Dear Editor,

THERE seems to be an increase in inspirational and motivational quotes taken from the sacred pages of the Holy Bible by very prominent and renowned men across the globe.One such quote was uttered by President Barack Obama of the U.S.A while sending condolences to the relatives and friends of the five fallen policemen who died in the line of duty at the hands of Dallas sniper Micah X. Johnson.

Quite ironically, this sniper, named after a prophet in the Old Testament, was very angry with his countrymen who were unjust to the poor, weak, and downtrodden in society. This kind of anger led him to deliver a strong message of rebuke and judgment to the princes of the land.

The prophet of old had turned his verbal rebukes upon anyone who was willing to use their power, political or else, against the lower class of society. Finally, he regained his composure and declared in Chapter 6:8, “He has shewed thee, O man of God, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

It would appear that because of the anger that resided in Micah of Dallas, U.S.A, he used the wrong method to correct the seeming wrongdoing of police officers who were caught on cell-phone cameras killing blacks in the most reprehensible of ways, especially the black motorist that was pulled over for a faulty tail light on his car, considering that there was a female and a four-year-old child in the back seat of the said vehicle.

Seeing such a scene brought back memories of a missionary journey in the Bronx, New York in October 2014, when my minister [pastoral] friend who was driving a 4×4 vehicle was pulled over for a faulty tail light. I was in the passenger seat when the car was pulled over to the side of the roadway. I knew nothing, nor was I aware that my friend was in trouble over this faulty tail light, until a flashlight was in my face and fear was on the other side.

I reacted by quoting from the Scriptures, which somehow caused the white officers [there were two of them] to flee from us in a flash.
Thereafter, my beloved friend, being scared of the police, thanked me, as he knew beforehand what could have resulted in his arrest, being black.

I now come back to the topic at hand: the quoting of the Bible. There seems to be a remarkable and unexplained authority residing in biblical expressions. From my personal experience over the years, quotes from the Holy Bible have proven to be strong defence against any form of assault or attack.

Quotes from the Holy Bible may be used at a marriage ceremony, engagement, funeral service, anniversary, inauguration, birth of a child, going on a journey, church service, starting the day, ending the day, at work, at home, at play, at school, in Parliament, in the court-room, in hospitals, on the windscreen or bumper of cars, vans and trucks, at the front of a house, on the walls of a home, in a song, in a poem, on a tee-shirt, in a post card, and almost in every sphere of life imaginable.

President David Granger also used a quote from the Bible at his inauguration as President.

APOSTLE VANRICK BERESFORD
Author/Senior Pastor