Persistence

Persistence is a quality we all desire in our lives; we need to have that box ticked, but only if our determination lands on the right side of God’s righteousness, otherwise what we once considered as a plus to our lives, in fact, is extremely negative and a trait which will continue to breakdown and destroy our goal of walking in our Saviours footsteps. If we put other gods before our great God, it is a form of idolatry that gets in the way and destruction will be our lot in life. It’s not as if I bow before a golden calf. But it’s the underlying idolizations of our lives that rob us of so much peace. "Whoever sacrifices to any god, other than the LORD alone, shall be devoted to destruction.” (Exodus 22:20) – Our Father is a jealous God; He most certainly will not share us with another. Where the believer, or in their case the Jew saved out of slavery began to neglect God’s commands it resulted in punishment. This was obviously a consequence to any neglect to the voice of GOD in a person’s life and in this particular instruction they were commanded not to make a sacrifice to any other gods. We know longer live a life of physical sacrifice for the second covenant which now covers the Christians is grander than the first. “Jesus in my place”! However this does not exclude the principles of the law in our lives. The entirety of the law is a teacher to lead us to Christ. The Law of God is filled with grand enlightenment as it gives us insight into the character of God. It shows us His love as well as His wrath.   

Our mind naturally defects towards self preservation as it looks for all sorts of reasons to satisfy our quandaries when things are not going so well. We love to find solutions that will aid in our struggle. The conclusion is simple, we must learn to put the Word of God first in our lives and then seek out grace to have our minds renewed to avoid the damage we so often face.

Some may conclude that their lives are blissful with very little destruction attached to it, if that be the case, I would be worried. If your life is blessed and it excludes God direction in it (it has no regard for His righteousness) and you claim Christianity as your own but see no apparent discipline attached to you life, you may name to be amongst the Christian number when in fact there could be nothing further from the truth. God fathers his children like no other, of this I am persuaded. God’s character never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, as He will be tomorrow and into eternity. Righteousness will always accompany the Christian. And when it is lacking in our lives, destruction will be evident. Apart from me having to be taught the lesson time and again; who’s to say that my experience entitles me to this assumption. It doesn’t! If I cannot back it up by the Word of God, it has no real bearing and it will not change our lives, it’s as simple as that! Experience can never overshadow the Word of God, but when experience is highlighted by the Word of God then we must pay attention to the whispering voice behind it all. – Here is the proof; “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.” (Hebrews 12:6-8) - Without our Fathers discipline in our lives we will never share in His holiness; “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 12:9-11) 

Our natural tenacity will never land on the right side of God’s righteousness; as our flesh is naturally tainted by sin. It’s like trying to put a shoe on the wrong foot, at first glance it may be missed by the onlooker but as soon as any attention is given to that particular area, it becomes an obvious conclusion.

Just as mathematics of physics has certain binding laws attached to their formulations, so is this principle relevant to the flesh and the spirit. Although the flesh houses the Spirit of God, it can never influence it. That which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit remains spirit. However the mind is the link between the two. Therefore as Christians we must understand the different roles both play in our lives to become effective in righteousness.

This is the Apostle Paul's conclusion on the matter when it comes to the different influences our mind and our flesh has on our lives; “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:25) – At salvation we where given a new heart. The Christian now has the capacity to apply their minds to the will of God. Prior to salvation this was impossible. However this is a process, we must learn to let go of our independence which the flesh demands from us. It is a natural default. We must put on the mind of Christ, putting the Word of God first in our lives if we are to learn this lesson well. Even the Lord Jesus had to fight the urges of His flesh, even though his flesh was never tainted by sin. This is the account recorded for us in the Garden of Gethsemane. A time when his flesh looked to shirk the call place on His life by His Father; His will (flesh) looked for and out but his mind was conditioned to go the way of God. – “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."” (Matthew 26:39) – Our flesh will always look for the easy out; it is its default position. The Spirit will always pursue God’s righteousness and as Christians we have been given the mind of Christ, we now understand God’s command opposed to the pull of our natures, if not then we will be surrounding by destruction until this is learnt. We must learn to apply “not my will but thine be done” to our lives. This will take a lifetime but it will be worth it all as it will stand us in good stead for eternity.  

Destruction is a necessary tool needed to change a rebellious Christian’s mind-set. Thank God for the love He has for his children. He does what ever is needed to teach and help us turn that corner; praise His name, Amen and Amen!

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

Signing off

Tyrone

Re-evaluating where we stand

(1John 4:1) “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

The question so many ask is how can I be sure that this thought is from God or not simply a vain imagination? Far too many people within Christian circles claim that the voice of God speaks through them and babes in Christ are often influenced by those voices. Whilst the unbeliever slates the Gospel message because of the madness witnessed. Do not be fooled, the gospel is rejected only because men love darkness more than light, and they avoid coming to the light so that their sin is not exposed.

It is imperative that we base everything we do on the instructions found in the Bible; if and when we are prompted to act let its always be in accordance with the Word of God and make sure it is always done decently and in order and without reigning down confusion. God is most certainly not a God of misunderstanding and the spirit of misconception reigns outside of His kingdom. Sanity must always ride on the back of the fruits of the Spirit, even when we are laughed at.

The Word of God must always come first; then we must remember to exegete (interpret) correctly. We cannot open a bible and point at a verse and then claim it as if God has spoken directly to us. This would be a foolish way to conduct our lives.

If I am struggling financially and times are tough I cannot claim a portion of a verse and then apply faith to it expecting results or claim someone else’s providence as my own. If we take a verse out of context, we must be careful not to fall into this trap.

Here is an example…

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34)

   

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33-34)

I trust you see the difference…

With this in mind let us understand a deeper truth…  

(Matthew 19:30) “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

To understand this there must be a shift in our reckoning; our minds must shift gears, moving from the natural into spiritual overdrive and without that transformation there will be no revolution in a believer’s life. A revolt for the WORD OF GOD should begin to dictate. If not we must examine if we be in the faith? Its one thing to say we believe but quite another to live as one who truly believes. When we examine our lives, which I am in the throes of doing and as I look through the looking glass of time; 30 years to be exact! And I see snippets of positive influence, the time when my ministry had a constructive affect on others, I realise that those were the times in my life where my mind was in SPIRITUAL OVERDRIVE. It’s God in us that equips the believer to bring about this change, that is a given, but we have been instruction as children of God to put on the mind of Christ, in others words; we must purposely learn how to do this. Some will be better at it than others, why? God knows! However this does not free me to find an excuse for my rebellion when it rears its head.

The Apostle Paul was very clear on this; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

For the slow learner like me, it does not excuse the many mistakes I have made along the way. But praise the name of Jesus and the fortitude of my heavenly Father for His endurance in my life. The times where I had lost my way is simple to understand, it was always a shift from the spiritual back to the natural. What is the lesson then? We must always remain in the Spirit, trusting the Word of God above the whole enchilada of everything else to be fruitful. We must learn to surrender to God; this is how we lay a good foundation in our lives. If we have lost our way, pruning will be required, it will be painful and have its effect on our lives, we will be under strain no differently to a tree that is clipped, but is will bring forth fruit in its season, praise God!

If the required trimming is ignored do not expect any change. Please do not mistake financial gain for blessings from God if we are not chasing His righteousness in our lives as it is probably just another lure distracting us from His truth.  

Signing off

Tyrone

Is the alarm set?

(Jeremiah 16:20) “Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!”

One great troubling sin of ancient Israel was idolatry, and the spiritual Israel of today is vexed with a predisposition to the same foolishness. Personalities of the day struggle in various forms to keep idolatry at bay with our carnal natures setting up altars wherever it can find space for them. Our favourite pass times are often the cause of much sin in our lives and we are not exempt from the folly of it all. The Lord is saddened when He sees our affection to them above measure; they will and do hinder our growth in Him. If Christians desire to grow spikes to stuff their sleepless pillows, let them be taken by their desires. If this is our pattern then we must all be willing to except the fate of our folly, are we? Or do we hastily mutter when things do not plan out to our liking? May God help me (us) to recognise the filth of it all and then to act in accordance with His good pleasure. 

A little leaven leavens the entire lump, so as soon as we allow just a little idolatry into our lives, we may just as well swallow it all, our lusts (the natural offspring of a carnal and corrupt mind) feeding fuel to the fire. It only takes a minuscule amount of yeast to empower bread to rise.    

It is truly said that they are harmless and yet objects of our foolish love are often taken by them, the solace which they yield us now is dangerous, and the help which they can give us in the hour of trouble is fruitless. When the chips are down our cry goes out to our God and not some lifeless entity that can only ever tickle our selfish pleasures. There is no enduring substance to idolization of any kind, even nature with all of its creatures fall into the box marked “temporal”. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the WORD OF GOD will endure forever, Amen and Amen! Why, then, are we so absorbed with vanities? “We pity the poor heathen who adore a god of stone, and yet worship our gods of gold. Where is the gigantic superiority between a god of flesh and one of wood?" The principle, the sin, the folly is the same in either case, only that in ours the crime is more intensified because we have more light, and sin in the face of it. The heathen bows to a false deity, but the true God he has never known; we commit two evils, inasmuch as we forsake the living God and turn unto idols. Lord purge us all from fruitlessness is my prayer.

It is time to stand up and be counter, the hour is near and the trump of God is about to sound, are our ears tuned for the trump of God or will we try and play catch up like the five foolish virgins?

The instruction is simple; all those who confess Jesus as Lord, dress for battle, put off the rags of the feeble empty promises of this world, get into line for our Commander is about to cry out, “forward march”. It may even result in death or imprisonment, so be it! The faithful we will reign and rule with Him for all eternity, all glory belongs to our King, bless His name and may our heavenly Father give us the resolve to see things for what they are and to act accordingly.

Signing off

Tyrone

The gifts of God

“The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11: 29) 

“Now from all this he infers that certainly God had great mercy in store for that people, something answerable to the extent of these rich promises: and he proves his inference (Rom 11:29) by this truth: For the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. Repentance is sometimes taken for a change of mind, and so God never repents, for he is in one mind and who can turn him? Sometimes for a change of way, and that is here understood, intimating the constancy and unchangeableness of that love of God which is founded in election. Those gifts and callings are immutable; whom he so loves, he loves to the end. We find God repenting that he had given man a being (Gen 6:6), It repented the Lord that he had made man), and repenting that he had given a man honour and power (1Sa 15:11), It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king); but we never find God repenting that he had given a man grace, or effectually called him; those gifts and callings are without repentance.” (Matthew Henry) 

Salvation is always linked to someone else’s merits. I what you to think about this; do not leave this thought unexplored. It is imperative that we grasp it with all we have, if we are to be free to serve the living God, putting pride on the backburner pleasing our heavenly Father.

Let us work through this…

After falling through a crevasse on Everest a man finds himself lost and disorientated. The treacherous fall had shattered both his femurs leaving him exactly where he had collapsed with no chance of self-rescue. It was forty below and it wouldn’t be long before his body total shut down killing him on the spot. If rescue does not arrive soon he will surely die! Due to the extremities, his immobile condition and the fact that all his climbing gear had landed two hundred feet below him. He could not save himself! He was in dire need of rescue or he would die.

There was another man exploring the Colorado Mountains, he was agile and he liked the idea of exploring alone. He normally only ventured out for a couple of hours at a time and then he would return back to basecamp where he had parked his car. In the heat of the day he came across a trickery crossing that had disaster written all over it, but as he was up for the challenge, not much thought was given to the danger he faced and before he knew it he also found himself caught in a crevasse with his arm wedged between to boulders. As the sun baked down on him and with only half a bottle of water left, dehydration was a real concern. No matter how he tried to free himself he was trapped. For two days he spent most of his time yelling out for help but to no avail, he was stranded, trapped and alone. Although there were obvious differences between both men’s scenarios, the observable difference besides the weather conditions was that the man in Colorado had not broken a bone. But both were trapped!

The first man was extremely weak and now had a thin transparent membrane lining his chest wall which doubled back covering his lungs, thereby forming a continuous sac enclosing the narrow pleural cavity effect his breathing, it wouldn’t be long now. But just before he gave up the ghost rescue miraculously appeared as a salvage team descended down the cavity and save him in the nick of time. His rescue was a merciful act that had saved his life and without it he would have surely died.

The other man was in a quandary and no rescue team was looking for him, no one knew where he was, he was alone. What was he to do? Dehydration had set it and he had to act radically if he had any chance of survival. Remembering that he had a compact knife in his pocket he reached for it and with his belt now tightly bound around his arm just above his elbow restricting the blood flow he began to saw away at his arm. It was his only hope of escape. After much determination his job was complete and he was free with this trapped arm still wedged between the rocks he managed to free himself and with the little strength he had left he climbed out of the crevasse and began to make his way back to basecamp. On returning he climbed into his vehicle and made his way to the nearest hospital. He survived the ordeal. He had saved himself and as his story circulated he received the praise. He had saved himself.

What is the moral behind both these accounts? One man had been rescue by another whilst the other had saved himself. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is all about rescue and until we understand that we cannot save ourselves we will always look for self recognition; with independence driving us to a point of survival.

Let me use a final example that Ray comfort used in his book, “Hell’s Best Kept Secret” to get this very important point across…

John Wesley said to a friend, in writing to a young evangelist, “Preach 90 percent law and 10 percent grace.” And you say, “90 percent law and 10 percent grace? Pretty heavy. Couldn’t it be 50-50.” Think of it like this. I’m a doctor; you’re a patient. You have a terminal disease. I have a cure, but it’s absolutely essential that you are totally committed to this cure; if you’re not 100 percent committed, it will not work. How am I going to handle it? Probably like this.

“Come in here. Sit down. I’ve some very serious news for you: you have a terminal disease.” I see you begin to shake. I think to myself, “Good. He’s beginning to see the seriousness of this situation.” I bring out charts; I bring out x-rays. I show you the poison seeping through your system. I speak to you for ten whole minutes about this terrible disease. How long, then, do you think I’m going to have to talk about the cure? Not long at all. You’re sitting there trembling after ten minutes, I say, “By the way, here’s the cure.” You grab it and gulp it down. Your knowledge of the disease and its horrific consequence has made you desire the cure.

You see, before I was a Christian, I had as much desire for righteousness as a four-year-old boy has for the word “bath.” What’s the point? See, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” How many non-Christians do you know who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness? The Bible says, “There is none who seek after God” (Rom. 3:11). It says they love the darkness, they hate the light; neither will they come to the light least there deeds be exposed (John 3:19–20). The only thing they drink in is iniquity like water (Job 15:16). But the night I was confronted with the spiritual nature of God’s law and understood that God requires truth in the inward parts (Ps. 51:6), that He saw my thought-life and considered lust to be the same as adultery, hatred the same as murder, I began to say, “I can see I’m condemned. What must I do to be made right?” I began to thirst for righteousness. The law put salt on my tongue. It was a schoolmaster to bring me to Christ.

Charles Spurgeon said, “They will never accept grace until they tremble before a just and holy law.” D.L. Moody, John Bunyan, John Newton, who wrote “Amazing Grace” (and if anyone had a grip on grace it was Newton), he said that “the correct understanding of the harmony between law and grace is to preserve oneself from being entangled by errors on the right hand and on the left.” And Charles Finney said, “Evermore the law must prepare the way for the gospel.” He said, “To overlook this in instructing souls are almost certain to result in false hope, the introduction of a false standard of Christian experience, and to fill the church with false converts.”

Saints, the first thing David Wilkerson said to me when he called me on his car phone was, “I thought I was the only one who didn’t believe in follow-up.” Now, I believe in feeding a new convert; I believe in nurturing him. I believe in discipling him—biblical and most necessary. But I don’t believe in following him. I can’t find it in Scripture. The Ethiopian eunuch was left without follow-up. How could he survive? All he had was God and the Scriptures. You see, follow-up…now let me explain follow-up for those of you who don’t know. Follow-up is when we get decisions, either through crusades or local church, and we take laborers from the harvest field, which are few as it is, and give them this disheartening task of running after these decisions to make sure they’re going on with God. What it is is a sad admission of the amount of confidence we have in the power of our message and in the keeping power of God. If God has saved them, God will keep them. If they’re born of God, they’ll never die. If He’s begun a good work in them, He’ll complete it to that day (Philip. 1:6); if He’s the author of their faith, He’ll be the finisher of their faith (Heb. 12:2). He’s able to save to the uttermost them that come to God by Him (Heb. 7:25). He’s able to keep them from falling and present them faultless before the presence and glory with exceeding joy (Jude 24). Jesus said, “No one will pluck you from my father’s hand” (John 10:29).

Signing off

Tyrone

Let go and let God...

We all have perceptions and arrive at conclusions in accordance with the way we as individuals think on a particular subject. We have an assessment to most things in life, and when we land on neutral ground we have shown our hand. However we are often blinded to the bigger scheme of things, the deeper unseen truths that is as real as the setting of the sun. When we do not listen to that small still voice which whispers into our ear, which steers us towards a deeper understanding, which if allowed, often lands on a tile which fills in the blanks. Listen me must! Perceptions and clarifications never land on a full stop. Accept when it comes to God, nothing of value can be added to His Character, He is perfect! However there is always more for us to learn when it comes to the goodness and brilliance of our God.

The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in unearthing God’s genius and so when we shut Him out, it is at our own peril. A thought, a notion or a prompting to do something for someone and even ourselves at times may often be triggered and sadly we disregarded it as not that important.

Was it not a though we acted upon when responded auspiciously to the glorious Gospel message? An event which changed our lives; a prompting, that showed us our sin and our need for a Saviour; I remember the day I understood that God cared for me, and quickened my mind to understand that He had saved my soul. There is no way I deserved His favour and yet I found it, thank you my heavenly Father! There was absolutely no good thing in me that drove God to choose me to be saved and yet I find myself amongst His number. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch (rubbish) like me”. God is all-powerful! The universe and all of creations bows before Him. He has it in His power to do whatever He pleases within the realm of His character. Sin has no part to play in His makeup, praise His name! Lying comes easily to us but it is impossible for God to lie, think on that! “So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18)   

How far apart our characters actually are and yet He chose to make a way for me to have a relationship with Him; the Love of God personified in my life and all because of the Lord Jesus’ faithfulness to the cross of Calvary and all which that entailed, WOW! And to be blown even further into orbit, He made this decision prior to the foundations of the worlds coming into existence, even in spite of so many sinful slip-ups along the way.

I am in the process of re-evaluating my life over the last thirty years as I re-examine the many blunders I have made and why. It is becoming extremely clear that as much as I would want to search out some positive contribution that I made and influence God’s decision to save me, it does not exist. Outside of His love, goodness, mercy and grace I would still be dead in my trespasses and sins, no differently to a bat in a dark dingy muggy cave blind to its surroundings. God shone his light into my life and only because He decided to do it can I cry out “I can see, I can see!” If you are one that believes God saw some good in you prior to salvation you are terribly mistaken. We are righteous on the merits of what the Lord Jesus did on our behalf, He took our sin upon Himself and for this reason and this purpose alone God now loves us.   

The sooner we learn this lesson the better; we are all cogs in His hands and we need to understand our minuscule roles and become pliable clay in the potters hands, for when we rest there it will change us and the lives of those we come into contact with. Imagine if our lives could resemble a steering wheel, a slight tweak to the left and the vehicle moves in that direction, whilst we keep the car on the road with God navigating our lives we remain nontoxic and we keep those travelling with us safe. If we ignore the rule of the road (God's rule) it will be at our own peril. Who played the biggest role in the gospel message, obviously the foundation was laid by our great Saviour, but it would have to be the Apostles. They left everything behind and yet so many of us battle to put off the luxuries that this life has to offer. No wonder we are so ineffective. It’s all about being in control of our little worlds, this must change! If not it will cost us and those we have an effect on.

Signing off

Tyrone

The struggle of Christianity...

When I consider the cross and the effect the Lord Jesus has had on my life, I often find myself getting lost in my fight, but what I had come to notice is that a man like Charles Surgeon’s, although at times may have fixated on his life and his struggle, the substance of his diary entries did not have that focus but clearly shifted to the Word of God and Christ’s tussles. It was positioned on Christ’s brawl as the pinnacle of all things and not his own moves to appease His God. This is where the power of salvation rests. We often feel forsaken and then forget to reflect on what Christ actual endured. It ends on being about us and not Him. Let us seek out God’s grace to rectify our wrongs. Our struggle is but a pinch on what Christ actually endured. When we are freed from inward focus we become far more effective.   

Observe…

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

- Psalm 22:1

“We here behold the Saviour in the depth of his sorrows. No other place so well shows the griefs of Christ as Calvary, and no other moment at Calvary is so full of agony as that in which his cry rends the air-”My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” At this moment physical weakness was united with acute mental torture from the shame and ignominy through which he had to pass; and to make his grief culminate with emphasis, he suffered spiritual agony surpassing all expression, resulting from the departure of his Father’s presence. This was the black midnight of his horror; then it was that he descended the abyss of suffering. No man can enter into the full meaning of these words. Some of us think at times that we could cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There are seasons when the brightness of our Father’s smile is eclipsed by clouds and darkness; but let us remember that God never does really forsake us. It is only a seeming forsaking with us, but in Christ’s case it was a real forsaking. We grieve at a little withdrawal of our Father’s love; but the real turning away of God’s face from his Son, who shall calculate how deep the agony which it caused him?

In our case, our cry is often dictated by unbelief: in his case, it was the utterance of a dreadful fact, for God had really turned away from him for a season. O thou poor, distressed soul, who once lived in the sunshine of God’s face, but art now in darkness, remember that he has not really forsaken thee. God in the clouds is as much our God as when he shines forth in all the lustre of his grace; but since even the thought that he has forsaken us gives us agony, what must the woe of the Saviour have been when he exclaimed, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”” (Charles Spurgeon)

Signing off

Tyrone

Judge not!

(Matthew 7:1)  “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

A little leaven leavens the entire lump; Judgement can become an infectious leaven if not checked. But it does not stand alone; the point of yeast is that not much is needed to influence the entire loaf of bread. Just the slightest habitual sin in our lives that we have never been able to shirk works its way into our survival and has the desired effect of handicapping those caught in entrapment. If and when it is exposed even more damage is done. We must learn to take our eyes off one another’s faults and focus on the Lord Jesus’ achievements. He alone was the spotless Lamb and without His sacrifice we would all be found wanting, there would be no exception. The sooner that becomes our reality the freer we will find ourselves to serve Him. It is an obvious conclusion that sin needs to be dealt their blows; we cannot excuse our sinful behaviour as acceptable. However I believe we have often forgotten from whence we have fallen when it comes to pointing out the sins of others and excusing ourselves for the sake of making ourselves feel better about ourselves.   

But what I find rather intriguing is how often those closest to us come against any progression we make as Christians, as they look to breakdown and not encourage. There could be numerous reasons why this happens, and we may be guilty of exactly the same mistake when dealing with others, in fact I am convinced that we have mostly erred in this area of our lives. We know that the devil goes around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour and I know he likes to sow discord amongst family and friends and even brothers/sisters in the Lord. Our character (old nature) is still something we all need to work through in our lives; sometimes we walk victoriously, whilst other times we fall privy to it; outbursts, anger, pride and the like. Nevertheless although we can never commend these traits we must accept the fact that we are still living in bodies that have a fallen nature. It is true that we no longer should be slaves to it. It is also true that we should no longer habitually practice what we once were slave too i.e. sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. If we look honestly at the list, we will all realise that we fall privy to some of those traps at times. We must however seek out grace to overcome, but if we fall, we have a high Priest who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities and we are encouraged to repent and seek out God’s forgiveness as He is a forgiving God, He will forgive our sin: - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1John 1:9)

But forgiveness is a two sided street; it is not a one-way! We pray “forgive us as we forgive those who trespass against us”, let us be sure not to miss that crucial bit of information. Let us take to heart the purpose of a day like today, “Good Friday” the day the man Jesus died so that we could go free, it was a day filled with forgiveness. He took the punishment of sinful men and women and yet he had no sin, phenomenal! And so He taught, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

Signing off

Tyrone 

The Brilliance of God!

The brilliance of God; who will ever be capable of working Him out?

We like to believe that as children of God we have a good measure of that genius, however we are clueless when it comes to the depths of who He is. Paul explains it like this; “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” (1Corinthians 13:12)  

The depths of that statement is far reaching, pride often drives us to believe that we know more they we do in many facets of our lives. We are in fact clueless when it comes to the bigger scheme of things, until God opens our eyes to His existence we remain in darkness. The Lord Jesus put it like this to a man that by position and title claimed to understand who God was and what He demanded from His creation. Obviously, he too was clueless. Here is the account of their conversation; “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:1-3)

In order to explain something or someone in detail, sight is crucial. Otherwise we are left to our imaginations. Can a murderer be condemned of that crime by an eye witness if they are blind? It would be far harder to condemn him using the other senses. Imagine a blind witness before a jury with the strength of their testimony hinging on smell; “I smelt him enter the room”.  Sight is the key! It is the strength of the eye witnesses that brings quick and concise justice to a particular perpetrator. Obviously other evidence has its place, but an eye witness is the strongest witness of all! Did you know that there were many eye-witnesses that saw the resurrected body of the Lord Jesus?

The point here is that until we are born again, we may think we feel and sense God in our lives, when in fact we are far from Him. Religion is not enough! Nicodemus was a religious man and yet he struggled to receive the Lords instruction, why? He was blind! Not physically blind but spiritually blind. Here is the proof; “Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” (John 3:9-10) - He believed in the God of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob and yet he understood very little about God and His character. Saul a murderer of the early Christian who eventually became Paul the Apostle was another who by example and in typology gives us insight to his blindness and then sight is given to him to see God for who He is. And yet in his blindness he thought he could see, how many people have you met like that? The Christian sees only because we understand that we too were once blind but now through conviction and repentance are given sight to see.

The point Paul makes is that although we can now see, we see through a dark blurry glass when it come to God. We most certainly see enough to motivate us to serve God, to love Him and to be driven to seek out Christ and heaven as our final reward. However we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to the only true God and His genius. So much about Him has been kept from us.

Our lives are filled with so many unanswered questions; this is only a transition phase and this is where faith is required to help fuel our onward stride toward God and His righteousness, which is a gift from God.

The long and the short of it all, is whatever the struggle is, it will be worth it all, of this I am completely persuaded. This will eventually be our reward, so digest these words and use them to motivate us towards good works; “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Signing off

Tyrone

Grasping a truth!

Theoretically at times it may be easier to grasp a truth than apply it. Some may even dare to say that if a truth has not been applied then the theory is useless. Can a man survive without water? Obviously Not! Our bodies know that to be true and instinctively drive us towards liquid when needed. We drink without resolutely thinking about it, but there is obviously a command within the recesses of our brains which triggers an instruction, which in turn strikes us into action. Some of our engagements are obviously triggered instinctively. When we face danger, we respond in one of two ways, fight or flight” this is also an inherent reaction.

However it’s not these types of responses I refer too, or is it? The human race is naturally made up of flesh and blood, Adam; the first man was originally created from dust. There is a difference between accepting a truth and actually believing it and then there is even a greater step which takes us further, the stride that brings about real change, exercising that which will generate conversion. Where this gets cloudy in a persons mind, we understand that we can generate change in our lives, eat less and we lose weight, train harder and we get stronger. However that is like for like; let me explain, if you pour oil into water will in mix? In like manner the spirit and the flesh cannot operate under the same directions; the spirit kingdom remains the spirit jurisdiction whilst the flesh remains in its realm. We see the world and all that is in it, but God has kept the spirit realm from our natural understanding. If we logically think it through it is rather easy to accept. Where so many make the mistake is once God opens their eyes to the spiritual realm they revert back to naturally trying to apply reason to a completely different predicament. Birds of a feather cannot flock together; they have different flying patterns with different strengths and migration patterns. It’s the way of the world!

Salvation, redemption, regeneration cannot come from a persons intent, it may start with a thought of a person trying to find forgiveness for their sin but that miracle must be inspired by God for real change to be witnessed. If not a wolf may look like a sheep for a time if dressed correctly, but as the heat of the day begins to take its toll upon that individual they will begin to peal back those heavy coats of wool revealing their glimmering pelt of wolf-like hair. They will eventually throw in the towel and cry “no more”! As for the true Christian that God has revived, regardless of the amount of times a person may found themselves on their backs and in the dust, they will be given a resolve to stand and clout the dust from their knees and press on. It is God who is working in them and He will see them through the pressures of this life. It cannot be falsified! For a time a liar may get away with their defamations, but the truth will eventually be revealed. Some may be so skilled in their deceptions that only the judgement of God will expose them for who they truly are, but they will eventually be exposed. That is a truth I am persuaded of.

When I consider my life and the mistakes I have made, many have written me off as a lost cause, but I known in whom I have believed. My God will bring about the changes in my life to see me through this life and into the next. In order for us to find victory in the areas that we may struggle in, regardless of what that may be, Christ, who is the “Light of the world” needs to be elevated above the struggle. We need to give Him pre-eminence in that particular area. We should all understand by now that sin and darkness share the same space and that light is a reflection of righteousness. If one enters a dark place how does the darkness flee? You introduce light into that space. In order to get the most out of light it needs to be raised, right? You cannot put it under the table and expect to get the most from it. In like manner we need to start giving the Lord Jesus the pre-eminence in those hard to reach areas of our lives that seem to linger. We must elevate Christ above our selfish wants that keep us in bondage. We must elevate Him above the darkness, it’s as simple as that, if not we will continue to tussle in certain areas of our lives.

I have chosen not to specify our particular struggles, each will know their own, the formula is simple; place Christ above the burden, do not bury His finished work under your mattress. He has conquered all, praise His name and the Christian now wears His emblem on their chests, we must begin to truly believe in His victory, especially in those the regions of doubt. God help our unbelief I pray! Father God I bless the name of Jesus Christ your beloved Son and my treasured Saviour now and forever more, Amen and Amen! I cannot find adjectives that will triumph my gratitude, but you know my heart. I recall what the Lord Jesus asked Peter; Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" His response was what I believe would be no different for the Christian; He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." Let us find the resolve and the grace to get on with God’s biding. Please help us Father God, is my prayer.

It is God who is building His Church, it is up to the Christian to seek out His righteousness as our incentive, this must becomes our daily goal, when we arrive I am convinced we will see the invisible building blocks magically appear in our lives. Miracle after marvel and our lives will be filled with wonder. Amazement that will be extremely personal! God blessing us as He has blessed others in times passed, reaching across the divide revealing His glory and it will be extremely personal, praise God now and for ever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

(Our Father) He who is "I AM"!

(Matthew 6:9)  “Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

How often have you heard people make absurd statements like these, “if God is in control, why does he allow such evil to exist?” or “If this is the God that you serve then I want nothing to do with him.” And yet the Lord Jesus Himself taught us to pray; "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” We must begin here if we are to progress into a deeper relationship with our God, the Christians heavenly Father, praise His name now and forever more, Amen! There is only one true God and his creation can either accept His rule or reject it for now, however like any well written production or novel “all” their scenes will eventually play themselves out, everything will be revealed and we will see the intentions of God's plans as they are. There is a time coming when are will be revealed. 

Did you know? God is so brilliant that even those who oppose His rule is part of His script, they too are interwoven into the brilliance of God’s production as they expose the evil that exists, helping us understand our need and enabling the sinner to cry out to Jesus for help. Who has ever enjoyed a suspense thriller without the villain playing their part? All will be in accordance with His will and there will come a day where second guessing the Bible’s teachings will have passed, of this I am persuaded! There will come a day for us all where we will be ushered in to the spiritual realm and we will reap what we have sown here on earth. The Christian will inherit Christ and all that accompanies Him. The unbeliever will inherit eternal damnation. The lie of getting there by our own efforts, “I am a good person” mentality will keep us out of heaven if we are not sanctified by the blood of the Lamb; it’s as simple as that! We must wear His colours openly, we must fly the flag that declares that we are sinners who have cried out to Jesus.

It would appear that it could be easy to loose our way concerning prayer by conjuring up repetition, with “ME” as the focal point, when in fact it is obvious that God must be central and the pivot of all desire. Firstly, we must acknowledge that He is in heaven, way above us in position and stature. We are puny in comparison, maybe this is one of the reasons why he created the ant. Mankind towers above the ant, we have authority and power over the ant or the bug, and we can squash it just like that. God towers above us and He could do the same in an instant and yet he allows us to find salvation in and through His beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is He far above us in the chain of the order of life, He is KING, HE is CREATOR, we are the created. There is nothing in our lives that must displace that truth, “GOD FIRST”!

Sadly this is normally not the case; even the Christian falls privy to the pitfalls of their wants. We often get the lines jumbled, thank you Father God for your grace and patience with us; thank you Lord Jesus for your constant collaborations as our High Priest, who makes this possible. Without our Saviour role in this bridge between mankind and God, our prayer would be ignored because of our sinfulness. It is important to understand the Jewish customs and the law in accordance with the high priest and his sin offering on behalf of the people to appreciate what Christ has actually achieved as our HIGH PRIEST! Our words are only ever heard and accepted when we approach the throne of God under His cover; praise His name now and forever more, Amen!

However now that we have the cover of Christ, those who are true Christians must not “get lost in translation”; our selfish needs and often our wants must not become our focus, God must always have that position, our Heavenly Father requires that commitment. At times it is so easy to lose our way as the pressure of life begins to squeeze… These are the times when we are being tested to see where we actually stand. The trial of our faith must be tested…

Examine your prayer and what you pray about, does it start the way the Lord Jesus taught us to pray, and I don’t mean a congregation rattling off “Our Father” in parrot like fashion with their minds far from the meaning of the prayer. We are to pray in our closets, without any attention drawn to us. This is where we must start, it’s how we must honour God (acknowledge Him as our King) and “hallow His name”; to show that we understand that He alone is Holy, everything He is and does is right, whether we can understand it or not. He is in control and we are not, and yet at times our feeble attempts to institute change may play its part in transformation, Nelson Mandela changed so much. However even that change could not of come without God allowing it. We need Him, He does not need us. And yet it was His will to create us in His image, Adam was created in God’s image. I suppose, when God looked down on Him, he would have seen a “mini me” in some form or another. It is obvious that He would not have looked at a giraffe and seen his own resemblance but when he looked at Adam He was satisfied. We know that He was pleases with His creation; “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)

Prior to the flood which wiped out the world, save 8 souls, at that time in history the worshiping of God’s name was just about extinct. Noah was consecrating God’s name but as for the rest of the known world, this was their state of mind; “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5) – It is only the righteous who have a voice to stay the hand of the Lord, praise the name of Jesus! The righteous will not be judge with the world and those who do not “hallow the name of God” will eventually understand their fate in the Lake of Fire! The picture that the Apostle Paul painted for us in chapter one of the book of Romans has gained momentum, mankind is on a slippery slope.

A man once ask the man Jesus a question; “"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”” (Matthew 22:36-38) 

The creator demands acknowledgement of His existence and should be love as such, Satan looks to beguile the masses by denouncing His existence and this is where deception is at its strongest; people looking to save the planet, God’s creation at the exclusion of remunerating homage to the creator. I trust you have seen what God has shown me, it will be clear to some and not to others, the circle of life plays out, but God will have the final say, praise His name now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone

Truth!

“Truth” is a five letter word that is very seldom disclosed correctly or at least only ever given in half-measures. Just enough is only ever disclosed to keep the onslaught at bay and this is what lies within the recesses of our hearts. We all seem to be tarred with this brush. In fact, sin has had such an effect on us all that many would not agree with my assumption; truth evading even those who claim to be totally truthful. They run a television program in the USA which is called, “The Moment of Truth” and did you know, even though half a million dollars could be won by those invited to that show, they only need to be totally transparent; interestingly enough no won has ever won the main prize; what does that then prove? Our inherent natures will always chose a lie if that works out better for us, just so long as we can get away with it. Even though these individuals have been connected to a Polygraph somewhere deep within their souls the lie is worth more than the money and yet all the contestants who remain in the game still take a stab at getting away with their inventions. The acting that follows, the look of total disbelief could win many of them Oscars. No one feels good caught in a blatant lie, however shielding the truth with a smokescreen (admitting just enough to stay out of hot water) lies within the cracks of our personalities.

I have in times past affirmed the quote that “the pen is mighty than the sword”; its confession that will either keep us in or out of heaven. However confession to the Lord Jesus Christ must be the order of the day, it cannot be to one of His representatives. God see all, therefore total disclosure is required. This will and can only ever be achieved if we are serious about our sin before a Holy God. The sooner we understand that as good as a Lie detector may be, God can never be tricked by His creation. HE SEES ALL! The Lord Jesus said this whilst on earth; “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”” (John 14:6) – I know I often beat this drum, but it is imperative to realise that half truths will never set us free. Every other religion outside of accurate Christianity will keep those ensnared by it trapped in a lie.

Even those who apparently fly the Christian flag are lying about certain truths concerning the truth about true Christianity. “The Vatican releases an extremely disturbing video in which Pope Francis declared that all of the major world religions are "seeking God or meeting God in different ways" and that ultimately "we are all children of God".” (MICHAEL SNYDER) – If and when I compare what he says against that of the Bibles teaching it is obvious that he is a liar. It is imperative that we all seek out God’s truth for ourselves, for our eternities depend upon it. No one wants to obviously oppose a person with such authority as their first point of call, but if what he teaches will keep us out of heaven we must! Therefore I am willing to go on the record, regardless of the consequences for I know that my Saviour has my back. It is imperative for the Christian to make a stand on the truth of God’s Word as it may just free some from their entrapment.

Who will you believe Pope Francis or the Lord Jesus Christ, I have made my choice!

Any religion that propagates any other way to get to the Father and to find favour from Him is in contradiction to the Lord Jesus’ teachings and those who are taken by it will be in danger of the Lake of Fire.

The Lord Jesus died for sinner and nobody else, therefore He alone is the One who can save us from our sin. I know where I stand on this truth; I have made up mind, have you?

Signing off

Tyrone

Looking a little deeper

(Matthew 1:21) She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Irony is often linked to humour but no easily seen by the typical brain; one normally has to look a little deeper to understand satire. One needs to tap deeper into those crevices to unlock that understanding. How the mechanics actually works within ones brain I cannot say, God knows! Let’s take the life of the Lord Jesus or a facet of it, He proclaimed that His kingdom had come; it was a time in history where God the Father had ushered in his role on earth as the baby, boy and then the man Jesus, this happened about two thousand years ago. We know that the Word became flesh (Jesus was born of a virgin and live as a male up until the age of 33 and then he was crucified). History has that recorded, but its John that takes us a little deeper – “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) - John pens these words and speaks as a witness, verifying a truth that he had witnessed and had now come to understand; the person whom he himself had handled was in fact the Word of God and that his mission was to live amongst the population of that time. The place, Nazareth and its surrounding provinces; his mission, to give sight to the blind and to breathe live into some, equipping them to become the forefathers of the Christian faith with the majority of those individuals being Jews, and yet as a nation the ones who rejected Jesus as their Messiah, which is still in play today.    

The very same Jesus entered this world like all of us, through the womb of a woman; he grew up with simple comforts and learnt the trade of his earthly father, carpentry. He subjected himself to the care of his parents and all that that entailed. As a baby he would have suckled to develop and I have no doubt that his mother loved him dearly. He found himself under their counsel and he reverenced his parents. He lived a life of sinlessness, the only person to ever achieve this, making him the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He was never tainted by the ruin of sin; he was perfect in applying the same rule on earth as he had applied in heaven. He revered his Father in heaven and his life was all about his heavenly Fathers will. He had a job to do and he did it perfectly. Its not that he never had to deal with puberty as a teenager, but rather that his life in accordance with Gods commandments was perfect and without breech. This however did not keep him from the lures of temptation and their entrapment's; at times they were fierce but he overcame all of them, praise God, Amen!  This is a shared view by all Christians throughout the ages, he was badly treated and falsely accused of breaching God’s commandments by those who supposedly where the spokesmen for God. The Jewish rulers of that time threw out accusations against him; “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'” (Luke 7:34) - But they where in breech, they were the liars and not HIM!

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob then stamped His approval on the man Jesus by raising him from the dead. We must look and ponder upon that facet of the resurrection, although Jesus was in fact God, he was now reduced to a man with the capability of death, hence they crucified him and he died on a cruel Roman cross. The proof of his achievement in bridging the gap which sin had destroyed was now repaired and confirmed by the Father. It’s the resurrection that proves that He was the One whom God had chosen to save the world, or rather the believers of the world.

Not all of mankind is loved, but only those who believe in Jesus’ merit to save them from eternal damnation. This is an obvious conclusion; “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36) 

With this understood it is here where irony has its part to play; although the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings. The Apostle Paul has this instruction for the Christian; “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time--he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” (1Timothy 6:13-16) – When kingdoms inaugurate their kings into power they crowned him with a crown of gold, but the Lord Jesus was crowned with a crown of thorns. His throne was not a throne of nobility but rather a cruel rugged cross. He was elevated with death and not the reign of power. The King of kings died so that we (the Christian) could escape the wrath of God. He sacrificed his life for ours. In fact this truth was taken so far that an inscription was placed above his head on that cross, which read; “…This is the King of the Jews."

Who are those loved by God? It is only those who believe in the finished work of the cross and all it stands for. Those who reject it are not loved by God by remain in their condemnation, which is this, they will stand before God on Judgement Day and ultimately be cast into the Lake of Fire, which was originally prepared for Satan and his followers. Therefore all those who reject the love of God with suffer the same fate as Satan; “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:10-15)  

Signing off

Tyrone