The Enemy

 

We, men, can be very selective, even when handling Scripture. If we are honest, we often search the Word for support rather than surrender. We naturally gravitate towards the verses that comfort, strengthen, defend, or promise us something. Somehow, even in our pursuit of God, self still manages to sit close to the centre.

Perhaps this is one reason God gave us the Holy Spirit: to guide us beyond ourselves. Left to our own nature, we tend towards self-preservation, self-interest, and self-justification. But the Spirit leads us into truth, against the desires of the flesh and the instincts of fallen man. And it's not always the Holy Spirit leading, as some may claim; it can always be tested against the word of God, the Bible.

Christianity does indeed bring gain, but it begins with loss. There is the loss of pride, the loss of self-rule, the loss of worldly thinking, and ultimately the surrender of this temporary life for eternity. The flesh resists this because it constantly seeks immediate reward, justice, and comfort. But the Kingdom of God is built on faith in what is unseen and eternal.

Perhaps nowhere is that tension more visible than in the command to love your enemy while simultaneously waging war against your own flesh.

Proverbs 25:21–22 says:

“If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.”

 

This is one of the hardest commands in Scripture because it goes completely against the flesh. Our natural instinct is not to feed an enemy, but to resist, expose, repay, or wound back.

Yet Scripture commands mercy.

Not because evil is insignificant, and not because justice disappears, but because vengeance belongs to God and not man.

We are tainted by sin. God is not.

Our judgment is corrupted by pride, emotion, bitterness, self-preservation, and the flesh. Even when we are genuinely wronged, we do not judge perfectly. But God judges without corruption, selfishness, or error.

This is why Romans 12 says:

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.”

The believer steps back and says:
“I will not sit in God’s seat.”

Mercy toward enemies is therefore not weakness. It is trust in the perfect justice of God.

But this principle does not apply to the flesh.

The flesh is not a wounded neighbour needing compassion. The flesh is the rebellion within us that opposes the Spirit of God. Scripture never tells us to feed it or negotiate with it. Instead, the language becomes severe:

• deny yourself,
• crucify the flesh,
• make no provision for it.

We feed our enemies physically because judgment belongs to God.

But we starve the flesh spiritually because it wars against God.

How strange that we are often harsher toward people and softer toward sin, while Scripture teaches the opposite.

Love people.
Kill sin.

Because people bear the image of God.
Sin opposes the holiness of God.

And only God judges perfectly, because only God is untouched by sin.

All hail King Jesus, the only man to ever conquer sin in the flesh.

Signing off,

Tyrone

The Light Switch

 

The Light Switch

Light and darkness are complete opposites that create two entirely different realities. The objective of both is to cancel the other out. Darkness hides, whilst light exposes. Darkness conceals truth, whilst light reveals it for what it truly is. Sin always seeks cover under the banner of darkness because darkness gives the illusion that what is hidden somehow no longer exists.

But the moment light enters the room, reality changes instantly.

Even the smallest blemish becomes visible in bright light. A woman applying make-up understands this principle well. She does not prepare herself in darkness. She stands before a mirror in a well-lit room because light exposes every flaw, every imperfection, every detail needing attention. Light reveals the truth, whether we like what we see or not.

Jesus spoke directly into this spiritual reality when He declared:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
John 14:6

Has that penny dropped for you yet, or are you still groping around in the dark, trying to hide the blemishes?

Put a person into a room consumed by darkness and eventually they will learn to function in it. They will slowly work out where the furniture stands, how many steps to take, where the walls are positioned, and how to survive without smashing into everything around them. Human beings can adapt to darkness remarkably well, and spiritually the same thing happens every single day. People learn to survive in confusion, fear, addiction, pride, bitterness, emptiness, and sin. They learn how to “manage” life in darkness.

But surviving is not the same as living.

Why spend your life stumbling through darkness when Scripture is crystal clear that everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved? Put another way, Christ walks into the room and flips on the light switch.

Suddenly, things become clear.

There is no other truth. There is no other way. There is no other life capable of overcoming darkness. Every other path eventually leads back into confusion because only Jesus is the Light. When light shines into darkness, darkness does not overpower the light. The opposite happens every single time.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

Darkness has never overcome Christ, and it never will.

The real question is where do you want to live? In the light, or in the darkness where you simply continue surviving one difficult day at a time? So many people live trapped in an endless cycle of questions, fears, struggles, financial pressure, brokenness, and uncertainty, constantly searching for answers whilst refusing the very Light capable of revealing the truth.

I remember the day that light switch was flipped for me back in 1987. I had always believed in God because of my Catholic upbringing, and I always believed in the Lord Jesus on some level, but it was distant, more tradition than truth, more religion than relationship. Then one day, wrestling with the Bible in my hands, God had mercy on my soul and opened my eyes to His beloved Son, who became my beloved Saviour.

In that moment, the penny finally dropped.

The light came on.

There was no more doubt; I had understood that the Lord Jesus was and is “the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

The light switch had been flipped, and like a man stumbling out of darkness for the very first time, the cry from my soul was simple: I can see. Once the light has come on, no man can ever honestly claim he did not see the truth standing before him.

 

Signing off,

Tyrone

#JesusChrist #LightAndDarkness #John15 #TheWayTheTruthTheLife #BibleTruth #FaithInChrist #LightOfTheWorld

 

Satisfied...

The Only Hunger That Satisfies

I woke this morning with a question that would not leave me alone. Is there a formula to unlock God’s blessing in our lives? Immediately, my mind pushed back, because the idea of a formula feels dangerous. It suggests that if we follow certain steps or say the right things, we can somehow force God’s hand. That is not faith. That is control dressed up in spiritual language.

And yet the thought remained.

Because when we come to Scripture, we may not find a formula, but we do find something just as certain. There is a pattern, and it carries the weight of a guarantee.

My mind was drawn to Romans 10. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of God. That is where everything begins. Not with striving, not with effort, but with hearing. And not just hearing as sound but hearing that produces belief. Because hearing is not limited to what enters through the ears, it is also what is received through the eyes as we read the Word. Whether spoken or read, it is the Word of God that brings faith. Because before anything else, we must come to terms with this foundational truth: He is. This is where everything begins. Until this is settled, nothing else will align. And yet this is where many quietly drift. The language sounds spiritual, but the focus has shifted. The ‘universe’ replaces God. Creation is honoured, while the Creator is sidelined. And still, it is claimed that Christ remains the foundation. It cannot be both. When the foundation is misplaced, everything built upon it is unstable. There must be a settling in the heart, a reverence, a hallowing of His name.

He is not the universe. He is not an abstract force. He is not contained within His creation. He is God. And this God is not distant or undefined. Jesus Christ is God. God became a man, lived a perfect life, died, was buried, and rose again. This is not symbolic language. This is the foundation. This is the truth upon which everything stands.

This matters more than we realise, because the moment we begin to honour creation above the Creator, we lose alignment at the very foundation. What follows may still look spiritual, but it is no longer anchored in truth. That misplaced emphasis leads many down a path where they think they are pursuing God, but in reality, they are pursuing something else entirely.

So yes, there is a pattern. We hear, we believe, we confess. But believing the Word is not a once-off moment. It is a posture we live in. And this is where things become searching, because it is no longer about what we say we believe, but how we respond to what God has said.

By nature, we are drawn inward. Everything bends toward self. Even our prayers, if we are honest, are shaped by our own desires, what we want, what we think we need, what we believe will satisfy us. And when those desires go unanswered, we begin to question.

But Scripture does not leave us without clarity.

James says plainly that we ask and do not receive because we ask wrongly. That is not a small statement. It forces us to confront something we would rather avoid. It means we can pray, seek, and pursue, and still be completely misaligned. Not because God is withholding, but because we are asking for things that were never meant to satisfy us.

This is where everything begins to turn.

Because the issue is no longer simply about blessing, it is what we believe will satisfy us.

Jesus answers that directly in Matthew 5:6 in the ESV. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

That word matters deeply. Not filled for a moment, only to hunger again, not temporarily relieved, only to return to the same craving, but satisfied.

And that is where the divide becomes clear.

We pursue things that promise to fill us: provision, success, security, recognition, and control. For a moment, it feels like enough. There is a sense of arrival, however brief, but it never holds. The hunger returns, the desire grows, and the cycle repeats.

We are filled but never satisfied.

But Jesus points us to something entirely different, a different hunger, righteousness. Right standing with God, alignment with His will, a life shaped by His Word.

And here is the weight of His promise: if this is what we hunger for, we will be satisfied. Not gradually, not partially, not in a way that leaves us searching again, but satisfied.

Not because we have accumulated more, but because the craving itself has been addressed.

This reframes everything we think about blessing. It is no longer about trying to get God to do something for us; it is about whether we are aligned with what He has already declared as blessed. We are not unlocking something hidden; we are stepping into something already established.

And this is where response becomes critical.

Not reaction, which is often emotional and temporary, but a response rooted in belief, a response that does not negotiate with the Word, does not reshape it, and does not delay obedience. It aligns.

And we are not left to do this alone. The Spirit of God leads, guides, and brings truth into focus. This is not guesswork; it is a life directed by Him.

So, when we return to the question, the answer becomes clear.

There is no formula to control God. But there is a certainty that cannot be ignored. When our hunger shifts toward righteousness, when our lives align with His Word, and when our response is rooted in true belief, we will be satisfied.

So, the question remains.

What am I truly hungry for?

Because, according to the words of Jesus, only one hunger ends in satisfaction, and it is the hunger for righteousness.

If this spoke to you, the message doesn’t end here.

My book, *Destroy and Deliver*, goes deeper, cutting through deception and confronting what binds us.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08HZ822TS

Signing off

Tyrone