The roles of dreams, do they still play their part?

(Act 2:17) “Your old men shall dream dreams.”

Dreams, everybody has them, in one form or another at different times throughout their lives and yet some have more impact than others. Last night was another one of those nights, my dreams where somewhat disturbing, with a reality second to none. I felt somewhat defeated as unbelief began to flood my soul. We know what robs us of our faith, it is sin and yes my dreams were full of failure, I failed certain tests when tested that in reality I had failed in the past. I was hoping that I had move beyond this mind-set, as we all need to grow up into the fullness of the statue of Christ. We all need to put off childish things!

On the one hand I was somewhat relieved to wake up and realize that it was but a dream and yet on the other the nagging question is why did I have such a dream? Where better to go looking for answers than the Holy Scriptures.

Dreams had a specific place mainly throughout the Old Testament; God used a dream to warn Abimelech (Pharaoh) that he had taken Sarah Abrahams wife, and that particular dream brought him to his senses and he gave Sarah back to Abraham. Joseph had a dream about the rest of his family bowing down and worshipping him. Although his brothers mocked his dream it nevertheless unfolded as Joseph had predicted. Then we have the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker which Joseph also interpreted correctly. Then Pharaoh’s dreams plagued him for a long time as he looked for answers in all the wrong places. Soothsayer and magicians were summoned with no success; Until God stepped in through Joseph’s interpretation. There is a fabulous lesson for us to learn; God is the answer for all our questions, not people’s opinions or horoscopes and the like. As they can be very damaging!

Prior to salvation whilst abroad in England I met a young lady who of all things foretold ones fortune from the residue of a finished cup of tea or was it coffee? She was from some Slovak country, Czechoslovakia I think! A common fashionable young woman; put it this way she did not have a broom under one arm! I was twenty-one years old at the time and now I am forty-five. Twenty four years ago and I am still influenced by what she told me, it may not be helpful, but nevertheless very real in my mind eye as what she predicted often flashes into play. I often tell myself that it is a lot of rubbish which it surely is, but that does not change the fact that it has such a hold on my reasoning at times.

I fear many are trapped by similar scenarios; they hang their hope on what some wannabe prophet tells them especially if it involves hope of some kind. Many false Christian movements lure people into these traps and normally around the traps of money. Although we are taught that this is but a form of witchcraft, the damage in a lot of cases has been done, these trapping memories remain with us, and it is these memories that I wish to explore.

We must conclude that with dreams as well as prophetic utterances God’s Word has to be the final authority, or else how will we ever be sure for the well-being of our lives?

The writer of Hebrews teachers us that; “Long ago, at many times and in many ways (note, dreams no doubt had their place), 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) – The question I now have, has their function run their course, have they ceased?

I see the in the book of Acts the Luke tells us this; "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;” (Act 2:17) – There seems to be carnage attributed to this verse as every Tom Dick and Harry make heyday with this stanza. Everyone is a prophet and all dream dreams and people see visions. But surely we must accept the fact that these need to be tested. Does the Bible instruct us to test such claims?

I would like to spend some time over the next couple of posts exploring these thoughts…

Let me leave us with Matthew Henrys take on this verse and the reason for this is that the concerns we now have may have tainted our reasoning on the subject. Back in the seventeenth century the charismatic movement had not yet taken root. So he was not influenced but what he saw and dealt with the text as he read it. I believe a fair synopsis!

“The text itself that Peter quotes, Act_2:17-21. It refers to the last days, the times of the gospel, which are called the last days because the dispensation of God's kingdom among men, which the gospel sets up, is the last dispensation of divine grace, and we are to look for no other than the continuation of this to the end of time. Or, in the last days, that is, a great while after the ceasing of prophecy in the Old Testament church. Or, in the days immediately preceding the destruction of the Jewish nation, in the last days of that people, just before that great and notable day of the Lord spoken of.

 Act_11:17. Or, upon all flesh, that is, upon some of all ranks and conditions of men. The Jewish doctors taught that the Spirit came only upon wise and rich men, and such as were of the seed of Israel; but God will not tie himself to their rules.

That the Spirit should be in them a Spirit of prophecy; by the Spirit they should be enabled to foretel things to come, and to preach the gospel to every creature. This power shall be given without distinction of sex - not only your sons, but your daughters shall prophesy; without distinction of age - both your young men and your old men shall see visions, and dream dreams, and in them receive divine revelations, to be communicated to the church; and without distinction of outward condition - even the servants and handmaids shall receive of the Spirit, and shall prophesy.” (Matthew Henry)

 Until tomorrow then,

Signing off

Tyrone  

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry!

(Psalms 2:12)  “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry”

The goodness of God is a distinctiveness I am learning to love the more I live. To think of His supremacy, there is none greater than Him, when He speaks the heavens shake and yet when I think on Him, goodness comes to mind. This morning my thoughts are with God’s goodness toward me. It may seem somewhat selfish, forgive me! Nevertheless this morning I will thank my God and Father for His goodness, His glorious mercy and grace and above all else for His glorious Son, my Splendid Saviour, the only Saviour that equips a man with a voice whereby they can cry “ABBA FATHER” – “my Father”! All praise and honour belongs to our King, the King of kings, the only One who has it in His power to present us to His Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Triune Godhead, without His sacrifice, none of us would sit with any similar thought as we ponder the goodness of God. THANK YOU FATHER FOR YOUR GOODNESS! I pen these words to say I am thankful and I love you for it! Lord Jesus words cannot describe how thankful I am for your selfless sacrifice, THANK YOU!

Be warned all you kings and rulers of the earth, what will you do with Gods goodness? What will you do with His Son’s sacrifice for sin? Do you reason like a madman and believe you will be accepted on the basis of your own efforts, etc.  If so, you will be wrong and you have been warned! - “Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:10-12)

(Isaiah 51:5) “On mine arm shall they trust.”

“In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone. When his vessel is on its beam-ends, and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God. Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a rock as this! O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone! There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends; but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father’s arms, and is blessedly clasped therein! When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his Lord then than at any other time. Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father! Now that thou hast only thy God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in him. Dishonour not thy Lord and Master by unworthy doubts and fears; but be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee. Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper. Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the everlasting arms. Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as he built the heavens and the earth, glorify himself in thy weakness, and magnify his might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye. May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus this closing day of the month.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

Thank you for your goodness, great Jehovah Father God, and for “saving such a wretch like me”.

 Signing off

 Tyrone

How shall we escape!

(Hebrews 2:3) “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;”

“Typology”, what role does it play in the believers life? It has a very important function I believe but I am not sure many share my sentiment. Firstly let us look at what the word actually means and then why we should pay particular attention to its responsibility in our lives.

Typology means the study of religious texts for the purpose of identifying episodes in them that appear to prophesy later events and more importantly the study or systematic classification of types that affect our lives. In other words, how can we learn from those who have gone before us?

What can others teach us about God and what He requires from us…?

Obviously it is the Word of God that gives us instruction on how we should live, but it is also the Word that uses the examples of others, training us to learn from their mistakes where and when needed.

The writer of Hebrews pays special attention to the children of Israel in the Wilderness. Let us therefore look at some of His warnings. He has instructed us to pay even more special attention to what we have heard, least we let them slip; “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.' As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall not enter my rest.'" Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 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 3:7-13)

It would be good for us to study their journey in parallel to our journey hear on earth and to learn great lessons from them. Time will not permit us to look at this in any depth, but my encouragement would be to read through the book of Exodus and Numbers and put ourselves in their shoes with a sincere heart and then see the similarities of their lives with ours. There is much we can learn!

I look at my life and I see a nagging trait that without much effort looks to disobey God’s Word and I am fearful for it. But I am convinced that God’s Word will stand, regardless of people’s opinions. Maybe it is time to fast and pray or like Jacob to wrestle with the angel of the Lord until these truths sink into souls and they become like second nature in our lives. For if we chose to ignore these warnings we will suffer loss; “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:14-19)

What fascinates me is this is not the first time I have considered these warning and yet I find myself just like they found themselves walking in circles. May our great God and Father continue to have compassion on all His struggling children! Not all struggle but many do! I am however convinced that He who has begun a good work in us, although at times on reflection it seems somewhat distant, He will nevertheless complete His quest and all of God’s children will eventually arrive safely in the New Jerusalem. But we must pay careful attention to His instruction.

Let us not look to the left or the right, let us not look for justification as we excuse ourselves and accuse others; this is not the purpose behind this text. It is no different in type to the instruction that the Apostle Paul gives us in Corinthians prior to taking communion; “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1Corinthians 11:28) – Note we must examine ourselves and not one another. Sure we are to learn from the mistakes of others, this is the purpose of this text, however these warnings are to teach us to fear by learning from their mistakes and not to look for self-justification.

This then is our daily prayer; "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:9-15)

The day is coming when the love of many will wax cold, let us therefore guard our hearts in and through our great Saviours sacrifice; praise His name!

Signing off

Tyrone

   

The trappings of unbelief!

(Numbers 14:11) “How long will it be ere they believe me?”

Over the years as a Christian, how often have I forgotten the basic Christian fundamentals of life as a believer? The proof of that answer would be as they say in the pudding. If and when my life was as is full of peace, I then, by the grace of God walk by His Spirit and live according to the call of God upon my life, if not, then I walked as I once walked, a dead man groping in the dark. I did not say it would be a life without suffering, we have been called to suffer as Christians and if anyone tells you otherwise they are liars; “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” (1Peter 4:16) – Think on it like this; an athlete trains hard for a prize, in fact their training is so intense that their whole life revolves around winning that prize. Their life orbits around their training and so too should our lives gyrate around God’s call and His Word, but unfortunately, this is often not the case. Which in itself does not change our standing in the Lord Jesus; we are sanctified by His shed blood and not our own works as we often look to them for justification. However, we are nevertheless children, if we have His Spirit; we cannot one day be a child of God and the next day no longer be part of God’s family. That is a misconception that even some believers like to believe, they are wrong!

Having said that we also know that God requires obedience; our life goal then must be to obey our heavenly Father. How then is this done? It is very simply, we must learn to obey His Word, the Holy Scriptures; the Bible! Our instruction is not vague but rather concise, where we then struggle is when we walk in unbelief. We tend at times to doubt God’s Word as we either overthink it or we believe we know better. Without exceptions when I look back on my life, all of my scars are a reminder of my unwillingness to obey the simple instruction found in the Bible. I thought I knew better! But thankfully God is greater than our folly, praise His name! He is patient and slow to anger and for this I will be eternally thankful. When God corrects us for our wrong-doing it is an act of love and it must be view as such.

Father God I am thankful for your correction throughout my life, without it I would be lost, but now I have life. My scars now help me to remember the lies and trapping of all that oppose your Word and will. The Word of God is a safe-guard to protect us from ourselves, may God help us to except this truth, as it will be a lot less painful. Suffer we must, but the Apostle Peter reminds us that we are not to suffer as evil-doers; “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” (1Peter 4:15-16) 

Our downfall is our minds, we do not want to believe the Word of God, but believe it we must. All we need remember is that our God knows what is best for us, even if we think the worst; our minds are no match for Him. May we learn to trust and obey!

Look at our belated brother’s struggle over a hundred years ago, the same struggles we have today.

“Strive with all diligence to keep out that monster unbelief. It so dishonours Christ, that he will withdraw his visible presence if we insult him by indulging it. It is true it is a weed, the seeds of which we can never entirely extract from the soil, but we must aim at its root with zeal and perseverance. Among hateful things it is the most to be abhorred. Its injurious nature is so venomous that he that exerciseth it and he upon whom it is exercised are both hurt thereby. In thy case, O believer! it is most wicked, for the mercies of thy Lord in the past, increase thy guilt in doubting him now. When thou dost distrust the Lord Jesus, he may well cry out, “Behold I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.” This is crowning his head with thorns of the sharpest kind. It is very cruel for a well-beloved wife to mistrust a kind and faithful husband. The sin is needless, foolish, and unwarranted. Jesus has never given the slightest ground for suspicion, and it is hard to be doubted by those to whom our conduct is uniformly affectionate and true. Jesus is the Son of the Highest, and has unbounded wealth; it is shameful to doubt Omnipotence and distrust all-sufficiency. The cattle on a thousand hills will suffice for our most hungry feeding, and the granaries of heaven are not likely to be emptied by our eating. If Christ were only a cistern, we might soon exhaust his fulness, but who can drain a fountain? Myriads of spirits have drawn their supplies from him, and not one of them has murmured at the scantiness of his resources. Away, then, with this lying traitor unbelief, for his only errand is to cut the bonds of communion and make us mourn an absent Saviour. Bunyan tells us that unbelief has “as many lives as a cat:” if so, let us kill one life now, and continue the work till the whole nine are gone. Down with thee, thou traitor, my heart abhors thee.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

This then must be our resolve to the Word of God and nothing in our lives must come before its instruction, May God help us to learn and appropriate this truth to our lives! May we remember that it is a daily walk; “just one day at a time sweet Jesus is all I ask of you.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Perilous times shall come!

(2Timothy 3:1) “That in the last days perilous times shall come.”

My upbringing was not that of a Christian, sure I went to Catechism with the Catholic Church, but it was a dry dead experience, they even taught fables. In fact their doctrine is so instilled into people growing up under the catholic faith that they begin to by default live it out. It becomes acceptable to pray to Mary or one of the saints. This was clearly evident in my Grandmothers (Nonna’s) life.  Man-centered religion without any biblical truth to it! So let us call it what it is, an organization rotten to the core, my heart goes out to so many sincere believers, babes in Christ, as they could never be more than that if they have spent all their life growing up under their rule.

The Word of God, the Holy Scriptures have in fact been made available to us the common man through blood, sweat and probably many tears of great men of God. May we never forget their sacrifice!

It obviously started with God, “in the beginning” and then through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, from there we read Moses and the prophets. The New Testament begins with the birth of the Lord Jesus. The greatest of all; the One who came to pay the price for sin, and repentant sinners! But for a long period of History the Bible was not available to the common man, it was kept in secret by the governing authorities as they wanted to control and mislead the people. They had an agenda, I suppose no differently to the money preachers of today. That’s why whatever was said by the church leaders could never be questioned.

There is no hidden agenda with our great God and Father, praise His name! He speaks very plainly through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour and without mixed words, i.e. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) – There is no message clearer than this, outside of Christ covering, His sanctification, we will never call the only true God our Father. Christ instruction is plain and simple and we are now able to read it for ourselves. Why then would we want to ignore it, when it is so concise in so many areas of our lives? We know it is because of sin and we have covered this in previous posts. But my concern is why we would stay in such an organisation, if we in fact find ourselves in such a church, one that preaches and teachers against the truth. We have the Word of God at our finger tips. What excuse do we have? It was a struggle for men to get us the bible! Here is a man who died to get it to us!

Some history…

“The chain of events that led to the creation of Tyndale’s New Testament started in 1522. It was in this year that Tyndale illegally acquired a copy of Martin Luther’s German New Testament. Tyndale was inspired by Luther’s work and immediately set out to imitate Luther’s work but in English. He made his purpose known to the Bishop of London at the time Cuthbert Tunstall. Hewing to his Catholic faith, for which he would later be imprisoned, Bishop Tunstall refused Tyndale permission to write this heretical text. After this rejection Tyndale moved to the continent and ended up in Hamburg where he completed his New Testament in 1524. During this time period Tyndale frequented Wittenberg where he consulted with Martin Luther and his associate Melanchthon. The first version of Tyndale’s New Testament was put into print in 1525 in Cologne however the process was not finished. From there Tyndale moved the publishing process to Worms where the first recorded complete edition of his New Testament was published in 1526. Two revised versions were latter published in 1534 and 1536, both personally revised by Tyndale himself. After his death in 1536 Tyndale’s works have been revised and reprinted numerous times. Furthermore much of his work can be seen in other, more modern versions of the Bible, including, perhaps most famously, the King James Bible.

Tyndale's Pentateuch was published at Antwerp by Merten de Keyser in 1530. His English version of the book of Jonah was published the following year. This was followed by his revised version of the book of Genesis in 1534. Tyndale translated many other Old Testament books including Joshua, Judges, first and second Samuel, first and second Kings and first and second Chronicles. Unfortunately these unpublished works haven’t survived to today in their original forms. When Tyndale was martyred these works came to be in the possession of one his associates John Rodgers. These translations would be influential in the creation of the Matthew Bible which was published in 1537.

Tyndale used a number of sources when carrying out his translations of both the New and Old Testaments. When translating the New Testament, he referred to the third edition (1522) of Erasmus’s Greek New Testament, often referred to as the Received Text. Tyndale also used Erasmus' Latin New Testament, as well as Luther’s German version and the Vulgate. Scholars believe that Tyndale stayed away from using Wycliffe's Bible as a source because he didn’t want his English to reflect that which was used prior to the Renaissance. The sources Tyndale used for his translation of the Pentateuch however are not known for sure. Scholars believe that Tyndale used either the Hebrew Pentateuch or the Polyglot Bible, and may have referred to the Septuagint. It is suspected that his other Old Testament works were translated directly from a copy of the Hebrew Bible. He also made abundant use of Greek and Hebrew grammars.”  (Wikipedia on Tyndale)

It is obvious that God has willed for us to have the Bible, and now we have it, but if we reject its council and hold to the traditions of men, now even the more we are without excuse. If you can read, then read and make sure what men are teaching you, is sound doctrine. We have been warned that in these days “perilous times will come”.

It is simply not good enough to have a form of Godliness but to deny its power. We have been clearly instructed to turn away from such people. A clear concise instruction from the Holy Scriptures; “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2Timothy 3:5)  

If you find yourself amongst that number, whether it be in the catholic church or some perverse money preacher organisation, I then urge you flee from it with all you might and look to the Holy Scriptures, the Bible for direction. For God is for His people and will never let one of His children be lost to the wolves, but the danger of the roaring lion is a very real one and we must be on guard against him and his luring deceit.

Let us remember to pray for one another, with a sincere heart.

Signing off

Tyrone   

Perfect Gifts!

(James 1:17) “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.”

 I have been confined to light duties and bed rest over the last two weeks due to the common cold, probably flu or some similar virus looking for housing, an unwelcomed guest and yet without any of my consent it forced itself upon me. Just another by-product of sin, something unwanted and yet very real.

Frustration an understatement to so many ailments that sin has scarred us with. I look back in time, and although I may not be affected by old-age, however my body does not function quite like it once did when I was twenty. When I look back on photographs from the past, not my past but my fathers and grandmothers past, I see a time when they were full of life, with a hint of invincibility to their smile and yet they both now sleep. They have move from this life to the next and all they now await is the judgment, God’s judgment! A very real but daunting thought!

My father went earlier than most and did not suffer much up until his two day ordeal before he breathed his last. But my grandmother stayed in an old-age home. A sad state of affairs, although she never ended up in frail care pre say, she was lonely and we as family did our bit and paid her visits on the weekends. Or did we do our tad? I am not convinced! Another trap that sin has captivated us with, self and more of self seems to be the order of the day.

We could go on and on about the scars of sin and all its traps, but I fear I would need more time than God has afforded me in this life to unpack all of its lures and snares. We can however define it up like this; sin is everything God is not! Sin lures us into believing that we will derive some pleasure from what it has to offer. At times it would appear to be beneficial as we derive some pleasure from it, but when stripped down and exposed to the core, it leave us with a void of emptiness. God has none of these qualities, they are foreign to Him, praise His name! Everything about Him is full of substance, of a lasting kind, and His gifts are eternal!

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

At times I wondered why God felt the need to send His Son to pay the price for mankind’s sin. Was it that He felt somewhat responsible for creating Adam and the Eve? But we know He is far wiser than that! His wisdom outshines all the wisdom to be found throughout the universe; both the seen and unseen spheres of creation are no match for Him. And yet while we were yet sinners God sent His son to die for us. We were His enemies. Go figure! I pray that we would get just an inclining of God’s perfect plan for our lives; He is brilliant in all that He does, and He is perfect. Perfection needs no alteration, in fact because He is perfect no alteration could possibly be added.

This in itself should teach us that sin is but a treacherous lure to keep us from God.

This struggle is not an isolated case that we alone face on a daily basis. We all struggle in some areas of our lives. Even the Apostles had similar struggles. The Bible is full of warnings against the strength of sins vises (an immoral or wicked habit or characteristic). We must learn to put on the mind of Christ, for we know He is perfect. Although we are reckoned righteous because of what Christ has achieved on our behalf we still battle against our old natures.

Let us highlight some of those warnings…

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:22-27) – Note, if this was not a common concern amongst God’s people, why then would Paul warn us against these traps? The answer is obvious, because they are very real!

“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (Colossians 3:8-10)

Our brilliant God and Father knows how to give His children good gifts and all of these instructions are the best of gifts, if followed they will anchor us in His love. It is the lures of sin that looks to beguile the believer, but we are to have no part with their lies. At times we are batted in the wind and in stormy weather but only because we forget to walk by faith. How often have I felt like a bruised reed! Father God from this day forth help us carry this banner of truth close to our bosom; - “let God be true, but every man a liar!” (Romans 3:4) – Note if we remember to lean on this truth it will be good for us as God knows how to give good gifts to His children. When we in child-like faith follow His instruction it will be WELL WITH OUR SOULS.

Signing off

Tyrone

We are at War!

(Revelation 12:7) “Now war arose in heaven…”

From an early age we are all conditioned to except adversity, it is a reality we all come to grips with through life. No one likes the idea of war, unless you are some radical fundamentalist. And let’s face it, which of us has time for radicals? I think about the tragedy of the Twin Towers in New York, I remember the day clearly, in fact it is one of my few clear memories; it was a day I sat engross in Matthew chapter 24 trying to arrive at a deeper understanding about what the layout of the land would look like when the Lord returned to fetch His bride, the church. I was looking for the answers to the “pre, mid or post Rapture”. I was seriously seeking biblical clues to help me prepare for battle. It was sometime during my study that my phone rang with Juks my good friend and brother in Christ on the line and he immediately asked me, “are you seeing this”! There was a tone of disbelief to his voice. So I hurriedly flip on the TV. I was thousands of miles away as I witness live television about some madmen that had flown an aeroplane, not any aircraft, but a commercial flight filled with passengers into one of the towers. It just didn’t seem to make sense! But what later unfolded was inexplicable; as I gaze at the TV screen I saw another plane in shot and it seemed to be on a collision course with the other tower, then it happened, it flew straight into and through the tower! Immediately my mind was filled with disbelief, however I had physically witness the event and tragically it was true, a terrorist attack on America had succeeded. A radical fundamentalist group had achieved what they had set out to do. This event caused much pain and suffering for the citizens of the USA, and especially those who lost loved ones. The whole world grieved with them. No matter how one cuts this disaster, it was an act of WAR.

My point is this; we all find something we are willing to die for, now some rational is totally without any coherent logic. People strap bombs onto their chests and commit suicide, it is a fact! We may think them mad and yet they believe in their cause and do exactly that, regardless of what we think. They are extreme fundamentalists (a religious or political movement based on a literal interpretation of and strict adherence to doctrine, especially as a return to former principles)!

Should the Christian fall under this classification? Should we be classed as extreme fundamentalists? We better be! If not, we may need to check our birth certificate. Now before I am misunderstood, let me make it very clear, we are to be fundamental when it comes to sound doctrine and not our own man-centred ideas. We are at war and the battle is fierce, it was never meant to be a frivolous engagement. Look at what the Lord Jesus had to endure; He died a cruel Roman death nailed to a tree. If that isn’t extreme then I am not sure if we have a correct understanding on our calling.

I am weak in application to this call, the call God has called every believer too, but while I have breath I will by the grace of God have hope. I will seek out His grace in time of need to endure this fierce battle. I may fail more often then I like, but so long as He is in my corner I will press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus my Lord. If we have His Spirit, we are reassured of this truth; "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

Our battle is not to strap bombs to our chest and the like, but we have been called to come out from amongst them. This is a serious consideration that every child of God must arrive at. Do we often overlook some of God’s instruction?

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." (2Corinthians 6:14-18)

“1. In stated relations. It is wrong for good people to join in affinity with the wicked and profane; these will draw different ways, and that will be galling and grievous. Those relations that are our choice must be chosen by rule; and it is good for those who are themselves the children of God to join with those who are so likewise; for there is more danger that the bad will damage the good than hope that the good will benefit the bad.

2. In common conversation. We should not yoke ourselves in friendship and acquaintance with wicked men and unbelievers. Though we cannot wholly avoid seeing, and hearing, and being with such, yet we should never choose them for our bosom-friends.

3. Much less should we join in religious communion with them; we must not join with them in their idolatrous services, nor concur with them in their false worship, nor any abominations; we must not confound together the table of the Lord and the table of devils, the house of God and the house of Rimmon. The apostle gives several good reasons against this corrupt mixture.” (Matthew Henry)

If we apply this type of behaviour as we should, does it not makes us fundamental? It sure does! Nevertheless God requires it from us. If not, why then have we receive such clear instruction. You decide! Every instruction that comes from the Holy Scriptures has been set out for our well-being. We must never second guess God’s wisdom, for if we do it will be at our own peril. I have but highlighted one portion of scripture as I believe we tend to overlook so many helpful instructions, and this is one of them.  

We are at war, no differently to the angels in heaven. There will be a day when the battle will come to an end, but until then, may we be reminded to put on the full armour of God. May we remind one another about this on-going battle, we are at war!

Signing off

Tyrone

"Who do you say I am?"

(Matthew 16:15)  “He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"”

Everything in life seems to work under some form of governance. We know that time is measured and although defining time presents difficulties, measuring it does not; it is the most accurately measured physical quantity, as some of the budding scientist claim and as I am not amongst that number I will take their word for it. Gravity is look upon as a natural phenomenon, which is easily understood, it plays itself out in nature no differently to the rising and the setting of the sun, it happens! We do not question their validity, not even the fool would look to argue one of these truths. The common man, the natural man, explains this away as a natural marvel, but the spiritual man accredits it to God who is spiritual.

Simply put everyone who is not sanctified by the blood of the lamb will look to serve the creature rather than the creator. That is quite a statement! But think long and hard about this fact. Here is a portion of scripture that will help you arrive at your conclusion; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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.” (Romans 1:16-20)

The Christian has arrived and no longer constantly struggles to understand the purpose of life, God has had favour on them and given them life, they are no longer blind but now they can see! Of course we still struggle trying to understand many truths within the truth. We look to the Holy Scriptures to enter into a deeper more meaningful relationship with the only true God. But there is no more doubt about who the true Avatar is; we have come face to face with our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ! Praise His name!

Avatar is a 2009 American epic science fiction film written and directed by James Cameron. “avatar” means; -  In Hinduism an avatar, is a deliberate descent of a deity from heaven to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation", but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation". Do we see the communication portrayed in this film? Here we have James Cameron propagating a message that is full of undertones about Mother Nature. I do not have time to highlight all these suggestions but to say there is a cripple man who gets plugged into a machine and enters a phantasy world (spiritual world) and he seeks out the meaning of life and eventually gets plugged into a tree (Mother Nature) and receives a special kind of power and finally defeats the enemy on the back of a red dragon.

“The Last Airbender”, this story follows the adventures of Aang, a young successor to a long line of Avatars, who must put his childhood ways aside and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations. A story about a young boy who is the avatar, who learns how to control the four elements of nature; fire, air, water and earth and eventual defeats the enemy.

Both these movies are stories filled with hope, but a false hope, although it is only phantasy, the undertones of both movies speak volumes of what is a lie. The answer to life is and can only ever be found in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Every known religion has a message of hope and is linked to the realm of faith. Even God’s own people, the seed of Abraham look for their Messiah, they do not understand that He has already come, they crucified Him! And yet God in His mercy will yet again appear to the seed of Abraham. In fact all will see Him for who He is, whether they call upon him now or not; “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” (Revelation 1:7) 

Many look still for their avatar, but praise God, the Christian no longer gropes in the dark looking for theirs as we have found the only true Avatar, we have come face to face with Him, praise the glorious name of our Saviour, the One who died in our stead, the One who paid the price for our sin, yes it is the Lord Jesus Christ. But let us never forget how we have come to this marvellous understanding; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesian 2:8-9)  

Let us never forget that it is only the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance, we too were once blind and groped in the dark clutching at straws looking for answers. BUT GOD who is rich in mercy has given us sight to see! Therefore let us not forget to constantly pray for friends and loved ones who still grope in the dark as they look to the creature rather than the Creator for the true answers to life and its eternal meaning.

Signing off

Tyrone

A true test!

(John 15:5) “For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Our minds, by nature, do not love spiritual things. We will attend to any outward duty, or to any external rite; but to bring our hearts into subjection to the divine will, to bow our minds to the Most High, and to serve the Lord our God with all our heart, and all our soul is foreign to the natural man, in fact he abhors it. Yet nothings less than this will suffice to turn our captivity. Yet without this happening, we will remain locked into carnal reasoning and be rendered useless. Faith will not accompany us on our daily walk, and we know “without faith” it is impossible to please God.

All or nothing, or is it line upon line, or both!

There is one obvious conclusion we must arrive at; we are helpless without God, but do we confess that before Him, do we really fall to our knees crying for help? The first thing that is required of us is to bemoan the fact that, by and of ourselves, we can do nothing; even as our Lord said to his disciples, "apart from me ye can do nothing."

Let us just stop for a minute, what is the context of this statement? This comment from the Lord Jesus would also obviously apply to all under the banner of “common grace” (we breathe and live because God has so willed it); even the atheist lives and breathes! He does not believe that God exists and yet God allows him to live and breathe. This is not John’s point; his point speaks of a special kind of grace, elected grace. It is of a spiritual nature and it has nothing to do with the carnal will or mind-set. But with it comes a particular life-style, look at this portion of scripture…

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:4-11)

How many of us claim to be children of God, but when we look into the mirror or others look too the way we live, do they find us wanting? Self-Denial, robbing us of a richer lifestyle with our Lord and Saviour! We pretend that all is well with our souls and yet we live no differently to the heathen. For if we were sold out, and we walked in obedience to how we had been called, would we not live differently? I suggest we would! How often have I asked for something and not received it? “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” What then get in the way? Is it not our carnal natures? It can only be our selfish wills that gets in the way; “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:3) – It is obvious then why we do not receive what we ask for at times. It is all about our carnal wants and not the Lord’s will for our lives. What is a man to do? Our half-doing is our undoing; but when we cease from self, then we make way for God. The sooner we recognize this truth, the better.

“We must, next, have a universal desire for the presence of God with us. I mean by that, that every Christian man and every Christian woman must agonize with God that he would come into the camp; not merely some few of us desiring it, but all of us vehemently crying unto the Lord, "Come, Lord, and tarry not."

Moreover, there must be a conscientious obedience to his word, a strict adherence to his truth, his doctrine, his precepts, to the whole of Christ's rule and law. He will not prosper us unless we are careful to follow every step that he has taken. God help us to have this conscientious care, this coming out from those who may not be thus careful, according to his word. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."” (C.H.Spurgeon)

There seems to be so many bad habits that still live with me. There must be an agonising urgency from us to God as we call out to Him day and night if we are to prove that He is the vine and we are the branches.

May God help us to be about His will and not our wants!

Signing off

Tyrone

                                                                                                     

The perfect pair!

Our hope of heaven, what does that look like? Do we spend enough time soaking in the bubbles of hope nourishing the spirit? Just as moisturizer is good for the skin, so hope for the soul! Our “forgettories” play a large part in daily living and it is no different with hope, we need constant reminding of what we are on about and why? But enough of my opinions let those who have stood the test of time speak…

“The voice of weeping shall be no more heard.”

- Isa_65:19

The glorified weep no more, for all outward causes of grief are gone. There are no broken friendships, nor blighted prospects in heaven. Poverty, famine, peril, persecution, and slander, are unknown there. No pain distresses, no thought of death or bereavement saddens. They weep no more, for they are perfectly sanctified. No “evil heart of unbelief” prompts them to depart from the living God; they are without fault before his throne, and are fully conformed to his image. Well may they cease to mourn who have ceased to sin. They weep no more, because all fear of change is past. They know that they are eternally secure. Sin is shut out, and they are shut in. They dwell within a city which shall never be stormed; they bask in a sun which shall never set; they drink of a river which shall never dry; they pluck fruit from a tree which shall never wither. Countless cycles may revolve, but eternity shall not be exhausted, and while eternity endures, their immortality and blessedness shall co-exist with it. They are for ever with the Lord. They weep no more, because every desire is fulfilled. They cannot wish for anything which they have not in possession. Eye and ear, heart and hand, judgment, imagination, hope, desire, will, all the faculties, are completely satisfied; and imperfect as our present ideas are of the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, yet we know enough, by the revelation of the Spirit, that the saints above are supremely blessed. The joy of Christ, which is an infinite fulness of delight, is in them. They bathe themselves in the bottomless, shoreless sea of infinite beatitude. That same joyful rest remains for us. It may not be far distant. Ere long the weeping willow shall be exchanged for the palm-branch of victory, and sorrow’s dewdrops will be transformed into the pearls of everlasting bliss. “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

But for this reality to survive our minds and hearts must be fed with faith. No different from soap needed for hygiene to live in our lives, they go hand in hand, the perfect pair, so too faith and hope an ideal pair.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.”

- Eph_3:17

Beyond measure it is desirable that we, as believers, should have the person of Jesus constantly before us, to inflame our love towards him, and to increase our knowledge of him. I would to God that my readers were all entered as diligent scholars in Jesus’ college, students of Corpus Christi, or the body of Christ, resolved to attain unto a good degree in the learning of the cross. But to have Jesus ever near, the heart must be full of him, welling up with his love, even to overrunning; hence the apostle prays “that Christ may dwell in your hearts.” See how near he would have Jesus to be! You cannot get a subject closer to you than to have it in the heart itself. “That he may dwell”; not that he may call upon you sometimes, as a casual visitor enters into a house and tarries for a night, but that he may dwell; that Jesus may become the Lord and Tenant of your inmost being, never more to go out.

Observe the words-that he may dwell in your heart, that best room of the house of manhood; not in your thoughts alone, but in your affections; not merely in the mind’s meditations, but in the heart’s emotions. We should pant after love to Christ of a most abiding character, not a love that flames up and then dies out into the darkness of a few embers, but a constant flame, fed by sacred fuel, like the fire upon the altar which never went out. This cannot be accomplished except by faith. Faith must be strong, or love will not be fervent; the root of the flower must be healthy, or we cannot expect the bloom to be sweet. Faith is the lily’s root, and love is the lily’s bloom. Now, reader, Jesus cannot be in your heart’s love except you have a firm hold of him by your heart’s faith; and, therefore, pray that you may always trust Christ in order that you may always love him. If love be cold, be sure that faith is drooping. (C.H.Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

WHY!

(Psalms 10:1) “Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”

 Why… I wonder why? Seems to have such a great part to play in our lives, it is ingredient of our daily routine. As much as we may reassure ourselves that God’s is in control, and He is! We nevertheless ask the question why? Take yesterday morning as an example; I was just about to do my final edit on the mornings post and it was on that tricky subject “spiritual gifts” and out of the blue my computer died. At first I thought there had been a power failure, but on further inspection everything else was still powered up. I mean everything! And there are at least ten plugs coming out of the one power point. My first question; how did that happen, I unplugged the plug and plugged it into another power point that I know was working and nothing, my computer remained lifeless! My logic now tried to work out what had just happened. Or should this subject be left unaddressed? But then the real concern kicked in, WHY? There I was looking for justification for why this had now happened. Was this now necessary I now thought with anger welling up inside.

Let us consider my emotions for a moment; these were my initial thoughts; for 347 days I have constantly blog without missing a post, so WHY was this now happening? Was it necessary! It obviously was or else it wouldn’t have happened. Do you see the pattern of self-justification now emerging? How I long for our new bodies and all that goes with them.

Before we take communion, before we break bread, we are instructed to judge ourselves least we be judged with the world. It is an instruction from God to us, His children. There is a time and a place for us to be sober as we examine our lives before a holy God; “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” (1Corinthians 11:28-32) 

Our daily walks must involve self reflection. But I believe we can also take this too far, how are we to work out the correct balance? There is no easy answer, but Paul gives us inkling on how we should appropriate judgment to our lives; "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (1Corinthians 10:23-24) – And – “I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” (1Corinthians 10:29-33)

With that now as my psyche, do I live out my life with others in mind; for the most part I am guilty of this mistake. Is that why my computer crashed? Or could it be something else? Am I living nonchalantly in the closet areas of my life? It could well be for this reason! I cannot say with any certainty why this happened, but after self examination I have to conclude that my opinions can never overshadow the Word of God. One thing I am sure of is that coincidences do not play a part in our lives. God is sovereign and in perfect control, even in the so called little areas of our lives. I must find rest in this verse; “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) 

Having said so much, I also believe there is a season for all things and maybe it is time for me to sit back and reflect a little more on my life and where it is leading me as I sit back in the shadows and let others do the talking and look to learn from them. What that actually means I will have to work out.

Signing off

Tyrone