SCRIP-BITS

John 12:49.    For I have not spoken of myself, but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
 
And as another day dawns on God’s bountiful earth, all the creatures of His universe turn to praise and acknowledge Him in whatever manner He prescribes for them; be they fish or fowl, man or beast. So let’s raise our heads, hearts, hands and eyes heavenward and offer our heartfelt thanks for His incomparable blessing of allowing us to see another fine day here on earth. Let’s all happily intone: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ Now Friends, we just can’t mouth those words yuh know, but also have to go out and put them into action. Actually put rejoicing and gladness into whatever situations we find ourselves. This needs to be a conscious decision, not something we hope will flow from our circumstances. For remember, the joy of the Lord is our strength, (Neh. 8:10) and if we lose that JOY which comes from knowing Jesus, then our lives will be like trash, blown any which way by the ever huffing and puffing winds of evil. So the first thing we need to do everyday on awakening, is to reignite that joy, put the bellows to that spark of fire in our souls that has burnt low during the night. Then and only then, are we ready to face the day, come whatever may, because the LOVE, JOY and STRENGTH of Jesus are all burning brightly in our souls. Now let’s see what our Bit wants to tell us today. ‘For I have not spoken of myself (my own authority), but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.’ Isn’t it interesting Friends, that throughout His entire ministry, Jesus kept on humbling Himself, kept on claiming that the words He spoke and the deeds He did, were not of Himself, but of His heavenly Father. But instead of actually paying attention to what He was saying, and if His deeds were in concert with His words, the religious leaders of the day were only concerned about His contention that He was the Son of God. And the same thing’s happening today. When believers talk about Jesus as Lord and Saviour, the heathen don’t really listen to what we’re saying, re things like Peace and LOVE, but quickly get this pickle in their ear about Jesus Himself and begin condemning Him. The message itself gets lost in all the paraphernalia surrounding it. I’m sure if Lucifer gets religion and changes his act and begins talking of LOVE and Peace, the message won’t get lost though, because we’ve been programmed to welcome Lucifer in whatever guise, but not Jesus. Anyway, what I want to do today is point out some of the many times that Jesus made nothing of Himself, but gave all the power and glory to God the Father. First though, let’s deal with the last part of the Bit, (smile) ‘…what I should say, and what I should speak,’ because it brings up very important stuff that pertains to us today. Some of us may not realize it, but those words of Jesus fulfilled a prophecy from the days of Moses. The Lord promised, through Moses: ‘I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. (Deut.18:18-19) Yes Friends, that promised Prophet was to be like Moses, a mediator between God and man. And the only person powerful enough to fulfill that role since the promise, was Jesus. According to the scholars, that Prophet would be ‘faithful (Heb.3:2), full of compassion and LOVE (Num.27:17; Matt.9:36), a powerful intercessor for His people (9:18; Heb.7:25), speaking with God face-to-face and reflecting the divine glory (2 Cor.3:7) Like Christ, he was to be a mighty prophet in word and deed (Luke 24:19), a revealer of God’s will and purpose (cf.6:1; Rev.1:1) a mediator of the covenant (29:1); Heb.8:6-7), and a leader of the people (Is.55:4).’ Yes my brethren, our wonderful Lord and Saviour Jesus is the fulfillment of all that! Now the second thing I want us to note, is what Jesus says to the disciples when warning them of the serious persecution to come. ‘But when they deliver you up, take no thought (do not worry about) how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.’ (Matt.10:19-20) That means believers today should not be afraid of persecution, because in time of need, the Holy Spirit of our heavenly Father will tell us what to say, and how to react. So my brethren, that fear of not knowing what to say when troubles come, is one more fear we can cast adrift, because we have Jesus’ assurance that He will work in us, when it’s necessary. Hn, hn, hn! Oh mih people, I think I’ve outdone myself, but what’s new about that eh? It seems we’ll have to leave those scriptures I promised until tomorrow, God willing obviously, because there are several I want to share. Anyway, we have enough stuff to ponder today. Don’t want to give us too much, what with our busy schedules of everyday living. (smile) So as we opened with thanks, let’s close with a blessing. May the good Lord we serve and worship, bless us and keep us safe from all harm. May He shine His wonderful and radiant countenance on us, and give us His everlasting peace, so that we can walk worthy of Him, and thus further His glorious kingdom. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen. Much LOVE!…with Jesus ruling our hearts…fear should be a thing of the past…