Power

God has it in his power to speak obedience into to something that is dead, obviously His entire actuality revolves around this truth. God is in the business of bringing forth life. This is the introduction we are given about him, God “said” and it happened. This is such a powerful introduction into the Character of the creator and its design to grip our attention right off the bat. If we have ears to listen, we will understand that nothing exists without God’s permission. It’s when we start to deny God as the creator that we begin to spiral away from Him and into a hurt of pain. It is the greatest of all clues; honour God and HIS creation as it belongs to His curriculum vitae and no one else has the right to make any such claim, if a person lies it makes them a liar, in this case we have an influx of organisations and religions that oppose God as the true creator of the universe confirming that they are liars. God affirms that he cannot lie; “in which it is impossible for God to lie”. God cannot lie, it is outside of his character, sinners lie, those defected by the deceiver. God is perfect and there is no improvement to be made on perfection. “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48

This brings us to the very first point in the “our Father” prayer; “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” It is imperative to give him His due benevolence. What is God’s will for mankind? When we pray it’s normally about our will and our wants, we want our reward and God wants his, to be hallowed and honour as the creator, the one in perfect control. Why is it that we ask so many question? Is it not because we do not have the answers. Therefore it is prudent not to challenge the One who is perfect. Our journey is to teach us the will of God, this is our primary objective. In hindsight as atrocious as my behaviour has been over the years, I am starting to understand the beauty of it all. Not that sin could ever have any beauty attached to it, as it is an abomination before a holy God but the way in which God uses our own folly to bring us to our senses. The timespan for an individual to learn HIS lessons well is our lifetime here on earth. That is it! I pray that you have all already worked this out or at least in the process of understanding. 

What is the first thought on our minds in the morning, is it singing praises to God or is it overrun by the cares of this world? Only the Spirit within can truly answer that question. God knows but so do we. We cannot speak for others but we can certainly speak for ourselves.

The drift and the shift from the voice of God is predominant and the world is falling fast. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus, Amen and Amen! Even our consciences are being challenged from an external entity. The forces of darkness believe that their day is near and the feeding frenzy is close and yet there is much work to be done, the hour of Satan’s reign is just around the corner. Who will stand up and be counted. The Christian needs to put on the mind of Christ, all that really means is to think with his mind-set. We need to trust the Word of God, the Lord Jesus did; even to the point of death. Death will be required from some when that day finally arrives and I wonder if we are to be number amongst those privilege few. God knows! Just a reminder as it boldly presses to the forefront of my mind that “without faith it is impossible to please God”.

Trust and obey is our instruction…

Signing off

Tyrone

The Arrival

Some very favourable reasons why the Christian presses towards the mark of this very high calling from God…

"The city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it." (Revelations 21:23)

“Yonder in the better world, the inhabitants are independent of all creature comforts. They have no need of raiment; their white robes never wear out, neither shall they ever be defiled. They need no medicine to heal diseases, "for the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." They need no sleep to recruit their frames-they rest not day nor night, but unweariedly praise him in his temple. They need no social relationship to minister comfort, and whatever happiness they may derive from association with their fellows is not essential to their bliss, for their Lord's society is enough for their largest desires. They need no teachers there; they doubtless commune with one another concerning the things of God, but they do not require this by way of instruction; they shall all be taught of the Lord. Ours are the alms at the king's gate, but they feast at the table itself. Here we lean upon the friendly arm, but there they lean upon their Beloved and upon him alone. Here we must have the help of our companions, but there they find all they want in Christ Jesus. Here we look to the meat which perisheth, and to the raiment which decays before the moth, but there they find everything in God. We use the bucket to fetch us water from the well, but there they drink from the fountain head, and put their lips down to the living water. Here the angels bring us blessings, but we shall want no messengers from heaven then. They shall need no Gabriels there to bring their love-notes from God, for there they shall see him face to face. Oh! what a blessed time shall that be when we shall have mounted above every second cause and shall rest upon the bare arm of God! What a glorious hour when God, and not his creatures; the Lord, and not his works, shall be our daily joy! Our souls shall then have attained the perfection of bliss.” (Charles Spurgeon)

I would like to add that amongst the bliss of it all the Christian shall be equivocated as a son of God and that absolutely blows my mind. To hear the Almighty confess and acknowledge me as his son just sends my mind into orbit. It almost seems a stretch to far. However, the brilliance of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour has made this a reality to all who will bend the knee and endure these earthly hardships that we must face. It is for our benefit. It is the very same individuals that will be amongst that number, where God will acknowledge them as his sons. Mind blowing stuff, wow!

Then there is this truth that could never be fully explored which God has in store for those who love Him; “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) – And yet we know so much about God already because we have His Spirit who leads us into a deeper understanding of our great heavenly Father's persona and what is required from us. Without Him we would be blind as bats searching for mystical sonic booms from the depths of the universe, hoping to make sense of it all, just like the majority of the world’s population. The gift of life has been offered to all and so few embrace it, oh how this world and its trickery has engulfed the massive. It saddens my soul, in fact such an intense burden about this now confronts me. 

What is it that drives you? Look in the mirror and it won’t be long before the truth to your existence will be exposed for what it truly is. My prayer would be that we would all be gripped with the reality of the Word of God and trust it for our lives most certainly depends upon it. We may get away with what we believe to be a life full of bliss as we pursue our worldly dreams, but that day will eventually run its race and then the door to eternity shall peel back and our eyes will see life for what it really is, let us not wait until then to say “if only”!

Signing off

Tyrone

Meditation

Once again I sit at my desk in the early hours of the morning traveling my thoughts under the direction of others who has gone before me. Spurgeon a man amazing gifted by God with so much God given understanding it would be rather imprudent not to pay special attention to his writings. However, it can never only be about the view of others, ultimately it has to be about our journeys and how we are hopefully progressing and not regressing…

Do our lives depict “Jesus in my place” as our centrepiece? Is the Christian continuously looking to weed out the sin that so easily besets? What is your thorn in the flesh? I most certainly know mine and I continually look to Jesus to find victory in these area of my life. It is a very painful process and I pray continuously to have it removed so that I may be freed up from any guilt to honour my heavenly Father.

 It is an incessant struggle with such a long way to go when I bask in my Saviours glorious example; “not my will but thine be done”. I seem to always be beating the same tune, “let this cup pass from me” and when it doesn’t I succumb to the temptation. It is tiring facing certain ongoing trials but I am convinced it is what is needed for me or anyone else who can relate to the voice of God in the lives. I must learn to work out the will of God for my life. In fact there is nothing we face as Christians that isn’t tailor-made for our benefit. And yes, even the loss of a child or a terminal disease must eventually draw us closer to our Heavenly Father. There is nothing too steep for the Christian to climb, so long as our eyes remain fixed upon the finished work of Calvary. Our passage must encapsulate faith in God as the pivot to our lives, if not, life will become unbearable; did you know? “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)

It’s only when we lose focus, when our hope fades, once again willing us to walk in unbelief that life becomes unbearable, with sin once again dominating most of our decisions; but thankfully when we are brought back to our senses and God has mercy on us as His Spirit wills us to seek out His forgiveness. These are the moment of “putting on the mind of Christ” and the only way we will find true repentance is to own our actions and then to repent. It not as if we now need to execute the ritual of sacrifice. Our great Saviour has paid that price; "he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12)

As a child I remember playing on the merry-go-round, a wheel that spun on its own axis. Always trying my best to get it to spin faster, stay on it long enough and you were bound to feel rather dizzy and nauseous. Nevertheless as a child it was part of the experience but there must come a time in our lives when we learn to put off childish things; “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” (1Corinthians 13:11) 

Sin seems pleasant at first but too much of the same thing becomes insipid. The sooner we learn to put on the mind of Christ and sincerely cry out “not my will be done but thine be done” the quicker we will complete our journey and have our reunion with our God and Saviour in heaven and see them in all their glory, wow! What a day that will be.  

To work out Gods will, to truly understand what is require from us as individuals and then as a family of gathering saints to live for each other, is high on the agenda for the first leg of our journey. My prayer this morning is “restoration”, whatever that entails for us on an individual level we must forgive others regardless of the imminent and ongoing hurt, we pray, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive others”, has the penny dropped or do we believe that Christianity should be a one-sided affair? It’s all about what we can get from God, but very seldom about what we can do for Him. Forgiving those who have offended us is in the circle of God’s will for our lives. We must be captivated by the fact that our journey on earth will eventually end and then the door to eternity will become as apparent as the rising of the sun. Our souls will reap the rewards of our obedience to God’s call upon our lives, nothing will or could ever be more important. God give eyes to see, praise His glorious name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone