The Holy Bible

Questions need answers, and there are many resources we can draw on to find answers and “Google Search” seems to be the flavour of the day; as brilliant as that may be remember the volatility of such a “search engine”. It has not been endorsed by God and the only thing we can truly rely on is His endorsement when it comes to our wellbeing and until we understand this with clarity we will be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. There will be areas of uncertainty in our lives. So what are we to do to overcome these types of predicaments? We must find God’s perspective on any given topic. How do we do that? We search out the scriptures…

If God has endorsed the written Word, the Bible, we can take full confidence in the fact that if we treasure it, it will be well with our souls. I cannot begin to stress this point enough, we are easily drawn aside by so many luring enticements with the overtones of the population’s opinions looking to take root in our minds and the only way to stay on track is to value the Word of God as our highest priority. How many of us can truly say that we have learnt this lesson well? We needn’t travel far to see where the world is going, it is moving in the opposite direction to what God wants from us.      

It is imperative I find scribes who have been privileged enough to pen thoughts on any topics that I face which needs to be answered. Many of our struggles will play a role in our futures. Some of those neglected areas will have devastating consequences that will haunt some for eternity. There are many voices out there but whatever the pressing issue may be, there is a principle that’s stands true, the greatest resource is the HOLY BIBLE. Trust it as your life does depend on it; God’s Word will stand the test of all scrutiny, if and when applied correctly. It has and will continue to set people up for onslaught from the enemy, but be that as it may, do we seek to please men or God? It’s only when we misappropriate the author’s intention and look for stuff that isn’t there that we end up on the wrong side of God instruction. And who hasn’t found themselves changing their opinions on a certain instruction as we have grown in Christ? It may be time to get back to basics for some of us.  

God often singled out ordinary men, authors that never had degrees or diplomas with intellectual awe-inspiring brilliance that earned them the right to be appointed by God as one of His scribes. Regardless of the topic, every author schooled or not, always has an intention in conveying a particular point or points within their message and its imperative that we get to understand what that is if we are to get the most out of the text. My encouragement would be not to overthink a simple instruction and here is a good example to illustrate my point; “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:3) – Most of the world’s population is born with sight, we see God’s creation all around us, we witness His brilliance and yet we remain blind to Him until we are “born again”. Simply put, our spiritual eyes need to be opened. Until that happens we may think we see the kingdom of God through various rituals but in fact we are still blind. Nicodemus the scribe asked this question; “Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"” (John 3:4) – Its only when God gave him sight that he stopped asking theses types of questions.      

Once we are give sight to see we are thankfully not left to our own devises, or brainpower when we seek out certain truths from the Bible, the Holy Spirit will aid us in this area of our lives. This is where many schooled theologians with doctorates in my opinion, err at times, relying on their education as the pivotal objective to unpack certain truths. Schooled professors may read the same text that I read and come up with a totally different persuasion. Why? Could they be overthinking it or could I be under thinking it. My heart lies with all of the called and not only the brilliant. God is excellent and we conform to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ only when we value Him and His written Word. We must leave behind all opinionated persuasion that looks to tickle our ears.

Needless to say this does not give us a pass to become sloppy with the Word of God. What I mean by that is we must use the gifting God has given us diligently when it comes to unpacking scripture, we must be true to the text. Some may take this to extremes, they are scholars and good for them but the Authors intent (God) with His Bible was for all the called to find illumination from it and it was never only intended for the intellectual.

There was a time when organisations tried their utmost to keep the written Word from the commoner. They failed and God intervened, praise His name! Although it is impossible to obtain exact figures on how many Bibles have been printed, there is little doubt that the Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. God chose simple fishermen to pen some of the New Testament. Peter, James and John all have their parts to play in our lives when it comes to our sanctification.       

The Bible is a book for all and we must value it with all we have. It is the tool that will give every individual the insight to see them home, so long as God has given them sight to see. We must be born of the Spirit to benefit from it. And if this is true for you, I would encourage you to place nothing higher in your life than the written Word of God.

Signing off

Tyrone

Faith and Christian fundamentals

(Hebrews 11:6)  “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.”

The “resurrection of the dead” is not a term many are aware of outside of the Christian circle. Regardless of the opinions of many, the truth stands and many will experience resurrection.

Statements of the “Christians faith” differs from an individuals persuasion and then from organizations to local assemblies and when explored the dissimilarities will become obviously evident. We only need a few minutes of conversation to understand where others stand regarding their persuasions.

Although some differences can be settled on the “I beg to differ” scenario, there are some truths that are unequivocally correct and pivotal in order to align ourselves with God’s requirements for salvation. If there are those who resist these truths they irrevocably prove that they are the enemies of the cross. Those are the easy predators to pick out; like a lion that is not afraid to show-off his presence as he lazes under a shrub or tree, seeking out any shade he may find to escape the harsh African sun throughout any given day. If seen by the passes-by he remains undeterred, he does not hide, he believes that he is the king of the jungle and gloats as if there is no tomorrow. Its only when it is time to hunt that skulduggery is used as his main weapon. Whereas the leopard is far craftier and hardly ever seen and yet even more deadly, a supreme hunter that uses camouflage to trap its prey and there is disputably no greater hunter in Africa. Individuals who slip into congregations, they dress and speak the same as true believers but are in fact far from it, undercover agents that have their own agendas. Judas Iscariot was such a man. There are many other allegories we could draw from, but enough has been said.

What then are the fundamental truths that every Christian must say Amen too?

A young woman by the name of Mary who was in fact a virgin was impregnated by the Spirit of God; why was this important to God? In fact this was crucial for the second covenant to be legitimate and to start out correctly. Jesus was born without the blanket of a sinful nature tainting him, a contrast to every other baby ever born. He alone was afforded this privilege. And then from there on in for him to achieve his objective he had to live a life of sinless perfection, which he did accomplish. Whereas, every other individual to grace the planet, has breached the law of God and been tainted by their sin. Here is scripture which affirms this truth. “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 yet a righteous individual needed to pay the price for mankind’s sins against God. Similarly in “type” to a spotless lamb required in the Old Testament times to pay for the peoples sins. The first covenant required the death of and animal, the second and better covenant the death of the man Jesus, never to be repeated, it was a sacrifice that God required and it only ever had to happen once. Historically this took place about two thousand years ago. Both these sacrifices were required by God to forgive people for their acts of treason against Him. The first covenant was an ongoing sacrifice whilst the second was the perfect sacrifice never to be repeated. Sin is Satan’s weapon, forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s grace exemplified. – “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” (Hebrews 7:27)   The one is driven by malice, guile and hate (Satan’s weapon), whilst the other encapsulated in love (the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice). “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son…” - Two very opposite extremes.

Another point to highlight is God’s intervention for mankind and not peoples attempts to earn their positions in finding acceptance from God. Today “dead works” is high up on people’s agendas in finding favour from God, which will never be accepted by Him. Faith is something needed in order to believe. It is God who opens our eyes to His intervention in our lives, without Him we will remain in darkness. Imagine being in Mary’s shoes telling those around her that she had never been with a man and yet she was pregnant. Those who didn’t receive the faith to believe could never have confidence in her claims, and in like manner so is it with all of mankind today, without God giving us sight to see, we will remain blind to His truth, for now! There is a day coming when the universe will see God for who He is.  

Christ needed to live a life of sinless perfection and then die a cruel death by hanging on a Romans cross, he was buried and then after three days rose from the dead. Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob affirming His work here on earth by raising Him from the dead. Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

The obvious truths that every Christian needs to agree upon is; the virgin birth, Jesus’ life as a boy/man never ever breaching one of Gods laws stipulated within the Law of Moses (the first covenant), his death, burial and then his resurrection to life. Many believe this to be true whilst others do not, time will reveal all and will become privy to this truth, that the life to come, our spiritual existence will either bring life and complete bliss in utopia, surrounded by God’s blessings, or damnation filled with torment that will stretch into the spans of eternity.

Without faith it is impossible to please God… 

Signing off

Tyrone

The will of God

It’s not about us Father God but about you, you are the creator and you have gone to great efforts to inform mankind of this truth. We have the written Word, the Holy Bible; we have the Word which dwelt amongst us, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have creation and all that entails… you have given us sight to appreciate your majestic works and yet so many worship the creature (creation) at the expense of acknowledging you as the only true originator.

We are not ignorant of the works of the devil, the one who opposes your will, but sadly we are so often sway by his influences, because of our weakness in this regard we seek out your forgiveness. If we were left to our own devises we would be far from you, we would be no different to the men in the days of Noah, with constant evilness plaguing our minds. Thankfully our thoughts are no longer constantly evil; although we surrender to evil thoughts the Spirit within us drives us towards you. Thank you Jesus for you selfless love.  

Life for the Christian is all about working out your good, acceptable and perfect will for our lives; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1)  

This in itself is not something that is a quick fix, but rather a lifetime of trial and error. Without your fortitude we would all be lost, so I thank you for your endurance and tenderness with us, praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen! Without His commitment we would all be absent and doomed to an eternity without your intervention in our lives.

We have been subpoenaed to worship. Everything we do should always be about exalting the beloved name of your only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what we have all been called to work out. Help us to be diligent in this area of our lives I pray. Whether at work or play, Jesus must take pre-eminence in our indulged worlds; this I know is pleasing to you. He is the apple of your eye and because we are covered with His righteousness we find ourselves looked upon in the same expanse. Help us learn this lesson well I pray. It starts and ends with Him and not our own selfish agendas. This is an unrelenting war that we face each and every day. Holy Spirit teaches us this message well. Help the theory become actions in our lives. It is one things to understand a truth but quite another to apply it as part of our daily routine. We need your assistance, please hear my plea, thank you for hearing it and for your intervention in the Christians life.

Now that we have God on our side we have all been summoned to make daily decisions. We have been called to worship, which means a complete devotion to our God, a total surrender to his will. However with the call of life and the pressures that squeeze down on us, in particular, the gathering our daily bread, which we all are involved with, we must never let these two fundamental truths slip our minds; "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) – The obvious conclusion is a simple one, am I driven by worldly goals or am I storing up heavenly treasures? Don’t over analyse, keep it simple, the answer is staring us in the face all we need to do is be honest with ourselves.

I can almost see the Lord Jesus the man in Matthew chapter 6 standing before the masses unpacking his heart unlocking so many differing treasures, warnings, comfort and instruction; just some of the gems seeping from his heart engulfed with an abundance of concerned love and then rolling off his tongue pricking the hearts of so many; as he exposed the hypocrites and comforted the lowly; a direct message for those standing before him but no differently for us reading his Word.

How often do we pay serious attention to the words of those who can give us something? Some insights to make our life here on earth a little more comfortable; sadly for so many of us these lines have been severely smudged and we often tend to find ourselves erring on the side of storing up worldly treasures at the expense of eternity. Time will reveal all. However the beauty of God’s forgiveness allows all of His children to call out in repentance for our sin, whatever it may be. Once this has taken place we are called to forget yesterday, realign our rudder and trim our sails. We are to focus on today and not tomorrow; "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)

Signing off

Tyrone

Christ in you...

(Colossians 1:27)  “Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

This is a phenomenal statement and it is packed with unquenchable power. The trapping of this world and the pressures placed upon individuals to be better than the rest is a tangible driving force. Awards are presented to the top students or employees with the hope of driving others to be better in the differing fields of ones existence. Nevertheless when stripped down there is always someone with an ulterior motive behind it all. Satan drives us towards disobedience, to belittle God before those whom he is trying to impress, the fallen angels, with the fruit of rampant sin throughout the world proving that he exists. Creation on the other hand proves that God exists, two very opposite extremes and yet both are real as the other. Tangible proof that many have chosen to ignore! “Do-gooders” who deny their sin and animal lovers that denounce the creator.  

As true as these facts are, the Christian has been separated from the world and called out from among those who are driven by world domination. However without God’s intervention in our lives we would be no different. This is a truth that must never be missed. We are a people that fly a different flag, but how often do we forget the call of duty and disregard our responsibilities? The astute patriot will make a noise and let others identify where he stands. In like manner it’s up to the Christian to do the same, but thankfully we are not left to their own motivation. It’s the Spirit of God that prompts us into action. How often has a sudden urge befallen you to fall to your knees and thank God for His involvement in your life? Last night was such a night for me.

It is easy to be flounced away with the raging tides of the topical waves of our time. For now cryptocurrency is a pressing issue that demands my attention; a new opportunity to make hay whilst the sun shines. It is easy to be “lost in translation” and without God intervention in the believer’s life we would never be able to stand. For others it may be some other unrelenting nagging voice that drives you to be better than the rest. God is the One who reminds us of His existence in our lives, thank God for that! He trims our sails and guides us towards His truth. It’s the Spirit of God in us that reminds us of His intercession in our lives, this must never be missed and the only reason it isn’t is because of His enduring mercies. Thank you Father God for Jesus and His obedience to the call you placed upon His life. CHRIST IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY.

The Christian has a hope which is Christ in us; it’s His Spirit which is not driven by the will of men but rather by the will of God. Let us never forget this reality in our lives, blessed be the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone