Dress for battle!

(Psalms 142:3) “When my spirit faints within me, you know my way! In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.”

It’s that time of the year again in the Southern Hemisphere where the first rains are traditionally around the corner; in fact they are a little late or so it seems. Nevertheless the birds sing out with greater vigor and anticipation as if they now eagerly await some great event. Could it be rain, could they be beckoning God to open the Heavens, or maybe they wait for that great day that we too should be eagerly awaiting, the return of our Lord? Whatever their reason it would be impossible to oversee them as they look to be heard and unmistakably have been. Music to my ears! How great is my God! I cannot recall ever hearing such a choir with such gusto and deliberation; something is definitely up, at least for the bird kingdom!

We know that all scripture is given to help us get to heaven. All of it is important, but not all has the same bearing on our lives at the same time. It depends where we find ourselves on any given day, but one thing that is for certain we must all be trained by the Word of God. Yet some instruction would be applied weekly or on any other given day, for example; we see that fasting is part of the Christians arsenal and yet we could never fast every day, neither should we! But there is place for it where and when needed, there is times when we should draw aside in a prayerful manner and fast, this is more the exception than the rule. Then we have instructions that must be done daily and without exception, that is if we look to walk victoriously in the Spirit. We must put on the “whole Armour of God”; “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:13): - I have addressed this before but the mind places tricks on itself, it almost likes to believe that this topic is done and dusted. I said almost! This must become a habitual practice, we must put on the “amour of God” and on a daily basis. Without it we are vulnerable to the fiery darts of the devil, do not be fooled! Sure, we do belong to our Saviour as it was His work that saved us and not our own pitiful works, nevertheless now that we are Children of God we have been instructed to walk in a particular fashion, and we will never achieve this without the full armour of God. Not part of it, all of it! The Apostle Paul stresses this point in meticulous detail, the only part of the body that has no protection is ones back, we needn’t worry about what approaches from the rear as our King has given His angels charge over us and they have our back.

I know at times that I forget to get dressed for battle. It is like when I ride my motorbike I have boots that are cumbersome and a padded jacket that is hot to wear especially in summer. But if I reason with a sound mind I understand the advantages they bring me if I have a fall. I am often tempted to leave then behind and I reason like this; it’s just a little ride I am sure I’ll be alright! Is this how we think on the “armour of God”, one can never predict an accident that is why it is called an “accident”? So too, do we need to understand the value of the “armour of God”, the devil goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, it was the Apostle Peter that taught us this. Just when we think we have got things together, an unexpected trap presents itself and if we and not dressed for battle, it will lead to our undoing. We know that God resist the proud and stretches out His hand to the humble. It is the amour of God that ensures that we remain humble. But ignore part of that amour and we will be unstable!

Therefore let us remember to dress for battle and on a daily basis. It is up to the ranking officials in the army to prepare soldiers for battle. They set up a vigorous program to ensure that those under their command will be the best they can be when in the throes of combat. This is why Paul has instructed us to put on the “whole amour of God”, so that we can be the best we can be when the enemy approaches.

As a young believer I believe I was to be led by the Spirit. I still believe this but with a deeper understanding, do not be fooled into believing that no responsibility has been placed on the individual to train for battle. We must learn to discipline our bodies. In a nutshell we must put on the “whole amour of God”. That may mean we need to put time aside to dress for battle, no differently than when we put time aside to eat. It is a way of life and not a simple add-on. Let us therefore make it a daily practice to train ourselves and to dress for battle.

If you do not put time aside, I fear for you, as I know that even when I put time aside it is not enough as I have not mastered my dress behavioral pattern as yet, but we must heed Paul’s instruction with utmost diligence. The only way we will achieve this goal is more of Christ and less of us. May God here my cry, Amen!

More, much more I pray for all who belong to Him, it is essential to understand the importance of this encouragement.

Be blessed in Him my brothers and sisters in Christ wherever you may find yourselves across the globe.

Signing off

Tyrone 

Spirit and Truth!

(John 4:24)  “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

Life has so many subtle traps to it; we often do not even see them as such. Things we have come to accept as the norm and in fact if challenged with actual factual evidence there is a part to us that looks to resist even the facts withal our being. A case in point would be Christmas; if we had to go back and we bothered to study its actual origin we would be horrified. It is a pagan festival that has polluted society and left most believing that the Christmas celebration was founded by Christianity. It was not, that is a lie!

What is our instruction from the Word of God, without isolating a particular pet subject as many have their own and I would not want this now to become mine, but to say this; we, as Christian, would surely want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil.

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24) 

It would then therefore be good for the Christian to know the truth on all subjects, wouldn’t you agree? Although knowledge puffs up, it is also useful if applied correctly in wisdom. It should make us more in-tune to the ploys of the devil and all his traps, whatever they may be.

“The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations. The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god. This was done long before the birth of Jesus. It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died. These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun. Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight. This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession. In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god. The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship. Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana. The holly wood was used by witches to make wands. The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god. Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them. These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.” (Last trumpet Ministries)

There is much more we could address but that is not where I wish to go this morn, my point is this, we often overlook the simplest things as acceptable and the norm and yet they are very improper. But I want us to look a little deeper than the surface, look at the spirit behind Christmas; it is about celebration and an acknowledgement of unity to those who are not necessarily Christian in the true sense of the word.

Look at what will happen when the anti-christ comes against the two prophets of God (probably Moses and Elijah). Notice the unity and the attitude of the world, those who are not true Christians, and yet their way of celebrating the death of these prophets is to send each other gifts.

“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." (Revelation 11:3) 

“And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 11:5-10) 

If we will not sit up and begin to pay attention to the obvious, where will that leave us when these real trials begin? Some say that the Christian will no longer be around when this takes place, it may well be true, time will tell! God Knows!

Nevertheless, remember blinkers were designed for race horses and not for men or woman.

I have just isolated a particular example, exposing blatant error that we choose to discount, this is but one example I could have chosen others to illustrate the many other subtle traps we by choice look to ignore. May God give us eyes to see, Amen!

This post is not about any personal vendetta against Christmas, even though I have chosen to no longer celebrate it with family and friends. It is about us becoming more alert to the delicate deceptions in life so that we can become more effective as Christians for Christ!

Signing off

Tyrone

To Silently Listen!

(Revelation 2:7)  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Silence, to sit in it and to listen is not something I do often, at least conscientiously. But today will be such a day, I will take breathe and rely on another as He leads and hopefully if I listen closely enough I will hear some conclusive instructions. How will I do this? I will not dominate or force any topical study, I will be like a feather in the wind, and if it chooses to gust or change direction, I will float with it or be driven by it, either way I will rely on C.H.Spurgeon to speak to my heart without any predetermine manipulation on my part. I have no idea what he will address this morning, but I will receive it as a voice directed at me. 

But before we get there, is this something I would do as common practice? If you know me well enough you would know the answer to this question. But I also believe we should be more pliable at times, so that God can mold us into the image of His Son. We often get in His way (not that we could ever manipulate our great God, but you hopefully understand my point) with our pre-conceived ideas thinking that we are helping when in fact all we do is cause hindrance. Not one or the other, but rather a balanced approach to both, where and when needed or lead.

This morning I step out in faith wanting to be taught as well as have my heart exposed without any self-manipulation, I will silently sit and listen; I will use today’s daily devotion not knowing what topic it will address…

“The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.”

- Psa_33:13

“Perhaps no figure of speech represents God in a more gracious light than when he is spoken of as stooping from his throne, and coming down from heaven to attend to the wants and to behold the woes of mankind. We love him, who, when Sodom and Gomorrah were full of iniquity, would not destroy those cities until he had made a personal visitation of them. We cannot help pouring out our heart in affection for our Lord who inclines his ear from the highest glory, and puts it to the lip of the dying sinner, whose failing heart longs after reconciliation. How can we but love him when we know that he numbers the very hairs of our heads, marks our path, and orders our ways? Specially is this great truth brought near to our heart, when we recollect how attentive he is, not merely to the temporal interests of his creatures, but to their spiritual concerns. Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When a tear is wept by thee, think not that God doth not behold; for, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” Thy sigh is able to move the heart of Jehovah; thy whisper can incline his ear unto thee; thy prayer can stay his hand; thy faith can move his arm. Think not that God sits on high taking no account of thee. Remember that however poor and needy thou art, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards him.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Oh! then repeat the truth that never tires;

No God is like the God my soul desires;

He at whose voice heaven trembles, even he,

Great as he is, knows how to stoop to me.

I have highlighted the crisp clear voice of God the Holy Spirit in red and His sharp rebuke in blue while the reassuring truth of what is factual needs to resonate in my mind and this I will underline. I have silently listened! Now I pray God my Father as I have had ears to hear what the Spirit says to me, may I now be given the wherewithal to act favourably on what I have heard, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Wilderness!

(Psalms 65:12) “The pastures of the wilderness overflow.”

To pen an open letter would mean exposing oneself so that there would be no hidden agenda, no underhandedness would be at play, or at least on the surface. It would be a letter that should be read out allowed. However one must be confident with the subject matter as it exposes the heart of the one writing the letter. A diary on the other hand is a lot more personal, intimate thoughts and sometimes some very pressing issues are dealt with. Needless to say, not many make their personal diaries open to the public. There are many reasons for this and as I can speak first hand on this topic, let me share some of my thoughts. We believe some things to be personal; we use this as license to conceal certain sins within our own twisted minds. We also conceal certain things as we have experienced the reaction from those closest to us, when we err from their own preconceived ideas on how we should act and live, we disappoint them and their reaction often discourages us instead of encouraging us. We retreat into our shell no different to that of as snail. However if we remain silent and somewhat secluded we needn’t deal with any of the pressing issues of life, it would never help us! We must at times retreat into the wilderness and for this purpose only, to be renewed in the Spirit.

Is this thought supposition or can it be taught it from scripture?

If we look at some of the example, those instructed to take a journey into the Wilderness they at times encountered the angel of the Lord. God met them in their conflict! And even those whom we would perceive to be excluded from God’s grace.

Let us look at Hagar’s story; “And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." So Abraham rose early in the morning and took bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, "Let me not look on the death of the child." And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation." Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. (Genesis 21:13-20)

This account is a peculiar when I reason it out; I understand that God would bless Abraham’s seed even though it was a man-centred invention to force God’s hand. Sarah had plotted it out and now she was casting out her original plan. She sent Hagar and Abraham’s son off into the Wilderness to die! I suppose much of our own lives are like this, we make choices thinking that they are right at the time but in fact all it has been is man-centred instead of those “good works” that have been prepared for us to walk in before the foundations of the world. Nevertheless even through this epic story of heartache and hopelessness God was just a call away! The goodness of God who can understand it! Let no one address my great God and Father as a hard task master, His mercies endure forever! The lesson for us in this account is we all need to find ourselves in exactly the same place as Hagar, in desperate need and without any apparent hope. It is only then that we will see the great hand of this awesome God unfold in our own lives. Until then it will be hearsay, it will never be experiential!

I would love to see someone try and convince Hagar that a relationship with God cannot be based on experience! It proves this point, which is; whoever breaks the law will be guilty of death, BUT GOD! Has and will intervene in our lives, all we need do is call upon the name of the Lord! “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13): - Just make sure you call out to the only true God and not some idol that is mute and dumb! Jesus Christ the Lord is our only hope!

Sometimes it will take a Wilderness experience for us to realise this! In fact I challenge you to seek out someone who did not experience such an chance meeting and go on to be one of God’s Elite. It is how we react in the Wilderness that will determine who it is we rely on!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

Few are Chosen!

(Matthew22:14) “For many are called, but few are chosen."

The Bible is very clear on what it would look like if we were enlisted amongst the elite of God’s calling, the special forces of God, a company of heroes! It would be easy to recognize them, as the world would view them as the scourge of the earth, “Oxygen thieves” would be bandied about amongst the heathen. And yet God would bellow words to his Celestial world like we read in Hebrew chapter 11; “of whom the world was not worthy.” And yet so many of us long to be amongst this number, I know I do! To be marked by God as one who is worthy to be called His son whom is learning to be obedient, and yet I know in many areas of my life this is not true. I am still view by the world as acceptable. “Wishy washy” would be a good description to my commitment of the role I play as a believer. Like a youngster singing in the mirror hoping one day to be a star. We all have dreams, what are your dreams? Maybe an alteration on your existing house, “just a little bigger”, would be nice! This is not the way of the “elite”; they went without so others could have! It is not rocket science and don’t pretend to be in a place you are not. I will not go there any longer! If I now give that thought consideration, do I still long to be amongst the elite of God? My answer would have to be, yes! What greater accolade could one ever receive than to hear these great Words from the only true God! - “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelations 21:7)

So then what will it take to be amongst the number that conquers, well obviously it will only be those who are born again and have received Christ’s Spirit. Those who have been called, those who have been predestines by God to be conformed into the image of His Son. Yet having said that, they will have a certain look to them and this is what they should not look like; just another cog in the wheel of society! It is easy to single out common sin, but we must be careful not to deceive ourselves with daily living as acceptable.

Let us not kid ourselves, this then is what the elite of God look like; they look forward to a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God; They all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth; are we? But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city; And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. This is what God’s Elite look like!

I recall my military service; almost everybody amongst our number liked the idea of becoming an elite soldier as they were recognised as the best of the best. But in order to qualify, they needed to go through some very vigorous training and very few even made the first selection. The cost from the outset needed to be counted! So too is it with this great call from God, this call is the highest of calls and it will cost us our lives if we are serious about it. One could never be an elite soldier in God’s army if we walk around with leeks and garlic in our pockets. All this proves is that we are amongst the pretenders. Those who want to be someone they are not!

Now with that in mind, do I still want to be amongst the special forces of God? My answer Father God would be yes if I was to find favour in your eyes. On the merits of my life I would never qualify, never ever! But if God so wills something who could ever stop Him? So much time wasted in my life, maybe it is because I have so longed to hang on to the little I have, leaving me like a going cymbal, very loud but with very little effect.

If my thoughts be sincere, (God Knows) where to from here? I suppose I could wait like Jonah to be swallowed by a large fish and eventually spat out where I need to be. That journey must have been full of life lessons, his total dependence of the intake of a mammal’s oxygen level, a fish that lived under water. Something totally foreign to him, in fact so out of the ordinary that it brought about a change in his heart and he ended up doing God’s bidding anyway. Life’s lessons at play! He had been chosen!

Nevertheless it is God who chooses, it is no different to the Lord singling out the twelve disciples’; “And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:19-20) – This in itself is miraculous!

So to be real, it is not up to the individual, we must first receive the invitation, but have we not all received that bidding, have we not found strength to fall to our knees and cry out to the only One who has the power to forgive and to forget and to open our eyes to heaven and its calling. If you confess Jesus as Lord then this must be true!

We all now stand before him as enlisted soldiers as allotment now need to take place, and for most it has, as you are actively involved with a body of believers; you have found your place of fellowship where you meet with others and supply one to another as God has intended right from the outset of His call. But there may be some that now linger in the shadows not knowing what it is we are exactly meant to be doing. Something along the way has robbed us of that initial call, could it be the lust of my own hearts, probably, but after an assessment it is time to at least by the grace of God call out and says I have counted the cost, and I am willing to put my hand up. There is no more a person can do, except respond in obedience when shown direction by God, His Word and His people. We often fall amongst the pretenders, our intentions may be misguided, and we may like the idea of true Christianity but be unable to endure life’s difficulties. (God alone Knows), but we must, or I must at least put up my/our hand and say hear my/our cry our great Jehovah.

Signing off

Tyrone

He will Himself Restore!

(1Peter 5:10)  “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

If it’s God Himself who chooses to restore, who would ever be able to stop him, not your closest brother or your friend could even have an influence over that restoration. It would be beyond opinions and the reckonings of men or even the strength of angels, although God may well chose these mediums to strength a brother once he has served out his sentence, a sentence of suffering. But that is not the point Peter stresses, he says that the God of Grace, He himself will restore the suffering pilgrim. As I have said in times past we are encouraged to suffer for doing that which is commendable. However will this restoration only apply to the believer that does what is commendable?

The context is this chapter is about humility and how God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble. So if a bad decision cause a man or woman to stumble and it gets them to a place of humility will God be the one who brings about the restoration? Yes I believe the scripture is full of these types of examples. David with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite, Samson through a vigorous process of needing to break him down to such an extent that he lost both his eyes and yet it was God in person who ultimately came to his aid and his rescue; look at this verse; “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7): - Does failure bring about anxiety? Does this need a retort? I think not!

I am not for one minute suggesting that we should not strive to find grace in time of need, so that we walk obediently before our Holy Father! That is a given! But what of the times we find that we fail dismally? Does that now disqualify us; I suppose before men this is true, it is Paul who gives us this teaching; “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1Corinthians 9:27)

But will God ever give up on one of His Children? It is not possible, sure heartache often plays its part in my life, but without this reassurance, as a simple man I would have nothing to hold onto and yet by the grace of God, He gives me the resolve from somewhere to remember this verse and to cleave to it will all I have; “…for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."” (Hebrews 13:5)

I suppose it is unfair to look to fallen men even though they too have been saved by the grace of God to understand or sympathise like our Saviour the great High Priest is able to sucker those who hurt in their time of need. He alone earned the right to be called the “Great High Priest”. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, or put another way He is aware of our anxiety as He too felt its power and yet without ever succumbing to it. It was of such strength that he began to sweat drops of blood. And yet when we fall He does not stand with a bucket of feathers and a brush full of tar. He beckons us to come and seek out His forgiveness. No wonder God needed to send His only beloved Son to die on a cruel Roman Cross and yet to be a man tempted in all points as we are and yet with no sin. What man has ever endured such a great accomplishment? None other than Jesus Christ our Lord and our God praise His name!

It is obvious we will disappoint our brethren when we fall, but do not be surprised when their reactions to our falls throughout life also disappoints in return. Remember that we do need one another but it is only our Lord that knows where and when to exert pressure and when to release it, so we all may remember to call upon Him in time of need. And may the rest of us learn to be sensitive to the leading of God the Holy Spirit. And yet this too is also a process.

Signing off

Tyrone

Our Long-suffering Father!

(Romans 8:29) “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

What then is the purpose behind the mistakes we make and the lessons we should learn? The answer is obvious; to become more like our great Saviour the Lord Jesus. What now amazes me is it took an event in my life, a bad choice, something I should have learnt long ago and yet I found I made the same mistake. It is only a lesson learnt if we refrain from making the same mistakes. These lessons of life help highlight our relationship with the Lord and where we are along our journey on the Celestial Road. Our actions do not lie in that sense. My life has been a life full of regret; I have so much still to learn and I seem to be a habitual offender in some areas of my life. But to deny this about myself would be foolish but to give it pre-eminence so that my thoughts are constantly captivates by my weakness and I end up finding life a constant grind and a heavy burden would be just as wrong; “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1Peter 5:8) 

It is one thing to stand on the outside looking in at someone who has fallen and to pass judgment; their blunder is supposed to teach us fear so that we can learn from the mistakes of others! I wonder does it, or does it just end up making us judges?

If I am honest, as we all should be with ourselves and others, I wonder have I ever got past suffering for my own wrong-doing as opposed to suffering for doing the right thing at the cost of being falsely accused. This we know is commendable before God; “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” (1Peter 3:17)   

Our lives seemed to be so filled with suffering for wrong-doing, no wonder we cannot get passed so many infant stages of our lives! Let me be fair and not speak for others, it is my own mirror I now gaze at. Yes there are certain areas that growth is obviously evident but there are also many that are stagnant; it is time to put off childish things. It would be good to also remember that we have fallen natures and that is why the Apostle Peter teaches us to fear the flesh; “Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1Peter 2:10-11): - if we are not wise with our choices we will end up falling in areas of our lives where we will regret ever making such silly choices. The very first fruit of repentance is “carefulness”, we must be careful not to put ourselves in a position where we may end up falling. When we were first saved, did we not pay careful attention to this warning, I know I did! And yet somewhere along the way I let things slip, hence so many regrettable bad choices.

I do not wish to make light of these areas in our lives but we can take consolation from the children of Israel in the Wilderness, it took them 40 years to get to the Promised Land where is could of taken them just a couple of weeks. Wherever we now find ourselves, remember that there is still work to do in our own lives, life is teaching us who we are and where we need to find repentance so that we may be conformed into the image of our great Saviour, no matter how far we seem to be from His perfect example, today is another day to repent and to look to him to find grace so that we may overcome in those areas of our life that seems to be a habitual drain.

If we were able, which is impossible as men to overcome, within ourselves we would never have needed the Lord Jesus to come live as a man and to conquer sin once and for all. We would have looked to do it by ourselves, an impossible task!

Let us therefore remember that the trial of life and the areas that we still fall in are there to teach us who we actually are, so that we can acknowledge our fault before God and one another, so that we may lock hand with each other, and pray for one another.

This is why we have been called; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) – But it is the next verse that teaches us why this is needful; 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 brother.” (Romans 8:29)

Forgive me, forgive us Father God for so many frivolous bad choices in our daily walks, we will not overlook them but we seek repentance, so that we will eventually learn to walk circumspectly before a Holy God. Thank you Lord Jesus for your example and I am sorry that I am such a slow learner. Thank you for your never tiring patience!

Signing off

Tyrone

Accepted in the Beloved!

(Ephesians 1:6) “Accepted in the beloved.”

What a state of privilege! It includes our justification before God, but the term “acceptance” in the Greek means more than that. It signifies that we are the objects of divine complacence, nay, even of divine delight. How marvellous that we, worms, mortals, sinners, should be the objects of divine love! But it is only “in the beloved.” Some Christians seem to be accepted in their own experience, at least, that is their apprehension. When their spirit is lively, and their hopes bright, they think God accepts them, for they feel so high, so heavenly-minded, so drawn above the earth! But when their souls cleave to the dust, they are the victims of the fear that they are no longer accepted. If they could but see that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low despondencies do not really depress them in their Father’s sight, but that they stand accepted in One who never alters, in One who is always the beloved of God, always perfect, always without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier they would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour! Rejoice then, believer, in this: thou art accepted “in the beloved.” Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, “There is nothing acceptable here!” But look at Christ, and see if there is not everything acceptable there. Thy sins trouble thee; but God has cast thy sins behind his back, and thou art accepted in the Righteous One. Thou hast to fight with corruption, and to wrestle with temptation, but thou art already accepted in him who has overcome the powers of evil. The devil tempts thee; be of good cheer, he cannot destroy thee, for thou art accepted in him who has broken Satan’s head. Know by full assurance thy glorious standing. Even glorified souls are not more accepted than thou art. They are only accepted in heaven “in the beloved,” and thou art even now accepted in Christ after the same manner.(C.H Spurgeon)

A joyful heart is good medicine!

(Proverbs 17:22) “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

For those who love God we know all things work out for good, stop! what am I saying? What if someone loses a child or loved one, could that work out for good? If one discovers they are HIV positive, have Cancer which is terminal, lose their job or have their house repossessed. Surely it is a curse from God and not a blessing! If I reason in the realm of suppositions then that would have to be my conclusion. However when I look too the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, the Bible! I see “pattern” unfold before my very eyes. I see a very wise master builder at work in the lives of believers. Lives full of examples of encouragement, discipline and apparent calamity, whatever it takes to help to get God’s people to unite in the faith, to be drawn together into true fellowship.

Let us look at the human anatomy and use it as an illustration to highlight scripture and help us understand the doctrine behind true fellowship. First we will need to understand how the body protects itself against unwanted virus and bacteria and then how our immune system builds resistance to defend against any unwanted toxins.

The Bible is full of “pattern or typology” where parallels are drawn from the human anatomy and the body of Christ, the church!  If we want our physical bodies to heal when sick we need it to work together as it combats that which is unwanted.

Some facts on the immune system…

“An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy cells and tissues in order to function properly. Detection is complicated as pathogens can evolve rapidly, and adapt to avoid the immune system and allow the pathogens to successfully infect their hosts.

To survive this challenge, multiple mechanisms evolved that recognize and neutralize pathogens. Even simple unicellular organisms such as bacteria possess enzyme systems that protect against viral infections. Other basic immune mechanisms evolved in ancient eukaryotes and remain in their modern descendants, such as plants and insects. These mechanisms include peptides called defensins, phagocytosis, and the complement system. Jawed vertebrates, including humans, have even more sophisticated defense mechanisms.[1] The typical vertebrate immune system consists of many types of proteins, cells, organs, and tissues that interact in an elaborate and dynamic network. As part of this more complex immune response, the human immune system adapts over time to recognize specific pathogens more efficiently. This adaptation process is referred to as "adaptive immunity" or "acquired immunity" and creates immunological memory. Immunological memory, created from a primary response to a specific pathogen, provides an enhanced response to secondary encounters with that same, specific pathogen. This process of acquired immunity is the basis of vaccination. Primary response can take 2 days and up to 2 weeks to develop. After the body gains immunity towards a certain pathogen, when infection by that pathogen occurs again, the immune response is called the secondary response. Disorders in the immune system can result in disease, including autoimmunediseases, inflammatorydiseases and cancer.[2] [3]Immunodeficiency diseases occur when the immune system is less active than normal, resulting in recurring and life-threatening infections. Immunodeficiency can either be the result of a genetic disease, such as severe combined immunodeficiency, or be produced by pharmaceuticals or an infection, such as the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) that is caused by the retrovirus HIV. In contrast, autoimmune diseases result from a hyperactive immune system attacking normal tissues as if they were foreign organisms. Common autoimmune diseases include Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus type 1, and lupus erythematosus.” (Wikipedia)

Therefore we see how involved all parts to the immune system are with one another in order for it to function correctly, if its process is broken down, the body then starts to deteriorate. And it is no different in “type” or “pattern” to how God has intended for the body of Christ to function. What and who make up the body of Christ? “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1Corinthians 12:27): - Therefore individual believers make up the body of Christ it goes far deeper than belonging to a church or being a church member. It is not about attending a church on a Sunday but being involved with fellow believers, this is true fellowship, and friendships must be established. When one suffers all suffer, when one is happy all share in their happiness etc.

This then is God’s design for His children, the body of Christ; “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ {similar to all the components of the immune system to keep the enemy at bay}, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)

With that understood and this in mind, what about my opening statement in light of tragedy in believers lives? How can they be beneficial? Without the trial of life, without the immune system recognising the enemy how will it learn to function as intended. It is the harsh trials of life that teach us to come together as a unit and stand with the one in need. Without it there would be no need! It is the trial that teachers us unity! We could on the other hand, build resentment to it, but then we would have missed the boat. It is for this exact reason that we can now stand on the truth of scripture not only because we are told to believe its instruction but we now understand the mechanics behind it.

Christianity is about true fellowship and not simply church attendance!

Therefore: - “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

No matter what the trial of life, if you belong to God and He is your heavenly Father, He is working the trial out for your benefit and for the profit of those whom you are in fellowship with, it is a given! No if’s and but’s! If it is sin that has brought about the trial or if it is simply something that will glorify God at our own expense, in other words the loss of a loved one who will open their eyes in heaven, if they are believers or sanctified by their parents. Yes, we will miss them here on earth but they would have arrived in heaven to ever be with the Lord. Ultimately both these scenarios will be worked out in our favour.

It is all about finding unity in a body of believers and God often uses Calamity to teach us these valuable lessons.

I hope this helps, as it has helped me reason with a sound mind as I now have to deal with an unpleasant scenario amongst our own body of believers.

Signing off

Tyrone  

Choose Wisely!

(Proverbs 28:26) “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” 


There is a simple test we can apply to our lives in order to be sure of whether we are ready for the life hereafter or not! If I died today would I be confident that heaven would be my destination or would the threat of hell and the thought of burning fire be an unnerving concern.

Let me go back a few years as I vividly recall an incident in my life; I was 21 at the time and life was my oyster or so I believed. I had just made preparation for my first travels abroad; I was excited! Life was full of wine, woman and song; the debauchery of sin prevalent in my life and yet I wasn’t a bad person, or so I liked to believe. I would probably make it to heaven, even with all my faults, the good would out way the bad. 


Obviously I was deceived and if this is how you now think then you are also deceived. Do not believe the lie! I was making final preparations for my exciting trip; ironically I was sitting in the same room I now type from some 24 years ago, back then it was an entertainment room and a pub but now my humble abode. I got a terrible pain in my right arm, hard to describe, yet it was radical and then a sudden fear of death overshadowed me, I began to panic and I recall praying to God and confessing in my own man-centered way that I would change my behavioral patterns, I would get better and sin less. I was very frightened, not knowing whether I would make it or not. Sure there was a lot still to do, I was a young man, but my main concern when stripped of all its frills was heaven or hell. So then what is the simple test? When we face death will we be ready to meet this great righteous holy God? Can you with assurance say “MY GOD”! Can we say it with the same confidence when we introduce our earthly fathers? If not then hell will be your destination! What then is a man to do? If you have breath, then today is the day of salvation and do not delay, I say again do not delay! For you do not know what tomorrow holds. You may think on loved ones and on their choices regarding Christ’s sacrifice and some may smile back at you favorably while others do not, this is not really what should concern you as they have lived their own lives and made their own choices, we will stand alone before the judgment seat of Christ and have to give an account for our lives. Every secret sin will be brought into the open and exposed for all to see, think on it like a recorded DVD that will be re-visited at the judgment seat of God and nothing will be left unturned; “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-14): -  Unless we repent for our sin and call upon the name of the Lord we will face this judgment, so do it today, I implore you to act while you still have a chance!

Why then will some be judge for sin and not others? Because this is exactly my point! You see, God has declared all with sin as all have sinned in one form or another. “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:9-10) and for this reason God in His mercy stepped in and He has now given mankind an opportunity to escape His judgment, but reject the offer at your own peril! How has He done it? He send His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to live as a man here on earth without ever breaking one of God’s commandment, yes He did live a life without sin an almost impossible feat but He did it! And because of His accomplishment God then charged the sins of mankind to His son account so that all those who repent and call upon the name of the Lord will be saved from this judgment!  


I have made it simple to process all that is left for you to do, is to make a choice, will you repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or will you brush it aside to consider another day. Please do not do that, I am appealing to my family and friends this is the most important decision you will ever face, so choose wisely! It is not rocket science, but to play the denial card is often a way out, don't do it! But I suppose until we come face to face with death we may be mendacious with ourselves. A false sense of security would be what we grope for. Our attitudes say; hopefully if we died today we would make it to heaven. If this is the way you reason, then you would be wrong and this is just one choice we cannot get wrong as there will be no possibility of rectifying our denial or apathy and the only way we will find favour from God is if we accept His sacrifice for our sin, if we repent from our sin, acknowledge that we have sinned against God and that because of our sin we deserve hell. This would be a great place to start when seeking out answers, but to be fair I was not that aware of the intricacies of salvation at salvation. Salvation is a work of God by a great place to start would be to call out to the Lord and ask Him to forgive you and to open your eyes. Just call out to Him with a sincere heart and He will open your eyes as he has opened mine. I did nothing to deserve His favour, but I did call out to Him as I now call out to Him on your behalf. Yet ultimately the decision rest with you. 

I know that the Lord is dealing with one of my friends, I Know He is and I hope this will help him step out in faith, he knows who he is! To all of my family that still rejects Christ's sacrifice as the solution for their lives, think on what I have had to say with serious deliberation. Dad is gone, life was taken from Him rather suddenly, whether he made the right choice or not was between Him and God. What will you do with the gospel? Respond favorably I pray as your life does depend on it!

For those who rely on man-centered religion to appease their conscience think on this and understand that there is only one way we will be excused from our sin and that is through the One that paid the price for our sin, the Lord Jesus Christ as nothing else will do!

  

      I will leave you with two                                                                                   

  illustrations… Choose wisely!

Signing off

Tyrone 

The sword of the Lord and Gideon!

(Judges 7:20) The sword of the Lord and Gideon

God we well know is Sovereign and He has determined the outcome of creation by His careful design and yes sin has its part to play, without it we would not know the difference between what is holy and Righteous and that which is not. The tree had fruit to it that opened our eyes to the “Knowledge of both good and Evil”. Without the roaring lion firing his fiery darts, how would we ever learn to defend ourselves against them and all the devils divisive ploys? It is time for me to come to grips with this once and for all in every area of my life and not just the ones I am willing to yield too. I no longer belong to myself and as a slave I have no rights to my own sinful lusts, they have been crucified with Christ on Calvary. For this truth to resonate I need to go back to the starting line, to where it all began but in doing this, I must be careful not to be lured off on some wild goose-chase.

The question that needs answering is if we are new creatures in Christ, how much of it is up to me? Is the responsibility to walk circumspectly before a Holy God all of God and nothing of me or is it all of me and solely my responsibility, does the buck stop with me? This is where the Arminian and the Hyper-Calvinist draw their line in the sand. Both are wrong! Let scripture speak for itself…

Wherever the Holy Scripture tells us as believers to repent and turn from the error of our ways, whatever that may be and if we choose to ignore the warning, we are in danger of judgment, no! to be more precise we will be judged. However judgement is different for the believer, than to that of the unbeliever, as one is the child of God and the other is not and therefore not subjected to the Father’s discipline. It is a very easy principle to understand. Do you have the authority over someone else’s children? The answer is obviously no! It is no different for the child of God! However there is an over-shadowing truth that many chose to ignore. As God is the only true God and the creator of the universe the final judgment belongs to Him and He will meet it out with precision and with power and for all who have not participated in His adoption program, for all those who have failed to believe God and have not repented and believed of the finished work of Calvary, they will face judgment at the “Great White Throne” judgment! This will be a mighty spectacle, and it will be a joyous occasion for some, but for most an eternally regretful experience. To my friends Richard and Brett you have been warned, please pay earnest attention to it as I am praying for both of you.

The child of God on the other hand will not face this judgment as he has already been judge for his sin in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. He paid the price by selflessly dying on that cruel Roman cross so that all who are now by adoption part of God’s family will escape that judgment. What have they done to deserve this forgiveness? We could say absolutely nothing, but although in principle this is true, they nevertheless have still believed God and therefore are covered by the righteousness of Christ! They have call upon the name of the Lord! Without confession they cannot claim to be sons of God. However many may claim to be sons and yet they are not! “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:9): - Note it is one thing to say we know God, but is that enough? No! We must be known of Him, He must view us as one of His Children! How then can we be sure we belong to Him? We will be subjected to His discipline here on earth. This then is our safe-guard! This does not mean we will get away with unrepentant sin in our lives, we will not! And I an eternally thankful to God my Father for this as it keeps us in line.

Let’s use some examples from scripture to prove my train of thought… Let us start with the sin in the Corinthian Church; there was a man that slept with his father’s wife, his step mother. Most of the congregation boasted amongst themselves about this deed and Paul now steps in and severely rebukes them. This is what he has to say; “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” (1Corinthians 5:1-5)

Note: this man had been adopted by God into His family, he was a believer, and look at what Paul has to say about it, “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” However judgment was still require by God for his unrepentant sin although he had been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb. The purpose of discipline is to bring the believer to his knees seeking repentance from God His Father. God is not like frivolous men and he will not simply give up on the believer. Our confidence rests on what Christ has achieved and not our own abilities as men.

Here is another portion of scripture that confirms this thought; ““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 12:6-11): - Note, here again is proof in action on how God deals with His children, we will be discipline for unrepentant sin, if not, then all this proves is that even though we claim son-ship we are but bastards.

And finally we see Paul instructing the same church, which now involves an instruction to us about our part in examining our own hearts before we take communion; “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 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.” (1Corithians 11:23-30): - Note here we see how discipline plays out in the believer’s life, if we will not examine our walks before our Holy Father; he then inflicts judgment upon us. How does He do this? “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”

With this in mind we can now understand these encouraging words; “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Our reassurance then lays with God our Father, but if we will not be serious with the call that He has called us too then we must not be surprised if and when judgment befalls us. It is for our own good! There must come a day when we begin to think as men as we look to put off childish things.

My conclusion then would be; we have a responsibility to act as children of God and in that we proactively must be involved with those decisions, if we chose to ignore our responsibility then God will, because of His love, step in with discipline.

“Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is Gideon’s watchword, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” God must do it, it is his own work. But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used-”The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” If we only cry, “The sword of the Lord!” we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we shout, “The sword of Gideon!” alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in practical harmony, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the help of our God; let us, therefore, in his name determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony, and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

May God give us eyes to see and ears to hear!

Signing off

Tyrone