Privilege...

It is times like these that excite me when I roll out of bed in the early hours of the morning. 3 am and there is an absolute stillness besides the humming coming from my computer fan, even the neighborhood dogs are sleeping. There is beauty here, my thoughts and conversation running around in my mind excited to hear from God. With the Bible open I explore answers to my questions. What a privilege, how many can claim the same tuition? God the Holy Spirit is the ultimate Teacher. He was there from the beginning. Who better to turn to for inspiration? Thankfully, we are not left to our vain imaginations that are always looking to run away with themselves. WE HAVE the WORD of GOD, the Bible to confirm every consideration. Not many can claim such a privilege! Thank you my great God and King for calling me by name, a man so undeserving, so disqualified, and yet forgiven. It boggles my mind when I think of the extent God will go for His children, LOVE CONQURES ALL!   

 

Thank you Father God for sending your Son, my Saviour to die a cruel death. He paid the price for my sin, our (the believers') sins have been washed white as snow so that I and Christians scattered abroad can now cry out “ABBA FATHER”. This is beyond the grasp of so many. But for us who have been called, the chosen of God, we will never be able to pay back the debt. My prayer is that whatever the cost, help us all find the grace to glorify our Saviour, come what may! The time is just around the corner for so many of us, give us the strength to conquer, and I know we will receive the strength required to accomplish what needs to be done.

 

All Hail King JESUS!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

A reminder...

 What is the glue that holds the Christians' faith intact with the only true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Obviously, it is the Lord Jesus! However, there is a catalyst that binds us to our God, FAITH! Without it we will never please our God, in fact, it is an impossible quest. Here is the proof; “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) – For the sake of time and word count, I will not unpack the rest of this chapter; but read, digest and understand the importance of faith in our lives. Read the chapter slowly, think about each person’s life, and then see how you measure up.

 

Practically how does this play out into everyday life? It should never be with a gambler's mindset, they hedge their bets, minimizing the chances of failure. It has to be with our lot and trust in our God, an all-in move. That is what is required. This lesson is a constant struggle for most of us as we often find ourselves getting in the way. But thank God that He is gracious and long-suffering toward us. Nevertheless, the lesson must be learnt if we grow in our heavenly Father's knowledge and grace. This is a lesson that cannot be avoided. I often wondered why the Lord sent his disciples out without any provision or money in their pockets for their upcoming journeys. Here is the lesson in its practicality; “And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.” (Luke 9:1-3) – The most important job to ever befall a group of people and that is how they were sent! With absolutely no endowment of self-sustaining provisions to conquer. Total trust and dependency in their God, without this type of test our faith will never have a character of its own, “standing the test of time”. Almost an impossible task, but by the grace of God here we stand.

 

Faith must and will feed our hope, just like a vehicle needs the energy to drive it, so too do we need faith to energize our hope; heaven and all its glory! Not only that, we hope in God to supply our daily needs as and when required. It’s the now that is tested, which shall be rewarded later…

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone

The Wrath of God!

Is there a time and place for anger to ever have its place in our lives?

 

My mind often toys with this question, yet it needs further investigation. The anger of God is as real as the setting of the sun. Scripture repeatedly proves that, and proving otherwise would be very hard. The phrase “wrath of the Lord” and the “anger of the Lord” come to mind. Those two words are often interchangeable in Bible translations. In the ESV translation, 35 verses of the Old Testament use that phrase 36 times. A very hard reality to try and skirt around, “THE ANGER OF THE LORD” is real. Only a fool would look to deny this and play into the hands of the coined phrases; “If God is love…” or “How can a God who loves…” Their conclusion will always try to accommodate sin in one form or another. Love is always conditional and there is always a cutoff point with our love for others. Agape is a proven unconditional love, or is it? Let’s look at that definition. “Agape, Greek agapē, in the New Testament, the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God. In Scripture, the transcendent agape love is the highest form of love and is contrasted with eros, or erotic love, and philia, or brotherly love.”

 

Having considered this, I will now conclude that Love “agape love” is confined to the person of Jesus Christ and that all those who reject Him will face God’s wrath. There will be no if and but for them. For those who accept Christ as their Saviour regardless of the way they live and disregard the Word’s instruction without true repentance is a thorny patch of ground.   Let me explain, to be covered by the unconditional love of God we must be covered by the righteousness of Christ. We must be born again. But many claim salvation in Christ and yet live as foreigners to the Word of God, His instruction to us as his children. The only way to know if we are truly born again is not if we have parroted off a sinner’s prayer but rather we know what the apostle John teaches us very clearly, “if we love Him we will keep his commandments”. I am not for one minute suggesting sinless perfection, but rather the will to eradicate sin from our lives as a priority. This is how we know if we are truly born again, and sure we may have a road to travel before we are persuaded by this truth, but unless we arrive, the possibility of not being covered by the love of God remains a daunting thought. To live a life irrespective of the instruction of the Word of God, The Bible, and disregard the obvious is the folly of the highest order, and yet we know the devil looks to twist the Word at every opportunity.., see Matthew 4…

God will never compromise His truth, He can’t! The Lord Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; we need all of Him to be covered by God the Father’s love, period!

The Wrath of God is real, make no mistake judgment is coming and I would encourage all to go and read the Old Testament to see how God deals with Israel’s enemies. No mercy is often the instruction.

 

However, today is the day of salvation, remember while we have breath we have hope, and we can right our wrongs, we can look to the storerooms of grace to help in time of need. He (the Lord Jesus) who has begun a good work in you will see you home, but remember not to make allowance for sin as if you are entitled to such behaviour, we are NOT!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Character

Whenever God’s people did evil in his sight there seemed to be server consequences, take for example when they had just come out of being blessed by God for 40 years, and then God delivered them into the hands of the Midianites. It is not as if they had the freedom to do what they wanted and then still expect a blessing. And yet how often do we cry out to our God expecting to be blessed regardless of our behaviour? It gets a little trickier for New Testament believers because of the work of the cross and our Saviour’s great achievements on Calvary. It is finished! The work of salvation is complete, believers are now covered by the blood of the Lamb. That has been cemented by the Lord Jesus’ resurrection, with many eyewitnesses confirming that. Not that this is required by faith. Nevertheless, in a court of Law, the verdict would stand.

 

If the work of God has been finished in the Lord Jesus Christ, which it has, how do we need to behave as believers? This is where deception can often play its part in our lives, especially when our selfish wants gets in the way.  Excuse after excuse is often our mantra. This is why I have often spoken about the mirror in my life, looking into it with honesty and asking God to show us who we are. If we miss this step we are no better than the ostrich that buries its head in the sand when the going gets tough.

 

It’s easy to voice that we Love the Lord, and I know that is the truth if we confess Jesus as Lord, but the reality of that watered-down confession often has hypocritical connotations. It is all linked to keeping the WORD of GOD as a rudder to our lives. Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my word. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. (John 14:23-24) – We can most certainly tie this into this statement; “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15) – This very statement often causes many to stumble, and at times, guilty as charges! Nevertheless, it’s the Goodness of God that brings his children to repentance, so that they can fall to their knees asking for forgiveness, which God gives in spades, thank you, FATHER! 

However, life’s journey must bring us to a place where we acknowledge that the commandments of God are a rudder to our lives and should set the tone for how we conduct ourselves. If not we have been deceived. And just like Gideon broke down the altars of Baal we need to do the same if we have allowed any to live in our lives.  

 

The storm is coming; just like any well-trained soldier before battle, we need honed skills for the upcoming war. Enough of the excuses and it’s time for me at least to prioritize God first in my life as it matters. There is nothing I desire above this truth. “Let God be true and every man a liar”, in the context of those who oppose his voice. And I want nothing more than to please my heavenly Father with my conduct and compliance to His word. I know this purpose is of the highest order and I sincerely seek out your prayers to accomplish my goal.

 

Remember we need to read our Bibles to understand God’s character, and the law often shows us another dimension to His character. The Tora, the first five books of the Bible is where we can learn about this.

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

 

clean house

 

Having put my hand to the plow concerning a Bible daily reading plan which I gracefully started at the beginning of this year has been beneficial. How so? Well, it somehow opens one up to a different mindset. It’s not as if I’m looking for an answer to a specific subject. Nevertheless, it amazes me how certain truths jump out at me. And there is a specific subject that I would like to bring to your attention…

 

When God freed Israel from slavery out of Egypt the same pattern seems to emerge as the Bible takes us into their history through the ages. It had serve consequences when they allowed certain no-go commands to live with them. They were often instructed to kill all their enemies, yet they allowed some to live. MISTAKE! Without going into too much specific detail, what could I glean as a lesson for my example? What have they taught me? The answer is simple yet profound. What have I allowed to live in my life and not found the grace to kill off? What have I given a pass? What have you given a pass in your lives? If we do not address those areas urgently, it will cost us dearly. As it has already cost us dearly even if we haven't realized it yet, however, while we have breathe we have hope, and we can and must seek out God’s grace in our lives to right our wrongs. This is non-negotiable, I know that we have the power to ignore what needs to be rightfully examined but it will cost us of this I am convinced. Not only in this life but in the life to come.

 

Why should we read the bible daily? Without stating the obvious, it’s the only book that is actually able to read us. Get busy, be deliberate, and look to allocate a small amount of your day to do exactly that reading your bible. It does take discipline, so pray about it and then once you have put your hand on the plow, GO FOR IT! You will be blessed.

Grace and peace to all who confess Jesus as Lord.

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone

       

All came to pass

 

All came to pass

Thankfully I sit at my desk in the early hours of the morning, 3:15 to be precise and I wait in anticipation to have sweet fellowship with my Lord and Saviour. Just to feel His presence would be wonderful and then if I could hear His voice that would be delightful. So, what needs to be done to achieve this? Firstly there is no magic formula, but we certainly have been given a guideline for achieving such an encounter. Start with prayer, honor God as God and the creator of the universe, and hallow His name! Then ask and expect to be heard, this is how we apply faith to our lives. There should be no doubt, as long as our request is considerate of the will of God and not simply about our selfish wants. But even then we are heard and corrected, thank you, Father God.

 

Next, open the Bible and read until something catches your attention, and then start to unpack that. Look at it from every angle and then apply it to your lives on a practical level. Ask yourself how this relates to you and what can you take from it to bolster your relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Remember the Bible is our greatest tool for life it’s the only book that can read you as you read it. It opens us up before the Lord and then allows us to fall on our knees as we cry “Abba Father, please forgive me for my sin”. It is a phenomenal tool that God has afforded his children. We need to be reaching for it even more as we see that day approaching. The trial of life is about to ramp up and only those holding on with dear life will be able to endure.

 

Lastly, once you have had your time and found some direction, even just for the day. Thank God for his grace in your lives. Love Him audibly and soaked in the touch of the Lord as God the Holy Spirit assures you that God is with you. And to finish off with the title of this post “All came to pass”, remember this! WHATEVER GOD SAYS and establishes through His Word will come to pass,  with no ifs and buts, we trust His voice even if we sometimes do not understand the reasoning behind it. "let God be true and every man a liar" must become our motto for life, if not we are opening so many doors to differing deceptions.   

 

Even as I sign off the first song that comes to my mind is this, “To get a touch from the Lord is so real”. Thank you Father God for the sweet fellowship this morning, I love you and ask that you would make me mindful of the needs of others and help me apply myself to their lives for the furtherance of your gospel.

Blessing to all that call upon the name of the Lord Jesus and confess Him as Lord of their lives, Peace be with you all!

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Me Time!

 

What does a Christian need to prepare them for the fight ahead? Faith is a tool in our armory that is imperative to drive us forward and it feeds our hope, which in turn brings glory to our God. A win-win all around. So what must we do to add to our faith, igniting our hope, whilst fueling our zeal to get on with what really matters and bringing glory to our heavenly Father? The very first place for us to start is to hear God's voice, and how do we do that? We read our Bibles, and I cannot stress how important this is. It’s the time and place where you allow God to speak to you without any distractions. Just you and He as the Spirit of God nourish, comfort, and admonishes, whilst the words from the page come to life and minister straight into the core of our hearts. It’s rather beautiful, even if at times, we are softened to tears as we seek forgiveness for our sin and folly, those split-second choices that speak of death. The beauty of reading the Bible has such a profoundly brilliant outcome in shaping our minds, as we grow in the statue of Jesus Christ our King. This is what it’s all about, having our minds transformed as we begin to work out what the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God looks like for our lives. To achieve this objective we must read our Bibles. "Bible reading is God speaking to us, whilst praying is us speaking to God". Maybe it’s time to start a challenge, a Bible reading challenge, nominate someone to read a book of the Bible, and then pass the challenge on to the next person and so on. Or stand alongside someone and get your hand on “read the bible in a year pdf”, there are many around. I will also leave a tag at the bottom of this post. Single out an individual or a couple of people and check in with each other, keeping one another accountable in love.

 

Christian we need to hear the voice of our heavenly Father, READ YOUR BIBLES! It will add to your faith and ignite your hope. Of this truth, I am 100% converted, with no ifs and buts. I would encourage all to be like little children and allow the Word to simply wash them. I am not referring to a particular study of any given topic, although this is also very important, my encouragement to you is just to read and digest. Our intent must be one of a child running excitedly into the arms of his father where there is safety. Whatever you need to do, set time aside in the day to read you’re Bibles. Call it “Me time”, allow no distractions to hinder your intent, as obstacles will come, be faithful and God will remain faithful. Do not deny yourself the opportunity to hear the voice of your God speak directly into your hearts.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

https://biblereadingplangenerator.com/

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone