Walk in the Spirit!

(Galatians 5:16) “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

If we do not walk as strangers to this world then we qualify for what I need to now say, firstly I speak to myself and then to those who note what is now said.

Don’t do the same thing over and over and expect a different result; this is a principle even life itself teaches us. The mathematicians, scientists and astronomers are the first among the scholars to echo these sentiments. But on the other hand if we practise the same thing over and over as an athlete, it then helps hone our skills in a particular sport and we get better at it. The same principle can be applied to bad behaviour in our lives, in order to break them, we must interrupt their pattern, and we must do things differently! Our routine must change in order to break any ties to those bad routines and the good practices that produce fruit to our lives we must nurture with all our hearts. There are many opinions on how we should go about achieving this, the world and even our friends are full of idea’s, even my own mind concurs up information, but how do I know if what I am feeding will last? In other words will it stand the test of time in my life? Bear with me for just a minute and reason with me, the example I will use is a ridiculous analogy but it will help get my point across.

Say it was summer and we wanted a suntan, how would we go about getting one? Depending on the free time readily available to us, time would govern how we would go about achieving our goal, a bronzed body! But as this is now our objective we would rearrange our day to allow for this to happen. It would be ridiculous to say to ourselves, I am free form 8-9 at night so what I will do is lie next to the pool then and hopefully achieve my objective. I will use the moon to help me get a suntan. Impossible, right! The only way I will change the colour of my complexion is to be exposed to the rays of the sun. I need to lie in the sun or lie on a sun bed, I could always go for a fake can tan, it is an option, but easily picked out by a trained eye. It is also easy to spot out a wolf in sheep’s clothing to a trained eye.

If my objective is eternity, then I need to go to the source that can provide me with correct information regarding eternity. What use will it be to me if I ask a man who will die the truth on eternity, do you think it will be any different to trying to get a sun tan from the moon. It is a waste of time! I must go to the source to understand! Or at least enquire from someone who has gone to the source to find the information. Astrologers are mostly intellectual individuals, but what is their general mistake? They look to the creation to find answers instead of the Creator, why do you think they do this; I know the answer, not because I am gifted or special but because the Creator has shown it to us, all those who look to Him for answers will know this. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:20-23)

Many of them speak as if they have the answers to life, but they cannot with any certainty speak of the creations origin, they throw out theories like the “Big Bang”. They expect people to believe that nothing created something, it is so ridiculous and yet so many believe their gobbledegook.

Now back to my original point; how will we break bad habits and feed the good works in our lives to generate eternal fruit? We must go to the source; we must rely on the Ruler of eternity to understand eternity. In other words it is very simple, we must give earnest heed to that which will live for eternity, our souls! Our bodies will die, but our spirits will be eternal. Now whether we believe this to be true or not, it makes no difference to the truth, it is out of our hands because God has so commissioned it. Our spirits will either live forever or die forever, the Bible is very clear on this. Why do we waste so much time on our bodies and this life if it will eventually end, when we are taught that our spirit will live forever? Surely we should be mindful of this truth and store up treasures for heaven. “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:20-21)

We are what we do!

So all those bad habits that keep us from storing up treasures in heaven need to be broken and all that glorifies our Heavenly Father must be hone and practised so that we get even better at it. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”

We must recognize that our natural make up as humans oppose us achieving this objective, and all because of our sinful natures. We didn’t ask for it in person but this is what we have received because of our forefather’s sin, Adam’s sin! Therefore we must strive to find grace to accomplish walking in the Spirit.

“For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17)

Therefore the bad habits in our lives are anything that keeps us from walking in the Spirit, let us seek with earnestness to lose them and replace them with walking in the Spirit. Now this we know is sound advice as it comes from the word of God and it will have everlasting fruit to it.

Signing off

Tyrone

Grace For the Believer!

(2 Timothy 2:1) “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

I have often made mention of the fact that we all need to find grace in time of need, but what concerns me is although I know that this is an important aspect to every believers life, I still take this instruction from God to lightly. I am weak with my application to finding grace in time of need. We all stand covered by the blood of the Lamb if we have been born again and if God's Spirit lives within us. Then obviously we have found the grace of God and we are covered by His grace, we are sanctified by the blood of the Lamb, it was a once and for all time sacrifice, never to be repeated. In other word when you get saved, genuinely saved and it is God who does the work outside of man’s clever interventions, where they think they will help aid in the process by implementing programs to help God get people saved. This is man-centred and it will not stand the test of time, it cannot! Salvation is a work of God and always will be. Yes, men are used to preach and teach and then the Word mixed with faith works in a repentant sinner’s heart and God then gives them life. This is the way God has chosen to implement the saving of lost souls. “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:13-17)

Note: faith comes by hearing, not hearing gobbledygook, but the word of God! It is God’s word and the accuracy of it that will give us true lasting faith and prepare us for what is yet to come. God uses the preaching of His word to save the lost. However once God does the work in someone’s life and they are then born again and regeneration has taken place, that person is then welcomed into God’s family. They are no longer classified as sinners in God’s reckoning; they are now part of His family and are saints or sons. Although we sin on a daily basis as we still have a flesh and blood body, we are no longer referred to as sinners by God, because if we were, then the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus would only have been a partial sacrifice, and it wasn’t! But rather a once and for all time sacrifice. Every debt for every sin of all whom are given sight and believe on Him is forgiven; past present and future sins. It is important to understand this and to make it our own, as it is taught by God’s word. This is why Paul teachers the Roman believers; “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)

We are made righteous the day we are saved, and all because God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf, He has paid the price for our (believers) sins. We cannot one day be righteous and then the next day be unrighteous. The work of the cross was a once and for all time sacrifice. “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” (Hebrews 10:10-12)

The reason I believe many try and shy away from this doctrinal truth is they think they will give believers license to sin, as if we know better than God what must be taught and what we must keep in check, do me a favour! It is imperative that we understand this truth as we are now in God’s family and we wear his “coat of arms” and the Lord Jesus is our Admiral. The highest ranking officer in this army, Gods army! If we have His Spirit then we are part of this army. "No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the LORD...” (Deuteronomy 23:2)

It is God who saves and gives permission for someone to enrol in His army, not man!

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

In other words you must enlist in God’s army and the only way one legitimately qualifies is that he/she is born again. It is a work of God, He must give us life. The fruit of that life is repentance, we will then change and our priorities will also change, they must if God is at the helm. We were once dead in our trespasses and sin but now we have life, it is no different to the account of Lazarus, he was also dead and the Lord Jesus commanded him to come forth. He that was once dead now lives, we were also once dead in our trespasses and sin but now we live! Nothing we do or do not do will change this truth. If it was dependant on what we did, then the work of the cross would be nullified and it never will be. “If we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself.” (2Timothy 2:13)

However having said and establishing that truth, what I see, and it is still apparent in my life is the lack of surrendering in certain areas of my life. Some things still live and they should not. These are the areas I speak of when I make mention of how “I still take this instruction from God to lightly”. I am not serious enough in finding grace in time of need. This attitude must change! May God be merciful and help all of us where we struggle with our application. Tough times are on the horizon, things are about to get a lot hotter for the child of God. We must now begin to look to rid ourselves from all the chaff (everything that opposes God in our lives) that would want to rob us of finding grace in time of need. Bad habits must be rooted out of our lives and the only way we will accomplish that is to apply ourselves to the task, we must find grace to accomplish our goal. How will I know whether what I am trying to root out of my life is in accordance to the will of God? Ask yourself one question, will it make me more like my Saviour, and if the answer to that question is, absolutely! Then you have your answer. Find grace in time of need. We must also understand that as enlisted soldiers in God’s army we must act as militia, we are His armed forces.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)

I battled with understanding this as a young believer, not at first, but as I began let things slip in my life a few years into my walk with the Lord, I now realise some of that rot still lives with me, and it should not! It is imperative that I find grace to root the decay out, as we must all strive to rid ourselves of anything that does not belong. We must look to the throne room of grace to find grace in time of need. Today is the day where we all will need to find grace in some area of our lives. May this then be a priority for us all, life is about working out the will of God for our lives, it is a time of proving and testing what is right in the eyes of the Lord!

“Christ has grace without measure in himself, but he hath not retained it for himself. As the reservoir empties itself into the pipes, so hath Christ emptied out his grace for his people. “Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” He seems only to have in order to dispense to us. He stands like the fountain, always flowing, but only running in order to supply the empty pitchers and the thirsty lips which draw nigh unto it. Like a tree, he bears sweet fruit, not to hang on boughs, but to be gathered by those who need. Grace, whether its work be to pardon, to cleanse, to preserve, to strengthen, to enlighten, to quicken, or to restore, is ever to be had from him freely and without price; nor is there one form of the work of grace which he has not bestowed upon his people. As the blood of the body, though flowing from the heart, belongs equally to every member, so the influences of grace are the inheritance of every saint united to the Lamb; and herein there is a sweet communion between Christ and his Church, inasmuch as they both receive the same grace. Christ is the head upon which the oil is first poured; but the same oil runs to the very skirts of the garments, so that the meanest saint has an unction of the same costly moisture as that which fell upon the head. This is true communion when the sap of grace flows from the stem to the branch, and when it is perceived that the stem itself is sustained by the very nourishment which feeds the branch. As we day by day receive grace from Jesus, and more constantly recognize it as coming from him, we shall behold him in communion with us, and enjoy the felicity of communion with him. Let us make daily use of our riches, and ever repair to him as to our own Lord in covenant, taking from him the supply of all we need with as much boldness as men take money from their own purse.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Father help us see clearly and help us remove all that which does not belong, for I ask this in the name of our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and I ask for the sake of your Glory, Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Creation Groans!

(Romans 8:19) “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”

“As the saints are suffering for it, so they are waiting for it. Heaven is therefore sure; for God by his Spirit would not raise and encourage those hopes only to defeat and disappoint them. He will establish that word unto his servants on which he has caused them to hope.” (Matthew Henry)

As I listened to the tone of God through creation last night, the thunder and the intensity of the rain had a harsh pitch to it. I got the feeling that although He is patient, there is a day coming when He will once again say enough is enough, just like He did in the Days of Noah. I suppose we could dismiss that possibility as, yes I believed that happen then, but now God bringing judgment while I am around, get real! We have a tendency to protect ourselves with denial and our reasoning goes something like this, it happened to him (Noah) and that we can accept, but we reason as if it could never happen to me, until it does! Just as there were people alive in the days of Noah, they too had never seen rain and mocked the building of the “Ark”, but they all died in the flood ignoring the voice of God through Noah and his three sons. The great flood has come and gone, never to be repeated; “and I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die.” (Genesis 6:17)

Many propagate that it was an ice age millions of years ago that destroyed the world, the bible makes no mention of that but clearly spells out that just over six thousand years ago God did destroy the earth and all that lived on it; except Noah, his three sons and their wives. Why did He do this? The answer is very clearly spelt out; - “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:5-8)

Amazingly and thankfully Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, if not that would have been the end of creation as we know it, maybe we would not have had to deal with this ongoing battle of wanting to do what is right, but often floundering with our attempts. Although we have received the Spirit of Adoption whereby we can cry “Abba Father” we still make so many blunders with our lives. Having said that, we still have been singled out to find grace in time of need, the warning signs are now becoming more and more evident as we look around us, and if you listen a little closer you would have heard His voice through the rain and the thunder last night.

There was a time for the children of Israel after their wilderness experience, once they had reached the Promised Land and witnessed the many miracles that God had performed before their eyes. It was at this time that Joshua posed a question to them, although they had been witness to all of God’s blessings, he never assumed that they were on God’s side. He asks then to make a choice: “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."(Joshua 24:15)

I believe we are entering that time in history once again where judgement must begin with the household of God. It is going to get tougher in all spheres of life, just like Noah had to endure the flood although he was safe in his ark, he nevertheless saw the rain fall and people drown. Some say we will be taken before any hardship confronts the children of God. The rapture will catch us up into the air before “the birth pangs” begin, I do not see that clearly in scripture. What I do see, is that all of God’s children that He acknowledges and mentions throughout scripture without exception suffered hardships, why will it be any different for us? The rapture will be one of the greatness acts of God’s proclamations to those on earth, and there will be a great display on show prior to the His main feature, when the Lord Jesus’ returns on the clouds. Time does not permit us to explore that thought further as there are many different views to that event.

Nevertheless we must not be caught off guard, which is why we need to choose whom we will serve, if it be the New Age god, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, pagan gods and the like, even any religion that has Christian principles but not sound doctrine and accurate application to it. Just as God established His covenant with Noah, He now poses a question to us all and asks us; “choose this day who you will serve!”

Let us consider a war, two countries and sometime even more pick up arms against each other until there is a victor. They actually wear different uniforms so that they can easily differentiate between themselves and the enemy.

I have made my choice and I now publicly declare to whomever that I serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that Jesus Christ the Lord, the son of David, the son of Abraham after the flesh is my God. Although He was a man after the flesh He was also the Son of God who left the portals of heaven to become a man, where he lived here for about 33 years without sin, yes that is exactly what I am saying and what the bible teachers, that He was without sin. He then chose to die for sinners so that they could go free. As we are all sinners and guilty of sin, without His covering we will end up in hell, the battle is about to heat up and we must all choose a side. I have chosen Him because He first chose me, I can see because it was God who gave me eyes to see. And now because I can see and I am reminded now of all I have been through, even when I was unfaithful, He remained faithful. I could never repay my great Saviour for the gift He has given me, but this I will say, by His grace and because of His mercy I pledge my allegiance to Him, I have chosen and I choose Jesus Christ the Lord my King. If that requires my life, then so be it! What is your choice? Whom will you serve and what uniform will you wear? There will be spies in the camp, those who wear His uniform but who have a hidden agenda, but just like Judas they will eventually be exposed!

Seek out grace, it is time for some serious training, basic training is to prepare a solider for what is to come, I truly believe that creation groans now louder than ever before, will we be ready? “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19)

Yes all of God’s children will eventually be presented blameless on the other side, but we must sit up and take note of the signs, the warnings we must be on the lookout for and in the context of what is now beginning to unfold like never before; “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. (Luke 21:11-13)

Stephen was the first of the martyrs but many have followed in his footsteps, maybe we have also been born for the exact same purpose, and then again maybe not! Whatever our outcome, we have been afforded the opportunity to pledge our allegiance to our King, regardless of the outcome here on earth, we all (those who have received His Spirit) have an opportunity to glorify His name, may God give us the grace and the wherewithal to stand for Him in these now difficult times ahead. The throne of grace is available for all His children, but we are taught that we must approach it with boldness, so that we may overcome when challenged. May we remember to do exactly that!

Signing off

Tyrone

we know that God has promised that He will not destroy the earth again with water.

Call unto Me!

(Jeremiah 33:3) “Call unto me, and I will answer thee...”

Calling out for help is something we do instinctively when threatened. So long as we believe we will be heard. I recollect two separate incidences that caused me to call out for help which I would like to explore further.

I had a flat battery and needed to get the Toyota starter, however it was parked under the carport and as the battery was unreachable with started cables I would need to push it out into the open, so that I could easily connect the jumper cables from the one car to the other. First of all I decided that I would bring around my father’s Mercedes. I parked the car in the place I had mentally measured out so that I wouldn’t have to move it again, I then strolled over to the Prado (heavy big 4x4) and as I was alone I needed to be outside the vehicle to get the momentum going, down the ridge and out of the carport, I could not open the door and jump into the car as it was already on the move because of the carport poles, if I had tried to do that I would have damaged the driver side door. Instead I decided to run to the back of the vehicle and then stop it; little did I know that it would be impossible. The 4x4 was now rolling backwards with me behind it and heading on a collision course with the Mercedes. What was I to do? Instinctively without any further thought as misfortune had surrounded me of late, I decided to use my leg as a cushion to stop any damage being done to the Mercedes. Yes, I agree in hindsight that was not very well thought through! With my leg now trapped the pressure was immense and it felt as if my femur would explode under the force. I knew there were people around and so I began to yell out for help. It was a call that had urgency to it! The pitch was a different to a normal cry. Those who heard me arrived at the scene wanting to help, no matter how hard I tried pushing to get my leg free, all my attempts were in vain. The domestic helper arrived with the gardener and I instructed them to get in the vehicle and drive the car forward relieving the pressure from my leg, but neither could drive. The panic in my eye caused them also to panic. Eventually with all of us behind the vehicle we managed to conjure up enough strength between us to get my leg free.

I had called out instinctively looking for someone to come to my aid, I had excepted help as I knew there was help around and I received what I had expected. I never doubted! I called out to those I knew were around and they answered me. I am sure we all can relate to those who have come to our aid in times of trouble.

The second account was somewhat different as I was alone and the only one I could rely on was God as He alone had the power to save. We do not reason correctly if we think we have the power to stand on the help of others to the exclusion of God. He holds the power to all things in the palm of His hand. Nothing can be done without His knowledge. He knows all things and everything is subject to His dominion and rule. But because we are human we sometimes reason as simple men.

I was young and in Zimbabwe and with a group of friends as we had decided to “cowboy up” and try a new adventure, “White River Rafting”. These attempts had claimed the lives of many adventurers, although supervision was supplied prior to our departure an indemnity form needed to be signed by all looking to accomplish this feat. The Zambezi River had many a brutal rapid that were very unforgiving. I recollect the episode as if it was yesterday. They spilt us into groups of eight, and as I was a photographer and had seen many photographers standing on the river’s edge taking photographs I decided to strap an underwater camera to my chest. I wanted to achieve a different feel to my pictures. We were all allocated one river guide per boat, I ended up with a guide that went by the nickname John the Baptist, and I should have known that this was going to be a hairy experience. They took us through some safety drills at the top of the first rapid; they called her “Morning Glory”. One of the instructions were if a man went overboard he was to relax and pull his legs up into his chest, the reason for this was so that it would be harder for the river to trap you under a rock. After the brief explanation on what we were to do if we found ourselves in the water, we were off, but as we approached the very first rapid we got it wrong and came in backwards, I was sitting at the back but now because of our rotation I was in the front and without holding on as that was the mucho things to do (ridiculous), I got sucked off the back of the rubber-duck and into the water. Remembering the instruction to relax and pull my legs up into my chest, I attempted to do exactly that. But to no avail! The harder I tried to pull my legs up the more impossible it became, I was now underwater and my life vest seemed to be useless as it did not keep me afloat. I remember remaining calm, the pressure below the surface was fierce as air eluded my lungs, about halfway down I remember breaching the surface for just a moment and I managed to get half a breathe and under again I went. I began to believe that I was not going to make it, so I began to frantically pray, I could call out to no one but the only one who had the power to save. My concern at this point was not whether or not I would survive the ordeal; I rather became frenetically concerned about the life hereafter. I began to ask for forgiveness on how I had conducted my life over the last couple of months. I was deeply concerned about eternity and were I would end up. Life as a man no longer had any bearing on my will to live, it had moved from my existence here on earth to where I would end up in eternity. I remember my panic moving from absolute desperation to a calming peace replacing my initial panic. I thought that was it, my life was now over and as I began to resign myself to death, God decided that it was not yet time for me and the river spat me out and I surfaced.

I never for one minute considered calling out to anybody else but God for help, who else was there? My surrounding was similar in that both incidences I needed help. In the first account I called out to humans for help, but in the second account I was forced to call out to God as He alone was able to save me. The error we make in our lives is when we reason as I reasoned, we think that something’s are fitting for God to help us with, while other things are more self-governing and we can handle them on our own. We must learn to become solely dependent upon God, His grace and His mercy. In all things we must give thanks, we must make it our goal to; Call unto Him, and He will answer us...

Call upon me, and I will answer them. The prophet encourages us to pray unto God, but continuously in our lives. He had prayed (Jer_32:16), but he knew that he must pray again. Those that expect to receive comforts from God must continue instant in prayer. We must call upon him, and then He will answer us. Christ himself must ask and it shall be given. We must embrace God and His promises as they are given, not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage prayer.”

May we all learn to become solely dependent upon God and his promises through prayer, may we learn to trust and obey even when death is knocking on our door, what have we to fear? “If God is for us who can be against us”, but let us learn to lay down our lives through obedience unto Him who has the power and the keys to heaven as well as hell.

Signing off

Tyrone

“Thou shall love thy neighbour.”

(Matthew 5:43) “Thou shall love thy neighbour.”

On the back of yesterdays thoughts not to waste our lives, to ensure that we store up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy. Our jewels will be eternal an everlasting cache, and their makeup will have everlasting properties. Even our bodies will be eternal; they will be like our great Saviours incorruptible risen body! “Our hope” is so full of merciful promises that we must be captivated by the truth of it; nothing must take more precedence in our lives than finding the will of God for it. Do not go on a witch-hunt looking for personal people to prophesy over you as if you are looking for some magical spell to motivate you in a certain direction. We must be careful of that type of application in our lives. We must test the spirits, and how would we do that? The Word of God of course! No magic formula is needed to work out God’s will for our lives, all we need do on a daily basis is seek His face, be faithful to a local body of believers, look to deny ourselves where and when the opportunity presents itself and love our neighbour as ourselves.

“Love thy neighbour.” Perhaps he rolls in riches, and thou art poor, and living in thy little cot side-by-side with his lordly mansion; thou seest every day his estates, his fine linen, and his sumptuous banquets; God has given him these gifts, covet not his wealth, and think no hard thoughts concerning him. Be content with thine own lot, if thou canst not better it, but do not look upon thy neighbour, and wish that he were as thyself. Love him, and then thou wilt not envy him.

Perhaps, on the other hand, thou art rich, and near thee reside the poor. Do not scorn to call them neighbour. Own that thou art bound to love them. The world calls them thy inferiors. In what are they inferior? They are far more thine equals than thine inferiors, for “God hath made of one blood all people that dwell upon the face of the earth.” It is thy coat which is better than theirs, but thou art by no means better than they. They are men, and what art thou more than that? Take heed that thou love thy neighbour even though he be in rags, or sunken in the depths of poverty.

But, perhaps, you say, “I cannot love my neighbours, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.” So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbours through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is as acceptable to him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbour, for in so doing thou art following the footsteps of Christ.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Over the last 100 years the increase of earthquakes are the highest they have ever been, the word of God has warned us when we see these things on the increase, it is the warning. We commute in motor vehicles and rely on warning gauges to warn us of any potential danger, if we have an oil leak a warning light on the dashboard comes on and then will give us time to address the potential danger before it is too late, before our cars breakdown. It is exactly the same with the Word of God, it is full of warning gauges, but will we sit up and take note? I trust we will!

Here is one of those warnings; “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.” (Matthew 24:7-8)

You may say earthquakes have always been around, and you would be correct, but never to the degree have they now occurred! You may be young and say to yourself I have many years in which to love my neighbour, the end may be sooner than you think. We must stop wasting time and seek earnestly to glorify God with our lives, regardless of what we have done in the past. Today is the day of salvation, may we live as if it was our last day for our King here on earth. Let us not look for secret missions but rather let us live life as Christ has commanded us to live, “Thou shall love thy neighbour.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Man ... is of few days, and full of trouble.

(Job 14:1) “Man ... is of few days, and full of trouble.”

How much time and effort do we plough into the temporal things of life? Far too much I say! How much time have I wasted with my life with fruitless endeavours that seemed to have been a priority at the time but now in hindsight, I see so much of that time wasted. You would think that we would have learnt by now and yet today is another day filled with opportunity, will I waste much of it on temporal things or will any of my time be given to eternal matters? I hope the latter, becomes more and more of a reality to all who confess Jesus as Lord! We are quick to point out other peoples flaws, but we needn’t look much further than the mirror. It is easy to spot the folly of a teenager, as he hankers after youthful lusts, but how much time do I commit to everlasting themes? Is there much difference, I think not! Both result in actions that will run their course and then are judged. One may fly a banner of acceptance while the other a streamer of folly. We will justify some things, so long as it has no appearance of outright sin and often to the exclusion of our great Fathers will. We sometimes, no often! Find security in the wrong things in our lives. I look at my bank balance and if it is in the green and it shows a healthy balance, then I sleep better at night. But how will my bank balance help me in eternity, it won’t! How we need with diligence to lay down our lives for Him, our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the here and now. Daily, I must seek the correct perspective to all of life’s challenges. I am even now reminded of the instruction through the Lord’s Prayer, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Let us not be fooled into believing lies, when in fact that is exactly what they are, if they get us to take our eyes off our Father’s will for our lives and if what we do has no benefitting bearing on eternity, then what is the point? I say, “Wood for the fire” and then it will be burnt up and remain no more. I wonder at the works judgment (believers hearing) how much of our works (what we have done for the Lord) will burn without churning out any reward on the other side. “Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1Corinthians 3:13-15)

“It may stay us from taking too deep root in this soil from which we are so soon to be transplanted into the heavenly garden. Let us recollect the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies. If we would remember that all the trees of earth are marked for the woodman’s axe, we should not be so ready to build our nests in them. We should love, but we should love with the love which expects death, and which reckons upon separations. Our dear relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the lender’s hand may be even at the door. The like is certainly true of our worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? Our health is equally precarious. Frail flowers of the field, we must not reckon upon blooming for ever. There is a time appointed for weakness and sickness, when we shall have to glorify God by suffering, and not by earnest activity. There is no single point in which we can hope to escape from the sharp arrows of affliction; out of our few days there is not one secure from sorrow. Man’s life is a cask full of bitter wine; he who looks for joy in it had better seek for honey in an ocean of brine. Beloved reader, set not your affections upon things of earth: but seek those things which are above, for here the moth devoureth, and the thief breaketh through, but there all joys are perpetual and eternal. The path of trouble is the way home. Lord, make this thought a pillow for many a weary head!” (C.H.Spurgeon)

How I love the bible and all the great examples they leave us to follow, Moses was forty years in the wilderness doing the Lords biding, and it was all about the will of God for Him. I ask myself the question am I doing my Lord’s biding on a daily basis and I implore you to ask yourself the same question, are you? I fear so many of us are left wanting! We need to be faithful in the little things, before we will be ever given the responsibility to great things. Eternal life comes after our carnal lives.

Moses was a man alone in the Wilderness prior to his actual God given duty of opposing Pharaoh and leading the children of Israel out of slavery from Egypt into the Wilderness towards the Promised Land. Reuel (which means the same as friend of God) was a man with daughters and he realised that Moses was a man with a need and he obliged by giving his daughter Zipporah to Him as his wife. The point is this, do we act like a friend of God and do we help our brothers and sister in time of need. That is what we will be judged on. How much of our live have we laid down for one another? God knows! But there is a judgment coming when all will know, as our rewards in heaven will be clearly seen by all. Do not complicate this truth, remember the words of the Lord; “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:37-46)

If someone knocks at our door we instinctively make our way to the door to open it, in like manner if God is knocking at our door will we intuitively respond to His call upon our lives? We must! May we find grace to do His bidding as nothing else will endure throughout eternity.

Signing off

Tyrone

Conforming us into the Image of His Son...

(Romans 8:29) “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

What does it mean to be conformed into the image of Christ? It means to be changed, but if change is required what does that look like and why must it happen, a modification to our original state must and will take place!

This change is a requirement from God; in fact it is all about His will, plan and purpose. The idea originated with God, and therefore it is God-Centred and it has His backing, it cannot fail! Our great God will achieve His purpose and yes if we received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry “Abba Father!” Then we will have the “process of change” evident in our lives. Sadly for some life’s journey may be filled with u-turns and detours, but ultimately God will have His way, His purpose is majestically placed on display, in the glory of His brilliance, we see the Lord Jesus high and lifted up, we witness His great accomplishment in spite of our unbelief at times. But the gift of faith in our risen Saviour is a wonderful help for us, even though we may have so many things against us in this life, it teaches and convinces us that the Lord Jesus has overcome the world. That thought ignites an awareness that is so real I actually feel my body tingle with excitement. What a glorious truth! Faith enables us to cry, YES I BELIEVE! Believe what? Believe exactly what this verse teaches us; “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son”, we begin to understand the power of the resurrection! The puzzle pieces to life begin to take shape as we see our lives carefully being changed from a sinful self-centred egotistical arrogant individual who had once been ruled by folly, to someone “putting on the mind of Christ”. It is a phenomenal accomplishment. It is impossible outside of the finished work of Calvary; it has nothing to do with the abilities of man, absolutely nothing! It is all about Christ and Him crucified; creation started with Him and salvation ends with Him, how thankful I am for this truth, as I have said in times past if it was not for my glorious Saviour I would be begging bread in some gutter somewhere, but now I have a hope that one day I shall be like Him! It seems like a fairytale! But NO, it is the truth, God Himself, the only true God, the God who was, who is and is to come, the great I AM, the One who summits to no other as He is supreme above all, the very same God has purposes to conform us into the image of His dear Son, now if that does not blow our minds, then I am not sure if there is life in us. It must excite us and equip us to cry with grateful hearts unto Him as it compels us to fall to our knees and cry out, “Our God reigns”! If we are unable to echo those words, then something is amiss. We must then examine our hearts before our Great Redeemer; sin may be robbing us of understanding this truth. Unbelief and disobedience go hand in hand and we are taught this by Paul from the ensample of our forefather as they journey through the wilderness; “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

All those who believe God and endured in faith believing God’s promises entered the Promised Land, but all those who lacked faith and stopped believing God’s promise died in the Wilderness, they never entered the Promised Land! It is sin that causes us to walk in unbelief and to stubble in the dark, let us not be ignorant of its beguiling power. “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13)

Sin hardens our hearts but “faith wins the victory every time”. We see David with the lion and the bear and even Goliath was no match for His faith in Christ. If we have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we are able to cry Abba father, then God is for us and will never be against us, the trials of life may and will press us hard at times, to see if we stand in Him. Regardless of how many times you may have stumbled, all we need do is remember Samson’s example, although he lost his eyes through disobedience, his hair nevertheless began once again to grow, faith worked in his life as he now enjoys the beauty of God in heaven. Once gold is refined in the fire it is purified and the end result is pure unblemished refine gold. This is the call for all of God’s children, we must go through the fire to be refined and be conformed into the image of His son, our Saviour. There is no other way for the believer. It is when we stop believing God at His word that trouble surrounds us. “So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)

In conclusion; if God has begun a good work in us, we must believe He will complete it, as He shall. “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” I love the way Paul concludes this verse, “amongst many brothers”. Yes many will make it to heaven and many will be able to testify about the change in their lives, will you be amongst the number, will I? If God has given us the Spirit whereby we are able to cry Abba Father we better believe it even if it cost us our lives in this life, because one day we will hear these glorious words from our heavenly Father, “... and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Revelation 21:7)

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7)

Let faith ignite our hope to serve God and may it help us to love one another with sincerity. For, there is a day coming when we get to heaven, where we will open our eyes and see Him as He is. Even so come quickly Lord Jesus!

Signing off

Tyrone

The importance of Proverbs!

(Proverbs 23:2) “And put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.”

Amazingly the book of proverbs is a book I never spent much time in as a young believer, but it is a book full of uncanny truths and for all who have children, I encourage you work through it from cover to cover with them, institute a daily reading plan and the sooner the better. I had the privilege of working through the entire book with Mongi {my kid (fostered)} and I believe that God has given us this amazing book for many reasons, but one of them for our children, so that they do not have to find out the lessons of life the hard way! Or at least have information on hand prior to the many choices they will face through life. In fact I actually understood why I was losing so much money at the time, whilst working through it! God does not speak to His children as he once did, it is no longer in an audibly fashion as when He once used Moses and the other prophets to speak to His people, He has now finished that type of communication, in principle. Yes teachers teach, just as Moses spoke, but now we have the written Word whereby we can examine what is taught, in fact we can freely seek out the truth, so long as our eyes have been opened through regeneration, we can be taught by it. “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2)

God can do whatever He chooses whenever He chooses, that is a given truth, but He has chosen to use the Bible to speak to us. Study it, get to feast on it with every opportunity and then life may not become easier but your understanding through all your difficult situations will become clearer. As parents it is our own responsibility to do all we can for our children, if we have received the spirit of adoption whereby we are able to cry Abba Father, we have a greater responsibility. I encourage, No implore you! Make it a priority to go through the book of Proverbs with your children, many dangers of what they faced as a young kid is covered through the book of proverbs. What fascinated me through our deliberation was how blinded I was to truth and good godly principles in my application to life. I wonder if proverbs were used as building blocks to my life as a young boy, would I carry so many scars with me today. No one can be blamed, as God is sovereign, life will pan out according to His will. But remember we are still all accountable for our actions! It would be unfair to hold a grudge against anyone for sight if they were indeed blind and both my parents were blind, but now with great glee upon my heart I can say my darling mother now has been given sight. If God has given you sight, then you have a responsibility to nurture and impart spiritual food to your children. I loved the way God exposed so many of my mistakes as we (Mongi and I) worked through this book together. It not only helps one to fully reflect on life but it is filled with solutions. Far better than any head-shrink you may have to pay top dollar for. In fact it covers just about every facet of life.

I have selected a single verse to highlight a point! “And put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.” Let us unpack it; or even better still let Matthew Henry unpack it for us:

“The sin we are here warned against is luxury and sensuality, and the indulgence of the appetite in eating and drinking, a sin that most easily besets us. 1. We are here told when we enter into temptation, and are in most danger of falling into this sin: “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler thou has great plenty before thee, varieties and dainties, such a table spread as thou has seldom seen; thou are ready to think, as Haman did, of nothing but the honour hereby done thee (Est_5:12), and the opportunity thou hast of pleasing thy palate, and forgettest that there is a snare laid for thee.” Perhaps the temptation may be stronger, and more dangerous, to one that is not used to such entertainments, than to one that always sits down to a good table. 2. We are here directed to double our guard at such a time. We must, (1.) Apprehend ourselves to be in danger: “Consider diligently what is before thee, what meat and drink are before thee, that thou mayest choose that which is safest for thee and which thou art least likely to eat and drink of to excess. Consider what company is before thee, the ruler himself, who, if he be wise and good, will take it as an affront for any of his guests to disorder themselves at his table.” And, if when we sit to eat with a ruler, much more when we sit to eat with the ruler of rulers at the Lord's table, must we consider diligently what is before us, that we may not in any respect eat and drink unworthily, unbecomingly, lest that table become a snare. (2.) We must alarm ourselves into temperance and moderation: “Put a knife to thy throat, that is, restrain thyself, as it were with a sword hanging over thy head, from all excess. Let these words, Take heed lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and so that day come upon you unawares - or those, For all these things, God shall bring thee into judgment - or those, Drunkards, shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be a knife to the throat.” The Latins call luxury gula - the throat. “Take up arms against that sin. Rather be so abstemious that thy craving appetite will begin to think thy throat cut than indulge thyself in voluptuousness.” We must never feed ourselves without fear (Jud_1:12), but we must in a special manner fear when temptation is before us. (3.) We must reason ourselves into a holy contempt of the gratifications of sense: “If thou be a man given to appetite, thou must, by a present solution, and an application of the terrors of the Lord, restrain thyself. When thou art in danger of falling into any excess put a knife to thy throat; that may serve for once. But that is not enough: lay the axe to the root; mortify that appetite which has such a power over thee: Be not desirous of dainties.” Note, We ought to observe what is our own iniquity, and, if we find ourselves addicted to flesh-pleasing, we must not only stand upon our guard against temptations from without, but subdue the corruption within. Nature is desirous of food, and we are taught to pray for it, but it is lust that is desirous of dainties, and we cannot in faith pray for them, for frequently they are not food convenient for mind, body, or estate. They are deceitful meat, and therefore David, instead of praying for them, prays against them, Psa_141:4. They are pleasant to the palate, but perhaps rise in the stomach, turn sour there, upbraid a man, and make him sick. They do not yield men the satisfaction they promised themselves from them; for those that are given to appetite, when they have that which is very dainty, are not pleased; they are soon weary of it; they must have something else more dainty. The more a luxurious appetite is humoured and indulged the more humoursome and troublesome it grows, and the more hard to please; dainties will surfeit, but never satisfy. But especially they are upon this account deceitful meat, that, while they please the body, they prejudice the soul, they overcharge the heart, and unfit it for the service of God, nay, they take away the heart, and alienate the mind from spiritual delights, and spoil its relish of them. Why then should we covet that which will certainly cheat us?” (Matthew Henry)

I hope this helps

Signing off

Tyrone

The Mind of Christ!

(1Corinthians 2:16) "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ”.

Last night was an evening full of thoughts under the yoke of restlessness, yet in the hustle of that turmoil there was nevertheless an underlying banner of peace which seemed to surround me. My body ached, my mind raced with many thoughts and as soon as I locked onto a particular consideration to explore and unpack my heart in the matter another idea would replace it. Even now I have a lot going through my mind at the same time. Where to start? That is an easy answer, now that I reason with a correct rational, we must always start and finish with the same character in consideration, yes without exception our great Saviour must captivate the beginning and end of all thoughts and deliberations, He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He is the great “I AM” and He is known to us as the Lord Jesus Christ. Anything short of this will skew our perception! How you may ask? I remember awhile back when those rubber band type bracelet first came out, and one of them had the letters, W.W.J.D printed on them. It was meant to be a help to get Christians to stop and consider their actions prior to any decision making, as they glanced at their bracelet, they would then be reminded to ask themselves, “What Would Jesus Do”? Now whether the money preachers saw that as an opportunity to exploit the hearts of men with that type of marketing, as they would use guilt to generate income, I do not know, but God Knows! He will have His vengeance and no stone shall be left unturned.

However the underlying point behind the bangle would be to put on the mind of Christ, which is doctrinally correct, as we must put on the mind of Christ. “But we have the mind of Christ”! It must however be His mind and not the opinions of the masses. That is why ever deliberation must start with Him and end with Him, as He is the written Word, all scripture points to Him in one form or another, at times we may have to uncover many layers to see Him in scripture, but if you study hard enough He will always be found! The Bible is our only point of reference, obviously we must and should read other sources, so long as their point of reference is the Bible, it must be in context and unpacked with clear exposition. They should not leave you confused, it should be concise and their clarification should not be “hop scotch” (always changing and jumping around). If we have eyes to see, that means God has opened our eyes, we have received the gift of regeneration and therefore we can see! Give a child a stone and tell him to eat it and see what he does. In like manner give a true child of God perverse doctrine and see how much of it he actually eats. It won’t be long before he realises that what he is being fed is not about his Alpha and his Omega! Run for the hills I say, flee to the good Shepherd and learn from Him. Get those who love sound doctrine to lead you, but never follow a bad leader.

“When a man chooses a bad leader for his soul, at the end of all bad leadership there is a ditch.
A man teaches error which he declares he has drawn from Scripture, and he backs it up with texts perverted and abused. If you follow that error, and take its teacher for a leader, you may for a time be very pleased with yourself for knowing more than the poor plain people who keep to the good old way, but, mark my word, there is a ditch at the end of the error. You do not see it yet, but there it is, and into it you will fall if you continue to follow your leader.

At the end of error there is often a moral ditch, and men go down, down down, they scarce know why, till presently, having imbibed doctrinal error, their moral principles are poisoned, and like drunken men they find themselves rolling in the mire of sin.
At other times the ditch beyond a lesser error may be an altogether damnable doctrine. The first mistake was comparatively trifling, but, as it placed the mind on an inclined plane, the man descended almost as a matter of course, and almost before he knew it, found himself given over to a strong delusion to believe a lie.

The blind man and his guide, whatever else they miss, will be sure to find the ditch, they need no sight to obtain an abundant entrance into that.
Alas! to fall into the ditch is easy, but how shall they be recovered? I would earnestly entreat especially professing Christians, when novelties of doctrine come up, to be very cautious how they give heed to them. I bid you remember the ditch.
A small turn of the switch on the railway is the means of taking the train to the far east or to the far west: the first turn is very little indeed, but the points arrived at are remote.
There are new errors which have lately come up which your fathers knew not, with which some are mightily busy, and I have noticed when men have fallen into them their usefulness ceased. I have seen ministers go only a little way in speculative theories, and gradually glide from latitudinarianism into Socinianism (a follower of Laelius and Faustus Socinus, Italian theologians who preached belief in God, but rejected other traditional Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and the divinity of Christ- “my explanation and insert”) or Atheism. Into these ditches thousands fall. Others are precipitated into an equally horrible pit, namely, the holding nominally of all the doctrines in theory and none of them in fact.

Men hold truths nowadays with the bowels taken out of them, and the very life and meaning torn away. There are members and ministers of evangelical denominations who do not believe evangelical doctrine, or if they do believe it they attach but little importance to it; their sermons are essays on philosophy, tinged with the gospel. They put a quarter of a grain of gospel into an Atlantic of talk, and poor souls are drenched with words to no profit.

God save us from ever leaving the old gospel, or losing its spirit.” C.H.Spurgeon

-posted by the PyroManiacs website

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.” (Proverbs 23:12-13)

In like manner we must cling to sound doctrine as if our lives depended upon it, as it does! We must repent when needed and flee from the error of all wolves in sheep’s clothing.

May our merciful and great gracious God give us eyes to see even with more clarity, so that we may in turn glorify Him. Always remembering our Saviour and His accomplishments on Calvary’s Hill!

We will only ever stand by His merit and never our own value, outside of Him! Praise his name now and forever more!

Today let us remember to “put on the breast-plate of righteousness”!

Signing off

Tyrone

When I was a child!

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. (1Corinthians 13:11)

What will it take for this truth to hit home? When we face any obstacle in life we find that a decision must be made! And very often we act on reflex, someone offends us and we instinctively look to defend ourselves, that is the simple nature of our fallen states. Sin has blinded us and left us with some nasty characteristics, with many of those habitual tendencies we act out without thinking, or at least to the extent of not pondering how we should react, "tit for tat" seems to be a universal law, and many stand by it! However it is not what is expected from the child of God, we are under a new set of laws, we have been saved by grace through faith, which is a gift of God, and it has nothing to do with our abilities as independent individuals, boasting has been excluded from the equation. Therefore if I boast then I am guilty of pride, however it will be a false understanding of what I have been saved out of, as there is nothing I can do to earn God’s favour outside of His Son, absolutely nothing! Yet when I was a child in the faith, I spoke as a child; I thought like a child and possibly the most evident trait in my understanding was that I reasoned like a child.

I recall with vivid recollection how back in the early days of my salvation I shared accommodation with two of my life-long friends and brothers in Christ, we had all been newly saved and we were trying to work things out. Topics like, should we find out whether the chicken we are eating has been strangled or not? It occupied our discussion for hours on end and we would wrestle with scripture and each other trying to discern the truth. We reasoned with a childish brain, we all wanted to be heard and we all wanted to be the victor on the correct understanding, I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with that type of deliberation, I think it can be healthy and it strengthens us as believers or so it should. All we really wanted to do was understand what was true and then walk in the truth. But our deliberation and our reasoning was still immature and was incapable or applying godly wisdom to our deliberation as mature believers.

“That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.” (Act 15:29)

I can remember that as a new believer I was like a "bull in a china shop", I would do and say without giving it much thought. My life was full of childish application, zeal without knowledge seemed to be the order of the day. My motivation was sincere, I hope that was my heart in most matters, I do not know, but God Knows! I was young and full of life, and still tainted by the fashion industry, jeans with holes in them were very fashionable and I had more than one pair. One evening at a bible study a brother made a comment about them and both Franco and Juks (my house mates) made a comment, before long we were at logger-heads about my jeans and how disrespectful I was. I was incensed at the time, but because of my pride taking a knock and as I still reasoned as a child I was going to put on a spectacle. We were busy with some alterations outside the lounge area, and the foundations had already been dug out. So I plotted to make my statement; if this was stumbling them then I was to remove the stumbling block. What I should have done was quietly thrown them into the bin and then forgotten about the incident, never to be discussed. However I went looking for petrol and then placed my jeans in the trench and doused them with fuel. I recall looking into the lounge window to see if they were paying attention and then I lit a match and swoosh, there was such an explosive flame that I singed my hair.

This is a classic example how I reasoned as a child! But there must come a day in a believer’s life when they must give up childish ways! Scripture is full of instruction on how we should react to any particular situation we may encounter along our expedition, here on earth. We must not reason like we once did as a child, but we must all become a men with our application to our reasoning, a new set of laws we must applied to our thought process. Paul the Apostle is very clear on this; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” (Romans 12:1-3)

Then later on in the chapter He has this to say; “Repay no one evil for evil,” but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.” (Romans 12:17)

Instinctive carnal behaviour would be to repay evil for evil, but when we begin to reason as men, then we must say, NO! To that type of human behaviour!

We need look no further than our great saviours example as He hung upon that tree, he uttered these words; “Father forgive them for they know not what they do!”

It has been the common lot of God's people to be persecuted, either with a powerful hand or with a spiteful tongue. Now we are here taught to bless those that so persecute us. Bless them; that is, First, “Speak well of them. If there be any thing in them that is commendable and praiseworthy, take notice of it, and mention it to their honour.” Secondly, “Speak respectfully to them, according as their place is, not rendering railing for railing, and bitterness for bitterness.” And, Thirdly, We must wish well to them, and desire their good, so far from seeking any revenge. Nay, Fourthly, We must offer up that desire to God, by prayer for them. If it be not in the power of our hand to do anything else for them, yet we can testify our good-will by praying for them, for which our master hath given us not only a rule, but an example to back that rule, Luk_23:34 - Bless, and curse not. (Matthew Henry)

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”

May God help all of us to put on the mind of Christ!

Signing off

Tyrone