Habits

Our resolve when it comes to habit forming has two sides to the coin. Good and bad alike both play there parts in our lives and only a fool would deny the reality of it all. However when it comes to our persuasions on a particular topic it’s hard to be swayed either way. Nevertheless the work of the Spirit in our lives can soften the rigid self-willed intent of us all, this is an attribute of His brilliance and the evidence is clear for even the doubters to see. His ability to conform the harden sinner into a loving saint. It’s the change in a person’s demeanour that becomes a drawcard to the spectator. This is where He silences the critic, praise the name of Jesus! As it was His accomplishments here on earth that has unleashed the power of the Holy Spirit, softening the hardest of sinners into repentance. A miracle of the highest order. As for the Christian we all wear our heavenly Father's coat of arms, we must just remember to dress for battle. This is the resolve I look to instil into my daily living, the perfect will of God for our lives. Needless to say as soon as there is a shift in my understanding, as I grow in the good graces of my God, obviously the work of the Spirit moulding an individual’s character. However it’s when I look to gloat with this change as a personal achievement, this is when the door to pride swings open; “God resist opens proud but give grace to the humble.” I know which umbrella I want to live under. And it’s when I dress for battle that I am remind of these truths.

You see although I am called (it's an action I have to initiate) to dress for battle, once I position my attire correctly I am forced to realise that its God in me the hope of Glory, there is now no wiggle room for the deceitfulness of my heart to want to puff me up with pride. If pride is evident then I have dressed incorrectly and need to re-examine my attire and how it has been positioned. I have misunderstood some of God's instruction, or I could still be a babe in Christ needing the milk of the word to form my understanding.

Conscious decisions need to be made on a daily basis and you know my stance on when that should happen, daybreak, at the crack of dawn, in my view is the best time to spend at the feet of Jesus. That association sets us up for the day’s challenges. 

Thank you Father God for your brilliance and I love you with all my heart. Continue to purge the chaff from my life I pray.

To God be the glory now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Christmas Day

It’s not the thought that causes sin to sprout but the action to that idea. In like manner today is such a day filled with festivities, from childhood we have been trained up in idolatry and simply put Christmas is a day fill with so much of it, it’s our default to accommodate the whole enchilada. We lodge everything that is thrown at us, the birth of Santa Claus; Saint Nicholas was a bishop who lived in the fourth century in Asia Minor in Myra. Today we know it as Turkey. This was a process of evolution, and he evolved into the person known as Santa Claus or Father Christmas. Subtle nuances which very much remind me of the Garden of Eden. There is no denial of Christ but the shift is clear. Just like Satan or the serpent said to Eve, “has God said”? Here we have a day which the world believes is the day that Christ was born. Masses of people across the globe paying homage to one another, giving each other gifts with their houses decorated with trinkets and pointing us in the opposite direction of our great Saviours birth. Just enough of a distraction to soften the gospel message, a strawman if you like. Today should be a day fill with opportunities in highlighting our sin and the need for a Saviour.

My prayer is that we would focus on God’s perfect gift, a son born of a VIRGIN not a queen, a precious woman and yet the focus is not on her but on Christ. There will be a constant shift throughout, driving us away from Christ. Keep your focus on why God sent him into this world and use today as an opportunity to highlight God’s purpose. God so loved! He has made a way for us to escape His Judgement, which is coming for the unbeliever and the one who refuses to repent. Remember to be accurate with your delivery, it's important!  A deliberate action is required; confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead. Once this truth resonates repentance will follow if it hasn’t already.

Signing off

Tyrone    

Forgiveness

(Matthew 6:12)  “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” 

Do we seek forgiveness within the measure of our forgiveness for others? This is a question that needs very serious consideration. If not then how will we measure up on judgment day? However with all things considered is this a thought I look to deliberate so that I can get away with a measure of my own deceitfulness, the heart looking for an excuse to find favour from God regardless of my actions just because of my willingness to forgive others.

There seems to be a fine line that needs to be negotiated correctly if we are to fall on the right side of God’s judgment. And it begins with the finished work of Calvary. “Jesus in my place” is foundational and we must never forget what was done for us, this is why we have been commanded to “Break Bread” in remembrance of Him. Nevertheless the truth behind my consideration is a valid one, do I seek to forgive individuals who have trespassed against me from the very bottom of my heart, or is it more of a superficial forgiveness? Lip service with a concealed smile that hides the root of my bitterness. The goodness of God has afforded me some understanding on the value of what has been penned in the Bible, it is a reflection of himself, it has been meticulously thought out and of great value to us if we have ears to hear. Everything has its place, even if we struggle with certain facets.

Even in the early days of the writings of the book of Leviticus, where the First Covenant is spelt out in detail. The requirements God had for his people, also known as the Law of God. Everything stipulated there is of necessity and relevant for its day. Why would it stipulated, that you will not lie with an animal if that wasn’t a consideration of the day? It must have been significant. For most that would be an unconceivable thought and yet just a few weeks back a radio station discussed it in an open forum as if it was their right. I was not privy to the hour of broadcast so I will hold my judgments, but I know it happened. Judgment is coming.

My point before I go off on one of my tangents is this, if it has been penned we need to sit up, listen carefully to the instruction, and then chew on the Word before we swallow it. This is very important… Who doesn’t know the prayer “Our Father”? And yet how many chew on its instruction with meticulous care before rattling it off as some miracle drug that is there to wash our sins away. Maybe if we repeat it many times we might find forgiveness. What rot! Deceit of our hearts looking to excuse our sin, be careful!

At the very least are we forgiving those who trespass against us as we seek out forgiveness for our sin? If not you are like the proverbs says, it’s like the blind leading the blind and both fall into the ditch. The Word is there to help us, not shackles us, but we must treat it with scrupulous care, but always from the springboard of the finished work of the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary. His death, burial and resurrection. We must confess with our mouths; an open declaration that Jesus is Lord and also believe from the very bottom of our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. Then we shall be equipped to grow in the good graces of our Heavenly Father and consider his instructions as we confront the challenges of life on a daily basis. It called maturing as Christians, or are we content in running around in nappies?

Signing off

Tyrone

A Reminder

It is possible for the Christian to get bent out of shape when it comes to the fundamental doctrines of Christ; it is obvious that in Christ there is no confusion, but in the heads of believers that is not always the case. Everyone has a voice that they trust will be heard and it is a difficult occurrence to find the brother that has had his mind renewed to the point where his tongue only produces sweet waters; eternal live-giving waters that is sanctioned by God. We must be careful not to oppose the unity of the faith with our own “hobby horses” that could outshine our limits to the true doctrines of Christ…

Our minds must never shift to a place where we over emphasis our parts in the salvation of God in our lives. What I mean by this is when we stand on a doctrine that we know to be true in accordance with scripture but our lives depict another story altogether or we rest upon our laurels; “believing right doctrine will no more save you, than doing good works will save you” (Charles Spurgeon) – We have been save by the finished work of the cross, Jesus Christ our Lord accomplished this on our behalf from start to finish and this must always remain foundational in our lives. Without His mercy and grace we would all remain faithless but now we have a resolve to receive direction for Him that is if we have truly been born again.  

With that said let us make every effort in the good graces of our Lord to lend an ear to His instructions.

So whatever that may be for us at this point in our lives let us be ever the more diligent as we look within and then look to our king to find grace for any given circumstance. Put on Christ and put off self and vice versa, think of it like changing charging garments, take off self so that we may help others.

God give us the grace and fortitude to walk in His glorious light, but before we get trapped by the magnitude of that thought, remember the Lord’s instruction, one day at a time. Let us not go beyond today whilst combating sin, small chunks at any given time and before long when we look into the mirror we will see a totally different individual and the change will be pleasing.

Signing off

Tyrone

Forget Not!

Lest I forget Gethsemane lead me to Calvary, to love the Lord with all we have is the objective the Christian pursues. This is the climax of our "pursuit of holiness", to echo the Lord Jesus’ words “it is finished” or at least will be for the struggling pilgrim when he arrives. The Apostle Paul knew he had run his race and the end had come and his words where, “I have kept the faith”. To be a man with just a slither of his commitment would be so rewarding and who doesn’t have memories we can draw from, those times when we cried out to Jesus and he suckered us in his loving arms.

“Our Father”, a famous and well known prayer, now move through each line of the prayer, a fresh reminder of where we have come from and what God had done for us. A miraculous intervention, to save a sinner like me, with all my mistakes, bumps and bruises as a reminder of how far I have come, thank you Jesus and yet I have still a ways to go before echoing those words.

When times get tough, just remember Gethsemane and the hardships of our beloved Saviour endured for us. It’s when our minds play this victim game that we tend to lose focus. We have been called to suffer and the purpose of the struggle will bring us through the other side refined and a lot more like Jesus in character. This part of our growth is referred to as “Baptism into suffering”. We never have to ask the question, why? If and when we lose sight of the call to arms let us remember Gethsemane. After all isn’t that what we all want? To be like our great Saviour.

And the only way to achieve even the slightest resemblance is to cry out and find grace in time of need, if not the task at hand will become impossible. I do not want us to be confused in application, it’s not about finding strength to be better at our jobs or help with an exam. That would be acceptable if we were to desire those traits, but surely it’s the good and perfect will of God that we look to embrace.  It’s all about self-denial, squashing our will for self-gratification at the expense of others. Closing the doors of sin in our lives, which takes on many shapes and forms. My prayer is that we see ourselves as we are, that God would shine His righteous light into any particular action at the appropriate time, so that we are not blinded by our own darkness. The wickedness of our hearts blinding us from the blemishes that stain our lives. The flesh is so full of treachery that I long to shake it, once and for all to put it off and what a day that will be. However, until then may we all run our race with a burning resolve to be more like Jesus even whilst we house these earthen vessels tainted by self.

Signing off

Tyrone

Crystal

Crystal is a word often used to describe clarity, and last night was such a night for me as God revealed a truth to me and it became clear as Crystal.

Deception is on every corner and the war is fierce and we are under a continual barrage of topics to take our minds of the truth in every area of our lives. A world filled with a “victims mentally”, a diversion, any cause to take our minds of what really matters, which is the WILL OF GOD for our lives. After all nothing else will count for much. We live and then we die and then eternity starts, where time is no longer a factor. One may save a dolphin or two or stop eating meat and somehow feel important enough to voice your efforts whilst picketing through the streets, doing your bit to save the planet. At what expense? God is the finally authority and certainly not privy to mankind’s approval on any matter whatsoever. It’s not as if we “the clay” has power over the “Potter”. God was never created, HE IS! We are his creation. 

I trust your mind is beginning to soften and understand how blessed we are in Christ, I speak to the Christian. And where does the strength of God lie? I will not speculate, but only glean truth that we have been given. God’s power is in his VOICE. He speaks and it comes to pass. God says and it happens. How the mechanics behind that actually works, I cannot say, however what I do know is when God gives a command it happens, accept when his creation rebels, the apple of his eye, Adam and Eve on their own mission decided to do it their way. Every planet orbits whilst holding its correct position, God has command it so, and yet mankind his prize creation, those created in His image, freewill their own persuasions on others and don’t give a damn about the will of God! The day of judgement is just around the corner…    

Let us now use our imagination, slow down and try visualise creation prior to God’s intervention. All we are told is that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. This is how the Bible introduces God with its first line. A crucial point that so many have missed, no wonder there are so many off on a tangent looking to save the planet. Misdirected energies moving people away from God instead of toward Him. People have been so blinded by this, when stripped down they actually believe that they can outsmart God. A fruit of Satan. Did you know that God is going to destroy the earth and make a new one from scratch, there will be no patch work done and those who have bent the knee to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ will be its benefactors housing a glorious eternal spiritual body.

Let me explain; if God’s power resonates with his instruction, then how foolish would it be to go against it? It would be something like a man trying to go toe to toe with superman. The outcome an obvious one, unless he himself was made from kryptonite. We are carnal and God is a Spirit, an eternal entity, the One who is without beginning or end. We have so much more to learn of Him. However we have certainly been given enough information about His existence that it’s only the fool who would turn a blind eye and yet this seems to be the very thing that set God off against His creation. Mankind worshiping the creation instead of giving Him, the creator of all things, due benevolence. Quotes like, “the planets have aligned” or “mother earth” and the like, what rot!

Here is the verse to prove my thought; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18) - men and women rebelling against God with their own agendas, whilst their sin fuels their passions. 

Nevertheless in spite of it all God has “SO LOVED” that he has given us an escape and it not taking the dairy farmer to task as we look to close them down but rather the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only answer. Repentance from us is require, a confession of our sins to God and not to a priest who then resolves us of our sin that is just another diversion. Salvation is personal and it must be by faith, individuals calling out to God from their closets. We have been instructed by the same voice who spoke the creation into being to call out unto Him so that we may escape the prevalent judgement, as it is coming. No differently to the rising and the setting of the sun. 

The only question we need to ask ourselves is whose side are we on, as for me and my house we will serve the Lord, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Counsel

Sitting under the counsel of God’s Word has a phenomenal influence upon one's understanding. The confirmation of the change on our perception is staggering, the work of God the Holy Spirit is miraculous, changing hardened selfish individuals to resolve to lay down their lives for others. Society always looking for magic formulas to stand out from amongst the crowd. The bestselling techniques for the salesperson, the most effective diet for the one looking to trim down and so on. But as for the Christian, faith comes from hearing the Word of God and in turn it’s our faith that feeds our hope and our hope which energies our love one for another. After all, that’s what it is all about, LOVE and yet so many miss it. Why? I believe it is linked to our selfishness, instead of giving we are always looking to take and it’s about our rights and the privileges of others matters just so long as we are not left out of the mix. This is where the love of God is magnified so beautifully.

Let us explore…

I speak now to the Christian, please do not overlook the magnitude of God’s love, take a moment and consider some facts. Positionally, God is at the top, there is no one higher than Him. No one has the ability to teach him anything. The first Covenant, the law of God, although perfect in requirement what it lacked was an ability to set the captive free. It held the sinner in bondage to a law that was impossible to keep. Not that the law of God isn’t perfect in letter, it is. It exemplifies the character of God and the requirement He expects from his creation. Sadly sin had disqualified mankind of ever achieving that objective, save a few men that over time pleased God. Job and Daniel are two men that come to mind. Men who lived prior to the achievements of Christs victory on the cross and yet they seemed to be totally committed to the will of God for their lives. Men you silenced Satan. What an outstanding achievement. However, although we are able to glean from the Bible how they please God though their commitment to Him, these where isolated accounts through history, until the Lord Jesus Christ conquered death on that cruel Roman cross, freeing up a multitude of people to cry “Abba Father”. The second covenant proofing that the greatest of these three, “faith, hope and love” is LOVE! "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes on him would not perish but inherit eternal life." Put another way, it the love of God that actioned him into giving sinners a lifeline, but it came at a heavy price, His son, God in the flesh, had to die, be buried and then be raised from the dead to make a way for mankind to get back into a rightful relationship with our creator. What truly amazes me it the driving force behind God’s decision, it wasn’t guilt or pity, NO! It was the love of God that actioned Him into sending us a lifeline. This is why if you reject the work of the cross as your own personal lifeline and you do not embrace it with all you have, the Love of God will elude you. The outcome on the other side of death will be his wrath, the opposite extreme of his love. Imagine if God went to such lengths to highlight his love for us, having his own son crucified so that we could find freedom from the law of sin and death. The opposite must also be true, how severe will the wrath of God be? But today the love of God is on offer, praise the name of Jesus. "Whoever calls upon the name of Lord will be saved", but call you must.

I implore you, today is the day of salvation and do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation. Their distrust of the voice of God on display for all to witness, with an undertone of what is God doing? We do not have the right to challenge God, ever! However we do now have the right to cry Abba Father, thank you Jesus.

Signing off

Tyrone

Victory

There is no other name where by a soul can be saved, save the name of Jesus Christ the Lord and any weapon fashion against the Christian will not prosper, it cannot for God has so willed it, Jesus has conquered all of our enemies and He did it in a body like ours. Think on that and be still. Give thanks with a grateful heart remembering the love of God and the extent of it. There are many religions propagating many different solutions but they are all noise looking for betterment. Religion depends on us but Christianity depends of Christ, praise His name now and forever more, get on the bus or you shall be doomed for eternity. It is a simple solution, however we must agree with the psalmist if we are to find rescue…

(Psalm 51:5)  Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Here we see a true understanding of our station before a Holy God and how we compare. We have been hewn from a rock of sin and not from a sheet of innocence as the world loves to project. Even now as I pen these words I sense the resistance. There is no doubt that a baby’s mind is uncorrupted by the completeness of sin and yet they are beings just waiting to find their form as sinful creatures. It is impossible for it to turn out any other way and as much as our children are the apple of our eyes, they teach us the most about this truth. It doesn’t take long to witness sin beginning to forcibly mould their characters. The first tantrum when things do not go their way or how they learn to squirm into position to win their parents over so that they end up having their way. And then we catch them red handed in their first lie, really the list is endless. However, there is no doubt to what we see, but we knew that already, all we needed to do was have a long hard look in the mirror. Sin is the archenemy of God and Satan is the father of it all. This is where the ultimate battle begun and where is will end; we will be in either of the camps, of this I am certain, sin will always look to disguise its true colours as acceptable. It will always play itself off others; “I am not as bad as her” as it looks to justify its actions. But above all, it will always challenge the WORD OF GOD. We will never find true deliverance until we come to the same place David did and for some it may take a catastrophic disaster to come to our senses. I thank my Heavenly Father and my glorious Saviour for the hard knocks in my life as futile as most have been, they have shaped me into a position of weakness, seeking out God’s mercy and His grace. True strength is found in Him and once we truly see ourselves for who we are and accept our realities will we then be able to cry out unto the One who has it in His Power to save, Jesus the man who died and then was raised from the dead, the son of God, the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob!

Stop that “strawman” in its tracks, we are all sinners and rotten to our core, we need the grace of God to save us from ourselves and until we see ourselves as such we will have a hard time falling to our knees and seeking our God’s forgiveness for our sins. Remember the two thieves on the cross as they conversed with the Lord Jesus, how do you see yourself? Where do you fit in and what will you do about it? I have made up my mind, as for me and my household we shall bow the knee to Jesus.

    

Thank you Lord Jesus; just as you have been merciful to me I ask that you be merciful to all who now find themselves sharing my thoughts.

Signing off

Tyrone

Hope!

Hope! We all have it, in one form or another, but as for the Christian we feed our hope as our character is formed through the trial of life, without it we would be like water tossed to and fro as the wind skims the surface and the undertow tugs away at our resolve. Without hope we would be of all people most miserable. However, it’s through the difficult times in life that highlights the hope we have in Christ, if not we haven’t really understood the purpose of the “trial of life”. It’s the struggle that builds our hope, which is; “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (1Co 15:52-53)

Death will come to some, but not to all, immortality our crown, but more than that we shall be like Him, individuals free from sin and co heirs with Christ. Sons of the living God, God will call us his sons, He will personally declare us as such to the angels and the unbelievers, those would thought they knew better than Him, wow! When I begin to ponder on these things my mind jumps for joy, how could it not? The hope we have in Christ and HIS perfect FINISHED work is like marrow to the bones, a comfort to the heart and it bring a song to my lips.

Remember this Christian, there is a day not too far away where we will see our Saviour as He is, not a physically marred weak man hanging on a cruel Roman cross, but the RISEN CHRIST IN ALL HIS GLORY! And know this, we too will have a body similar to His, praise God for the hope we have in Him. Without the love of God none of this would be ours, WOW!

So let me leave you with this thought, its character which produces hope, so before we ask why is this happening? Let us peel back a layer of the brilliance of God and then we will bless Him for His genius, knowing that it’s the “trial of life” which produces hope. Can an olive release its goodness without being crushed?

Thank you Father for including the Christian in your master plan, I love you and just to be allowed to see a snipped of your brilliance puts a skip in my step and warms my soul, to God be the glory now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Call out!

Being stranded at sea on a flimsy raft must be rather daunting, no matter where you gaze you see nothing but water. At the mercy of the currents, similarly to us and our lives, adrift and far from God, our creator. The damage is so server that our worlds are exclusively self-regulating, or so we would like to believe. Everyone opinionated on what they believe their perception to be on their very own existence. But only for as long as we breathe oxygenated air and then we shall all see the truth for what it is. Sorry to say, for some, then it will be far too late.

Why did God create mankind? For himself; "this people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise". Sadly how far is that from the truth? Save a handful of individuals along the way whom God chose to single out, individuals hard pressed and who confronted fierce opposition from the enemy, the hates of God. The more I explore this thought the more I am floored about God’s goodness and His tolerance, such patience on display. Remembering this, He has it in His power to destroy. Supremacy to snuff out life just like that, and yet He allows people to mock, blaspheme and belittle His authority. Why, I know that type of resolve is far from mankind. However, the love of God who can fathom it? “For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life.” It’s the Love of God that drives Him into action. And just like seasons have their time so too will the window of the Love of God come to an end for those dull of hearing, Today is the day of salvation, harden not you hearts but repent call upon the name of Jesus and you shall be saved. And as Solomon would said; “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 12:13-4) - So let me add to that for clarity, the Lord Jesus has paid the price for the repentant believer’s sin but make no mistake God has spoken and it will come to pass, judgement awaits the haters of God. The most important decision we will ever make in our lifetimes is this; will we bend the knee to Jesus Christ or will we turn our back on him? Will we be amongst the number of those who have their sins covered or not?

Be vigilant and pay careful attention to this message, sincerely seek out God’s forgiveness for your sins and you will escape the judgement of God. Be wise in your own opinionated ideas at the expense of a lost eternity. A thought far too dire to consider and yet millions already full of regret on the other side of eternity.

The solution is a simple one; “Call upon the name of the Lord and ye shall be saved.”

Signing off

Tyrone

That nagging question

I am not sure how many of you would remember a hit by Steve Winwood, “Higher Love”, it was a song I listen to in my teens. But I want us to focus on the message behind the voice…

Things look so bad everywhere
in this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love (oh oh)
Bring me a higher love
Where's that higher love I keep thinking of?

Mr Winwood, his name is Jesus Christ the Lord and He has been offered to all, which was motivated by the LOVE of God. “For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever would believe in HIM would not perish but inherit eternal life.” So that is the “higher love you keep thinking of”. Jesus Christ the sacrificial Lamb of God, the provision of finding that higher love you keep thinking of. Our inner voice gnawing away at our conscience, a probing to find the answer to life, that continuous silent conversation we have with ourselves, but only until the penny finally drops and everything aligns itself and we are set free, we now know who we are thinking of, praise the name of Jesus, Amen!

Think about the love of God for just a moment. That deep seated passion at the centre of the heart of the Creator of all things. The overwhelming drive of love moves God into action, sacrificing His Son to save millions doomed to hell. The children of those whom their forefathers once knew, a people so self-centred and motivated by ego at the expense of God an obvious conclusion. Rebellious to our core with no thought for the will of God, and yet, for God so LOVED, Wow! Reject God’s provision, the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God will forever elude you, it’s as simple as that. There he is Steve; “Where's that higher love I keep thinking of?” An invitation has gone out to all, it does not discriminate against colour or creed, however you must come as you are, acknowledging your sin and then confessing it before a holy God, seeking forgiveness for it and just like that, that nagging inward voice is silenced and tears will flood your soul, well that was my experience at least. The Love of God who can fathom it? The day I realised that my sin was forgiven, but not that I had only been forgiven, someone else had to pay the price for my sin, the LOVE of God! “Jesus in my place”.

Did you know love can be measured? It can be weighed in the balance of action. There are references referring to this; the Lord Jesus asks Simon Bar-Jonah, “Do you love me”? There is irritation evident in Peter response, it’s almost as if he is asking himself, why the question, Lord you know all things, surely that is an obvious realisation, of course I love you; the Lord doesn’t disagree with Peters reply, he just simple stresses the idea, then “feed my sheep”. Implying love can be measured by commitment, your action proves the argument. Love is most certainly linked to sacrifice. The Lord Jesus died on a cross, the love of God personified.  

If you love me you will keep my commandments is another instruction the Lord gives us, and this is not meant to look like the work of a yo-yo and how many of us would describe ourselves like that. How easy is the default switch triggered, where the door for the old man is allowed to surface, when a trigger allows us to lose our tempter and instead of a gentle word we lash out? The list is endless.  

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.” (John 15:9-10)  

Simply summed up, we are called to lay down our lives for our friends, we are to place the needs of others before our own, and we are to do it with a willing heart. The evidence is then evident, and the doubt surrounding any leading questions of our love for God abated.

HE SO LOVED it’s now our turn to respond. An impossible task without the aid of the Spirit of God, but we have His help, we now need to resolve to walk in a way worthy of our calling and find the grace to overcome.

Thank you Father God for so loving me, help me I pray love you in return in a way which pleases you, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone