A True Father!

(1John 3:1) “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God…”

Saturday was a day with most of my family as my nephew Wesley had just turned twenty-two. We do not have get-togethers as often as we should. It is good to be with family and who we see helps us to remember who to pray for. Times like these bring us back to a reality check of what is really important, the souls of our unrepentant family. The conversation is often around work and money and a lot of temporal trivia. But this verse should scream at us on days like these; “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36) 

It is clear from scripture that those of our family who do not bend the knee to Christ and repentant of their sin and believe in their hearts that God rose Him from the dead and begin to confess Him with their mouths to others that He is Lord, their Lord, they will not make it to heaven and hell will be their final destination.

There is a checklist against scripture we can use to verify whether someone is a true believer or not. To believe there is one God is not enough; “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder!” (James 2:19)

Time for false love must end if that has been our portion, suppositions must end and they must end with us! God knows who are His!

By the grace of God while seated with some of the youngsters of the family and some of their girlfriends, I was given an opportunity to present the gospel when my youngest nephew Wesley aged fifteen asks me a very relevant question; “if you get drunk does that make you unborn again”? Now without trying to interfere with the question and over think it, which we have a tendency to often do, I turned it on him and asked him a question. I asked, “If you lie to your mother does that mean you are now not her son”?

“We can only ever be in two camps and these are the camps; “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.” (Romans 8:9) – There is no rocket science needed to understand this truth. You either have been born again or you haven’t, there can never be an in-between. If you have His spirit living within you, this means the entire Godhead is living in you, you are a son!

If not then repentance is needed and if you call upon the name of the Lord He will not turn away from your request; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13)

However, if we already belong to Him we belong to His household and if we get drunk or sin in any other area of our lives that does not make us any less children, all it shows us is that we are disobedient children. And the call for all of our lives is that we learn to become obedient children, this will be our on-going struggle for us as long as we have breath in this life. Now if we choose to ignore our sin and continue with a mind-set of lasciviousness (if we are blatantly lustful and unruly) God will not just throw us out as we disregard let’s say a friend when he betrays us. Our God is far greater than that! He is able to save from the uttermost to the uttermost. He will then discipline us as a father should discipline his child when he disobeys. Can I prove this thought from scripture or is it just a nice hopeful idea without any grounding? I can! – “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. (Hebrews 12:6-8)

We are in one of two groups there is no in-between!

If we are not chastised for our unrepentant sin in our lives then we were never truly born again, and we should then worry, fall to our knees and ask God to save our souls. But when we are disciplined for our disobedience we then have an assurance that God is guiding us and that He will get us home, praise His name!

I am so thankful for all of God’s discipline throughout my life, yes I was once committed to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, Yes I did nearly die in a motor car accident when I was twenty-four, but God spared me and yes I am also HIV positive. But on reflection I would have it no other way; I am truly thankful that God never cast me to the wolves and left me to rot in some gutter, today is a day where I am able to praise His name and give Him all the glory, for He alone is worthy and He alone has the power in His hand to achieve such an amazing outcome. One day I will see Him face to face and then I will be able to thank Him in person, how I long for that day.

God will have His way as He teaches all His children to obey His voice, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone