James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

I wonder how often we as believers just disregard the word of God. I have said it before and I will say it again when we ignore God’s word, it is only the one who discounts it, that suffers loss. It is a simple truth that cannot be ignored. So the encouragement is to heed the voice of God. It is a simple instruction with clear warning; do not grumble against one another. Our mind immediately runs to accusing others and excusing ourselves, we believe we have grounds to gripe. Do we? I am not so sure we do. Paul tells us to imitate Him as he imitates Christ. The lord Jesus was without fault and would have been justified to defend His honour, but we know very well that when he was reviled He reviled not! He had every right to retaliate and yet He held his peace. I must confess the war rages on in my members (flesh), it wants to point a finger at others at times, yet when I do it is always to my own detriment. I need to stop it, as it will be good for my spiritual growth. So let us stop grumbling, right now, whoever you are and wherever you are. If we refuse to heed the counsel of God’s word then look at the text, “so that we may not be judged.” But it is not a brother or a friend or even an enemy that will judge, but the Lord himself and “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.” “The judge is standing at the door. If we have grumbled then let us seek forgiveness, if we find ourselves still grumbling, may God equip us to find grace and to repent. We must!

Let us consider the communion we have around the broken body and the shed blood of our Lord. This is an ordinance that the Lord requires from us. (Baptism is the other requirement for a believer). We are to break bread as often as we would remember Him. If I had my own way, I would love nothing more than for believers to gather around a table with wine/grape juice and some bread, every second or third day would be good and in a prayer and fellowship structured meeting to remember His great sacrifice. Once every fortnight seems somewhat stretched. Let us dissect a few truths from Paul’s teaching on the subject found in 1 Corinthians 11... He starts by mentioning “that in the same night He was betrayed.” It is interesting that Paul mentions this because when we think about what Judas did and we look at his motive, it is obvious to see that he was thinking of himself before the purpose and cause of the Lord. Paul then goes on to instruct us that we need to eat and drink discerning the Lords body and if we do not to discern His body we will be guilty. Guilty of what you may ask? Guilty of judgement, the same judgement we will be guilty of if we grumble against our brother. It is exactly the same train of thought that Paul and James have. I will not go into any detail now, concerning the body of Christ, suffice to say that we are the members of the body of Christ; (1Corinthians 12:27) “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

Therefore, we all need one another whether we like it or not. Just as your physical body has need of the heart, lungs and kidney to keep us alive and healthy. So we need one another and more than that we need to give place to one another above our own wants and needs. When this starts to happen and God equips his entire saints to love how beautiful the sight will be, how glorified God would be. If we do not heed the counsel of God’s word in this area of our lives, remember we will suffer the judgement and reproach, not only from man but from God Himself.

(1Corinthians 11:27-30) Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.

Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

God views this so seriously that Paul tells us that if we do not give place to one another in love and we do not examine ourselves and judge ourselves. What do we judge? We judge to see if we are treating the members of the body in love. I will not say more than this, you yourselves will be able to examine your own lives and how you behave and act to others in your church. Look at how God will judge, “that is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” Rather serious wouldn’t you agree?

Let me confirm this truth by using one more scripture and let’s look at how the Lord taught us to pray. (Matthew 6:12) “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

I prayer my heavenly Father that you would continue to be patient with all your children and please forgive us for erring in this area of our lives. But, teach us to be more like our Saviour for His beauty when beheld is too beautiful for words. Help us be eager to search out grace from your throne of grace, to help in time of need.

Now to all of us how hold to this hope, remember our hope, be strong and vigilant and stand on the word of God. The day is coming when all those who will love His appearing will meet Him in the clouds in the air and what a day that will be.

Signing off

Tyrone

(I Kings 18:43) “Go again seven times”

The mind of a believer must be exercised differently to the way the world teachers us the think and act. Firstly, the carnal mind is blind to heaven and all that pertains to godliness. It is only once our eyes have been opened that we are able to see. How does this actually happen you may ask? What came first the chicken or the egg? Obviously the chicken, God spoke creation into being and in like manner we who were “dead in our trespass and sin.” Note we were dead, can a dead man see, can a dead man talk of can a dead man respond in anyway, the answer is obvious, NO! Salvation is all of God, not of man, we do not one day as a dead man decide to follow God and repent. It obviously seems to many that is what we do, as a Christian there was a time when you repented and knew that Jesus Christ had died for your sin and you either wept in your closet finding repentance or you responded to an altar call however that may have unfolded. Every true believer had to repent believe in the resurrection and confess Jesus as Lord. That is true, but let’s considers the event and unpack it a little. As I have already mentioned can a dead man do anything, the answer is a simple one, and he cannot. Does he have any of his senses intact, again he does not? So then how or why do we and I mean many think that as a dead man we are able to respond to God and repent and choose to follow Him? I thought like this once, it is ridiculous! Yet it is easy to see how we can overlook this truth. How you may ask? Well, when God calls and we in turn respond, who responds? Well we do the one whom God calls. So then I make the choice to respond to his call, well said, that is true. You see it is the call of God that quickens a dead sinner’s heart and opens his eyes to his sinful state; it is at this point that we see (our eyes are opened to see God) and then we call back in reply and then we find forgiveness. We are saved by grace through faith. Grace means we find unmerited favour, it is a gift of God. But, remember a dead man is dead, that is why he is called a dead man or a corpse. The corpse is brought to life by the mercy of God, remember the account with Lazarus, he was dead and God (the Lord Jesus) called out “Lazarus come forth,” and he found life, his dead body, was no longer dead but came alive. It is exactly the same way we find life, God calls we find life and then we respond and we begin our journey considering heavenly things with earnest. Let me use an example to highlight my point; let’s say we are on a plane sitting comfortably on our way to a holiday destination. We are thrilled as many pleasant thoughts of anticipation fill our minds with the upcoming potential. Suddenly panic fills the cabin as the captain voice over the intercom announces that engine failure will ultimately result in him having to crash-land the plane. Panic and pandemonium now run riot as everyone begins to think of dead and loved ones. In the mists of this bedlam a surprisingly calm voice of the captain announces that there is a parachute under each person’s chair. Both young and old grasp frantically for the parachute which in turn will save their life. Get the point? We first need to see we are in trouble before we will consider ways and means to escape. God opens our eyes we see we are in very serious trouble. We cry out, and Christ’s sacrifice for our sin brings forth the fruit of repentance. We now choose to walk in a certain manner, this is called obedience. However, we do not always walk in obedience, but we now have life in us to obtain mercy and find grace to be obedient children. This now brings me to our text, “Go again seven times”. Achieving a goal will be certain when the Lord have promised it. Although we may have pleaded with the Lord over a certain sin in our lives, or a character flaw, or anything that would keep us from walking in the spirit and keep us walking in faith as obedient children. How could it be possible that the Lord would turn a deaf ear to any of his children when it would it pertained to His glory. Look how the prophet on the top of Carmel Mountain continued to wrestle with God, and never for a moment did he give way to fear as a non suited candidate in the courts of Jehovah. Six times he went up the mountain with great anticipation but receive no evidence except the word to go again and each time he went, not as a defeated man or like a dog cowering with his tail between his legs. No! He did not dream of unbelief, we must not dream of unbelief but we must hold to our faith even as many times as seventy times seven. C.H.Spurgeon puts it like this “Faith sends expectant hope to look from Carmel’s brow, and if nothing is beheld, she sends again and again.” Faith far exceeds the misery of disappointment or failure, she pleads more fervently with her God. She is humble and yet she groans deeply, she sighs vehemently but will never relax the stay of her hand. How can she? She cannot, for she is the “substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen”. Our flesh and blood bodies require speedy answers, but believing soul must learn to be submissive, we must wait upon the Lord. Delayed answers may cause our hearts to search and question, it is somewhere here that I believe we as believers are vulnerable as doubt voices it opinion. However that is not the voice of faith, but rather the voice of doubt, let us not be confused. If we listen closely we will be able to tell the difference of the pitch in their voices. Doubt has also cause great and feeble to faint, and miss the blessing. I am guilty, yet I will press on in faith even if I have fallen seventy times. We must guard against this sin; we must pray and be watchful. At last the little cloud was seen, the forerunner of the torrents of rain on the horizon. Whatever your prayer, just as long as it is to become more like the Lord Jesus remain faithful for you will rise like a prevailing prince to enjoy the mercy you seek. “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” Elijah was a man with like passion with us, his power was not found in his own carnal abilities, but in faith he committed himself to God. If his believing prayer purposed so much, why not yours, why not mine? If we step out in faith and bring our request that hinders us from walking in obedience, if we plead with our heavenly Father earnestly it shall be with us according to our desire.

Signing Off

Tyrone

The lumberjack

My thoughts this morning are heavy, how once again I ponder, time and how I have wasted it. But before I end up engulfed with worldly sorrow that leads to death, let us rather glean from a man that was full of the spirit and a man that used the gift God had given him well. Let us consider the lumberjack who will eventually visit us all!

“When in the forest there is heard the crash of a falling oak, it is a sign that the woodman is abroad, and every tree in the whole company may tremble lest to-morrow the sharp edge of the axe should find it out. We are all like trees marked for the axe, and the fall of one should remind us that for every one, whether great as the cedar, or humble as the fir, the appointed hour is stealing on apace. I trust we do not, by often hearing of death, become callous to it. May we never be like the birds in the steeple, which build their nests when the bells are tolling, and sleep quietly when the solemn funeral peals are startling the air. May we regard death as the most weighty of all events, and be sobered by its approach. It ill behoves us to sport while our eternal destiny hangs on a thread. The sword is out of its scabbard-let us not trifle; it is furbished, and the edge is sharp-let us not play with it. He who does not prepare for death is more than an ordinary fool, he is a madman. When the voice of God is heard among the trees of the garden, let fig tree and sycamore, and elm and cedar, alike hear the sound thereof.

Be ready, servant of Christ, for thy Master comes on a sudden, when an ungodly world least expects him. See to it that thou be faithful in his work, for the grave shall soon be digged for thee. Be ready, parents, see that your children are brought up in the fear of God, for they must soon be orphans; be ready, men of business, take care that your affairs are correct, and that you serve God with all your hearts, for the days of your terrestrial service will soon be ended, and you will be called to give account for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil. May we all prepare for the tribunal of the great King with a care which shall be rewarded with the gracious commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

Arm Your Mind

(1Peter 4:1-2) Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

As Christians all things become new! It is our mind and the way we think that I will consider in the early hours of this morning, the sun is far from rising and yet the birds have already began to call out, they speak another language, it is sweet to the ear. I am convinced they cry out, “to God be the glory forever and ever amen!” Ok, maybe not those exact word, yet they without question praise and give homage to the great I Am, the One who has no beginning or end, the One who is the Father of Lights and the merciful and gracious only true living God who sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus to pay the price for sin and redeem the called who where lost and without any purposeful direction, who where dead in their trespass and sin but now have found life. What a great God I serve and you serve all of you who believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and have confess Him as Lord with your mouths.

“All things have become new!” At salvation we receive sight to see what we once could not see, the kingdom of heaven. We are taught that we are new creatures in Christ. We are told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice and we are also told not to be conformed to this world, but to renew our minds. How must we renew our minds? If we are left hanging in the air with this as an open ended liberal workshop, it would leave us to our own devises and a lot of guess work and a doctrine of experience and people’s opinion would reign supreme. I am not sure that already isn’t at work today. If we look around we see churches, people and opinions all screaming out to be heard and be recognised as the ones with the answers. However, they do not have sound doctrine as their foundation. Paul however goes on to teach us that by testing we may discern the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect. What must be tested? Firstly we must prepare ourselves for the test. Let me use a simple example like making a cup of coffee. I need a stove, a pot, water, a cup, some coffee, milk and sugar. I make sure I have what it takes to make a cup of coffee. It would be foolish to attempt making coffee without any of those items. In like manner the testing Paul refers to starts out with an appeal “by the mercies of God, for us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice.” The optimal benefit for believers to test the will of God for our lives must begin with our bodies presented as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (reasonable service). He then instructs “not to be conformed to this world”, what does that mean? This is a subject without end! One point I will make, “let God be true and every man a liar”, and this would be a good place to start. The word of God is the final authority in this life and the life to come, it is our compass to eternal life and must be valued above all else. You may say what about Jesus? Yes it is all about Him, He is the word of God. Remember the Lords word, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” So, whatever the Lord has said and whatever is recorded in the word of God will come to pass, no debate, no casting of lots and no ballad boxes to hear the voice of the people. Whatever God has settled in his heart will come to pass.

If we can find ourselves settled with God’s word as marrow for our bones and eye salve for our eyes, if we can step out in faith and believe that God is for us and not against us. We must stop wrestling and always looking for the loop holes. There isn’t one! O that God would help us find grace to trust and obey.

Now that we have prepared ourselves we must now our arm our minds with correct information; what use is a gun without bullets? And what use are bullets that do not match the calibre of a particular gun? It may look threatening from a distance, but when called upon it would be rendered useless. In like fashion if we (believers) are not built upon the rock, when the storms come, great will be our fall. Therefore let us arm our minds with the right information; this now leads us into text...

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”

Peter teaches very clearly that since Christ suffered in the flesh, we must arm ourselves with the same mind. It will not help us if we try and arm our mind with any other wannabe different type of doctrine. This will be no more effect that a gun without bullets. As first glance the text seems harsh and unkind, but when unpack it with care we see God’s love manifest there. How you may ask? “Whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin”, it is only sin that keeps us away from the will of God for our lives. I want us to remember our Saviour encounter in the garden of Gethsemane, remember His prayer. He cried out, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." It was such an intense experience that He began to sweat drops of blood. His willingness to go his Father’s way has opened a way for you and me to have sweet fellowship with an almighty God and yet he deals with us as sons.

Now with that thought and our Saviour example in mind and we see what He accomplished on our behalf. Just imagine if we arm our mind with the same mindset, what we will accomplish for the will of God and how helpful will we be to others? We must arm ourselves with this mindset, we have no other choice. May our God continue to pour out His mercy and grace so that we may learn to walk in obedience bringing glory to His name. Yes, I agree some of our examples have been somewhat appalling. However, remember we must leave those things that are behind, and press on to the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Signing off

Tyrone

Caution, a must!

Is it not terrible thing to watch God’s children bicker amongst one another? I have witnessed it and still see it amongst believers. It is the canker worm which eats away, feeding on the unity of believers and before long he leaves his footprint, guile and bitterness replace what was once a peaceable fruit and if we do not addressed our own hearts and find grace to chisel him out, he will continue to contaminate all he comes into contact with and unfortunately the lambs (young believers) will be tarnished. Often we hold so strongly to our persuasion, which I believe God would commend. However, even if we are right about a biblical truth and are so driven to be proved right to the extent of sowing discord amongst believers, this will not be commended. I can tell on the authority of God’s word...

Proverbs 6:16-19

“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

If a thing be right, who are we to change it, or mould it into our tiny little world? We do not have that right; we may nevertheless twist something from God’s word to suit ourselves. That is not my point; we cannot and should not ever change God’s word to suit our lifestyle, we may all be guilty to some extent of doing this but that changes us and not Gods word. Having said that, it is only the truth from God’s word that will set us free to serve Him and walk in obedience. We never have the right to sow discord amongst brethren, for God hates this. What a serious indictment! Never should we as believers be swayed from sound doctrine, we must stand on God’s word, which is the sure foundation, with the Lord Jesus as our chief cornerstone. How must we do that? It seems somewhat contradicting you may say. On the one hand I must not sow discord amongst brethren and strive for unity; on the other hand I must never compromise God’s word. There are some truths in God’s word that we as believers must make our stand, it will be a hill worth dying on. An example that would depict my stand is that, “we are saved by grace through faith not of works lest any man should boast.” Christ alone has done the work, He alone has accomplished a means for our salvation. It is God who calls, it is God who saves and it is God who keeps us saved. Yet if someone does not agree with me on this truth, for it is true. How am I to respond, well once again it is the word which teaches us; there is a way in which all Christians must respond and it is with the spirit of gentleness and with patience.

(Ephesians 4:2-3) “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We can find grace to appropriate the truth from God’s word to one another. Paul gives us the teaching on love when we look upon her traits and gaze upon her beauty, how beautiful is she! “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong doing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

“Is not every Christian more than a conqueror through him that loved him? Living in peace, do not the saints fall asleep in the arms of victory?” (Spurgeon)

Victory in glorifying God must be our objective; the truth must be proclaimed and preached throughout this world. We must even be prepared to die on some hills, but amongst brothers may we tread with carefulness and in love.

Signing off

Tyrone

Thinking Right

There must come a time for the believer to forget those things that are behind and to press on towards the mark- heaven, our hope. I have through my journey here on earth found people with views on how confident they feel we should be with our abilities that obviously God has given us to achieve goals and prove ourselves as go-getters. To believe and then conquer would be their motto. We are what we are because that is where we are all, all because of the grace of God. If God has allowed me to go on in areas of my life and I have found obedience to press on, then God has allowed me to press on. However, one can be very easily lured into the trap of pride. Any form of justification that ignores the work by the Lord Jesus on the cross at Calvary must be categorize in life library and filed with the works of the flesh under sub heading of Pride. May God help us to find sustenance in the Lord Jesus and nothing else? Yet even if we have something in which we feel we could boast, our beloved apostle Paul reminds us about his achievements and then concludes like this in Philippians 3:7-9 “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

“Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Conscience accuses no longer. Judgment now decides for the sinner instead of against him. Memory looks back upon past sins, with deep sorrow for the sin, but yet with no dread of any penalty to come; for Christ has paid the debt of his people to the last jot and tittle, and received the divine receipt; and unless God can be so unjust as to demand double payment for one debt, no soul for whom Jesus died as a substitute can ever be cast into hell. It seems to be one of the very principles of our enlightened nature to believe that God is just; we feel that it must be so, and this gives us our terror at first; but is it not marvellous that this very same belief that God is just, becomes afterwards the pillar of our confidence and peace! If God be just, I, a sinner, alone and without a substitute, must be punished; but Jesus stands in my stead and is punished for me; and now, if God be just, I, a sinner, standing in Christ, can never be punished. God must change his nature before one soul, for whom Jesus was a substitute, can ever by any possibility suffer the lash of the law. “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” Not God, for he hath justified; not Christ, for he hath died, “yea rather hath risen again.” My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, he is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what he has done, and in what he is now doing for me. On the lion of justice the fair maid of hope rides like a queen.”

C.H.Spurgeon

Having now quoted Spurgeon and agreeing with all that he has said to be true. I know my own heart, how it wrestlers against this truth. When I look at my life and the mistakes I have accumulated over my journey with time, it almost robs me of the truth of Christ’s accomplishment on that cruel Roman cross. It almost has victory, but He is greater than my failures, He is greater than my bad choices, He is greater than anything that can come against me, and I mean anything, yes even ourselves. With that in mind let us be gripped with this mindset; Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

What is done is done, it has been recorded, and nothing we say or do will change that. However, we can find grace to press on just as Paul encourages us to press on forgetting those things that are behind, good or bad, happy or sad. Today is the day of salvation, let us not harden our hearts but with grateful hearts remember our Saviour and His accomplishments, let our eyes drift from our own pity filled lives as we gaze on the majestic work of Calvary, and how majestic those works are, praise the glorious name of Jesus. Thank you Father for sending your Son and giving us the ability to see heaven and the hope you have set before us.

Signing off

Tyrone

Inheritance

Daniel 12:13 But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days."(ESV)

This morning I have a lot on my mind, there seems to be a number of thoughts looking for my brain to process and all at the same time. If we leave a stone unturned, on our journey to the Celestial City (heaven) who knows what treasures we would forfeit for all eternity? Our life here on earth must be measure against God’s word and this must be done daily. Remembering that we only get one crack at it, we have our lives on earth and then for all those who would not believe that Christ paid the price for their sin and was crucified and on the third day rose from the dead. The second death awaits all of them where hell is their destination with the promise of a wailing and gnashing of teeth for all eternity. The bible is very clear on this. Remember with God all this are possible but it is impossible for God to lie. He has the power to speak worlds into existence but cannot lie for He is Holy. As much as the Lord is love and full of it, the bible says it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. My encouragement to believers is for us not to leave a stone unturned. This statement will need some explanation.

“But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.” An angel address Daniel, a man whose life was filled with obedience and the fruit of his life spoke volumes by highlighting God’s righteousness. When reading through the book of Daniel what really caught my eye was how this angel addressed Daniel, “O Daniel, man greatly loved.” God loved Daniel and still loves him. It would be good for us to learn from his example. So what then can we learn? Very few believers feel this holy jealousy for God like Daniel did; even those who in a measure walk by faith, as we all do if we have His spirit, yet how often do we mar the lustre of our lives by craving aid from man. Daniel never relied on man even when the provision was offered to him. He was offered meat yet ate vegetables. His purpose was simple and that was to show to all around, that His God reins. He would not allow others to receive glory, but his God only. David was another who refused to wear the armour of men and by faith in God alone brought down the great giant Goliath with a slingshot and a stone. “Faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” When we face difficulties through life and we must, why do we run so hastily to friends and relations for assistance, if we remembered that the Lord is magnified in our dependence when we rely upon his solitary arm? Daniel and David believed and trusted in their God, will you? When the trails of life are upon us, it will be clearly evident where we stand on this point. For we all must be tried. For the trail of our faith will ultimately bring the fruit of obedience. Yes even if we have hashed it time and time again, it will produce its fruit to all those who have received God’s Spirit.

Why is it important to find obedience in our lives and to walk in faith? Firstly God’s requires it and therefore it must be done. Nothing else needs to be said. However the apostle Paul once again gives us insight to what the angel meant when addressing Daniel, “But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days." Some bibles translate it slightly differently. The Good News bible says “you will receive your reward.” The angel comforts Daniel with reassuring him and commending him on his walk here on earth and reminds him that his reward is waiting for him. Yes, obviously the Lord Jesus is the reward for all who believe on Him. But, there is more, more you say, how can that be? I agree the Lord Jesus is the all and everything, nothing else is needed. But obedience will be rewarded, let look at Pauls teaching in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

“Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw-- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. “

There will be a judgement for believers; it will not be a judgement for sin, for our great Saviour has already paid that price with his very own life. The price for sin cans no man pay; it was bought by the blood of the lamb. There is only one road that leads to the Celestial City and the only way to start your journey on this road is to believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and to confess Jesus as Lord, you’re Lord. I believe that is why Paul stresses the point. “Though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. “ You see we cannot save ourselves it is only God who saves. Yet, along our journey down and up this road toward the Celestial City will come across the stones of the trails of life, we can pass then by, but just remember they just might have a precious stone, some silver or even gold under them. Daniel left no stone unturned, what will you and I do with them?

Signing off

Tyrone

Trust

Hebrews 13:5 Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.

Firstly let us consider the love of money and how that effects us in today’s society. Then we need to look at finding contentment with what we have and lastly He will never fail us or forsake us.

We are instructed to be free from the love of money. Why would the writer of Hebrews be as specific as he is, no doubt, this warning has been weight in the balance of God’s wisdom. Every instruction we receive from the word of God is for the child of Gods admonition bringing benefit them. God is for us and not against us. How this truth needs to find its abode deep within our hearts. The reason I mention his allegiance toward us, is our enemy; the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life (possessions) war against the spirit and those fruits that belong to Satan, the Father of lies. He is the one who introduced the lie to Eve in the Garden of Eden. God’s word does give us truth and when we find it, when it becomes part of our lives, then the truth itself sets us free. Not to serve our lusts but to walk in obedience to the will of God. The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians explains this phenomenon. “For although we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” Let us put off any trait we find in our minds that want to exalt itself above the word of God. For if we don’t it will be to our detriment. Now let us get back to our first point, “lets us be free from the love of money.” This evil, the love of money is like a cancer, it begins almost undetected and then grows and spreads into an ugly beast with one intention to destroy and produce lots and lots of fruit. However, the fruit it produces is exactly what Christ came to die for, SIN! It drives us for “more”, more fashion, more luxury, more of what the “Jones” have and deeper into sin. The Lord Himself rebukes those with this mindset. Please I beg you to pay careful attention to His rebuke.

Rev 3:15 “'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!

Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Rev 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.

Rev 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

The concept of wealth as a blessing here on earth is not sound doctrine; we are called to walk in faith so that we can find obedience to Gods will and not our wants.

The second point, “Be content with such things as you have.” I believe we need to find peace with our portion in life, we must not be driven by the mindset of “more”. More of Christ, obviously, we can never have enough of Him. Yet, less of the love of this world and all that is in it. Remember John’s teaching he could not have put it simpler; “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It (the world’s goods) is geared to distract us but we have been warned in love from God’s word to be on the lookout against its traps. Let us not get confuse, we must work, we must provide for our families, we must also be diligent in all we do but having said that, we must “be content with such things as you have.” Why? The lesson for us all is there to help us apply ourselves to the principle of Faith. God’s children must draw nourishment from there heavenly Father. Remember the children of Israel in the wilderness. How God fed them daily with manner from heaven and before long they began to moan with their portion, so God then sent them quails and yet they still complained. Many did not enter in because of unbelief (disobedience).

Lastly because of our great God and His great plan and his instruction for us, especially in the framework we have just addressed, He then, our Great Jehovah goes on to reassure us that “for He hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.” So then if we trust in His word and find grace to apply it to our lives, remembering that it is impossible for God to lie He reassures us that he will not fail us nor will he forsake us. How comforting are those words? Like honey to the pallet or marrow to the bones. I leave you with this thought, would you dare to believe God and trust his word, for if you do, you will find life.

Signing off

Tyrone

How To Become Great

Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? This is a question I have often pondered. God undoubtedly is the greatest, He has no beginning or end, neither was he created, His wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be in treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. When God settles something in His heart it is done. No debate, no opinion polls when he commanded light to shine forth out of darkness it happen and this is how it occurred. God said, “Let there be light: and there was light.” He is also a jealous God and will not share His glory with another. God is jealous you may ask, surely that is a sin? No, it is impossible for God to sin as He is Holy (morally and spiritually perfect). He is perfect and therefore no change in Him is possible. His character requires worship and He will have it both in this life and the life to come. Every knee will bow and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Many even now by the grace of God and through Faith confess Jesus Christ as Lord, today they bend the knee to Him but there are others that refuse to bend the knee and make riling accusations that there is no God. Professing themselves to be wise they have become fools and some even change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Why then should God tolerate any co existence with any other god worshiped by man when He is the only true and living God? He will not tolerate it either in this life or the life to come.

So who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven his disciples asked? I love how the Lord Jesus responses. I can imagine the thoughts as they flashed through the disciple’s minds. Maybe some would have considered Noah, how he found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was saved from Gods judgement through water (the great flood), or Daniel as God delivered him from the mouths of hungry lions. Maybe Job was considered when losing all his siblings, his live stock and servants (save one) and then his body was infected with painful boils and his wife turn on him trying to get him to deny God, yet he did not falter, not once. This in turn silenced Satan and glorified God. Many others could be mentioned; yet the Lord in his calm and gentle demeanour calls a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Let us remember to remain humble as little children, for God resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble. May we find grace to live in humility!

Signing off

Tyrone

Reflection

Of late I am looking into the mirror a lot more than I did in time past, and the truth be told it is not a pretty site. There was a time where I force myself to ignore my actions and pretend I was an actor in my own movie, “The destruction of Tyrone”. I know that seems somewhat extreme, but is it, when you or I ignore Gods word and His instruction, who suffers? It is the one who disregards God’s instruction. But there comes a time in a believer’s life when he can no longer ignore Gods voice in certain areas of his life. He/she must stop pretending or acting and find grace and obtain mercy in wisdom and look to put off all that defiles, whatever that may be. This is a continual battle, but the time for excuses is over.

Spurgeon puts it like this, “We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God’s people cannot take much delight in us.”

However, (Mar 9:47) “and if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell;” I think it is a healthy thing to reflect on life looking into the mirror, remembering that it is self examination and not self justification excusing ourselves and accusing others. If I am doing that, then once again, it will be circle time for me. I will not go on and more will not be given to me. The lesson must be learnt before I can go on. I understand that we all differ in our trails, yet although they differ in appearance they all have the same objective, to get us to walk in the flesh and not in the spirit. Remember God’s instruction in Galatians 5:16; “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” All these blessed truths are to teach us what to do and how to live, they are not meant to be a yoke and burden us. If that is how we decide to reason, then we have not understood the purpose of God’s word. The purpose of God’s word is to free us with liberty to serve Him and glorify His name. That was the whole purpose of Calvary and our blessed Redeemers sacrifice. Remember the enemy, our flesh and the devil. They were both defeated by the Lord Jesus on a cross, on a hill called Golgotha. It was there that the Lord defeated sin and made a way for all those who would believe. Praise His name.

Why then do we as God’s children so often suppose that we can outsmart His word? We cannot, we will not and if we ignore it there will be consequences. Remember for every action there is a reaction. May we find grace and obtain mercy in our endeavours to become more and more like our Saviour. May we cast aside the bushel that hinders His Light? May our light so shine, let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Our light must be a light for sinners by proclaim Christ crucified, we must take the gospel to them, we must put it in their way, and they must hear and not escape. Blow the trumpet of Christ’s sacrifice for sin in their ears and do not let your feeble minds reckon that he or she will never be saved. I have also been guilty of thinking like that, but once again the word sheds light and trims our sails and we once again find direction. (Luke 5:32) “I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Unbelief

Let me start by focusing on the word “unbelief”, the Greek word is “apistia” which is translated; faithlessness, that is, (negatively) disbelief (want of Christian faith), or (positively) unfaithfulness (disobedience): - unbelief. In other words unbelief and disobedience go hand in hand. When we are not trusting God and believing in His ability to accomplish, not our will, but His will, then we are guilty of unbelief and we walk in disobedience.

Our short time here on earth some 70 years for many, maybe a little more for a few and then less for the rest, is all to teach us one simple principle, “let God be true and every man a liar...” (Romans 3:4). Reflect and bleep back through the chapters of your life and what do you see? I cannot page back through your life but I can flip through mine. In hindsight, if only I had trusted God’s word through every chapter of my life, how many scars I would have avoided. Yet God deals graciously, He is merciful, slow to anger and has great love for all His children. How patient he is with us. But for this very reason have we received our allotted time here on earth. Let me explain, firstly God gives mankind the law (Ten Commandments) as a teacher to teach us that because of Adam’s fall (sin), we, the entire human population, have been born sinners and now because of sin we have by default been declared enemies of God. The Law is then introduced by Moses to show us God’s requirement needed to be kept by us all if we are to have any doings with Him. It is obvious through time that it is impossible for sinful man to uphold this law. What is man to do? He can do nothing, his fate seems sealed, damnation and hell is his lot for all eternity. What a sobering but miserable thought. BUT GOD, by wisdom, has from before the beginning, had a plan for mankind.

The Law was introduced to teach us that we could never keep it; it proves to us that we are sinners and ultimately should lead us to understand that we are in big trouble and we need help, we need a Saviour. The law is a teacher that teachers us that we need a Saviour. We need God to intervene which He graciously does and He sends his Son, His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus to live on earth as a man yet He upholds the law, He never ever breaks a law and is then sacrificed for sin, on behalf of mankind’s sin. God the Father then judges Him for sin and then He accepts His sacrifice. A way is now opened for mankind once again to commune with the only true and living God. I hope you understand and have grasped the severity that God had to place on His Son to achieve His goal. When that is understood, it is then easy to understand that only those who accept the Lords sacrifice as a sin offering for our sin will have the right to be called the son’s of God. I have said it before but need to say it again, no other religion, no other work, no other prophet, saint, god, angel or any other way will get you to heaven. The only way all must come is through the blood of Jesus. What about other religion you may ask? Well, what about them? They will not get you to heaven only hell. But all from every other religion or belief system may repent, turn to Jesus and find life. It all comes back to, “let God be true and every man a liar.” Do you believe it or do you think you know better that God. O foolish man what will you say when you stand before the Lord Jesus on Judgement day? Repent, believe and find life, look to Jesus and live. Once you stop breathing it is over and then the judgement! However, while you breathe there is hope. May God open your eyes to see?

For those of us who by God’s grace can see, may we begin to trust God and His Word? May we start applying it in faith, for if we don’t, we will just keep getting dizzy form our “circle of life?”- Remember the children of Israel; it took them 40 years to get to the “Promised Land”. In a straight line it would only have taken weeks.

Signing off

Tyrone

Pruning

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (Matthew 7:18)

When we look back in history we are able to see many men and some woman who made their mark as dedicated followers of Christ. We look at the Apostles and see how they were martyred for the hope that was set before them. They were seeking a city not from this world but a city whose builder and marker is God. Their faith in Christ and His resurrection had captivated their entire existence. What they witnessed and what they saw was so captivating, that they could do nothing else but preach the gospel even though it cost them their lives. Imagine if it be possible walking and talking with the Lord, God in the flesh, a man full of wisdom and the answer to every possible question you could ever think of. Not only did they walk with Him for three years but they saw Him ascend into heaven on a cloud after He had risen from the dead. Think about that encounter, try and visualise it. We believe it by faith; it is God’s gift to us, all who believe. But, they actual witness the Lord ascending in the clouds, from earth to heaven. How privileged they were. Then there were other faithful men that stood on God’s word and preach the truth to God’s people. Another man who has radically influenced my life with his sermons from the 19^th century is Charles Spurgeon. These Faithful men, who dissect the word of God skilfully to help us grow and walk with insight, but what about the men who don’t always seemed to be as upright or as blameless. When I look at my life and I consider its mistakes and I then look to the word of God, that always speaks truth, for it is impossible for God to lie and so the bible-God’s word will never lie, remember that, it can’t! So whatever has been penned is for our benefit as believers. Yes is it hard at times to swallow, but if digested it, it will be to our benefit and nourish our body and souls. I pray that God would open our eyes so that we may see and in perceiving, to be honest with ourselves.

Can a person pick apples from an orange tree; the answer is obvious, of course not. Or do thorns grow on a fig tree? Again the answer needs no explanation, but a simple no is understandable. With this in mind when I look into the mirror, and I see the chapters of my life before me, I must conclude I am found wanting. My example in my actions leaves question marks to onlookers. If I compare my walk through life on earth to a fruit tree, what type of fruit am I producing? The text teachers us that a “bad tree cannot bear good fruit nor can a good tree bear bad fruit.” Yet my life has been full of disobedience and rebellion leading to bad fruit. So does that now make me a bad tree? Well the mind rages on, trying to get to grips with this verse, this truth. Therefore the word goes on to say “that by their fruit you shall know them.” This is a hard verse to look into the mirror with, but it is needful, so look and understand and then call on the One who is able to deliver you, the Lord Jesus. Again the truth goes on to love us and it announces that “not everyone that saith Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of God but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Fruit is linked and can be measure on our willingness to do God’s will. “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” It is only those who do the will of the Father that will get to heaven. That is clearly spelt out. It is all about the Fathers will, His plan, He is the potter and we are the clay. But with all our understanding on God’s Sovereignty and with the word teaching us, “so then it is depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:16). With this verse in mind when I look at all my mistakes as a Christian what am I to do? The hyper Calvinist believes that God is Sovereign and therefore whatever He has pre-ordained will come to pass. This is obviously true, however where I differ in my understanding with theirs, I understand that I am responsible for my actions. If God has not shown me mercy for whatever reason and I in times past have walked in disobedience, could I have realistically acted in any other way? If it does not depend on “human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” This thought has disturbed me as I have disappointed my heavenly Father and walked in disobedience. It a terrible place, for one’s mind and thoughts to dwell. Thank God that He does not leave all those like me and others in my predicament without an answer and the hope of heaven and finding the will of the Father. Once again it is the apostle Paul that comes to the rescue and gives us some insight. In a house there are many ornaments and furnishings that occupy an abode. There are expensive pieces that are placed in positions for all to see and then there is less expensive practical gear that is never noticed. But remember God is the potter and we are the clay how can the clay tell the potter how he should be moulded. As a child of God we are now entitled to special privileges as we have the spirit of God and are part of Gods family. There is a throne room full of grace and as children of God we are entitled to the access of this throne, no, more than that, we are instructed to “draw near with boldness (confidence, bravery, valour and courage) unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and find grace in time of need.” Every time in my life where I have walked in unbelief (disobedience) I have ignored this command and not come to the throne of grace, but walked in the flesh. God has given me the ability to purge out all that defiles. How? In receiving mercy and finding grace in time of need. So we (all Gods children) can now have an influence on our position in Gods house, we can purge out all that which defiles and taints our example as Christians in this world. This is very encouraging and causes my heart to sing. I will now prove this thought to you by the word of God.

(1 Timothy 2:19-21) “Nevertheless the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, The Lord knows those who are His: and, everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.”

20 “Now in a large house there are not only gold and of silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware; and some unto honor, and some unto dishonor.”

21 “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

So then it is up to the individual to purge oneself. How is this done? Well we have covered that, we need to “receive mercy and find grace.” So in us, our own abilities as humans, it is impossible to achieve. However because of our new birth, because we have the spirit of God and because we now belong to His house hold and are His children we have right and privileges that unbelievers do not have. Although we have an enemy the devil who will always try and get us to walk in disobedience and our flesh that will also try and accomplish the same goal. We now have the wear with all to put off that which defiles and although we may have up until now, just been vessels of dishonor, we are taught and given a guarantee, look at the verse, “he will be a vessel for honor.” How I love God’s word. “A vessel of honor will be prepared for every good work.” What a hope I have, yes I may have blunder in times past, but now I by God’s grace have the wherewithal to receive mercy and find grace to equip me to become a vessel of honour and so do all those who have the spirit of God.

Remember Samson and how all had given up on Him, although his eyes had been taken from him, his hair once again began to grow and he was more victorious in his death than his entire life.

May God equip us with His Will?

Signing off

Tyrone

ps if you have any questions or any input whatsoever feel free to correspond...

tyronearthur1965@gmail.com

Deliver us from evil

“But deliver us from the evil”... Matthew 6:13

Once we have been called, and the call has been heard, we then will respond to it by repenting and believing. This now entitles us to a Father son relationship with the only true and eternal God. Through the process of regeneration (we are born again) we receive the spirit of God and His spirit comes to make his abode with us. I would like us to just ponder this thought and marvel at its meaning, spend time digesting it and once you have understood it, cry out, our God reigns! It means that God the Holy Ghost comes and inhabits this body, our vessel, and abides in us. That is why Paul the apostle has this to say and teach us... 1 Corinthians 3:6 Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you?

I want us to look at the Lords reaction to those in the physical temple in Jerusalem at the time.

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus entered the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and seats of them that sold doves; There is much to say about this, but the only point I wish to now make is that there was a physical temple. In other words there was a place we people went to learn of God. It represented all that should be holy and true and what had it become? God house was to be called a house of prayer, but men had turned it into a den of robbers. With that in mind how can we learn from this? Well the physical temple is no longer a building but it is now made up of individuals, the body of Christ. So people with the spirit of God come together and now make up the church. What must we not do? I is obvious, we must not use our liberty in Christ to achieve personal gain at the expense of others. We must not be church goers to receive a blessing financially because that is exactly what those men were doing in the temple. They were selling doves and exchanging money and how did the Lord react? We see the Lord Jesus not impresses with what He saw and it compels Him to executing righteous anger and turn over the tables. No more needs to be said on this point.

“Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit dwells in you?” With this thought now in mind I think of my life and how I have hashed it. The places I have gone, the things I have done and the unbelief I have walked in at times leaves me feeling very disappointed an inadequate. How I have spent my life not occupying the time with diligence and looking to walk here on earth as if I was in heaven. Yet with that thought in mind, it has not all been failure, disarray and disobedience. There have been times when I have stood on the mountain tops with the tranquillity of peace surrounding me and with the love of God reassuring me of this Father son relationship. Other times God in His mercy has disciplined me for my disobedience. Yet, through it all He remains faithful and how this love relationship grows from strength to strength as He continues to love me. How great is my God, to begin to tell my lips can only start?

However the instructing from God’s Word reminds us because we are the temple of God and that the spirit dwells in us we need, no we must, act in a certain manner. Let us therefore refrain from any appearances of evil, whatever they may be.

So now let us look at what will keep us from achieving this objective?

As children of God we now have insight to see where we once could not see. The word of God has now an illumination to it that gives us life. It is a path for our footsteps. Yet, there is an enemy that goes around like a “roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” We also have a body that was born into sin but now we have God’s spirit that enables us to walk in the spirit. The spirit and the flesh are at war with each other; Paul again gives us teaching on how we need to combat against this evil.

Galatians 5:16-18 “But I say walk by the spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh, for the flesh sets its desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so you may not do the things you please. But if you are lead by the spirit you are not under law.”

Here we have two enemies the devil and our flesh which will try and keep us from walking in the spirit. But we never lose sight of the truth and that the victory over both these enemies was accomplished on Calvary by our very own Saviour, the Lord Jesus. So if we are “lead by the spirit you are not under law.” How then do I walk in victory and walk in the spirit. This topic has no end it is vast and full of gold nuggets. I address one point only, “but deliver us from evil”. We have established that evil come from the devil but it also comes from the flesh. When we look at our verse mentioned above, “but deliver us from evil.”

Who must deliver us from evil? This is where in now gets exciting. Our Father in heaven will deliver us from evil. But I will be as bold to say if we are not praying and asking Him to lead us not into temptation and to deliver us from evil, then I think until we learn this truth we might walk in circles for a very long time. How Can I make such a statement you may ask? It was the Lord himself who taught us how we should pray and in that teaching He instructs us to pray to the Father and ask Him to not lead us into temptation and to deliver us from evil. Let me now conclude by reminding us that God is Sovereign and the whole of creation, seen and unseen is subject to His rule. That is why we need to trust and depend upon Him. The Lord sometimes allows his children to be driven into a corner so that they by experience may learn the necessity to depend upon Him. Whatever our mornings needs may be, let us hasten to Him while he waits to meet us.

Signing off

Tyrone