“Fruit of the poisonous tree”

(Matthew 16:18) “And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

I am hard pressed this morning and carry a heavy burden not for myself but for those who desire to seek God’s truth with what I believe to be, sincerity. Yet the enemy, the devil would cause a hindrance distorting God’s Word just like he did in the Garden of Eden. I love the words the Lord Jesus used when addressing Peter,

”and I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” I am comforted by these words as they are powerful and final. God’s church will prevail and it will accomplish what it needs to complete. There is absolutely no doubt about that! However, I see so many winds of doctrine preached by all and sundry and yet not based on sound doctrine. I cry out, O my heavenly Father why do you allow it? I then hear a small still voice pointing me to scripture and then I understand, but it still pains me to see how many lambs (young Christians) put so much filth to their mouths. A baby uses its mouth to test by tasting, I am sure we have all noticed that everything they find and get their hands on goes straight into their mouths. It is the parent’s responsibility to watch out for them and keep them from danger or infection. What person would stand by and watch any youngster get his hands on a razor and not lovingly remove it from him. We are our brother’s keepers! We must look out for one another! I beg you to understand my heart in this matter; we have an enemy and he is real and his sole purpose is to deceive and lead God’s children astray. There is only one of two camps we fall into, God’s army or Satan militia. There is no neutral camp; NATO only exists in world governance. We either belong to God with the Lord Jesus as our king or we are of the devil our father, and Jesus put it to us like this in the gospel of John, “you are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.”

As children of God and because love now constrains us we must seek out the Fathers will for our lives. It is not mystical, it is not some strange dream or vision we need to find to purpose our lives, and I say again it is not mystical. Why? Because God has spoken to us in these lasts day through his Son;  “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:1-2) I warn you and ask all to be careful not to take whatever seems edible into your mouths. “Fruit of the poisonous tree” is a legal metaphor in the United States used to describe evidence that is obtained illegally. The logic of the terminology is that if the source of the evidence (the "tree") is tainted, then anything gained from it (the "fruit") is as well. In other words, whatever comes from Satan no matter how edible it may appear because he is tainted his fruit will also be tarnished? He will often appear as an angel of light to deceive even the elect if possible. Deceived simply means to be misled, so we think it is the truth but in fact it is a lie. However when “Sound Doctrine” is our staple diet and we are quick in running to God’s word like the early church to see if what is being said is actually true, then we will be secure and find solace. Let us be astute and diligent in examining scripture. Let me now give you actual warnings in God’s Word that will backup what I am saying.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” (2Timothy 4:3) 

Here you see sound doctrine in not high on their agenda, we see the time for this will be in the last days, and why will they do this? For their own lusts!

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” -John Piper

It has always been about God’s will and His plan; we need to find His will for our lives...

 “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Here we see many prophesiers, miracle workers, those professing to cast out devils and many other wonderful works all done in the name of Jesus. The Lord will then turn to all of them and what comes out of His mouth is terrifying, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23) 

Even our great Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed, “if it be possible let this cup pass from me, but not my will bit yours be done.”

We do not need to be running after strange fire and Fruit from the “poisonous tree”, the Word who is the Lord Jesus (the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst men) is more than sufficient to get us home, but it is only those who do the will of the Father that will make it to the Celestial City.

I beg of you to see my heart in this matter please view me as a brother looking out for his siblings and not as an ogre looking to pull the plug on the party.

May the good Shepherd lead us in the path of righteousness to do our Fathers Will bringing glory to his Holy name?

Signing off

Tyrone

Children or Not!

Sometimes we need to be reminded of our sin; not to dwell on it, never to dwell on it, but to rather be thankful from where we have been saved. Decoy after decoy is thrown at us through life entangling us into a vortex of sin. It is one thing to be blind as we ignorantly case sin hoping to quench our lustful desires, but when we have eyes to see and we still ignore the Word of God we enter into very dangerous ground. It is like entering a mine field, you do not know their exactly location, but you know they are there. This morning I choose to remind myself of some of my foolish pronouncements. The reason I do this is so that I may remember the consequences that followed.                

I do not wish to debate son ship and where and when we will or will not be saved. The Armenian tells us we can lose our salvation, the Calvinist tells us we can’t and the hyper Calvinist says it doesn’t matter what we do because God is sovereign and He will work out His plans according to His good pleasure.

I am persuaded that if you are a son of God, if you have been born again, if the Father has drawn you to Himself and if God the Holy Ghost lives within you I believe the Word is very clear you will never be lost. I will say that again, you cannot and will not be lost. Why do I make such a brash statement? I must now explain myself, so much for not debating son ship! God will never relinquish His glory to another; never, if He did it would make Him an idolater, which He could never be, as there is no other true God beside Him. Let us reason together and I will use our common sense that God has given us for calculation. And then I will point us to scripture which I believe proves this point. If God ever lost one of His true children, not the wannabes, not the unrepentant religious pretenders or those who make merchandise out of the gospel, but His elect then Satan would have the upper hand and could claim victory over God’s children, but He cannot and will never gloat in God’s presence.

To all you parents I will pose a question. Have any of your kids ever not been one of your children? They may have often disappointed and upset you, but have they ever not been your descendants? The answer is obviously NO! How then do we think for one minute that we are more caring and compassionate than God himself, how ridiculous! The Bible teaches us that as parents we are evil and yet we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Heavenly Father who is good not know how to give His children good gifts. That is my first point as a principle.

The Lord Jesus has received the commission of saving and keeping God’s entire elect saved until they are glorified. Let me now back that up with scripture; “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (John 17:9) So God the Father elects people to be saved and then they respond to His call sometime within the duration of their lifetime by repenting and believing the finished work of Calvary and they are then handed over to the Lord Jesus who has the responsibility of shepherding them. Paul the apostle who was originally Saul was a murderer of God children; he persecuted Christians and had them killed. But we are told that he was called in his mother’s womb. That means God chose Him even knowing that he would kill Christians and he wasn’t called after he killed them but before, nevertheless he may have only responded after those treacherous acts of murder, but he was emphatically called before he was born.  “But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace.” (Galatians 1:15) 

He (the Lord Jesus) is the good shepherd and not a hireling, so when danger confronts one of His sheep even if it is their fault and they wonder from the flock he destroys the lion and the bear. He always looks out for them. I am told that the customs of the good shepherds in the times of old went something like this; if a lamb continued to stroll from the flock he would break its leg and then put the lamb on his shoulders and would carry him until it had mended. The lesson would be not to wander!

In about 1991 I cannot be sure of the exact year I had been saved for about 4 years and had unfortunately began to drift from a zealous Christian to a hypocritical one, I was walking in disobedience. The change was not immediate but subtle at first and then before long I was with my old mates drinking and carousing like a hooligan. You see it started with the thought of sitting next to a stranger in a bar drinking a soda and proclaiming the gospel to all who would listen. Before long it was a beer in my hand and then I looked and behaved like one of the crowd. What a tragedy! One night with the usual crowd together and in the mist of the party atmosphere the comment came, “you see Tyrone a leopard cannot change its spots.” I must tell you although alcohol had flowed freely, it cut deep. On my way home that night I don’t remember much except that I recall a rescue worker (a fireman) with red hair trying to free me from 16v golf with the Jaws of Life. I remember saying, “hurry up can’t you see I am stuck” and his retort was “can’t you see I am trying,” and then I woke up in the Johannesburg General hospital with a steel pin though my shin bone and weights hanging off my leg. I had shattered my right femur form the impact of a head-on collision. My leg had been broken.

Let me be very clear I am not for a minute suggesting that we should flippantly ignore the call of obedience to our lives as believers. If you don’t and you are a child of God He (our Great Heavenly Father) will discipline you and the cost will have consequences and it may even cost you your life.

“And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? ”My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 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 12:5-8) 

You see God will and does look out over His children, if your life is lacking discipline and there is no correction by God to it then fall on your knees repent and ask the Lord to save your soul. If there is constant discipline talking place in your life and you are somewhat like me and bear the scars in your body then learn from them and find the grace to begin to walk in obedience.

To all of those who have no idea what I am talking about may the God of truth shine into your lives exposing your sin and open your eyes so that you may truly repent and find life.

Signing off

Tyrone

God or Money?

(Matthew 6.24) “You cannot serve God and money.”

Without sap the tree cannot exist and so in like manner vitality is essential to a Christian. “There must be life - a vital principle infused into us by God the Holy Ghost, or we cannot be trees of the Lord.” A typical challenge life throws at us is if we do not work then we do not deserve to eat. However when I examine my own life, I see truth to this text, “You cannot serve God and money,” or we will lack energy for service. Please do not wrestle with God’s Word endeavouring to juggle His word to suit your lifestyle as that would not be beneficial. We need to find grace to appropriate all His wonderful truths into our lives. It seems overwhelming at times but it will always be to our benefit.

Our lives are mysteriously interwoven with life; just like the sap of a tree by what force does it rise and then descend again supplying all the nutrients the tree needs to survive? Nevertheless it survives as God gives it life. A tree does not question its maker it just exists, sure it needs to be nurtured and watered to survive, but does God not open the heaven and supply all its needs, He sure does!

Consider how a potato is grown in the dark; it is surrounded by soil until harvested. If we could trust like the potato that’s what Angus Buchen must have meant when He said we must have “faith like potatoes.” The Lord makes reference to the lilies of the field, “and why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.”

My thoughts are all over the place this morning, but it is not my thoughts that must take preference to my life, I must rather explore the Word of God to find bearing for it. There is safety there!

A new chapter in my life must now begin, my furniture is in I had my first night in a new abode that will be my home for some time I suspect. To be anxious is a sin, yet it is a feeling that at this time in my life is hard to keep at bay. I am without employment and now ingesting well into my reserves, what is a man to do? Find a job obviously, that is a must. I am a qualified photographer with a journalistic background and I had a job in the press arena. However, I will not find employment there very easily as we all know South Africa is in the process of change and Black Empowerment is the order of the day. As a white male going on in years the probability of employment from a newspaper is highly unlikely. That means I will have to freelance and begin to trust God’s Word even more as necessity to feed myself becomes a reality.

It is not the change of lifestyle I dread, going from a lifestyle of cigars to the bare necessities. That will be beneficial I believe. I remember chasing money in the stock markets; I would not confess to hunting wealth, all I wanted to do was make a lot of cash. After all was it not my responsibility to provide for my family. Yes it is the man’s responsibility to provide; “What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?”  (2Corinthians 6: 15)

What happened was money became the end and no longer a means to an end. Let me explain, God must always take preference in every area of our lives, whenever anything overshadows His existence in our lives, it is idolatry. When money becomes fuel that drives my life, then I am an idolater. “You cannot serve God and money.”

On the one hand I am now thankful as money is sparse and therefore it cannot control my life as it once did. Greed is real and wicked and that is why we are instructed to give to those in need. In doing this we deny ourselves and squash greed as an embryo before it takes root and grows into a brute beast with one intention- to destroy!

Have you ever wondered why so many simple poor rural people who have Christ’s Spirit, those who are born again, radiate such joy? I believe they serve God as money is scares and they do not hanker after it. “You cannot serve God and money.”

The lesson for me to now learn will be to work so that I do not become a burden on others. But having said I must learn to trust God to provide. Does He not feed the birds of the air? I do not mean to sit on my hands and wait, but I do mean for Him to open doors and then to act. So pray if you would for resolve for me to glorify God in this area of my life.

May the Lord’s Day be sweet to all who view it as such?

Signing off

Tyrone

Finding Strength

(Luke 22:32) “But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."

How often do we all imagine, in one way or another, what we could be doing for God’s kingdom here on earth. I know I would love to be like Peter and through my failures find strength to strengthen my brothers.

Satan goes around walking to and fro on the earth, we are told by Peter “like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” Interestingly the Lord Jesus addresses Peter like this, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat.” I can to some extent understand what that means and unfortunately it is not a one off occasion. It is not as if we are tested once only in a certain area. It is nothing like a driver’s license, we pass and the license is then ours for life, we are never tested again. Yet life and its high calling is not like that, daily we need to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. That means each and every single day we may be tested in the same area of our lives and when we do not find victory our burden becomes heavy and it should be light.

We have been commanded to walk in joy; it was unbelief and sin that kept the children of Israel out of the Promised Land. It is sin that keeps us from walking in joy. Listen carefully to what I am saying. Sure the trail of our faith does cause an atmosphere of pressure that at times seems to engulf us. But even if we don’t fall victim to it, we may still feel heavy from its test, but when we come through it victoriously, joy is its fruit. I have no doubt about that. It is only when we fail the test that we are downcast and carry the heavy burden that the Lord Himself has carried on our behalf. So we carry something that does not need to be carried.

I suppose that is how it will be until we put off our bodies of corrupting flesh.

So let us remember the basic fruit’s of repentance. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

Every day then we must make a conscious decision to examine our hearts before God remembering that He see everything, we can hide nothing from Him. Do not let Satan or his ministering demons of darkness get you to believe a lie. That is his way; remember the Garden of Eden and how he beguiled Eve. He still goes around roaring speaking lies into the minds of the weak, stand on the truth of God’s word and he we depart from you, until the next time. This is the way it is and this is the way God intended it to be. “Father may you give you children strength to stand, I pray.”

A bind eye we must not turn to this truth but rather look to the author and the finisher of our faith, even Jesus Christ our Lord for grace to overcome, and where we do fall let us repent and search out God’s forgiveness, for He will forgive us if we are sincere . Yes, even if it is asking for forgiveness every day for the same sin. The hope we all have, is that one day we may be victorious in whatever area we struggle, it may be more than just one area but the principle remains the same, acknowledge our sin, repent and stand on God’s word and then put our minds to overcoming and this must be done on a daily basis. (Matthew 6:34) "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” It must be done daily for this exact reason. It is hard enough just getting through one day at a time, if and when we try and take on more than one day at a time we are soon swallowed up by failure.

The very first fruit of repentance is carefulness; if I am weak in a particular area then I must avoid that place, I must!

Let me be personal; yesterday was a particular difficult day for me as all my furniture arrived with a delivery note from my wife that read Ashman (maiden name) instead of Arthur and I still haven’t received the summons. It is now the actual realisation of closing a chapter of my life and beginning a new one. Volatility is something of a character flaw that lives with me. In times pass I have said blow it and gone out on the town forgetting God mercy and my Saviour’s sacrifice and let rip. A friend informed me that all my old acquaintances were gathering to celebrate a birthday and asked me if I was coming? My frame of mind was racing with thoughts of a failed marriage, disappointment and anger wanting to raise its head. It was a perfect trap setup just to lure me. But by God’s grace I am able to say, life has taught me some profitable lessons; “fear God and keep His commandments for this is the soul duty of man.” If I had succumbed to the invitation the probability of me drinking and drugging were on the cards. My point! Be careful and do not venture into places you know you will potentially fall, that would not be the fruit of carefulness.

“But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." I think when Peter denied the Lord three times it taught him his own volatility and this in turn helped him help others.

Our particular struggle and more so when we find victory in it I believe it will equip us to have compassion on others and then we will be capable of fortifying others.

May we all be resolved to lay our lives down for one another just as Christ laid down His life for us.

Signing off

Tyrone

Sin

(Romans 7:14) “But I am of the flesh, sold under sin.”

Hopefully we understand our sinful nature and how through Adam we have been sold under the banner of sin. A child is never taught to sin, it comes naturally to a toddler. However I do agree that some children’s sin is easier to see then others, but that is true of life, even adults differ. Nevertheless a child is not taught to manipulate with screams as it maneuvers with precision and before long mom is on beckon call. This is the fruit of sin; “but I am of the flesh, sold under sin.” Sin with us as its victim is a reality that we will never escape outside of Christ. Let me explain; because of Adam’s sin the Bible teaches us that because God is “Holy and Righteous” He is unable to turn a blind eye to sin, let us liken sin to a terminal illness as it will be fatal to every sinner that does not find repentance in and through the Lord Jesus.

At the age of 27 a doctor told me that I was HIV positive, although the virus had been around since the early 1980’s, in South Africa in 1993 that was really bad news, you could say it was lethal, it was looked upon as a death sentence. It was impossible for me to ignore! When the words from Doctor Steve’s mouth penetrated my ear drums, life for that split second slowed down and just like Hollywood often uses film in slow motion to depict someone’s life about to end, I was in a movie, my own!

My point is it was impossible for me to ignore the news, I was terminal or so I thought. I could not overlook the facts, now I want you to consider that I was a man “sold under sin” and yet I am able to respond and seek out help. I am still living with the virus and obviously the Sovereignty of God comes into play but anti-retroviral medication is what has kept me alive thus far. I have been involved with support groups; in fact I headed up Johncom’s support Group and “denial” plays a large part in many infected people’s lives. They pretend that this virus will overlook them and then they try and ignore the inevitable, death! In like manner sin will also bring death to all who choose to live in defiance to God’s call for all to repent and turn from sin to the living God. I will remind you blinkers (Brett/Richard are you paying attention) where designed for race-horses and not humans. A day is coming, just like I have witnessed people die with HIV, who pretended that they never had the virus and yet death never escaped them, how could it! Death will not escape all those who do not repent and turn to Jesus to find life. Why? Because He is the anti-retroviral that will prevent death and the Lake of Fire.

God almighty takes sin so seriously, He cannot and has not turned a blind eye to it. The punishment of sin is death, period! Every single person ever born, the billions of people that have live and died and all who are still living on earth today will be judge for sin. There will be no exception. Think about how serious God takes sin, so seriously that to save mankind from total torment were teeth will gnash and dying souls without its finality will wail long into eternity. What an unwelcomed thought, but nevertheless true! God is love and that is why He sent His only begotten Son to earth where He lived without sin and die for sinners to pay the price for sin. God judged sinners and sentence all to a death sentence but found a righteous way to save mankind (only those who repent) by sending Jesus to die in their place. How amazing is the love of God? When I understand what it cost the Lord so that I could go free, my soul cannot but sing out, “amazing grace how sweet the sound that save a wretch like me.”

So will you be like the ostrich and put your head in the sand hoping because you cannot see the danger that it is looming, which is even right at the door, or will you call upon the name of the Lord, thank Him for the sacrifice of dying on your behalf on a cruel Roman cross on a hill called Golgotha and turn from your sin and repent? “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

I am praying even now for all my mates, but Brett and Richard your names even now are being prayed into the heavens.

Signing off

Tyrone

The Will

(Romans 7:21) “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.”

The will as opposed to the will! That seems to contradict, but does it? When we understand that we have two wills at war in our members (our body), then we at least understand what is going on in our lives on a daily basis. The spirit within, Christ spirit wills us to do the will of the Father and the lust that drive our bodies wills us to feed them, whatever they may be. The range is vast, from polluted thoughts to eating disorders. From being tender heartened to just plan mean, from lashing out with our tongues to praising with them and from resisting temptation or succumbing to it. The list is vast, but we are all aware of this ongoing battle. On reflection, I stand amazed at the Lord Jesus’ victory, the bible tells us that He was tempted in all points like we are and yet without sin. What is just as mesmerizing is that we know what we should do in any given situation but how often do we go the wrong way and choose sin over righteousness; it shouldn’t be like this! We know we should love and yet we vindicate, we know we should lay down our lives and yet we rather choose self over others, and the list goes on.

How much do we owe the Lord? Has He ever done anything for you? We know He has forgiven us our sins; He has covered us with robes of righteousness and written our names down in the book of life. The storerooms of mercies await all God’s children, “eye has not seen nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has in store for those who love Him.” It would be good to think of how much our Lord has loved us;” Love should give wings to the feet of service, and strength to the arms of labour.”

Over the years I have made some seriously bad decisions but I would like to point out a particular mindset that we must avoid at all costs. On reflection of my life, in hindsight, I must warn you not to make the same mistake as the price will be costly. I recall a particular sin that held me in bondage and is common to many, I will not name it as we all have our cross to bear and I do not want to take away from your exacting struggle. The temptation to give in and I mean when you say in your heart, “I have tried to have victory in this area of my life, but without much success.” We must continue to pursue God’s righteousness even if we fall in the same area every day. The problem is our will, when my will decided that I could not have victory, it decided to try and ignore the sin and how it did that was to try and act as if it wasn’t happening. Like an actor pretending to be someone else, rather ridiculous I know! Nevertheless by acting out this mindset I ended up being the actor and almost found myself in some gutter begging bread, well not quite, but you get my point.

Let me spell it out, if there is anything in your life that you are aware of that should not be allowed to live freely then we must continue on a daily basis to confess it before our heavenly Father striving against sin. Let me be very clear, I battle probably more than most and am not for one minute suggesting that I am walking in victory in all areas of my life, but what I will say, is my resolve is to please my Father even though I often disappoint. It is when we want to disregard a particular issue that we find in bondage to it, when we try and pretend it is not serious, that is when we remain stagnant in our spiritual growth and often end up as backslidden or disobedient children.

Paul puts it to us like this; although our lustful will can never choose what is right and always hankers after sin our minds can take on thoughts of righteousness and will us to do the right thing.

“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.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Salvation

(Job 28:28) “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

I was introduced to my Lord and Saviour about 22 years ago; I had just finished my National service in the South African Navy (Marines) and decided to travel abroad on a working holiday. It was during this debouched seven month period that questions on the purpose of life began eat away at my understanding on life, like never before. I cannot with any authority tell you how God in His mercy decides to bring us to a place where we see our sin and repent and find forgiveness for it. It is a mystery and the Lord Jesus explain this phenomenon like this; “the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." When the call goes out from heaven and your name is bellowed by the almighty One, God Himself, there is no place you can hide, my advice is don’t try but rather search out truth. The truth will set you free! I can recall trying to live a life of wine, woman and song but strange and unusual things would happen. Not mystical things like a voice from heaven or angels appearing, it was just small unusual occurrences that I could not let my mind overlook them. It was obvious somebody was at work in my life although I did not know what it was at the time. It was God calling me to repentance; Let me tell you how that all unfolded; It was probably late July 1987 and my older brother was about to be married. This upcoming event brought me home a little earlier than planned. On my return the bar and entertainment area, the room where I had celebrated my 21^st birthday was now a room where people gathered to hear the Gospel. It had become a church; my father an alcoholic had stop drinking and become a Christian, my mother was echoing his sentiments with her life. My whole family without exception was now serious about Christ’s sacrifice. After much annoying persistence from the entire family to attend a meeting I found myself seated in a chair listening to a man confidentially preach about the man Jesus Christ who died for my sin. It is hard to explain how his words captivated my attention, but they where riveting to my soul, it was as if he was only speaking to me. When he concluded with his sermon he appealed to any who wanted to respond to this message, the message of life in and through the Lord Jesus and I was compelled without thought to any ridicule of those looking on to respond and my arm almost mechanically shot into the air. I was not the only one who responded but I didn’t pay them much mind. The preacher man then prayed but surprisingly after he had finished praying, I was left confused by my decision. What had I just done? So I walked over to the barrel-chested man and looked him in the eye and said, “You have just confused me, what have you done.” He looked at me with surprise and said, “Just press on brother.” What was that suppose to mean, huh? I was confuse and anxious about my decision for days and I wrestled with it looking for answers. My family endeavoured to come to my aid and reassure me that I had been saved. Let know one tell you that you are a child of God; you must have the witness of the Spirit living inside you. In other words you must just know without a doubt that your eyes have been opened and that you can see. It must be your own experience and not someone else’s. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

When it is a true conversion and God come and breathes life into you, it will be unmistakably recognisable, you will not be left guessing, and if you are supposing then my advice to you is wrestle until you are sure.

I can vividly remember how it happened for me; two days had passed after my initial response to the preachers call. I was sitting alone in my mother lounge and reading the bible and I remember praying a prayer that went something like this, “God I am not quite sure what I have done, but I do believe you sent your Son to die for my sin.” the flood gates then opened I began to cry like a baby, tears of absolute joy resonated from my soul as I cried, “I can see, I can see!” How fabulous this day had turned out to be. It was if I was sitting in a room full of total darkness and all I could make out were some shapes that looked like furniture, but then the light switch came on and I could not be sure of their detail. Someone had walked into the room and flipped the light switch. Now the furniture’s detail was clearly seen, I no longer was left guessing. My immediate reaction was I needed to tell someone, so I ran into the study, picked up the phone and dialled Greg, my mate I had travelled abroad with. My conversation went something like this, “Greg I have found the answer to life, it is in the Lord Jesus..., he responded, “huh”, “can’t you see?” I asked. But sadly he could not and so my pursuit to tell my all friends began and I am happy to say that not all rejected the message of the Gospel, some even today proclaim the saving grace of the Lord Jesus.

Once this journey begins we war with our reasoning and so we make daily decisions; it has taken awhile for me to understand what this text means, “and unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

But this is the key to walking a victorious Christian life; firstly we must fear God and His awesome brilliance and then after we have His Spirit we must depart from evil. It is through this process that our joy will overflow. Do not let people lie to you. Christ died for sin, how can we now justify living in it, if we hold to this perversion it is a lie from the devil.

I will leave you with John Pipers quote, “God is most satisfied in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Joy

(Hebrews 12:2) “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,”

Is a child who is but a babe not part of the family? Of course it is, when a mother brings life into this world through much pain and anguish as she detests every minute of the hurt. When she holds the child in her arms is not the pain forgotten as joy and glee overwhelms her heart. Yes it is soon forgotten.

My thoughts go out to my great Saviour as I contemplate the agony of Gethsemane and the afflictions of the cross. Did He not suffer pain in His body? Did he not sweet drops of blood from the intense anguish? Of course He did! But why was he willing to suffer? Yes we are able to deduce from other portions of scripture that because it was the will of God the Father that He drank the cup of suffering, He swallowed the entire cup, not just a portion of it, and He gulped down the content of the cup in its entirety. Why would He do such a thing? Maybe He was a lover pain, I think not! Actually history tells us that he was rather a weak physical individual. Despising the shame he was driven by one motivating factor, in this text it is clearly highlighted and no other point is mentioned and this is the point; “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.” It is clear to see that it was “the joy” which motivated our Saviour to endure the cross. How could the pain of suffering be joyful? How does a mother endure labour pains? Is it not the hope of a healthy newborn child, a new addition to the family that urges her on and through her labour pains? It sure is! It is the hope of new life that motivates and feeds her will to endure the pain.

The Lord Jesus also endured the cross and all its humiliation and soreness and drew strength from the hope that was to come. In fact His hope was so real that it resulted in an overwhelming joy, an emotion of happiness and this passion in turn resulted in such love that He was able to cry out unto His Father, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Try an imagine the scene at Calvary, all the pain, anguish and humiliation that the Lord Jesus was put through and this text tells us that He “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,” this great Saviour of mine excites me and ignites my hope as I look to His example. “How great is my God, how great and vast His wide domain, to begin to tell these lips can only start?” Praise His Glorious name! Yes all of you exalt the name of Jesus and sing praises unto Him for He alone is worthy.

What can we learn from this text and Christ example, what is He teaching us? It is rather obvious. This is the lesson; our hope of heaven and eternal life and to be with God forever and ever must always resonate in our minds, but not somewhere hidden in a compartment tucked away. Our hope must be the last thought we have when we lay our head down to sleep and our first consideration when we rise. If Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and He captivates our soul, joy will well up within us and we will find an amazing strength within us to glorify God in and through the toughest times. This is exactly why the Lord Jesus endured the cross. Lets finish the verse because it clearly spell it out; “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

So I leave you with this thought, remember our High priest and what He endured on our behalf and also remember how He drew strength to endure what he had to tolerate. We have access to the same spiritual weapons the Lord Jesus drew on to find His joy in enduring the cross. Every believer that has His spirit both young and old, a babe in Christ or someone of mature age, all may find joy in remembering the hope that is waiting for us and just around the corner. I will leave you with this quote from John Piper, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Forgiveness

(Psalm 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

How will we react when our hearts have been exposed to sin? Will we retaliate and lash out in sin with an attitude of self justification or will humility and repentance be palpable for all to witness. Will we fall to our knees and seek out repentance will diligence?

The text from the Psalm is rich with repentance and when examined we are able to glean an abundance of fruit from the tree of truth, this verse in the Psalm’s give us insight into two amazing truth’s, both true repentance and the loving kindness of a God who is full of mercy and forgiveness.

Let us consider our lives and forgetting those things that are behind, let us consider today because today is the day is the day of salvation. We can do nothing for what has passed, it has already happened, but today we have the future in front of us to put anything that is out of kilter back in line. Let us reflect and let us use the mirror of truth which will help us to see those hidden chinks in our armour and then when we perceive them let us fall to our knees and repent. In so doing we will find live, we will bring glory to God, we will exalt His name and we will restore our joy. If we find true repentance today, I assure you and not as one who beats his chest in frustration but rather as one who himself has believe His God and called out to the only one who has the power to forgive and restore one’s joy, God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ, and when the call went out from these my lips, He was quick to respond and forgive. How great is my God, how majestic His wonderful name. I now declare with complete confidence His brilliance.

You may feel that you have spent all you have to give to the call to of righteousness, and I say no you have not. Life is filled with daily choices and how often we make the wrong ones. Nevertheless our God is able, a bruised reed He will not break, the smoking flax He will not quench. So fall to your knees cry out to Him for He will not turn one away. Your sin may be a heavy burden and so it should be, but repent and let Him, the only man who ever lived like we live, being tempted in all points just like we are tempted but yet without sin. He never broke one of God’s laws. Yes this is true he never broke a single command from God’s lips! He understands what we all go through here on earth with trials and the consequences we now need to live through because of so many bad choices in our lives.

You are not alone, let us consider king David the writer of this Psalm; he penned this Psalm after Nathan the prophet exposed sin in his life, and this was sin personified; let us unpack the events.

Israel was at war and had just ravaged the Ammonites but David was at home in his castle relaxing and not at war. His life was somewhat idle and we know that an idle mind is the playground of the devil.

(Proverbs 19:15) Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger (that hunger refers to both natural famine as well as spiritual starvation). So we are to “give no opportunity to the devil.” When we are unused or idle our natural tendency is find something to do and if we are not captivated with a godly purpose then we find ourselves in dangerous territory. This is where David now found himself.

Let us pickup the story; late one afternoon David got up from his afternoon nap and walked on his roof, possibly enjoying the sunset, his eyes move from the beauty of creation into a neighbours bathroom where his eyes beheld a beautiful woman bathing. Instead of resisting the temptation, he now invites it in and sends for her. Bystander’s witnesses the event and it surprised them as they recognised this woman as the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Nevertheless David still sent for her and he slept with her resulting in her falling pregnant. She then informs David that she is with child. Now panic was the order of the day for David and he began to scheme and plot a course to free himself from the mess he was now in. So he sends for Uriah, firstly befriending him and showing him favour. David gets Uriah drunk hoping that he will then go and sleep with his wife and hide his sin. This man Uriah was such a team player, a man of such integrity and valour that because his compatriots where fighting a war, he could not bring himself to any home comforts while his friends slugged it out with the enemy. So he did not go home to his wife.

This now is tragic, what David now does would be almost unforgivable. Here was a man fighting for his king, remembering his friends at war, denying himself the lap of luxury when they were available to him. But King David overlooks all of that and plots a plan to cover up his sin by planning Uriah’s death. He gets his general Joab to sent Uriah into the heat of the battle where death would be eminent. Uriah is killed. The woman Bathsheba mourned for her husband; this tells me that she loved him. What a terrible selfish story but let us not miss the point as it is huge, and if we do not get it, then we will overlook the hidden beauty in this account. Solomon was born to David and Bathsheba and from his lineage was born our Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord.

David does not see his sin at first but when Nathan the profit confronts him and exposes it to him, how does he react, how will you react when God the Holy Spirit points out sin in your life? David falls to his knees and repents with tears and vehemently prays for the life of his soon to be born son. The child dies and David learns a lot through this saga.

This leaves David penning these words; “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

Even through this whole fiasco what must we understand about God, is our God is slow anger, He is long suffering, and full of love?

Repent and call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved.

How does God view David’s sin? The child died and there were consequences that affected him later on in life with his family. Our sins may leave scars but remember that Jesus is greater that any stronghold they may have on our lives.

Let me leave you with this thought and what God had to say about David, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.”

Signing off

Tyrone

Love for Jesus

(1John 4:19) “We love because he first loved us.”

How mind blowing is the thought when I consider my love for Jesus. How can a man feel so much love and compassion for someone not seen? Some parents except children with imaginary friends as they play out their childhood fantasies. I have seen a child believe that their invented friend was real and I do not doubt for a second that they didn’t believe it themselves. Yet, it was rather obvious to all the observing bystanders that it was just fantasy.

Why then is it that millions of reasonable people throughout the world would appear to have an imaginary friend in Jesus. They pray, talk and read about Him. Millions of books have been written about His wonderful accomplishments and many autobiographies of how this person Jesus Christ their Lord rescued them from utter Destruction. I am one of those who has written a book about my life and how in spite of myself and my stubbornness the Lord has captivated my heart, where I am able with sincerity to extol His great name and declare that I honestly and in sincerity love Him. In fact He is so majestic and magnificent that He is able to save from the uttermost to the uttermost. All that means is wherever you may find yourself, and I mean wherever He is able to rescue you. He will pour in the oil and the wine where needed and before long you will be praising His glorious name. Do not wait, do not reason as a man without sight, do not say I have to see before I can believe, just come as you are without one plea, call upon the name of the Lord to save your soul and He will not turn a blind eye, He will be merciful and gently begin to restore your life back to its original call, and that is to glorify God. How sweet it is when we adore Him.

Imagine a parched and barren land with scorching sand visible in every direction and the unforgiving baking sun beating down and looking for moisture in every crook and cranny and yet with none to be found. Hope and despair the order of the day for the travelling pilgrim and just when hope is about to breathe it final breath he somehow is compelled to look to his left and he sees it. A pond without banks, water like crystal, at last a lifeline. It is one thing to read a story or to watch a biography of some interesting character but when the pilgrim spoken of is you, how that changes everything. You see I was the man on the brink of death, I had one foot on the edge of hell with demonic beings intending with absolute glee to see my demise. But GOD in his merciful character called out, “look left” and somehow on the brink of death I found strength to look left and there He stood with nail marks in His hands from that cruel Roman cross and they were clear for all to see. I am not completely sure all could see his scars, but I could. Can you see them? I have seen them so clearly, I have experience His saving Grace and that is why I say I love Him, He bleed and died for me. I love Him with all my heart. Here I was on the brink of death and even worse looking down into a bottomless pit of darkness with scorching flames beckoning my name as they searched out fuel to sustain their malice.

So you ask, surely this Jesus Tyrone speaks of is some figment of his imagination? I can assure you Jesus is as real as your eyes now read this text. He is my Saviour, He is the love of my life and no matter where you may find yourself; whether you have never relied on Him or found repentance in Him. Whether you have once relied on Him and now find yourself far from Him. Stop what you are doing, do not feed death and all its traps. Turn now unto Jesus, look to Him and find life.

The world speaks of “purpose” there is no other purpose of greater value than relying on the finished work of Calvary and on this risen Saviour, even Jesus Christ the Lord.

Call out to Him and you will find life.

Signing off

Tyrone

His own Image!

(Genesis 1:27) “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Why was a mirror ever invented? To reflect our glory, it is a tool we all use to help us improve our appearance. Teenagers use it intensely when applying gel to their hair. Most woman even carry a miniature mirror in there bag to help with their repeated application of makeup throughout the day. Woman dress with it, budding superstars use it to mimic their pop idols and adolescent kids squeeze pimples in it. Why? The answer is simple; to reflect their glory and to get them to look as good as they can with what they have been given. You never see someone stand in front of a mirror with intent going out of their way to make themselves look less attractive. “I” is in the forefront of their minds; it is about self and their own beauty. The mirror is used to remind and reflect one’s glory. We are self absorbed with self. The only problem with this truth and idea is we as the human race have fallen through sin and so when we admire our own beauty we esteem something that is flawed.

With that thought as a springboard for our consideration this morn I would like us to consider God and who He is and why He created male and female, was it not to reflect His glory. I think it is obviously one of, if not the main reason he created them. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” We see from our text that God created them in His own image. Why? For the exact reason to reflect His glory, let me explain. God in His magnificence is glorious, He is Righteous and perfect, and he cannot change. This is who He is, neither was He created. He is not an Idolater, He has no other gods before Himself, and nothing is of more importance to God than God Himself. It is important you get this point otherwise the probability of your son-ship stands in question. You probably have never truly been born again. But if know that it would be of great benefit to you, if you thought you were saved but realise you truly have not tasted of God’s grace and experienced salvation. Then you would see your need to repent and be saved; so call upon the name of the Lord, He will not turn one away, He never would. But you must call out to Him with every fibre in your body.

Let explore what it means to be an Idolater; somebody who shows excessive admiration or love for somebody or something. So when we value anything and I mean anything above God, we become idolaters. God cannot value anything higher than Himself, for He is the only true living God. You may say, does God not value His Son equally? You would be precise, but the Lord Jesus is God and so this proves that He glories within Himself. “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well please”, we are instructed to imitate Paul as he imitates Christ, because when we do that, we reflect the glory of God and show the world God’s image. Get the point, I hope you do! Think of the mirror and why we use it. Now think of why God created mankind, they are meant to be His mirror and those who have His spirit living within them, they are His mirror. God cannot be seen by mankind but we can and are seen by the world, therefore we are created in His likeness and mirror His image. This is why we have been commanded to; “you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “ So when God looks done upon one of His children and we walk in obedience and glorify Him our own reflection then glorifies Him. So Christianity is God-centred and can and never be man centred. The sooner we understand this the freer we will be to serve and glorify Him.

This is why the apostle Luke tells us that we must love our neighbour as well God;

(Luke 10:27) "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with your entire mind, and your neighbour as yourself."

When the world witnesses us loving our neighbour then God is most glorified and He is then most satisfied in us.

Signing off

Tyrone

Christ Crucified

(1Corinthians 2:2) “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

This morning it is with absolute glee that I consider this my blog, not because I am rich with words or filled to the brim with over-flowing knowledge. No, I am rather excited with the message I am about to pen, you see, this message is a springboard for eternal life and not eternal damnation.

I want you to ask yourself a question. If you were given the choice to write your own obituary what would it say? As Christians what message would we leave behind? Or if we were asked what is the most important topic one can explore in the Bible. Would we look to explore the intriguing topics like gifts or angels or even “The Rapture”? These would be topic well worth our time and an interesting study and a study every Christian would need to understand. Maybe God’s sovereignty would be high on our list. Or how about “The Attributes of God”, we could then unpack the truths of God and all His characteristics and study would have no end. Our God is so vast and so magnificent that if we devoted our entire lifetime this side of eternity to this study, we would barely scratch the surface. Alright, then maybe the study of the Word itself, this surely would be the greatest topic of all to study, and let’s be real, what a great topic it is. My skin begins to tingle as I am excited by the thought of the power and revelation I find when immersed in God glorious word. It screens unsearchable riches to most, but to the few it is a river filled with nuggets of gold. But, we must be in the river boots and all with our pan’s sifting through the sand and water looking for great treasures. This cache is available to all God’s children; however we must mine to find. What else besides the Word, surely there is nothing of more importance than the Word? After all the Word spoke creation into being; what a powerful sight the angles witnessed. It must have been breath taking. I am aware of this fact, that the heavens and earth as we know them will pass away, but the words of the Lord will endure forever. The Word holds the key to the discovery of eternal consequences and must be honoured and treated with great care. Surely we have finally found the greatest of all studies, the Word; we are now getting warmer but also only beginning to scratch the surface. The Word became flesh; this must be the greatest study, the birth of Christ. No! Still this is not the greatest possible study. Then what about the Lord’s test in the garden of Gethsemane it was so intense that He began to sweet blood. This arguably must have been the greatest examination in search of sin in Him that our Lord ever faced and yet without fault He came through victoriously. As great as it was, it still would not be the topic I would pen.

The answer is obvious; it will be “Christ and Him Crucified.” There is no other topic this side of eternity or even in eternity that will ever carry more weight in the eyes of our Heavenly Father than this amazing feat that His Son, our Saviour wrought on Calvary.

Let us remember the words of our Father; "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

If we ever wish to get the full attention of our Heavenly father and find favour with Him let us always remember to consider Christ and Him crucified. When we struggle with sin let us remember Christ and Him crucified. When we speak to unsaved family and friends and they present us with objection after objection, bring them back to Christ and Him crucified. The apostle Paul, the same man who was caught into the third heaven and declares to us that some of the things he saw are unlawful for him to even speak about. He tells us that when given the choice he would speak about nothing else except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” Why?

This is why I love God, you see without Christ and Him crucified, we may still have worlds and galaxies, but there would be no eternal hope of life for you or me. We would exist in eternity, forever and ever, but yet, forever dying in constant torment where there will be a wailing and gnashing of teeth from pain, separated from God in total darkness and yet without it ever ending and all because of the sentence that sin would require. What a horrible thought, yet God who is rich in mercy sent His Son to die for me. I now can escape the wrath of God and forever be with Him, I will be like him and eventually receive a glorified body like His and it will be only on that side of eternity that life will truly begin and only because of “Christ and Him Crucified.”

Let us then conclude, of all the true riches to be found in God’s Word-the bible, a book that could never be exhausted. The greatest of all studies must be, Christ and Him crucified. God was well please with His sacrifice, let us also esteem our Saviours sacrifice as the priority to all our daily activities and all our casual conversations.

Whoever thought that scars in a glorified body would be commendable to God; we have a scar and plastic surgery is an option, but not with God and Christ crucified; It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, Let us always remember what is cost the lord to buy our salvation, let us remember Christ and Him crucified.

Signing off

Tyrone