Perspective

Let us never forget this truth that God has a plan and it will unfold according to HIS will, Period! Within this great manifesto every “I” will be dotted and every “T” crossed even if it appears as brail to many who think they know better. As for the Christian our beloved brother Paul reminds us of this truth; “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8: 28) – It’s imperative that we do not mismanage our thought process and confuse our own will and lusts when it is clear that it is all about “his purpose”. If we can find the grace to settle on this truth the struggles of life will be boxed correctly and seen as a means to an end. The day is coming when the Christian will open their eyes in heaven and eventually receive their glorified bodies. Perspective is the key to this area of our lives, God has spoken and will achieve all of His objectives, regardless of the enemy’s attempts to thwart God's will. There are many wars on so many different fronts which will all eventually die an ineffective death.

Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Prioritizing

The Christian has an arsenal of quotes that freely slip off the tongue when called upon, it’s a gift from God. No different to the air we breathe. Gifting is exactly that, a gift from God. It’s just the entombing of it that petrifies me, the burying of a talent never ended well for the cautious man. We have been called to stir up our gift, get the spoon in deep and work the stodginess free. The more we blend, the freer the flow. This all sound good on the surface, but have you noticed by implication this implies the work is left up to the individual. Without the work of God the Holy Spirit in our lives it would be impossible. Because we received the Holy Spirit at salvation, does not now mean we should look to shelve Him and take over the reins per say. However, when prompted how will we respond? Or have we been so severely seared that our conscience is dead to touch no differently to the effect of a burn from a hot iron? Has the idea of church and the like, fellowship with others from the body of Christ become a distant memory, if so then we best fall to our knees and ask God to restore what the canker worm has eaten.    

There are obviously certain truths that we must never overlook if we are to bear fruit…       

Always look to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. Seek out God’s kingdom and his righteousness in our daily walks, in other words remember to put Him first not last. We are very restricted when it comes to so much detail in our lives; our dreams for instance are hard to control, it’s obvious, that whatever the conscious mind absorbs somehow effects the vision when asleep. 

However what we can control is our application to an action first thing in the morning, the time we stir and open our eyes. This is the time to put our Heavenly Father first. “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” and let’s face it who amongst us does not want to be acknowledged by Him? To be comforted by our heavenly Father is top of the pops, there is no greater comfort and the only way we will ever experience that is because of the grace of God. It’s because God so loves that He gives of Himself. How has He given? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Everything hinges of this fact, the love of God pivots off His son, period! Miss this truth, or miss inform those seeking the truth and God’s comfort will elude you and them. Repentance begins and ends with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the gateway to the Father and there is no other way that will get you there. Zero, nil, nada!

The first covenant, the law of God through Moses, demanded repentance and sacrifice and that was all up to the individual to implement. The second covenant, which is a far better pledge is a finished work, praise the name of Jesus. He has done the work. He lived a life without ever breaking a single commandment. He accomplished what we could not. One of the reasons I believe God introduce the “First Covenant” was to teach us that we needed be saved from ourselves and until that lesson is learnt we will never repent correctly. The world’s message is love yourself because you deserve it and it has been designed to keep you from God. A simple choice needs to be made. As for me, I will acknowledge my sinful nature and embrace the work of Calvary, come what may!  

There seems to be so much against me, and then I am reminded, fear not Jesus has conquered all. So how would I be reminded of that if I wasn’t kneeling at his feet? There are certain truths that are never sweep aside; “faith comes from hearing the Word of God.” The word corrects us and God the Holy Spirit aligns our rudders and trims our sails.

God will not accept any other attempt to attract His attention. Long repetitive prayers, praying to the Virgin Mary (a women blessed of God and extremely privileged to house baby Jesus) she did not die on a cruel Roman cross for your sins. Or calling on the universe to grant you your wishes, all feeble attempts, in fact man made attempts to make yourselves feel better, I suppose it’s like playing the Lotto that on the off chance you may arrive.

The only repentance (feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing) God the Father will accept is this; “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” 

There is so much focus on our sin that we could miss the boat completely and overlook our application to find forgiveness. ONE MAN, ONE DEATH, ONE RESURRECTION! Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life and it may just be time to leave all the other jargon behind as you repent and call out to Him. He alone has the power to save.

Signing off

Tyrone

Attention!

There seems to be a dearth wafting across the planet like never before, or at least in my lifetime. I cannot recall a time such as this and once again we needn’t look further than ourselves to understand the predicament. What has happen to the urgency, the will at all costs to preach the gospel? Complacency tagging alongside with so many Christian institutions buckling to the whims of society. “Changing with the times” is often quoted as if to say we have been given licence to act this way. Hollywood the biggest influence of all as it blatantly opposes the will of God and the masses cheer "Sedition! Sedition!"–"Down with him!"  

I will remind you as I have been reminded that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Perfection cannot change, if it had too it would no longer be perfect. God is the great “I AM!” He will always have the final say. Come His way or suffer the consequences is my appeal to all. While we have breath we have hope. I implore you to pay very special attention to the warnings engraved below the surface, look a little deeper and it will become obvious. It’s time to pay particular attention to the horizon. God is stirring up his watchmen to be on high alert, the enemy is gaining momentum and the coming battle will be fierce.

God give us the eyes to see and ears to hear the quivering ground before the roar. Be warned of the worlds conditioning and the voice which provoke change as the norm is not our friend but the enemy dress in sheep’s clothing and as soon as it has lured those in, it will pounce with one thought, to destroy!.

We have nothing to worry about so long as we remain centred upon the finished work of the cross. Looking to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. But look we must. I cannot stress the point enough, half of the proclaiming Christians will miss the wedding feast. Five out of ten of the virgins never had oil in their lamps.

Signing off

Tyrone

Reward

Everything in life revolves around recompense. Even creation was all about the prize. It seem that everything God does is for reward. This was God response to His creation; “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” It is obvious that God was pleased with the work of his hands. His reward was self-gratification, or so it would seem. Throughout history we see many amazing feats or accomplishments and even darn right abominations, but they all have a common factor – reward! We are designed with a goal in mind and we are naturally driven toward it. If we take the most horrific examples and look at the effort and the lengths those individuals were willing to travel to arrive. Take Hitler and his will to destroy the Jews, or the worst sex offender and the lengths he would go in order to keep his secret hidden. The list is endless. The question we need to resolve is this, do we believe that the Christians faithfulness will reward heaven and even better than that is the voice of the Almighty acknowledging us as his sons. A verbal confession proceeding from His mouth as He gazes into our eyes. If this truly grips our imagination there should be no hardship we cannot find the grace to face.

Reward it’s all about sonship, a glorified body, heaven and much more. In fact it’s a totally another dimension, which our carnal natures cannot fathom. Once we were born of the Spirit, we were quickened to catch a glimpse into the reward that awaits. We see through a blurred window pain, but we see enough to believe it with all our hearts. Therefore let us remember to focus on the reward, our hope must be driven by faith and overshadowed with love.

Very very soon we are going to see our King, Let us lock hands as we stand in unity with the Word of God as our guide, to God be the glory now and forever more.

Signing off

Tyrone     

Help!

Time to tack, whoever travels across the ocean without coming about and the only way that is possible is for us to subject ourselves to the Word of God. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”. It would be foolish to believe that we can be strong in faith without subjecting ourselves to its direction. The WORDS OF GOD is what keeps us focused and it’s the Spirit that directs us. The world is filled with distraction, we don’t even have to look for it as it will always find us. Which in turn will veer us off course if we are not feeding off God’s nourishment, His voice! Look to Jesus is what I hear loud and clear this morning, but how do I look to something that is blind to the naked eye? This is where the work of the Spirit reigns supreme. With faith as the catalyst bringing about a reality larger than life. A mystery scattered with such beauty. How brilliant is our God? And there are only some who find pockets of sweet waters amongst the trials of life. Those who have learnt this crucial lesson, “Jesus in my place”.

Let us examine this, a voice there, an undertone slipped between the lines of a Hollywood script with a deliberate intention of conforming the mind into accepting sin as the norm. This shift evident and this is why we must daily be looking to Jesus for direction. Sure he is so full of love that he is willing to leave the herd under the protection of their numbers as he moves off seeking the lost sheep, the heart of God who can fully fathom it? He is just a cry away, cry out unto Jesus and live. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, not only does he sympathize, he understands. But don’t be lulled into confusing the acceptance of sin as ok. Our saviour died to squash the power it has over us all, we need to look to him to find direction through the trial of life. This is the Christians mission, this is why we live. Forget the efforts we muster looking to ourselves as the conquerors, all that ever produces is pride, even if it lives hidden away in the closet.              

It may just be time to cry out, “Help me!” We are so conditioned to want to do it ourselves that we forget the Lord's sacrifice, we don’t really, but when broken down we overlook the magnitude of his ransom as we try and get through our issues alone. When last, if ever, have you cried out to Jesus, help? I desperate plea from the core of our being is what we should be a looking for, not just a simple thought which travels from the brain and then onto the tongue, no! An earnest plea for help, but I suppose that will only ever live once we have exhausted every other option.  

As I now sit at the feet of Jesus with one word on my lips, help!

There is a song that comes to mind; “give me oil in my lamp keep me burning burning burning give me oil in my lamp I pray”. How imperative is it for the Christian to have oil in their lamps? We should know the answer to that, the parable is clear, half miss that very special event and are forbidden to enter.

Signing

Tyrone