SCRIP-BITS

Life is filled with material things, which most of us are concerned about, but there's also the spiritual aspect of life, that we ought also to be concerned with. That's knowing about the kingdom of God and the gospel of Christ, which are even more important than our material world, for the Spirit of God is what gives life. and Christ promised that if we sought first the kingdom of God, then all our material needs will be met by the Father through His riches in glory. Friends, we need to understand that the body dies eventually and returns to the dust from which it was formed, but the Spirit, our inner man, lives on forever, and thus needs to be well-taken care of, if it's to be associated with Jesus and the Father. So please, starting right now, lets pay close attention to our spiritual lives, for that's the will of God! Much LOVE!

Many are our troubles and mistakes in this evil and misguided world, but as a believer in Jesus Christ, we have the wonderful option of going to our God in prayer for help, regardless of the circumstances; whether we caused them or someone else did. That's the beauty of having an omnipotent God like ours; the One True God Jehovah. In Him, we live, breathe and have our very being, and we do that by being close to Him, acknowledging His presence and going to Him in prayer. If you read the Bible, you'll see how believers constantly turned to God in prayer for help in each and every circumstance. It's one of the greatest privileges we enjoy as a Christian. So please let use it wisely, and not abuse or ignore it. Because it's all for our benefit. Much LOVE!

Life is filled with many things like laziness, procrastination, diligence and hard work. Unfortunately the enemy is very good at the latter two, while too many Christians are marvellous at the first two. But as a true believer in Christ, that's totally unacceptable! Yes, Christ was never lazy or procrastinating. He was always up and about His Father's work. Likewise, we believers ought to be always up and about Christ's work if we intend to be good disciples and ambassadors of His. You can say what you want about the enemy, but he's always moving, always trying to make some headway in the lives of believers, and we ought to be doing the same thing, submitting ourselves to God, so that we can resist the enemy, and also talking to unbelievers so that they can come to know and LOVE Christ the way we do! That's the Christian's reason for being! Much LOVE!

Christianity is not just talk, but more action, and that action implies strong faith, when we go through temptations and other fiery ordeals for the sake of testing. Yes, we will all be tested at different times and stages of our lives to see how strong our faith really is, for many of us talk a good talk, but unfortunately cannot walk the walk. But it is necessary that we do walk our talk, for God's eventual purpose is that we should all conform as closely as possible to the image of Christ. And Christ suffered much temptation and rejection, but never sinned or gave up on the hope of His heavenly Father. How do you think He endured all the 'sufferation' He went through here on earth eh? By faithful trust in the Father. And if we do the same, then we will also come through the fiery trials with flying colours! Much LOVE!

Oh friends, our main duty down here on earth is to glorify God the Father, and we can only do that if we live sincerely for Jesus! As He says, if we abide in Him and He in us. He is the vine and we are the branches that need to be attached to Him, if we want to get nourishing food and eventually receive eternal life. Otherwise, like unfruitful branches we'll be gathered up and thrown into the fires of hell. Now, I don't believe any of us want to experience that experience (smile), so please, let's get wise and live for Jesus! It's the only way to enter the pearly gates and walk the golden streets of heaven! Much LOVE!

A Christian's number one priority is to believe! There are no ifs and buts about that! If you don't believe in Jesus and all that He says He is and all that He say He can do, then you are not a Christian and will not see the pearly gates of heaven, for Christianity comes ONLY through sincere belief in Jesus Christ. The New Testament is riddled with statements about belief, both by Jesus and those who penned about the Christian life, and also lived it. Thus, we need to believe, believe without any doubt about the person of Jesus, and the ONLY way to do that is by studying His Word, meditating on it and putting it into action our our lives! Much LOVE!

Friends, this world is filled with much evil and ungodliness, and the only way we can combat them is by staying strong in faith, by growing in our faith in Christ every day! It's only as our faith grows and gets stronger that we are more able to resist the devil and his many temptations. Without strong faith in Christ Jesus, the enemy will soon overpower us. But he has no power over us unless we allow him to do so, since Christ has already overcome Him. Therefore, the only way Beelzebub can gain a foothold in our lives is by lack of strong faith. So, let's read and study the Word of God and grow in the strength and wisdom of His many wonderful promises! Much LOVE!

Jesus is indeed our end all and be all, our everything, that's why He was able to make those 7 'I AM' statements in the gospel of John. And if we followers don't know and believe them, then we're undermining our own salvation and abundant life here on earth, which Jesus died to provide for us. And the only way to know those momentous and glorious statements is by studying the Word of God, by letting it take over our souls, bodies and minds, and bring us in total sync with Jesus! Please let that be our firm goal today. Much LOVE!

In this cruel and evil world we need all the help we can get to make it through in one piece, and Jesus Christ is the ONLY ONE who can guarantee that! But we have to sincerely acknowledge Him as Lord and Saviour and place our total trust in Him, confidently believing that He is exactly whom He says He is, and what He says He can do; that's every and anything for NOTHING is impossible to Him! That means all those 'I AM's found in the gospel of John are indisputable truth. However, unless and until we sincerely believe them, nd put them into action in our lives, we will not be able to enjoy the abundant life that Christ died for us to live right here on planet earth! Much LOVE!

Our bodies and souls can get dirty with sin as well as with unclean substances, that's why every so often we need to clean up our bodies with a physical purge, and our spirits with repentance, fasting and prayer. Both our bodies and souls will not function at their optimum level if they are dirty and discoloured with sin and unhealthy foods. And the serious and soul searching time of Lent is a most appropriate time to do such cleansing of both our bodies and souls! Much LOVE!