Few are Chosen!

(Matthew22:14) “For many are called, but few are chosen."

The Bible is very clear on what it would look like if we were enlisted amongst the elite of God’s calling, the special forces of God, a company of heroes! It would be easy to recognize them, as the world would view them as the scourge of the earth, “Oxygen thieves” would be bandied about amongst the heathen. And yet God would bellow words to his Celestial world like we read in Hebrew chapter 11; “of whom the world was not worthy.” And yet so many of us long to be amongst this number, I know I do! To be marked by God as one who is worthy to be called His son whom is learning to be obedient, and yet I know in many areas of my life this is not true. I am still view by the world as acceptable. “Wishy washy” would be a good description to my commitment of the role I play as a believer. Like a youngster singing in the mirror hoping one day to be a star. We all have dreams, what are your dreams? Maybe an alteration on your existing house, “just a little bigger”, would be nice! This is not the way of the “elite”; they went without so others could have! It is not rocket science and don’t pretend to be in a place you are not. I will not go there any longer! If I now give that thought consideration, do I still long to be amongst the elite of God? My answer would have to be, yes! What greater accolade could one ever receive than to hear these great Words from the only true God! - “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelations 21:7)

So then what will it take to be amongst the number that conquers, well obviously it will only be those who are born again and have received Christ’s Spirit. Those who have been called, those who have been predestines by God to be conformed into the image of His Son. Yet having said that, they will have a certain look to them and this is what they should not look like; just another cog in the wheel of society! It is easy to single out common sin, but we must be careful not to deceive ourselves with daily living as acceptable.

Let us not kid ourselves, this then is what the elite of God look like; they look forward to a city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God; They all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth; are we? But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city; And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated-- of whom the world was not worthy--wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. This is what God’s Elite look like!

I recall my military service; almost everybody amongst our number liked the idea of becoming an elite soldier as they were recognised as the best of the best. But in order to qualify, they needed to go through some very vigorous training and very few even made the first selection. The cost from the outset needed to be counted! So too is it with this great call from God, this call is the highest of calls and it will cost us our lives if we are serious about it. One could never be an elite soldier in God’s army if we walk around with leeks and garlic in our pockets. All this proves is that we are amongst the pretenders. Those who want to be someone they are not!

Now with that in mind, do I still want to be amongst the special forces of God? My answer Father God would be yes if I was to find favour in your eyes. On the merits of my life I would never qualify, never ever! But if God so wills something who could ever stop Him? So much time wasted in my life, maybe it is because I have so longed to hang on to the little I have, leaving me like a going cymbal, very loud but with very little effect.

If my thoughts be sincere, (God Knows) where to from here? I suppose I could wait like Jonah to be swallowed by a large fish and eventually spat out where I need to be. That journey must have been full of life lessons, his total dependence of the intake of a mammal’s oxygen level, a fish that lived under water. Something totally foreign to him, in fact so out of the ordinary that it brought about a change in his heart and he ended up doing God’s bidding anyway. Life’s lessons at play! He had been chosen!

Nevertheless it is God who chooses, it is no different to the Lord singling out the twelve disciples’; “And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Matthew 4:19-20) – This in itself is miraculous!

So to be real, it is not up to the individual, we must first receive the invitation, but have we not all received that bidding, have we not found strength to fall to our knees and cry out to the only One who has the power to forgive and to forget and to open our eyes to heaven and its calling. If you confess Jesus as Lord then this must be true!

We all now stand before him as enlisted soldiers as allotment now need to take place, and for most it has, as you are actively involved with a body of believers; you have found your place of fellowship where you meet with others and supply one to another as God has intended right from the outset of His call. But there may be some that now linger in the shadows not knowing what it is we are exactly meant to be doing. Something along the way has robbed us of that initial call, could it be the lust of my own hearts, probably, but after an assessment it is time to at least by the grace of God call out and says I have counted the cost, and I am willing to put my hand up. There is no more a person can do, except respond in obedience when shown direction by God, His Word and His people. We often fall amongst the pretenders, our intentions may be misguided, and we may like the idea of true Christianity but be unable to endure life’s difficulties. (God alone Knows), but we must, or I must at least put up my/our hand and say hear my/our cry our great Jehovah.

Signing off

Tyrone

He will Himself Restore!

(1Peter 5:10)  “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

If it’s God Himself who chooses to restore, who would ever be able to stop him, not your closest brother or your friend could even have an influence over that restoration. It would be beyond opinions and the reckonings of men or even the strength of angels, although God may well chose these mediums to strength a brother once he has served out his sentence, a sentence of suffering. But that is not the point Peter stresses, he says that the God of Grace, He himself will restore the suffering pilgrim. As I have said in times past we are encouraged to suffer for doing that which is commendable. However will this restoration only apply to the believer that does what is commendable?

The context is this chapter is about humility and how God resists the proud, but give grace to the humble. So if a bad decision cause a man or woman to stumble and it gets them to a place of humility will God be the one who brings about the restoration? Yes I believe the scripture is full of these types of examples. David with Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite, Samson through a vigorous process of needing to break him down to such an extent that he lost both his eyes and yet it was God in person who ultimately came to his aid and his rescue; look at this verse; “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7): - Does failure bring about anxiety? Does this need a retort? I think not!

I am not for one minute suggesting that we should not strive to find grace in time of need, so that we walk obediently before our Holy Father! That is a given! But what of the times we find that we fail dismally? Does that now disqualify us; I suppose before men this is true, it is Paul who gives us this teaching; “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1Corinthians 9:27)

But will God ever give up on one of His Children? It is not possible, sure heartache often plays its part in my life, but without this reassurance, as a simple man I would have nothing to hold onto and yet by the grace of God, He gives me the resolve from somewhere to remember this verse and to cleave to it will all I have; “…for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."” (Hebrews 13:5)

I suppose it is unfair to look to fallen men even though they too have been saved by the grace of God to understand or sympathise like our Saviour the great High Priest is able to sucker those who hurt in their time of need. He alone earned the right to be called the “Great High Priest”. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, or put another way He is aware of our anxiety as He too felt its power and yet without ever succumbing to it. It was of such strength that he began to sweat drops of blood. And yet when we fall He does not stand with a bucket of feathers and a brush full of tar. He beckons us to come and seek out His forgiveness. No wonder God needed to send His only beloved Son to die on a cruel Roman Cross and yet to be a man tempted in all points as we are and yet with no sin. What man has ever endured such a great accomplishment? None other than Jesus Christ our Lord and our God praise His name!

It is obvious we will disappoint our brethren when we fall, but do not be surprised when their reactions to our falls throughout life also disappoints in return. Remember that we do need one another but it is only our Lord that knows where and when to exert pressure and when to release it, so we all may remember to call upon Him in time of need. And may the rest of us learn to be sensitive to the leading of God the Holy Spirit. And yet this too is also a process.

Signing off

Tyrone

Our Long-suffering Father!

(Romans 8:29) “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

What then is the purpose behind the mistakes we make and the lessons we should learn? The answer is obvious; to become more like our great Saviour the Lord Jesus. What now amazes me is it took an event in my life, a bad choice, something I should have learnt long ago and yet I found I made the same mistake. It is only a lesson learnt if we refrain from making the same mistakes. These lessons of life help highlight our relationship with the Lord and where we are along our journey on the Celestial Road. Our actions do not lie in that sense. My life has been a life full of regret; I have so much still to learn and I seem to be a habitual offender in some areas of my life. But to deny this about myself would be foolish but to give it pre-eminence so that my thoughts are constantly captivates by my weakness and I end up finding life a constant grind and a heavy burden would be just as wrong; “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1Peter 5:8) 

It is one thing to stand on the outside looking in at someone who has fallen and to pass judgment; their blunder is supposed to teach us fear so that we can learn from the mistakes of others! I wonder does it, or does it just end up making us judges?

If I am honest, as we all should be with ourselves and others, I wonder have I ever got past suffering for my own wrong-doing as opposed to suffering for doing the right thing at the cost of being falsely accused. This we know is commendable before God; “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” (1Peter 3:17)   

Our lives seemed to be so filled with suffering for wrong-doing, no wonder we cannot get passed so many infant stages of our lives! Let me be fair and not speak for others, it is my own mirror I now gaze at. Yes there are certain areas that growth is obviously evident but there are also many that are stagnant; it is time to put off childish things. It would be good to also remember that we have fallen natures and that is why the Apostle Peter teaches us to fear the flesh; “Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1Peter 2:10-11): - if we are not wise with our choices we will end up falling in areas of our lives where we will regret ever making such silly choices. The very first fruit of repentance is “carefulness”, we must be careful not to put ourselves in a position where we may end up falling. When we were first saved, did we not pay careful attention to this warning, I know I did! And yet somewhere along the way I let things slip, hence so many regrettable bad choices.

I do not wish to make light of these areas in our lives but we can take consolation from the children of Israel in the Wilderness, it took them 40 years to get to the Promised Land where is could of taken them just a couple of weeks. Wherever we now find ourselves, remember that there is still work to do in our own lives, life is teaching us who we are and where we need to find repentance so that we may be conformed into the image of our great Saviour, no matter how far we seem to be from His perfect example, today is another day to repent and to look to him to find grace so that we may overcome in those areas of our life that seems to be a habitual drain.

If we were able, which is impossible as men to overcome, within ourselves we would never have needed the Lord Jesus to come live as a man and to conquer sin once and for all. We would have looked to do it by ourselves, an impossible task!

Let us therefore remember that the trial of life and the areas that we still fall in are there to teach us who we actually are, so that we can acknowledge our fault before God and one another, so that we may lock hand with each other, and pray for one another.

This is why we have been called; “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) – But it is the next verse that teaches us why this is needful; For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brother.” (Romans 8:29)

Forgive me, forgive us Father God for so many frivolous bad choices in our daily walks, we will not overlook them but we seek repentance, so that we will eventually learn to walk circumspectly before a Holy God. Thank you Lord Jesus for your example and I am sorry that I am such a slow learner. Thank you for your never tiring patience!

Signing off

Tyrone

Accepted in the Beloved!

(Ephesians 1:6) “Accepted in the beloved.”

What a state of privilege! It includes our justification before God, but the term “acceptance” in the Greek means more than that. It signifies that we are the objects of divine complacence, nay, even of divine delight. How marvellous that we, worms, mortals, sinners, should be the objects of divine love! But it is only “in the beloved.” Some Christians seem to be accepted in their own experience, at least, that is their apprehension. When their spirit is lively, and their hopes bright, they think God accepts them, for they feel so high, so heavenly-minded, so drawn above the earth! But when their souls cleave to the dust, they are the victims of the fear that they are no longer accepted. If they could but see that all their high joys do not exalt them, and all their low despondencies do not really depress them in their Father’s sight, but that they stand accepted in One who never alters, in One who is always the beloved of God, always perfect, always without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, how much happier they would be, and how much more they would honour the Saviour! Rejoice then, believer, in this: thou art accepted “in the beloved.” Thou lookest within, and thou sayest, “There is nothing acceptable here!” But look at Christ, and see if there is not everything acceptable there. Thy sins trouble thee; but God has cast thy sins behind his back, and thou art accepted in the Righteous One. Thou hast to fight with corruption, and to wrestle with temptation, but thou art already accepted in him who has overcome the powers of evil. The devil tempts thee; be of good cheer, he cannot destroy thee, for thou art accepted in him who has broken Satan’s head. Know by full assurance thy glorious standing. Even glorified souls are not more accepted than thou art. They are only accepted in heaven “in the beloved,” and thou art even now accepted in Christ after the same manner.(C.H Spurgeon)

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