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

Grace and Faith

The Christian has been afforded the privilege of tapping into heavens bank. Yes bank! Did you know heaven has a bank? The storeroom of Grace is filled with an unlimited supply of what we need to get through each day. There is no need for the pensioners’ mentality, we needn’t save for tomorrow, and the supply will never run dry, so long as we approach it with boldness, in faith and driven by heaps of hope. This is a hard lesson to learn seeing that most of us have been conditioned to store up reserves for our pensions. We have been conditioned to take care of tomorrow, which is the opposite of faith. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”, and we know who taught us that truth. True Christianity must bring about a change in our thinking. Thank God for the instant shift, however once we move through that phase it’s all about conditioning and so our beloved brother Paul appeals to us; “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 12:1-2) 

  

It’s frightening how carnally minded we are, but who can blame us? It’s the way of the world. And yet we are at fault, its no point passing the blame, we need to get on with it. True faith demands that we play by a different set of rules; it depends on God’s promises and not our ability. Faith is distributed amongst individuals within the body of Christ (the Church) according To the will of God. He gives us a measure of faith, it’s a gift from God. We can’t fabricate something we haven’t been given, that’s what the pretender does. But once we receive our spiritual gifts it's ours to use at will. We now play our part, like a cog in a wheel, we need to BELIEVE! Believe God at His Word and I am persuaded that it will be well with our souls. Once God give us a gift we take ownership and I think this is where the lines get muddled. It’s up to the individual to believe and then once we commit we need to let go and let God. It the opposite extreme of independence. “But without faith it is impossible to please God.” Faith takes us far deeper than looking to have our carnal needs taken care of, that is but a microscopic part of it. A faith that believes God when it seems impossible, is the realm we must all shoot for. We must learn from our father Abraham. This can only truly have its origin in the spiritual world. An unseen dimension that is as real as the seen, and it is guided by the WORD OF GOD. Faith defies carnal logic. It’s Christ in us the hope of Glory that must dictate. Our attitude needs to switch, the trial of life is a daily occurrences and we are to tackle each day as it happens, a hundred percent committed to the finished work of Calvary. It’s the realisation of who we are and what power we wield in HIM that we need to objectify. Do we believe that our Heavenly Father is in control? Then just maybe it’s time to start living as if we truly believe it. But do we believe it when it comes to our lives, or do we hedge our bets just in case? That is the opposite of faith which believes in the unseen, and the hope that drives our faith is also unseen but must be as real as the rising of the sun if we are to embrace the gifts of God. Triggering them has a totally different set of rules and its testing’s that figures us out, it adds so much to our makeups in Christ, praise God for His wisdom. Faith, hope and love is all beautifully intertwined, I do not see how they are to be separated if we are to truly please our heavenly Father.

What was the very first instruction given to the disciples, prior to them being sent out to share the gospel? This in itself speaks volumes if only we would see the importance of the instruction; “He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.” Why? It’s not as if bread would fall from the sky to feed them, but rather people along the way would come to their aid without any coaxing on their behalf. The evidence of faith unfolding before their very eyes. God’s brilliance is wonderful to behold even if like Moses we only get glimpses of his “back”. Our sister Faith guides us through life presenting us with opportunities to depend on our God.

Signing off

Tyrone

Beloved sisters

Why is the order of God so important? Apart from the obvious, God is God and His will stands, period! That’s the way it is and the sooner we align our thinking along those lines the freer we become in loving Him. The Apostle Paul put it like this, “who are you o man to question God”. The power always resided with the potter and not the clay. Freewill clouds our judgement and until we understand that it’s God, our creator, who designed us with the ability to choose. Sure it is confined to certain parameters, but that is another topic for another day. Choice stands and that's why the cry went out so many years ago; “choose this day whom you will serve but as for me and my household we will serve the Lord.”

Our God is brilliant and there is nothing random about his plans. I believe everything has been meticulously plotted out even when those involve are oblivious to it all. The day will arrive for all to bow the knee and understand the brilliance of my heavenly Father and we daren’t miss the opportunities afforded on a daily basis to do our tiny part in bringing him glory. My prayer goes out for my beloved sisters in Christ, the pressure is on and just like in was in the garden you are the target; Hollywood and the like are driving the idea of woman rule. It’s not that the brilliance of woman isn’t am obvious quality to recognize, the order of God is being challenged. Defiance looking for any opportunity to conquer. This skirmish will be won by the enemy, just as Satan deceived Eve and enticed her to eat the forbidden fruit. What is the phrase he used? He said, “Did God actually say”. The truth of the matter is, it doesn’t matter what we think about any topic if it opposes the will of God. Our opinion is irrelevant, we only ever please our Father if and when we work out His will in our lives, that must be our motivation and we need to stand on the truth whenever the opportunity arrives; “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 12:2) - Why am I not hearing a cry go out from the pulpits, do those in power not care for the sheep? Surely our sisters are very dear to us and we must arm them with the correct information. 

Sisters finding God’s order is the perfect will of God and people are resisting that just like it was resisted way back in the beginning, “did God actually say?” the answer is the Word of God is true and we need to hang on to it with all we have. We must look to please our God and bring Him glory. We have to stand out and be ridiculed if and when necessary as it doesn’t go unnoticed, God is well please when we in faith make a declaration and stand upon His truth. So here it is; “But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” (1Corinthians 11:3) - There is a lot more on the topic. The prayer for all who stand upon the finished work of Calvary is to “defend with the shield of faith” whilst wearing the “breastplate of righteousness”. The resistance against the voice of our Heavenly Father is fierce and will become deafening as time progresses. The roles are reversing and the order of God is being laughed at as woman look to dominate.    

  

The Apostle Paul stresses the importance of God’s order and it would be good for all to sit up and play careful attention to the instruction. Look carefully, think about it and then decide if you are wiser than God and then act upon your decision. I have made up my mind, to the best of my ability I will align my resolve to His will and instruction whatever that may entail. And as that thought crosses my mind I realise how volatile I am. Everyone loves the downhill rides in life, those time when we sit back and relax as the wind blows through our hair without any effort. However those bursts seems to be diminutive and short lived. The older I get the harder it becomes. Nevertheless there can only ever be one option for mankind that will have everlasting rewards, which is, to find the will of God in our lives on a daily basis, nothing else really counts. We easily admire others who have endured hardships for Christ, but throw our lives into the mix and it’s another ball game altogether. Some areas of my life remain a little foggy, but I am working them out as I find direction in the Word of God and then look for grace to find victory. That’s what I like to believe, but how much do I actually give? Father God help me give more I pray, as it is only a fraction of my self-centeredness, forgive me.  

Whenever we put our hands up to be counted, how do we fair? Right! This then must be my conclusion, through the grind of life and the continuous dusting off of one's knees let the truth be told; Jesus the One who died in our place has paid the price for our sins, and let us cling to the WORD OF GOD with all we have, bless His name now and forevermore. Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone