Balance

Sometimes the trial of our faith gets us to lose our bearing, not that we are thrown totally off track, but as I have referred to on varying occasion, we need to trim our sails. How do we determine what is of God and what is from us? I mention this as it is the soul duty for the Christian to find and then put on the “mind of Christ” on a daily basis. It’s the balance in our understanding that sometimes throws us off. What is of God and what is of me, I believe if we consider the wise encouragement of our belated brother Charles Spurgeon it will help trim our sails. When we learn to apply this principle with everything we do, I believe peace will flood our souls.

 "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." — (Judges 7:20)

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

Signing off

Tyrone

Not my will

(Luke 22:42) “…not my will, but yours, be done.” 

It is one thing to be instructed to “put on the mind of Christ” but to find true deep meaningful application to our lives, to live and breathe the will of our glorious heavenly Father on a daily basis seems a little harder to work out. I suppose we all have our crosses to bear and we will all be taken through the paces of our particular excursions to get us there in one way or another. However if we do not learn this lesson well, “not my will but thine be done.” I believe we will remain ineffective and never reach our full potential in Christ. Please do not make the mistake so many make as they view the success of an individual’s life on their wealth and prosperity under the banner of Christianity. That will most certainly pass away, death will make sure of that. It’s our application to the call of God upon our lives and our obedience to His voice that will bring forth fruit, a reward that will last an eternity. Mistakes will be made, thankfully God is gracious, patience, kind and a loving Father and wants what is best for us. How do I know this to be true? I needn’t look far, the scars of my own body is a vivid reminder. Praise God for His mercy! Most, if not all, would have given up on me by now but not my gracious heavenly Father.

    

I can fully comprehend what the will of God implies as the general overarching principal for us, his creation; THE WILL OF GOD, PERIOD! And He will have it play out in accordance with His will, Period! These are the facts and I believe it to be true with every iota of my being. The world, Satan and many others who look to thwart God’s will and His plan will end up tasting HIS WRATH, PERIOD! This is the way it will finish; “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15) – If your name has been penned into the book of Life, not for a single iota do I believe that the Spirit of God would allow you to turn a blind eye to the “will of God”. There will always be a constant nagging voice in the back of your mind even if you tried to shut Him out and live a life of “your own will”.   

By the grace of God that part of my understanding has been settled as it has been cemented into my consideration, its figuring out how I fit into that plan that’s the most difficult part of my day. There are some obvious truths that must govern our days. Seeking out God’s righteousness”, trusting the Word of God, relying on the finished work of the cross. But to truly know God’s will for my life when the pressure is on, is a heavy burden to bear. In my little world that is. To be privileged to share in Christ’s sufferings is enough.

When a man lacks sustenance and food is scarce, what should he do, does he steel just enough to survive. Does he beg, or does he endlessly beat the drum seeking out work that never seems to arrive? Does he sit and cry out unto Jesus until a bird arrives with food in its mouth? These are the pressing questions of the day. As ridiculous as this may seem to some, it’s only once we make the will of God a priority for our lives that these types of questions press home with a vengeance. So much of our energies have been wasted on the wrong passions, which in turn have meniscal reward in comparison to what will be ours if we are driven by the will of God. If only the penny would finally drop, how differently we would conduct ourselves.  

It really can only ever be about the will of God and the sooner we learn this lesson the better. Now it’s about working out His will for my life which I must and will search out with due diligence.

To my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, if you have it on your heart please pray for me, I would truly enjoy a clear voice with the right doors to open in this area of my life. However, “not my will but thine be done”. The rest is just noise and static looking to interfere with my obedience to Christ.  

Signing off

Tyrone

Abomination

Abomination is a word of great description, it does not leave the hearer guessing and it is a word used rather often throughout the scriptures. Especially under the Law, the First Covenant and then again throughout the rest of the Old Testament. A word used to depict God’s sentiment concerning a particular topic. His view on a matter…

I am beginning to understand and echo King Solomon sentiments as my awareness is deepening concerning the importance of pleasing God. To have a good standing with the judge is imperative for He is the one that will determine an individual’s eternal outcome. As the judge He will adjudicate the sentence, our response to His instruction will be on trial. Of course it’s the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice that will free the saint from eternal damnation. However, what we must pay particular attention too, is how we conduct ourselves with this glorious gracious gift God has given us, the LORD JESUS CHRIST!

The war is fierce, if only God would open our eyes and show us the unseen just for a second. I believe we would all live totally different lives but the probability of that happening is highly unlikely; we have all been called to a walk of faith, a centre piece to God’s script. And “without faith it is impossible to please God.” This is a crucial part to the puzzle that must grip our hearts and where the charlatans have twisted the frail’s understanding on what that truly means. Simple put it’s to learn to apply the Word of God to our lives. It not about self-indulgence, that’s the lie and anything else that revolves around that type of emphasis.  

Death and then the judgment; life and then the sentence or life and then the reward. We will all end up in one of those camps. With eternity fronting our existences. How often do we ever address the truths behind these facts? Have you ever wondered why the masses shy away from this very important topic? It is never discussed. Satan and his combatants look to instil a dearth concerning the topic of eternity, lest some find the answer to life, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the only true Messiah. There is no other way to find favour from the eternal Judge. Whilst the Lord Jesus walked and talked with the masses some two thousand years ago whilst alive on planet earth he was ask a question; Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:5) – Here is the critical response that needs to grip our hearts if we are to eventually find favour from the Creator and Judge of the universe. Ignore the Lord Jesus’ advice at your own peril and the cost of eternal doom and gloom; “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” (John 14:6)  

  

This life is all about finding a knife sharp enough to make the cut, choose the wrong knife and sadly the consequence will be unbearable. Repent, turn to Jesus and find life, without his covering we will all be bundled into the same sack and eventually cast into the Lake of Fire. Every effort outside of what the Lord Jesus Christ achieved on behalf of the repentant sinner when he paid the price for sin and he took on my punishment as well as the punishment for the sins of the world. Reject his sacrifice on your behalf and regardless of what you attempt to do from an ethical and moral perspective it will only ever remain in the sack of abominations doomed for the Lake of Fire. A very hard pill to swallow if the eyes of your understanding haven’t been opened to this truth. Society has been so hoodwinked by the “strawmen” of our lives it pains me so. If only we would all be shocked into action truly looking out for one another, regardless of the cost, as I can assure you that the so called pleasures of this life will be of no comparison to the bliss the Christian will experience in heaven. However until the penny drops, nothing will ever change in our lives. Our understanding needs to be awakened, I pray that you would be merciful Father God and give us a deeper understanding so that we may live different lives and be pleasing to you in effecting the rescue of those we encounter along the way. It is the goodness of God along that saves, and yet he has chosen the foolishness of preaching to bring salvation to the repentant sinner. We cannot remain silent, speak out as it may just save someone from eternal damnation.

Send this message on to those whom have no yet understood or turned the corner.

Signing off

Tyrone

"Position"

Position! We all have one regardless of the topic and even claiming to be neutral is a position that we cannot claim exemption on. Even if allowance is made for exemptions, that in itself is a position. Even the neutral spot on a car's gearbox has its position, it doesn’t propel the car, but it has its purpose, to keep the car idling.

Why do I highlight the point? When simplified, it’s all about the “Position” on where we will land on the other side of this life. We all have souls and they will be ushered into eternity, a spiritual life without end. Whether we concur or not is irrelevant, for God has so ordained it, period! We are His creation and we do not have the power to reverse the process. Try as we might, it will result in futility!

So many take their stance with this mind-set, “that we are masters of our own destiny!”, and yes that is a “position” which will have its result. Did you know when they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ on the Hill of Golgotha that there were two criminals positioned either side of him facing the same sentence, death by crucifixion. Both guilty of sin. They had transgressed the law, they had taken a “position” to do something that caught them out and found them wanting. They chose to steal something that did not belong to them, caught, and then charged. However, whilst facing imminent death next to my glorious Saviour, they both took a different “position” on what they needed from the Lord Jesus. The one was all about this life, “stealing”, to keep him alive, whilst the other realised his error and was now looking to invest into eternity, seeking out forgiveness for his sins. Praise God he found it; “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” (Luke 23:43)


What is your position when it comes to your life before a holy God, how do you stack up? What is your stance? Is it all about the here and now? Or are you looking to invest into your future? Is your priority to find favour from the only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? If so, then the only way this can ever be accomplished is in and through the Lord Jesus’ forgiveness and it cannot be earned in any other way. All you simply need to do is acknowledge that you have offended God, by not putting Him first in your life and then to admit your sin asking the Spirit of God to expose it for what it actually is, to help your mind understand the gravity of it and finally to ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you.


Having read this you will now take up a position on the instruction, how will you respond? Where does your treasure lie? Are you like the man on the left or the right of the Lord Jesus? Remember to give this some careful consideration, your eternity depends upon it.


Signing off


Tyrone