Hold On!

I realised that I often get caught up with my own agenda, as this blog is an appendage to my life. All that has happen is that the daily journal that I penned with my own hand, no longer happens. It now happens in the form of this blog. My most private thoughts and the war that goes on there often find its way to my daily blog. So when I sometime run away with myself, forgive me as I wrestle with my own struggles. I realise that I may even come across bigoted at times, this was never my intention, and it never will be! Therefore, sometime I like to hear from someone far better equipped than I will ever be to speak to all of us. He helps to steady the rudder, as today is a day my ship needs steadying. Cling and hold onto that which is precious!

“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us.”

- Isa_63:7

And canst thou not do this? Are there no mercies which thou hast experienced? What though thou art gloomy now, canst thou forget that blessed hour when Jesus met thee, and said, “Come unto me”? Canst thou not remember that rapturous moment when he snapped thy fetters, dashed thy chains to the earth, and said, “I came to break thy bonds and set thee free”? Or if the love of thine espousals be forgotten, there must surely be some precious milestone along the road of life not quite grown over with moss, on which thou canst read a happy memorial of his mercy towards thee? What, didst thou never have a sickness like that which thou art suffering now, and did he not restore thee? Wert thou never poor before, and did he not supply thy wants? Wast thou never in straits before, and did he not deliver thee? Arise, go to the river of thine experience, and pull up a few bulrushes, and plait them into an ark, wherein thine infant- faith may float safely on the stream. Forget not what thy God has done for thee; turn over the book of thy remembrance, and consider the days of old. Canst thou not remember the hill Mizar? Did the Lord never meet with thee at Hermon? Hast thou never climbed the Delectable Mountains? Hast thou never been helped in time of need? Nay, I know thou hast. Go back, then, a little way to the choice mercies of yesterday, and though all may be dark now, light up the lamps of the past, they shall glitter through the darkness, and thou shalt trust in the Lord till the day break and the shadows flee away. “Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses, for they have been ever of old.” C.H.Spurgeon

Signing off

Tyrone

Choose!

(Joshua 24:15) “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve,”

Amazingly we will serve something, even if I claim to be an atheist; I still serve all that supposedly represents “no god”. My life is driven by what I can see outside the realm of faith. Therefore I hanker after, let’s call them, ‘no gods’ that are seen. My house, my car, my banks balance etc. In fact I am in one of two camps, I am either in the camp of Jehovah or my father is the devil and I live with him.

(1John 3:8) “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

You might say that every Christians still sins, many are hypocrites, in fact Tyrone you have been a hypocrite in your life walking as a Christian. I will have to confess, your concern is so noted and it is true. However, I have repented of my sin and by the grace of God I no longer walk as I once did. Yes every Christian will still sin, but it will not be habitual sin, if that happens something is not in place, we must do some serious self examination and repent and seek forgiveness where necessary. Having said that we are also taught by John if we say we have no sin in our live then we are liars.

(1John 1:8) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”The difference between the believer and a non believer is that the Christian has confessed and believed on the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice, he serves Him as Lord of their lives and because of this; his sin is covered and has been dealt with on the cross of Calvary. There was only “One” who could have ever paid the price for sin, yes the Lord Jesus (God) became a man and lived life on earth for thirty-three years, yet without sin in His life, he never once broke the law of God and therefore He became the only eternal sacrifice that God the Father would accept. In times passed the priest had to offer up a sacrifice for his sins and then for the sins of the people. Eventually this practise was no longer require by God and it ended, the Lord Jesus had now come and paid the ultimate sacrifice, it was a once and for all time sacrifice, never to be repeated, the bible puts it like this; (Hebrews 7:27) “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”

So a Christian will sin but his sin is covered and forgiven because the Lord Jesus has paid the price for that sin, the penalty for all sin, past, present and future has been paid for by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. The non believer on the other hand is already condemned because He has not believed in the only begotten son of God and he will therefore be judged by God for his sin.

(John 3:18) “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

You all get the picture; I trust is clear and easy to understand.

If you serve another god with another understanding of who God is, Mohammad, Buddha, the religion of Islam or Christianity in a religious form that will never bring forth life, in other words you are a vaccinated christian that never received the spirit of God and you have not been born again, you speak of the same Jesus in your church but you have absolutely no idea who He really is, you have been vaccinated from a young age and you never really got the real intended Christian life changing truth that will set a person free. Then I do not speak to you as it would be pointless, this message is for those who can see, only if you are able to see what your Saviour has achieved on your behalf on Calvary, will the question what Joshua poses to God’s people have any bearing in your life.

We all serve some form of god; the text that Joshua poses to his people, is very simply this; “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, chooses this day whom you will serve,” I do however realise, this will mean nothing to you if you have not personally seen the miracles of God in your life. I am not making reference to some con artist that stands up in the name of Jesus and pays a man to sit in a wheelchair and then deludes the simple to believe that he has been healed. This did happen! A mockery of Christianity runs riot in some circles but God knows who are His, His sheep hear his voice and will run to Him when He calls. Do you hear His voice in this text; “choose this day whom you will serve,” As for me and my house we will serve the Lord! It will be impossible for those who have not witnessed God in action in their lives to choose Him!

Joshua posed this question to a people who witnessed God saving them out of slavery, He fed then from the heaven with manna and then quails, and He brought the walls of Jericho down with a shout. He gave them the land of Shechem, the same land He had promised to their father Abraham. Miracle after miracle they witnessed, it was only after such a dramatic build up to their lives and because of that buildup God now says to them and to us, all who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, He says, “choose this day whom you will serve.” His appeal is to believers; Joshua was by example very clear throughout his life, who he would serve, but he now makes an open confession before all and he says, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” The Lord will bring all those who claim to belong to Him to a crossroads; today your name may be called, “choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: whether it be your banks balances, maybe it is pride which God will resist, or whatever other form of idolatry that would want to keep you from a total commitment to the only true living God, Jehovah! “As for me and my house we will serve Jehovah.”

“Choose this day, now that the matter is laid thus plainly before you, speedily bring it to a head, and do not stand hesitating.” M.Henry

May God be merciful to all His children who resist His will, but may His will above all things take preference, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

A Planted Tree

(Psalms 1:3) “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers...”

If I consider God’s ingenious intellectual all knowing brain I sand in awe as I normally do when considering one of God’s attributes. To realise that He knows His children systematically, all those whom He has called from before the foundation of the world, God knows them by name and knew them as such before they where even born. What a phenomenal thought, almost impossible for our humanistic brains to process, but to God this would be a simple task, He is perfect and understands the beginning from the end. He knows all things past, present and into the future. If we think we can get to know Him here on earth, firstly it would be impossible outside of salvation, we must be born again, and if God has given us life by imparting His spirit unto us individually and personally then we will build a relationship with Him but only in part, as we now live in this world through the realm of faith, which is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We must constantly be reminded of the finished work of Calvary; our "First Love" must always be in the forefront of our minds as we learn to have a Godly fear for God, it will then play out with respectful reverence. However we must also remember the purpose of Christ’s obedience; He is the first fruit of many sons that will be brought to glory. He has bought us son-ship through His sacrifice and although we have not been confirmed as sons by God which will one day take place and in person; (Revelation 21:7) “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” We must believe it by faith and exercise this truth in our lives. God the Holy Spirit itself bears witness in our lives to this truth. We have the privileged to approach God respectfully and humbly, yet with confidence as we have entered into a Father-son relationship, we now are entitled to these Father-son privileges, it would be wise for us to get to know our heavenly Father and the only way to do this would be to study His attributes, get to know what He enjoys and what He detests etc, why?

In building a relationship one builds a bond of trust, we must learn to trust our God, regardless of what life may throw at us. Unless we have built a relationship with God our Father in the bonds of love and we haven’t yet learnt to trust Him more than we trust our earthly fathers we will always have doubt as a companion and who wants a friend like that, I certainly don’t! My objective, my goal, is to understand Jehovah more than ever before, I want to with John Piper echo these words and believe them with all my heart, not just say them because it sounds right; “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with Him.”

How will I achieve this? Firstly I must not walk in the counsel of the ungodly or on the wicked. I must avoid the company of scoffers. My delight will be to meditate of the law of God day and night, the law teachers us about the character of God, we can glean from God’s law and understand who He is and what is required from us to please our Father. He knows our character, he knows whether we avoid evil or swiftly run toward it. This part of my character is examined first, because those that will keep the commandments of their God must say to evil-doers, depart from us! When I run in the opposite direction to whatever is evil even when it appears harmless on the surface, this is where wisdom begins. I know this to be true because of what Paul teachers us on the fruit of repentance; A tree will yield particular fruit, a pear tree pears, an apple tree apples and a tree of repentance the fruit of repentance, which we see in this verse; (2Corinthians 7:11) “For behold, this selfsame thing, that ye were made sorry after a godly sort, what earnest care it wrought in you, yea what clearing of yourselves, yea what indignation, yea what fear, yea what longing, yea what zeal, yea what avenging! In everything ye approved yourselves to be pure in the matter.”

In other words what carefulness surrounds my life? I must make it evident that my sorrow in repenting is a godly sorrow, it must work in me great carefulness about my soul, and to avoid sin, and please God; it will shaped also a clearing of myself, not by insisting upon my own justification before God, especially while I persist in my habitual sin.

I must learn to surround my life from the morning well into the night with the law of God, God’s Word must be an appendage to my life as if my life depended upon it, and it does!

If I begin to live like this and apply myself through the spirit and not by the flesh, I am assured by my heavenly Father, that I will be like a tree planted by a river of water and I will in its season bring forth fruit, that God would be well pleased with, in fact He himself is the Gardener and will prune that tree to yield fruit up to its potential quota.

Everything rests with the will our God’s sovereignty, from beginning to end, whatever He has willed and set in motion will come to pass, that is a fact! However, we must assume responsibility for our actions and cry out to our Saviour and remember that there is a room full of grace that we can draw from as believers. The unrepentant do not have access to this room, but to all who fall on their knees and confess unto God and repent of their sin have access to this room and its supply. This is such a wonderful room, I have had the privileged to draw on its supply and I can confess that it yields beneficial pleasantries that have been sweet to my life and helped my relationship with God our Father, in and through His beloved Son, my Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we can heed the counsel of what David teaches us in this Psalm, it will be to our benefit and regardless of how barren our tree has been it will in due season bring forth fruit.

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers...”

Let us not look for counsel from the ungodly, let us remember to avoid the wicked or to sit in the seat of the scoffer. Let us feast on the word of God with an unquenchable hunger. And regardless of what trial may come let us remember our God and what He has already accomplished on our behalf, salvation in and through our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise His name, now and forever more, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Husbandman

(John 15:1) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.”

It is now the summer season and with it comes many pleasantries; the sun and its warmth have many advantages, picnicking in the open vast spaces within Gods creation or braaing (barbecue) around the pool, lots of fun to be had in the sun. We have moved from spring into summer, the fruit trees yield their fruit and we enjoy their taste and nourishment. In fact we have a pomegranate tree in our garden and as far as I can remember it has produced inedible fruit, but just maybe this year its yield will be edible. The likelihood is negative, but as I look at the already formed fruit although still green, I have notice that this year the worms have not infected the fruit, not as yet anyway. Time will tell whether I will find enjoyment from this tree and its fruit. Like I said, up until now there has been no benefit from its fruit, unless you are a worm, in fact the fruit drops from the trees and dirties the surrounding area for someone to pick up and discard in the rubbish bin. On purchasing some fruit last week I noticed that pomegranates were easily the most expensive of all fruit at the fruit market. There is a shortfall in supply and therefore their price out of reach for most consumers. One could buy a bag of most fruits for the same price as one pomegranate. A lot of churches and those individuals who claim Christianity as a lifestyle often are as rare a find as pomegranates. I know I have been amongst the number of the guilty as charged. But my point is that while we breathe and live we have the opportunity to call out to Jesus and be pruned by our Heavenly Father, so that edible fruit will eventually be evident, do you believe this? Well, if you have the Spirit of God living inside you and if God has chosen you from before the beginning of time, find assurance in this, that we will eventually produce fruit to our lives. When we look to a vine we look for grapes and when we look to Christians we look for Christianity; fruits of the spirit will be evident to their lives, if not then we may eventually be chastised with death, yet fruit will be evident, as all God’s children will make it to heaven. Yes, we may well suffer lose, but nevertheless we will be carried into the presence of God because our marvellous Saviour has overcome hell, death and the grave on our behalf, all Hail King Jesus! But that is not our heart in the matter we must all look for obedience in our lives to bring honour to our God. He will teach us to obey, so the sooner we learn to yield the painless it will be.

In reflection of my own life I now sit and wonder about the same truth to my life, for as long as I can remember I have made a mess in and around my life and others have had to clean up. I have a lot of remorse over so many bad decisions in my life; I have not been a tree that year after year has produced palatable fruit, enabling believers to feed from its fruit, in fact at times that tree was regarded dead by many; In truth there was a time when I almost believed the same, maybe you find yourself understanding your life to be similar to mine. You are rather despondent, your hands hang low and your knees shake feebly, and then I implore you to cry out to Jesus, for He cares for you!

I thank God my Father for sending His beloved Son into my life, Jesus is the true vine, we are the branches, and they must in its season bear fruit. Correctly, this does not only refer to a season alone but many seasons, year after year punning happens and then fruit comes forth. The Father is the Gardener and if the tree is never pruned, the tree will never reap its potential. It is only through pruning and obviously the root (Jesus) that supplies the vine nourishment and when they work together in synergy the believers fruit will be most enjoyable and rewarding to all those who eat from it.

It is up to the Gardener to determine where and when to prune; how thankful I am that the Gardener in our lives (believers) is none other the God the Father. There could never be a better husbandman and for this I am forever grateful. I say to all, be of good courage, although you as a branch bears little fruit and the branch has been cut back leaving you exposed to the harshness of the sun, the heat may almost be unbearable, but hear me very clearly, if God be your Husbandman, in due season that tree and that branch will yield it fruit.

We are safe in the hands of our God; if we have been born again by His spirit and confess the Lord Jesus as Lord with the Father clipping back our lives as we walk through life with all its challenging temptations which I have on many occasion failed in my attempt to walk circumspectly before a Holy God, what are we to do?

Fear not for faith will see us through, we must remember that we are justified not by what we do, but rather justified before God because of what Christ has done. Our lives will and must be cut down as far as our branches initial node if need be, but because of the finished work of Calvary we will in season bring forth fruit palatable to others. We must never forget who the Gardner is, He understands a lot more than we will ever understand, and if we are His children will he not look out for us, most certainly! We must rest in our God, come what may we must always remember this truth; (Romans 8:28) “And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose.”

He has a purpose and when we rest in our God’s purpose and His will, be sure that in due seasons all His trees will yield it's produce. I understand all the self willed sinful actions to my life has been useful for firewood only, but it is not over yet while we still breathe there is hope. May our hope rest solely and securely on Jesus Christ our Saviour in this life and for the life to come, to Him be honour and glory, we exalt the name of our King and we are thankfully grateful to God our Heavenly Father for the necessary pruning He does to our lives, even if we do not understand it at the time.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be found by us all?

Signing off

Tyrone

Vanity

(Ecclesiastes 12:8) “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.”

The character of man’s heart is full of vanity. He may not realise it or even understand the extent of it, but when we dissect the heart, its drive and it thoughts, then it is clear to understand why all is vanity. Solomon has amazing insight on the subject and it would be good to heed what he has to say. From as far back as I can remember, whether it was making sure I got the last sweet or the best seat in the car as a young boy, it was always about me. If I am honest with myself, has that change much? I can’t say with any certainty that it has, sure I may be looking at times to bless others, but as a rule it is always about me and my needs. I get up and wash, I eat breakfast, I have coffee, I make money so that I can buy food and goodies, and I save money so that I can have my next holiday. I, I and I! Obviously a lot of the things I do are extremely important and commands from God that I need be carried out, I must work or else I do not deserve to eat, etc. However I always err on the side of vanity and this is where I go wrong, it is my perception of life that is off balance and this is what needs adjusting. How different I am to my great Saviour. When I consider Him, I stand in awe when I see how he came to serve; God himself came to lay down His life for mankind. It is almost incomprehensible if I look at my wants against His selfless acts. I am so exposed when I look at His example, I want to crawl into a corner and slit my wrists, not really, but the expression rings true!

Why do I spend so much time with such senseless stuff? I know that it does not bring glory to my heavenly Father when I behave like this. “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.” What does Solomon mean when he makes such a statement?

Through the whole book of Ecclesiastes he unpacks many examples pertaining to life and his achievements. He constantly explores every avenue with this in mind to understand life and our purpose here on earth in relation to God as the Creator with us as His creation. He constantly reminds us that there is very little benefit between those who have abundance and those who are forced to go without. Men gather wealth through much toil so that they can leave it to someone else. Have we ever seen a hearse towing a safe, it has never happened and it never will! Solomon had more wealth than any before him and yet he makes the statement, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity.”

Solomon labour's this point time and time again throughout this book, he sets out to make sure that the readers get his point; to seek for that satisfaction in God only and in their duty to Him which they can never find in the creature. He repeats his text, making sure that good understanding has come through to the reader on the penned wording. But he has built a strong case through many examples to prove his point. Yet he uses examples that are easy for us to articulate, they are very close to home and if we are honest with ourselves and with the text there is no place for us to hide, our hearts are exposed. Having exposed our hearts he now wants to leave us with instructions on how we should live. But firstly let’s see what we shouldn’t do! We should not run after vanity as all is vanity; all things in the world are vain; all creatures are subject to vanity; man in every state whether rich or poor, sick or healthy is altogether vanity: and Solomon affirms this with great confidence, after he had shown that not only childhood and youth are vanity, but even old age; the infirmities, sorrows, and distresses of which he had just exposed, he deals with all issue in death, the last end of man, when his body returns to the earth, and his soul to God the giver of it. We all sleep eat and then die, the evil as well as the righteous and both end up dead (in the flesh).

He concludes that all things under the sun are not only vain, but vanity itself, extremely vain, vain in the superlative degree; I am not sure I believe all Solomon teaches, that does not nullify God’s word but it exposes me, for if I did consider it my life would look very different. But of this truth I am absolutely persuaded, when God declares a truth to us from scripture, firstly it will come to pass and secondly if we align ourselves with His teaching we will end up as benefactors, this is a fact! So I should on a daily basis look to lay down my life for my brethren, but I don’t, I would go without so that others would not, It saddens me when I consider my lifestyle and the lap of luxury I feed off. I hope my perception of this begins to have a drastic change to my life. Scripture is there to rebuke us when needed, not that we should fall into a great depression but rather be provoked to good works. May this lesson of Solomon teach us to view all of life as vanity and help us understand the reality of it; with food and raiment we must be content; (Matthew 6:19-21) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Solomon eventually wraps the chapter up with these words, in his summation of life and all our responsibility to it he thus concludes; (Ecclesiastes 12:13) “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandment, for this is the whole duty of man.”

This is the lesson Solomon teaches and the Lord confirms it and highlights the point by mentioning Solomon in the above portion of scripture in the book of Matthew.

May I have ears to hear and eyes to see what God is saying to me and then may you also find the mind of Christ in this matter.

May God have mercy on our souls and quicken our understanding in this area of our life, O how we need it!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Feet of Jesus!

(James 4:10) “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

When I consider life and the beauty of creation I am swept away with memories of some of the exquisite places I have seen in my travels. Islands surrounded by the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the beauty of Cape Town with Table Mountain the backdrop to her splendour, the aridness of the Skeleton Coast and it's salt roads or the ruggedness of the Timbavati with its distinctive terrain and wild animals roaming free with the most amazing sunrise and sunset often on display. The list goes on and on, God is truly magnificent with creation through all the beauty we have the privilege to witness. It often motivates us to look for our next adventure and we put money aside so we can find a dream holiday in order to be one with nature. I even bought a 4x4 to help me with theses dreams. What and where would your dream holiday be? How much would it cost and could the poor afford the same luxury? Think of the families in their tin huts with barely enough food to get them through the week, they may dream of a getaway but without any real hope of ever accomplishing their desires.

But God who is rich in mercy has afforded all his children equal opportunity; both the rich and the poor, how so you may ask? As I was looking through some of God’s Word last night a wonderful realisation of the goodness of God refreshed my soul as I considered creation and all it beauty, my thoughts were then drawn from creation to the Lord Jesus and I began to contemplate some of His glorious attributes and finally a beautiful thought dawned on me and gripped my heart. I am thankful to God the Holy Spirit for moments like these; we should all search them out and cry to Him for continuous revelation about our Saviour.

I can honestly say without fear of any contradiction concludes that my dream holiday would not be a geographical location, what is now more appealing is who would be with me. I no longer have to wait for school holidays or a holiday season to accomplish my vision. Others have understood this lesson, but if we really understood the importance of these messages by the examples of other, through what they have taught us, we would live here. We wouldn’t have to spend so much time hankering after our next beautiful holiday.

So who then are the teachers that speak? The demon possessed man who was now in his right frame of mind, Jairus with his dying daughter, Mary the sister of Martha through the death of her brother Lazarus, Mary and her pound of ointment of pure nard, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary after Jesus had risen and finally what the angel instructed John not to do in the Book of revelation chapter 19:10.

They all understood the importance of the beauty of the feet of Jesus, there is nothing in all of creation that compares with the feet of Jesus. They understood this, they had not only seen Jesus and been with Him but they had the privilege of sitting at His feet and in each account they were all extremely blessed.

The demon possessed man had a legion of demons cast out of him; he no longer had to live in chains. Mary received her brother to life again, she was so thankful that her prize possession that she almost certainly use on her own body, the pound of ointment of nard, very costly, but the death and resurrection of her brother had caused her to give up her most prize possession, and with this she anointed the feet of Jesus, and, as a further token of her reverence for Him at her own expense, she wiped them with her hair, and everyone present were the benefactors as this sweet pleasant aroma filled the house. When we sit at the feet of Jesus others will also find blessing from our encounter. When Mary Magdalene and the same Mary encounter Jesus on their way back to tell the disciples that He was alive and that He no longer lay in the tomb where they had buried Him, His resurrection furnishes them with abundant matter for joy. How they now even more than ever before appreciate the feet of Jesus. How beautiful were the feet of the Lord Jesus to them, it must have taken an age for them to eventually let go, but when they did they found a spring in their step as the urgency must have pressed them hard to reach the disciples and bring them these good tidings. Jesus had risen from the dead, he was alive! We must not however bow down to men or even angels or any other form of idolatry. When the Apostle John was caught up into heaven and he saw the brilliance of an angel he fell to his knees at the feet of the angel, but was quickly instructed by him not to do it as an angel is messenger of God and a fellow servant with us. He directs him to the true and only object of religious worship; namely, God: “Worship God, and him alone.” It is only the Lord Jesus who has earned the right to demand our obedience in this area of our lives. Even creation has its traps, when we find ourselves admiring creation to the exclusion of our creator we enter the realm of idolatry.

May their examples spark within all of us an urgency at every opportune time to sit at the feet of Jesus, whatever your circumstance, wherever you may find yourself along this sometimes difficult journey along the celestial road toward the pearly gates of heaven, might we always remember the blessings to be found at the feet of Jesus. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

God the Holy Spirit may you write these truths deep within our hearts, may we resolve from this day forth to live at the feet of Jesus. Father we thank you for every blessing you bestow upon us as your children and all praise and honour belongs to Jesus Christ our saviour for laying down His life so selflessly accomplishing your will in every area of His life so that we may go free. All this we ask and pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and for your glory, Amen

Signing off

Tyrone

The will of the Father

(John 6:38) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”

How often have we misplaced or even lost something needful, this seems to be happening to me a lot more of late; my short term memory seems to be even shorter. This I confess does tend to frustrate me, but when I see it as a help and not a burden although it can become burdensome, it forces me to consider the Lord Jesus’ example. Instead of always complaining about something why not look to use your weakness as a tool in bringing you closer to Christ, how you may wonder? I now am forced to pray that God would help my memory; it was not always like that. It is a hindrance to daily living, it does slow me down, I appear far clumsier than ever before, but never has my fellowship been as sweet with Jehovah God in this area of my life. So often we can lose the company of Christ as our companion, we no longer commune with Him continuously throughout the daily, life, through sin or circumstance robs us from sweet fellowship that Christ has won on our behalf. I mean if we neglect so great an opportunity it is at our own peril. We seem to complain and always moan about this or that, stop! Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved, yes even saved from your circumstance, this does not only apply to our final destination, heaven! If we call out to Him along the way He will come to our aid. He must for he cares for us as weak and as silly as we get at times our Lord is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, He cares for all those whom His Father has given Him and He will not lose one of them, we will all make it to heaven one day. This is true, I lie not; (John 6:38-39) “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”

The Lord Jesus assures us, in general that He came from Heaven upon His Father’s business, “not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” He voluntarily came from heaven and descended leaving behind all the glory that was His in heaven, a long journey and step onto earth, a world filled with calamity, we may well ask what moved Him to do this. Why would one take on such an expedition? The text teaches us that He came not to do His own will, but the will of His Father; Not that our Saviour could ever oppose His Father’s will as some from that day suspected. He however without any uncertainty has left us this reality today reassuring us of the hope we have in Him. Christ did not come into this world as a private person, that acts for himself only, but as a public character, to act as an ambassador authorized by a public commission; He came into the world as God’s great agent and the world’s great physician. It was not with His own agenda in mind that He came to earth but rather to settle affairs at His Father’s request.

While Christ was on earth, He did not carry any private design, nor had any separate interest at all. The scope of His whole life was to glorify God and do well to men. He never consulted His own ease, even when heavy trial came against Him. Here is a great example of our Saviour' resolve and determination to please His father;

(Luke 22:41-42) “And he was parted from them (some of his disciples) about a stone's cast; and he kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Even thou this experience placed His body under such trauma, in fact He began to sweat drops of blood, He nevertheless never went after His own will as a man, but regardless of the discomfort He now faced, His objective was to do His Father’s will.

When He was to lay down his life, although He had a human nature, He set aside the consideration of that, and resolved His will as man into the will of God: “Not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

We see God giving Him a private instruction that He should save the entire chosen remnant, in other words all those whom God the Father had elected (chosen) from before the foundation of the earth would be given into the hands of the Lord Jesus; this was and is the covenant of redemption between Father and Son. “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” This is the charge the Father entrusted His son with, “that all He had given me I should lose none.”

This is so reassuring that it should breed such zeal and vigour into our lives, the hope of never being lost, not because we might like the sound of it as a comforting thought, and that it is, but because we are in the hands of a victorious Saviour, he cannot and will not lose any that the Father has given Him. It is impossible! The text is clear and precise on this truth.

Having said that, if you are not finding the joy of the Lord in your life, tell me where you lost the company of Christ? The most likely place you lost Him you will find Him.

“Tell me where you lost the company of a Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there you must seek and find him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Christ in no other way but by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Christ in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, “Look for a thing where you dropped it, it is there.” So look for Christ where you lost him, for he has not gone away. But it is hard work to go back for Christ. Bunyan tells us, the pilgrim found the piece of the road back to the Arbour of Ease, where he lost his roll (scroll), the hardest he had ever travelled. Twenty miles onward is easier than to go one mile back for the lost evidence.” C.H.Spurgeon

Let us take care then once we have found our master to cling to Him. I say if you are in His embrace then squeeze even tighter, always remembering that all of God’s children are unconstrained to come to the throne of grace with boldness in time of need. I realise that life and all its challenges sometimes take preference in our lives but when we put the Lord first how life and the peace it brings begins to surpass all understanding, come what may! Please be merciful Father, and help all of us who struggle as pilgrims to understand the value of this lesson, I love you My God, all honour, power and glory belongs to you and no other.

Signing off

Tyrone

Christ our Conquerer!

(Matthew 4:10) “Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "‘you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

Before considering this text, I ponder the importance of self examination! It is one of the most natural things to point a finger at someone else’s imperfection but never that easy or comfortable to highlight our own limitations. Only once God the Holy Spirit, through His mercy begins to expose our blemishes are we forced to look to God’s word with an honest humility and then we find life in those areas we were once dead. It is one thing to highlight another’s faults, and I do not refer to a man's weakness in a particular area of his life, his struggle against sin as he scrupulously struggles to overcome, I dare not even utter a word on that subject as I recall failing with disobedience not only part of my life but the ruler of it. I can however say God is faithful and is slowly beginning to bring an understanding of the importance of obedience to my life, His name be praised!

What am I to do when I am convinced and persuaded on the wording of scripture and I find I have those that oppose my understanding? The temptation to put on gloves and enter the ring with vigour looking for that knockout punch is not going to cut it; it is only the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance. Why now do I think if I become more aggressive that my opponent will hear what I have to say, on the contrary the opposite will be true, he will disregard what I have to say before I have even said anything? Why is it that as brothers in Christ we so often engage in warfare with one another in malice and aggression aiding the devil in his conquest to bring fractions amongst believers? Having said that I am not for one minute suggesting that we do not stand upon the truth of God’s Word, but if we stand upon His Word then let us also take the full council of God and receive all the instruction that His word has to offer. The apostle James has been helpful to me on this subject; (James 3:13-16) “Who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not and lie not against the truth. This wisdom is not a wisdom that cometh down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion and every vile deed.”

May my great God and heavenly Father equip me to be more like my great Saviour from day to day and might God the Holy Spirit continue to correct all who oppose His wisdom for the sake of our great Saviour even Jesus Christ our Lord.

What a remarkable example and legacy has our Great Saviour left us to admire and follow, it appears an impossible task at first glance but when we remember that He has overcome and defeated the evil one in every area of His life, I find a spark of hope that will be ignited for all who call upon Him. All glory and honour belongs to Him; long live our King, the King of kings.

Wherever we find Satan making inroads into our lives we need to echo the words of our Redeemer, “Be gone Satan! For it is written” ‘you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'" We must serve Him through fear; not a fear that has a slavish connotation to it as one that is in bondage and always finding the Christian walk a grind with a fear of hell and damnation; but with a liberty in Christ' victory, sure we must remain His bond servant as He has bought us with His precious blood, we no longer belong to ourselves but to Him to do with us what He wills. But we must remember His encouragement to us; (Matthew 11:29) “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Our fear must be a filial (a son father relationship) fear, a reverential affection understanding that God has saved us and brought us out of bondage. We once were blind but now we see! We once were the enemies of God but now we will be saved by our Saviours life! Therefore we should fear the Lord and His goodness and from such a fear serve Him in every part of our worship.

We must earnestly pray that God will give us eyes to see the cunningness of the devils exploits, rebuking him in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, but also remembering that outside of the Lords covering he would squash us like a bug.

The Lord Jesus was lead away to be tempted of the devil but we on the other hand are tempted when we are drawn away by our own lusts; (James 1:14) “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” The devil takes hold of that handle and uses our own desire against us, but the Lord Jesus had no corrupt nature so when He faced Satan there was no fear or trembling in His heart and like a champion He dominated and the devil fled from Him. May we learn to trust in Him and call upon his name when we face the trials of life always remembering that there is a throne of grace we (Christians) are entitled to draw from in time of need.

Signing off

Tyrone

The Lord is my Helper

(Hebrews 13:6) “So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

Our minds, by nature do not love spiritual things. We will attend to any outward do, or any external sacrament: but to bring hearts into subject to our Fathers divine will, to bow the knee to the Most High, to serve the Lord will our mind, heart and soul, the natural man abhors. Yet nothing less will suffice in turning us from our captivity.

When considering what it means to be reliant upon the Lord as our helper. I speak to believers, if by nature I am in opposition to the will of God, there must be some instruction I can take to heart and apply to my life so that I may begin to walk victoriously as a Christian. I need reassurance that God is my helper and therefore I will fear no man, or the opinions of men when they endeavour to overpower the word of God through deceit or vain babblings. I need a reassurance through faith, which is a gift of God to equip me to want to fight the good fight of faith and wade side by side with fellow believers in Christ through the “slough of despond.” It is imperative that we achieve this objective; “So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" It must become a way of life for every true believer and not an afterthought when life and its cares have overthrown me.

Whilst looking to scripture and reading literature from our brothers in the faith who have already run the race and have finished well. I have drawn some helps that I think will aid us with confidence to say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" The writer of Hebrews helps us hang on to the promises of God, and here we have another beautifully rich reassuring verse for us to chew upon with vigour and then once digested it encourages us to believe another promise of God. We must confess our helplessness without God, and honestly mean the confession. The first thing that is required of us is to lament the fact that, by and of ourselves, we can do nothing; even as our Lord said to his disciples, “without me ye can do nothing." The sooner we identify this truth, the better. Our half-doing is our undoing; but when we cease from self, then we make way for God.

“God resists the proud but He gives grace to the humble,” I am aware of the fact that I often make reference to this verse, I realise that pride is always at the door looking to break through and occupy my house. Not that I could ever have much to boast about even if I wanted to; my life has been a very poor example and not one to be mimicked. However because our hearts are desperately wicked by nature, I must have guards that constantly watch every entrance; they all go by the same name and wear the same uniforms with an inscription clear for all to see upon their chest, which reads, “Jesus only!” They constantly remind me; (Ephesians 2:8-9) “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The Lord is our helper when none else can; He has promised to be the helper of His people; He has laid help for them on Christ, who is mighty; and He has helped by dying on a cruel Roman cross in their stead, that He might help them; He has set up a throne of grace for them to come to, where they may find help; Not a throne of grace that the believer may sheepishly approach and hope that he will find grace in time of need. It is a throne that the Father has sanctioned and said, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Individually, let us come boldly so that by experience it may confirm the truth of this assertion; “we must realise the people of God are of themselves helpless; there is no help for them in man; their help is only in the Lord; who helps them out of the pit of sin and misery; out of the hands of all their enemies; out of all their afflictions, and "out" of all the dangers they are exposed unto by Satan and his temptations, by reason of a body of sin and death, and no account of the world, and the men of it: He helps them "in" the exercise of grace, and in the discharge of duty;”

Let us always consider this promise, “So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

Signing off

Tyrone

The Gift of Faith!

(Ephesians 2:8) “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

Faith is such a wonderful gift, it removes all doubt! It is a loyalty that one has to God and His ability to accomplish all that He has set out to achieve, His will, come what may! “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Where the interpretation of the gift of faith becomes unstable is where it is not understood correctly! Or it is misapplied into a circumstance of desperation and then the person misapplying it is in danger of entering into the realm of idolatry. One becomes so desperate to achieve ones objective that those entering into such practises would look no different to the prophets of Baal in the days of Elijah. This is why it is so important to understand the will of God! When we align ourselves with His will and His purposes, nothing can overcome us, it is impossible! For God has determined it and it will come to pass! I am beginning to understand the importance of correct teaching more than ever as it will bring about correct living. This is why I use the example of faith to illustrate my point. I accept that I have a rebellious nature and it may have taken me twenty-two years to begin to scratch the surface of this truth.

How then do I submit an application to God and be sure that I will not only be heard but my prayer will be answered? It is simple, I must side myself with His will! Firstly I must be given life from above, I must be born again, if not, I will not be able to even see heaven, let alone the will of God. Salvation is not by the will of man but by the will of God, scripture teaches this with an absolute assurance and it is only a rebellious fortitude that looks to argue this truth! I must confess, I once thought like this until God in His mercy through God the Holy Spirit corrected my understanding by His word.

(2Timothy 3:16) “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Wherever I may find myself along the Celestial road to heaven, irrespective of how long I have been saved, when the person of God the Holy Spirit by the Word corrects me I must find grace to accept the error of my ways. If not I will continue to walk in circles! Remember the children of Israel; they took forty years to get to the Promised Land when it could have only taken weeks. We are no different to them when we reason with their attitude!

May God have mercy on all His children who oppose His correct teaching in and through His Word! Having made such a bold statement we must also remember to apply the following instruction to our deliberation;

(2Timothy 2:24-25) “And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing, in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth.” Once again it is God who gives repentance unto the knowledge of the truth. It begins with Him and it ends with Him, but I am convinced of this truth that God will resist the proud but give grace to the humble. Father pleases keep me in a state of humility always seeking out your precision for your glory.

Let us look at Abraham’s example and then draw some parallels from his life into ours. He did not weaken in faith when old age was against him;

(Romans 4:19-20) “He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God.” He believed God, why did He believe Him? He simply understood the promise of God! God said that he would have a son and although he was and his wife according to their biological clock could no longer have children that meant nothing to Abraham, he knew that God had resolved it and that it would come to pass. There were no ifs! He was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. Joshua and Caleb also understood the gift of faith and understood the validity of the promises of God. Moses sent out twelve spies into the land of Canaan, I will remind you that there was one person from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. But only two of them brought back a good report, saying that God would give them the land, the other ten doubted God’s ability to give it to them. We will find ourselves in one of two camps, the camp of faith or the camp of doubt! When we understand that Caleb and Joshua had a different spirit, they believed God and the others doubted God. Faith must and will always believe God, so as long as God has commissioned something it will come to pass. Do you believe this? If you say you do, then you must always believe His promises. So when Jehovah says, (Hebrews 13:5) “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." That is exactly what He means, you must then believe Him; if not then you walk as the ten that doubted and not like Joshua and Caleb. Faith believes God’s ability to accomplish His purposes, so when I pray for something that is against His plan how then will it ever be blessed by Him, it cannot nor ever will be! So let us forget to hanker after our own wills and let us therefore remember to study Gods Word with a diligence so that we may be accurate with it, so that we may learn to pray in accordance to His will.

When God promises something even if our puny brains have difficulty processing it, be sure it will come to pass!

Signing off

Tyrone

The Promises of God

God has many brilliant and breath-taking attributes, when I take a step back and look as it were from a distance, as a spectator would observe an actor acting out his role. I am so overwhelmed by such a profusion of luminosity that I get lost in translation. It is almost impossible to dismember God’s immeasurable characteristics and look at them independently. He is a light that is unapproachable to man, but how I am learning, through the spirit to discover who God is, even if only in tiny glimpses!

In considering God promises, they were never meant to be thrown away as waste paper; they must be use by the believer, God is glorified when we trade with them, they are not like money of the miser but God’s gold is minted to be traded with! We must embrace them as nothing please the Lord more than to see His pledges put into circulation. When we are told that He will never leave nor forsake us we must believe that with all our hearts and remind one another of this truth. Encouragement is a responsibility that we all have given by God, our God is no hireling but the great shepherd and He who has begun a good work will see it through unto the end. Our faith must be in Him and it is not with ourselves and our resolve to somehow conjure up some manmade faith equipping us to find strength to justify our acceptance in Him. No, we must rely on Him and the finish work of Calvary, and on that alone! Nothing else will get us home! Having said that we must we must also understand that not all will be crowned but only those who run the race according to the rules. (2Timothy 2:4) “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” How often I get caught up with the filth of life and all its snares, it ort not to be so! We must put off the old and put on the new, yes I often fail in my endeavours, but with God’s help this will change! My focus must shift from my inabilities to God’s promises. When God told Moses He would deliver His people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and give them their own land, the Promised Land, was that conditional or a promise? You may say it was a promise and we understand that God cannot lie, but it was yet conditional as they all did not enter into the Promised Land. Well said! (Hebrews 3:19) “So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”

They doubted God’s ability to get them to the Promised Land! They did not believe His promise! They moaned and rebelled being unthankful, for the provision that God had already given them. I believe this is what Paul was teaching us in the book of Romans when he makes reference to walking in the spirit. We must believe God and His promises, come what may! When I reason with an attitude that I may not make it, when He has promised to get me home, that is when I walk in unbelief. It is reliant upon His ability and His promise, not on my own man centred aptitude and will! This is why Paul endure hardship; (2Timothy 2:10) “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” We are therefore instructed to mimic Paul as much as he imitates Christ! We glorify God when we plead His promises, do you think He will be any less poorer for giving us the guarantee He has promised?

“He has said “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Faith lays hold upon the promise of pardon, and it does not delay, saying, “This is a precious promise, I wonder if it be true?” but it goes straight to the throne with it, and pleads, “Lord, here is the promise, ‘Do as thou hast said.’” Our Lord replies, “Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonours him; but when he hastens to the throne of grace, and cries, “Lord, I have nothing to recommend me but this, ‘Thou hast said it;’“then his desire shall be granted.” C.H.Spurgeon

Let us hold on to every word that comes forth from the mouth of God, let us run this race believing our God with total assurance, let us put off what hinders and lets us Glorify our Father as He is willing and able to get us home!

Signing off

Tyrone

Mighty to Save!

(Isaiah 63:1) "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."

This morning I will leave the Arminian/Calvin debate alone, I have said enough on the topic, you have all made up your own minds by now on where you stand on this debate!

What I will look at is our great Jehovah’s ability to save! “He is mighty to save.” I have presented my case on election and yet many still do not agree with me. But when God chooses to save who can resist his will? Not only is He is mighty to save, He is able to make men repent. Saul on the road to Damascus was obstinate in his will to defy God by persecuting the early church. Yet God forced His hand and struck him with blindness and got Saul to cry out, “who are you Lord?” Jesus then informed him that he was persecuting Jehovah’s Son, the Lord Jesus. Saul was then stricken with blindness for three day where he neither ate nor drank. But soon after that encounter he no longer persecuted the church but became one of their leaders. “He is mighty to save!”

Samson toyed with His call that God placed upon His life, he ended up like an ox to the slaughter, his weakness woman, and it cost him his eyes! Everybody had written him off until his hair began to grow again. Samson killed more people with his death than he did with his life. Remember that he killed 1000 philistines with the jawbone of a donkey. “He is mighty to save!”

God is mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of his name to bend the knee before him. A man who once blasphemed and had a foul mouth who was a king pin in the slave trade then goes on to write the hymn we still sing today; John Newton’s Amazing Grace! “He is mighty to save!”

Christ does not through might save someone and then leaves him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until we will be perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement. Art thou praying for a loved one? Do not lose hope, as it is still day and we can still pray for God to have mercy on our siblings that have not yet bent the knee in repentance, pray I say, for the prayer of a righteous man avails much! “He is mighty to save!” You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but “He is mighty to save.” Lay hold on that mighty arm, lean upon His arm and whisper in His ear, “He is mighty to save.” Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for his strength is sufficient for you. Remember the heart of your Father, is it not full of grace and mercy, yes it is! How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

So whether the Lord will begin with others, or decide to carry on the working in you, Jesus is “mighty to save;” the best proof of His ability to save is the fact that he has saved you.

(Isaiah 63:1) "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save."

Signing off

Tyrone