terribly to see us walking around like lost, shepherd-less sheep. I simply don’t understand how we could be so lost and wayward, when we have all the blessings that are entrenched in our Thursday Blessings. 

Let’s declare them now, so that we can be uplifted and come to our senses. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! 

I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’ 

There’s NOTHING that we lack friends, so please, let’s go out and share it all with the less fortunate nuh, for that’s why Jesus died…so that we might have life…and have it more abundantly! Much LOVE!

…it’s high time believers cut back on talking the talk…and concentrate more on walking the walk…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 June 2016 Psalm 68:3

Psalm 68:3.   But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

Oh friends, the ole fella’s somewhat disappointed this morning. First in myself, for writing that yesterday was Thursday when it was only Wednesday. And second because none of my supposed faithful readers saw it fit to write me and point out the error. 

But all of that’s history now. It’s become a testimony; that one can get so caught up and excited in Jesus that you don’t even know the days of the week! (smile) 

So what shall we do today? I guess we’ll just preach yesterday’s sermon today, beginning by wailing our heads off. There’s nothing that says we must wail on a particular day. For that matter we can do anything on any given day. 

So let’s wail nuh. ‘Thursday, Thursday, Thursday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Thursday! Thursday, Thursday, Thursday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Thursday! I am halfway home. 

My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Yes my brethren, the day’s not as important as what we declare in it! And I’m sure glad to be alive on this Wednesday or Thursday, (smile) although I’m a tad under the weather, with a touch of the flu. But it’s certainly great to be alive, and I’m trying my best to keep my hands on the plough and look straight ahead to that glorious future with Jesus! 

I sure hope that you all are feeling the same way too. If not, you’d be doing yourself a huge disservice, for Jesus is the ONLY answer to our problems! He ALONE can heal our hurts and pains, give us comfort in time of sorrow, feed us with manna from heaven, and bring us to salvation and eternal life! 

Give Him some thanks and praise for His wondrous deeds on our behalf nuh! And all God’s people declared a loud and proud: ‘Praise the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for He is our Be All and End All; the First and the Last; King of Kings and Lord of Lords; Ruler of heaven and earth! There is NONE else like Him! NONE worthy to be exalted above Him! All glory and honour be to Him!’ 

Yeh mih people, that’s how important Jesus is to us. And we’ll continue with our Bit, the same one from yesterday: ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.’ 

Ah friends, if we’re Jesus’ people, and we’re righteous – well as righteous as we can be – then we ought to be glad and rejoice in the presence of our great and wonderful God. 

As the psalmist so rightfully says: ‘This is the day which the Lord hath made; we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ (Ps.118:24) It would be good, very beneficial, if we can remind ourselves of that fact each and every day my people. 

Now let’s check out some more wonderful scripture passages that deal with praising Almighty God. Listen to the psalmist from Psalm 66 – The great works of God. 

‘Make a joyful noise (shout) unto God; all ye lands: sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible (awesome) art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.   Selah.’ (Ps.66:1-4) 

Yeh friends, ponder that for a moment nuh! Now listen to Moses exhort the Israelites. ‘Thou shalt fear the Lord they God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave (hold fast), and swear by his name. 

He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible (awesome) things, which thine eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with three score and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.’ (Deut.10:20-22) 

Ah mih people, what mighty and awesome works the Lord our God did indeed do in the sight of those Israelites of old! Who else could part the Red Sea and allow them to walk across it on dry land eh, then swallow up the army of Pharaoh in a wall of water? 

Who else could have led them through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night, assuring them of His presence and safety from their enemies? And who else could have given them water from a rock, manna and meat more than sufficient for their needs in the wilderness eh? 

NONE but the mighty, ever-lasting and ever-living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! No wonder we praise and thank Him as much as we do! 

Now let’s end with this exhortation from Psalm 33 – Praise to the Lord for His creation. ‘Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for his praise is comely (beautiful) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. 

Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise (shout of joy). For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. He LOVETH righteousness and judgement (justice): the earth is full of the goodness (LOVING-kindness) of the Lord.’ (Ps.33:1-5) 

And indeed it is my fellow believers! So today, as we go about the Lord’s business, please let’s remember to be thankful and give Him praise for all that He’s done, is doing now and has promised to do in the future for us. 

Remember, He is our Creator, our bread and butter, our calm in the time of storm, and the merciful giver of salvation and eternal life! Much LOVE!

…Christians are the most blessed people in the world…therefore they should also be the most joyful… P.S. 

Please excuse the lateness of the Bit, you know the ole fella’s late night tendencies. (smile) Much LOVE!