Hope

What is it that gives an individual the will to push through any hardship? Hope endures all things, does it not? I am persuaded that hope is such a powerful force that it achieves miraculous feats. The Bible is full of wonderful examples and I believe this applies to all of God creation.

Give a rat half a chance to survive and witness his endurance, on the other hand trap it with no possible escape and see how quickly it gives up its life. All anyone needs for any bout is just a glimmer of hope. This is a principle that applies to all. As for the Christian once we are captivated by the hope that is ours in Christ, nothing and I mean nothing will be able to stop us from achieving our objectives. It is a beautiful things when our faith in Christ drives us to perceiver whatever hardship we face as a stepping stone in locating our objectives and all because we are persuaded about the hope that is ours in HIM. To know that someday we will have a character like our beloved Saviour. What a day that will be. Because of this its verses like these that blow us away…

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8: 38-39) – Do you echo this mantra? If not, your faith is not nourishing your hope correctly. It is the hope of the righteous that brings with it joy. Hardships only bring complains when we are living under the “old man's” stimulus. That which dominated prior to salvation. I don’t have time to go into great depths on this, suffice to say that in this life and in these bodies the war rages on and we will be constantly pushed in one of two directions. As new creatures in Christ or with a conduct that comes naturally. This is why the WORD OF GOD is crucial for our lives. The unsaved do not have ears to hear the voice of God, they are unresponsive to it. Paul was totally persuaded about the hope that was his in Christ, are we? Father God renew a right spirit in us I pray. It’s one thing to echo a beautiful truth from the bible, but quite another thing altogether to live it with conviction.

Any hope deferred makes the heart sick. But while we have breath we have hope. Once we embrace our Saviour with open arms it's astonishing how our hope is rekindled. No matter where you are or what the struggle, Jesus in us the hope of glory is what feeds our determination when we are walking in the Spirit.  

Faith in the finished work of the cross is a must for our hope to reach its full potential. I inspire you to be aware of your predicament, do not turn a blind eye to it, but rather use it to fuel the fire of hope. The brilliance of God. We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface, ok, maybe we have begun to scratch it, but how much more is there to explore, wow! And to have a hope that one day I will audibly hear HIM confess me as his son is almost beyond my comprehension. That day is coming and all because I am rooted in Christ. Thank you Father. I have a hope to wonderful to pass up, do you share my sentiment?

I know that I tend to lose focus when my hope is clouded with the clutter of this present age. However, it doesn’t take much for us to come to our senses, but come we must. We have eye salve to see, God has given it to us in Christ, praise His name, Amen! Can a fire burn without fuel? Can our hope be kindled without the hardships of life? Although many lessons can be taught, they need to be lived in order to bear fruit.

Let me leave you with this encouragement; “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25)

Signing off

Tyrone

Rooted

What it means to be rooted in Christ, wow! The magnitude of this thought is mind-boggling and then to be taken further in reality and then be grounded upon it is priceless, all the tea in China or the richest minerals hidden within the crevasses of the earth couldn’t compare. However the question I ask, are you persuaded? Are you rooted in Christ? Or is this just a pleasant thought when you are asked the question and then soon forgotten? The miracle of salvation is a truth with continuous burst of gratitude when understood correctly. To be transported from a spiritual state of death to life is a thought that engulfs such magnitude that if inferred correctly, it will change our lives forever. Has your life been changed? Is it obvious or are we just blown away by the idea of it?

God give me the wherewithal to shift gears and bring glory to you from here on out is my prayer. May a permanent filter be part of my existence when it comes to the opposing voices that look to challenge the voice and instruction of my heavenly Father, “let God be true and every one a liar…” (Romans 3:4)

Now with that in mind we need to address a relevant viewpoint that has already gained traction and will begin to take control in the not too distant future, the “One World Order” will be the banner flown throughout the globe and it will appeal to the masses. It will be filled will “humanity”. However although the word “god” will be in the mix it will have but one intention and that is to deceive. With “love” as the driving force behind its mantra.

It will welcome all creeds and religions but oppose the fundamentalist. In other words the Word of God will be divergent and twisted to root out all those would stand upon the finished work of the cross. The true Christian will be persecuted without mercy. But fear not our GOD will have the final say and they who endures to the end will be saved. We must stay the course trimming our sails with the WORD OF GOD, THE BIBLE, as the crewmen of our vessels bringing us back into line if we begin to lose our bearing. We must seek out those who latch onto the Word of God, the Bible, and not those who contradict it through prophecy and the like. The Word of God will endure forever; “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,” (Ephesians 6:17)  

This slogan is found on the lips of many, even the Christian likes to quote it; “God loves everybody”, Not true! The reason for this type of mentality is to excuse the unbeliever from God’s judgement, which is deceit and a lie from the pit of hell.

The lifeline mankind has been given, is found in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. Outside of Him the love of God will be missed, period! It’s imperative you get this; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:16-19)

Let’s unpack this; it avows the love of God, “For God so loved the world,” and then it explains how HE has loved; “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” We see the love of God is clearly wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ, His SON!

Outside of believing in Christ “but whoever does not believe is condemned already,” In other words is not covered by the love of God. Why? “Because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Therefore, if we want to be covered by God’s love we need the covering of His son the Lord Jesus Christ. Without it we are “condemned already”.

The last question we have to possibly ask ourselves is this, why would people reject God’s love? The answer is found in the text; because of our carnality and the fall of mankind, way back when, in the Garden of Eden, sin entered in and has influenced our reasoning; “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” (John 3:19)

Unless we see the need to be saved from our sinful natures and call upon the finished work of the cross, the love of God will escape us and we will be judged and then condemned to the Lake of Fire. Which most certainly does not cover the spectrum of God’s love but rather HIS judgment.

I trust your mind will be settled on this as the voices out there will get louder and louder and for all those not built on the correct foundation, which is Jesus Christ, will lose their way.

Stand strong Christian, our KING has overcome, bless HIS name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Gods Will

To be deliberate in seeking out the will of God for our lives must be in the forefront of our minds at all times. If not we must conclude that we are not walking in the Spirit with intent but rather are living with the carnal dominating our engagements. This type of behaviour is of a sensual nature and it will never please our heavenly Father, regardless of its outward appearance. Think about it like this, we may even perform feats of charity but if driven from a natural persuasion it will always remain marred by sin. In other words our intention will always have an agenda. Recognition and the like a driving force.

You may ask how I arrive at such a conclusion. Here is the Word of God which must take priority on all matters and at all times. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”  (Romans 8: 6-8) – Do we understand? It would be a completely futile project to give everything we have to the poor and reject the message of the Gospel. It would have its reward of recognition from others but not from God. Its fundamental that we come to grips with this reality and that our minds are renewed to the point of the will of God on this matter.

This is not to say that we have not been instructed to give to the poor, we must give to all with a cheerful heart. We have been commissioned to lay our lives down for others. But like every principle in life that teaches us about the will of God, so too must we align this application to our lives in the correct order. God first and his righteousness, his will not our needs, as this will ensure that we are walking in the Spirit and we are not simply applying carnal reasons to our actions. How do we test our application to such a turn? We give with a cheerful heart to those in need when we have it in our power to do so, but we do it in secret. This then pleases our Father; “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-4)

Obviously this instruction speaks about the heart and is driven by the Spirit. When we pray how should we pray? In secret. I trust the yardstick of the Spirit, in principle at least can be measured.

Our intent to do anything must never be done to be acknowledged by others and if it is, even in the smallest measure it is not a work of the Spirit. God give us the resolve to walk in the Spirit and to see the difference.

Signing off

Tyrone

First or Last?

(Matthew 19:30) “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

This verse has to do with our commitment to Christ. The context behind the Lord statement was a question asked by Peter; “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”  This type of mind-set depicts and exposes us to the core, we always do to get. But as I take this thought deeper is that so wrong? We are taught that a worker is worthy of their wage. He works to get paid. God applies himself in a similar vein, does He not? He created mankind in HIS image, with an intent to have fellowship with him. He also placed them into his creation (the Garden of Eden) with a responsibility to “work and keep it”. However, God was present, he was seen and acknowledged by them throughout the process. Today we look to work and keep our planet with a new found urgency but God is hardly considered. This is our downfall and it will be the ruin of our planet. It’s not about carbon emissions, cattle farmer or the like. God has been place on the backburner when it comes to saving our planet. So many voices crying out for us to do our bit to save it. Sadly every effort will fall flat because the hearts of individuals will never change and God will destroy the planet in his appointed time. He will fold up his creation like a garment and cast it into the fire. It’s of great benefit to be aware of what God is planning, that way it will be easier for us to align our wills with his, wouldn’t you agree?  

What is so wrong to what a reward for doing our bit in life? Besides our nature’s being tainted by sin, I suppose nothing. However, we have all been affected by sin and therefore we will always have a slant with an unrighteous motivating driving us, to will and to do. We need to be saved from our worldliness. This is why we have been commanded to walk in the Spirit. This is the lesson we all need to make our own and it cannot be applied naturally. Hence the purpose of faith and our application to it.

God is righteous and therefore whatever he does is driven from the correct source of what is right and good. The world often comes up with “one-liners” finding fault with God and his process. “If God is love, why are so many children starving?” and the like. That assessment is driven by an unrighteous individual. It may seem like a fair question to some but it is not. We must learn to settle with this thought; God is righteous and we trust Him, Period! This is what it means to walk in the Spirit. Relinquishing all to the potter and yes sheep following their shepherd is a must, if not there is a very tough road ahead and some will end up lost and confused by the opinions of others.

There will come a time where God will hand out his rewards; Peter was told that he too would be seated on a throne judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Heaven will be eternal, we must always be reminded about this truth as it is so easy to lose focus; “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:29)

Where we get it wrong so often, we get caught doing things for rewards in the present instead of using the looking glass of eternity where the RIGHTEOUS JUDGE will hand out eternal rewards. I pray we will learn, like never before, to lock this down.

“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

(Matthew 19:30)

Signing off

Tyrone

Be Deliberate

It’s all about the will of God, and it always will be. So then the key to the favourable treasure grove which will unlock our understanding to the Father will is obviously found in the Lord Jesus Christ. And by embracing HIM we will begin to work it out with a deeper proficiency…

We each have "our story" and it is dear to us, God has given most of us a lifetime to work it all out. But work it out we must! Make time to sit at the feet of Jesus. Set time aside, a date night if you like and pour your heart out to him, be honest. Explain your struggles, take ownership of them, confess your love and smothered him with kisses. Be deliberate! A conscientious allocation of time set aside where we shut away the world, close our door and cry out to Jesus. Not just a fleeting thought as we stand over the stove, or whilst applying our makeup.

Why is this so important? Besides the obvious, the voices out there are beginning to gain global momentum. With the world wide Corona lockdown I’m sure our TV sets are playing a big part in our lives. The voice behind the curtain that looks to mould our characters and I can assure you that it’s is very seldom, if ever, about the will of God.

Talk shows exploiting the do-gooders of the world often quote the “universe” as their source of substance. “You give to others and the universe gives back.” Simply put, they do not wear the Creator’s coat of arms; “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:25)

Without a deliberate action to spend time with our God we will be swallowed up by the voices out there. Be specific with your action. This is a perfect time to not get lost in the “crowd of church”, that itch we scratch acknowledging that we have done our bit.  Go now, shut the door and sup with your Saviour.

Signing off

Tyrone