The Tongue

The greater the struggle the sweeter the victory is a thought I have often had, which I have already affirmed by scripture. The Lord Jesus introduced love for what it is and should be and it cost him his life. Let’s face it; we should all understand that if a perceived truth isn’t validated by scripture it will bring about decay. Deception may elude an individual’s perceptions for a while but eventually at the end of its course it will bring forth death. Sadly, we are all governed by our carnality, which is an entrapment to sin, and therefore our intention is about the here and now, our nearsightedness steering so many of our perceived perceptions into believing falsifiers. Just like any great mystery, all will be revealed in due season; truth will stand tall!

One of the first encounters recorded for us pertaining to the relationship between man and woman, Adam and Eve were influence by deception, which in turn introduce death into the equation. Prior to sin entering in, death was unheard of. It was a rather simple encounter, words were exchanged. Satan got Eve talking. In fact there was also a tree of life in the garden and yet there seemed to be no interest for its fruit until Eve sinned and they both became aware of death and only then did God command cherubim’s (angels) to guard it as the new forbidden fruit.   

There is much we can learn from that encounter, however, I wish to focus on the immense power of communication. No wonder James is so bold when he gives us insight into the power of our tongues; you have heard the quote “the pen is mightier than the sword”! I would have to concur on so many levels. The Apostle has this to say concerning the tongues destructiveness. It often tries to be syrupy and then it lashes out with malice and ferocity, the questions he asks are these; “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.” (James 3:10-13) – Our tongue proves that our lives are filled with duplicity. For it can at times trigger both fresh and bitter waters, proving that we have been tainted by sin. James even goes as far as this to establish the rigorousness that our tongues yield; “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” (James 3:2) – A very interesting conclusion. The key for the Christian is to train their tongues and then they will be able to tether their bodies. Test what he says against the Lord Jesus’ example and it then becomes very clear what we must strive for and find grace to reign in our tongues.

Thank you Father God for the clarity in which you’re “Word” so often speaks to me, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Rescue

Indeed the Lord shall rescue you from all persecutions when it is all about the will of the Father. No differently to the way He raised his Son from the dead. But we must not miss the overarching intent that drove the Lord Jesus Christ, which was this; He has overcome and cushioned the vicious blows from the devil and his followers who still continue to carry malicious intent with an objective to destroy Christians, kill and separate them from God for eternity; Satan failed along time ago and he will fail with us also, so long as our gaze remains fixed upon our Saviours finished work. Jesus overcame Satan with all his deceitful lures! Regardless of the ferocity of the storm, Jesus has overcome and the Christian can hang his hat on that and on nothing else.

It is easy to get “lost in translation” with the world and all its pressures, which often brings us down. The struggles of life can be rather overwhelming at times. However, when we find yourself dazed, stop and seek out the still sweat voice of God. Lend an ear to His whisper and before long a settling peace will be our reward. Not that the struggle will miraculously disappear; but we will be persuaded of this, that God is on your side and the gates of hell shall not prevail, Hallelujah! It’s at times like these that we will soon be reminded of verses like these; "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:25-34)

Life often leaves a bitten taste in ones mouth, whilst at times there is much enjoyment while eating strawberries until that day arrives when you unswervingly pop a rotten one into your mouth and all the bliss that has gone before is soon forgotten as you hastily spit out the unwelcomed flavour that now haunts your pallet. The longer we live the more we realise that life isn’t always going to be a bed of roses. That is why it is imperative to focus upon our hope, heaven with all its glory will one day be ours. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus! That day will be filled with such bliss that the Bible depicts it like this; “But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1Corinthians 2:9) – Once we get to heaven the struggles of this life will soon be forgotten and our race will be run, but until then we need to be constantly reminded of the hope we have in Christ and what a HOPE that is! Even though the pressure of the constant surge of the barraging waves relentlessly continue to pound away at our worlds we have this expectation, that One day we will see our Saviour face to face and then we will be rewarded with a body like His, wow! Death and decay will be removed and eternity will begin. How I long for that day! But until that day arrives for the Christian let us remember to press towards the mark of the high calling of God, for it will be worth it all!

Signing off

Tyrone

Christianity scrutinized!

Christianity seems to be under the pump of late, however this is nothing new, the chosen of God have and will always find themselves under the cosh of the enemy and his followers. God’s covenant with mankind began with Abram, who later became Abraham a common occurrence once God had singled out men to follow and serve Him. Jacob became Israel, Simon Bar-Jonah became Peter and Saul became Paul; an illustration of a radical change to their lives. Similarly the sinner repents and believes that they need to be saved from themselves and they then cry upon the Lord Jesus Christ asking for forgiveness believing that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that God the Father rose Him from the dead. Once this event takes place in an individual’s life they are then “born again”, miraculously God intervenes opening their eyes to His truth. We were once blind by now the Christian shouts “I can see!”

Last night that “hot potato” topic raised its head again on national television; homosexuality in the church. The answer on this topic is as clear as day, however this does not mean that in lieu of that sin other then get a pass. Sin is sin and every breach of God’s law shall stand before the judge. Sadly the victimised mentality of some feel that they should get a license, it will and can never happen. God hates sin, but has such an abundance of love to His creation that He has given us an out and that is not to excuse away our sin but for us to rather own it, confess it and seek out His forgiveness in the finished work of the cross.

Homosexuals are as guilty as liars are and visa versa. Both camps have breached God’s law and will have to give an account to Him and then face His judgement where the second death will be the fate of some. The only way we will ever escape that dreaded day is if we find salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. We must start with Him and then seek out God’s grace (His unmerited favour) to work it all out.

I also heard in the same package someone speaking on behalf of the “Word of God” with baloney coming out of his mouth. He said that if the Christian says that the Word of God is the final authority, which it is! Then the Christian must apply themselves to all of God’s Word and not only that which suits. I concur! However where scripture is misquoted then I do not concur. He said that the Bible says we must only eat certain foods and most don’t. The Law of Moses does specify this, however the Lord Jesus has fulfilled the Law and therefore this no longer applies as it once did, the Christian is now under the Lord Jesus’ yoke, the perfect sacrifice for the sinner. We stand because of His work and not our own merit. This is why I have learnt to love this song with such appreciation, “Jesus in my Place” by the Summit Kids; the gospel message in four words.

The Lord Jesus had such compassion on me that He was willing to die for me and take my sin upon Himself, Wow! Which now does not imply that I am free to continue in my sin as I once did, all this proves is that I view His sacrifice with very little value attached to it, when in fact it cost Him His life.

The homosexual does not get a pass, nor the liar or the adulterer, nor the envious and all those who take the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice lightly; we will all have to give an account.

Coming back to the law of God; if we walk in the Spirit we are not under the yoke of the law, what we eat has nothing to do with the Christian faith, just so long as we eat giving thanks to our God and Father for his provision. The end of it is this; “Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.” (1Corinthians 8:8)

My conclusion is this, sin is sin and we must all own our sin whatever that may be, regardless of our own weaknesses, it must never be explained away as a free pass to continue that grace may abound. If and when we fall into sin, it is the Christians responsibility to ask for forgiveness. But as far as trying to tailor the Bible to suit our own sin that will never be accepted by God, and when we try and condone our sinful actions all we prove is that we are still under the curse of sin. This applies to liars, the homosexuals and all the other categories mentioned in the Bible, but what a person eats is most certainly not one of them.   

Signing off

Tyrone

Conviction!

When people dispute the authenticity of the bible and its authors it is a guaranteed sign that they are still trapped in their sins, regardless of their claims in understanding the “bigger picture”- this life and then eternity! One could most certainly claim spirituality even when they are still blind to the truth of it all. A self confessed Satanist is a spiritual person, they serve Satan and I am sure witness many miraculous things that could only even be spiritually inspired. We also have the more expected genres of spiritualism, such as yoga and the different forms of meditations and then there is traditional religion, a form of Godliness and yet very far from it. There will be many other claims of spiritualism interwoven throughout those sub-headings and yet they all have their place in the trickery of deceit which will eventually be exposed for what it is. Deceit is normally only ever realised when it is far too late to do anything about it. However is you have breath you still have life and repentance can be found in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Deceit often leaves you feeling good about something; lets use an example that will ruffle feathers; saving the donkey or the rhino may leave you self-satisfied but if you do not acknowledge God as the creator of all things whilst undergoing such plights, you have missed it all and are under the lure of entrapment and live under the spell of deception, with Satan as the magician trapping you into believing his lie. You have been blinded into worshiping the creature rather than the One who created it all, the Triune God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul, who once was Saul, a Jewish murderer of Christians, pens these words so that there will be no mistake on the matter; “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:19-20)   

There are so many fabricated myths about creation and religion that it very disturbing at times. Fluctuating voices rumbles across the globe, with magicians on every corner trying to keep society from uncovering the truth; there is only one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! The Christians God!

What I have come to love about the Bible is endless; I suppose I price it like a mathematician values his formulas which unravel so many truths, as the words penned in the Bible jump out at me with such ease and it delights my soul when I find enlightenment. With the pages of the Bible coming to life as the Holy Spirit shows me some insight into God’s plan and His character. But it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when I would try and read the bible, which was a laborious task. A time in my life where I was still blind to its truth; it is as simple as that! If you have tried to read the bible and find it boring or a difficult task, it just may be that you are still blind to so many of its hidden treasures and the first place to start would be to examine your position in Christ. Forget your upbringing, or your religion, if you are not driven to the Bible and its contents something is amiss. This is the kind of intent we should all be driven by, look at Paul's introduction to the church at Galatia; “Paul, an apostle--not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead – (And then he includes all those that are with him); and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:” (Galatians 1:1-2)

New birth and receiving sight to see God as He is, is rather miraculous and wonderful. If what I say eludes your comprehension then you have not seen the truth and once again I say if you have breath you still have hope, cry out to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to forgive you for your sins. If you say you have no sin then what I urge you to do will not help you, it’s only a sick person who seeks out a doctor. Only those who where once blind and cry out, I was blind but now I can see! Those are the people who understand! What will you do with the greatest physician of all time, the Lord Jesus Christ, will you cry out to Him or will you let Him pass you by?

Signing off

Tyrone