Today’s Scrip-Bit 25 July 2019 Daniel 6:16b.

Daniel 6:16b.    ​Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
 

Yes friends, we late! That’s because I was up at around 3 a.m, sitting out on my porch, doing my usual communicating thing with God and nature, then I had a li’l fight with my computer again…But that’s all in the past now, especially since it’s Friday and everybody is happy that the weekend is here at last…none more so than the ordinary workingman, as he joyfully exclaims: 

‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday, and the weekend finally here! Mama Yo! Two days of rest from the slave master work! In the summertime to boot! That’s the best time ever! Can go around half-naked, enjoy the sunshine and hot weather, get a tan…do almost anything I want to do, with li’l or no restrictions. 

There’s no better time than a weekend in the summer…and also in the summer of my days! Yeah! I’m strong, healthy and have a fairly good life! I’m not rich, but I’m not poor either. And it’s not easy all the time, but I do my best. That’s all I can do! So this weekend is going to be a blast! Have a couple parties to go to. The wife and I going to step out for a change. 

Yeh, with her busy with the children at home and working part time, and I busy five days a week, as well as the odd overtime shift at the slave master’s job, we don’t have much alone time together. But brother, we certainly going to fix that this weekend. That’s why we have to thank God for Fridays and weekends oui!’ 

And yuh know friends, that’s the unfortunate state of many a household in our supposedly prosperous society. Too many parents don’t have the necessary time to spend together because they are so busy working and trying to make a decent life for their children to enjoy. And do the children appreciate it? Well that’s an entirely different can of worms! 

But what yuh going to do eh? That’s the way our society is currently set up. Many of us are even lucky to have part time jobs. And the wicked and greedy slave masters are taking advantage of the part time situation that their friendly governments are allowing to happen, with no benefits or surety of jobs. Just wait by the phone until we call. And if we call and you don’t answer…then crapaud smoke yuh pipe! 

Chuh! It’s sad and disgusting, but we seem to be reverting to the bad, old days, when the slave master held all the marbles and could dish them out how he wanted and to whom he wanted. Equity and fairness and social responsibility seems to have gone bye bye in this new world – read greedy, selfish, ungodly, and only interested in the first person singular. 

But thankfully, we Christians are different…Not as much as we ought to be though, for we are allowing the evil and selfishness of the world to invade our space and bring us more like them, instead of us invading their space and bringing them more Christ-like. We just have to keep praying and hoping, and doing the best we can, with God’s help of course! So let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh, which isn’t as worldly and rambunctious as the workingman’s, but does serve our Christ-like purpose. 

As one now: ‘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!’ 

Oh, it doesn’t go as far out on the limb, as the workingman’s, but it keeps us in check, keep us on our toes, so that the enemy doesn’t get an easy and convenient toehold in our souls. And that’s our main purpose – to keep God in, and the evil one out! And yuh know my people, the best way to do that is to continually serve our heavenly Father. 

When I opened the Good Book this morning it opened at this wonderful verse in Daniel, as he was thrown into the lion’s den. ‘Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.’ What amazing words of encouragement from a pagan king! But the Lord put them there. 

The king knew that Daniel had been a faithful servant to him, the kings before him, and of the Lord, ever since He had been brought captive to Babylon, and he had heard of and experienced enough of God’s wonders and mercy through Daniel’s prophecy and general Christ-like behaviour to know that there was a God in heaven, who could do mighty things. 

And who hadn’t heard of the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego brought out of the flaming fire with not even the smell of smoke clinging to them. So expecting the Lord to work a miracle on Daniel’s behalf was something he could comprehend. And when the Lord did act on Daniel’s behalf and saved him from the mouth of the lions, hear these astounding words that the king wrote to all his constituents. 

‘Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth. ‘Peace be multiplied unto you. (shades of Bruh Paul) I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men (must) tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power (paws) of the lions.’ (Dan.16:25-27)

Oh friends, I know that most of us won’t make a splash as big as Daniel did, but I know that we can make a bigger splash than we are currently making. Let’s remember that it’s all for Jesus nuh. Our lives are supposed to bring others closer to Him, not drive them away, as so many of us are currently doing. Please, for all of our sakes, let’s truly live the life that Jesus intends for us to live nuh! We all know what we’re supposed to do, so let’s buckle down and do it…in Jesus’ name. Much LOVE!

…there’s no better way to serve Jesus…than letting our lives speak for Him…

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 28 May 2019 Daniel 6:16b.

Daniel 6:16b.   ​Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

 

And yes, it’s a wet and wooly Tuesday morning in my area, with the wind leading the trees in a merry springtime dance! But they seem to be handling it quite well with their new green leaves and strong springtime branches! Likewise, we saints of Christ ought to be handling the evil and ungodly circumstances of this world with the same kind of fervour, because we have a great, good and wonderful God looking out for us! 

Glory be my people! He’s so concerned about us that He’s even numbered the hairs of our heads, and NOTHING happens to us that He doesn’t know about, so this Tuesday morning, let’s rise up and greet the day with the awe and splendour it deserves nuh, as we boldly proclaim: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ It’s the only way to go my faithful brethren, if we want to enjoy heaven down here on earth, like Christ died for us to do. 

And let me remind us once again of this awesome bit of truth from a Daily Bread Devotional: ‘In the darkest hours of life, only through the eyes of faith, can we see the LOVING hand of God!’ And yuh better believe that yes friends! For when those dark and dreadful times come, when you feel like you’re walking through the valley of the shadow of death, it’s only if your faith is real strong that you can even think about God, much less believe that He’s in the midst of it with you, and will work everything out for your good! 

We just have to look at the example of those three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who refused to worship the idol of King Nebuchadnezzar, and were thrown into the fiery furnace. Neb was so angered by their refusal that he commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than normal, and the mightiest men to bind them up and throw them in the fiery furnace. 

And what happened eh? The fire was so hot that it killed the men who threw them in, but those boys came out scot free, not even smelling of smoke. Mama Yo! And what’s interesting is that Neb in his fury saw four men loose walking about in the furnace, when only three were thrown in. ‘And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’ he recounted. (Dan.3:25b) Neb obviously had no knowledge of Christ, but he realized that someone greater than Him was in there with the boys. 

And Daniel in the lion’s den proved the same point my faithful believers in Christ! The king, Darius, didn’t want to put Daniel in the lion’s den, but the law forced him to do so. But hear the awesome words he spoke to him before doing so. ‘Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.’ 

Wow people! If an idol-worshipping king could sense God in Daniel’s life, and be so assured of His goodness and power, why can’t we sense Him in ours eh, and be thus assured, when we have greater knowledge of the Almighty, than those long ago faithful had? I truly don’t know why. Yuh know, sometimes the more information you have, the more confused you get. 

It’s like having too many options, you don’t really know which one to choose. And do we ever have a bunch of options in this current world, options that are trying to drag us in all different directions at the same time. But friends, we only really need ONE, and that’s the ONE offering Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour! Mama Mia! There’s nothing better than that! 

And it’s not like we don’t know it? Because there’s no other option offering us, forgiveness of sins, mercy, grace, salvation and eternal life in heaven for simply believing! But we’re so blinded by our sin and the false and fickle goodies that the world throws our way, that we dither, sit on the fence, hoping that somehow it will all work out. But it won’t friends, unless we make the determined and conscious effort to follow Jesus Christ! 

And it’s interesting what the Lord made King Darius write to all the people under his rule after He rescued Daniel from the lion’s den. ‘Peace be multiplied unto you (shades of Bruh Paul). I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men (must) tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in the earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power (paws, hands) of the lions.’ (Dan.6:25-27) 

Oh friends, that realization was made long, long before Jesus came, and it has stood the test of time! So why can’t we accept and believe it eh? Why do we have so much trouble living the life Jesus wants us to live eh? But turning back to Daniel’s life, I believe its most important aspect is the mighty effect his righteous and godly living had on those around him. It turned a pagan king into a believer, or at least one who recognized that there was a power mightier than him. 

And yuh know friends, that’s all that Jesus is asking of us today; to live our lives in such a manner that others will see our truth, to walk our walk, so that they too will want to have what we have; the LOVE of Jesus Christ in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds! We are the tools He wants to use to change the world. So let’s live up to that holy billing nuh! (smile) 

Now let’s go home loudly and proudly declaring (yes!) our Tuesday Mantra, letting this evil and ungodly world know who and whose we are! As one now: ‘In God’s eyes, I’m not what I do. I’m not what I have. I’m not what people say about me. I am the beloved of God, that’s who I am. No one can take that from me. I don’t have to worry. I don’t have to hurry. I can trust my friend Jesus and share His LOVE with the world.  Amen!’ 

And the next step is to go out and sincerely share that awesome LOVE and friendship of Christ! Much LOVE!…

Christians need to do much more doing…and far less talking…if they want to make a real difference…