Grace a perfect work...

When the grace of God has run its course in an individual’s life it will result with a perfect work. This is just another undertone of God’s brilliance within His production. There are many examples throughout the scriptures that prove this.

However, we must remember that God is the director of His production; we must get into line if we are to end up as His ally. He will not share His glory with another. When we smudge the lines of choice we often end up with the wrong perception of the truth. What makes it difficult to get our heads around this reality is that we seemingly make so many choices throughout the day and our lifetimes, which leave us thinking that we are the ones who determine our destinies.

Let me break this down to help us understand. God has offered all the same invitation; He has call all to believe on His Son the Lord Jesus Christ and to find repentance for our sin in and through Him. There is no other option on the table for mankind if we are to reach heaven and all its glory. And yet some find this whilst others reject His free grace offer. Why? I do not profess to have all the answers but I know enough to understand it to be so. I have learnt that God is perfect in Character and therefore nothing can be added to His character to make Him better than He already is. Regardless of the perceptions that some have about this truth. He is perfect in love and his dealings with mankind will be perfectly just when time has eventually run its course. Although many factions have debated how individuals actually find salvation, I am convinced that it is God that instigates the salvation process in a sinner’s heart, without God initiating life no one would ever find Him. This is what grace means; it is a gift of God, it could never be earned by our own merits. If this wasn’t the case we would have something to boast about and be able to claim our involvement within the salvation process. Can I prove this? I most certainly can! Here then is the proof…

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:4-10) – When unpacked it is evident that it is all God’s doing and it has nothing to do with us initially. Only after salvation can we then find the ability to daily find the grace of God to produce “good works”; prior to this we are still dead in our trespasses and our sins. The initiation of our salvation is not our own, but it is God who has mercy on the individual and He makes us alive in Christ, it is His gift to certain individuals. If you think it through carefully and you stick to the text you will find no wiggle room in it. To suggest that we choose God would be inaccurate. Walk into a morgue and speak to a dead man and see if he responds.

Where the waters seem a little muddy, and I suggest “seem” is that God has a heart for all to find salvation. But if He doesn’t save how then will a man find the truth? They can’t!  

Once again this is just another indication of who we are dealing with; God is perfect and somehow somewhere in the middle of all this confusion the perfection of God’s brilliance is personified. I would once again remind all that this is His production and not ours; God does not need our approval for what He does. But we most certainly need His if it is to end well for us. The sooner we find this reality for our lives the freer we shall be to serve Him with sincerity.

God will judge both the living and the dead; simply put He will pardon those who find salvation for their sins in and through the finished work of the cross and He will judge those who don’t and somehow be perfect with his dealings with mankind, wow! This truth blows my mind and all I am left to conclude is to say thank you God for saving my soul. Why did He choose to save someone as debauched as me? I cannot give you an answer but I will boast in His mercy.

Both the vessels for honour and dishonour will play their parts within God’s production? Do you reject the gospel message as He has declared it, or have your eyes been opened to the sheer magnitude of His mercy? If you still sit on the fence regarding God’s mercy, I implore you to respond today by calling out to Him and asking God to forgive you for your rebellion.

God has scripted His production and it is well into the throes of the invention, in fact it is nearing its end. He has chosen some as enemies who reject His authority with others embracing Him with gratitude. Where do you fit in? I would remind you that our opinions count for nothing in the scheme of things, for they will have no bearing on the director’s production. God is in perfect control and He does not need our approval, but we most certainly need His.  

I leave you with this thought by the Apostle Paul; “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?” (Romans 9:20-21)

Signing off

Tyrone

 

 

Finding our roles in God's Production

Spending time with an old school colleague and rehashing the last 30 years takes a man back to the mirror. I will confess that hesitation played its part within our conversation. I looked at a man who had been born into the Jewish faith. Whether his family played their roles within their communities as practicing Jews I cannot say, or whether he originates from the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I am unsure, nevertheless my mind grappled with the question, God knows! However, what I am sure of is that God has summoned all to find salvation in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us delve into and unpack another aspect of God’s brilliance when it comes to God’s production concerning Israel. Did you know that Abraham was born 1948 years after Adam and that Israel became a nation 1948 years after the death of Christ? Could this be a coincidence? Not for a second would I concede to that type of reasoning, God is brilliant and His ways are well thought through. Just another indication of how well His pre-production was mapped prior to the beginning of time. Nothing in the world has or will ever catch Him by surprise. We on the other hand are often caught by surprise when we take our eye of the ball. When life becomes about our little worlds and our independence supersedes the call of God on our lives we always end up in the dirt instead of fulfilling our actual roles within God’s masterpiece. Resulting with many regrets but thankfully if the mercy of God has called us by name the duration of these agonizing encounters will only last for a season and we will eventually be brought to a place of repentance; training us to differentiate the wood from the trees. Yes God is a gracious God and He is slow to anger and full of mercy. He is patient with our futility. The branches in our lives that bare no fruit will be pruned and in severe cases totally removed. God is building His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against whatever He has predetermined. He is the director and He will determine the final outcome of His production. It’s up to the individuals of the world to learn this lesson. Are we in the throes of learning these vital truths? If we have been called by His name I can with utmost assurance conclude that we most certainly are. Some like me have been amongst the problematic with many failures to their name, but praise God as He graciously continues to teach us right from wrong. 

It would be irresponsible of me not to remind you that both the enemies of God and His allies live in His world; earth is where we all live. It is obvious that sin has blinded the majority of its inhabitants to this reality. However there is hope and rescue for all who would dare to call upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rescue from all the trappings of God’s arch enemy, Satan as he endeavours to do everything in his power to keep mankind from uncovering this truth. He is doomed to the Lake of Fire and looks to take as many with him as possible. Where do you stand within God’s production? Are you a person who acknowledges that you are a sinner and need the salvage of a Saviour or do you run with the crowd that claims to be a good person and in no need of rescue? Only you can answer that question!

We have all somewhere in our lives fraternized with the enemies of God. In fact we were his enemy, sin has concluded all as the enemies of God; But God so loved that He sent His only begotten Son to pay the price for our sin. This is huge to our understanding when realized. Here is the heart of God personified; “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) – Therefore we must all arrive at the same conclusion if we are to find God’s rescue in our lives, we must all conclude that we are sinners and in need of a Saviour. Only then will the light to God’s production become real in our lives, only then will we finally understand our roles in it. Whether you are privy to this information or not, it does not change the reality of what God is doing with mankind. It is His production and not ours.

Where do you stand is the question you now need to ask yourselves? Are you for God or against him?

Signing off

Tyrone   

             

An Intriguing thriller...

With any intriguing thriller, you will find twists and keys to solving the mystery merged between the overarching plots. It often takes great commitment and dedication with your undivided attention engrossed upon the screen if we are to stay on point. If not, we will soon be clutching at straws and asking the question, “What’s going on”? And yet when these types of productions hit the mark with the box office and rake in astronomical sums of money, it is still a production that originates from the “created”. Simply put, it’s a production driven by mankind’s intellect, where their thoughts must be accompanied with differing  tools and material to create their production; without a movie camera it would be impossible to capture the production on film and then play it back on demand; whilst God’s brilliance only needs a word spoken by Him to create whatever He chooses. He SPOKE the worlds into being and out of darkness He created all things; which obviously gets me to conclude, that His production is far more intricate and that His brilliance is way above ours. Sadly the majority of the world’s population find themselves grappling in the dirt when it comes to God’s production and what fascinates me is the authority with which the fool makes certain assumptions. As if their opinion supersedes God’s! Claiming to have more insight than the Creator of the heavens and the earth; the blind leading the blind and both will fall into the ditch.

King Solomon was a very wise man and throughout the book of proverbs we see insight into his penned words of wisdom. He teaches us this; “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) – On the basis of this quote examine where you stand; are you a person that claims to be wise but gives no thought to God and his dealings with you? Do you have no fear for Him? True knowledge must start with our understanding that we must give Him his rightful place if it is to end well with our souls. If our opinion has no place for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we are simply men and women that claim to be wise but have been blinded by our own pride and remain fools. Sadly the world’s system has hoodwinked the majority of its population into the class of fools. It teaches civilization that if we have certain qualifications or degrees then what we have to say must be taken seriously when in fact we are blind, ignorant and have been tricked into believing a lie.

But before I go off on a tangent and exalt myself as someone more knowledgeable than the next person, I am reminded that I too once thought like the majority of the world, I too was blinded by my sin. I was a man driven by the lust of my eyes, the lust of the flesh and by the pride of life; a man who has repeatedly fallen into the traps of sin, trying to escape the realities of life. But God who is rich in mercy has opened my eyes to understand certain truths. I will be amongst the first to confess that I am slow to understand but God has extended an abundant amount of mercy to me, for which I am forever grateful. It is the grace of God that found me, rescued me and plucked me from the miry clay and not the other way around. Even after my eyes had been opened to the truth of God’s production I have since erred. Needless to say when the thought of “Jesus in my place” penetrates my understanding I am filled with thankfulness and I am quick to say Amen to King Solomon’s quote, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge“. For those who have been amongst the weak, of which I am chief, there is nevertheless hope in Christ, “whilst we have breath we have hope.”

Again I remind you that it is God’s production and not mankind’s that will stand the test of time. It is vital that we look to Him from here on in until we breathe our last breath. We must not let the cares of this life overshadow the reality of our existence. Regardless of our mistakes if we look to our God for deliverance He has proved that He is slow to anger and quick to forgive, Wow! Bless His name now and forever more, Amen!

God’s production is filled with characters that will be for or against His overarching plan for humanity; the offer has gone out to all. Turn to Him in repentance and find life. It is the way He has chosen to direct His production. We need to decide where we stand with His call upon our lives. The buck stops with us and one day we will give an account to Him and there will be no escape; “…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 12:12-14) – There is a day coming when we will all stand before the only Almighty God and our lives will be played back to us; and for those who claim to be good rejecting God’s free grace offer will soon see their own wickedness and be judged according to what they did whilst on earth. The only covering that will save us from judgement is to be covered with the robes of righteousness that can only come from the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we get this robe? Simple, we turn to Him in repentance acknowledging our sin and our need for His forgiveness. It isn’t rocket science, even the simplest and the uneducated can relate to this call.

God’s production involves all of us; everyone who has ever taken a breath of oxygen is part of His masterpiece. We will only ever find ourselves in one of two camps; those for God or those against Him. We cannot claim to be neutral. Neutrality proves our unwillingness to commit.

To be continued…

Signing off

Tyrone       

  

God's Production... scene 2

Hopefully all who have been summoned to God’s production now understand that life and our existence revolves around Him and not around us. Sure we live our lives which rotate around our own little worlds, BUT it is obvious that it is the call of God that needs to ring loudest if it is to end well with our souls.

It might be a good idea to explore the realities of life after death in the context of God’s production. This is the underlying memo of all our certainties. We will move from this life to the next whether we are aware of it or not. We will eventually die and then our eyes will be opened to the rest of eternity and we will then exist in whatever state we chose whilst alive on earth. Everything in our lives teaches us this truth; there will be consequences!

Here is a harsh illustration to prove my point…

Many years ago a new virus raised its head, it is commonly known as the HIV virus. The epidemic of AIDS took the world by surprise. At first some believed that it was an infection that only affected the gay community. There was a media splash across the globe and it soon became public knowledge. Governments pumped money into their campaigns warning people about the virus. At first many South African ethnic groups believed it to be propaganda and I came into contact with some who believed it was a white man’s lie. It was not long before it could no longer be denied, having severe consequences on the world with Africa seeming to bear the brunt of this epidemic. So instead of the world turning to God in repentance, governments rolled out a “safe sex” policy encouraging the world to practice safe sex. In other words if we were to continue with our sinful behaviour and sleep around outside of the bounds of marriage we were reminded to wear a condom. Even with this knowledge I can vividly recall travelling through London at the time with massive billboards reminding all to practice safe sex. There is something within the human nature that lies to us and the power of denial has a great bearing on the bad decisions we make. We believe that we are “bullet proof” ignoring those types of warnings and it gets worse when we are under the influence of any mind-altering substance. Even within our depravity we believe that we will be safe. I once thought like this and even though I thought I would escape the virus, I didn’t.

In like manner God through His production has warned all about the consequences of sin and for all who reject His free Grace offer, which can only ever be found in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Miss out; believe some other religion or some other way and you will bear the brunt of His wrath. Hell will be your final destination! You see I once chose my path and ignore the warnings of HIV and the result is that I now live with the consequence of that choice, I am HIV positive. I almost died in 2001 but God spared me. And for those who reject the gospel message on God’s terms, will be privy to His wrath! Necessity has been placed on me to remind you that it is His production and not yours. Thankfully HIV will only ever affect me while I live here on earth but when rejecting the gospel message it will result with dire penalties for all eternity. Time on earth will run its course for each one of us, this is a given! But eternity will never end. Therefore we must pay careful attention to the reality of God’s production.

We can all relate to Hollywood Blockbusters and so let me use the movie 2012 as an illustration.

Amidst the events of a geological and meteorological super-disaster, a scientist discovers that the world is about to end and there was nothing that could be done to prevent this from happening, and so the world’s powers derived a plan to save some. They built Arks but these rescue pods could only house a specific number of people and so they keep the information to themselves. They decide who it is that should be saved. Although the majority of the world’s population were unaware of what was about to take place, it did not change the facts, it never could, the world was about to end. This was a story directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich and nothing would change the outcome, it was his production. In exactly the same way God has written His story and it is His production ending the way He chooses. The good news is that He hasn’t like Ronald Emmerich hidden any truth from us and called all to repentance. Can I prove this? I most certainly can, here then is the invitation within His production; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) – Unlike Emmerich’s production where only a select few with the correct qualifications make it into the Ark or the rich who needed to pay one billion dollars for a ticket. God has offered a free ticket to all who will come His way and that is through the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ His Son. It is His free grace offering and for all who call upon the Lord shall be saved from certain destruction.

This is an important message within God’s production; unless we repent we shall perish. There is no other alternative which God will accept, His way or no escape at all. This is God’s heart on the matter and His hope for all of mankind; “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2Peter 3:9) – Without repentance in our lives we will perish, as I am obliged to remind you this is God’s production and not yours.

To be continued…

Signing off

Tyrone 

  

In the beginning God...

(Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning God…”

Understanding that in the beginning it was God who orchestrated all things is probably the most crucial piece of the puzzle if we are to fathom out our roles here on earth. Twist that bit of information and our perceptions will be skewed. We have an enemy that is in the process and with many varying opinions is endeavouring to deceive as many individuals as possible. Why is he so consumed with propagating lies? His intention is to defy God and to target those who have been created in the likeness and image of God, mankind! He is the villain and he has been summoned to play a vital part within God’s production.  

Today could be a day where God in His mercy would allow the penny to drop into certain areas of your life concerning your role in His production. But in order for this to happen it is imperative we understand and are convinced with the truth of this certainty that “In the beginning God…”.

Let our minds travel back in time to the instituting of this stint in God’s being. If I can drive home this truth to our understanding it will bring about positive changes within our lives, I am certain of this.

Many years ago God decided that He would declare his brilliance to all things created; in order for this to happen He needed a script and so He sat in the throes of the heavens and began to think things through, no different in type to the production of a movie or a play. There are three stages overarching any production; pre-production, production and post-production. The pre-production stage is time consuming, it is the think tank behind it all and many factors need to be considered. The storyline, money to cover the costs, actors to act out the production, cameramen, lights, varying location, costumes, the building of sets and much more. Without all of these “t’s” crossed and “i’s” dotted there will be problems within the production. In other words the costs must be factored into the production prior to the making of it if it is to be successful. God considered all that was needed for His production and we know that He was very pleased with the outcome; “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good…” (Genesis 1:31)

God is ever powerful and has all the tools needed to accomplish His production. And so He establishes this fact in the very first line of the Bible, “In the beginning God…” He removes any doubt about creation and its origin. Next He explains the catalyst used to show us how this all happened; “And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) – The Apostle John gives us a deeper insight into this and informs us that the Lord Jesus is the Word; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) – How do we know that this is a reference to the Lord Jesus? Because he later explains; “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

However we can never overlook the fact that God spoke the worlds into existence and that the same God became a man and paid the price for our sins. This was His intention from before the foundations of the worlds. It was part of His pre-production preparation. He hasn’t left anything to chance and rewritten the script along the way as some may believe; it was all carefully premeditated in the same way a script is planned out prior to production. How do I know this to be true? “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:4-6) – It is all about God showing us His brilliance, His production, His will and not our own. I trust that is clearly understood!    

It was by the “Word of God”, God commanded the light to come forth out of the darkness and so it happened. God is so powerful that when He speaks it happens. We need material to build something, He doesn’t! Somewhere in the curtains of the heavens God had a meeting, a post-production meeting if you like. The God-Head came together and considered their upcoming production. We see a picture of the Godhead (“us”) discussing the creation of mankind, which informs us of their debate; “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) - Here is a reference to God in the plural content; proving that God is made up of more than one entity and yet God refers to Himself as God in the singular. What is going on here? There are differing references which highlights the Godhead and without going into it in depth, here is one that proves the point; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) – God consists of three individuals, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit; their minds are always in sink, with each individual playing out their own specific function.

Now back to God’s creation; the main characters within the varying roles of His productions are mankind and they were created in His image and likeness; “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)

God finishes creation; the scene is now set with the cameras already rolling with the scenes unravelling. Production well on its way…

It’s God’s production and not mine nor yours and we must always remember to keep this truth in the back of our minds. He is the director and He will direct and determine the specific roles for all of its characters. If and when we misalign ourselves with this reality it then becomes our production and not God’s and it will end badly for us.

When we read the Bible from cover to cover we see that it is filled with all the intrigue any blockbuster has. There are villains and heroes; there is love and heartache; there is suspense and brilliance interwoven within the underlined messages of the production. In a nutshell it is brilliance personified with all of mankind and creation playing their part in it, whether we are privy to it or not. If carefully unpacked we may only see a snippet of the magnitude of God’s brilliance, for we look at it through the eyes of faith but at the end of it all, we all will understand God’s intentions. But for now only those who come to this understanding; that it is God’s production and not ours, only these individuals will truly understand their roles in it. When a potter places a clump of clay onto a potter’s wheel does the clay tell the potter what to create? No! The potter always has power over the clay.

To be continued…

Signing off

Tyrone

"God so loved"

“I have decided” is an action we look to implement countless times throughout our lives; driven by varying intentions that make up our characters. Take yourself there and then stop and try to listen to your own heartbeat, do you hear it? The actual pounding of it cannot be heard without a stethoscope or an ear pressed to it. This is why we never accurately psychoanalyse ourselves as our perceptions about ourselves have been skewed by sin and why there is such a powerful lure that drives people to offload onto someone else. It is an industry that rakes in the big bucks; an industry that allows us the opportunity to facilitate our sin and get away with it, but only for a season!

For God has concluded all under the banner of sin; “as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” (Romans 3:10-11) – Religion teaches us to believe that if we apply ourselves to its doctrine that it will be well with our souls. It teaches us that we can find favour from God with our conduct when in fact we have been hoodwinked into believing a lie. “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” There is nothing we can do or say that will make us acceptable to God outside of the righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ and Him alone. “How can this be true?” one may ask. The answer is an obvious one, we have all been tainted by sin, and we have all been condemned under the curse of sin. Ask yourself the question, have you sinned today? If not today then what about yesterday and do that all the way back into your childhood and it will soon become evident that we have all been tainted by sin in one form or another.

Did you know that the Apostle John was often afforded that privilege and at times was allowed to lay his head on the chest of the Lord Jesus; he would have heard His heartbeat; the rhythmic thud of it as it soothed his racing mind, and possibly the reason why he was known as the “beloved disciple”. The one who got closest to the heartbeat of Jesus, Wow! Did you know that we have all been afforded the same privilege? Sure, it is through the eyes of faith, but nevertheless still on offer to whoever would dare approach the Throne Room of Grace. It is here where the Lord Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God the Father and is waiting eagerly for the remaining few still to cry, “Save me Lord”! Only then will you be privy to His heartbeat.     

When I endeavour to consider the attributes of God, I must conclude that because He is perfect, mathematically, He must be exactly divisible into equal roots. There can be no lack in any of His characteristics. When something is perfect nothing we add to it will ever improve it. However I cannot help but conclude that it is the love of God that speaks the loudest to me, a sinner who was once condemned to death because of my sin but now freed from its penalty because of His love toward me. God the creator of the heavens and the earth sent His only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ to pay the price for the sins I committed. I have now been pardoned of my sin, WOW!

Who can with absolute and accurate assurance measure the love of God? It’s depths cannot be plummeted! Today I am driven by faith in my Saviour’s finished work and I have a hope that one day when I finally take my last breath here on earth and open my eyes in the spiritual world where I will see my Redeemer for who He is, I will appreciate Him in person and this is all the motivation I need to press on from day to day. That day will eventually arrive and I will no longer be driven by faith or need hope to fuel me as it drives me into a pursuit of holiness. And yet the love of God will never leave me, it will be mine for eternity, what an awesome thought!

We make many decisions throughout any particular day but more often than not it is driven by the pride of life, the lust of our eyes and the lust of our flesh. But “GOD SO LOVED”! Have you understood this, has His love personally engulfed your existence? If not the offer is still available and all you have to do is reach out and grab it. For those who can say I can relate to the love of God as I have embraced it, then my encouragement is for you to squeeze a little tighter for the riches of God’s grace will never run dry for the Christian.

For now we must all be driven by faith in our God and what He has accomplished on our behalf…

I will now leave you with this thought; “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Signing off

Tyrone

The meaning of life...

(Revelation 21:7) “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Counting the cost to the Christian calling is something we all need to consider if we are to become effective for Christ. For us to become operational in the building of God’s Kingdom we must see our eternal reward as the ultimate goal of our existence. We must learn to appropriate this verse to our daily gaits; “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)

The summons from the only true and living God must dictate the way we live from here on in. I realise that this will only ever become apparent when we understand that call; when we are persuaded that it is God who has called; regardless of our blunders throughout our lives, if and when God calls will we obediently respond to His voice. For when we understand that this is the reason we were born, then it will be well with our souls. Society teaches us to believe in ourselves but God commissions all to believe in Him; “For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 10:11)  

When an athlete trains it is a painful process but they endure their training so that they may be crowned champion. Their goal is very specific and it is no different for the Christian we must learn to lay our lives down so that we too may one day reap our reward, which is to hear Gods approval when we enter the gates of the New Jerusalem. There is a grand event coming known to us in scripture as the “marriage feast of the Lamb”, a wedding ceremony. It is very dress specific and only those adorned with the correct garments will be allowed to partake. It is a celebration reserved for the bride of Christ and only those who have their names written in the Book of Life will be allowed to attend. The invitations have been carefully selected and have not been penned with ink but with a quill dipped in blood of the Lord Jesus. Those selected for this great event must make Him their prized possession. In order for this to happen we must learn to walk by faith and place all our dependency upon the Words of God, THE BIBLE! As it is the treasure map to that beautiful occasion in a glorious land. Study and then study some more. Be sure of that which has been charted out and leave nothing to chance. If you have doubts to whether you will eventually make it into that magnificent land do not rest until you hear the voice of God speaking clearly to you! It is one thing to know that God exists but quite another to be personally known by Him. Are you convinced that you are on that guest register? Are you at liberty to converse with Him? Are you sure that you have been invited? These are questions that you need to be answered with total assurance.

Examine your own hearts…   

What is it that drives you? Money, lust, the pride of life, power; the list is endless or is it the hope that one day you will hear God speak these words directly to you? “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” If this is not your motivation to life then I would suggest that you rally around those who have that as their ultimate goal and spend as much time with them as humanly possible. This is where we will be able to buy the oil for our lanterns that will be needed when our bridegroom returns to take us home. Without oil in our lanterns we will miss out and that is something we can all ill afford for it will have eternal consequences. After now establishing that as imperatively important; what must ring the loudest is that we’ve been saved from a place of total devastation, we were doomed for destruction from the time we took our first breath. “BUT GOD”!

Here is an allegory that should help us understand the intention I wish to highlight…

A group of people gathered with eager anticipation as a young woman deep in the throes of labour, works her way painfully through the process of her brutal labour pains, in spite of the anguish she now faced and with a clad-iron resolve she was determined to follow through with a natural birth. Whilst her parents linger in the cold dull passageway of the labour ward in the deep south of Johannesburg, and as the father had lived through the Second World War a thought flashes vividly through his mind, “hospitals always have death written all over their walls”, and then the reality of what was happening kicked in, “but not this time!” his thoughts had now become vocal causing his wife to turned to him, “What”? “Never mind” he muttered, how could he bring up death when they expected life? As this was a very happy juncture. There were endless opportunities for this new bundle of joy. The man was filled with glee and was to soon be a granddad! But not yet for there were still many uncertainties, would his daughter and the unborn child come through without any complication? Therefore he continued to pace up and down with great intent hoping that all would be well with the apple of his eye for she was but a young lass, barely seventeen. It was an anxious moment and yet it was compressed by excitement. “Is it a boy or a girl”? An exciting thought all had already considered, wanting to be the one who could gloat and say I told you it would be a boy.

Then it happened, they heard it, a babies cry. It was rather comical as they simultaneously look at each other and laying aside the hospital policies, instantaneously they all rushed into the room to examine the miracle. Maybe this baby boy would be the next president or the next greatest prodigy with a golf club in his hand. The potential endless and full of promise! Words like “cute” and “he is beautiful, he looks just like you” travelled from person to person filling the room with chatter, the overtones of joy fanned across the room bringing smiles to all. And then something outside of the norm happened God allows them to look into the future as He commanded time to travel forward. Their joy suddenly turns to shattered heartache; a horror filled vision now became their reality and they were all privy to it; death, misery and total darkness engulfed with unquenchable flames awaited not only this little newborn baby but all of mankind and God in His mercy had shown it to them.

The reality of it was that all of mankind has been condemned already. We all stand guilty before a Holy God and Hell with all its fury is our destination. It is mankind’s lot in life. Try as we may to build Arks like in the movie 2012 or as we rally together as one united nation, trying with paramount resolve to avoid the inevitable, the destruction of this planet as we know it, which will eventually happen. The same fate awaits us all. An eternity of horror personified! They had seen it and there was no denying it for God had shown it to them.  

The joy that filled that delivery room was now filled with regret and the remorse of this accidental conception, conceived outside of the bounds of wedlock was now forgotten. Although they were practising Catholics and they had done everything in their power to conceal their sin removing the ridicule that would come upon the family if it became public knowledge had now dissipated as there were far more pressing issues on hand. If only this little boy had never been born was the thought of consensus and then it dawned on then, but what about us? Doomed for eternity! It was no longer an idea that some jarhead had shouted from a street corner; “repent for the end is near”! God had revealed the truth to them and they had seen the end, they now understood the ramifications! They had grasped it for God had shown it to them! As they limply made their way back to the vehicles they had arrived in. The drive back to their homes was filled with silence and remorse for they were all devastated by the reality of it all, once so oblivious to the secrets of hell but now “eyes wide open” to what was just over the horizon. “Stop the car”, the father demanded on the fringe on the highway, it was a perfect position, the car had come to rest in a blind spot, and he thought that they might be lucky enough to be taken out of their misery and be steamrolled by a passing truck. What was a man to do? What is a father to do? Climbing out of the car the man began to frantically pace up and down with strides of hopelessness; he then looked up and saw a humongous clump of sand that had been sifted from a gold mine shaft and with his gaze locked onto it he called out to it, “KILL ME”! He had finally understood that he was “condemned already” and there was nothing he could do to save himself or his family nor his newborn grandson. It was a hopeless situation!

“CONDEMNED ALREADY” was and is the state of mankind and will remain their lot in life if they do not respond to the only lifeline available…

Pay very careful attention as it may just help you understand the magnitude of your predicament and rescue you from it. The Apostle John a spokesperson on behalf of God; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob penned these words a long time ago; “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18) 

How on earth did mankind arrive here? Here was a man who had now understood his fate, he was in total despair, crying to a hill to fall on him and snuff the life from him. And then it happen, God mercifully took pity on him and took him back to the beginning to help him understand…

He now stood in the midst of a beautiful garden surrounded by absolute tranquillity, a vast contrast to his previous vision, perfection personified with harmonic melody from all its wildlife wafting on the back of a gentle breeze bringing great comfort to him and those in the garden. “Is this how it all started” he thought? He knew it to be true. At first he grappled with the contrasting visions and if this is how it began why does it end with such destruction? Walking through paradise he passed a lion lying down next to a lamb, they seemed extremely content with their surrounding and there was no aggression evident. His stride then came to an abrupt halt and he saw a woman conversing with a serpent, a creature that he was unfamiliar with, it looked like a snake but it stood upright on its legs, it hissed with a choral lyric to its voice, he could now hear what was being said, “Did God actually say?” the serpent whispered.  And then it dawned on him what was about to happen. “Stop he shouted, get away from him”! But she was oblivious to his cries and continued to peer deeper into his trickery unaware of the deception that was about to take place. If only she knew what she was actually doing, dooming my new born grandson to an eternity of total hopelessness, “wake up you foolish woman”, he shouted even louder this time, but to no avail, the lure had worked and she was now lapping up every word. Satan had ensnared her and there was no escape, he had won and defied God! That day he won a fight but he will never win the battle, praise God!

Mr Harry Casual (the man) finally understood that it was because of this event that all of mankind have been doomed. Our great grandmother to the power of who knows the actual number, God Knows, I most certainly don’t! It was all her doing! But what of our great grandfather, he wasn’t deceived and yet he followed in the sin of his wife. As selfish as his decision may well have been the reality of it all is the pair of them doomed all of mankind to fall under Gods condemnation. Happy-go-lucky (the man) then saw God commission two cherubim’s, angels like creature with flaming swords commanding them to guard the tree of life, forbidding sinful intent to eat from it. Death had now been their sentence, their foolishness had eternal consequences and their eternity with God had been snatched from them; resulting in God banishing them form paradise as they knew it. The penalties were dismal! For the first time they saw thorns sprout out amongst the flower reminding them of their folly.

As he stood at the foot of that mound of that Sand Hill just off the highway the man having seen the end and the beginning of time finally understood why all of mankind had been doomed. The prize of God’s creation, mankind had rejected Him and yielded to the voice of another created being, the serpent that is the devil. It finally made sense! The sin of one man had blinded all to the realities of life and the bigger picture with the warriors of hell keeping us all from the truth. Driving us to be engulfed with daily activities and giving very little thought to the hereafter! Sending us into a spiral filled with our own opinions and with zero recognition for the creator of the heavens and the earth. Flip, dissect, analyse, or do what you want with the reality of the truth and we must all eventually arrive at the same conclusion; we all justly deserve what is coming, JUDGEMENT! Some will still cry, “That is unfair”, but it is what it is! He knew it to be true for God had shown it to him!

It was then that the man contemplated running into the oncoming traffic, for what else was a man to do? But before he could actioned that thought a voice from heaven shouted, “STOP!” God then took him into a time of Roman rule and he saw a man crucified to a cross with the onlookers jeering at him, “if you are God save yourself” they mocked; whilst others curse insults at him and spat upon him. It was here that the love of God became apparent to Mr Potentially Hopeful (the man); God’s love had compelled Him to provide a lifeline for mankind; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) – A love inconceivable to our characters and yet God punished His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ the Lord was disciplined on behalf of sinners, WOW! In other words Mr Thankful (the man) finally understood that although he was the sinner, someone who was without sin had paid the price for his sin. His mind now flashed to all the other religions of the world and the little he knew of them helped him finally understand that they could not help him as God hates sin and will deal with it and no one will escape His judgement. If we are tried for our sin and found guilty of breaching even one of the smallest of God laws we will face His punishment. Hell will be our eternal destination.

Why do we need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Because he alone paid the penalty for sinners and forgives all who repent of their sin and believe on His finished work; He paid the fine and that now frees us of our sin. The fine has been paid and it has satisfied God. “Jesus in my Place”! But never forget that Jesus Christ the Lord spilt his own blood so that we could go free and escape the looming devastation that awaits the devil and his angels.

Therefore reject the offer on hand and you will end up in that devastating place it is as simple as that. This is the end for those who reject God’s free grace offer, please pay very careful attention to it and do not be swayed by the foolish opinions that those professing to be wise present with no factual evidence. Some say that we are part of the cycle of evolution and that our genealogy started with the ape-man; think it through it, use your God given brain, if that be true, why have we not found millions if not billions of those fossils? The answer is obvious, it is a LIE! Here is the end of the story for those who reject this glorious God given offer; “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15) – Therefore it is clear that there is a book with registered names in it known as the “book of life” and the only way any individual can avoid the upcoming fate is if their name is recorded in it and the only way for this to happen is by repenting and accepting the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on behalf of your sin. It is as simple as that!

 

What will you do with the mercy that God has offered you?

“For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

I beg you call upon Him and repent…    

Signing off

Tyrone    

                 

"Path-Finder"

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)  

Doubt can leave a man wanting and leave him with great regret, “if only” and “what if” the equivalent of any unwanted plague. Even the world has derived a saying that confirms this, “he who hesitates is lost”! Trust on the other hand is the frontrunner, when applied correctly. Humility must be the leader of our lives and it most certainly needs to be coupled with trust. Therefore we must learn to rely (trust) on the Lord our God with all our hearts, but notice that the mind is included under the banner of the heart; “and do not lean on your own understanding”. Note – “In all our ways acknowledge Him”, which if written differently as I understand it means, commit to our God with our hearts, our inner beings and do not give your minds a pass. How do we give our minds a pass? Read on! Our entire beings must be devoted to God and only then will the promise of this verse be realized. Which is, “and he will make straight your paths.” This is an assumption that I can equivocally make without any fear of erring on the side of error. I have notice that not many commit to this verse correctly. It is easy to say we will trust our God, if so why then do we always let our minds dictate to any difficult dilemma. When we are tried we often refer to our own resourcefulness to rectify whatever is required. We are not lead by the Spirit of God in these instances but it is obvious that we rely on our independence. We say one thing but it is obvious we are committed to self and not to God. Fill in the blanks, examine if what I say has any bearing on the decisions you make throughout the day. Faith demands all of our commitment and not only selected compartments of our lives and it must be founded on the pillar of humility. When the chips are down this is when we are truly tested. Gauging faith with accuracy comes from the trials of life and not from cozy comforts.      

Here are some examples to prove my point…

Let us look at twelve men that turned the world on it hinges, the twelve apostles and what constituted their commitment to the Christian faith as we know it today. Obviously without the work of Gods Spirit this would have resulted in disaster, but if and when God speaks and we find obedience to His voice, Wow! The world will become our oyster and the possibilities to glorify God through our endeavours will become endless. Let us pay careful attention to their lives and learn from them.

It is not a difficult point to establish when thought through with intent; historically the scripture verifies this point over and over again. There are multitudes of examples throughout the covers of the Bible for us to understand the call for the Christian. And the more effective we look to be, the easier the application. Trust in our God with humble intent must become our focus and tackling one day at a time; trying to handle too much at once will smother us. Pay attention; "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) - There must be less dependency upon ourselves with a greater commitment to our reliance upon God’s provision if we are to learn what it means to walk by faith; this solicitation must be driven by faith for it to become effective. Doubt on the other hand is the greatest of all enemies.

When God rescued the Jews from slavery out of the land of Egypt what was their greatest downfall? They grumbled! Unbelief prohibited them from entering the Promised Land. God had committed Himself to a people and proved His allegiance to them with many mighty signs and wonders, He evidenced that He was a God of His Word! It is not as if God needs to prove anything, HE IS GOD and He answers to no one! But understanding our weakness, the feebleness of our flesh and because of His love, “God is Love”! He proved His commitment though many spectacular miracles. And yet at the core of their hearts they remained uninfluenced. True faith is far more effective than any sign, this is a lesson we all need to learn. My prayer is that my God would teach me to trust Him above anything else in my life and I am thankful that He is in the throes of this lesson. I am persuaded that through it all His promise will become my reality, which is to make straight that which is crooked in my life, Hallelujah and Amen!

I realize that I am a work in progress and that there is still much needed for me to become effective with God’s call upon my life. As I examine the weakness that continues to plague me with doubt looking for any opportune moment to rear its head but then I am reminded that it is the work of the Spirit who has it in His power to achieve whatever He chooses. Here is a verse that helps me align my thinking and I am able to draw great comfort from it as it washes the qualm away. “If God is for us who can come against us; “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-39) 

This must become our daily mindset for us to reach our end game, heaven and all its glory where Jesus Christ shall lead us as Supreme King and God will be our Father and we shall be his sons, Wow! I want that more than life itself, do you? There is a price to pay, a relinquishing of self - whilst trusting in our God.

Here is a typical effective response that will be fruitful…

“While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:18-20) – I do not see any if’s and but’s and the reason for this is there weren’t any! Do you understand the author’s intent? Doubt is nowhere to be seen in this verse. Please note these where simple fishermen, Christ did not go to Herod’s Court to select accomplished candidates to follow him. The world teaches us that only the mighty and the noble will conquer but that is not how God has chosen to glorify His name through varying individuals; “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;” (1Corinthians 1:26-37) – The reason for this is a simple one, less of self and more of Gods abundant grace revealing itself in and through the common man.        

Here is an example that did not pan out favourably; “And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."” (Luke 18:18-25) -There is a false message that is preached from many a pulpit and it revolves around wealth, it is demonic and we must repel it with all we have. The more we gather in the world the greater the temptation will be to hold onto it. The instruction to Christians is clear and simple; “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1Timonthy 6:8-9)

It is the raging storms and the tempestuous winds of life which we experience that proves God’s benediction to us, but take comfort from this verse; “After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” (1Peter 5:10)

   

Blessing to all who confessed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

      

    

"Regulars not Seculars"

“God’s children need to be regulars and not seculars”. The lessons of life are obviously driving this truth home and to say that our bad choices do not teach us many valuable lessons in my opinion would not be sound council. It is often the hard knocks of life that eventually lead us to the still waters of God’s abundant grace. I am no novice when it comes to bad choices along my Christian Journey. I am not alone! We have recorded accounts of others that have also lived to regret their choices but through it all have come out on the other side victoriously with their God having the final say in their lives and glorifying His name. If God be for us who can be against us? This does not suggest that there won’t be blows from the enemy, you can count on that! Our God has phenomenal resolve; in fact it is perfect. Every aspect of God’s character is unadulterated. HE IS PERFECT! As children of God we can depend upon Him in every area of our lives, especially in the areas we struggle the most.

The Apostle Paul suffered intense bodily harm for the sake of the gospel; he never suffered as a result of his own folly, or so it would seem when we examine the accounts of his life through scripture. Sure, prior to salvation we are all very foolish and he was no different. God took drastic measures to bring his misguided zeal to an abrupt halt. He was struck from his horse on the way to Damascus and then blinded for days. But after coming to an understanding of the call of God upon his life there seemed to be no slip-up, God knows! Sadly not many of us can claim to have lived like Paul. What is a man to do? Christianity is all about a pursuit of holiness becoming part of our daily lives.

“Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.” (Proverbs 25:26) – This was Paul’s testimony; “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1Corinthians 9:27) – This is the streak we should all strive for! But sadly there are not many Pauls, God knows! 

For us who propagate the glorious gospel message and then find ourselves back where we once were, in the “Slough of Despond” or “the Pigs Pen”, with comments from the onlookers  like; “you see a leopard cannot change its spots” which at times can bring great reproach to our intent with God’s gospel message. This should not be our charge, but what if we have erred in this area of our lives? I know I have!

Do we now curl up into a ball and suffocate? Nay! We take the errors of our ways very seriously, confess our sin before God and ask Him to renew a right spirit in us and once restoration takes place we then get on with the task at hand, which is to be deliberate with the gospel.

What if we seem to make the same mistake over and over? We must continue to confess our sin before our God; we must never yield to it as those who have been defeated, as those without an everlasting hope. There will come a time in a true believer's life when God will give us the victory, once the lesson is learnt we will then be able to move on not having to repent of the same sin over and over again; The Apostle Paul teaches us this priceless truth, pay attention; “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2Corinthians 7:10) –This verse does not highlight repentance per say, but the intent to find victory for our mistakes is the driving force behind this instruction. It prepares us for true repentance which when it has run its course will result with a true harmony as we sing the victor’s song, “Jesus in my place”. To remain secular is unacceptable; we must become patrons of God’s grace in every area of our lives. We must not excuse our sin as the norm. We must deal with this reality every day until we move from this life into the next.

 

Paul was very deliberate with the call God had placed on his life in spite of the fierce persecution he faced. Are we? Am I?

It is an obvious deduction that if a Christian’s sin is exposed it will silence him. The enemy’s objective is to silence the gospel. Why? Because even he knows that it is the power of God unto salvation. God has chosen the gospel as a means whereby some have and will continue to be saved. It is through the foolishness of preaching where this miracle develops. Words are uttered and then ears receive what has been declared and then the light-switch to the true meaning of life comes on. It is obvious that not all will respond favourably to this life changing message. The more accurate we are with the gospel message the better the results will be. The power does not resonate with the preacher but with God the Holy Spirit. He has been commissioned to save sinners from certain destruction. This however does not give us licence to water down a seeker friendly gospel as this will only invite confusion. We must never stoop to a secular level to win the lost. The Apostle Paul was extremely accurate with his deliberation and we too must learn to be exact with the gospel message. The pursuit of holiness for our lives must become our mission. God sent His son to save sinners and therefore sin in a person’s life must be the focal point. Sin must not be swept under the carpet, God sent his Son to save sinners and not the self-righteous. When sin is overlooked it causes more damage than good.

Having established this truth, what about our failures along the way? Sadly they do count against what we have to say but I would suggest only for a season. How so? God has a phenomenal capacity to forgive even those who have blundered terribly. He has it in His power to restore that which the cankerworm has destroyed. God alone has the power to forgive or condemn. Obviously we have a responsibility to seek forgiveness from those whom we have offended. This is obvious from scripture but ultimately when we sin we offend God! David is quick to teach us this lesson when he erred with Bathsheba; “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalms 51:3-4)    

Can I back what I have suggested from scripture? Let us look at some examples…

Samson was a Nazarite from birth and at times the Spirit of God moved upon him mightily proving that God was with him. And yet he made many blunders throughout his lifetime but he eventually came to his senses and God’s abundant grace is evident in his death; “And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." Then he bowed with all his strength and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.” (Judges 16:30) – The writer of Hebrews commends him for his faith and commitment to his God. Many might have suggested that he never made it if it weren’t for the penning of his name in the book of Hebrews; “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—“ (Hebrews 11:32)  - And then there was King David, “a man after God’s own heart”, and in order to hide his turpitude, he fell into a spiral of sin but when he came to his senses God mercifully produced an offspring from his repentance that is a direct descendant of the Lord Jesus, Solomon was born to Bathsheba; “and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:6)

Do not wallow in self-pity, pray that God would expose every area in our lives that needs rectifying and then through prayer and repentance let us seek his abundant grace to find victory, which in turn will end up bringing glory to Him and Him alone.

Signing off

Tyrone       

   

Money and the love of it...

(1Timothy 6:6-10) “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Addiction is a very power surge in a person’s life that drives them to make unwise decisions. But there are many subtle cravings that drive our characters and one of these addictions is the will to become rich. I have been privy to this craving along life’s journey but until we understand the teaching from God’s Word on the subject we will continue with this error in our lives. The Lord Jesus taught on the subject and so does the Apostle Paul. We must be motivated by finding God’s will for our lives and thankfully He is patient with His subjects and teaches us this valuable lesson. The text is very explicit, so let us break it down.

From the outset the overarching drive for all must be to find contentment with what we have in Christ. As soon as we move into the sphere of greed in any form we have taken the wrong turn and our lives will be filled with strife.

We are born with nothing and therefore we will also leave with nothing. Material wealth will only ever feed our realities on earth. Our flesh is driven by the passions of sin and therefore when we nurture it to the point of obsession we are caught up into a spiral of suffering. The text is very clear on this; “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” We pretend that if we become rich we will help those in need when in fact we become even more self-centred. If we can learn to be driven by the will to find contentment with godliness in our lives we shall find certainty in the fact that God will supply all our necessities and we will be able to understand the difference been our needs and wants. God first, and the will to appropriate His righteousness as our first point of call will become the overarching factor to our lives. When this has been realised and becomes part of our daily makeups only then will it be well with our souls.

Christianity is a call upon our lives that is the worst trade in this world; it is filled with sacrifice and self-denial but the best calling in the world for it has eternal benefits; whereas the will to be rich drives a person to set goals and hopes for this life with no thought for eternity. It is a narrow minded approach and it will certainly be short lived.

The Lord Jesus suffered tremendous pain on behalf of the sins of mankind; now imagine if he took the easy out, where would that leave us? Doomed for destruction! But He was driven by a far deeper reality and that was to fulfil the will of His Father which resulted in eternal reward. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father awaiting the judgement of mankind, where every knee will bow to Him and confess Him as Lord. For those who have rejected his council will be driven to their knees with a rod of iron. How I long for the day when my Saviour will be exalted and recognized by all.

All a man needs for this world is enough to carry him through it unto the end, no more is actually needed. “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Get the point as it is very explicit. I know our minds will now begin to gallop as it yearns to exploit any wiggle room, but there is none. The sooner we can be settled in this area of our lives the happier we will be.

Faith is the catalyst which must drive our hope which is an eternal hope. “You will know a tree by its fruit”. This is a reference to distinguish between true and false Christianity. We often only make reference to the obvious sinful behaviour witnessed in our lives, like drunkenness, fornication and the like but hankering after money is often given a pass. If that be true we have erred and repentance is required.

All of God’s council is for the believer’s benefit and we must welcome all that is taught. 

My prayer for all who claim God’s free gift of salvation is that we take what is taught seriously in our lives as it will be profitable when applied.

God my Father please help us see the wood from the trees in the more subtle areas of our lives so that your name would be glorified when we face the onslaught of the enemy, to the ever wise God, may His name be glorified now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone