Without faith!

(Hebrews 11:6) “And without faith it is impossible to please Him...”

Faith is such a vital side to the Christians life, without it we cannot please God, it is actually impossible. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

How often I have read a verse or verses and implied but not expressed what I have read, how much have I understood? Here is a classic verse I must have read and referred to a numerous amounts of times in my life, but to what extent have I embraced its teaching. Now faith is evident throughout the globe, we have considered this deliberation before and concluded that people have faith in all sorts of things. All faith means is to trust and believe in something especially without logical proof. Think of the “lucky rabbit foot” some although very few believe that it carries luck for them, so gamblers would look to unlock its magical lucky powers. Completely illogical! An individual with a rabbit foot normally on a key ring, looking to it for luck; how lucky was the rabbit? It couldn’t have been that lucky or else it might have escaped with its life. A classic example of misguided faith! Superstition and faith goes hand in hand for many, some with ridiculous rituals: I have heard that even some of our South African cricket players have a list of things that must be done in order to perform well. Toilet seats up instead of down, feet off the ground, etc!

Enough time spent on the trivial nonsense! What does God require from us and more specifically from His children? We obviously believe He exists, but do we sincerely believe that He will reward us if we seek Him out? This is another one of those left alone subjects because of the “name and claim” it doctrine that has come out of the hyper-charismatic movement. A skew to scripture and then many run from the truth of scripture. If only God would open our eyes just for a second to see the warfare that surrounds us, I think we would be far more diligent in seeking truth from scripture. Obviously we are faithful in part, or else we would have no direction in a perverse and wicked world, and yet we have direction because of the Spirit of truth which lives within us.

I remember after being newly saved going to a movie with an unsaved friend of mine and although I did not know much back then, my soul was deeply vexed by what I witnessed. It wasn’t as if I was watching an X-rated movie, it was a typical Hollywood block buster. I cannot remember the actual movie, but that is not relevant. My point is this; the movie was full of underlying stabs to the true God and Christianity. One of the most successful chains in movie history to date has been the Harry Potter movies. Yesterday, I watched it in the comfort of my home, without distraction and was drawn to a statement that was made as it is relevant to the feud we face as Christians. Good versus evil its theme, and as the evil leaders gathered around a table discussing their plot to eliminate the “chosen one”, Harry Potter a statement was thrown out with great glee and it went something like this. “There are rumours that we (the evil) have infiltrated the ministry” and then someone’s retort was, “at least they are right about that,” and then all around the table erupted with laughter!

I am not for one minute implying that the world has any sound doctrine to offer, as it does not! All I want us to recognised is the onslaught to it, even if it is with undertones, let us not be blind to our surrounding. There are many who try to infiltrate sound doctrine, with a perversion to the truth and as time ticks by this will not get better but worse! Even Satan appears as an angel of light!  “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. ” (2Corinthians 11:14-15)  

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)

Although this is a fact and it will happen, that does not mean we should shy away from the truth but rather the more, run toward it.

Now back to our text; “without faith”, it is faith we must embrace with both arms and if we are already in the clinch, then we must squeeze even tighter. We must understand that although we may well have the first part of this text down; we believe in the only true God, because we have the Spirit of Christ that lives within us, we now must begin to appropriate the second half of this verse with more vigour and that is, we must believe that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him out. Let us not run from this truth because of the error we see amongst the charismata denominations but rather run toward it as if our lives depend upon it, as it does!

Let us learn from our forefathers; “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13)     

We spend far too much time on worldly activities, even if it flies under the “banner of responsibilities.” I am not arguing that they do not have their place, but forget our opinions and let us rather look to the Word for direction; “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son.” (Hebrews 11:16-17) 

Will we offer up all we have and believe by faith that God will reward all those when tested, that He will look out for us? I wonder! I know my own heart in the matter, I am not sure I will pass the test. But that does not mean it is not what we have been called to do. May God give me strength to walk with the mindset of all mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11! May He be merciful to all who confess Jesus as Lord in this area of our lives!  

I leave us with this thought; remember to run toward the truth and not from it!

Signing off

Tyrone

...will I judge! - part 2

(Genesis 15:14)  “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

Part 2:

So what is the foundational truth we have to come to grips with in order to please God our Father? If we stand on this thought, foundational! We must appreciate that without the correct foundation we will not stand in the storm. “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” (Luke 6:48)

What would happen prior to building a house if a man dug deep into sand, I suppose the deeper he dug the more secure his house would be, but depending on the tempest and its severity, it however would eventual give way. But the person who knew that their foundation was of utmost importance, they would not neglect their detail to it! They would look for rock to build on! That rock is Christ!

If you have followed this blog, by now you should have acknowledged that there is absolutely no other way to make it to heaven or ultimately stand against the trials of life. but by Jesus Christ the Lord! What I now need to hit home is the importance of our “repentance from dead works”. The account of Cain and Abel beautifully illustrates this point. Let us now look at Cain’s attitude and why he felt that God should accept his sacrifice; they both brought a sacrifice, Abel's was accepted but not Cain’s, why? “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4)

The texts gives us the answer, it was by faith! Cain did not come in faith, for if he had his sacrifice would have been accepted, yesterdays text also tells us this; The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." In other words, Abel acknowledged that it is God who is in control and the well-being of his sheep was all because of God’s goodness, and more specifically, God’s kindness to him. Cain on the other hand looked at his produce as something he has achieved because of his own hard work. He did not acknowledge God as merciful and took credit for his work outside of faith, he felt that because of his own hard work God should now accept his sacrifice and accept him. The response from God is clear, He did not accept Cain’s sacrifice and neither will He accept any of our own works outside of faith. We must always keep in mind that God is love but outside of Christ we will never be covered by the love of God.

What can we learn from this example to help us understand what God requires from us? It is obvious; nothing outside of faith will ever be accepted. Nothing outside of Christ's finished work will cut it! The driving force behind spirituality in the world today is exactly the same attitude of Cain. I will and must be accepted because of what I have done, wrong! We will never be accepted for what we have done, never ever, our acceptance is only because of what Jesus has done.

The conclusion then is this; I must have faith towards God and I must repentant from dead works. Forget about looking for justification in what we do, but look to be appreciative to God our Father for sending His Son in our place, to pay the price for our sin. For it was the Lord Jesus, who defeated the enemy, sin, as He hung on that tree. Nothing more or nothing least will ever justify us before a Holy God. If we understand this foundational truth then we be like that man who built his house on the rock. We have an inbred tendency to always look for justification within ourselves, all this achieves is a proud look and an arrogant mindset leaving us mistakably informed and all we will achieve is God’s resistance; “but he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Abel was humble and Cain was proud as simple as that!

God our heavenly Father please help us to remember to always walk in faith and to never look for justification within ourselves but to always recognise our standing before you and in no one else, other than our great Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ! We stand because of Him and nothing else! When we eventually arrive at the entry gate to heaven, our pass word will be, JESUS CHRIST THE LORD! Praise His name!

For when we are judged; “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” (Genesis 15:14) – And all because of our great Messiah! 

Signing off

Tyrone

    

   

“...will I judge!"

(Genesis 15:14)  “...will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.”

This morning I am driven to explore God’s judgement. In times past, prior to Christ and the work of the cross, there seemed to always be a way of escape or was there! Due to it being far too much of an in-depth study to unpack all my thoughts to support my persuasion as I believe that provision was always made for man to find a way of escape, but only up to a point and then there was no possibility of forgiveness.

I must use a few examples to support my argument; as I have started to make my way through the bible as a reading project; I have started at the beginning and find it wonderful on the one hand but terrifying on the other. He saves some but ultimately destroys others! This is the God we serve; He without hesitation has both traits to His persona. We know from scripture that God is love; “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1John 4:8)

But we also know that God is righteous and will judge as He has done from the beginning, let us look and examine what He said to Cain: - “And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." (Genesis 4:2-7)

There are a few observations we must note in this text; firstly there were two sacrifices but God only received one of them. Why? They both had a calling! One was a gardener and the other a shepherd!  God gave their father Adam a calling, he was to tend the garden and now both of them also had responsibility. Why did God accept the sacrifice of one and not the other? I will not dare to speak as if I am able to speak on behalf of God will absolute certainty and explain His decision. But we have the Word for study and when we glean from it, we see God’s heart in the matter. Our existence here on earth is to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we must work out what God will accept and what He will reject. The Apostle Paul teaches us this with absolute certainty, he gives us an inclining into this very account when we scratch just a little deeper than the surface, this is what he teachers: - “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) 

God will always be God and He will never relinquish His title to another. We must understand this clearly! What He says goes and it is not up for debate! But we must always remember this, as a righteous God He always acts in righteousness even if we cannot see it at the time! He is the One who will keep righteousness intact, if we left it up to mans opinion we would be in big trouble. Thankfully that is His domain and therefore all who belong to Him will always be safe. Thank you Heavenly Father!

For us life is a journey and we must work out what it is that God requires from us along the way. It is obvious that all must firstly repent and turn to Jesus to be covered by His grace. No covering, no lasting grace! We may all have what is known as common grace, save and unsaved alike. The sun rises for the righteous as well as the unrighteous, for those who believe and also for those who don’t! But lasting grace will only cover those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. In other words, not everyone will make it to heaven, but only those who are written in the Lambs Book of Life, those who are born again! This is clearly seen in scripture! However once we are saved we must find obedience in our lives, it is taught through suffering! Another topic for another time!

Now back to Cain and Able; what do you see when you read this account? Why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s? Time does not permit me to conclude today’s thoughts, but I would like you to study it for yourself and come up with some answers and I will conclude this tomorrow. It is a crucial foundational truth we must come to grips with if we want to please God our Father! The answer is in the text!

Signing off

Tyrone  

But the Helper, the holy Spirit...

(John 14:26) “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit...”

I have a troubled soul this morning, not troubled as if one without hope! But troubled by heaviness to seek out the truth on how, and to what degree, my application to text in conjunction with revelation should proportionately be applied. I am not sure there is an equal answer for all! That is somewhat of a dangerous statement and many a cult has found strength to mislead their follows with that type of theology. Nevertheless, we must all embrace Him with open arms! Having warned us on the wrong application to verses out of context, what about the over emphasis on structure, that too can mislead! It is also obvious that our carnal mind rejects the work of God the Holy Spirit, both the sinner and the saint can be influence by this fact. If as a saint (a child of God) I reason as a man to the exclusion of what scripture teachers me and I shut out the greatest of Teachers, the Holy Spirit, then I reject His council. I may miss out on revelation! How I love it when I am surprised by scripture and a new truth jumps out at me on a page that I may have read many times before. It brings with it freshness to my ongoing relationship with this great God of ours! If I over reason what God is showing me, I then may miss out! I do however say that with much carefulness! We must proof scripture to be true from scripture itself!

I need to find answers; we must wrestle to find answers! Remember Jacob and his encounter with the angel (man) at Peniel, he had such a determination to be blessed that it marred his flesh for life! O if only I could have but a blot of his tenacity. “When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."” (Genesis 32:25-28)

If I consider scripture, there are many absolutes; the Word will endure forever, everything that has been penned will come to pass, whether good or bad and so on.

This morning I would like to explore the influence of the God the Holy Spirit in our lives and how we should walk by His influence and not with the minds of men.

The Charismatic’s (the anything goes type of Christian) likes to run under the banner, “leading of the Spirit” and often to the exclusion of sound doctrine. One thing is for certain, God the Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word of God. He will never deny Himself! This is the basis of our foundation and all that is said must be confirmed by the Word of God – the Bible! Correct application to the work of God the Holy Spirit is imperative to the believer’s life.  His main objective is to reveal Christ! In fact He was the catalyst that impregnated the Virgin Mary; “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18) 

It is a clear indication that from start to finish He would be involved with the Lord Jesus’ ministry and it can and should not be any different for the believer. He is our helper; “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) 

We see that He is also our teacher but if we overlook Him as our teacher then we will revert back to a carnal mindset! My next point I can with certainty say, as it has been tried and tested in my life; He shall bring to remembrance all that the Lord has said to us (believers) and how does that happen you may ask? The Word which has been penned in the Bible once digested either through ministry or through reading will be brought back to our minds if and when needed. It is a help to equip us to walk in faith! I have heard much said about “memory verses” (memorizing scripture in a parrot type fashion), it may have its place but I am not convinced, I may be wrong! Nevertheless the text is clear; the Holy Spirit will bring to “remembrance what the Lord has said!” I can without fear of contradiction confess that my memory is not good, but as far as remembering and recalling scripture I accredit that to the work of the Holy Spirit and nothing else. I will have no boast whatsoever in my ability as a man to remember scripture! There is such a vastness to God the Holy Spirit that I will barely scratch the surface, but I must continue! I fear for the Christian that has build a hedge around self because of what he has witnessed in so called Christian circles and how they have miss appropriated His work. The cliché that is often referred to but carries with it much truth; “do not throw the baby out with the dirty bath water!” Over correction to the detriment of truth seems to be the order of the day. May God help us in this area of our lives, as we are in desperate need of His help! I would love to explore this though further but although time would permit, I fear if I become somewhat long winded, I may miss the importance of this topic with many words.

Let me conclude with some of C.H.Spurgeon’s thoughts on the Holy Spirit, as he will be easily received by most, even if I am not by some!

“...One word of comment and advice to the saints of God, and to sinners, and I have done. Saints of the Lord! ye have this morning heard that God the Holy Ghost is a person; ye have had it proved to your souls. What follows from this? Why, it followeth how earnest ye should be in prayer to the Holy Spirit, as well as for the Holy Spirit. Let me say that this is an inference that you should lift up your prayers to the Holy Ghost: that you should cry earnestly unto him; for he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can speak or think. See this mass of people. What is to convert it? See this crowd? Who is to make my influence permeate through the mass? You know this place now has a mighty influence, and, God blessing us, it will have an influence not only upon this city, but upon England at large; for we now employ the press as well as the pulpit; and certainly, I should say, before the close of the year, more than two hundred thousand of my productions will be scattered through the land—words uttered by my lips, or written by my pen. But how can this influence be rendered for good? How shall God's glory be promoted by it? Only by incessant prayer for the Holy Spirit; by constantly calling down the influence of the Holy Ghost upon us; we want him to rest upon every page that is printed, and upon every word that is uttered. Let us then be doubly earnest in pleading with the Holy Ghost, that he would come and own our labors; that the whole church at large may be revived thereby, and not ourselves only, but the whole world share in the benefit.
Then, to the ungodly, I have this one closing word to say. Ever be careful how you speak of the Holy Ghost. I do not know what the unpardonable sin is, and I do not think any man understands it; but it is something like this: "He that speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall never be forgiven him." I do not know what that means; but tread carefully! There is danger; there is a pit which our ignorance has covered by sand; tread carefully! you may be in it before the next hour. If there is any strife in your heart to-day, perhaps you will go to the ale-house and forget it. Perhaps there is some voice speaking in your soul, and you will put it away. I do not tell you will be resisting the Holy Ghost, and committing the unpardonable sin; but it is somewhere there. Be very careful. O, there is no crime on earth so black as the crime against the Holy Spirit! Ye may blaspheme the Father, and ye shall be damned for it, unless ye repent; ye may blaspheme the Son, and hell shall be your portion, unless ye are forgiven; but blaspheme the Holy Ghost, and thus saith the Lord: "There is no forgiveness, either in this world nor in the world which is to come." I cannot tell you what it is; I do no profess to understand it; but there it is. It is the danger signal; stop! man, stop! If thou has despised the Holy Spirit— if thou hast laughed at his revelations, and scorned what Christians call his influence, I beseech thee, stop! This morning seriously deliberate. Perhaps some of you have actually committed the unpardonable sin; stop! Let fear stop you; sit down. Do not drive on so rashly as you have done, Jehu! O slacken your reins! Thou who are such a profligate in sin—thou who hast uttered such hard words against the Trinity, stop! Ah! it makes us all stop. It makes us all draw up, and say, "Have I not perhaps so done?" Let us think of this; and let us not at any time stifle either with the words or the acts of God the Holy Ghost.” {Delivered on Sabbath Morning, January 21, 1855, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.}

 “In all that I have said I have given you another reason for seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit. If you do not understand a book by a departed writer you are unable to ask him his meaning, but the Spirit, who inspired Holy Scripture, lives forever, and he delights to open up the Word to those who seek his instruction. He is always accessible: "He dwelleth with you and shall be in you." Go to him for yourselves and cry, "Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law"; and, this being granted you, entreat him to send forth his light and power with the Word when you expound it, that your hearers also may be led into all truth. Commentaries, expositions, interpretations, are all mere scaffolding; the Holy Ghost himself must edify you and help you to build up the church of the living God.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

  

The Rebuke of the Wise!

(Ecclesiastes 7:5) “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

Back when I was a youth the rebuke of the wise was far from sight and eager ears; sadly this verse had little positive influence over my life, or maybe I should rather say it had a great negative influence over me and the outcome to my life. I was not given the nickname “Typhoon” because I had a gentle character and was softly spoken. It was not as if I made it my goal to live up to my nickname that just seemed to be who I was as a young boy growing up into adulthood. Trouble followed me and often! Why some would ask? The answer is before our very eyes, I listen to the “song of fools” with great anticipation and eagerness. I knew no better one could say, as I was dead in my trespasses and sin, although that may partly be true I still loved the sound of the music and how its chorus “O fool” had such a catchy tune to it. How I love the beat of the drums that dominated its chorus. Nevertheless I was not alone; all my friends seemed to love it too. In fact almost everyone I encountered enjoyed its tune! Surprisingly, the “song of fools” never seemed to drop off the hit parade, in fact it is still number one in many countries. It still influences so many lives!

I had breakfast with a good friend of mine on Saturday as he was out from Nigeria, however he does not share my sentiments as far as Christianity demands. He is the Managing Director of the Nampak operation in Nigeria and with it comes great responsibility. He is no doubt good at his job and he is very level headed as far the secular world demands. We were discussing the world’s economy and how volatile the stock market is, just one of God’s judgements, a volcano, earthquake or a tsunami and the markets hit a speed wobble, panic sets in and people rush to sell so not to get caught in another market crash! His comment to me was this, “that is why we must live life to the fullest we never know when it will end.” That was a direct quote from the “song of fools”; it is the line that leads into the chorus. My retort was a simple one but I think it cut deep, God knows! I pray it did! I said "Terry, as astute as you are when it comes to making provision for your family, you have life cover etc, why then will you not make provision for your next life, your spiritual life that will never end?” No more was said on the topic but I would ask all to pray earnestly for Him, his name is Terry Wilson and for his family that God may have mercy on their souls and save them.

We are bombarded from every side with this powerful song, "the song of fools” it has cast its spell on so many, it had me dancing to its tune for so long, but GOD sent a man to preach the gospel to me and through his rebuke and the work of God the Holy Spirit’s intervention my eyes where opened to the truth, that Jesus saves! And how well He is able to do exactly that! How I have learnt to love the rebuke of the wise! It may have taken a lifetime but it finally begins to bear its fruit. “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.” (Proverbs 9:8) 

For so long I shunned the counsel of the wise and I have many scars that remind me of my folly. I have a leg that is an inch and a half shorter than the other, I am HIV positive and take medication on a daily basis to keep the virus at bay, but what that does do for me is to remind me of my recklessness and how I should have known better but I still chose to danced to its melody. I have learnt and am still learning to love the rebuke of my heavenly Father as He corrects me through His Word. It teaches me how to walk circumspectly before Him, sometimes it is as gentle as a cool breeze but there are times when a forceful hand is needed and I can truly say I love Him all the more for it! Let us never forget to love the rebuke of the wise as it will stand us in good stead here on earth, but especially for the life to come! Heaven is our final destination and there will never ever be a song such as this, which we are so easily lured by here on earth. Folly will have no place there! Heaven will be so full of wisdom that it will overshadow the negativity of craziness and all its fruit. Heaven will be a new beginning for all who overcome and who learn to love the rebuke of the wise here on earth even though the “song of fools” is bellowed through ever medium we are exposed to in our daily lives. If we once lived under its influence, it no longer should have any hold on us. Our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ has defeated all, even the folly of the worldly wise! So let us remember to love the rebuke of the wise as it will equip us to run this race with determination, we will finish our race victoriously bringing glory to our heavenly Father, as there is a day coming in the not to distant future where we will hear these words; “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

But in order to achieve this goal we must pay careful attention to all of wisdom’s direction and that can only be found in God’s Word, the Bible and nowhere else! Of course there are many great books written to teach us to walk in wisdom and circumspectly before a Holy God, just so long as they draw accurate direction from the Bible.

“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” (Luke 21:33)   

 

Signing off

Tyrone

                                 

Remember Calvary!

(Luke 23:33) “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary...”

To visualize an actual location where our great Saviour bled and died leaves me with mixed emotions. How thankful I will always be, for He has set me free! Honour, power and glory belong to no other, He alone is fit to be glorified as the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s and I gladly proclaim Him as my Lord and King. For He is my King, He is my Lord! I will bow to no other because of His faithfulness to that hill, called Calvary. In my mind, there is soberness to the actual event with flashes of discomfort, pain, ridicule and much more. However there is overwhelming gladness when I consider that for our King, it was worth it all! I know that without Him and that hill known as Golgotha, I would be lost and undone, a man groping in the dark, without hope and doomed for hell. But now I cry, “Yes I can see!” And all because of Calvary. It was but a place, a piece of land, Kranion, the Greek name for Golgotha - the place of a skull: a reprehensible place, to add to the reproach of His anguish, but significant, for there He triumphed over death. He was crucified. His hands and feet were nailed to the cross as it lay upon the ground, and it was then lifted up, and fastened into the earth, or into some opening made to receive it. This was an excruciating and disgraceful death above any other. He was crucified in the midst between two thieves, as if He had been the worst of the three. Thus He was not only treated as a transgressor, but numbered with them, the worst of them. That He was reviled and reproached, and treated with all the disdain and disapproval imaginable: The people stood beholding, not at all worried that they now crucified God in the flesh but rather pleasing themselves with the display as they geared and called out, “if you are God save yourself.” They triumphed over Him as if they had conquered Him, whereas He was Himself then more than a conqueror; if He be the Christ, the chosen of God, let him save himself that was one of their thoughts!  They mocked Him; they made spectator sport with Him, and made a jest of His sufferings; and as they drank sharp and cheap sour wine themselves, such as were generally allotted them, they victoriously asked him if he would pledge them, or drink with them. And they said, “If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself”; for, as the Jews prosecuted Him under the notion of a pretended Messiah, so the Romans under the notion of a pretended king. That the superscription over his head, setting forth his crime, was, “This is the King of the Jews” (Luke 23:38). He is put to death for pretending to be the king of the Jews; “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20) - So they meant it; but God intended it to be a declaration of what He really was, notwithstanding his present disgrace: He is the King of the Jews, the King of the church, and His cross is the way to His crown. Ironically this was written in those that were called the three learned languages, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, for those are best educated that have learned Christ. There was no mistaking what they had done. It was written in these three languages that it might be known and read of all men; but God designed by it to signify that the gospel of Christ should be preached to all. Although they may not have understood what they had just done; “And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments.” (Luke 23:34) – Nevertheless they were guilty of their part in the sentence; crucifiers of Christ know not what they do. They that speak ill of Christianity speak poorly of that which they do not know, and it is because they will not know it. There is a kind of ignorance that does in part excuse sin: ignorance through want of the means of knowledge or of a capacity to receive instruction, through the inappropriateness of education, or inadvertency. The crucifiers of Christ were kept in ignorance by their rulers, and had prejudices against him instilled into them, so that in what they did against Christ and his doctrine they thought they did God service, all those who reject Christ and His finished work will nevertheless be guilty of the body and blood of the Lamb and they will all suffer His wrath!

Christ is in His kingdom, interceding. “Lord, remember me, and intercede for me.” He is there ruling. “Lord, remember me, and rule in me by thy Spirit.” He is there preparing places for those that are His. “Lord, remember me, and prepare a place for me; remember me at death, remember me in the resurrection.” “Oh that you would hide me in Sheol, that you would conceal me until your wrath be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!” (Job 14:13)

Now the hill of Calvary although so full of treachery is now a place of comfort for a multitude of believers, in fact they cannot be numbered, and all because of our great Kings faithfulness to it. “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” (Revelation 7:9) 

See how it now does ring so sweet in the ear for all those that believe. Light springs from the mixed emotions of Golgotha, and every herb of the field blooms sweetly beneath the shadow of the once accursed tree. It was a place of thirst for our King, Grace has dug a fountain which now gushes waters pure as crystal, each drop capable of such healing. Think not on this your seasons of conflict, look only to Calvary and you will find solace there, a hill full of such comfort and a King who now intercedes for all who call out to Him. Remember Calvary as it will never be forgotten!

Signing off

Tyrone

Much of my reference was drawn directly from Matthew Henry’s Commentary and some gleaning from the "prince of preachers" C.H.Spurgeon.

Escape for your life!

(Genesis 19:17) "...Escape for your life...”

I sit staring at the screen this morning the sun yet to make its appearance and not a tweet in the air, a manner of soberness filters my surroundings, with my mind rather locked on the account of Lot and His Family. There is much to glean, but without harping on all the mistakes he made, as I have almost certainly fallen more than he ever did by the lures and snare of life! So then who is without sin cast the first stone, as I would never qualify? Where on earth would the safest place be if we had to face righteous judgment? A pit where death is imminent, but in order to qualify as a stone-thrower you can have no sin in your life, in fact any sin (past and present) disqualifies your participation. It will be no different on Judgment Day, judgment will not come from sinners but only the righteous will qualify to judge. “As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; (Romans 3:10)

It will not be as if your jury will debate your outcome on the evidence that has been presented, yet they too would all be guilty of the same crime and yet pass sentence on sin as sinners. They may not have robbed a bank, or murdered someone but they all would be guilty of breaking God’s law in one form or another. And according to the Bible, what is the outcome for sinners? Hell is the sentence! This is not the opinions of men but the Word of God! I have often heard many say, the Bible is a good book and we must learn from it as a guide but we must not take it literally, if this is your reasoning you would be wrong! It is not “trivial pursuit” we are playing, it is far more serious, and in fact your life does depend upon it! Just as Lot and His family’s life depended upon it! Lot and his virgin daughters made it out and not the rest of his family. It was a tragic end for some! So too will our end be tragic if we do not take what God teaches us in and through His Word.

Why am I spending so much time on warnings of late, I suppose everyone likes an encouraging message that gives us with hope and leaves us feeling secure. But why should we feel secure if it is only a false sense of security. We must be sure!

Let us have a look at the account of Lot, his family and their response to the warning. Firstly what was the caution? It was a warning to escape the imminent destruction of a city and for all who lived there. Flee and in so doing you shall live, ignore the warning and die! It was that simple! For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it." (Genesis 19:13)

Of late I feel like Lot must have felt, I cannot stop my thoughts from thinking about the destruction that will soon be looming for all that live here now and especially for family and friends that will not take this warning seriously. No wonder I cannot get passed these types for blog entries. If I could, I would vigorously shake some sense in to all and sundry, but I know better! It is the goodness of God that leads a man unto repentance! I plead with you heavenly Father, the only great and true God, the only One who has it in His power to save. Shine your light into my life and my family and friends so that we may understand the severity of ignoring the looming destruction the world is about to face and more importantly the judgment all will ultimately face. The time for pretence is over; “So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.” (Genesis 19:14)

How will we receive this warning I wonder, will we take it seriously or will it be a joke to you? Will you accept the warning but persist to hanker after what the world has to offer to the detriment of our eternal well-being. I pray not!

“As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." (Gen 19:15-17) 

Lot did obey the warning of the angels with his two virgin daughters, but as for his sons-in-laws they remained behind with their wives (Lots daughters) and they were destroyed with the city. His wife although she followed her husband persisted to look back after having been clearly warned not to, nevertheless she longed to have what she was now leaving behind and she also died with all in the city, and was turned into a pillar of salt. A fairytale some may say! But what will we say? Repent turn to Jesus and find life! We cannot serve God on our terms; we must follow His instruction if we are to escape His wrath! Nothing else will He accommodate! Man-made religion will not cut it, only true repentance will He accept!

I pray even now that this will be well received, nevertheless if not, I have exposed my heart and I will continue to pray for myself, my family and friends that God may have mercy on our souls as He has had mercy on mine. What have I done to find His favour, absolutely nothing, in fact amongst our family I am probably the least worthy of His grace and yet He has extended His loving hand to me. I have no claim to fame, for if it was not for His mercy I would probably be begging bread in some gutter somewhere, but now I have a hope that burns bright and clear and all because of what Jesus did on a hill some 2000 years ago, where He made a way for me and for all that would call upon His name.

In loving memory of Oupa, TJ Botha my grandfather, who had an instrumental role in my life, as he help execute God's plan even if he was not aware of it back then!

Signing off

Tyrone    

Dont Be A Fool!

(Psalms 14:1) “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.”

There is not a word the Lord has uttered without intent that has not come to pass; He is Holy and therefore demands righteousness, but because of our fallen natures our understanding to what is righteous is often marred, what we think is right is wrong, we are born sinners, we were never taught to sin but by default, outside of the Lord Jesus we can do nothing else. We think we are doing what is right and even justify ourselves when we are wrong and we publicly say things like this, “ I am not a bad person!” or I am kind to others and because of this I think I will make it to heaven. These types of traps claim the most scalps. Many of these trophies will be on display in hell, and you will be amongst that number if you reason with that kind of mindset. It is only the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ that will enable you to enter heaven and escape hell. But God is righteous, He demands payment for the smallest of sins, if you told a lie when you where twelve and never ever lied again, you would still be classed as a liar. This is what it means to be judged by a righteous Judge, you would find you guilty as charged and you would need to queue with the liars awaiting your sentence! “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:14)   

We can wiggle and squirm as much as we like to try and get out of the ruling but the truth will be this, yes you did lie, even if only once and therefore you will righteously be addressed as a liar. And as a lair God demands justice! If the Lord Jesus who was only ever innocent and without sin was dealt with in the manner in which God dealt with Him and had to face separation from His Father, where do we get off believing we will escape God’s Judgement under the pretence that we are not such bad people. Sucker, dunce call yourself whatever you like, all those who believe this lie will face the wrath of God! “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)

Let no one lie to you, each and every sin you have ever committed will be brought to book, even those sins you have forgotten about will rest on you when you are judged. There will be no escape at the judgment seat of God, none whatsoever! He is righteous and will demand payment, and no backhand into the hand of an unrighteous police official will be on offer to get you off the hook, they are also unrighteous but God is Righteous and they too will be judged. I spell this out because I do not want you to believe a lie, I have spoken truthfully and all those who have not repented and are not covered by the blood of the Lamb, will face the wrath of God! So then if you reject so great a salvation message where will you find help when you are judged? Repent I pray, call upon the name of the Lord and you will escape the sin judgment. It will cost you your life here on earth, your lifestyle will change but you will no longer be trapped by the snare of sin like you once where, and you will escape hell! There is no other out for mankind, reject Christ and his saving grace and face the consequences, hell will be your home for eternity. But while you still breath and have the opportunity, repent I say turn to Jesus, Richie do you hear the call my friend! Do not delay, today is the day of salvation, you may not get many more, who can say, God alone knows!

If you are not committed to Christ and you have read this blog this morning, you may have thoughts like, "well what about you Tyrone", do you not have any sin in your life? My answer would be, yes I do still struggle in areas with sin in my life; the only difference is my sin has been paid for by the greatest of Saviour, I am not justified by what I have achieve over sin but am justified because he has paid the price for my sin. So is it for all who repent and turn to Him, sin for the repentant believer will not be charged to his account and only because God the righteous judge has already judged it; that is why when the Lord Jesus hung upon that cruel Roman cross on the hill known as Golgotha, God the righteous judge turn His back on His own Son, not because he has no backbone, but because He is righteous and needed to judge sin and so He judged His Son on our behalf. You better understand this with absolute clarity, if you now reject this provision which is now available for all who believe in the resurrection and repent looking unto Jesus, you will face the wrath of God. Why?

“When God saw Jesus in the sinner’s place, he did not spare him; and when he finds the unregenerate without Christ, he will not spare them. O sinner, Jesus was led away by his enemies: so shall you be dragged away by fiends to the place appointed for you. Jesus was deserted of God; and if he, who was only imputedly a sinner, was deserted, how much more shall you be? “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” what an awful shriek! But what shall be your cry when you shall say, “O God! O God! why hast thou forsaken me?” and the answer shall come back, “Because ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh.” If God spared not his own Son, how much less will he spare you! What whips of burning wire will be yours when conscience shall smite you with all its terrors. Ye richest, ye merriest, ye most self-righteous sinners-who would stand in your place when God shall say, “Awake, O sword, against the man that rejected me; smite him, and let him feel the smart for ever?” Jesus was spit upon: sinner, what shame will be yours! We cannot sum up in one word all the mass of sorrows which met upon the head of Jesus who died for us, therefore it is impossible for us to tell you what streams, what oceans of grief must roll over your spirit if you die as you now are. You may die so, you may die now. By the agonies of Christ, by his wounds and by his blood, do not bring upon yourselves the wrath to come! Trust in the Son of God, and you shall never die.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Think about this thought; the Lord Jesus was imputed (to attribute a usually undesirable quality to a person, cause, or source) as a sinner and yet He was without sin and yet He still faced the wrath of God. How then will you who believe that you have been a good person, but have actually sinned be able to stand before God, find acceptance and escape judgment! DONT BE A FOOL!

There is only one option, repent, believe on the finished work of Calvary, fall to your knees and find forgiveness in Him.

Signing off

Tyrone

Note: Yesterdays insert of C.H.Spurgeon was taken from Pyromaniacs blog http://teampyro.blogspot.com

We must lose our lives for His name sake!

(Matthew 16:25) “But whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

To what degree am I willing to be rejected by men for the Kingdom of God’s sake? Let me explore the concept of Christianity and all the diverse opinions to it. What are the benefits to Christianity? This is a very interesting question; it all depends on what you want from it! Forgive me for my candid style but my point will soon be evident. A large percentage of individuals that visit churches who dress under the label of “A Form of Religion” have agendas, in fact to be true we all have an agenda, both the sheep as well as the goats. How so? From the day the Lord began his ministry, in fact even prior to that, His mother knowing who He was came to Him and asked Him for a miracle, they needed more wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee and this is the account: “And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.” (John 2:3-4) 

Mary (the mother of Jesus) probably felt for this family, they may have been poor and unable to purchase enough wine for the marriage feast as they had now already moved into the third day of celebrations. So in order that this family did not suffer disgrace she beckoned to the Lord Jesus to intervene. His response gives us a clue into His heart in the matter; why are you troubling me with this; I have far greater needs to attend too! He came to do His Fathers will and that was His sole purpose, there was a tremendous responsibility placed upon Him, in fact we should spend more time considering those responsibilities and we may just get a clearer glimpse of His greatness! This would help in walking uprightly before Him, placing His needs and our Fathers will before our inconsequential wants. How often do we ask God to intervene in our lives with selfish intent because we are aware of His power, just like Mary did in this account? Mary was not concerned for her own well being but she had placed the well being of her friends above the well being of her Son’s mission; to do the will of His Father! We are far worse at times. We demand and expect the Lord to act for us on request and at will, forgive us Lord! Forgive me Father! Yet even with this request we see our great Saviours heart for all those whom He loves. Nevertheless, Mary acted in faith and instructed the servants to do whatever He told them to do, she anticipated a miracle! And so it was, it happened! He had compassion on His mother and turned the water into wine. Note: Although He performs the miracle; we see a rebuke in His tone, He does not call her mother but woman; as many as Christ loves, He rebukes and chastens. Examine your life and think about how often you pray for something, normally when you are in need and it will be for your own benefit. We often only call out to Him in times of trouble. The Lord Jesus on the other hand never considered His own well-being but always put others before self. “And Jesus saith unto him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”” (Matthew 8:20)

When we begin to be assuming, we should be reminded what we are, men and women, frail, foolish, corrupt and we must put off this type of reasoning. Our lives must begin to take on the appearance of a selfless attitude, just like our great Saviour. This will be an ongoing process for as long as we live here on earth. But we must resolve to achieve this very goal. It will be worth it all as we will rule and reign with Him throughout eternity, just like He now sits on a throne in heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father, so we too will be beneficiaries with him in heaven. All those who are found faithful to His will and those who endure unto the end! This is what we will be judged for and will then be rewarded accordingly.  “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:25)

Throughout the Lords ministry here on earth we see many examples of people following the Lord for self gain. Many flocked to hear him speak and although He carried with Him the words of life it is clear to see that many overlooked His wisdom but never overlooked His miracles. Let us prove this from scripture!

Many had gathered to listen to Him speak in a town called Bethsaida and He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. As the day wore on the crowd grew hungry and needed food He performed another miracle before their eyes as He fed the entire crowd with two fishes and five loaves; “And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" And they answered, "John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen." Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answered, "The Christ of God."” (Luke 9:17-20)

Note: Everyone who was there witnessed the miracles and they assumed that the Lord Jesus was a prophet but only Peter recognised Him as the Christ (the anointed One). The crowd saw Him as someone who could help them with their physical needs; healing, food etc. If that is how we view the Lord Jesus then we have missed the mark. He neither came to heal or bodies and gives us daily bread, although He will take care of those needs, we must firstly view Him as Christ in our lives and we must look to appropriate His righteousness to our lives before that will happen. If not then we will be no different to blind leading the blind and we too will fall into a ditch. He came to save us from hell!

There are sadly some who fly a banner of Christianity who are deceivers and mislead many into error, but only babes (new believers) and those who have hidden agendas will fall by way of their folly. The Apostle Paul recognised them and has this to say; “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Romans 16:18) 

“(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)” (Philippians 3:18-19)  

We must all examine our own hearts and ask ourselves, do we serve Christ because of his righteousness of do we have hidden agenda’s?

Signing off

Tyrone

  

"Turn to Me and be saved!"

(Isaiah 45:22) "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!”

Are we in or out of gear with God? We will only ever find ourselves in one of two camps, it is either Bethel or it will be Babel! In fact there is no neutral ground! We will be wearing our Glorious Saviour’s “coat of arms” in humility or we will be strutting as the proud peacock with our tails fanned, just waiting for our fall. For all whom reject the simple message of the gospel will understand the Lake of Fire as they will experience it firsthand. The road before us is steep and turbulent with very tricky corners than needs skilful handling; in fact no man would ever be able to complete the journey in the wrong gear and have a happy ending. At times even first gear seems to be underpowered to get us through the severity of life. There seem to be one obstacle after another and the journey never seems to end. Until we find the right gear for life and then we are no longer phased with trivial nonsense, but be warned anything outside of the land of Bethel is perfidious and lays in wait to snare all those who wander through the land of Babel. At times wolves find their way into God’s glorious land with one intention, to lead true believers astray and persuade them to shift gears, but before long all those who wear God’s armour find their gear once again and they soon work out to differentiate between the wolves and the sheep. How I love the land of Bethel! It is a place of rest and any tired traveler can always find solace there! The educated and the simple have a right to enrol and enlist in God’s army but there is only one entrance to this beautiful land. However it is surrounded by high walls and skilful climbers may find away over the walls but they will be imposters and not enlisted men and eventually see their demise. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1)

How I have learnt to love the simplicity of the Gospel; it is not a complicated message, there are no tricks to it or devious turns. We will either believe the message or reject it! It is that simple! All we need do is acknowledge our sin before a holy God, accept His provision in and through his beloved Son and fall to our knees as we seek out His forgiveness and we will then be saved, we will then find ourselves wearing His “coat of arms”.

This is what my beloved brother in Christ had to say on the subject just over a hundred years ago: “A good many years ago, when I was about fifteen or sixteen years of age, I wanted a Savior, and I heard the gospel preached by a poor man, who said in the name of Jesus—"Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." It was very plain English, and I understood it, and obeyed it and found rest.

I owe all my happiness since then to the same plain doctrine.

Now, suppose that I were to say, "I have read a great many books, and there are a great many people willing to hear me. I really could not preach such a commonplace gospel as I did at the first. I must put it in a sophisticated way, so that none but the elite can understand me." I should be—what should I be? I should be a fool, writ large.

I should be worse than that, I should be a traitor to my God; for if I was saved by a simple gospel, then I am bound to preach that same simple gospel till I die, so that others too may be saved by it. When I cease to preach salvation by faith in Jesus put me into a lunatic asylum, for you may be sure that my mind is gone.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

I leave you with this very simple choice; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."” (Romans 10:13) 

Will you call out to Him and find life in Him or will you continue to strut with your tail fanned with the pride of life? I pray it is not the latter!

Signing off

Tyrone

"Occupy till I come!"

(Luke 19:13) “...Occupy until I come.”

This is the instruction to all of God’s disciples! Although we will not be judged for sin we will however be judged on this; how have we occupied with what God has given us! Remember the parable of the talents! Not all achieve their intended objective. Without now being overly wise and dissecting that portion of scripture, why that individual failed and was cast into outer darkness, it is obvious he was never saved, but that is not what the parable teachers. It emphasises they were given an opportunity to take what they had been given, different talents and to be found faithful with whatever the individual had been given. All where instructed to use their talent or talents and to make a profit! What is so encouraging is that all who are found faithful in what they were given were entitled to enter into His rest. Some are given more and others less, the point however is not how much you have been given but what you have done with what we have been given. Let us fasten our gaze on what the text teachers; I want us to learn from the parable; even now I want to learn from this parable with God the Holy Spirit as the overseer to the lesson. As I know I lack in this area of my life. Many things along the way have had their part to play, sin the forerunner! But on every side and every corner there is a lure to take our eyes off the ball and to hinder our progress, which is “to occupy until He comes”! What is the purpose of parables? To teach us to be God-centred and not man-centred, I am so far off the mark in this area of my life that it hurts to think how selfish I actual am! May God forgive me and help me change my lifestyle in this area of my life. This is the lesson from this parable; instead of singling out others let me reflect inward and examine myself against this parable as I would encourage you to do the same. But as a maths equation has a formula in reaching the correct answer, we must also understand that if we appropriate the wrong dimension to our understanding of how to achieve a God-centred mindset, we will fail! We must be found faithful to this truth! I would like us to consider this thought; “that which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirits is spirit!” (John 3:6)

The Lord makes a distinctive statement, differentiating between flesh and spirit, He highlights this very clearly. It is important we unmistakably understand this; it would be rather difficult to speak with our ears and listen with our mouths. No! It would be impossible! Likewise is we try and walk in the spirit by the weakness of the flesh that will also be impossible. It is like oil and water that do not mix; they cannot change their properties without introducing other chemicals. If we remember and realise that God designed the human body, and He has arranged it as He has pleased. We have had absolutely no say in the matter as the created. We may affect our appearance as life progresses, some become obsessed with health and fitness while others end up lethargic and some even obese! What we do with what we have been given varies from person to person. It is no different to the talent God has given each of His children. I say children, because unless you are "born again" we are still dead in your trespasses and sins and spiritually we are incapable of being God-centred. Everything we do even though it may have an appearance of godliness will nevertheless be man-centred. How can I say that? The bible clearly teachers this; Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) 

Without a spiritual awakening we will always reason with human intellect and the next verse proves this; “Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"

The point we must seize with clarity is this; “that which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit.” But until our spirits are awakened to this truth we will remain in darkness. The difficulty we face after we have been saved and our spiritual eyes are opened, although we have now begin our journey in the spirit, we often and I am no different to most, forget this truth and we try to achieve a God-centred mindset by the flesh. All that really means is although we have begun in the spirit we try and find perfection in and through the flesh, humanism creeps in once again and robs us of our victory. It prevent us from glorifying God and his grace alone, we begin to think we can somehow do it in our strength. I do not believe we purposefully set out to walk with this mindset, but it often happens. The apostle Paul has this to say; “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?” (Galatians 3:1-4)

It is imperative if we are to “occupy until He comes”, that we embrace the finished work of cross, that we remember from whence we have fallen. But we must understand, “That which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit”. In order for us to be found faithful with the talent or talents we have been given, we must walk in the spirit! How do we walk in the spirit? We must feed the spirit! How do we feed the spirit? We give as much time as possible to it! All day and every day, we must be consciously aware of who we are feeding, our old man and their natures or the new man and the Christ in us. I have a confession to make; my life has been found wanting and I ask for your forgiveness Father, help me on a daily basis to remember to put on the armour of God (Ephesians 6:13-17). It is one thing to wake up and remember to spend time with you, but as soon as the clock strikes 9, then I somewhat feel that I have done my bit, I have been wrong and I repent of my sin. Help me “occupy until He comes” and I pray help all who fear and love you achieve this as tough times are on the horizon. How will we stand if we still reason as men? We have every good gift available to us and only because of our great Saviour, your glorious Son! Help us be faithful to seek out the weapons that will help us stand in the time of trial, I ask this for your glory and in the name of the only true Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord!

Signing off

Tyrone