A joyful heart is good medicine!

(Proverbs 17:22) “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

For those who love God we know all things work out for good, stop! what am I saying? What if someone loses a child or loved one, could that work out for good? If one discovers they are HIV positive, have Cancer which is terminal, lose their job or have their house repossessed. Surely it is a curse from God and not a blessing! If I reason in the realm of suppositions then that would have to be my conclusion. However when I look too the Holy Scriptures, the Word of God, the Bible! I see “pattern” unfold before my very eyes. I see a very wise master builder at work in the lives of believers. Lives full of examples of encouragement, discipline and apparent calamity, whatever it takes to help to get God’s people to unite in the faith, to be drawn together into true fellowship.

Let us look at the human anatomy and use it as an illustration to highlight scripture and help us understand the doctrine behind true fellowship. First we will need to understand how the body protects itself against unwanted virus and bacteria and then how our immune system builds resistance to defend against any unwanted toxins.

The Bible is full of “pattern or typology” where parallels are drawn from the human anatomy and the body of Christ, the church!  If we want our physical bodies to heal when sick we need it to work together as it combats that which is unwanted.

Some facts on the immune system…

“An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy cells and tissues in order to function properly. Detection is complicated as pathogens can evolve rapidly, and adapt to avoid the immune system and allow the pathogens to successfully infect their hosts.

To survive this challenge, multiple mechanisms evolved that recognize and neutralize pathogens. Even simple unicellular organisms such as bacteria possess enzyme systems that protect against viral infections. Other basic immune mechanisms evolved in ancient eukaryotes and remain in their modern descendants, such as plants and insects. These mechanisms include peptides called defensins, phagocytosis, and the complement system. Jawed vertebrates, including humans, have even more sophisticated defense mechanisms.[1] The typical vertebrate immune system consists of many types of proteins, cells, organs, and tissues that interact in an elaborate and dynamic network. As part of this more complex immune response, the human immune system adapts over time to recognize specific pathogens more efficiently. This adaptation process is referred to as "adaptive immunity" or "acquired immunity" and creates immunological memory. Immunological memory, created from a primary response to a specific pathogen, provides an enhanced response to secondary encounters with that same, specific pathogen. This process of acquired immunity is the basis of vaccination. Primary response can take 2 days and up to 2 weeks to develop. After the body gains immunity towards a certain pathogen, when infection by that pathogen occurs again, the immune response is called the secondary response. Disorders in the immune system can result in disease, including autoimmunediseases, inflammatorydiseases and cancer.[2] [3]Immunodeficiency diseases occur when the immune system is less active than normal, resulting in recurring and life-threatening infections. Immunodeficiency can either be the result of a genetic disease, such as severe combined immunodeficiency, or be produced by pharmaceuticals or an infection, such as the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) that is caused by the retrovirus HIV. In contrast, autoimmune diseases result from a hyperactive immune system attacking normal tissues as if they were foreign organisms. Common autoimmune diseases include Hashimoto's thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus type 1, and lupus erythematosus.” (Wikipedia)

Therefore we see how involved all parts to the immune system are with one another in order for it to function correctly, if its process is broken down, the body then starts to deteriorate. And it is no different in “type” or “pattern” to how God has intended for the body of Christ to function. What and who make up the body of Christ? “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1Corinthians 12:27): - Therefore individual believers make up the body of Christ it goes far deeper than belonging to a church or being a church member. It is not about attending a church on a Sunday but being involved with fellow believers, this is true fellowship, and friendships must be established. When one suffers all suffer, when one is happy all share in their happiness etc.

This then is God’s design for His children, the body of Christ; “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ {similar to all the components of the immune system to keep the enemy at bay}, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)

With that understood and this in mind, what about my opening statement in light of tragedy in believers lives? How can they be beneficial? Without the trial of life, without the immune system recognising the enemy how will it learn to function as intended. It is the harsh trials of life that teach us to come together as a unit and stand with the one in need. Without it there would be no need! It is the trial that teachers us unity! We could on the other hand, build resentment to it, but then we would have missed the boat. It is for this exact reason that we can now stand on the truth of scripture not only because we are told to believe its instruction but we now understand the mechanics behind it.

Christianity is about true fellowship and not simply church attendance!

Therefore: - “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)

No matter what the trial of life, if you belong to God and He is your heavenly Father, He is working the trial out for your benefit and for the profit of those whom you are in fellowship with, it is a given! No if’s and but’s! If it is sin that has brought about the trial or if it is simply something that will glorify God at our own expense, in other words the loss of a loved one who will open their eyes in heaven, if they are believers or sanctified by their parents. Yes, we will miss them here on earth but they would have arrived in heaven to ever be with the Lord. Ultimately both these scenarios will be worked out in our favour.

It is all about finding unity in a body of believers and God often uses Calamity to teach us these valuable lessons.

I hope this helps, as it has helped me reason with a sound mind as I now have to deal with an unpleasant scenario amongst our own body of believers.

Signing off

Tyrone  

Choose Wisely!

(Proverbs 28:26) “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” 


There is a simple test we can apply to our lives in order to be sure of whether we are ready for the life hereafter or not! If I died today would I be confident that heaven would be my destination or would the threat of hell and the thought of burning fire be an unnerving concern.

Let me go back a few years as I vividly recall an incident in my life; I was 21 at the time and life was my oyster or so I believed. I had just made preparation for my first travels abroad; I was excited! Life was full of wine, woman and song; the debauchery of sin prevalent in my life and yet I wasn’t a bad person, or so I liked to believe. I would probably make it to heaven, even with all my faults, the good would out way the bad. 


Obviously I was deceived and if this is how you now think then you are also deceived. Do not believe the lie! I was making final preparations for my exciting trip; ironically I was sitting in the same room I now type from some 24 years ago, back then it was an entertainment room and a pub but now my humble abode. I got a terrible pain in my right arm, hard to describe, yet it was radical and then a sudden fear of death overshadowed me, I began to panic and I recall praying to God and confessing in my own man-centered way that I would change my behavioral patterns, I would get better and sin less. I was very frightened, not knowing whether I would make it or not. Sure there was a lot still to do, I was a young man, but my main concern when stripped of all its frills was heaven or hell. So then what is the simple test? When we face death will we be ready to meet this great righteous holy God? Can you with assurance say “MY GOD”! Can we say it with the same confidence when we introduce our earthly fathers? If not then hell will be your destination! What then is a man to do? If you have breath, then today is the day of salvation and do not delay, I say again do not delay! For you do not know what tomorrow holds. You may think on loved ones and on their choices regarding Christ’s sacrifice and some may smile back at you favorably while others do not, this is not really what should concern you as they have lived their own lives and made their own choices, we will stand alone before the judgment seat of Christ and have to give an account for our lives. Every secret sin will be brought into the open and exposed for all to see, think on it like a recorded DVD that will be re-visited at the judgment seat of God and nothing will be left unturned; “The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:11-14): -  Unless we repent for our sin and call upon the name of the Lord we will face this judgment, so do it today, I implore you to act while you still have a chance!

Why then will some be judge for sin and not others? Because this is exactly my point! You see, God has declared all with sin as all have sinned in one form or another. “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:9-10) and for this reason God in His mercy stepped in and He has now given mankind an opportunity to escape His judgment, but reject the offer at your own peril! How has He done it? He send His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to live as a man here on earth without ever breaking one of God’s commandment, yes He did live a life without sin an almost impossible feat but He did it! And because of His accomplishment God then charged the sins of mankind to His son account so that all those who repent and call upon the name of the Lord will be saved from this judgment!  


I have made it simple to process all that is left for you to do, is to make a choice, will you repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or will you brush it aside to consider another day. Please do not do that, I am appealing to my family and friends this is the most important decision you will ever face, so choose wisely! It is not rocket science, but to play the denial card is often a way out, don't do it! But I suppose until we come face to face with death we may be mendacious with ourselves. A false sense of security would be what we grope for. Our attitudes say; hopefully if we died today we would make it to heaven. If this is the way you reason, then you would be wrong and this is just one choice we cannot get wrong as there will be no possibility of rectifying our denial or apathy and the only way we will find favour from God is if we accept His sacrifice for our sin, if we repent from our sin, acknowledge that we have sinned against God and that because of our sin we deserve hell. This would be a great place to start when seeking out answers, but to be fair I was not that aware of the intricacies of salvation at salvation. Salvation is a work of God by a great place to start would be to call out to the Lord and ask Him to forgive you and to open your eyes. Just call out to Him with a sincere heart and He will open your eyes as he has opened mine. I did nothing to deserve His favour, but I did call out to Him as I now call out to Him on your behalf. Yet ultimately the decision rest with you. 

I know that the Lord is dealing with one of my friends, I Know He is and I hope this will help him step out in faith, he knows who he is! To all of my family that still rejects Christ's sacrifice as the solution for their lives, think on what I have had to say with serious deliberation. Dad is gone, life was taken from Him rather suddenly, whether he made the right choice or not was between Him and God. What will you do with the gospel? Respond favorably I pray as your life does depend on it!

For those who rely on man-centered religion to appease their conscience think on this and understand that there is only one way we will be excused from our sin and that is through the One that paid the price for our sin, the Lord Jesus Christ as nothing else will do!

  

      I will leave you with two                                                                                   

  illustrations… Choose wisely!

Signing off

Tyrone 

The sword of the Lord and Gideon!

(Judges 7:20) The sword of the Lord and Gideon

God we well know is Sovereign and He has determined the outcome of creation by His careful design and yes sin has its part to play, without it we would not know the difference between what is holy and Righteous and that which is not. The tree had fruit to it that opened our eyes to the “Knowledge of both good and Evil”. Without the roaring lion firing his fiery darts, how would we ever learn to defend ourselves against them and all the devils divisive ploys? It is time for me to come to grips with this once and for all in every area of my life and not just the ones I am willing to yield too. I no longer belong to myself and as a slave I have no rights to my own sinful lusts, they have been crucified with Christ on Calvary. For this truth to resonate I need to go back to the starting line, to where it all began but in doing this, I must be careful not to be lured off on some wild goose-chase.

The question that needs answering is if we are new creatures in Christ, how much of it is up to me? Is the responsibility to walk circumspectly before a Holy God all of God and nothing of me or is it all of me and solely my responsibility, does the buck stop with me? This is where the Arminian and the Hyper-Calvinist draw their line in the sand. Both are wrong! Let scripture speak for itself…

Wherever the Holy Scripture tells us as believers to repent and turn from the error of our ways, whatever that may be and if we choose to ignore the warning, we are in danger of judgment, no! to be more precise we will be judged. However judgement is different for the believer, than to that of the unbeliever, as one is the child of God and the other is not and therefore not subjected to the Father’s discipline. It is a very easy principle to understand. Do you have the authority over someone else’s children? The answer is obviously no! It is no different for the child of God! However there is an over-shadowing truth that many chose to ignore. As God is the only true God and the creator of the universe the final judgment belongs to Him and He will meet it out with precision and with power and for all who have not participated in His adoption program, for all those who have failed to believe God and have not repented and believed of the finished work of Calvary, they will face judgment at the “Great White Throne” judgment! This will be a mighty spectacle, and it will be a joyous occasion for some, but for most an eternally regretful experience. To my friends Richard and Brett you have been warned, please pay earnest attention to it as I am praying for both of you.

The child of God on the other hand will not face this judgment as he has already been judge for his sin in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. He paid the price by selflessly dying on that cruel Roman cross so that all who are now by adoption part of God’s family will escape that judgment. What have they done to deserve this forgiveness? We could say absolutely nothing, but although in principle this is true, they nevertheless have still believed God and therefore are covered by the righteousness of Christ! They have call upon the name of the Lord! Without confession they cannot claim to be sons of God. However many may claim to be sons and yet they are not! “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:9): - Note it is one thing to say we know God, but is that enough? No! We must be known of Him, He must view us as one of His Children! How then can we be sure we belong to Him? We will be subjected to His discipline here on earth. This then is our safe-guard! This does not mean we will get away with unrepentant sin in our lives, we will not! And I an eternally thankful to God my Father for this as it keeps us in line.

Let’s use some examples from scripture to prove my train of thought… Let us start with the sin in the Corinthian Church; there was a man that slept with his father’s wife, his step mother. Most of the congregation boasted amongst themselves about this deed and Paul now steps in and severely rebukes them. This is what he has to say; “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” (1Corinthians 5:1-5)

Note: this man had been adopted by God into His family, he was a believer, and look at what Paul has to say about it, “that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” However judgment was still require by God for his unrepentant sin although he had been sanctified by the blood of the Lamb. The purpose of discipline is to bring the believer to his knees seeking repentance from God His Father. God is not like frivolous men and he will not simply give up on the believer. Our confidence rests on what Christ has achieved and not our own abilities as men.

Here is another portion of scripture that confirms this thought; ““For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:6-11): - Note, here again is proof in action on how God deals with His children, we will be discipline for unrepentant sin, if not, then all this proves is that even though we claim son-ship we are but bastards.

And finally we see Paul instructing the same church, which now involves an instruction to us about our part in examining our own hearts before we take communion; “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 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.” (1Corithians 11:23-30): - Note here we see how discipline plays out in the believer’s life, if we will not examine our walks before our Holy Father; he then inflicts judgment upon us. How does He do this? “That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”

With this in mind we can now understand these encouraging words; “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Our reassurance then lays with God our Father, but if we will not be serious with the call that He has called us too then we must not be surprised if and when judgment befalls us. It is for our own good! There must come a day when we begin to think as men as we look to put off childish things.

My conclusion then would be; we have a responsibility to act as children of God and in that we proactively must be involved with those decisions, if we chose to ignore our responsibility then God will, because of His love, step in with discipline.

“Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is Gideon’s watchword, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” God must do it, it is his own work. But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used-”The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” If we only cry, “The sword of the Lord!” we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we shout, “The sword of Gideon!” alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in practical harmony, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the help of our God; let us, therefore, in his name determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony, and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever.” (C.H.Spurgeon)

May God give us eyes to see and ears to hear!

Signing off

Tyrone  

   

    

Faith believes God!

(Matthew 13:58)  “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

“Faith” and “unbelief” are both substances, in other words they are made up of ingredient, and we could say two extreme opposites, so far apart that east and west comes to mind. Faith very powerful believes in the invisible realm where God lives and breathes and takes God at His Word, whilst unbelief very negatively impacts a life with pessimism as doubt rules the day. Do we as Christians live in both camps? Are we the glass is half empty or half full kind of people? We should be neither as both these attitudes relies on our on carnal perceptions, but it is the principle I look to reason out.

Once again you alone can examine were you stand on this subject and as it is my thought at 3am on a Monday morning, let me examine my own heart on the matter. I do fluctuate between two opinions at times and this is clearly evident in the way I act out my verdicts throughout life and it is evident by my daily choices.

It is important to understand what it is that we need to believe, in other words we need to understand the instruction in order to act upon it with precision. Have you ever heard someone say, “But I thought you meant that”? In order to act on an instruction we must understand the command from the instructor. Get it wrong and we may think we are in compliance to the instruction but when tested we will fail dismally.

Let us look to the father of faith and learn from him. Abraham believed God and for this God accounted righteousness too him. What did he believe? He believed that he would receive an inheritance from God. How did he act upon what he had heard God say? He obeyed! Obeyed how? He pack up his life and went on a journey but he had absolutely no clue where he was going all he knew is that God had promised him an inheritance and he believed God to come good on that promise. How do we know that he believe, well obviously the final authority, the Word of God tells us he did but history also proves that he believed by his actions.

Now with that mindset let us examine where we stand in relation to faith toward God in our own lives. But before we do that let us consider “unbelief” {faithlessness, which is (negatively) disbelief (want of Christian faith), or (positively) unfaithfulness (disobedience): - unbelief}. Let me use some of the daily decisions I choose as it will help me examine where I actually stand on this comparison. Money is a concern; I think about it more than once a day, why do I do this? If I am spending more than I am making, obviously common-sense sends off alarm signals. But to what extent do I let this affect me? If I find I move into the realm of doubting God to provide then I obviously walk in unbelief. As the Word of God is very clear on the subject; "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:25-30)   

My life is so full of self-preservation that it is difficult to move from the realm of self-sufficiency into the realm of the unseen in this area of my life. But I tell you that I walk in unbelief when I reason like this. And so I can examine every other area of my life to see if I am found wanting. Abraham never doubted God and so too should we never doubt God! We must find grace in every area of our lives to obey the Word of God, this then will prove our faith in action. But we must understand the instruction clearly and in order to do this we must study the manual, the Bible!

Once again Abraham proves that doubt is not from God but it comes from our own rational where we question the Word of God with our own opinionated views. This is unbelief! It is a ploy from Satan and it has always been a major weapon of his to try and unseat the believer, do not give him a foothold. If God has said it then we must believe it, even when it appears that the outcome will be inevitably futile to our common coherent thought process.

With this consideration in mind, how will we ever know our heart in a matter unless we are tested? Testing is therefore needed in our lives to prove where we stand. Welcome the test as it will fashions us to become more dependent on our God and it will teach us to walk by faith and not with a carnal mind-set; if we therefore doubt God and His Word we make ourselves his enemy, this is a serious indictment!

I suppose everything hinges on faith, look at our text; “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

“It did for the present (to speak with reverence), in effect, tie his hands: He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Note, Unbelief is the great obstruction to Christ's favours. All things are in general possible to God (Mat_19:26), but then it is to him that believes as to the particulars, Mar_9:23. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, but then it is to every one that believes, Rom_1:16. So that if mighty works be not wrought in us, it is not for want of power or grace in Christ, but for want of faith in us. By grace ye are saved, and that is a mighty work, but it is through faith, Eph_2:8.” (Matthew Henry)

Let us conclude with an illustration from the Holy Scriptures. The promise of God was at hand and the children of Israel were about to receive their inheritance, the promise to Abraham was about to come into fruition. Moses sent out spies to spy out the land, but some doubted the promise; “And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, "We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan." But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." (Numbers 13:26-30): - Why was Caleb able to talk like this? He believed God at His promise, do we? We must if we are to walk as victorious Christians in this barren land whatever the burden, as it is no match for our God! Praise the name of Jesus!

Signing off

Tyrone

     

Reasoning Right!

(Psalms 34:10) “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”

The Bible is a book full of wonderful truths, simple fact and if only we had ears to hear, with hands ready to act upon what we are taught, in faith, life would be a lot less painful. This assumption is no longer an opinion but I have settled on it as fact. Through trial and error; experientially I have proved this to be true in so many areas of my life. And yet in so many other areas of my life I am unpeeling the first’s layers to what the bible teachers on certain subjects. This is some indictment and rather sad, no wonder on reflection on my life there are so many battered and bruised chapters to it. Nevertheless these chapters have played there part in helping me learn very valuable lessons and sometimes I had to repeat the semester more than a few times. Whenever we lose sight on where God is taking us we often need a reminder and a refresher course is thrown at us. This may or may not have to do with sin in our lives. Job was a righteous man one who eschewed evil and he was blameless and yet he had lessons to learn. Samson on the other hand took what he had received at times for granted and was taught a very valuable lesson even though he lost both his eyes he still came out on the other side as a victor. So will it be for all of God’s children and yet why do some endure a lot more than is apparently needed, it is simple they resist the simple truth of God’s instruction. Our journey here on earth would be a lot less painful if we learn to obey! Nevertheless whatever the outcome in our lives, it is always for our own good, even if we cannot see it at the time. Another fact! This then is the lesson; we must learn to trust and obey the Word of God!

Take yesterday’s blog for instance the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil and yet so many churches preach a message of “naming and claiming” blessings to one’s life, this is a doctrine of devils and it is not sound instruction form God’s Word.

The bible clearly teachers; the reason we should be faithful to a job and look to support ourselves and our families is so that we would not be a burden to others. And yet it goes much further, it is never about self and our own wants, this type of mentality is a trap to keep us in bondage to money, which in turn opens a can of worms to other sins that takes our eyes of the cross. The reason we work is so that we can help others in need, this then is now sound counsel from God’s Word; “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1Timothy 6:7-8) – A simple statement but will we settle on it? I have ignored this teaching throughout life but it is now time to start looking for grace to make it part of my life. “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1Timothy 6:17-19)

It should be clearly evident to see the difference in mind-sets. One speaks of giving so that we can get more to spend on our own wants as the other clearly teachers an attitude of sharing so that we can store up treasures in heaven, it has nothing to do with wealth here on earth. We are clearly taught that with food and raiment we are to be content! This is what the Apostle Paul learnt to accept while he was here on earth and remember this was a statement of fact and not simply an opinion; “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Philippians 4:11-12)   

There are many other areas of our lives that this principle needs to take root and if nurtured will eventually flourish and it will bring forth its fruit in due season. For I am persuaded, that when we heed the counsel of God’s Word it will be beneficial to our lives. How will we then benefit? God will bless us with the fruit of His Spirit, which is; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24)   

Now for all of us who look to hoard what we have this is what will become of us; “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalms 34:10) And we have just learnt that the good things in life are the fruits of the Spirit! 

Signing off

Tyrone

True Life!

(Luke 12:23) “For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”

Life is where it is at for all of us that still have “the breath of life” as we go about our daily routines! Every fiber in our bodies has been designed to fight for life! This is a point not many would disagree with, obviously there comes a time in a desperate person’s life where they no longer fight for life but throw in the towel as it were. Suicide a case in point! But someone would need to be worn down to such an extent that they see no other alternative. I wonder how often the “love of money” plays its part! God Knows! Even for the distressed, the urge to live would need to be subdued somehow; it is an emotion they would need to fight against to achieve their goal, death by their own hand!

But as the norm, life is a goal for the masses and yet we realize that death is eminent. The facts are on the table, one day we will all die! In this body anyway! Why is it that we as Christians look to live in the wrong areas of our lives is it because we have sinful natures still looking to dominate our daily lives? It shouldn’t be the case! As we are new creatures in Christ and we have His Spirit old things have passes away and behold all things have become new.

Obviously my statement is a generalization and not all walk as some who consider food and clothing high on their daily agenda. This consideration will not leave me and it continues to call me out as it asks me to examine my life. Life is about peace here on earth and yet we go after the things that make us anxious. Why? I suppose we have been so conditioned! Everything is geared for children growing up to become successful achievers. A nice house and a nice car with a job that pays well so that we can educate our children in the best schools where possible and then send them to expensive universities giving them the start we think they need for their lives. And only then do we feel we have arrived and done what any parent should do. I am not sure that the scripture or God for that matter would be well please with our efforts.

What then would please God? These are the type of questions we need to ask ourselves. We know that with food and raiment we should find ourselves content, anything outside of that is idolatry! Do we have a skewed view on life; if this is our type of reasoning then the answer would be yes! Now before I get lambasted for sounding anti education, that is not my point at all, I am all for education as long as it teaches us about life. True life, life eternal! “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

I believe this is exactly why we have so many warnings in scripture about chasing money as it leads us down a path of anxiety. Be warned! It may appear as if all is well, but the core of this desire is futile and very destructive; “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” (Timothy 6:10-11) – Note, here we have a verse that teaches us that the love of money, leads us down all the wrong roads, so instead of instilling these values into our minds and that of our children we should rather be propagating life, which is to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” This then would be the true definition of life. Beware of the subtle deceptions life throws at us.

The witter of Hebrew has this to say on the subject; “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5) 

   

Now there will be many questions springing to mind on how we should appropriate this truth to our lives, which is between you and your God. All I have done is to bring the seriousness of this topic to our attention. I know that if we seek God’s face in this area of our lives with an honest and open heart, He will gives us wisdom in this area of our lives.

Signing off

Tyrone

Why speak?

(Psalms 60:6)  “God has spoken in his holiness:”

Yesterday’s post seemed to create some stirs and it may have appeared to some that my blog is purely based on academia and not a personal living relationship with my great Saviour the Lord Jesus. As I have said many times in the past, if it had not been for my great Saviour’s patience with me throughout my life, I would be in some gutter begging bread. My life has been filled with so many foolish choices and yet He has never given up on me. Having said that, there is a time when we as Christians need to put off childish things and become men in Christ; “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” (Corinthians 13:11)   

What are my reasons for writing this blog, it was never about standing up to get noticed? I use to pen to a dairy on a daily basis or there about. But looking down at the pages was a little scary, as I am rather untidy and my spelling is not up to scratch, so even I battle to make out what I had just penned. Then I came across BlogSpot with grammar and spell check, what was I to do? It was a no brainer!

What and why then do I blog?

The what! Is whatever question I need an answer for, I either think on something or I see someone making a comment about biblical truths, I either agree or disagree and then I make it my business to search out the scriptures? Why do I do this? Because I need to find the answers for my life! We are dealing with eternal issues and if we get it wrong it will be tragic. And yes sometimes it gets very personal, it could never be any other way, as relationships are personal. Christianity is intimate; it is the greatest of love affairs. Our daily lives are filled with mystery, jubilation and even heartache at times, we have a great High Priest that is not only capable but willingly sympathizes with all of God’s children, praise His name!  

I then post these blogs in the hope that others may also find answers to their lives and deepen their relationship with the Lord Jesus. At times even my own emotions look to fight the answers I find in the Holy Scriptures, but I have learnt and am still learning that when I ignore those findings they are to my own detriment. Therefore emotions are vital but if they second guess the word of God, we need to seek out grace so that they may be trained in alignment to the Word of God.

It is all about locking hands as Christians so that we can by God’s Spirit and through God’s Word extinguish the fiery darts of the devil, he is a roaring lion that goes about seeking to devour those who stand upon the truth of God’s Word and he does this by challenging God’s Word.

I hope this helps you understand what and why I post these blogs.

Finally it must never be about our opinions if they are contrary to God’s Word. How will that ever help us? It won’t! We need to be fashioned and skilled by it! What then is my greatest concern in these last days? I would have to say the warning that the Apostle Paul give Timothy; “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) - I believe this verse has begun to gain momentum. How would we have known to be on the lookout for this error if we did not go to the Holy Scripture to help us understand? We have been told! It is now up to us to put on the armour of God to help us stand in defence against this error, pay attention to it and it will be well with our souls; ignore its warning at our own peril. It is all about holding and clinging to the never changing Word as our lives do depend upon it.

I leave you with this encouragement; “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9)

This then is why I blog and consider so many voice in our world today that comes against God’s Holy Word.

Signing off

Tyrone

  

Jesus wept!

(John 11:35)  “Jesus wept.”

It interests me to compare my emotional state this morning to how I felt yesterday. Yesterday as I sat typing out my blog I was at peace but today I feel a little more apprehensive. Why the difference? Today I would like to tackle the emotional state of a Christian and whether or not we should be sensitive to it or not? Should we act upon our emotions? It would be impossible to ignore them as if we were programmed with robot tendencies, so when we pretend to disregard our feeling as unimportant are we walking in obedience to Gods Word. At the end of the day it is about our obedience to God and His Word. Obedience is then our goal, on the other hand does emotion play any part in finding obedience?

Why this topic? - Amongst some reformed theologians I often tend to get the feeling that they like to go out of their way to make as if emotion plays no part in a Christians life, or at least shouldn’t. Comments like, “if you want a warm and fuzzy feeling get a dog”, or something similar. The implication means that we must never be led by our emotions as a Christian. In principle I do not share the same sentiment. Let me explain, but before I do, let me first lay a foundation as it is the correct balance I seek.

We know the Word of God is the final authority as God will never deny himself; He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We would all agree upon that truth! Regardless of how we would dissect different portions of scripture, every Christian would agree that the Bible is the final authority as it has been inspired by God the Holy Spirit and although men were used to pen its context, it could as well of being God penning the Words himself.

Why does the writer of Hebrews tell us that the Lord Jesus is touched with the feelings of our infirmities? “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize {identify or be touch with the similar feelings} with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

I would suggest that the Lords Jesus’ life here on earth was filled with emotion. It is part of a man’s makeup and no! it was not only after the fall that emotions played their part in actuality. How do we know this, the answer is obvious, the Lord Jesus was a man who knew no sin and yet he had emotional experiences.

Let us consider one of those recorded emotional experiences…

Lazarus was now dead and his family wept for him and then Jesus arrives on the scene and this is how it played out; “Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept.” (John 11:32-35) – Note; although Mary was extremely respectful as she approached the Lord Jesus (she fell at his feet, she bow to Him acknowledging his authority) it was her tears that the Lord noticed; her emotion had caught His attention. It so gripped Him that he also began to cry. Some have suggested that he cried because she lacked faith and there may be some truth to this but I believe it goes a lot deeper than this. He felt her pain! We see the compassion of our great Saviour towards those in misery and yet He was never overthrown by His emotion.

His sentiment did not get him to lose focus on the issues at hand, He had come to do the will of His Father and that was to lay down his life for sinners. However along the way His life was filled with passion. What can we learn from His great example? Our lives should be filled with compassion for one another, we are instructed to weep with those that weep and to laugh with those that laugh etc. But we are never to lose focus on our task at hand and that is to present the gospel of our great Saviour to a lost and this dying generation.

My conclusion then is that God has given us emotion to emphasis with others for His name sake. Emotions help us to understand our need to call upon our great High Priest in time of need, it would be one thing if we were left alone to struggle with our fears but we now have a High Priest who has in all points been tempted as we are tempted and yet without sin. He has personally experienced everything we go through and on an emotional level, let us never forget His great sacrifice!

But beware of any emotion that looks to take you away from His counsel and His Word; they are traps and lures to deceive.

I say welcome emotion and let them lead us to Him as we seek to be succoured by our great King as He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

Signing off

Tyrone

    

The new has come!

(2Corinthians 5:17) “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

It is that time again and spring is in the air, the clock has just barely passed 4am and I hear the birds twittering in the distance, a pleasant sound echoing through the still of the night. If I was asked to describe it in a word, what word would I cherry-pick? Tranquility, serenity or peacefulness, which all has similar meanings, would be high on the list. Apart from Senora’s (my Siberian husky) heavy breathing which in itself confirms life although death is prominent as she is nearing 15 and even with that noise included I am at peace, thank you Father God for moments like these.

The bible encourages us to exhort one another while it is call today; “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13)

It is important for us to take a stroll along the banks of God’s river, or to wade in the shallows of the stream, to sit still and listen to the sounds that filter through the Holy Scriptures. If we listen carefully we may just pick up a new fresh note, not that there is anything new to Scripture, but it may be new for us, it may help us find grace in time of need. It may give us sustenance just for “today” and so we have been encouraged to find strength to pursue our heavenly calling, chew off more than a day at a time and before long you will be caught up with the deceitfulness of sin. It has a way of impregnating our carnal natures. But we are no longer under its master, if we indeed have been born again and have Christ Spirit guiding us along the way; “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6) - Therefore we need to remind one another that we must set time aside to commune with our Lord and Saviour, without this fellowship we once again begin to walk as we once did when we groped in the dark.

The truth of the matter is that if we are new creatures in Christ then all things old have passed away whether we want to believe it or not. We have a new standing in Christ and this is what the Apostle Paul teachers; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2Corinthians 5:17) – What I find intriguing is that he needed to teach this truth to the Corinthian Church, those who seem to struggle the most with their old carnal natures. Those who seemed to want to use grace as a licence to sin! I also once erred on that side of their error in understanding. It seemed too hard to have to walk as a sinless man, or so I was tricked to believe. Now if we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves. This is not what I am claiming, but now because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice and because of what He was able to utter while still nailed to the cross, “it is finished”, we all now are no longer viewed as sinners in that sense but saints, and children of God! The new has come and we must remind each other of this truth, we must exhort one another and so I now reassure you of this truth…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2Corinthians 5:17-21)

Because of what He achieved on our behalf we have now been covered by His righteousness, let us therefore remember to find the joy of the Lord, to be thankful in all our trials and tribulations as they are working together for our own good. Let us be slow with anger as our God is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, praise His glorious name! We all deserved death but instead of what should have been our punishment, hell and all its eternal torment, we have find life in and through our great risen King, the Lord Jesus Christ has saved our souls.

I would encourage you today to draw aside and to thank Him for all things that are now new. When we learn to focus on Him the trials of life will disappear into the distance, not that we shouldn’t be hard pressed any longer by the trials of life as they are very needful for our training up in righteousness but they will not have such a hold on us. We will eventually learn to be content wherever we find ourselves. I pray Father God that you would write these truths deep within our hearts and help us to walk as new creatures in Christ, for to this we have been called, if we indeed have Your Spirit.

Set time aside to wade in the streams of righteousness and it will be well with our souls!

Signing off

Tyrone

  

The call of God!

(2Timothy 1:9) “Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.”

The call of God is a mighty and special specific call; there can be no greater call!

I remember as a young boy sitting huddled in a group after soccer and cricket trails waiting for my name to be called out, and when I heard it I remember feeling the well of emotion stir as I thought, yep I’ve made it! All the hard work kicking the ball with my dad in the back garden had paid off. I was now reaping the rewards as I had been selected for the side. My name had been called! There was tenacity in the way I went about making sure that my name would be called.

In my final year at Greenside High, I recall my coach calling me over and saying to me that I would not be going to Craven Week trials (The Craven Week is an annual rugby tournament organised for the school boys of South Africa) as they had already picked their 8^th Man. I was not happy with the news and made it my goal to prove the selectors wrong. I think that was my coach’s intention from the outset. My opportunity eventually arrive, Sandown high was the opposition and all the Craven week selectors where line side, now was my chance, I took it with both arms and play arguably the best game of my life. I outplayed my opposite number and he was the selector’s choice, in fact he had made the side a year earlier. My name was call and I was invited to Craven Week trials.

Forgive me for the apparent self-pat on the back, but my point will be evident. All I longed for all my life was to have my name called, to be recognised and be noticed. I am not sure that I was different to any other young boy, we all have a similar drives and that is to achieve. We all long to have our name called!

But could there ever be a higher call than that from almighty God, the only true God, the creator of the heavens and the earth? Never ever! The Apostle Paul embraced this call with all his might; “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, “called” (invited, that is more accurately appointed, specifically called by name) to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” (Romans 1:1) – How did this happen? An audible voice boomed from heaven, this is all he needed to hear, to have his name called, meant the world to him. Here was a man that seemed to be possessed with bringing down the Christian faith with all his might and vigour, he seemed oblivious to the error of his ways, until God called him by name. Look at his life and then one understands what it meant to him; “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (2Corinthians 11:24-28)   

I want us to ponder our lives and the call that we too have received if in fact we have indeed been called by Jehovah God. Have our eyes been open to the kingdom of heaven, are we born again, do we have the Spirit of God living within us? If this is true, then your name has been called by the great I AM, wow what a thought! Nevertheless it is true! Am I even more excited to hear His call than I was as a young boy waiting to have my name called after trials. At first many year ago, twenty two back I recollect the excitement that grip my soul, I may not have understood it like I now understand it but my zeal was far more real back then, forgive me Father! When the light switch was triggered and I finally had come to my senses, life now made perfect sense, heaven was real and I was going to let people know about it. The Lord Jesus Christ had died for my sins and He had forgiven me, wow! How was I to remain silent? It was not possible! I had heard my name called, not just by my soccer coach, but by God Himself, I weep even now as this reality resonates.

Where did I go wrong is my next question? I look at all the scars that I bear in my body from so many bad choices. There are so many false hopes and lies in this world with snares and traps on every corner just waiting to trip up the believer. And yes they do play their part in our lives along the way, but God who is rich in mercy is faithful to His call and will remain faithful to the very end, praise His majestic name! The Lord Jesus is the great Shepherd and He will not lose even one of his sheep, do you believe this? – “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:39-40) – Therefore I am persuaded that if God has called you by name, I do not speak about a general call, what I mean by this, is the Lord Jesus has died for the whosoever and the call has gone out to all, but only those who repent and believe and have be specifically called, they will never be lost!

And if you disagree with me then you do not believe the text quoted above. We serve a great God and the gates of hell will never prevail against Him, which would be impossible, it will never happen! Do not believe the lie if it be that you doubt His ability to get you home. Now with that in mind let us never forget what it cost our Lord and Saviour, He was crucified so that we could hear this awesome call from God, without His sacrifice there would be no call and because of it He is now not only own God but also our Father. No greater privileged is available to those who have been called, so the next time we think to complain, may we remember what it cost our King so that we could go free.

I am thankful Lord Jesus my Lord and Saviour for what you accomplished on Calvary and so long as you give me voice, I will declare this truth when and wherever the opportunity presents itself. I pray that the zeal I once had would be rekindled so that your name would be praise, that you would be high and lifted up, for you alone are worthy of all praise! Father God thank you for calling out my name, I could never repay you, except that I now no longer belong to myself, help me understand this with even more clarity than before.

Signing off

Tyrone  

  

Faith comes from hearing!

(Romans 10:13-17) “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Christianity is not a surreal (dreamlike) reality but rather actuality; we are pressed daily by various considerations that need to be acted upon. Our minds cannot remain neutral on the more serious issues we face on a daily basis. In South Africa we have an informative TV show and for the most part it is an informative news show that exposes us to some cruel realities, crime in South Africa and the like are often wonderfully exposed. However last night “Carte Blanche” aggressively put in a punt for the evolution polls and those weak in faith would be rocked by it. If fact I love the fact that questions like these present themselves with such aggression, it helps us question where we stand and what we really believe.

Last night they endeavored to persuade their viewers that they had have found another missing link to mankind’s evolution. This find came from the Human Cradle of Mankind and now with modern technology they are able to backdate it to almost 2 million years ago, or so they say! Now the bible on the other hand teachers that we all come from Adam and that is roughly about 6000 years ago. Historically through the genealogy of the bible this has been documented. Now which one is true? Are we descendants of the ape family which can be traced back some two million years or are we the dependence of Adam and Eve; more accurately we are from the lineage of Ham, Sham or Japheth, the sons of Noah. Those who survived the great flood!

Two days ago I addressed the never changing Word of God and how it would stand the test of time. These other voices oppose the Word of God trying to disprove the Bible. Once again we see that God is never caught off guard and this is what the Apostle Paul teachers; “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Corinthians 1:18-25)

What then has God chosen to use as His pivotal trigger to help mankind have their eyes opened to His wisdom? It is nothing other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, without His Spirit we remain as men that grope in the dark and we clutch at straws. Here again is proof on display, we see the scientists of the world making radical claims about our origin and the world as a rule says, wow! Everything about wisdom and life hinges on the work of the cross. Without this understanding we remain blind to the truth of God and our origin.

We can often enter a debate about many things that captivate our minds as men, but unless we preach the cross we will continue to beat our chests in vain. Always look to preach the cross when encountering any consideration no matter what that topic may be. If not we have missed the mark and we will not help those who grope in the dark as they clutch  straws. Paul puts it like this; “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." (1Corinthians 3:19-20)

Last night after much deliberation one of the scientists said something like this; this new find now proves that evolution is a little more complicated than we first thought. Go figure! But before we begin to gloat may we remember that there was a time that we also groped in the dark and if it had not been for the message of the gospel and the grace of God we would still be blind men leading one another into a ditch.

It is now our responsibility to declare the truth about Christ sacrifice to all and sundry. This now needs to be the banner of truth that we carry with us and on a daily basis;  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. (Romans 1:16) – Therefore let us remember the responsibility that has now been placed on each of us; “For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:13-17)

The only way someone will be saved is if they respond to the audible message of the gospel, therefore we need to preach this message of hope. “So faith come from hearing, and hearing from the word of Christ.” Let us not lose focus of this truth because many voices try their best to get us to forget the importance of this simple instruction to preach Christ and Him crucified!

Signing off

Tyrone