All Hail King Jesus

All Hail King Jesus, blessing and Honour belongs to my God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob. How many can with any assurance claim this truth for their lives? I most certainly can and will declare it to be true. Blessing and Honour belongs to the only true and living God who has no equal, He is merciful, kind and long suffering with those who are dull of hearing. How many times have you had to repeat yourself to me concerning a particular topic my gracious heavenly Father and how slow I have been to act correctly in accordance with your righteousness and not my rebellious selfish attitude of self gratification looking to find sinful selfish satisfaction? Where would I be if it weren’t for you endurance and kindness as my Father, This is a morning where I will declare to you that I refuse to take lightly what you have tolerated with me a difficult son. And yet I will be forever grateful for your loving discipline and you direction for my life, thank you for the trail of life, and for the correction that has lead me into suffering to teach me obedience and to walk by faith trusting You at your Word.

These are truths that I can claim as tried and tested! Where I have failed you, you have never changed and been a God of your Word, unable to be swayed by sin, a perfect God and Father who has extended a loving arm toward me in and through my beloved Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, even whilst knowing all things prior to them unfolding. Knowing all about my stubbornness and yet still welcoming me with open arms and giving me sight to see the truth behind Christ’s sacrifice on my behalf. Love personified!

O the depths of God’s love, who can measure it? If it could be quantified, could all the storehouses of the world be able to constrain it? Never! But wisdom has built her house upon the Word of God and faith is given to the believer when He trusts God at His Word. Help me to grasp this reality with a deeper intent I pray. I love you my God and I love your Word, which could never be separated from your character, you are your Word! We on the other hand often make great claims about what we will or won’t do, only to disappoint. No wonder the Lord Jesus taught us to never swear by an oath or get others to do the same; "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matthew 5:33-36) – And yet how often I have erred in this area of my life BUT GOD who is rich in mercy has ever been merciful to me in spite of my rebellion. Thankfully we are all works in progress; sadly even Samson had to lose his hair and his eyes before the greatest feat of His life unfolded. Arrogance mingled with pride often robs us of the simple pleasure found in Christ and His Spirit. The fact is that we as Christians have the mind of Christ so we are now without excuse! There must come a time in a believer’s life when we hand over our selfish wills that always lead us down the path of destruction to our heavenly Father and to resign all to Him. A tall ask if viewed through the eyes of our flesh, but quite reasonable when we put on the mind of Christ. Here is the instruction; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1) – It is a reasonable request! However we all need to be put through the fire to learn this valuable lesson. Thank you Father God, I love your undying love and perseverance with all your children and not only the apparent model examples seen in scripture. How I am learning to hate that which opposes your will for our lives.

There is so much work to be finalised but I am persuaded that you will see me through all the rot that looks to deceive and rebel in my daily sanctification. “Jesus in my place” how sweet those words are to my soul, THANK YOU!

Teach me to trust and obey in every area of my life my God, Hero and the lover of my life! May you continue to purge me with the trials of life to teach me the way of the Master, Amen and Amen! To God be the glory now and forever more…

Signing off

Tyrone

    

Purge me

(Psalms 51:7)  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The entire concept of sacrifice in the Old Testament was to bring an offering of livestock, a male without a blemish, symbolic of the requirements God needs from mankind to be able to approach him because of who His is, perfect and Holy! Salvation has the perfect sacrifice all encompassed in the Lord Jesus’ perfect atonement for mankind’s sin. He lived a life without sin and therefore was able to approach the throne of God in person to pay the price for sin. It is a phenomenal achievement! Many other individuals throughout time lived for God, men sold out for Him, but they all lacked a certain ingredient, which was to live sinless lives. The prophet Ezekiel makes reference to three individuals that seemed to come very close; “even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.” (Ezekiel 14:20) – It is obvious that God saw their commitments but it may only have helped them and not the rest of their families. But the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice has covered a multitude of sin; God is satisfied to call us brothers because of what the Lord Jesus did on our behalf. Those who are truly saved, that is! Not the rest! It is God’s work that is needed to save an individual and to open their eyes to this reality.   

 

Flesh and blood, human wisdom and effort will never get us to a point of salvation, it is impossible. We must be sanctified by the blood of the Lord Jesus and Him alone. In other words we have to acknowledge His role in our rescue, if not we will drown in our own sins. If we call upon the name of the Lord we will be saved, why? Because God sees Him, the One who paid the price for an individuals sin and not our sin; we have His covering and this is why we are now acceptable within the beloved. Stop trying to find your own justifications from God to accept you on your own merits if that is what you are doing. It is an impossible task!

David in this Psalm asks God to purge him with Hyssop; he asks God to do the work. The Apostle Peter was the first of the twelve to see the light when the Lord Jesus asked them who they thought He was; How did it happen? Observe –“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”” (Matthew 16:13-17) – Just as God opened Peter’s eyes to which the Lord Jesus is and what He came to accomplish and David understood that God needed to be merciful to him in order to be sanctified, we too need the same act of kindness bestowed on us if we are to see the light. It is God’s work and not ours!

We must seek out His mercy in order for this to become our actuality; prayer is the key to it all. Call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved, is the instruction. Our responsibility is to ask God to purge our sin and he shall; “for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If this call from God went out before the worlds were created and election took place prior to the intervention of mankind which the scripture is clear on; “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:4) – It is obvious that God in His brilliance penned His script and then rested and watched His will unfold through the chapters of history, with each character playing their part as He intended. Unaware of their roles and yet finding God’s will for their lives through their lifetimes. Most cannot accept these truths as they are too big for our puny little brains in comparison to the genius of God’s brilliance, but election happened prior to the foundation of the world, the text is clear.

Where does that leave us in relation to sharing the gospel to a dying world? Charles Spurgeon had this to say; “If God would have painted a yellow stripe on the backs of the elect I would have gone around lifting shirts. But since he didn’t I must preach “whosoever will” and when “whosoever” believes he is one of the elect”. Rather simple to understand when we put on the mind of Christ.

The bringing of a person to salvation is all of God, it has nothing to do with our wills, and it’s all about God’s will! If it was any other way we could boast in our choice in choosing God but He chose us, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen! Never let these realities leave our minds; praise the Lord Jesus Christ for His obedience to the call that God placed on Him. Without His accomplishments we would all be on our way to hell because of our sinful natures. But now the elect have been covered by His grace and we all look forward to a sinless eternity with our God and Father. Wow, thank you Father God for saving me!

Signing off

Tyrone

                                          

A basic fundamental

To be trained correctly is a goal that many aspire to as it holds us in good stead when it comes to the faculty we wish to excel in. We all have a drive that eventually works its way into our lives and directs our paths. It does when we are able to latch onto something within our quest which motivates our intent and it’s normally only then when we find a resolve to really excel. We need a trigger to get us motivated! It could be power, wealth, fame, pride and the like, which are all linked to sin if triggered by our natural minds; however without going into too much depth regarding the actually mysteries of God’s Spirit working within a convert, let me say this, when this truth is sealed within our minds we will find a freedom in applying ourselves to eternal matters, which will be for our benefit as well as those we rub shoulders with along life’s journey.

At salvation a trigger in our minds is flipped and our souls come alive and we see things for what they are for the first time in our lives; all the questions and the inward struggles that plague our silent thoughts are prioritised with Christ now in the forefront of our minds. This in itself is a miracle! Faiths mingled together with sound doctrine within the true gospel message and the heavy weight of our sin drops off our back and possibly believe we are the first person to unravel the truth to mankind’s existence. We can of a certainty relate to the man who was blind, who had an encounter with the Lord Jesus and then ran around shouting, “I was blind but now I can see!” Without a similar experience you may still be rapped up in the thought of religion. Have you been given the mind of Christ? It is a gift received at salvation! If not fall to your knees and cry out to the Lord Jesus and ask Him for His mind. There can be no doubt to whether you can see or not! If you have reservation, wrestle until you are sure God has saved you and given you His Spirit.

How is it that both the church of Galatia and the church of Sardis needed to be reminded of a similar truth; the Galatians were asked by Paul about their understanding and compliance to a Gospel that was grace centered to the exclusion of works. This was his question to them; “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:1-2) - In other words did they do anything to warrant the gift of grace from God? Did we do something to find favour in our own merits that lead us to Christ in repentance? The answer is obvious; we didn’t and could never do anything that could please God, period!

If that then is the way we as Gentiles found the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob coming to save us from ourselves and our sinful natures, why then after salvation do we potentially forget this truth? Again the answer is obvious, we begin to reason with our natural minds and not with the mind of Christ which we now have as a gift given to us at our conversion.

There were those who had crept into the church at Galatia and were trying to enforce circumcision and Paul had to set them right on the matter. The warning to us is that we do not make the same mistake. Not that we are taught to now pursue circumcision per say but there is often hints from others and our own minds that lead us to look for justification in what we do that approves our worth with God. We say to ourselves “if we behave in a certain manner we will then be accepted by God”. After all, does the Bible not teach that you will know a tree by its fruit?

Here then is the trap that misguides our understanding; after salvation we are given the Spirit of God which now takes up residence in our mortal bodies but before long we often revert back to our carnal understanding as we look for justification which proves to others that we are Christians. Which is an obvious requirement; you will know a tree by its fruit! However, if we apply these truths to our lives from the “outside in” instead of the “inside out” we miss the mark entirely. We must understand that having begun in the Spirit we now need to be perfected by the same Spirit! Our pursuit of holiness must be driven by the Spirit of God and it must be understood as such. If we get it wrong all we will ever achieve is a sense of self worth that will eventually lead to death. It will cause us to become boastful against one another. Excusing ourselves and accusing others from failing to reach our level of false commitment. Here then is the proof of my argument; “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3)

I understand that this is a basic fundamental that every Christian should have engraved in their brains but I am not convinced that all have fully grasped this truth. We must learn to be lead by the Spirit of God and put on the mind of Christ permanently if we are to be successful in our plight as a Christian. It is clear that the old man (our natural application to life) is dead if the Spirit of God lives within us; “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:8-10)

There is now new application to our lives that must become a way of life; “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3:27)

Now the church at Sardis who had a reputation of being alive but was dead; “"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: 'The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. "'I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.” (Revelation 3:1-2)

Complacency or turning a blind eye to what we lack will never be good enough; God is perfect so at the very least we must seek out His will for our lives, owning our sin, in other words work out what it is that He requires from us in every area of our lives when it becomes apparent that there is a lack. Obviously we all have the same commission, which is to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and yet we do not all have the same functions within that quest; we have each been given a specific role within His production! Remembering that all roles and skits have already been plotted out prior to creation by the Godhead; Mind boggling yet true! For us, it must be about what protagonists we are meant to play whilst fitting into our characters as God intended. It will obviously play out the way He has internalised, but for us on an individual level we need to work it out. We do not have His brilliance and foresight and yet we do have the mind of Christ, therefore when we walk in the Spirit we will by the Spirit obviously reap the fruits of the Spirit. This is why the Word of God is so crucial to our lives; imagine an actor having to play a specific role without a script, Impossible right? That is what our lives are all about, but when we are lead about by our own independence believing that we have the keys to our own destiny we will only ever produce fruits of the flesh, which highlights sin and our fallen states.

Therefore, as Christians, the sooner we tow the line as intended, the sooner we will finish our quests and be taken home. We only ever hang onto this life in this world because we are viewing things through the eyes of our natural minds; if we saw things for what they are we would never want to remain here.

Imagine a director having the perfect take with a particular actor and then deleting it whilst having to reshoot it over and over, what would be the point? With that in mind let me leave you with this thought; “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24) – I would conclude, the perfect “take” finally arrived and God took Him home without him ever having to face death. He finally attained every lesson that God had willed him to absorb, wow! Praise God now and forever more Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

 

 

 

  

          

The "manipulation of sin"

(Luke 5:38)  “But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

Did you know that the “manipulation of sin” is a precipice so deep that it is impossible to breach? Try as you may, pay top dollar for the best psychiatrist with their twelve step programs and all you will ever do is bury the “deception” a little deeper as you are deceived into believing that you have found a key to unlock a step to freedom, when in fact its just another disguise mused as freedom.

As Christians we allow the Word of God to wash over our lives hoping for the change to happen. And because we do not like certain attributes to our lives we welcome most of its instruction with open arms. However there are certain strongholds that have their claws hooked deep into our lives and those are the areas we hang onto with all we have and mostly with denial mixed in as the key ingredient. Our own minds manipulating us into a deeper vortex of sin that becomes solidified the longer it is allowed to live. It is only when we see it for what it is that we will be allowed to confess our part in the breach and ask God to miraculously set us free, in and through the work of His Spirit. Try and conquer any other way and all you will ever do is some patchwork that will always be evident.

There are two realms that need considering, the carnal and the Spiritual, the body and the Spirit. They both have different entities that feed their survival. Unfortunately so many make the fatal mistake of trying to conjure up some concoction that will cater to both. Does oil and water ever mix evenly? No wonder the Lord Jesus seemed to spend so much of His time here on earth dealing with this topic; “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6) – Does not life itself teach you so many valuable lessons; we cannot put new wine into old wine skin for it will result in a massive burst! We cannot patch an old pair of pants with new fabric because it will tear the mend. Like for like is needed, new wine with new wineskins and so forth.

So many religious institutions make this fatal error. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews and he hadn’t understood this, have you? The flesh (our natural commitment to life and their applications) can never feed our souls with sustainable food that is required for that part of us that will go on into eternity. That needs a different mind-set and application to work out in the positive. Just like our natural bodies had a beginning, so too our spirits need a beginning (to be born again) and only some have understood. Have you? God is the one that quickens our Spirit and gives them life. How so? Through repentance for our sin and acknowledging that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin in particular.

Our natural bodies need food to sustain them, so too do our Spirits need food to sustain them.  Let us stop lying to ourselves about so many traps that trick us into believing that what we are on about is for our eternal benefits. If it is not from the Spirit then it will always result in disaster even if it is hidden so deep that we live under the spell of self denial, all that it is, is the “manipulation of sin” at work.

Here are some facts that should settle our minds on this topic; “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)

In conclusion it is time for us to forget whatever we have learnt from family and friends if it does not correspond with the Word of God. If we want our Spirits fed correctly we must learn to trust and obey it in faith, believing God, for we are works in progress that will bring us great benefit and Him glory, come what may!

Signing off

Tyrone 

The Just!

Have you ever heard your name called out, whether audibly or consciously when the likelihood of that call coming was totally unexpected? Today was such a morning. Up and out of bed ready for training at 3:15 am. A call, I cannot pin point how I arrived at that awareness, whether in a dream or some other means I nevertheless heard someone addressing me by name. What was I to do, roll over and continue to sleep or to enquire after it? The latter was my persuasion. Why? I have in times passed been blessed in abundance through stints like these; the times when God used His amazing Word, the Bible, to speak into my life and fill me with an amazing amount of peace. Is today such a day? I eagerly await the outcome.

As it is written, “The just will live by faith”. – “The wise heart will know the proper time and the just way.”

It is time for me to unpack this verse, personalizing it and hopefully live by it like never before. But before that can be implemented a true understanding must be realized. If not, it will be misdirected and amount to nothing of substance.

My mind is now taken to the account of Moses and the burning bush; something persuades me that there is a lesson for me there; what I find interesting about this account is that Moses was away from the luxuries of life and tending his livestock and it was there that he came to Horeb (the mountain of God). I suppose we will never clearly hear the voice of God for our lives if and when our lives are filled with clutter and when we are busy with self indulgences. Moses saw a burning bush and enquired after it. He turned aside to investigate. It was through this action that God revealed Himself to Moses; “When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."” Observe and learn; have you ever been prompted to enquire after God’s instruction for your life but found a reason not to respond? It’s no wonder life continues like it always has with the peace of God eluding you. Let’s shoulder that there have been those times in your life but the thought of it was so ridiculous that you ruled it off as folly and nothing ever came from it. Moses was not like that “he turned aside to see”. There is a very valuable lesson in that, so let us learn from his example and follow suit whenever we hear that call, even if we are convinced it is our minds playing tricks on us. Nothing venture, nothing gained rings true.

I am not suggesting that we become perverse in our thinking as we go down every rabbit hole seeking out the gobbledygook of false religion. Looking for signs in misdirection; the Lord Jesus had this response to those seeking a sign; “And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."” (Mark 8:12) – We do not need signs as we have the Word of God as our reference, God has spoken in and through the Bible and we will find all we need in it. Study it to show yourself approved by Him. There is no need to test God at His Word, all that proves is that we are no different to the Pharisees of old. As Christians we have been given “the mind of Christ”! It is a gift that God has richly lavished us with. Bless His name now and forever more, Amen!

With that in mind how do I follow suit when it comes to the just living by faith?

It is an instruction to help us preserve our relationship with the only true almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It will keep us on the right road which will in turn lead us to heaven and give us the wherewithal to overcome. For we know that not all who claim Christianity as their heritage will stand guiltless before a holy and righteous God on judgement day; “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:7) – It is imperative that we find grace to conquer and it is our faith towards God that will equip us to hear these words; “His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'” – As Baptist’s we like to ride on the back of “once saved always saved”, which is true for the true believer, but we have a job to do and that is to walk by faith! We will all eventually see the true convert from the false on that great day. Our lip service will account for nothing if we do not appropriate what God is instructing us to do as obedient Children of God.

Some may find themselves as I once did in a state of disobedience chasing the lusts of this corrupt world but there must come a time in every believer’s life where God disciplines us in order for us to return like the prodigal son seeking out His forgiveness for our folly. Because of His love toward us we will be disciplined for our rebellion, that is if we are a son indeed! Pay careful attention to these verses and learn from them; “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:5-11) – Therefore if and when God’s discipline encapsulates your life, take joy in this truth that He is looking out for you. “You are in training”!  But if you are without correction then I fear for your soul, fall to your knees and call upon the name of the Lord and seek out His forgiveness for your sin and begin your journey with the One who has it in His power to condemn you to total destruction or pardon your sin and give you eternal life. There are sadly many who serve God for their bellies’ sake. Let us be sure that we are not amongst that number! And just in case you do not believe me here it is; “"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'” (Matthew 7:21-23) – And; “For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” (Philippians 3:18-19)

The faithful do not set their minds on earthly things. Let us make every effort to have these truths inscribed deep within our minds for they will hold us in good stead for this life and the life to come. Just as Christ gave of Himself freely so too must we learn to give of our selves freely helping those in need and especially those of the household of faith.

In conclusion we must learn to trust God in and through every circumstance that life throws at us if we are to be amongst that number, to be part of the ones that God refers to as children who are just and live by faith!

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with all the saints across the globe and may our loving Father continue to hone us into that beloved image of the darling of Heaven, our glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Exhort one another...

(Hebrews 3:13)  But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

To all the Christians out there I too would like to echo the sentiments of this verse’s encouragement and call on us all to daily exhort one another. For, there is a day coming when darkness will soon be upon this world as Satan causes havoc and misleads an already blinded world deeper into it’s sin and hate for God. Not that he hasn’t already corrupted this world for millenniums now, causing mayhem amongst the nations across the globe. But a day will eventually arrive when he will claim what God has already predetermined from before the beginning of time which was always part of His “production” (the plans of God unfolding in accordance with His Sovereign will).

Satan’s power will always hinge on deception, a lie that will always twist the words of God to have his way. In fact, because we have now been tarnished with the brush of sin there isn’t too much work needed on his behalf, our own sinful natures drive us away from God and His will. The Lord Jesus made reference in scripture to those in that state as sons of the devil. Let us not be fooled, if we are not for God’s will then we are against Him. Prior to salvation we were all under Satan’s sway and influence; and yet there is an interesting phenomenon that God in His brilliance had already singled out certain individuals to walk in the mind of Christ from before the beginning of time. Men and women born under the curse of sin with all the baggage that goes with that, selfish and sinful traits attached to our lives as we are swayed by our sin and yet even in that state kept by God who eventually brings us to an understanding that we were in desperate need to be saved from ourselves.

Sure, Satan has his part to play, but because we are naturally sinful by nature, we didn’t need much assistance along our journeys to prove that we were haters of God. Sin in and through our flesh (our natural sense) was alive and well, never needing steroids to fatten up that beast. From birth we produced the fruits of the flesh without any wilful effort attached to it; “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) – Note; the evidence of our behavioural patterns is obvious if we are honest with ourselves; but how many people claim to be good people and yet it is clear they are in breach of the sinful pattern above by the way they live. Sin even tricks us into believing that we will be ok with God on judgment day even when the Word has clearly stated that some will stand condemned. Do you understand how powerful sin actually is? Hence the reason for God sending His Son to conquer it as a man in the flesh; a mammoth task accomplished!

Every person ever born outside of the person of Jesus Christ has been tarnished with that brush, we are sinful by nature, so when we start to look for our own justification before God it is hopeless and it will never free us from our wicked selves. This was not our choice; we are all born sinners and are sinful by default. However, Eve our great great… grandmother; was not created as a sinner but chose sin instead of life; sin was made alive and we have inherited the consequence to their (Adam and Eve) disobedience. Cry foul as much as you like, that is the way it is and we need to deal with the matter at hand. The intention of Satan and his workers is to keep feeding you the lie “All will be well when you die”! There is a judgement coming and for us to escape that judgement we need forgiveness for our sin and we need God’s Spirit to give us life. We need to be born again! Without both of these events taking place in our lives we will remain enslaved to our sinful patterns, which is very easy to deduce from scripture; “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)  

     

It is the ones that are alive in Christ that Satan seeks out and lures with sin. Now sin’s traps are often disguised as something pleasurable with an echo to make one wise. Knowledge often puffs up with egotism. Pride is often a tell sign linked to sin filled behaviour. We need the grace of God fully operational in our daily lives if we hope to overcome. Pride on the other hand exalts the individual to believe that grace isn’t required; even if our understanding is not consciously aware of that truth; “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."” (James 4:6) – Life is all about learning to put on the mind of Christ, we already have His mind; “"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.’” (1Corinthians 2:16) - And through testing we need to implement that God given gift.

How do we understand His mind? We must all study the scriptures, by the prompting of God the Holy Spirit and finally in and through our application of faith towards God.

We must be mindful as Christians that sin in any form will harden our hearts and lead us away from God’s will for our lives instead of towards it. Let us not be fooled into believing the lies that oppose the Word of God. May God give us eyes to understand the importance of the implementation towards His will for our lives for I am convinced that when we see with the eyes of the Spirit it will be well with our souls!

Signing off

Tyrone

       

Trusting God to get us home

As I consider faith mingled with the mind of Christ as they work together in perfect harmony completing the saint, I am struck by a thought that is rather worrying and as I look around the statistic states there are millions of professing Christian across the globe and yet most of it when judged in accordance with the scriptures proves one thing, most of them seem to be caught up with pseudo-Christianity. It is clear to see where any organization stands with regard to the voice of God. See how seriously they apply the Word of God to their lives or “Declarations of Faith” (evidence to what they believe and stand upon). It isn’t rocket science, in fact it is rather simple to see the sheep from the goats. Test the value of scripture in the context of any organization and it will soon become evident to whether they are true or false converts. If an organization claims to have Christian principles but blatantly disregards the voice of God, they do not belong to Him, they do not have the mind of Christ and they are wolves in sheep’s clothing looking to prey on the weak.

Who will fall privy to these lies, most certainly not those founded upon the truth of God’s Word? Who have their own house built upon the chief cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ! He is a solid foundation that will never be moved. He has overcome and His quest has been conquered, “it is finished”!

Condoning sin as if it is our common right is an error we can never excuse. Same sex marriages are just one of those voices that prove those claiming it as their God given right, highlights that they are the enemy of the cross. They are still blind and in their sin. There may be some that are yet babes in Christ that would be taken by these lies, but not for long, it will soon become apparent where we all stand with our God. For if they are truly born again God will bring them around. How do I know this to be true? Because the Word of God teaches me that my heavenly Father has no worthy opponent that will sway His will and breech His purposes. That is cast in stone! If God is for the believer who can be against them? “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:29-31)  

I am persuaded of these truths but are you?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)

When a person begins to toy with the Word of God all it proves is they are carnal by nature and they haven’t understood the importance of putting on the mind of Christ, which every believer has been given. If we look to twist it to accommodate our own fleshly lusts we will end up like Eve looking for fig leaves to cover up our shame. Trust the Word of God, believe it and then seek out the abundance of God’s graces to live it out and we shall live. That is a given! Let no one fool you with empty promises as they twist God’s instruction just as Satan did in the Garden of Eden. Receive God’s instruction plain and simple, do not look to complicate its instruction and it will be well with your soul. “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.” (2Timothy 2:16-18) – In other words do not get in disputes concerning the obvious with those who look to bring in heresy.

Regardless of you maturity as a Christian; TRUST GOD AT HIS WORD AND IT WILL BE WELL WITH YOUR SOUL!

Signing off

Tyrone   

    

    

     

Trusting God at His Word!

(Psalms 113:1) “Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD!”

We have been created to praise the Lord, and when we learn to praise Him as we ort, our lives will be full of unspeakable joy. Here the psalmist encourages us to praise the Lord. Why would he do such a thing? He understood the benefits of such an action! In context to the Word of God this is what I have learnt and by the grace of God that is available to me I am in the process of seeking to establish a way of life that revolves around God’s instruction more than ever. Why? It has an unlocking power that unhinges the shackles of death. It is ever authoritative and if and when we learnt to trust it as we ort, we will most certainly reap God’s reward. If we can learn to become obedient to it in spite of our logic that at times drives us in the opposite direction it will bring with it life in abundance, of this I am convinced. The true confessing Christian whom God has saved will all echo this sentiment; the brilliance of God who can know it, who can fathom the depths of it and yet we have been given the mind of Christ what a glorious God given tool, we are now able to see heaven through the eyes of faith but how skilled are we with those God given senses? We must continuously learn to walk by faith!

It is a very simple equation to understand, follow God’s instructions and live. Second guess it at your own peril. There is no greater example than the serpent (Satan) and Eve as they conversed over God’s instruction. Gods command was clear with no ambiguity; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" - A clear instruction with a very perfect warning; if you eat it you will die! Because we sometimes do not see immediate consequences to our disobedience that does noes no mean we won’t bear the brunt of our actions. Trust God’s Word, apply it to your lives in faith and the joy of the Lord will be our reward. In fact the warning goes even deeper, “neither shall you touch it”. Why? If we flirt with the forbidden fruit we prove that we are not being careful but rather reckless with the call God has placed upon our lives as Disciples of Christ. What then in context is our forbidden fruit? Anything and everything that is pitted against the Word of God; Why? Because its sin looking for an occasion to rebel against the voice of God. I heard someone once say that they believe that the Bible is a book filled with broken telephone messages; what do you believe it to be? If it is filled with truth then our understanding of it will change the way we receive instruction from it. If not we will continue in the way we always did! Therefore test yourselves by studying the Bible and it will soon become apparent to what level we have understood God’s instructions for our lives. If it becomes your first port of call we know that we are on the right road, if not then maybe we are but babes in Christ or worst still, we do not belong to Him. Repent therefore and ask God to be merciful to you and to give you sight.

I love God’s Word because it is the greatest leveler as it silences the gainsayer and yes our old natures will always look for justification if we run contrary to God’s instruction in and through His Word, the Bible! God has given His children the wherewithal to apply His tuition into our lives but we need His grace to apply it the way we ort too. Therefore seek out whatever message is require for the day thanking the Lord for His goodness and mercy that He so freely gives us equipping us to glorify His name, now and forever more, Amen!

It’s never about us and our accomplishments, but it’s always been about His goodness, let us never overlook this truth.

“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalms 115:1)   

Signing off

Tyrone

       

Renewing my Vows

I will praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart. Has He considered you, then consider others and proclaim His wonders from the rooftops.

Today is a day which, I resolve like never before, in the abundant grace of the finished work of my Saviour’s wonderful accomplishments to go on record that I, Derek Tyrone Arthur, declare that from here on in I will make every effort to trust the Word of God and implement it as instructed to the best of my abilities within the bounds of God’s mercies. When faced with choices I will look to the Word of God for counsel with greater intent and believe it’s instructions as a child trusts in their father’s ability to keep them safe. I will not let the nagging voice of apparent reason influences your instruction. “Let God be true and every man a liar”… I know in whom I believe! There is none like you; you are all knowing; perfect in all of your character and you have instructed your children to walk by faith, which feeds our hope and in turn energizes us to find your will for our lives.   

Teach me these valuable lessons; give me a deeper understanding of what the men of old went through in regard to their commitment to you. My prayer is that you would help and teach me like never before to glorify your name as you equip me to walk by faith. I am thankful that these lessons have already kicked into gear, here I am Father God take me where you need me to be. I will not be as bold as I once was in my youth when I publically cried out “thrash me if I am out of line”. Moreover, how I needed that trashing, but I will forever be indebted to you for it. I stand in awe when I think of the goodness of Jesus and I think of what He has done for me. Thank you for being patient with me Father God. I love you my King.

How merciful you are to some; those who are in desperate need to be saved from themselves. I consider Samson a Nazirite whom you called to free Israel in a desperate time and how things played out in his life with all those who once relied on him, eventually giving up on him; “But God” after allowing him to travel down a very slippery slope as he flirted with your promises, he eventually came to his senses; “But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” (Judges 16:22) – People often write off others as spent, but you Father God are the final authority on all things and you look into the hearts of your children and determine their outcome. My plea is that you renew a right spirit in me, teaching me to wait patiently. Open my senses to the Word of God like never before, as a hunter hones his knife ready for use when called upon. What else does a man have that will stand the test of time; the pleasures of this world are temporal with lures to take my eyes off what really counts, YOUR VOICE and YOUR WILL!  

 

When we study any given subject there will come a time when we are expected to write an exam. Am I ready for the test? On reflection many tests have been failed dismally and yet a resolve that can only come from the Spirit of God has driven me to pursue your will for my life; please continue to drive me towards your will and not my wants, and I am persuaded that you my great God will give me the desires of my heart. Thank you for who you are Jehovah God, Amen!

I am convinced that you are true and that it is impossible for you to lie, not that my validation would add any value to your awesome character but this truth helps me with my application of “putting on the mind of Christ”. Gracious Heavenly Father you are perfect in every facet of your being, and how do I know this to be true? You Word so declares it, the Lord Jesus said; “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)

God can and will never be enticed by sin. It is out of the reach of His brilliance, Satan thought he was immune to sin but proved that he was taken by it, in fact he is the author of it, at least when it involved mankind. Was he not the one to entice Eve with mankind’s very first sin? Ay! Therefore it is imperative for my mind to be captivated by these truths; “if God is for me who can be against me”, but in the same breath if you are for me, I too must be as equally committed and take up my cross and follow you with new vigour. This I will only ever achieve if you enable me to apply my wishes. Restore the resolve the vigour I once had when I was newly saved so that I may take up my cross and follow my beloved Saviour even to death if need be for your name’s sake. But not with zeal without knowledge, I could never repay the debt of your kindness to me in spite of myself, thank you Father God for your undying love and commitment toward me; I just want to go on the record and thank you. THANK YOU MY LOVING GOD AND KING!  

Sure, I am fully aware of the weakness I still have as the old man looks to rob me of this, but the truth has been declared in and through your Word that I am a new creature in Christ, old things have passed away and all things have become new; “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Corinthians 5:17) – It is this truth that I long to embrace, restore what the cankerworm has eaten from my life and thank you Father that as I make this request I am persuaded that you will oblige, bless your name now and forever more, there is no One like you and because of this I can cry Abba Father, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone       

Whose voice will you obey?

The greater the struggle the sweeter the victory is something that lingers somewhere in my mind as I hope for it to be validated by scripture. Because let’s face it, we should all understand that if a perceived truth isn’t validated by scripture it will bring about death. Death may elude an individual’s perceptions for a while but eventually at the end of its course, when it has fully played out it will be clear, and it will have its part in eternal damnation. Sadly we are all governed by our carnality, which is enslaved to sin, and therefore our design is about the here and now, our nearsightedness steering so many of our perceived perceptions into believing lies.

Do you recall the very first enticement before sin was conceived? Satan engaged Eve in conversation, with one intention, to deceive! To get her to follow his instruction at the expense of God’s command and our human natures are the same in character, by default it always looks to pull us in the opposite direction to God’s voice. The flesh and the Spirit are at war with one another and yet it is obvious that in these fierce battles there can only ever be one victor. Harmony is not something the flesh and the spirit will ever share. We have been asked to choose whom we will serve and I suppose that would imply a daily action on our part. It is not enough to confess the Lord as our Saviour once and then to forget our commitment to Him and then to live like we once did, enslaved to our sinful habits. Today must be a day where we make a choice and confess our heavenly Father, God or Satan, the Spirit or the flesh, sin or righteousness, life or death. It is a constant war that continues to rage on and this will be our lot in life until we take our last breath. It is now part of God’s design; we have choices that constantly need to be made. Knowledge helps us make informed decisions. If and when we learn to understand the Apostle Paul’s argument concerning our characters we will learn to shift gears and prepare for battle; this is his conclusion after a lengthy synopsis about his own fleshly character; “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:24-25)      

The strength of sin resonates in this clue; Satan said to Eve “you shall not surely die”. She ate of the fruit and her eyes where opened to another realm, “the knowledge of good and evil”. It was not as if the fruit was filled with poison that killed instantly, she woke up the following morning and still breathed. Her fleshly mind now believed Satan and not God. However where is she now, she is dead! Her carnal body has decayed and become part of the earth, there is no more trace of her and yet her soul is alive and awaiting judgement. She has entered the spiritual realm with great regret. The moral of the story is that she was told that if she disobeyed God’s voice she would die. Satan tricked her into disobeying God’s command and she ate of the forbidden tree. She may well have believed the lie for a time, for she didn’t die immediately, physically that is! Her understanding of death was carried out over a process of time, but she is now fully aware of the magnitude of what God meant. We too will all come to understand the extent of our actions if we neglect the Words of God; it is therefore imperative that we make every effort to hear the voice of God before we too are filled with eternal regret. As Christians our minds must learn to serve the law of God.

And yes my initial thought can be validated by scripture. Samson was filled with the Spirit of God when a lion attacked him and he was able to kill the lion. On his return a couple of days later he came across the corpse and what has his reward; a swarm of bees had nested inside the carcass and he was able to eat something sweet. Life with all its challenges can be trying, they are meant to be, but if we put on the mind of Christ and abide in the Word of God through it, it will reap reward. But it is not only the individual that reaps the reward but those closest to us will also benefit. Samson gave some of that honey to his mother and father.

Signing off

Tyrone