Today’s Scrip-Bit 26 November 2016 Daniel 9:9.

Daniel 9:9.   To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.  

Ah mih friends, Black Friday is over – Praise the Lord! And as always, we had the unruly leggo beast behaviour, the fights and the shootings. What is this life coming to eh? But if you think all the rigmarole is over, you’d better think again, for come Monday, it’s the online frenzy on what has now become known as Cyber Monday. 

Ah Lord eh! How many more new days can we get in the shopping calendar, especially when so many people are out of work and can barely make two ends meet? But the captains of commerce don’t care, they just want to sell their stuff, regardless of whom it impoverishes or bankrupts. 

I don’t know why we can’t resist these so-called sales, although we know that a lot of the things have not really been marked down, and for the few prices that have been lowered, several others have been raised. The sale talk is just a ploy to get us to come into the store, because they know once we are there we will buy other stuff at the marked up prices. 

I guess it’s just the greed in human nature that propels us to these things, and I thank the Lord that I don’t get involved in the madness.  

Now it’s Saturday, so it’s time to share a couple of quotes from our friend Anselm, who aspires to inspire us to a better tomorrow. And the first quote of today says: ‘It’s a long time until the next election, but it starts now. And if you truly want to see things change in the direction that our country is headed, you have to stay involved. You cannot quit now.’ 

Oh friends, truer words have never been spoken. It’s the civic responsibility of each citizen to get and stay involved in day to day politics and events in their country, especially if you want to see change. 

And that is rather appropriate in these times to the U.S with the unconscionable stuff that is taking place down there after the election of Donald Trump. If the people seriously want change at the next election in four years, they have to begin NOW to make their voices heard. 

And today’s second quote from our friend Anselm is one of pure truth. ‘Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all they have.’ That’s wonderful advice my people! 

So often in this negative and crazy world we tell people stuff that just kills whatever little hope they might have. Sometimes we do it on purpose, but ofttimes we do it unknowingly, then go our way rejoicing, not knowing that we have just caused someone else’s joy to plummet. 

No wonder Bruh Paul told the Roman church: ‘Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify (build up) another.’ (Rom.14:19) Yes my fellow believers, our words should always be chosen to build up and not tear down our fellow man. 

That brings us to the portion of the Prophet Daniel’s prayer for his people Israel, which contains our Bit. Before our Bit, he confesses. ‘O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face (shame), to our kings, our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. 

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him. Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.’ (Dan.9:8-10)  

Oh friends, those three verses are so applicable to our world today that it’s not funny. We should indeed feel ashamed for the overwhelming amount of sin that has befallen our society in the last 25 years. We obviously have not obeyed God’s directive to walk in His laws. Instead we have foolishly chosen to walk in the ways of the prince of darkness, Lucifer. 

But thankfully, for our sakes, we have a God who is not only magnificent, but also magnanimous; He is ever merciful and all forgiving, despite our rebellious and ungodly behaviour. But don’t fool yuh fat, don’t get complacent and doh care, for although our God is merciful and forgiving, He is also a God of judgement and justice and there will be consequences for our continual rebellion and sinfulness. 

Now do you think that all the dreadful disasters that are happening in our world, one after the other, both natural and man-made, are simply coincidence or bad luck? I doubt it very much. I’m sure that there is some amount of divine retribution involved. I just don’t know how much. 

If the Lord, down through the ages, starting with His people Israel, could wreak havoc on ungodly nations, why do you think He won’t wreak it on us eh, as sinful as we are? There is no reason why He won’t. 

As they say ‘time longer than twine,’ and our God just has plenty patience, He is long-suffering, and in the fullness of time, if we don’t smarten up and repent, change our evil ways and return to His fold, we will see and feel His judgement. 

And listen to Daniel a few verses later. ‘As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil (disaster) is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil (kept the disaster in store), and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.’ (Dan.9:13-14) 

There you have it friends; the same things I just mentioned. And hopefully, if you didn’t believe me, then you will believe the man of God, the prophet Daniel… otherwise things will be extremely rough with us. In other words, crapaud smoke we pipe! Much LOVE!

…this world can only be saved…if we sincerely repent and return to diligently serving the Lord God Jehovah…

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 22 July 2016 Hebrews 12:11

Hebrews 12:11.    Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.

And all over God’s great earth, on this blessed Friday morning in July 2016, the joyful cry of the working class rises like a touching, soulful song to heaven! 

‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday and the workweek is almost over! Thank God that the weekend is upon us, bringing freedom from mental and physical slavery for two big days! We can do whatever we want to do without massa looking over our shoulders! Thank God for Fridays and the weekend!’ 

Yes friends, it is a viable cry, but we must still be careful about doing what we want over the weekend. We can’t just behave like leggo beast and give the enemy a chance to invade our souls. We need to always be wary of his deceitful tactics to gain entrance to our souls and his evil intent, to wreak havoc there. 

Instead, let’s chant our Friday Chant that gives us a better perspective on the use of the weekend. All together 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.’ 

Ah mih people, the way we handle the weekend sets the tempo and standard for our new workweek. Unless we are fresh and reinvigorated, we won’t be able to do a good job for Jesus when the time comes. So please be careful and handle the next couple of days in appropriate godly fashion. (smile) 

Now here’s a beautiful quote attributed to one George Elliston (1883-1946), a female American journalist and editor who bequeathed a large sum of money to the University of Cincinnati to open a chair in poetry. At some stage of her life, she reputedly proclaimed: ‘How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it.’ 

And isn’t that the gospel truth my brethren! When kindness touches a day, there’s nothing left but for it to indeed be beautiful, because kindness comes from the heart of God! Oh how our world is dying from unkindness and desperately waiting and desiring to experience much more kindness amongst God’s greatest creation, mankind. And until we achieve that experience, our world will continue to be topsy-turvy, dangerous and deceitful. 

But my people, thankfully there’s a saving grace, if you can call it that, displayed in the words of our Bit. ‘Now no chastening (discipline) for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised (trained) thereby.’ 

Yes friends, we can count on our heavenly Father to chasten, to discipline us when we step out of line and follow our own devious devices and plans. Oh, I know from personal experience that it’s not a welcome decision, but it seems to be necessary for our eventual growth and maturity in Christ Jesus. 

Anyway, there’s not much we can do about it, except try to give the Lord as few instances as possible to chasten and discipline us. Now let’s continue looking at some scriptural examples of how important chastening is to God. And nobody spoke on it more often than Cousin Sol. 

Listen to him. ‘Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with a rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.’ (Prov.23:13-14) 

Now I know some of you will be up in arms over those statements, but I’m only quoting the Good Book. And as much as you might dislike punishing your children, yuh better believe that God will punish us, like children, for disobedience. Not necessarily with a rod of correction, but in some manner that He deems suitable. 

Now hear what the Lord said to Bruh David when He made His covenant with him. ‘And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes (strokes) of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I put away before thee.’ (2 Sam.7:12-15) 

Yes friends the Lord was speaking there about the rise of Cousin Sol. And please note the serious warning about chastening for disobedience, because it hasn’t changed one iota since then. 

So my fellow believers, in closing, I just want to remind us that although we don’t like chastening by God, because in the short term it seems a bit on the rough side, be assured that in the long run it will be to our benefit. Our God does NOTHING in our lives that’s not for our benefit. 

Now let’s go out and see if we can do as little as possible to deserve His chastening, for that’s wisdom of enormous proportions! Much LOVE!

…to walk this earth successfully…a disciplined life is essential…  

P.S. I think I’ve finally gotten the hang of this new Outlook setup. Glory Hallelujah! Much LOVE!

 

 

 

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…